Sunday 01/03/16
Series: Living in the Kingdom XIII
Message – Unified in Purpose IV
We are talking about being unified in purpose with God!
The last two services we’ve looked at being unified in purpose by being filled with the knowledge of His will.
Can anyone tell me HOW and WHY this is important when learning about being unified with God in purpose?
The Knowledge of His Will – Where our purpose begins
So, last Sunday we ended with Ephesians 1, where Paul prayed a prayer for the church of Ephesus that was very much like the prayer I opened with on Wednesday night where Paul prayed for the church of Colossae.
Both prayers, as you know, were prompted by the saints of those churches genuine faith in Christ and their sincere – non-hypocritical love for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
What we saw Paul praying was that these dedicated saints be filled with two predominate things…
- The knowledge of God’s will of their inheritance, which is Christ IN us!
&
- The knowledge of God’s will and purpose IN THE SAINTS towards His Own inheritance – which is that we become His abiding place forever!
Knowledge of these two things is IMPERATIVE to our walking in Union with God.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
All successful relationships can be compared to a pyramid. Though in the sphere of theology and Psychology there are MANY such pyramids we are going to borrow from Maslow’s. Not because it is necessarily the best, but because it is the most well known in our generation and it has some redeeming qualities to it.
I have adapted Maslow’s pyramid for the purposes of this illustration which is centered NOT on the individual but upon relationships. It is, however, largely as he depicted it in his works.
Click to enlarge
At the base of the pyramid is a man, located on the bottom left and a woman on the bottom right. The base of the pyramid represents those things which are least held in common and appeal mostly to the flesh and are therefore called physiological needs.
As you progress towards the top of the pyramid there is room for fewer and fewer things.
The next three in progression are a personal sense and pursuit of safety, belonging & esteem.
Then comes self-actualization. This is the personal best anyone person can achieve given their individual abilities and talents. This used to be the apex of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Maslow added this final peak in his later years as he was scrutinizing the value of Self-actualization as being the height of human needs.
This “new apex” he called “self-transcendence”. This is where the individual eventually finds their best personal self – in giving themselves to some higher goal or purpose OUTSIDE of themselves.
To allow their personal story to be caught up in the pursuit of something greater than themselves – something transcendent!
A story where they are no longer at the center or even the lead, but a support role in a story larger than their own!
This is a crude but effective illustration of the progression of our relationship to and with God.
Many Christians live somewhere south of Self-transcendence. Until we stop striving for physical pleasures and comfort, safety, a sense of belonging, esteem and personal value as defined by our own subjective viewpoints and allow ourselves to be caught up into His greater story we will never know true contentment – or as Malsow would put it – our deepest needs will never be fully realized.
Below I quickly highlight each of the “needs” from the perspective of a carnal Christian versus that of a committed and growing Christian. PLEASE do not be discouraged if you see yourself in some of the “carnal Christian” categories. None of this is “absolute”. Everyone grows at their own pace and while you may excel in one category you may lag behind in others. It is also possible to do well in regards to a “need” in one area, and poorly in another within the same “need”. This is for illustrative purposes, but if you use it to aid you in measuring your development in Christ, be kind to yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in submission to Him in those areas. Remember, condemnation does not change character, submission and trust in His inner influence over you does!
Maslow’s “needs”
- Physiological
- Carnal Christian – Pursues and cares are focused on this life. Comfort, enjoyment, physical satisfaction or carnal cravings and desires.
- Growing Christian – Seeks fulfillment of natural desires in Christ. This is NOT always directly received. For example, the “need” we have for belonging, can be met by God directly or through one of His children. What makes it right or wrong, is when we allow people, circumstances or desires to speak to our needs instead of Christ. We all need to eat, and though God “could” fuel our bodies directly without the use of food, it would not be His normal way. he will use the food He has created to satisfy and sustain you, but our enjoyment, satisfaction, delight and pleasure should be found in Him as the One Who made and graciously provided the food for us.
- Safety
- Carnal Christian – They protect themselves. They worry, have anxiety, practice unforgiveness, assign blame, retain grudges. These traits are essentially there to hold hostage those who have, would or could hurt us. By holding them hostage, we protect our own hearts from vulnerabilities. The end result is our hearts remain captive in prison and are not free to love or be loved.
- Growing Christian – Never protecting their hearts, they commits their soul to God in doing good as to a faithful Creator.
- Belonging
- Carnal Christian – These have manipulative relationships. Idolatrous relationships where people control their happiness and personal contentment. They often will only hang out with people who agree with them or think well of them. Some will choose to become a chameleon in order to “fit in” and establish a false sense of belonging.
- Growing Christian – These actively live in a state of knowing and believing the love God has for them. They rest in the fact that they belong to God and are His beloved.
- Esteem
- Carnal Christian – These often lie about themselves and lie to themselves. They seek promotion in jobs & titles. This is even true or a stay at home mom, who finds her esteem in “all her thankless, bone wearying work” she does so “selflessly” for her family – and never fails to remind them of this when she feels under-appreciated. These people are ontologically light – they live in the superficial sphere of titles and accomplishments… “I am a doctor”, you are a janitor, type of mentality.
- Growing Christian – Personal value is found in Him, being His child, His creation – nothing more.
- Self-actualization
- Carnal Christian – These say or project things like – “I have worked hard to become who I am or to get where I am. I studied hard & worked harder. I was handed nothing and am a self-made person.” OR they take the victim’s route … “I never was given a chance, no one ever encouraged me, I was told I would always be a looser and I am…etc.” In either case, both are striving for the same thing – actualization through accomplishments or being repressed from ever being able to make note worthy accomplishments. This is done in order to make them feel better about who they are ontologically.
- Growing Christian – These, like the Apostle Paul, embrace their weaknesses and enter into surrender through trust. “I can do nothing of myself, I embrace my weakness and count by efforts as rubbish that I might gain Christ.”
- Self-transcendence
- Carnal Christian – This is perhaps the most insidious trap because externally it has so many “seemingly” redemptive qualities. These become part of a team that is going somewhere, a place to belong. They take pressure off of themselves by making it “about the team” (or club, or church), they encourage other’s advancement and play supportive roles in order to feel a part of something greater than themselves..
- Growing Christian – These loose their heightened sense of “self” and individuality, and learn to find themselves in Him. They love and spend themselves freely on God and their fellow Christian. They seek first the Kingdom and right standing with the King, promote the Lordship of Christ by witness and by word. They allow His rule in them and reflect Christ as Christ reflected the Father.
For us, pursuing Christ in US and becoming a home for God to dwell – forever…. to be caught up into the Perichoresis IS the highest goal and pursuit. It is to embrace God’s will and so be unified with Him in purpose!
Tempted towards control, Wooed to surrender
We have not left the prayer of Paul we mentioned earlier, in fact we are, through Maslow’s chart, placing a spotlight upon where our priorities need to be as we seek unity in purpose with God.
We are tempted towards control and are often restless until we can take that control or surrender it in patient trust to God as to a faithful creator.
Paul prayed that we would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Sometimes that will is found in prayer, and other times it is necessary in order TO pray.
Last Wednesday we looked at Christ for an example of constant and fervent prayer. In Luke 22:39-46 & Matthew 26:36-46, we see Christ fervently praying to learn God’s will. How many times did He pray? Three times!
What did we learn from that? That continuance in prayer is IMPERATIVE!
As I told you on Wednesday, there was a passage the Lord had been prompting to my heart off and on for a few days a week or so ago about this very thing. It is found in Matt. 7:7,8,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
As you remember the words Ask, Knock & Seek all appear in the present tense, which in the Greek represents a continuous action!
Persistence is a theme throughout scripture and in fact, in much of Jesus’ teaching. He stirs us to take our faith to heart and practice it seriously!
Let’s consider this verse as it appears in Luke’s gospel,
Luke 11:5-10,
“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; (7) and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? (8) I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. (9) “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Finally let’s look at Luke 18:1-8,
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, (2) saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. (3) Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ (4) And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, (5) yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” (6) Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. (7) And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (8) I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Blessings!
I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
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Blessings!
