Over the past several weeks, Pastor has taught about transparency and accountability and the critical need for both in the life of believers. This week, he continued as he talked about the believer’s need to cultivate an environment that consistently confronts our current realities, thought processes, behaviors, etc. This type of confrontation is vital to the ability to grow and get better. If your current paradigms are never confronted, then you will miss out on the opportunity to become the better you that God has designed. We should always have people in our lives that can challenge our current personal truths and cause us to consider and reconsider our ways. So he challenged us by asking:
Do you have someone in your life that you allow to confront you when you are wrong?
Is there someone in your life who is not afraid to disagree with you?
If the answer to either of these questions is "no," its time to re-evaluate your environment!
Pastor taught from 2 Timothy 4:1-5 & 2 Thessalonians 2, and there was so much good wisdom and knowledge packed into this message. In these passages, Paul urge believers to be careful about teachers, doctrines, churches, etc, that do not teach the message that he taught them from the beginning….a message that is founded in God’s word. Paul warned that as time passed, believers would turn away from the fundamental truth of God’s word and “accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, having itching ears.” What this means is that as time passes, and people become more self-absorbed, even believers will seek after teachers that only say what they want to hear and never force them to change and grow. Pastor made this statement so emphatically: “Be careful about attending a church that never confronts where you currently are!”
But this principle doesn’t just apply to churches, pastors and other church leaders, (although it is one of the most important places of application). In your life, in general, be careful of having ANY relationships that do not challenge you to grow and get better. There is so much more of YOU to be uncovered in your life. For that reason, the primary purpose of all of your environments should be to push you towards a better you. I’ve often heard it said that if you’re the smartest person in your “circle,” you need a new circle! Likewise, be careful of connecting to people who only tell you what you want to hear and only say what feels good to you. You will never grow that way. And be especially careful of following anyone who teaches you in fables – mystical, illogical, stories, rhymes & riddles designed to generate an emotional response rather than a practical one. Anyone that you choose to follow should be able to teach you with clearly understandable spiritual principles derived from a clearly defined biblical truth so that you can put into practice in your everyday life. This is your standard. This is the will of God for all believers.
This is the true path to abundant living.
Have a wonderful week!
