Being Who God Calls Us to Be- Are you up for it?

The idea presented in this video by Darrin Patrick is on that needs to be heard by many people in our churches today. Over the years churches have risen and died because of a lacking in discipleship. Granted there are always a couple of people here and there that take discipleship of younger generations seriously, but that number gets fewer and fewer as time rolls on. I can remember in my own childhood, after I publicly professed my salvation that I had a severe sense of being lost. In my mind I was saying, "I'm saved, now what do I do?" but the answer never seem to come. See, there were a wealth of great men in my church, many that came through later on, but there at the very start I had no one who told where to go from there. As a result, my spiritual life was stunted. I searched for a role model in other areas, like my older brother and his friends, and then people older than me in school. Time and time again they all failed me, and it led me down a path opposite of where God has called me, ending with me feeling completely lost in life. I won't continue to harp on my own experiences, but as always feel free to ask if you would like further detail.

Luckily, I was fortunate to find strong Christian leadership, but the problem is that many people have not or will not find that if trends continue. That is why one of my biggest passions in life is discipleship. Without that we end up with generations of men and women who have no idea how to carry on their faith, or as the video said, have no interest in doing so. As Darrin Patrick discusses in the video, we need leaders and pastors in the church who are up to the task of being an adult, not ones who are trying to prolong their adolescence. It is far from "lightly" that I say this... We need strong leadership from generation to generation, to teach, lead, and bring up the younger generations in the truth of God's word, so they may learn how to be the men and women God calls them to be. We are to follow the example of Christ, bringing people up in his teachings.

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."- (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

I echo the final words of the video, this comes from me just as much as it came from Darrin Patrick in the video, "I don't want anyone to have a bigger dream for my church, and my city, than I do."

If we fail to do this, our churches will stand only as a testament to what they once were.

Letters to Corinth: 3-Wisdom from God (Part 2)

Passage- 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

We talk about seeking true wisdom from God, and we know that it comes from him, but it is also important to see how he reveals his wisdom to us. See, in the time of the life of Christ, he was there to speak words of wisdom to his disciples. After the ascension of Christ, He was no longer present to share that wisdom. Prior to his ascension though, as told in Acts chapter 1, Christ tells the disciples that he will send them his Holy Spirit so that they will be his witnesses to the people. Then in the beginning of Acts chapter 2, we see where Christ's promise of the Holy Spirit comes on the day of Pentecost where all of the disciples were gathered in one place.

Now, getting to 1 Corinthians, Paul has been discussing in this letter about the wisdom of God and how wisdom from God is true wisdom. We should seek out wisdom from God, learn from him the things that do not come in our own understanding. Though in this, we must comprehend that this wisdom is revealed to us only through the Holy Spirit. We see in verses 6 through 8 that apart from the wisdom of God, we cannot understand the purpose of Christ and his death on the cross, as the rulers who executed Jesus did not understand. In the same way, without the Holy Spirit Paul, the Corinthians, and even us today could not understand the meaning of "Christ crucified", as discussed in the last post.

"these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." - (1 Corinthians 2:10-11 ESV)

The role of the Holy Spirit is key. The Spirit not only searchers our hearts, but also the depths of God. The Spirit is the bridge in the gap between our hearts and God. The truth of Christ can only be understood by the wisdom of God. It is when the Spirit is at work in us that we are able to truly see sacrifice Christ paid on the cross for us. When teaching the word, it is not human wisdom that is given, as Paul discusses in verse 13, but it is the Spirit that teaches of the wisdom of God through us. True wisdom is from God alone, and it is by the Holy Spirit that we are given this wisdom.

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." - (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)