High impact Christianity

One thing I do

Hebrews 6:1, 2 mentions six doctrines which form the foundational basis of our spiritual lives. However, these foundations can not be laid again and again, they must be built upon. If a builder never got past laying the groundwork, or if he kept laying the same foundations over and over again, the construction would never have any realistic use or purpose. What the apostle Paul was highlighting in this passage of scripture is simply this… “Every believer must move out of the very basic and elementary stages of spirituality. We must positively progress toward maturity in Christ – not laying the same foundations over and over again.”

Any believer who chooses not to move out of (or get past) the elementary stages of his or her spiritual walk, is probably more of a hindrance than a credit to the church. Such people demand continual maintenance and draw vital energies away from the key resources in the body. Most of these people remain weak only because they have developed an inflated sense of self-importance. They have got into the habit of interpreting every scripture, and defining every spiritual experience, from a “what can it do for me” attitude. Furthermore, even though they have acquired real knowledge concerning their biblical rights, they refuse to accept responsibility for operating in them.

Here are some of the misconceptions which have produced this synthetic and adolescent kind of faith:

   1. God wants us to have it all now without any serious effort involved.
   2. We instantly enter into a royal priesthood, and therefore, are immediately entitled to position, authority and the power gifts.
   3. We can always get a 'jump start' or 'quick fix' at a church service so that the devil will not catch us or rob us of our joy.
   4. Constantly rebuking adversity, or stubbornly not receiving it, will make it go away.

There are too many people sitting in churches today that have become selfish, inward looking, and are always seeking ways of receiving more goodies from God. However, the time for playing around in church and not making any impact on society is over. If we (at Cornerstone) do not pick up the baton and move swiftly into maturity, developing true Christian character, the future for the next generation is bleak. The devil is hard at work programming today's society to accept, or at least tolerate images of demons and open satanic practices. If we don't become radical enough to intervene quite soon, future generations will be living in a cesspool of violence and profanity.

So how do we move forward toward this mature state and make a serious impact for God? First, we must purpose not to keep building on the same foundations, or keep hanging on to the same old traditions!

I like Paul's attitude in Philippians 3:13-14, “One thing I do, which is my one aspiration; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prise to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.” (Amplified)

Paul is not just telling you to forget all the bad things that have happened, he is saying, “forget about the way you've done it in the past!” Forget what lies behind - what you have walked in or walked upon! In God, you are either moving forward or you are moving back - there is no standing still. Why? Because God is not static, He is in constant motion, effectively working out His plan for your life.

Turn with me now to 2 Kings 18 and let us read verses 3 to 7…

This is the story of Hezekiah’s reign and in verses 6 and 7 the AMP says, “For he clung and held fast to the Lord, and ceased not to follow Him, but kept His commandments, as the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with Hezekiah and he prospered wherever he went (he was successful in whatever he undertook).”

Hezekiah was a 'clingy' person, but he clung to God alone! When you 'cling to' and 'hold fast to' the Lord, there is prosperity and success awaiting you. Let go of your past and cling on to your future in God.

Hezekiah was also a very wholehearted person. 2 Chronicles 31:21 states, “And every work that Hezekiah began in the service of the house of God, in keeping with the law and the commandments to seek God, inquiring of and yearning for Him, he did with all his heart. So he prospered.” The NIV says, “…he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly and so he prospered.” There is a strong relationship between wholeheartedness and prosperity.

God is seeking to use people who are eager, hungry and zealous. He is looking for people who can wholeheartedly accept the call to service. Had King Hezekiah displayed anything less than wholehearted involvement, the nation would not have turned from its sins in such a remarkable fashion. It was his leadership style and personal example that led the way to positive change. Hezekiah himself set the tone for the moral behaviour of everyone in his kingdom. He never attempted to build on the corrupt foundations which his father had left him. Nor did he consider his age to be a hindrance to implementing genuine change and fulfilling vision.

You too must expect to manifest the spirit of wholeheartedness in order to impact on those around you. After all, fire kindles fire! Many claim to live and abide in Christ, which simply means to conduct themselves as He did. But Jesus was “consumed with zeal for God.” So when was the last time someone challenged you to be devoured with holy zeal?

Both wholeheartedness and zeal flow from a sincere love for God. These honest attributes in any believer should burn fiercely in the heart and must be strong enough to impact on the minds and lives of others. However, zealous babies only make a mess! God is seeking more mature Christians, those people who have developed true character by positively progressing forward, beyond the elementary stages.

God is looking for people of zeal who can establish new foundations in today's society. Foundations which can carry and sustain a sound godly structure, a ministry platform that can pour out blessing from generation to generation. Wouldn’t you rather be a high-impact believer, than a low-impact daydreamer?

Chris Demetriou, 09/03/2008