PRESSING ON TO MATURITY
By Steven Lambert
Therefore leaving THE ELEMENTARY TEACHING about the Christ, LET US PRESS ON TO MATURITY, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. AND THIS WE WILL DO, IF GOD PERMITS. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, AND THEN HAVE FALLEN AWAY, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and BRINGS FORTH VEGETATION USEFUL TO THOSE FOR WHOSE SAKE IT IS ALSO TILLED, receives a blessing from God; BUT IF IT YIELDS THORNS AND THISTLES, IT IS WORTHLESS AND CLOSE TO BEING CURSED, AND IT ENDS UP BEING BURNED. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SALVATION, though we are speaking in this way. (Heb 6:1-9 NASB)
Wherefore, having left THE WORD OF THE BEGINNING of the Christ, unto the perfection WE MAY ADVANCE, not again a foundation laying of reformation from dead works, and of faith on God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on also of hands, of rising again also of the dead, and of judgment age-during, and this we will do, IF GOD MAY PERMIT, for it is impossible for those once enlightened, having tasted also of the heavenly gift, and partakers having became of the Holy Spirit, and did taste the good saying of God, the powers also of the coming age, and having FALLEN AWAY, again to renew them to reformation, having crucified again to themselves the Son of God, and exposed to public shame. For earth, that is drinking in the rain many times coming upon it, and is bringing forth herbs fit for those because of whom also it is dressed, doth partake of blessing from God, and that which is bearing thorns and briers is disapproved of, and nigh to cursing, whose end is for BURNING; and we are persuaded, concerning you, beloved, the things that are better, and accompanying salvation, though even thus we speak, (Heb 6:1-9 YLT)
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will FALL AWAY FROM THE FAITH, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, (1Tim. 4:1-2 NASB)
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless THE APOSTASY comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
THEN that LAWLESS ONE will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one WHOSE COMING is in accord with THE ACTIVITY OF SATAN, with all POWER and SIGNS and FALSE WONDERS, and with ALL THE DECEPTION OF WICKEDNESS for those who perish, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RECEIVE THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH SO AS TO BE SAVED. FOR THIS REASON GOD will send upon them a deluding influence SO THAT THEY WILL BELIEVE WHAT IS FALSE, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2Th 2:3-12 NASB)
We are living in an hour of gross and pervasive DECEPTION and massive multitudes who have “a form of righteousness but denying the power thereof” – because “the power thereof” of true righteousness is THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE THIRD MEMBER OF THE GODHEAD, whom those living in deception and apostasy unawares have DENIED, REFUSED, REJECTED! Jesus clearly and unambiguously stated, “You shall receive POWER after that (when) THE HOLY SPIRIT has come UPON you!” (Acts 1:8)
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO HAVE POWER OPERATING IN YOUR LIFE THAN TO BE IMMERSED OR BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT! And there is no way to receive the Baptism or Immersion in the Holy Spirit than to first be BORN AGAIN and thereby become a REGENERATED, REBORN, SPIRITUALLY RESTORED BELIEVER IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, SPIRITUALLY ADOPTED INTO THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GOD, having been made “a partaker in THE DIVINE NATURE” (2 Pet. 1:4)!
Multitudes around the world today are walking in total religious deception in which they are attempting to gain rightstanding with or relate with God or some being higher than mere humanity, but Jesus rebuked everyone in every age who would attempt to connect to God through any other way but Himself:
And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. (Mk. 7:6-9 NASB)
Moreover, Jesus stated categorically and unequivocally that HE, and HE ALONE, was THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life of God and that NO man (woman, person), comes to the Father except BY or THROUGH HIM (Jn. 14:6)! He also declared HE is the DOOR into the Kingdom and fellowship with God! HE is the PASSAGEWAY!
WHY IS THIS DECEPTION SO PREVALENT, UBIQUITOUS, IN THIS HOUR?
While in some ways the answer to that question is complex and manifold or many-faceted, and we do not have time here and now to delve into all of that, nevertheless, the overall and primary reason behind the deception is that people have refused and rejected the clearly articulated and revealed way of God unto the Heavenly Father, who is Almighty God, found in the Word of God.
People have DEPARTED FROM THE FAITH, as the passage quoted earlier indicates: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will FALL AWAY FROM THE FAITH, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). The KJV evokes the term, “depart from the faith.”
The key word there is “THE faith.” Ephesians 4:5 declares there is “ONE FAITH.” This means that there is only ONE genuine faith. That genuine faith is a faith that is not only IN God, but it is also OF, meaning, FROM God. “For by grace you have been saved through FAITH; and THAT (that faith) NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the gift OF God;” (Eph 2:8 NASB) The true, genuine saving faith comes from God and not ourselves!
Now, the key issue is: How does a person attain this GENUINE FAITH, and not A FALSE FAITH or A FAITH OF DECEPTION inspired and engendered by DECEIVING SPIRITS AND DOCTRINES OF DEMONS?
The answer is simple, straightforward, and uncomplicated! It is found in one passage of Scripture in Romans 10:17: “So FAITH comes from hearing, and hearing by THE WORD OF CHRIST.” (Rom 10:17 NASB)
Reconnecting this with the starting point of this message, “pressing on” to genuine spiritual maturity is arriving at or obtaining as the final outcome, the destination, – this GENUINE FAITH! The real deal, real, genuine FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ that is congruous with or in accordance with the genuine WORD OF CHRIST, which is the genuine Gospel of Christ, the genuine Good News Gospel of Christ – the whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!
But, in order to “press on to maturity,” we, one, must leave the word of the beginning, the word of beginners, the word of spiritual newborns and infants and toddlers and teenagers and adolescents and spiritually immature adults, and move on to comprehend, apprehend, walk in the more advanced teachings, principles, purposes, and plans of God!
It is now time that individual believers and the collective Church that Jesus is building MUST begin to advance toward the accomplishment of the end-times purposes and plans of God!
THIS IS THE HOUR! THIS IS THE TIME! THIS IS THE DAY! THE TRUE CHURCH MUST NOW ADVANCE, GO FORWARD!
God is doing a NEW THING as He promised in His word He is constantly doing, and it is up to every genuine believer in Christ and the collective church to know, understand, comprehend what those new things are and begin to walk in and according to them!
Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.
Our Father God is a God of new things! When it comes to paradigms and patterns, the fact is: humans are much more conservative than God. God is the God of new things! He is forever breaking the molds and casting new ones.
In the arena of the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth, He is constantly declaring new things before they spring forth. With the abundance of “Word” and “Faith” teaching the Church has been instructed with over the last thirty to forty years, one thing we know quite well is that everything God does, He does by first speaking it, declaring it, proclaiming it! Then, the word that He declares shall not return to Him void without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent. He always performs what He proclaims.
GOD IS DOING A NEW THING IN AND WITH THE CHURCH JESUS IS BUILDING IN THIS HOUR! THIS IS GOD’S WORD FOR THIS TIME! IT IS GOD’S MARCHING ORDERS FOR THE CHURCH! IT’S TIME TO RISE UP, GO UP, MOVE UP – ELEVATE – IN, THROUGH, AND BY THE SPIRIT!
Isaiah 43:18,19
Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something NEW,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
God is saying there in this passage that he does not want us to CALL TO MIND the former things or PONDER things of the past. God is saying that everything of the past is just that: PASSED! Some things come in order to pass. You’ve heard the phrase, this too shall pass. Well, everything that is not “fixed” or “set” things in God’s Kingdom, things that are intended by God not to change – a prime example being doctrine and the principles of the Kingdom of God – come to pass. Everything besides the “fixed” or “set” things, come to pass, and at some point, become “things of the past,” as the Lord referred to them in this scripture.
He says:
Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something NEW,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not BE AWARE of it?
God will make genuine believers who are intimate with Him in and by the Spirit very much aware when He is “doing something new.” And, when He does do something new it is always NOW that it is springing forth.
When you become aware of it in your spirit, it is at that time already springing forth, because God is a God of the Eternal. God is Spirit, and spirits are eternal and exist or live in the eternal realm.
When you become aware of it, it is already “the new thing” that God is doing! Everything with God is always “NOW!” “Now faith is….” Faith is always now or it’s never.
When God is doing a new thing, the old thing has died and is lifeless, which means it is non-productive, no longer able to produce. The blessed things are the new things God is doing! If God is doing it, it is blessed, which means it is fertile, productive, and produces, because that is the nature of Zoe-life; productivity is a characteristic, an attribute of Zoe-Life, the God-kind of Life. Zoe reproduces!
Thus, God tells us not to fill our minds with things of the past. Don’t ponder those things, because they are lifeless and non-productive and cannot produce any longer. NOW, He wants you to fill your mind with spiritually fertile, productive thoughts and ideas and concepts, and paradigms. That’s what He means when He said:
Isaiah 48:6-8
I proclaim to you NEW THINGS from this time,
Even hidden things which you have not known.
They are created NOW and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
You have NOT heard, you have NOT known.
It’s vital to understand that the things He is proclaiming to you now are “new things” that heretofore have been hidden to you and you have not known them or known about them prior to this time, the NOW.
Prior to today, He says, “you have not heard them,” – “You have not heard, you have not known” of them prior to TODAY, the NOW time He is revealing them to your spirit by the Holy Spirit. You won’t know these things in your mind or intellect; you will only know them in your spirit, which is where the Holy Spirit resides and from where He speaks to you!
There are some “new things” God is speaking about and revealing to the Church that Jesus is building in this hour!
They are end-time purposes and plans of God that we have never known or heard before, and He is revealing them to us NOW, TODAY!
Will YOU not be aware of them?
We have to be aware of them in order to fulfill them.
These “new things” are the only things that will be productive and effective in this now time.
Nothing else will work or be effective in these end times, in this final hour before the return of Christ to claim the Church that Jesus is building as His eternal bride!
Read a related article: “The Consequences of Spiritual Barrenness”
Read another related article: “Now I Declare New Things!”
Read another related article: “The Former Things Have Come To Pass!”
Dr. Steven Lambert was ordained in 1977 and holds several earned graduate/post-graduate degrees. Over more than four decades in ministry, he has served as a pastor, radio/TV host, adjunct-professor, Board Certified Doctoral Diplomate Christian Therapist/Counselor, and a speaker/commentator on a range of social, political, and theological issues, particularly as a recognized authority on the matter of ecclesiastical authoritarian abuse. He is the founder/Overseer of Ephesians Four Network (ephesiansfour.net) and its subsidiary, Ephesians Four Network of Deliverance Counselors (efndc.ephesiansfour.net). Dr. Lambert authored several books (catalog at realtruthpublications.com), many published articles, and is the founder/editor of Spirit Life Magazine (spiritlifemag.com). His bio, extensive blog, and scheduling information are available on his ministry website at: http://www.slm.org. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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