DCFC Online March 7th - Ps Murray - The Journey of Maturity

 JAMES No 3.

The Journey Of Maturity

James in His Letter is teaches us How to continue to Grow in the Grace and the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Maturity is HIGH on God’s ‘To Do List’, that HE has for each of Us. This is Why He allows US to walk through Temptations, Trials, and Difficulties, because they Force Us to Make Choices to Grow Up. To SAY NO to the immediate, for LONG TERM GAIN. Growing Up, isn't always comfortable – it requires us to Stretch, and Tap into God’s Strength, and to work at Changing our Thinking and Attitudes, and to resist lapsing back into our former Childish (ME FIRST) ways.

1 CORINTH 13:11, (NLT) tells us,
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. [My ME FIRST ways]

Childish things are like tantrums, pouting, Impatience, Selfish, Being irresponsible, Not keeping my word, Jealous of other people’s toys and things, being cruel, trying to manipulate my parents and others to get what I want, being a tittle-tattle, by dobbing others in. Inability to keep secrets, being fearful, and thoughtless, and wanting everything NOW, with No ability to Wait Patiently, and the list goes on.  BUT MANY PEOPLE, when they Grow UP, Fail to PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS, Often because it still Works for them.  (GAMES PEOPLE PLAY)

YES they may have become Physically Mature, but often behaviourally they can be Quite IMMATURE.

 

JAMES 1:2-8, (NLT)
² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Last week we discussed at length this very issue in Verses 2-4 which deals with:-                                                 Embracing Difficulty, in Order to Build Character.    (James here, is Not talking about Encountering Difficulty...we All Encounter Difficulty, BUT we don’t All Embrace IT.

If we could Put into Practice everything that James is teaching us, we would be able to:-

Get through Our trials, Have a faith that works, Control our words, Do the Will of God,

Use our Money for a purpose, Stand through temptation, and Get our Prayers answered, and the list Goes On.                                                                                                                               THIS building of Character is the Most Important Business of Life.  [Galatians 5:22-23] Calls it the Nine Fruits of the Spirit, or Character Qualities.                                                                    Each one of us Must build Our Own Character. No one can do it for us. OUR Parents May Attempt Too, But Only US/WE, Ourselves can Make Our life Beautiful. No One can build Truth, Purity, and Love into Our Lives, except Our Selves.                                                                                                                                                    No One else can be True, Pure, Honourable, and Loving FOR Us. We have to DO IT Ourselves.                                                                                                                Your Mother’s Prayers and Teachings, cannot give you strength of Soul and grandeur of Spirit. It may HELP, BUT YOU Must embrace it.

Character is not built in a Classroom or by Hearing a Sunday Sermon. Froude said, “You Cannot Dream yourself into a Character, you must Hammer and Forge yourself into Character.” Character is NOT on a Discounted Special this week. It’s ALWAYS FULL PRICE IN EVERY SHOP.                                                                  True Character is BUILT when we SEE and UNDERSTAND that GOD is WITH US in the Difficulties of LIFE; and that HE IS Providing us with Opportunitys to make QUALITY CHOICES to Embrace Difficulties as a Friend, & NOT Resent IT. HE gives us GRACE to Embrace difficulty with JOY, in order to strengthen our Character with Patience, and bring us into MATURITY.  Only then does our PAIN become PROFITABLE, and we become Strengthened and Mature.  CHOICES, QUALITY CHOICES, Sometimes Painful QUALITY CHOICES, ARE MADE, and Rather than Becoming BITTER, WE BECOME BETTER.                                                                                              This process ensures that we don’t become QUITTERS, each and Every time that Life becomes Tough; but rather we become FINISHERS like Jesus, who said on the Cross IT IS FINISHED.                                                                                                                                                    HEBREWS 12:2-3,  Tells Us,

2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3, For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.   [His Endurance came from the INNER JOY of seeing the End Result, Before HE Got THERE.

PHILPPIANS 1:6, tells us; (NKJV)
⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

JUDE verse 20-21 and 24, tells us, (NKJV)
²⁰ But you, beloved, building g yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

HE Will Not Give UP on YOU and I. Painful Though It may BE, He will keep working on Our Character.

 

Every Building requires a good foundation. Without this it can never rise into Real Strength and Grandeur. Beautiful buildings have been built WITHOUT Good Foundations on Sand or Black Soil. Initially they LOOK GOOD. BUT Sooner or Later they move, rise, sink, twist, or buckle, and lose all their beauty and grandeur. They are then no longer Desired, and their Value Falls in the Eyes of Man.                                                                                                                    The Cause of this in most cases relates to THE COST. The Owner of the building initially refused TO PAY THE PRICE for good foundations, BUT Eventually Loses his Whole Building in the END.

We paid an extra $20K for our Church Hall Pier and Beam Foundations, rather than have STUMPS.                                                                                                                                 Character is the FOUNDATION on which you build your life. IT’s what Carries You Through your Life.                                                                                                                                                            BUT Good Character will COST YOU,

BUT it will Secure your Life and the Life of those you Love. Character is made of Things like, Truthfulness, Purity, Honour, Courage, Discipline, Endurance, Compassion, Self Sacrifice, and Vision, to negotiate the problems, trials, challenges and disappointments of life. [It is the GROWING OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in OUR LIVES]                                                                                                             Bill Hybels wrote a book a number of years ago titled, “Who you are When No One is Looking. That statement really sums up Character. 

The J.B. Phillips Modern English Version says it this way.                                                                                         James 1:2-4, When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends.   [They’ll be the making of you]                                                                                       3, Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.                                  

4, But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity with no weak spots.

LET ME FINISH with a STORY FROM MY OWN LIFE WHERE I ALMOST DID AN EPIC FAIL.

1976-1978, PNG Story of the Person on my TEAM Who Caused Me A LOT OF GRIEF. 

GOD SAID, I Had to KEEP Her in Your Life Until You Dealt with this Issue. Otherwise You would Never grow Up, and You Would just Keep Repeating this behaviour through-out Your Life.

MATTHEW 5:44-45, (NLT)
⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.