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A Prayer for Growing Christians

For most pastors, finding a church to minister at is very difficult. Unlike many mainline churches, the process is not much different than applying for a “normal” job. You go in and put your best face forward and the church does the same.

One question that is often asked of the candidate is, “Do you consider yourself a mature Christian?” I am not sure of most of us, but for me, that question is difficult to answer. If I answer “no,” they may not see me as capable or ready to shepherd the flock. If I say “yes,” they may think I am prideful and not appropriate to lead. The whole concept of “maturity” is a difficult one to address.

Many years ago, a friend of mine said to me, “There are times I feel the progress I’ve made in spiritual growth is but a figment of my imagination. It feels like the real experience of growth is yet to be.” I think most of us can relate to this person’s uncertainty and angst when it comes to our progress in our journey with God. The whole work of redemption is not done. There is much to come. We call this sanctification or the process where we become more like Jesus.

So how do we determine what is Christian maturity? I think one way to understand or at least come to a bit of a clearer understanding is to look at Paul’s prayers. The things he prayed for people usually give us a good indication of what mattered to him. In Philippians 1:7-11, we find a prayer of Paul’s for one of his favourite congregations. From this prayer, we can see what mattered him and I believe it will help us to see what areas we might focus on in our lives to grow in our faith towards maturity.

In this passage, there are three things Paul prays for his friends. He asks that their love would abound. He prays for them to grow in discernment and lastly that their lives would express the righteousness of God by producing fruit.

In verse 8, the word Paul uses for “love” here is agape. We often refer to it as being “unconditional” or “self-sacrificing.” It comes out of a deep affection for someone who is expressed in actions. The best example is Jesus who died on the cross for undeserving sinners. Now when we pray for love, we usually ask for it in general terms, whereas in Paul’s prayer, he quantifies and qualifies it.

He goes beyond asking that they love, rather that this love would be others-focused and that it would abound. This word “abound” comes from a Greek word which means “to go above and beyond.”

Many people think all you need is this thing we call love. But for many, it is seen as a possession or an attitude and nothing more. But in Micah 6:8, we read, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This love we are to have needs to be expressed and shared with others.

And Jesus addresses the notion of going “above and beyond” when He taught on forgiveness. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, He gives the following analogy: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

He tells His listeners to go “above and beyond.” Slap the other cheek. Take my coat as well. I will go two miles. Do not say “No” to anyone who wants to borrow from you. This is the kind of love Jesus is asking of us. If someone asks for a cup of coffee, offer a sandwich as well.

Where does this love come from? Our love comes from the abundance of love we have experienced and received from God and out of that abundance we should be sharing it with others. If we are not sharing out of an abundance with others, maybe we have not experienced that abundance in our lives. Jesus says in Matthew 13:12, “Whoever has been given more, and he will have an abundance.”

Abounding love describes Christians at our best. The very sign of the Church is our obvious love for God and for one another. Remember there are only two great commandments – that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and we love our neighbours as ourselves. This in itself may be the highest form of evangelism.

John 13:35 says, “by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And this was modelled to us by Jesus in Paul’s words in Romans 5:8, “But God proves His love/agape towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Buildings, worship bands, programs, and other things have little meaning if our lives are not abounding in love for God and one another.

Secondly, he prays that they might have discernment. This happens as we grow in “knowledge and depth of insight” or “discernment.” Knowledge comes from a Greek word that is used in the context of specializing. Like a doctor who may specialize in obstetrics or be a surgeon, our love is specific and focused. How do we acquire this knowledge? It comes by studying the Word.

What about insight? Insight might be translated as “perception” or possibly “discernment.” As we gain knowledge and allow God to apply that knowledge, we will grow in discernment or understanding of God’s ways. As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Another way of putting this is to have your priorities straight. Too often in the world, the use of the lowest common denominator is the baseline. For Christians, the opposite is true. It is God’s ideal and best that should be our goal, rather than the lowest attainable level.

Figuring out the good from the bad is easy, but determining the good from the best is more difficult. There are a lot of good things in life, but in choosing them we can lose the opportunity of doing the best for God.

The last couple Olympics have been like that when it came to the 100m run. Usain Bolt was universally accepted to be the gold medalist, the best in the world. All the commentators and most of the competitors were resigned to be running for silver. Instead of striving to be the best, most settled at trying to be the second-best.

Our service of God should not be like that. Paul’s words in Romans 12 are paralleled in Paul’s words in Philippians 1:10, “so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.” Paul understood that knowledge should lead to discernment. Like many things, discernment requires testing in order to be accepted and approved.

Many around the world are complaining because a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic has not been developed or distributed. Scientists around the world are working at it. But we know that before it can be administered and approved, it must go through rigorous testing in order for it to be seen as safe. This is what Paul is meaning here when it comes to having insight and discernment.” In mathematics, it would be God’s Word + Our brain x God’s Spirit = the final point and that is their lives would be filled with the fruit of righteousness.

How many of us have ever done science experiments with surface tension? The goal was to fill the container as much as possible without it spilling out. Often the level of the liquid would be significantly higher than the edge of the container. Love should be like that in our lives. The more “full” we are of God, the more it will spill over onto others.

Too many Christians think their lives are solely about getting to heaven. They have accepted Jesus, received the gift of salvation and are riding out the journey until the train stops and we are let off at heaven’s gates. But that is not we were saved for or to. Yes, salvation and heaven is a part of it, but along the way, we are called to bear fruit for God. What are the fruits of righteousness Paul speaks of?

The word “fruit” refers to fruit, but not just fruit like apples or oranges, rather fruit that is harvested and brings a profit or return on the investment. Farmers or gardeners do not plant their fields or beds simply to watch the plants grow then rot. No! Rather, the food is grown and harvested and either sold for profit or consumed for our bodies’ benefit.

And “righteousness” is a reference to something deemed or judged to be right. It is often used in a divine legal context. In other words, the act is seen as right in God’s eyes. As I mentioned earlier, one of the challenges in our service of God is determining what is best from the good. What Paul is saying here is in the actions of our lives, our goal should be to achieve God’s best rather than what we may think or believe is best.

Years ago, Pepsi challenged Coke to a taste test. They set up little booths across North America asking people to taste different colas to find out which one they preferred. In the end, the results were pretty split. Why was that? When it came to cola, it was left to the individual’s taste buds. It is the same with other beverages. For wine, one person’s vinegar might be another’s perfect vintage. There is no objective standard.

But with our actions, our fruit, there is only one judge whose opinion matters and that is God. We may try to please God with our own righteousness, but according to Romans 3:23, we will all fall short. None of our own righteousness is of any value. Nothing we do is of any worth if it is not God-inspired and God-empowered. To be fruitful in righteousness is to live, act and serve in and through the power of the Spirit of God.

The Christian life is a journey of discovery with many ups and downs. Many of us are not living and experiencing the life God intended. But as we seek Him, He will reveal things of Himself and His plan for our lives that will blow our minds. We will discover more of His purpose and plan. We will be changed.

In the Bible, Abraham experienced that at age seventy-five and Moses at age eighty. The apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus looking for Christians to persecute and God intervened. Again and again in the Bible, when God met people, He led them on a different path that had previously been unseen.

Paul understood that for the people of Philippi. He knew their needs and prayed for them that they would grow in those areas that would help them become mature fruitful believers in Christ. This prayer is a model for each of us in how we should pray for one another as it is for me in my prayers for all of you. Christian’s lives should reflect the love of God in abundance towards others and this ability to know what God’s best is and to do it in a way that produces fruit and glory to God is our goal.

May we be like the church in Philippi in our love, discernment and actions and model the saving and transforming work of Jesus to a world in need of hope and assurance in these uncertain times.

 

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