You have everything you need right now today to serve God to the extent that He desires you to serve Him. It does not matter if you were saved last week, or fifty years ago, all that you need to be effectual for the kingdom of God and for His glory is in your possession right now, in fact, as we will discuss in this letter to you, many of those who have been saved for only a short time have more of a zeal for service to our Lord than some of those who have known Him for an extended period of time.
We are told in 2nd Peter 1:3 that “He has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,” that from the very moment of our salvation we have received everything that is necessary for us to accomplish the work that our Lord has set before all of His called ones, that we lack nothing in doing what it is that He has called us to do. If we believe that we need more to accomplish a task that He has prepared us to do, then the response on our part is quite simple, “Ask and ye shall receive,” (Matt. 7:7) but as we shall see in the main topic of our discussion, it is not that many do not ask, for they do, but that is all they do.
There seems to be this strange idea that is becoming more and more prevalent today that all we have to do is ask, and nothing else, as if a package will arrive in the mail with all the items we need to fulfill our obligations to the Lord, or perhaps we will simply awake in the morning and all the answers we need will automatically be within us. Many today do not seem to want to put forth the effort required to become profitable servants, something that we might say is blamed on all of the concerns and requirements that the world, our lives, and those around us place upon us, time constraints, if you will, but in all honesty, there is only one true answer, we do not because we do not care enough to do. There are those that have no real desire to mature in the Word of God, the meat of the Word, the solid food, (Heb. 5:14) must be thought about, cut up before it can be chewed, then swallowed for the nourishment and growth of the soul, and that requires serious effort, dedication and time. The milk is much easier, the basic precepts of the resurrection and redemption, (Heb. 5:12) but growth becomes stagnant, and really never sought after for it would require effort.
For those who are ‘on fire’ for Christ from the moment of their salvation, it is a wonder to behold, for they are realizing for the very first time just how much they are loved and forgiven, and everyone that they meet they have an incredible desire to tell them of their wonderful Savior. Though they know very little of Scripture yet, they know enough, they have all they need in these moments to speak to others of the love of Christ, and of the changed life that He offers freely to them also. One would like to believe that the first signs of discouragement in them would come from those in the world, their carnal friends who hear the words of grace and mercy, but mock and ridicule them for these new beliefs, but we would be wrong.
It is sad to say, but many times these initial thoughts of despair, if you will, come from within the church, the body of believers in the building that these individuals begin to attend. Those who have attended for years, even decades, believe that the Sunday morning class, the Sunday service and perhaps a mid-week Bible study, that is rarely an open discussion class where this new believers questions could be answered, but in reality is nothing more than a Sunday morning service on Wednesday night, is enough for their new brothers and sisters in Christ. They are usually left with nothing more than a “Have a good day, see you next time,” they are basically left on their own.
Two different scenarios usually occur at this stage, the first is that these new believers will become discouraged, with no individual leadership, no discipling from a mature believer, they will not know that there is more, all that they have been blessed with from the moment of their salvation they will not know how to use, and sooner than later, what they have will no longer seem as if it is enough anymore, if they stay in the church at all, they will become just that, only a church attendee, not a doer of the word. The other scenario I am sorry to say is becoming more and more rare and is the main reason why many of our churches are becoming no more than a meeting place for people to be uplifted for an hour or so, then leave their convictions at the door.
In some fine churches, there are individuals beyond the pastor and elders who have been called to feed the young, to take the newborn believer under their wings and expound to them the truths of the Scriptures. These mature believers understand that what they have in the fulness of Christ these new believers also have, they just need to be shown these truths. They take the time to help them to understand what the pastor was speaking on that Sunday morning after the service, they invite them to their homes, or will gladly meet with them wherever they are most comfortable, showing them in the Scriptures all that they have already been given, teaching them how to seek the Lords face for understanding of all that they are now in possession of.
Patience, perseverance and prayer will be the key attributes the mature teacher will need to have, how to rightly divide the Word of truth, (2nd Tim. 2:15) maturity in Christ is the goal for the new believer. These “newborns” require individualized tutoring, honest and open discussion, their questions answered, not a mid-week “Bible sermon” where the teacher has a planned objective to start at seven and end by eight-fifteen, and everything that they have planned to cover in that time period will be covered, no matter what, please hold your questions to the end. Should these new believers attend, of course, should that be the extent of their training, of course not. You do not tell a baby to go find its own milk.
Everything that we need to serve the Lord today we have, He puts no one in a position that He has not prepared them for. The problem for many new believers these days seems to be that some of those who have been serving Christ for an extended period of time have not matured in the faith, there is no real measurable difference in them from the point of their salvation to their walk today, and so they cannot answer their questions. These have predetermined within themselves that all leadership roles within the church are for the pastor and elders alone, that the fellowship of the believer’s role is to do no more than to sit and listen. These are unable to expound nothing more that the basic tenants of the faith, and though they have received all that the new born-again believer has received, once they have grown to the point of what could best be described as a Sunday school teacher for the very young children, they have for reasons only known to God decided to stop growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, when they should be teachers they have a need to still be taught. (Heb. 5:12)
One of the things that I am trying to convey to you my friends, is that if you desire to be mature in the Word, to be called out of the sheepfold for a greater purpose for the glory of God, you cannot rely on any church or individual, you must seek the face of God yourself. You must pray without ceasing, (1st Thess. 5:16) you must study His Word daily, you must start to leave this world behind and begin your journey to the kingdom of your citizenship. Everything that you need to serve Christ today fully you have been given, your responsibility is to search the Scriptures diligently so that you will be filled with more for tomorrow, so that you will be spiritually prepared for all that He is desiring to give you tomorrow.
Our Lord does not use people whom He has not prepared first, and He does not use people who will not prepare. On that day that you will stand before Him, you will not be able to blame your pastor, those in the congregations that you have attended, the local radio or television speaker for your lack of growth, you will be accountable for the consequences of your actions, and in-actions, no one else but you. Everything that you need to serve Christ today you have in your possession it is your responsibility to begin preparing today for your walk with Him tomorrow. To seek the face of God, to know the mind of Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, make these words your lifelong calling, and heed the call every day.