1 Corinthians
13: 11 says, “When I was a child, I
spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away
childish things.”
How does a child speak? They speak about having fun. How does
a child think? They are selfish. They want whatever everyone else has. They
want what is not good for them. They want whatever they see in front of them.
They just want. How do they reason or act? They make a scene if they don’t get
their way.
Paul went on to say that when he grew up or matured, he put
away this way of speaking, thinking and acting. The problem with some
Christians is that they have not grown up yet.
They still want to live in the world. They still want to have
the same fun the world is having. I hear it all the time, “I’m a grown
man/woman, I can do whatever I want!” While this may be true for the un
believer it is not true for the believer.
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 says, “Do you not know that your
bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought
at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
If we are truly a Christian then Jesus is Lord and Master of
our lives and our lives are not our own but belong to Him. If we are His temple
then we should treat our bodies as that temple. We call the place where we
worship “the church.” This is not true. We are the church and what we call the
church is the church building.
Many people would not dare drink or get drunk “in the church.”
Many people would not dare smoke “in the church.” Many
people would not dare cuss “in the church.” Many
people would not dare lie “in the church.” We would not dare do those things in
the church building but have no problem doing them in the temple of the Holy
Spirit.
How can a Christian SIN all the time? When a Christian is
selfish they will Sin. Sin can be explained like this: Self Interest Now. They
are too busy to pray. They are too busy to read their Bible. They are too busy
to be kind. They are too busy to tell someone about Jesus. All they think about
is themselves. They say they love Jesus but they do not show that love. Love is
putting another person’s desire above our desires. Jesus’ desire is that non
perish. Do our actions say we know Him?
We are to be salt and light in this world. Do our lives add
life to those living the bland life of the unbeliever? Do our lives shine the
Light of God’s Word in this dark world? Do we live a life that would cause a
person to ask if we “are” Jesus?
Do we want what others have or do we want to give what we
have? Are things more important than sharing Christ with others? Are we talking
about everything but the things of God? Do we know enough about Jesus to see
the sick healed?
Mark wrote that miraculous signs WILL accompany those who BELIEVE:
They WILL cast out demons in my name, and they WILL speak in new languages.
They WILL place their hands on the sick, and they WILL be healed.
There are 5 things he said WILL accompany those who BELIEVE.
If you believe in Jesus then you are equipped to drive out demons. If you are a
Christian then you are to be talking in tongues. Jesus did when He raised the young
girl. (Mark 5:41) Jesus also spoke in tongues on the cross. King of the Jews
was translated into the 3 languages of the Bible, along with Italian, which the
Romans knew. It was placed above His head, yet what He spoke had to be
interpreted because it the language of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1
Corinthians chapters 12 and 14.
Christians will have signs and wonders following them. They
will lay hands on the sick and see them recover. We are to heal ALL the sick.
Jesus gave us this command along with others in Matthew 10:7-8. He said, “as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have
received, freely give.”
What does it mean to preach that the Kingdom of
Heaven is at hand? Jesus taught us in what we call the Lord’s prayer to pray, “Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Proverbs 8:13
says, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. We are to hate evil, this God’s
will being done on earth as it is in heaven. There is no sin in heaven. We are
to preach against sin. We are to eradicate sin by leading the lost to the Lord.
There is no pain, sorrow or sickness in heaven. There is no lack in heaven
either. We are to bring heaven to earth.
Mature Christians have the mind of Christ. They
are thinking about acting like Christ. If you think like Christ you will speak
and act like Him. To be a true Christian means you are like Christ. How do we
speak like Christ? We speak God’s Word. How do we act like Christ? We are doers
of the Word and not just hearers. We walk by the Spirit bringing substance to
the evidence of God’s unseen Word.
A child does not work, they play and rely on
their parents to take care of their every need. An adult works and takes
responsibility for themselves. An inmature Christian does not do God’s work
they are only concerned about themselves. An immature Christian always have
others praying FOR them instead of praying the prayer of faith and commanding
their mountains to get out of the way. Have you grown up and put away childish
things?
