Developing Spiritual Success

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Contents

Preface.....................................................................xiForeword....................................................................xvIntroduction................................................................xixChapter 1 The Foundation of Success.........................................1Chapter 2 The Growth Path of Success........................................29Chapter 3 Courting the Holy Spirit..........................................67Chapter 4 Measuring Your Ability to Succeed Spiritually.....................107Chapter 5 Spiritual Analysis and Worship....................................133Chapter 6 Applied Spirituality..............................................175Chapter 7 Discerning the Spirits............................................243Bibliography................................................................297Appendix A An Accountability Covenant.......................................305Appendix B Seven Sided Geometry.............................................307Appendix C Seven in other places............................................313Appendix D Canonical Wheel..................................................317Appendix E Stars............................................................323Index of Subjects and Authors...............................................327

Chapter One

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

Thought Starter:

When you think of someone who is spiritually mature, what three words come to mind?

Spiritual Maturity: The Missing Link for Vibrant Christians

People are tired. They are overwhelmed with bills, Doctors visits, personal relationships that drain them, and spiritually caustic work places. How does anyone get through life and actually enjoy living? As we ask the question we also hear the promises answering from the Bible. Jesus came that we might have an abundant life. In Jesus Christ we have power, health, joy, righteousness and victory. Why do we miss the best that God has for us?

II Peter 1:2-4

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The key to these verses is the Knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. That key unlocks some very wonderful treasure chests. We actually participate in the divine nature and escape our own evil desires. And as we mature into the image of our Lord Jesus, by the knowledge of Him who has called us from darkness into His marvelous light, we receive everything we need for life and godliness.

Why would anyone pass up the opportunity to become spiritually mature when everything we have ever wanted is connected to that endeavor? Perhaps Christians have grown weary in well doing. Perhaps they did not know there was more to receive from the Lord. Perhaps they suspected there was something else but did not know how to pursue it?

But perhaps you are one of the people who want everything Jesus has for you. Your commitment to Spiritual Maturity is a quest you will not want to miss.

Spiritual Maturity: The Missing Link to Successful Churches.

In the 1970's the notion grew that a successful church was doing evangelism. Explosive numbers were achieved with a simple program getting people to ask friends, neighbors, even strangers, two questions.

1. "If you died tonight do you know where you would go?"

2. "Why do you think you would go there?"

In the 1970's we lived in an age where some might have responded to this approach.

On the other hand the 70's also saw the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Hippies and Hollywood and the popular mainstream turned to a form of Gnostic new age, expanded consciousness, and spirituality. But the mainline religion was still understood to be the big steeple on the corner by most Americans, even ones who didn't attend.

In the 1980's evangelism became relational. Instead of impersonal witnessing strategies which included knocking on the doors of perfect strangers, people were trained to draw upon their friendships to bring others to church. Winn Arn's 'web sharing' and Kenneth Haugck's Stephen's Ministries encouraged witnessing through caring, and helped churches fulfill their mission. Still, with a growing emphasis on evangelism, overall church attendance failed to keep up to the population growth. Some denominations actually saw numbers decrease!

In the 1990's church consultants realized that all the witnessing in the world would not cause churches to grow if the church was not prepared. The church growth movement gained steam and eventually transformed into the healthy church movement. (Healthy churches grow and are therefore successful.)

As the new millennium was dawning, transformation became the new by-word of success. It was not always clear what sort of transformation was taking place, but the concept was that successful churches would be able to adapt to post modern structures in the world. Transformation was to be centered around relational and spiritual vitality, but getting to that vitality was a presumption and not part of the process.

The key to having a successful church that is often overlooked is a real commitment to spiritual maturity. If we seek the things of the Kingdom of God first, everything else will be added to us. This is a new emphasis for churches as this new millennium begins. Often it is incorporated in the 'missional' church movement. This movement seeks to move the vision of local churches from being self-focused to outward focused in their immediate context.

Outside of church things are different. Now that a new millennium has dawned, the one area of spirituality that has prospered is the Gnostic, new age spirituality. Though rarely meeting in church most Americans believe in God and report that they frequently pray. They say that spiritual things are important to them. However, they are not finding their spiritual needs met in church.

What they need to see is real spirituality in real Christians. They need to see the power and the presence of God. They need to see Christians who are really demonstrating sacrificial mission in their own lives. And Christians want to see it as well. In ourselves and in others we long for a taste of spiritual maturity. But just what does that mean?

When People Think of Spiritual Maturity, What Do They Mean?

We started with a simple informal survey to find out what people think about spiritual maturity. The survey was not extensive. It was not statistically analyzed. It was not randomly sampled. It was just a...