What Season Are You in??? (part 2) by Marietjie 


When a person, a christian, starts to see a pattern of being able to obey God in His Word, the Bible, in their daily life; when you read and can honestly say: I used to do that, but not anymore; you are no longer a baby-Christian.When you have learned to walk in obedience, most of the time, - yes, you still make mistakes and disobey, but this is not habitual anymore-, you are no longer a baby.

As a child you will begin to speak and tell people about your faith in God. You will begin to find some place of service, of contributing to the body/family of Jesus Christ. You are NOT ready for leadership yet. You are NOT in charge yet. But you are bringing your side, contributing, and adding strength to strength and faith to faith. You will increase in your understanding  of the Bible. You will start to do things and learn by trial and error. You will learn how to discern, to tell good from evil, by making mistakes and embracing the discipline from God.

You will learn to relate to God as your Father. You will learn to go to Him in times of need and times of failure. You will learn to humble yourself before God and your fellow Christians. Pride, arrogance and self-will(rebellion) will be worked out of your character by many mistakes, fowl-ups and failures. You will need to learn from all of this or you will have to repeat the lesson over and over again. There is no"almost got it". If you miss it, you will have to do it again. It is a good idea to forgive yourself and others quickly and easily during this time. Failure to do so will hamper your spiritual growth and injure yourself.

Now is the season to be baptized  and to learn about and experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is time to learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You will have to get very well acquainted with repentance from dead works. Sin should become less and less of an issue. The concern will become: how can I please God and do His will? Your faith towards God and your walk of faith will become stronger and solidify. You will learn the basic doctrines and  begin to understand your inheritance as a child of God.

The inner reality of a changed life will begin to manifest outwardly and your actions and deeds will change. You will become concerned with what your place in God's Kingdom is and what His will for your life is. You will keep studying the Bible, gather with other believers to worship God and to do the good works of the Kingdom of God. The childish, selfish behaviors of the flesh will fade as you set your goal and purpose to obey God in humility.

Most of us stay in the Child-season for a very, very long time.. We may get so used to it that we refuse to grow up. As a matter of fact very few Christians ever grow more than this because it requires that we love the opinion of God more than the accolades of men. This is the price-tag to growing from a child to a mature son of God. Has the humility of Jesus (phil2) grabbed your heart yet? Have you become so sold out to the will of God in your life that you really don't care what He does with you, or what people may think or say about it? This will tell if you are still a child or not.

To the Leader: To many children are handed the keys to the car, so to speak, and then we are full of criticism when they wreck it. Do NOT put people in leadership too soon. A willingness to serve does NOT automatically qualify one to be in charge. Children, still dealing with issues of the flesh and pride do NOT belong in a place of leadership. This creates a problem of a lack of viable candidates for leadership. Maybe God will give us a creative solution for this.  We are making a mess of God's church by letting children take the place of mature sons.

Secondly, leaders, please do not circumvent the discipline of God in people's lives. There is a ton of flesh-problems to deal with. Let God's discipline have it's full course, so that people can grow up and become sons, mature sons of God as they were meant to be. Anyone who have raised children in the natural, can relate to the struggles of  teenagers. They are in many ways quite capable of doing whatever it is they want to do, but lack the wisdom or experience and humility to come out of it un-injured and without doing harm to others. This is why leaders need to train them by letting them come alongside you in a mentor/intern/apprentice relationship.

The Greek word for child is "tekna or teknon and it means, child or offspring. Scripture references: Hebrews 6:1-2, John 8:39, Matt 9:2, Ephesians 5:1-2 &8, 3John1:4, Romans 8:17, Matthew 18:3-4 Romans 9:8, John 1:12, Col 3:20-21, I Thess 2:7 & 11 etc.

The mature sons (both male and female) of God have learned to embrace the discipline of the Father. They are no longer being tossed to and throw by every wind of doctrine. They sometimes seem old and stiff because of this. The sons of God, the mature sons, have learned to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and they do as He says. Obedience is their lifestyle. They have put away childish, fleshly pursuits and are contending for the faith on a different level. These are the ones that are about the Father's business as co-heirs of an eternal Kingdom. These are the ones who do not long for popularity but have separated themselves unto God and are vessels fit for the Master's use. They know God and are known by Him.

There is a mystery in the revelation of the mature sons of God. We are all growing into maturity because in the maturity of our sonship we are the temple of God, perfectly fitted together and each doing his part.

So few actually becomes mature sons of God because the price is the same price that Jesus paid in Gethsemane.

What would it look like on earth, to have mature sons of God, ruling and reigning as kings and priests?

The Greek word for a mature son is: hious. This is the word mostly used of Jesus. Matt 3:17

Scripture references: Romans 8:13 -15, Romans 9:7-8, I Cor 6:6-18, Gal 3:24-27, Gal 4:6-7, Hebrews 5:14 Hebrews 12:5-11 etc.