Growth is the evidence of life.
If we remain unchanged over the years, stagnant without growth, we might wonder if something within us has died. Growth is the path to fulfilling God's divine purpose for your life -- the very reason He created you uniquely and placed you on earth for such a time as this. One day, each of us will stand before the Lord to give an account.
Growth flourishes in the context of community. In His infinite wisdom, God knew that isolation leaves us vulnerable, susceptible to the Thief’s schemes of killing, stealing, and destroying. That is why He joined us together with other believers, calling us collectively His Body.
We gather to spur one another on in faith, iron sharpening iron (Hebrews 10:24-25, Proverbs 27:17). Through mutual edification within a faith community, spiritual growth takes root, empowering us to live life fully in Christ, walking boldly in His purposes, living worthy of Him. As we mature spiritually, we carry His presence and glory, becoming a light that draws people from the darkness of the world to God Himself.
Is this what you are experiencing from your faith community? Is this the path of spiritual growth you are pursuing?
That is why discipleship is the heartbeat of the Church, the driving force behind the Great Commission. When the heartbeat is faint, so does the Great Commission.
If faith communities (aka 'the Church') is God's design for growth, are you part of a spiritually healthy community that fosters your growth?
This isn't about religious diligence, demonstrated by perfect church attendance, or volunteering. It's about whether you are truly part of the living Body of Christ that gives life. How can you tell?
A spiritually healthy faith community has a cloud of witnesses that inspire others, whose lives shine God's glory because Christ is their Lord, the center of gravity of their being.
Q1: In your faith community, do you have spiritual parents—disciplers—whose lives demonstrate full surrender and trust in Jesus, walking in the Spirit, soaking in His Word, and bearing lasting fruit, serving as examples for you to follow, inspiring you to follow Christ?
Apostle Paul invited other Christians to follow his example, as he followed the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Can you find such examples in your faith community?
It’s often said that we become the average of the five people closest to us, reflecting how deeply we are influenced by those we surround ourselves with. The attitudes, habits, and values of these individuals inevitably shape our thinking, actions, and even our sense of identity.
We need to surround ourselves with a cloud of witnesses whose love for Christ, bold faith in obedience, spiritual discernment, and experiences of the Word, and testimonies of God's faithfulness will inspire us to go deeper in our own relationship with God. On the other hand, if we are surrounded by Christ-less Christians, whose lives are walking by the flesh, pursuing earthly desires, pursuing fruit that perishes, ignorant of the Kingdom, our lives will inadvertently be similar. Having godly followers of Christ in our inner circle is, therefore, crucial for our spiritual growth.
A spiritually healthy faith community equips its members to discover and fulfill the life assignments God has prepared for them.
Q2: In your faith community, are you being spiritually equipped, to discover and carry out the 'good works He prepared in advance' for you', ready to fulfill God's life assignment for you?
Spiritually healthy faith communities build up its members, spiritually feeding them as Jesus' sheep, so they become mature, therefore able to discern the wills of God upon their lives, and being spiritually strong to walk in bold faith in fulfilling them.
Many Christians focus on church volunteer tasks, staying busy while letting life slip by, losing sight of God's greater life assignment and divine purposes, leaving them disoriented. This is why we need to ask ourselves:
Do I have someone walking alongside me, helping me seek God's calling for my life? Am I receiving validation and confirmation that I am doing the 'good works' He prepared in advance for me?
Am I able to pray for, support, and guide others as they discover God's calling for their lives? Am I encouraging them to step into it and walk in bold faith?
When members of a spiritually healthy faith community fulfill God's callings upon their lives, serving as Christ's kingdom priests where God has strategically placed them during the week, it accelerates the Great Commission on a much broader scale.
A spiritually healthy faith community is made up of members with spiritual discernment, well-versed in Spirit-taught words.
Q3: Are you being trained to speak the truth in love, developing your own spiritual discernment instead of blindly trusting human leaders?
A spiritually healthy faith community encourages its members to seek God's truth and obey His will personally, rather than fostering a blind trust in leadership. Its members are grounded and operate through Spirit-taught words.
"Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:14). A congregation filled with members who possess spiritual discernment, able to distinguish good from evil, is a spiritually healthy faith community.
A spiritually healthy faith community is centered on Christ the Lord and His Gospel.
Q4: Is your love for Jesus, your surrender and trust to His Lordship, your sensitivity to His voice growing as a result of your participation in your faith community?
A spiritually healthy faith community is devoted to the Word, to fellowship in Christ, to the breaking of bread in remembrance of the Gospel, and to prayer. These shared experiences draw each member closer to God, invite His presence, and strengthen one another's faith in Christ.
In contrast, program-driven faith community that shifts its focus away from Christ and His Gospel drains its members, failing to be life-giving.
If you sense that your faith community is not fostering your spiritual growth, could it be that your faith community is not aligned with the business that Jesus is in?
Then what can you do?
Here are some of my suggestions:
Take ownership of your personal spiritual growth instead of passively and blindly rely on your faith community to feed your needs for growth.
Find your own tribe outside of your faith community - a cloud of witnesses does not have to be within your own local community. They can come from various churches, locally or remotely. The important point is to be intentional to cultivate and build close spiritual relationships that you can regularly meet up for fellowship, studying the Word together, and praying together.
Prayerfully explore the option of seeking another faith community that better fits your needs of spiritual growth. Trust the Lord will provide your spiritual need. Seek His guidance.
As we reflect on the importance of a spiritually healthy faith community, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
How has your faith community impacted your spiritual growth?
Have you encountered challenges or found ways to foster deeper connections with Christ and others?
How do you handle?
Your feedback, questions, and insights are welcome in the comments below—let’s continue this conversation together. Feel free to share your experiences, and let’s learn from each other as we seek to grow in our walk with Jesus. Looking forward to hearing from you!
If you want to receive future KOE Soundbites, please subscribe at the bottom of the page via this link.
© 2024 Copyrighted Material. All rights reserved by Joanna Ng
Commentaires