Growth 201

Blog #91 July 27, 2024
Fellowship for me is a most important tenet of God's Kingdom. The companionship it brings to our life can only be compared to the comfort and security of covenant marriage. As I grow in this ideal and live with the idea of fellowship as a challenge to the lonely ways of the world, I come to appreciate the shear genius of God. Yes, He gave us fellowship for the comfort it brings to our life, but this fellowship we enjoy is also our greatest chance to grow in God's ways and become the people HE seeks. I offer you what I found to be thought provoking proof of this brash assessment of God's Kingdom and God's ways.

As reported by the Apostle Matthew, Christ/God made this promise:
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

As reported by the Priest Joseph Smith Jr. in the latter part of April 1829, Christ/God made this promise:
DC 6:15b Where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them; even so am I in the midst of you.

At first glance they both make the same claim that if we gather together in oneness according to the Gospel, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will be a part of that fellowship. This was my assumption for years. Then the Spirit opened my eyes to see a notable difference between the two. In Matthew God asks for a gathering of reverence. DC 6 added to that very necessary awareness of God with us, an attitude of oneness founded on a shared purpose and an explicit need expressed by all who are there. I think this difference is both notable and important. In short, we have accepted the ways of God in our heart and our lives. We have recognized Him as our God, our Father, and our redemption, but now what do we do? How do we go forward from here? How do we convince the world to see God as we see Him, love Him as He loves us, and admire His work and His glory enough to make it their own? Our offering of oneness should be nothing less because if it is; it is regrettably, nothing at all. We have to greet each day in full unity with God. Each day see our purpose as He sees His:

DC 22:23b and there is no end to my works, neither to my words; for this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality, and eternal life of man.

It's real easy allow ourselves to accept the lie that opening the hearts of the world to the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with us. That chore belongs to Christ, His Priesthood, or both. If this is true then growing in God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is nothing more than a fable used to establish laws within a community, and a hierarchy that places judgment in the hands of those who have convinced us that they represent Him. To a world full of churches Christ is no more than a standard of comparison we can never live up to because He is divine. To those same people, His church is no more than a proving ground for our ability to live righteously within His laws, and Priesthood is no more than a God's police force established to make sure we obey the tenants of tradition and practice all the rituals He gave us. If my cynicism represents truth then my effort is hopeless, because God is just lie the world claims He is. I don't believe that and I don't think God does either.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

Hebrews 5:13-14
5:13 For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe.
5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Our growth in God through the Spirit is essential to the labor we perform. Those who set aside this growth show God that they are unwilling to be apart of the holy effort He offers.

Hebrews 6:1-3
6:1 Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.
6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
6:3 And we will go on unto perfection if God permit.

This passage is more than just an offering from God. I believe it to be a challenge to go beyond the traditions and rituals offered by the church today. By accepting this challenge God will teach us how to make everyday a living testimony of God working in the world of man. But remember, our need to grow must be a constant never-ending desire. We must also understand that to successfully grow we must ask questions. We must open our heart and our minds to God's scriptures daily because God's Spirit uses God's word to help us understand God's will. We must be deliberate and involved in all we seek to learn and realize that sometimes God is the only source we have for our answers. We must accept prayer as a form of communication that requires us to pray intentionally and listen with that same resolve. Patience and prayer go hand in hand for God knows the answer and He also knows when we will be able to understand and accept the direction He offers. So, be patient. When we receive an answer we must allow our lives to be directed by what the Spirit brings us.

In my own efforts to labor with God in this way, I decided to start out by simply reaching out to God seeking to know Him. I asked God, "Who are you"? Then the growing began.

Acts 17:24-28
17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if they are willing to find him, for he is not far from every one of us;
17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

That being answered my next question was who are we that we might labor with this all-powerful being. Why does He need or even want our help? With Christ as the epitome of all that man can be, perhaps His nature will explain our relationship with God and His labor.

John 1:13-14
1:13 He was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1:14 And the same word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word made flesh: As esoteric as that sounds, I am convinced that this is why Christ came to walk among us. He is here to show us who we can become if we allow God's Spirit to teach us. Does that mean we too can be all powerful like God? No, it means we can be one with God and able to fully and truly testify of His love and His glory to the whole world. We can become the word made flesh. God said it and I believe it enough to labor for it.

John 1:16 For in the beginning was the Word, even the Son, who is made flesh, and sent unto us by the will of the Father. And as many as believe on his name shall receive of his fullness. And of his fullness have all we received, even immortality and eternal life, through his grace.

By God's grace and through His Holy Spirit we can live a life righteous enough to allow God to work through us that His glory and His power might be present in the world of man. We are quite aware of the miracles of Christ, but consider the miracles of the Apostles. They spoke the Gospel in their tongue and people of every tongue understood what they said.

Acts 2:8-12
2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Think and remember that Christ's disciples were all men like us. Peter denied Christ and Thomas doubted Him, but when they allowed the Spirit to lead them, God joined them in their labor and wonderful miraculous things happened. This was also true of others who turned away from the lusts of man and took on them the name of Jesus Christ and the purpose of God. Saul persecuted and executed all who lived by the ways of Christ, but once he met Christ and opened up His life to the ways of the Kingdom, God was able to work through him even to raising the dead.

Acts 20:
20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.

The point here is not that God can work miracles through His people for Christ said that even the stones of the earth would demonstrate the authority of God. Christ's entry into Jerusalem caused such a ruckus that the town leaders asked Christ to quiet His followers. Christ replied:

Luke 19:38-39
19:38 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude, said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
19:39 And he answered and said unto them. If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

The point here is that God wants us to be His temporal hands that reach out to the world. He wants us to be His voice that all might hear the words of the Gospel from those who believe. He knows that it is easy to believe what you see, and He wants them seeing a people living in a way that testifies of God's presence in the life of those He loves. God works through use that all who hear might open their hearts to the revelation that they too have the right to choose God as their father, and that when thy do make that choice He and all His children will labor to make that choice a reality in their lives.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are they who shall believe on me; and again, more blessed are they who shall believe on your words, when ye shall testify that ye have seen me and that I am.

This is God's plan and He believes in our ability to fulfill our part in that plan. Do we believe in ourselves as much as God does? We need to but that requires growth. That first evidence of growth is the inner revelation of just how much we mean to the Father

1 John 4:9-10
4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The first thing we must accept in our lives is that God coming to us was not some accident. God has searched for each one of us from the very beginning. What we can bring to the Kingdom as individuals is His hearts desire. Does He control destiny? He could but truthfully, I believe that wants our destiny to be our choice. He wants us to choose Him, choose the ways of the Kingdom, and live with the knowledge that each of us is a part of all we accomplish. Is that being disrespectful of the living God? No, it is choosing to be one with Him.

Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

This is the Apostle Paul's testimony, but I want you to know Brethren, that the same Spirit calls each one of us to labor with God for the same purpose. If we are to be one, we are to be one in all things.

Ephesians 4:3-7
4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,
4:4 In one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

In this passage we are shown that all who seek God are truly one. They are offered the same Father, the same Savior, the same Gospel, the same baptisms, the same opportunity to repent, and the same path to redemption. Greatest of all we are all offered the same purpose, and the same challenge.

John 14:19-21
14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also.
14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

If we choose to be one, our unity must be of God, with God, and in God or it is useless and doomed to fail. We must become a people inspired by a common purpose willing to seek out common understandings that uphold our purpose and our labor with God. We must become a people inspired in our hearts, united in our efforts, and directed by God's will and His Spirit in our midst.

DC 6:15b Where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them; even so am I in the midst of you.

Ya, we got work to do, but 
This is gonna be so much fun.

FRED