Philippians 3:10,
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Spirituality is not the absence of suffering, neither is it the presence of success. We have determined spirituality on whether an individual can stay healthy or have some kind of success in this world. That is how man views spirituality not your father. Spirituality has been so down graded that we try to dress the part, clothing, a simple thing as clothing can determine your spirituality in Christianity today. Have you ever been to a meeting and it looked more like a fasion show, very strange. Eveyone likes to dress up and look their best, but selling the farm to do it, your a missing the whole idea of spirituality. And if suffering is involved then the mentality is whispered "their probably not saved."
Have you ever given thought to suffering, it's there and not going anywhere so you might as well see where it fits in spiritually. Most of the people I know did not come into this message by simply just hearing it, they have been through the fire. What does the scripture say "some through the fire and some through the flood," but we are all headed to the same place. No matter how you come, we are all coming to the same place. Suffering is built into creation, you don't need to pray for suffering to come to be holy, it will come. It was the faith movement in my generation that taught "if you have enough faith you won't suffer." Most of us figured out as high as our faith got the suffering got worse, why would that be? It's a perverted gospel, anytime you focus on one part of the gospel over the whole gospel, you pervert it. Of coarse faith is important but just don't major in that area, we live by another faith now anyway.
How do we bring on the schoolhouse of our father, by majoring on one area or another of the full truth, the whole truth, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. If you want to go through the school and move from class to class if you will, grow up as you go from one to another. If you stay in a classroom you will just stay in a classroom, no big deal other than no growth and your father may give you a nudge to start growing. My point here is; if you are still blaming the devil for your suffering you may be stuck in a classroom. It may be the devil but you learn to trust your father and quit complaining and giving the devil so much credit for things that are built into creation. Simple but there is some growth in that, you learn to trust your father no matter the situation.
Why is suffering so important to your understanding, because most cannot grow with out it. Suffering brings spiritual growth. You cannot suffer as Jesus did on the cross, the nail's being drove through his body and the crown of thorns, and the mental anguish he suffered until he sweat great drops of blood. But you can see your suffering and relate it to the dieing of the old man, crucified with Christ and knowing him in the fellowship of his suffering. Have you ever ever felt like you were dieing, the suffering was at that point. Mentally you felt like you could not take anymore, you think about the scripture that says he will not put more on you than you can handle. What I have learned is we can handle alot, the old man syndrome, the leftovers from the old man do not easily fall away just because we want them too.Amen and Amen!
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Spirituality is not the absence of suffering, neither is it the presence of success. We have determined spirituality on whether an individual can stay healthy or have some kind of success in this world. That is how man views spirituality not your father. Spirituality has been so down graded that we try to dress the part, clothing, a simple thing as clothing can determine your spirituality in Christianity today. Have you ever been to a meeting and it looked more like a fasion show, very strange. Eveyone likes to dress up and look their best, but selling the farm to do it, your a missing the whole idea of spirituality. And if suffering is involved then the mentality is whispered "their probably not saved."
Have you ever given thought to suffering, it's there and not going anywhere so you might as well see where it fits in spiritually. Most of the people I know did not come into this message by simply just hearing it, they have been through the fire. What does the scripture say "some through the fire and some through the flood," but we are all headed to the same place. No matter how you come, we are all coming to the same place. Suffering is built into creation, you don't need to pray for suffering to come to be holy, it will come. It was the faith movement in my generation that taught "if you have enough faith you won't suffer." Most of us figured out as high as our faith got the suffering got worse, why would that be? It's a perverted gospel, anytime you focus on one part of the gospel over the whole gospel, you pervert it. Of coarse faith is important but just don't major in that area, we live by another faith now anyway.
How do we bring on the schoolhouse of our father, by majoring on one area or another of the full truth, the whole truth, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. If you want to go through the school and move from class to class if you will, grow up as you go from one to another. If you stay in a classroom you will just stay in a classroom, no big deal other than no growth and your father may give you a nudge to start growing. My point here is; if you are still blaming the devil for your suffering you may be stuck in a classroom. It may be the devil but you learn to trust your father and quit complaining and giving the devil so much credit for things that are built into creation. Simple but there is some growth in that, you learn to trust your father no matter the situation.
Why is suffering so important to your understanding, because most cannot grow with out it. Suffering brings spiritual growth. You cannot suffer as Jesus did on the cross, the nail's being drove through his body and the crown of thorns, and the mental anguish he suffered until he sweat great drops of blood. But you can see your suffering and relate it to the dieing of the old man, crucified with Christ and knowing him in the fellowship of his suffering. Have you ever ever felt like you were dieing, the suffering was at that point. Mentally you felt like you could not take anymore, you think about the scripture that says he will not put more on you than you can handle. What I have learned is we can handle alot, the old man syndrome, the leftovers from the old man do not easily fall away just because we want them too.Amen and Amen!
