In his message a few weeks ago, lead pastor Stu Hodges at Waters Edge Church said that as Christians, most of us are educated far beyond our level of obedience. At first, this may seem like a jab or an insult, at least it did to me. However, these words have stuck with me since I heard them. They have been rolling around my head. The point is that the mature Christian is not the person who has the highest education level, who has read the most books on spirituality, the person who has attended church the longest, the person who has been in the ministry the longest, or even the person who has the most information about Jesus. The mature Christian is one whose heart and mind and soul have been transformed so that they act like Jesus. According to Pastor Clancy Nixon, he believes that the way to tell if someone's heart is transformed is that they swiftly obey when they hear God's word. Some have termed this "missional velocity", your speed of obedience to the mission that God has for you. It is akin to how you can tell what language a person thinks in, i.e. their true native language. When they hit their thumb with a hammer, what language do they cry out in? This is how you can figure out their true self. When God calls you, do you immediately and unquestionly act? How you respond reveals your self, your true spiritual obedience.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Far Beyond Our Level
In his message a few weeks ago, lead pastor Stu Hodges at Waters Edge Church said that as Christians, most of us are educated far beyond our level of obedience. At first, this may seem like a jab or an insult, at least it did to me. However, these words have stuck with me since I heard them. They have been rolling around my head. The point is that the mature Christian is not the person who has the highest education level, who has read the most books on spirituality, the person who has attended church the longest, the person who has been in the ministry the longest, or even the person who has the most information about Jesus. The mature Christian is one whose heart and mind and soul have been transformed so that they act like Jesus. According to Pastor Clancy Nixon, he believes that the way to tell if someone's heart is transformed is that they swiftly obey when they hear God's word. Some have termed this "missional velocity", your speed of obedience to the mission that God has for you. It is akin to how you can tell what language a person thinks in, i.e. their true native language. When they hit their thumb with a hammer, what language do they cry out in? This is how you can figure out their true self. When God calls you, do you immediately and unquestionly act? How you respond reveals your self, your true spiritual obedience.
