By the grace of the Lord and as
he enables this very important message on the
heart of the Lord in relation to seeing
our spiritual maturity.
We already have three tapes back there that
our dear brother Gary has been making, and
we do appreciate his and all the other
labor of love in our midst.
There's many who, because of love alone, are
working together with others and providing great services
for everyone, and this tapes that he's doing
is providing a great blessing.
But we're going to continue along this subject
of maturity, and I'm going to write a
third point here, and I'm going to call
it character qualities.
This morning, by the help of God's Spirit,
we're going to continue along these lines, and
we're going to look at three different aspects
of maturity.
I don't want to go over the material
that we've already covered for fear that I
won't be able to cover the material that
I feel is in my spirit this morning,
so I won't.
The best thing to do if you want
the entire message is to get the tapes.
There's no cost.
Everything is made available free of cost, as
the Lord provides.
This has been our policy for 15 years
or so, and God has never failed us.
And so all the material and the literature
is available free of cost.
I want to ask you a rhetorical question,
meaning one that you don't have to answer
out loud, but one that I'd like for
you to answer to yourself, and that is
this.
Ask yourself, do I truly see the Father
heart of God in desiring me to grow
up spiritually?
Together with my brothers and sisters, do I
really see the Father heart of God in
desiring me to grow up spiritually?
Together with my brothers and sisters, it is
very important that each and every one of
us come to this point in our spiritual
walk with the Lord, where we see in
a very clear way that it's Father's desire
to bring spiritual maturity in my life.
And if we've been seeing over the past
several weeks, spiritual maturity can be a difficult
road because it requires putting off childish things.
It requires putting off childish ways.
It requires putting off childish thinking.
And so if you have a desire in
your heart for the Holy Spirit to work
in you spiritual maturity together with other brothers
and sisters in your life, so that together
we can grow into spiritual adulthood, then there
are three important aspects of God's dealing in
your life regarding spiritual maturity that we're going
to have to grasp.
Because nobody here will come into spiritual maturity
unless we partake of our Father's child-training
hand resulting in working in us
brokenness.
Number two, working in us the capacity to
redeem the time.
And number three, character qualities.
That is, qualities of our character that reveal
a maturing going on in us.
I suggest you listen carefully to the Word
this morning, because this message is applicable to
every single Christian who is destined by God
to come to spiritual maturity.
I'd like to begin in reading from the
prophet Isaiah chapter 57.
I had a brother call me yesterday, Daniel,
and we chatted on the phone for a
good 30 minutes or so, and Daniel was
reading from Isaiah 66, not knowing that it
was one of the Scriptures I was planning
on sharing this morning.
And so I didn't even tell him, I
just listened and rejoiced together with the teaching
that the Holy Spirit had been giving him.
But it was perfectly in unison with this
first point that we're going to deal with
this morning.
And I thank God that we're all hearing
the same thing.
Because one of the goals, one of the
passions of the Father's heart, and one of
the passions of true leaders among God's people,
is not to create a bunch of people
dependent upon them, but to prevail and to
bring the Word, and to bring prayer, in
order that maturity might occur so everybody might
be able to hear the Lord.
Everybody might be able to recognize His voice.
The true heart of a leader rejoices when
people grow spiritually, and are able to hear
from the Lord, are able to get into
the Word, and be taught properly what God
is saying.
And so that's the end of true leadership,
to see spiritual maturity.
Not to create a co-dependence relationship upon
a particular flock or church, which many leaders
are doing today.
And it's dangerous.
It's not God's thought.
Isaiah chapter 57, beginning in verse 15.
For thus saith the High and the Lofty
One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy,
I will dwell in the High and the
Holy Place with Him also that is of
a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the humble and to revive the
heart of the contrite ones.
Isaiah chapter 66, beginning in verse 1.
Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my
throne, the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house that ye build unto
me?
And where is the place of my rest?
For all those things hath my hand made,
and all those things have been, saith the
Lord.
But to this man will I look, even
to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembles at my
word.
Job 41, verse number 25.
You may turn there if you like.
I'm going to simply read it.
By reason of breakings they purify themselves.
Job 41, verse 25.
By reason of breakings they purify themselves.
I'm going to be reading from October 15th
of Streams in the Desert.
Listen carefully as we hear the heart of
the Lord regarding this first aspect of brokenness.
And remember, beloved, that this is the road
that you and I will travel upon if
we aspire to spiritual maturity.
Now, if we want to live the rest
of our Christian lives as spiritual children and
play religious games, we'll experience Father's provision, won't
we?
Because He's faithful.
If we want to just have fun and
just, you know, sing and dance and just
do our own thing and see God blessing
us and see God blessing us when we
go and when we come and we just
want to live a fun, happy Christian life,
well, God will be there because He's faithful.
But if the Holy Spirit and the Word
of God grips a hold of your heart
and you see the Father heart of God,
the Father heart of God, it's in the
heart of a father to see his children
come to maturity in the natural, isn't it?
Every true father delights in the little baby,
the little toddler.
I love my children.
I love the little ones.
They're so precious.
But oh, how my heart longs to see
maturity in all my children.
And unfortunately, my oldest one now is suffering
under that burden.
Because sometimes we deal with our children when
it's time for them to mature in a
way that they don't like.
And likewise, Father deals with us in a
way that we don't like when it's time
to grow up.
He starts crossing our will, doesn't He?
He starts denying us things that perhaps we've
always been able to have.
And we misunderstand it and we say, Father,
why are you being so mean to me?
How about this?
Everybody else is doing it.
Everybody else has got it.
And you wonder in loneliness and in quietness
why Father has seemingly denied you this thing.
Could it be that God in His infinite
wisdom has looked down upon you and said,
It is time, my son, it is time,
my daughter, to experience a different aspect of
my heart.
You've known the nurturing aspect of my heart.
You've known the nurturing of a mother.
You know, mothers are so gifted of God,
aren't they?
Mothers have such a unique, unique gift.
A mother is able to take a crying
child and so nurture that child and so
coddle that child and just everything's going to
be all right.
Now, if I say that, it doesn't work.
But if Mommy says it, it works.
I can't tell you how many times my
little ones will fall or they'll get hurt
and I'll say, Aw, come to Daddy.
No, I want Mommy.
Excuse me?
I want Mommy.
Collette!
Something about a nurturing heart of a mother.
And our Father reveals Himself in the Old
Testament as the Breasty One.
Did you know that that's one of His
names?
The Breasty One?
That indicates the aspect of God that is
capable of nurturing His children like a mother
would nurture and nurse their little babies.
And don't we all appreciate that aspect of
our Father?
He's got such a gentle touch.
But the day comes when we hear the
voice of our Father.
And He says, It's time to grow up.
Now, listen closely.
God uses most for His glory those people
and things which are most perfectly broken.
The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite
hearts.
It was the breaking down of Jacob's natural
strength at Pineal that gave him where God
could clothe him with the spiritual power.
It was breaking the surface of the rock
at Horeb by the stroke of Moses' rod
that let out the cool waters to thirsty
people.
It was when the 300 elect soldiers under
Gideon broke their pictures, a type of breaking
themselves, that the hidden lights shone forth to
the consternation of their adversaries.
It was when the poor widow broke the
seal of the little pot of oil and
poured it forth that God multiplied it to
pay her debts and supply means of support.
It was when Esther risked her life and
broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen
court that she obtained favor to rescue her
people from death.
It was when our Lord Jesus took the
five loaves and broke them that the bread
was multiplied in the very act of breaking,
sufficient to feed 5,000.
It was when Mary broke her beautiful alabaster
box, rendering it henceforth useless, that the pinup
perfume filled the house.
It was when Jesus allowed His precious body
to be broken to pieces by thorns and
nails and spear that His inner life was
poured out like a crystal ocean for thirsty
sinners to drink and live.
It is when a beautiful grain of corn
is broken up in the earth by death
that its inner heart sprouts forth and bears
hundreds of other grains and thus on and
on through all history and all biography and
all vegetation and all spiritual life.
God must have broken things.
Those who are broken in wealth and broken
in self-will and broken in their ambitions
and broken in their beautiful ideas and broken
in worldly reputation and broken in their affections
and broken oftentimes in health.
Those who are despised and seem utterly forlorn
and helpless.
The Holy Ghost is seizing upon and using
for God's glory.
Isaiah says, the lame take the prey.
And then a poem by Thomas Bunch.
Oh, break my heart, but break it as
a field.
It is but the plow up broken for
thy corn.
Oh, break it as the buds by green
leaves sealed are to unloose the golden blossom
torn.
Love what I offer unto the love's great
Master.
Set free the odor.
Break the alabaster.
Oh, God, break my heart.
Break it, victorious God, that life's eternal well
may flash abroad.
Oh, let it break as when the captive
trees, breaking cold bounds, regain their liberties.
And as thought's sacred grove to life is
springing, be joys like birds, their hope, thy
victory singing.
Brokenness before Almighty God is a quality that
every mature, aspiring child of God will have
to taste.
And as the Word of God so clearly
indicates this morning, brokenness is a quality through
which God reduces us down to a posture
inwardly where we realize that we have no
strength, no wisdom, no power, no ability.
We have nothing in ourselves but are wholly
dependent upon a sovereign God to lead us
and move us and guide us and grant
us the victory.
Brokenness is the posture whereby the creature acknowledges
that it is only in the Creator that
we have our life and our joy and
our righteousness and our strength.
And this work of brokenness is something that
only God can do in our life as
His eyes of love fall upon us.
And He chooses, as Hebrews chapter 12 indicates,
and then we're going to move on.
Hebrews chapter 12.
This quality of brokenness is only something that
God Himself can bring in our life.
We read this last week.
Verse 2, Hebrews 12, looking unto Jesus, the
Author and Finisher of our faith.
Let me tell you, beloved, when God begins
the process of bringing brokenness into your life,
you're going to discover quite quickly that there
is no place that you can look to
except the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because when God begins to produce brokenness in
our life, everything else becomes insufficient.
We can't look to anyone or anything else.
There's a story that the late Dr. J.
Vernon McGee used to tell over the radio.
He and his wife had gone to a
conference and heard a speaker.
And he was a young man.
Relatively young in the Lord, but very gifted.
And he got up and he spoke a
tremendous gifted message on a topic that I
don't even think Dr. McGee divulged on the
radio program.
And afterwards, his wife looked at him and
said, what did you think?
Thought it was pretty good.
And J.
Vernon McGee looked at his wife and said,
the boy needs to suffer a little bit.
He needs to go through life a little
bit.
And then years later, years later, they found
themselves in an audience where the same speaker
was speaking.
And afterwards, his wife said, what do you
think?
And old J.
Vernon McGee said, not like that.
Why?
Because the first message may have been gifted,
might have been accurate to the letter, might
have been good doctrinal truth, but it wasn't
being delivered through a vessel that knew brokenness.
But the second presentation was an earthen vessel
who had suffered, who had been subject to
Father's hand of discipline, who had come to
know weakness, come to know brokenness, come to
know what it was to be crushed.
The greater the brokenness that God works in
us, the greater capacity does the ministry of
life have to flow through us into the
lives of others.
You remember what Paul said, that it's death
that worked in him, but life in others.
So it's the ministry of life flowing out
of us that comes through death working in
us.
What kind of death?
The death that God works in us, weaning
us from all dependence and trust in ourself.
Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of
our faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the
same, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds.
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving
against sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you, as the King James
says, children.
But the actual word there means sons.
The idea here is you have forgotten that
God is speaking to you and dealing with
you as sons now.
Not as little children, but as sons.
And listen to what He says.
My son.
See, the same word, My son, is the
same word that is used when it says
unto children.
It's the same word.
Despise not the chastening, the child-training of
the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked
of Him.
For whom the Lord loves, He chasteneth and
scourges every son whom He received.
If ye endure chastening, God deals with you
as with sons.
For what son is He whom the Father
chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof are
all partakers, then are ye bastards and not
sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh
which correct us, and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection
unto the Father of spirits and live?
For verily for a few days they chastened
us after their own pleasure, but He for
our profit, that we might be partakers of
His holiness, of His sanctification, that word.
In other words, that we might be partakers
of the fullness of who He is.
Not just the gift of eternal salvation, although
that's part of it, but to be a
partaker of the fullness, the stature, His manhood,
His maturity, His character.
That we might be partakers of the fullness
of His beauty, of His righteousness.
This is God's heart for you and I.
Verse 11, Now no chastening for the present
seems to be joyous but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Be prepared.
Brokenness.
Be prepared, beloved.
And may I say, as we go on
to point to, take special heed of verse
5.
Despise not, nor faint.
The greatest temptation that you will experience when
God is dealing with you as sons and
when God begins to bring brokenness into your
life, is the temptation to despise it and
the temptation to faint under the dealing of
the Lord, to become weary in your mind.
So look to Jesus and He'll give you
the grace.
Number two, a second feature that each one
of us will have to experience in a
very real way, on the road to maturity,
is learning to redeem the time.
Ephesians.
We've read this Scripture a number of times.
We're going to read it again.
Chapter 5.
Hebrews 5.
Beginning in verse 6.
Let no man deceive you with vain words,
for because of these things cometh the wrath
of God upon the children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometime darkness, but now are
ye light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light, for the fruit
of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth.
Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
The word acceptable there means agreeable.
Proving what is agreeable to the Lord.
Oh, how important that we learn to do
this.
Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them.
For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them
in secret.
But all things that are reproved are made
manifest by the light.
For whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light.
Listen.
See then that ye walk circumspectly.
Listen.
Not as fools, but as wise.
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
On point number one, we could say that
if brokenness indicates a growing maturity, then the
absence of brokenness would indicate the presence of
immaturity.
And so likewise, in order to help make
the point of redeeming the time, if redeeming
the time would be an indication that we're
growing spiritually, then the absence of redeeming the
time would indicate immaturity.
Brothers and sisters, I believe one of the
greatest needs in our lives today as a
company of believers here, but also as the
church abroad, is the need to come to
realize that time is a gift from God,
and if we don't redeem the time, and
that word redeem means to buy it back.
If we don't buy back the time for
God, then the time will be used for
everything but God.
Now listen.
I'm going to read a fictitious but powerful
story.
It will not take long.
In this story, we are going to see
the seriousness of our need to redeem the
time.
The story is not true, and neither are
the various different things being said in the
story necessarily something we should do or shouldn't
do.
But you'll understand as I read it.
The point is well taken.
Satan called a demonic convention.
We can't keep people from going to church.
We can't keep them from reading a Bible
and seeking the truth.
We might, however, keep them from forming an
intimate, abiding relationship with Christ.
When that connection is achieved, our power over
them is broken, so we must prevent it.
So let them go to their churches.
Let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal
their time so they don't seek that relationship
with Jesus.
That is what I want you to do,
demons.
Distract them from gaining hold of Jesus and
achieving that intimate union with Him.
How shall we do this?
shouted the devils.
Keep them busy in the non-essentials of
life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their
minds.
He answered, tempt them to spend, spend, spend,
and borrow, and borrow, and borrow.
Persuade the wives to go to work for
long, arduous hours and the husbands to work
six, seven days each week, ten, twelve, fourteen
hours a day, so they can afford their
empty lifestyles.
Keep them from spending time with their children.
As their family fragments, soon their home will
offer no escape from the pressure of work.
Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot
hear that still, small voice.
Entice them to play the radio or cassette
player whenever they drive.
Keep them from silence.
Entice them to keep the TV, VCR, CDs,
and their PCs going constantly everywhere they go.
See to it that every store and restaurant
in the world plays worldly music.
This will jam their minds and prevent them
from thinking on Christ.
Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.
Pound their minds with the news 24 hours
a day.
Invade their driving moments with billboards.
Flood their mailboxes with junk mail.
Mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of
newsletter and promotional offering free products, services, and
false hopes.
Take Bibles and prayers from all their children's
classrooms and give the children more time to
learn of Me.
Remember, Satan's writing this.
Me.
Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so
the husbands will believe that external beauty is
what's important and they'll become dissatisfied with their
wives.
Ha!
That will fragment those families very quickly.
Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.
Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted,
and unprepared for the coming week.
Don't let them go out in nature to
reflect on God's wonders.
Send them to amusement parks and sporting events,
concerts and movies instead.
Keep them busy, busy, busy.
And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve
them in gossip and small talk so that
they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.
Go ahead.
Let them be involved in soul winning, but
crowd their lives with so many good causes
they have no time to seek power from
Jesus.
Soon they will be working in their own
strength, sacrificing their health and family for the
good of their personal causes.
Let us boost their egos to the heavens.
They think they aspire to.
It will work.
I know it'll work.
It was quite a convention.
The devil's angels were eagerly to their assignments,
causing religious people everywhere to get more busy,
more rushed, going here and there.
They began to chant.
I guess the question is this.
Has the devil been successful at his scheme
as far as you are concerned?
You be the judge.
Does busy mean being under Satan's yoke?
Reflect honestly, beloved.
Our second point, redeeming the time under maturity.
When God begins to work in your life
seeking to see maturity, you will come to
a crisis.
You'll have to come to a crisis whether
you are a single person, whether you are
a married person, whether you have one children
or ten children.
You will have to come to a crisis
where you will begin to experience God's dealing
in your life regarding the things that you
do, the things that your family does, and
you'll begin to have to hear Him say,
this might not be unlawful, but it is
unnecessary.
This might not be overtly sinful, but it
is not productive.
And as we preached a number of weeks
ago, at that time, it's going to be
time to make some tough decisions.
The church is in the valley of decision
today.
We have got to decide.
And in making decisions, we
will see the Lord work in our lives.
I will not go into detail on this
point.
I will not play the Holy Spirit.
I will not legislate laws and rules and
regulations for people to follow.
That is not what I'm called to do.
I will not write a list of do's
and don'ts for you.
I will not tell you how to spend
your time and what to do and what
not to do.
But I believe with all my heart, as
I stand in the presence of Jesus Christ,
along with you, that if you will listen
to the voice of your Shepherd Jesus Christ,
He will.
I won't, but He will.
And He will not do it in order
to create a legalistic lifestyle for you.
He won't do it so that you can
conform the rules and regulations and then think
by doing so, you're attaining to spiritual maturity.
No, He'll do it, and the basis of
it will be love.
Love.
It will be born out of a relationship.
That's what He's after.
People maturing.
That's springing out of love for Him.
Redeeming the time.
Because the days are evil.
This whole second point, the road to spiritual
maturity, begins with an awakening within the heart.
And here's what the awakening is.
It comes by the Holy Spirit.
And this is what it is.
Father, You have got to order my life
and the life of my family.
And I've got to come to where I
am hearing You give me wisdom on how
to conduct my life and my family's life
that is most inducive to spiritual maturity.
That is most inducive to spiritual development.
When that awakening occurs in your heart, and
you realize there's going to come a day
when you will give an account for every
minute that you spent on this earth every
day.
You're going to have to give an account
to the Savior.
And He's going to require of each one
of us to stand before Him and give
an account of how we spent the time
that God gave us from the moment we
wake up to the moment we go to
bed.
And those who under the hand of God
come and grow and mature and enter into
the process of spiritual maturity will refuse to
conform to the role and to the pressures
of society that are pushing us and pressing
us to spend all of our waking moments
so busy, our minds so preoccupied that we
cannot and do not find time for the
Lord.
The maturing Christian by the grace of God,
by the Spirit of God in meekness, in
weakness, in recognizing that the Lord alone is
their strength will arise by the Spirit of
God and say, Lord, this cannot happen in
my life.
And until this rises up within you and
in your home, you are destined to continue
in spiritual immaturity.
Destined.
Spiritual immaturity lets the winds of life govern
you.
But maturity rises up, feels the wind pushing
this way, and says, No!
Father doesn't want us to go that way.
Feels the pressure to do this.
Maybe you even feel the pressure of other
people.
Your own children might want this and want
that.
It's time, parents, that we arise in the
meekness of Christ and say, This is not
good for you.
No!
Brothers and sisters, if we do not find
this quality walking in us by God's grace,
we're going to be under and controlled by
the Spirit in this age.
How many have found this second point to
be a real, real battle in your life?
Absolutely.
Okay.
Number three.
Character qualities.
As we had mentioned in an earlier message,
in 1 Corinthians 13, we won't go there.
But we saw in 1 Corinthians 13 that
the Holy Spirit showed us that when I
was a child, I thought like a child,
I acted like a child, I reasoned like
a child.
In other words, I had the character of
a child.
The qualities of being a child and we're
going to have to find in Jesus Christ
the grace to begin to demonstrate the character
qualities of maturity.
Now listen, please.
I want you to turn to John chapter
21.
We've read this before.
I believe even other brothers have read this
before.
But I have no problem repeating these things.
Because each time we hear them, new light
comes.
Are you ready?
The words that we're about to read follow
the time when Jesus and Peter had a
conversation.
And Jesus asked Peter, do you love Me?
And Peter said, Lord, I like You.
That's the meaning of the words.
Jesus asked Peter, do you love Me with
that God love that is willing to give
Your life and to sacrifice everything for me?
And Peter said, well, Lord, I like You.
We're buddies.
I mean, we've hung out together.
We did a lot of things together.
But I just denied You three times.
I would be a fool to say yes.
But it was good because Peter was getting
honest.
You see, the Lord can't do anything in
our life until we're honest with Him.
Did you know that?
Did you know the Lord is continuously getting
us to where we need to be honest?
You see, before this incident, what was it
that Peter said to the Lord Jesus at
the Last Supper?
Though all men forsake You, I won't, might
have been sincere, but he was sincerely deceived.
So the Lord couldn't do much in Peter's
life until He brought what?
Brokenness.
We won't go into that now because I
want to read this part.
So Jesus asked him two times, do you
love Me?
Peter said, I like You.
And then the third time, Jesus said, and
He changed the Greek word, and He said,
oh, Peter, so you only like Me?
And Peter said, Lord, You know all things.
You know I like You.
Jesus was basically saying, that's good, Peter.
It's okay.
Because you're being honest with Me.
I can work with you, Peter.
And now watch what He says.
Verse 18, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
when thou wast young, immature...
Listen.
Listen to the qualities that characterize the features
that characterize an immature soul.
Thou girdest thyself.
Thou walkest whither thou wouldest.
But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt
stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird
thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
And of course, Jesus here was speaking of
the death that Peter would experience in relation
to how He would glorify the Lord.
But there is a much deeper meaning to
this Scripture than simply pointing to an event
where Peter died by stretching out his hands
and was crucified.
This Scripture reveals to us as the Holy
Spirit bursts it open that there is a
distinct difference being made between Peter as a
young man, as an immature man, versus Peter
as one who is old or one who
comes into maturity.
The former is characterized by doing what you
want to do.
Retaining your rights.
Making your own decisions.
Girding yourself with what you want.
You see, we want to gird ourselves with
honor.
We want to gird ourselves with being seen
of men.
We want to gird ourselves of being great
ones in the eyes of others.
We want to go where we want to
go.
We usually choose places that are comfortable for
us.
We usually choose places that are good to
accomplish our agendas.
But when you are old, when you come
under my hand of maturing, you will stretch
forth your hand.
In other words, you'll give up that right
and you'll be led by another.
The great quality of maturity, the overwhelming, all
-surpassing feature of a truly maturing child of
God is that they are not living their
life according to their own tastes.
But they are stretching forth their hand and
they're being governed by another.
They're being led by another.
They've given up the rights of doing their
own thing their own way.
But they've come to see the Crucified One
and they've come to say, Lord, whithersoever You
would lead me, I will follow.
Wherever You want me to go, I will
go.
Putting off childish ways.
Taking on character qualities that represent maturity is
a very real dealing with the Lord.
Stripping us from that tendency to demand our
own way.
How many of us are willing to clothe
ourself with dishonor?
This is more than just putting on our
clothes.
No.
This is clothing ourself, making ourself.
How do you want to look in the
eyes of men when you're led by another?
You no longer care.
It no longer is a concern.
If God wants to lead you to be
a servant, you'll be a servant.
If God wants to lead you to sell
everything you've got and be a fool, that's
exactly what you'll do.
If God wants to lead you into a
place of dishonor, not through a moral act
or an immoral act, but a place of
dishonor where you're misunderstood, it doesn't matter.
If you're clothed with misunderstanding, it won't matter.
It won't matter.
You see, because you're led by another one
now.
And I tell you, brothers and sisters, you
don't have this in yourself and neither do
I.
Only God can work this in us.
But I'm telling you, God's heart is searching
and the tears of Christ are falling as
He longs to see these kinds of awakenings
come into the body of Christ.
The day of chasing after things and having
a good old jolly Christian time while we're
doing our own thing and we're serving God
in our own way are coming to an
end.
God is raising up a church, a people,
a company of people who under the hand
of God's Spirit are coming to know maturity.
And they're making themselves available to God without
conditions.
Lord, I'll serve You, but don't do this.
Okay.
I have got ten, which I'm not going
to go into now.
Ten character qualities that represent
maturity.
That we will save for our next time
together.
But now, I sense that we can...
I want to close this message and just
give time for the Holy Spirit to take
what has already been given and just speak
into our hearts and confirm His Word.
Now, in closing, I'd like to read
Revelation.
Revelation 14.
It is not my intention this morning to
give an interpretation to this portion of Scripture.
Who is it talking about?
Now, we're not interested in that at this
time.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit this morning
is to catch a hold of the heart
attitude of this Scripture.
Because this is our starting point.
This is where it starts.
This is where all of these things begin
to happen.
Now listen closely.
Verse 1, chapter 14, Revelation.
And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood
on the Mount Zion, and with Him a
hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's
name written in their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven as
the voice of many waters and as the
voice of a great thunder.
And I heard the voice of harpers harping
with their harps, and they sung as it
were a new song before the throne and
before the four beasts and the elders.
And no man could learn that song but
the hundred and forty and four thousand which
were redeemed from the earth.
These are they which were not defiled with
women, for they are virgins.
Now here's what I want to capture.
These are they which follow the Lamb, whithersoever
He goeth.
Let's bow our hearts now.
Father, these are they which follow the Lamb
wherever He goes.
Lord, I pray that You will grant to
each of us a heart that
is able to say along with this Scripture,
I will follow the Lord by His grace
wherever He goes.
Lord, give us the heart that hears Your
voice whispering to us, it is time for
spiritual growing up.
Help us not to resent the work of
brokenness.
Help us not to resent the work of
having to redeem our time.
And help us, Lord, not to resent the
character qualities that must be formed in us
to the road of maturity.
We want to commit this into Your hands
now, Lord, and ask for these next few
moments You would speak to us and
guide us to Yourself.
We're going
to quietly, the girls and Norman, we're going
to quietly worship Jesus and sing the potter's
hand.
And all I want to say from the
Lord is this, listen to Him this morning.
Whatever He says to you, do it.
If you want special prayer this morning and
you feel that God has spoken to you,
you might not even understand what He's saying,
but you know He has spoken.
I want to make myself available as a
brother to agree with you that the Great
Shepherd Himself will touch you.
All you have to do is indicate it
by raising your hand or if you want,
you can come forward.
So let's listen.
As we worship, the Shepherd will speak to
you.
Perfect plan You gently call me Into Your
presence Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit Teach
me, dear Lord To live all of my
life Through Your eyes I'm captured by
Your holy calling Set me apart I know
You'll join me To Yourself Lead me, Lord,
I pray Take me Mold
me Use me Fill me I give my
life To the Father's hand Call me You
guide me Lead me, Lord, beside me I
give my life To the Father's hand You
gently call me Into Your presence Guiding me
by Your Holy Spirit Teach me, dear Lord
To live all of my life Through Your
eyes I'm captured by Your holy calling Set
me apart I know You'll join me To
Yourself Lead me, Lord, I pray Take
me Mold me Use me Fill me I
give my life To the Father's hand Call
me You guide me Lead me, Lord, beside
me I give my life To the Father's
hand Call me Mold me Use
me Fill me I give my life To
the Father's hand Call me You guide me
Lead me, Lord, beside me I give my
life To the Father's hand Call
me Use
me Lead me I give my life To
the Father's hand I give my life To
the Father's hand I
give
my life To the Father's hand I give
my life To
the Father's hand I
give my life To the Father's hand I
give my life To the
Father's
hand I give my life I give my
life To the Father's hand I give my
life Touch us, Lord Oh, Lord, do the
work by your Holy Spirit It's Your work,
Lord We offer ourselves to You I
give my life All that I adore
is in you Lord I give you
my heart, I give you my soul I
live for you alone Every breath that I
take Every moment I'm awake Lord have your
way in me This
is my desire To honor you
Lord with all my heart I worship you
All I have within me I give you
praise All that I adore is in
you Lord I give you my heart,
I give you my soul I live for
you alone Every breath that I take Every
moment I'm awake Lord have your way in
me Lord I give you my heart I
give you my soul I live for you
alone Every breath that I take Every moment
I'm awake Lord have your way