Skip to content 4. Five Movements Towards Spiritual Maturity - Part 2 Sep 7 · 27 min ...more
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:10 Hi Church! What a privilege for us to study the Word of God together again in our LifeGroups. Today, we are going to be talking about the 5 movements towards spiritual0:21 maturity. Now, last time we studied together, we looked at part 1 and today will be part 2. I want to begin with a quote from Andrew Murray. Many0:33 believers think that when they receive Jesus, He saves them and then helps them in times of trouble. Then they all but deny Him as their master.0:45 They think they have a right to have their own will and their own way in 1000 different things. They are their own masters and would never dream of saying, Jesus,0:57 I forsake all to follow you. How true this is! We began with a question last time we studied: What is spiritual1:08 maturity? And we discovered that spiritual maturity is becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. It is to will the will of the1:20 Father. Is to be able to yield all our perceived rights and our personal ambitions. And to surrender everything about our life, all of1:32 our life, back to God. See, you and I, we need to understand that we need to live life with a whole life, integrated life, isn't it?1:44 We don't want to live a compartmental, divided life, fragmented life. We want to be whole. That's why we talk about the whole life discipleship. It is the whole1:56 of life for the whole of life. In other words, all of my life for the rest of my life, I want to surrender to Christ. So, 1 of the core things that we established in2:08 our first study is this: that God is inviting us on a journey to surrender our lives to Him. He is asking us to exchange our earthly marbles, our2:19 dirty earthly marbles and to receive from Him spiritual diamonds. That is what C. S. Lewis described it as. God is always inviting us to2:31 greater realities, to walk with Him in that absolute surrender. But we sometimes settle for just the mediocre level of life. We settle for commitment when God2:43 is asking us for surrender. We looked at this last time. Spiritual maturity isn't about how committed you are to God, but how surrendered you are to God. So2:55 let's look at the 5 movements again. The first 1, our deep search. There must be something more. And we discovered it is a search for God. Indeed, God is the3:07 only 1 who truly satisfies. Secondly, our desperate struggle, wanting it all. In other words, there is a conflict of 2 wills within ourselves. There is a3:19 conflict of 2 natures. But then the 1 that we yield to will ultimately triumph. The third 1 is the absolute surrender. So there is a search. There is a struggle. But3:31 then we come to the place where we say, I surrender it all. There is an absolute surrender. We yield it all to God. And this is where we will the will of the Father. Now,3:43 as we begin this journey of transforming our inner world, as we begin this journey towards spiritual maturity, 1 thing you and I need to understand is that unless and3:54 until you surrender it all, you cannot cultivate your inner life. That's why this 1 question is so important. I want you to write this question down in your notes because this is fundamental when it comes4:06 to discipleship and when it comes to building, cultivating, and transforming your inner life. The question is this: Who is truly the master of your life?4:19 Do you know as a pastor who journeys together with other church leaders and pastors, many times when I go for church consultations, I look for the 14:30 thing among the pastoral staff. It does not matter what is the size of the church, whether it is a small church, or a large church, or a mega church. The 1 thing we look for in the pastoral staff,4:42 especially in the key leadership team, the senior leadership team, is this word called restedness. And that restedness is a sign of a surrendered life. Many4:54 times, there is a restlessness. We saw this in the past studies. There is an inner churning, there is a churning within. That inner restlessness is a sign5:06 that we are holding on to certain things from God. See, when I say restedness, I look for 3 things. Let me give this to you. It is not in my notes. I want you to take it5:18 down. When we see a person who is rested, their inner life is in the right place. The posture is right. They are right before God and right before5:30 people. Their inner life is well maintained and cultivated. You see that restedness. And it's seen in 3 things. 1, there is nothing to prove. In other words, there's a deep state of5:41 security. They're not threatened by anyone who is, more talented than them. They're not threatened by who will try and snatch this position away from me. Because these are things that plagues5:53 the church world politics, power mongering, isn't it? But the key reality is when there is a deep state of inward security, you've got nothing to prove.6:05 You can just do the will of the Father. Hallelujah. Secondly, it's a nothing to hide. What is nothing to hide? Nothing to hide is a place of repentance. It's a place of total repentance. There is6:17 no skeleton in the closet. There is nothing to hide. That means you have confessed your sins and you are walking uprightly before God and before men.6:29 That's the key. And when we come to that place of walking, we are in a place of integrity and a deep security. Imagine how life would be. Nothing to prove, nothing to6:40 hide. The third 1 is nothing to lose. Now, this is very critical for us. Why? Because the more you are journeying with the Lord, the more areas of your life you have handed over the6:52 reins to him, you don't feel like there is anything to lose. You will be the most rested person in the world because everything is in the hands of the Lord. Nothing is in your hands.7:05 I always have this phrase for people: What you received by faith, you maintain by faith. But what you received through your works, you maintain by your works. I would rather receive7:17 things by faith and maintain it by faith. Words, I receive it from the Lord. I didn't grab it. I didn't strive for it. I didn't go and get it. I didn't grab it. I didn't I didn't do it by my works. I received7:29 it from him. The moment I receive it from him, it's a gift. It's a grace. It's by faith. Then I maintain it by faith. In other words, I know I got nothing to lose. Why? Because it is in the hands of the Lord. Now that is7:41 a true place of restedness. Now, this is 1 thing. It is the life of a person who is surrendered. So, in our study, we have looked at7:53 3 things: our deep search, our desperate struggle, and our absolute surrender. Today, we are going to study the last 2 movements: The Upward Service8:05 and the Inner Significance. What is the Upward Service? Upward Service is giving it all. In other words, you come to a realization that8:16 to will the will of the Father is for my best interest. To really yield my perceived rights and my personal ambitions to the Lord and to surrender it all, it is8:28 a beginning step of victory. See, you have got to realize that when you are called to serve God, you do not serve God on your terms, you serve God on His terms.8:41 I want to read a quotation from Mark Pauley. Look at what it says: To be a follower of Christ is to be on a journey where heart and life and possessions8:53 all get pulled along in the direction of the kingdom. Can you see that? Just slow it down and read it again. In9:08 other words, there is alignment that everything is coming together, and your life itself becomes a worship unto the Lord. Every aspect of your life. That's why we keep saying in this house, there is no9:19 fragmentation, there is no departmentalization, There is no compartmentalization. Our whole of life for the whole of life. In other words, all of our life for the rest of our life, we are pulled9:31 in the direction of the kingdom. And what would come as a result? 2 things: 1, there will be a wise stewardship and secondly, there will be a joyful9:43 service. What is a wise stewardship? You will recognize that your life does not belong to you. Your life belongs to the King. Hallelujah! You have been bought with a price. See,9:55 the Bible is very clear that we are slaves of Christ. That's how Paul writes about himself, isn't Many of the Apostles, when they wrote, they said, I am a bondservant. I am a bond slave.10:07 See, slave is someone who is owned by a master. A bond slave is someone who has freedom and yet chose to submit to the Master10:19 and to serve Him as a slave. You and I are set free. He who is in the Son is set free. But we are bondservants. In other words, we want to do the will of the Father. We want to10:30 fulfill the mandate, His mandate, His commandments. We want to embrace His values. And we acknowledge that our life is a stewardship. So, I say10:42 the word stewardship, you have got to recognize this. Your life doesn't belong to you. You are purely a manager. Jesus is the rightful owner of everything you have. Your time, your talents, your10:54 treasures. We always say the time, talent, treasures, but I include a few things. Territories, including your 4 territory. In other words, even the cars, the vehicles you11:06 buy, everything that you call possessions, they all belong to Jesus. Your homes belong to Jesus. Not only that, your ties, your relationships, your11:17 trials, your triumphs, everything belongs to Jesus. You and I, we need to learn to steward our life. So, remember this, we are living a borrowed life. As a result of living a borrowed life, we steward it11:29 wisely. In other words, you ask this question: How am I investing my Master's time, my Master's talents, my Master's treasures which he has11:41 entrusted to me? That is the language of a stewardship. The second 1 is that there is a joyful service. When you recognize that giving it all, I want to11:53 serve God on His terms, there is a joyful service. See, many times we serve, but we serve like what Jonah did. Jonah, chapter 1, God calls him, tells him to go to Nineveh and preach. He12:05 didn't want to do it. But then, chapter 3, he reluctantly, because he had no choice, he goes to preach. Chapter 4, he is still angry. There is no emotional investment.12:17 Why? Because he did not have the heart of God. Listen to me carefully. Many times we can serve, but we serve with no joy. Listen, you don't have to serve, you get to12:29 serve. Because you are a servant, you get to serve. And it is a privilege in the Kingdom of God that the God of heaven would want to partner with you and me to build His kingdom12:40 together, and He lives in us and works through us. Hallelujah. Now listen carefully. John 12 26, Jesus highlights 2 things I want to pay attention12:52 to. Pay attention to this. That's the first 1. The first 1 is our faithful devotion to Christ. What is the13:04 faithful devotion to Christ? Faithful devotion to Christ is this: that if anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Look at the language that Jesus uses:13:16 If anyone, as though there is a choice. Even though you and I are a servant, He does not force us. He gives us the free will to choose to serve Him. If13:28 anyone, that means serving Jesus is a choice. That is why there are some people who are saved and they are sitting there sour, turning sour, isn't it? Because they13:39 don't do anything. But can I humbly say this? If you're watching this, I want to challenge you to rise up and do serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords because there is no other greater joy on earth except serving13:51 Him. And the Bible says here serving Jesus is a choice. Secondly, if you choose to serve Him, you must serve Him on His terms. Does serving Him on His terms mean? It means this:14:04 that you don't serve when it's convenient for you. You pick and choose where you serve and what you do because you learn to hear the Master and obey the Master.14:17 In other words, you yield the right to choose and you say, Lord, you send me. Like we are studying the book of Revelation at this moment, God sent John to Patmos. You know, Caesar would have14:29 thought that he is the 1 sending John to Patmos. But Jesus sends him there. I want you to pay attention. Why? Because anything and everything that happens in our lives is in Jesus,14:41 of Jesus, and for Jesus. That is why we have got to learn that even in the trials, even in the situations that are tough times, we can still serve Him and we are called to serve Him with14:53 joy. And we are called to serve Him on His terms. Secondly, our fruitful life in Christ. Look at the same verse, John 12 26. The second portion says, If15:04 anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him. Wow! If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. How? The Father will approve them15:16 of their life and ministry. That's why 1 of the core convictions that we carry in an IDMC is this: the approval of God is of utmost importance. We do not serve for the15:28 applause of men, we serve for the approval of God. Catch it! Why this is important? Because when you are serving God, you are serving God's people. You are serving the people of God.15:40 Either they are pre believers or believers within the church. And you and I know that when we are serving people, people are sometimes ungrateful. People sometimes will definitely turn their15:52 back on us and hurt us along the way. They will criticize us. There will be misunderstandings. So, how you process criticisms and how you process when you're celebrated the compliments16:04 matters. That's why you and nun need to understand that we are not here for the applause of men but for the approval of God. The moment you recognize that you're serving God on his terms, he sends you to wherever he16:15 wants you to go, and you do his bidding. And when you're doing his bidding, it doesn't matter whether people receive it, whether people criticize it, whether misunderstand it. As long as you're doing the will of the16:25 Father, you are approved of God, and that's enough. Why this is important? Because there are so many leaders that are wounded in the Kingdom of God. They are16:37 wounded because they place so much importance on what people think of them. 1 of the core things that God has given me is a responsibility to tutor and walk with senior pastors.16:50 And in that privileged role, I have seen pastors who are wounded because shepherds always suffer sheep bites. If you are a shepherd, you are surely going to get sheep17:01 bite. And some people take that sheep bite all too hot. It corrupts the way they see themselves. It corrupts their soul. Can I humbly17:13 say this? You and I should not be concerned. Die to the opinion of men. Die to the reputation you carry. Die to yourself. Come back to God and to say, Lord, there is only 1 thing that matters. I17:25 serve God on His terms and I live for the approval of God. And no matter how difficult it is, you can still bear fruit in the Kingdom of God, and your labor will not be in vain.17:37 See, part of the situation is that people who work in persecuted nations or people who are working in other nations that have other faith,17:49 predominantly other faith. And in those areas, to bear fruit in the kingdom. That means you work for the gospel for many years and you may have only 1 soul, 1 fruit.18:01 But you know what? You may think, What's the point? I've given my youth here. I've given my years here, but I can't really see any fruit. See, you're looking at the natural with the natural eyes. But18:13 you know how God sees it? God says, No matter where He sends you, as long as you've been doing the will of the Father, the Father approves your life and your ministry is validated. Listen to me18:24 carefully. First Corinthians, chapter 15 and verse 58 says,18:38 Highlight that! Your labour is not in vain. Where? In the Lord! You are in Jesus, you are of Jesus and for Jesus. No matter what your situation18:50 is, He gets the glory. Hallelujah! That is why your labor is not in vain. I want to take a moment to address everyone in the Life19:02 Groups. If you have stepped up to be a Life Group leader, you are doing a tremendous work in the Kingdom of God. I salute you for your sacrifice and for your19:13 servant heart and for stewarding the lives of people that God has entrusted to you through your leadership. Now, listen to me carefully. You are an under shepherd and you19:25 are functioning from a delegated authority. The people don't belong to you. They belong to the Lord. They don't belong to you. They belong to the senior pastor of the church who is accountable for all the flock.19:38 But you are playing a vital role. But in this vital role, there will be challenges, especially people who take you for granted, people who abuse you with their words or with the way19:50 they withdraw their affection from you. You've got to grow immature, Riti, through this. Because you're serving the Lord. You're serving the Lord. And there is another group of20:01 ministry that I really love in the church. And thankful to the Lord there are so many people who love to pray and intercede for the church in our church. If you are an intercessor, I want to speak to you because as an20:13 intercessor, you carry the church forward. You are actually waging the battle from the forefront. And I'm thankful to the Lord that every time I come here to record a session, I know there are people20:24 praying for us. Now, this is great important ministry, great ministry of great importance. The battle is not doing this. The battle is in the getting down on knees20:36 and crying before God. That is important. That's where you win your battle. I want to listen. I want you to listen carefully. If you are interceding and praying for members in your group and members in the church20:48 and especially for your pastors' families, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because you may never receive a thanks from the people whom you are praying for, But you know what? Great21:00 will be the reward in heaven for you. That's why don't be caught up in who is approving my ministry, who is recognizing my ministry, or they love my ministry, they are receiving my ministry, or they are not receiving my21:11 ministry. Don't worry about the criticisms compliments because you serve the audience of 1. And if you do the will of the Father, He approves you and He causes you to bear fruit. Hallelujah.21:23 Let's give Jesus a clap offering. Come on. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. And if you are watching this in a group, I want you to appreciate your life group leaders. I want you to take time to send them notes of21:35 thanks and appreciation. I don't mind receiving it. But at the same time, I know there are so many who may not receive that on a weekly basis or a monthly basis. Please21:47 do send those appreciation notes so that they will feel blessed. Hallelujah. But come back to this. Fourth 1 is our upward21:59 service. It is a service of giving it all, serving on His terms, not ours. The fifth movement is our inner significance. Jesus is all. Listen to22:11 this. Jesus is everything. See, we always say Jesus is everything. And if we say Jesus is everything, is Jesus alone enough? This is where22:23 we get into trouble because we look for other things. Yes, I have Jesus, but I have other things. I want other things. But can I humbly say this? Having Jesus is more than enough. I've22:34 been in situations where I had no money in my pocket, And Jesus alone had been enough. I had been in situations where I was totally out of control. I had no way of22:46 controlling what the outcome would be. I was so helpless. And I looked to Jesus and in that moment Jesus had been everything and Jesus alone is22:58 enough. That is why the true search for us is significance, search for satisfaction, a search for security and it's all found in Christ! So, the23:10 moment you come to that place to know that everything that you are seeking for is in Christ, then Christ alone is enough. That is where we get our inner significance. Look at how Jesus put23:22 this. In John fourteen:three, Jesus says: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to My Self. Circle23:33 that. I will take you to My Self, and that where I am you may be also. In an NASB translation, it says like this:23:45 Jesus says, Received us unto Himself. See, many times when you read this passage, we always look for the mansions in heaven.23:57 I've heard many people say, You know, I'm waiting for my mansion in heaven. I don't think Jesus meant that when you get there, you are getting a mansion. What Jesus said is, I'm going there to prepare24:09 so that you can come and be with Me. I will take you to Myself. I will receive you to Myself. Your destination is Christ. Your destiny is24:21 Christ. That's why, for a Christian believer, everything begins and ends with Christ. Here, the Bible says, He will receive you unto Himself. In other words, everything about your life is24:33 in Him. Your identity is in Him. Your security is in Him. Your destiny is in Him. Let's look at it 1 by 1. Your identity is in Him. The Bible says, He24:45 will receive you unto Himself. See, when the world talks about identity, they always speak about who you are. Isn't it life coaches? They24:57 thrive on this. Your identity. Your identity is who you are. It usually is about what you do and who you are. But when it comes to25:08 Christianity, the New Testament theology of identity is not tied to who you are, but more rather, it is tied to whose you are. In other words,25:20 identity is a relational word. My wife finds her identity by being married to me. She is a wife. And through that relationship comes another relationship, a mother25:32 of my children. Listen, identity is tied to not just who you are but whose you are. And so that is key. Who am I? I am His. Hallelujah.25:44 That's why 1 of the core things that you and I, we need to recognize is our life begins with a relationship in Christ. That's why the call of the Kingdom, the call of the Kingdom is not so that you go25:56 and advance the King and advance the kingdom, but to abide in the king, to align your life to the king. That's why the Bible doesn't place importance on all the important things you do. The Bible places26:08 importance on what are you becoming. See, Pastor Edmunds said this quote:26:20 Listen, it is not because you do important things that your life is significant. Your life is already significant. Get this. You are already significant in Christ. Why? Because He loves you. He redeems26:32 you. He gives you His anointing. He gives you His mandate to go into the world and make disciples. He has already commissioned you. You are already secure in his love. That's your identity. I am a person who is26:44 called, who is chosen, who is anointed, who has been favored, and now I've been sent into the world as a missionary. Now this is who you are. And because of who you are, whose you are,26:56 now whatever you do is important. Hallelujah. So, therefore, your life in Christ
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Paul Jeyachandran
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