It's Time To Grow Up 2

You grow up and get perfected so you can do the work of the ministry. When you do something for God He requires that you do it perfectly in a sense of following a thing through to its completion. You see it through to its end. You work on it, you continue on it until you have the satisfaction on the inside of you that the task is completed.

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Shortly before his death Paul told Timothy, "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5). He then said in vs. 7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Every believer has a job to do and the more complete and mature you are, the better you'll be able to fulfill your ministry. You need to grow in faith and walk as Jesus walked and say what Jesus said and do the things Jesus did. Even Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father" (John 14:12).

When you begin something, see it through to the end. Jesus said, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Be led by the Spirit and follow what's in your heart until you get a release in your spirit to stop and move on to something else. The Bible calls this "perfection." When Jesus said "be ye perfect" He was telling you to be complete just as your Father in heaven is complete.

God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He patterned you after His own self and He is perfection. Ephesians 5:1 (AMP) says, "Therefore, be imitators of God, copy Him and follow His example as well beloved children imitate their fathers."

The Message Bible says, "Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents." Paul did this and wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (AMP), "Pattern yourself after me, follow my example as I imitate and follow Christ." People will imitate who and what they respect and imitation is the way God gives you to develop your spirit and your involvement in the things of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 says, "For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you." 3 John 11 states, "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God." Hebrews 13:7 says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." You must position yourself to be in the presence of strong, well developed believers who can show you how to grow up and be more mature and complete. We learn by observation. We imitate what we see people do, not what we hear them say.

In today's world there is too much "do as I say, not as I do." Paul addressed this when he wrote in Philippians 4:9, "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." The Amplified Bible says, "Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me and model your way of living on it and the God of peace will be with you." Jesus, of course, is the ultimate example of whom we are to follow. Press everyday towards the mark of being like Jesus.

Luke 2:40 says, "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." Vs. 52 says, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Jesus grew up! He is your example and you are to pattern your life after His. At age twelve Jesus was in the temple "sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers" (Luke 2:46, 47).

Every year, His parents went to Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover. The previous year and the years before that Jesus went home with the rest of His earthly family. But this year, at age twelve, He stayed behind and went to the temple. A change had taken place. Jesus began to grow up at age twelve. His focus began to change. His interests and priorities were different than they were the year before. Instead of playing with the other children He chose to go sit in the temple to learn spiritual truths. He's asking questions about the Word and sharing what He knows.

As your example Jesus is showing you that children at age twelve should be hungry for and pursuing the things of God. They should want to learn more about Jesus than they want to go outside and play. It is not acceptable for a teenager to sit on the couch and play video games all day long. In times past, sixteen year old boys were putting on armor and going into battle and fourteen year old girls were getting married.

This generation is expecting far too little from their children. They let them act like children all through their teenage years and when they turn eighteen they're not developed as an adult and can't handle the pressures of an adult world. How do you know if you're grown up? You know when it's time to play and when it's not time to play.

God believes in vacations but not every week. Hebrews 11:24, 25 says, "By faith Moses, when he became of age" - when he grew up - "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin." The prodigal son was an impatient young man who wanted his inheritance and he wanted it now! His father gave it to him "and not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living" (Luke 15:13).

A characteristic of youth is waste and when his money was gone the prodigal son had no friends. Many people are users who will hang around you if you're popular and have money but scatter when the going gets rough.

Young people are easily influenced. They want to be like their peers and don't discern if they are doing good or not all for the sake of being accepted. It's popular today to get tattoos all over your body and body piercings and to dress in a certain way. They smoke and take drugs and have sex. Youth are impatient and wild and act insane and insecure. They have wrong priorities.

Jesus wanted the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and come follow Him. "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions" (Matthew 19:22). Jesus wanted him to grow up and mature and He was showing him how. Jesus wanted him to put God first and offered him a place with Him in the ministry right then and there. The young man thought his money and earthly pleasures were more important so he turned and walked away.

It is time for the body of Christ to wake up and grow up! You have to change the way you think, talk, and act. You have to put away childish habits and behaviors. Paul said, "When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me" (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

You are not supposed to go through a second childhood. The outward man is perishing but the inner man is being renewed day by day and growing stronger and stronger (2 Corinthians 4:16). A characteristic of one who is grown up is to be self-disciplined and self-motivated. You've got to make yourself turn off the television and read your Bible. Force yourself to pray and visit the elderly and help the widow.

Babies always express what they feel but a mature person learns the value of words and only speaks when necessary. He doesn't spew out of his mouth every lame thought or feeling that comes to his brain. Good listeners are not as common as they should be. Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps his mouth shut. Believers who are grown up don't use words to vent their feelings. They don't chat and say things that have no substance but instead use words as tools to build up and edify. What comes out of your mouth reveals the level of your maturity and development.

Children and those who are grown up speak differently. Adults don't talk about their problems nor do they gossip about other people and judge them. They talk about love and important things that have to do with the kingdom of God. Babies are carnal and ruled by their feelings but there will come a time when you feel one way but act another. You'll want to tell somebody off but you'll love them anyway. You'll endure hardness like a good soldier as you act in faith and talk in faith. You'll stir yourself up in the spirit as you press on and take that hill.

Jesus is the standard by which all spiritual growth should be measured. He is the perfect example of the perfect spiritual man. He is the complete one, the fully developed one. When you grow up you are to be just like Him. You can operate like Jesus. You can think like Him, talk like Him, act like Him, pray like Him, love like Him, be led like Him, live like Him. Most of the churches don't believe this. For them it is a reality not to be grasped but Jesus said in Luke 6:40, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."

The Amplified Bible says, "A student who is completely trained will be just like his teacher." You can be just like Jesus. In fact, you're commanded to. You can grow up and be just as honest and faithful and genuine as Jesus. You're bridging the gap as the days go by. You'll never surpass Him but when you're grown up and fully developed you'll be just like Jesus. He was the brightness of the Father's glory (Hebrews 1:3) and the image of His person.

When you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father. His plan for you is that when people see you, they've seen Jesus. And when they see Jesus, they've seen the Father. After the ascension the people said about the disciples, "They've been with Jesus." They trained under Him and they acted like Him and sounded like Him.

We are living in the last days and there is work to be done and little time to do it. He needs all of us to grow up and stop acting like babies. You need to put away childish things and operate in your full potential and do the job, and let the Lord come back. Babies don't get to rule and reign but only those who are perfect, complete, and whole. It is imperative that you grow up and become just like Jesus.

*** Written by Randall J. Brewer ***

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