Growth Barriers

THE CALL of God to serve him is understood or implicit. It is call for comradeship with Himself for His own purposes.

The concern of every believer is spiritual reality not to serve God as soon as possible. Genuinely growing believers set their hearts on God but the religious people sets their hearts on their works and great ambition for God. The only goal of every Christian is spiritual maturity, because doing the will of God comes only after maximum knowledge of who and what God is. The following are basic barriers to spiritual growth.

PRIDE: Christians are not immune to develop the deadly virus of arrogance that desire to do great things for God.

FAKE OBEDIENCE: Some believers are willing to do great sacrifices rather than do the will of God. They invest on big shows of half-hearted sacrifices for God than to obey God daily.

WAITING FOR THE GREAT MOMENT: Some believers are praying and fasting asking God for the big thing to do instead of obeying him in every little details of life.

WORLD SYSTEM: Some believers have adopted the world business system into their ministry. They are utilizing all the resources of the world. They baptized it with Christian names and spiritualized the carnal things.

ENDLESS ACTIVITIES: Some modern day Christians are thinking that God is demanding for greater production like more tithes and offering, more people, more programs and more activities. Their endless activities are uprooting their faith from the truth of the Word.

They are immerse in works for God but not rooted in the Word of God.

WRONG DEVOTION: They are devoted to their work and ministries but very unfaithful to God and to His Bible doctrine.

NEW MINISTRIES: They always have new ministries born out of impulses and pride. They planned their ministry out of their passion and emotion, which they mistaken for the voice of God.

PIOUS GREED: They serve with great anticipation and expectation that God will bless them above the others. They have the burning desire to be promoted and exalted by God.

COMFORTABLE MINISTRIES: They are willing to serve God but only in the comfort and luxury of the world. They are unwilling to leave their beautiful and cozy community. They decide where and how to serve God.

SPIRITUAL SLUGGARD: They are always praying and praying without doing anything. They defy the plan and purpose of God with their prayer ministry.

I MUST DO IT SYNDROME: They are always on the go –doing something for somebody. Their priority is to serve not to know God, not to learn the will and purpose of God.

ANOTHER DOCTRINE: They are always hungry for new practices and teaching for the church. Since they are blinded by the ignorance of the Scripture they are always seeking for revelation from the visiting REVERSIONISTS preachers and musicians.

The essence of religion centered in self, the human old sin nature, which is highlighted by arrogance. The essence of Christianity is not enthronement of self, but elimination of self. Growth in the Spiritual Life is a systematic dismantling of the old self, with all of its arrogance, all of its lust patterns, and all of its self-centered modes of thinking.

Spiritual growth is a steady, constant process designed to tear down the god of self and lift up the Person of Christ. And that, my friends, will never be popular in the Cosmic System. Christians are busy people, either in the affairs of the world (when carnal) or in the task of studying and learning Bible doctrine (when spiritual). Bible doctrine is the only antidote and prevention for such rebellious attitude.