John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? KJV
I am convinced that the reason we do not see much of God's power in the Church today is because we cannot figure out earthly things. There are so many things in the Christian life that you would think would be no-brainers and yet we can find six Christians with thirteen opinions on them. Is it not odd that even unbelievers will tell you what a believer should or do not do or what they should wear or not wear and where they should go or not go or what they should say or not say and yet the Church is clueless? We are either harsh Pharisees or sloppy grace people. There is no balance because there is no discernment.
Hebrews 5:11-14
11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
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. KJV
We do not know good from evil because we have not exercised our senses to do so. We want milk and not meat and to just laze around waiting for the Rapture. We again are either overgrown babies in dirty diapers throwing tantrums wanting to be the center of attention or grizzled old farts that have sat, soaked and soured but never matured who want to be the center of attention and have control. There is no balance.
1 Corinthians 2:7-10
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. KJV
We want to know the deeper life and have the fullness of the Spirit and we ought to have those things but we cannot move into deep intimacy and knowledge of God if we are unable even to discern the fleshly or earthly issues of life. You cannot just blow off sound doctrine for emotions or experiences and expect to feel the breath of the Spirit upon you nor can you lie in the dust and ashes or dead orthodoxy and feel the refreshing of the outpouring of the Spirit washing you with the water of the Word. There is balance and the Church needs that balance as much as life itself and that balance is in Christ and rightly dividing of His Word that manifests itself in obedient holy living.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. KJV
The time is long past due for us to put away the things of a child and exercise ourselves to the full maturity of an adult in Christ that we may understand the earthy and move on past the first things of Christ and dig into real meat that we might experience the intimacy and depth we say we desire. The World needs to see the mature children of God walking in the wisdom of God, not a bunch of whining babies who have to have all sorts of toys in order to have church or cannot discern good and evil without some sort of dirty dozen list to rely on instead of the leading of the Spirit. We used to tell kids, "Grow up or throw up" when we wanted them to cowboy up back in the day. Well, it is time for the Church to grow up for our immaturity has made the unbelievers throw up and throw God out of their lives. We have given the enemies of God reason to blaspheme to our shame.
Come, let us grow together, my Brethren! Maranatha!
