THE PROCESS OF PROGRESS ROSS SMITH 291015
We have visited 2 Peter 3:11 which stated:-
2 Peter 3:11 Since all these things ARE THUS IN THE PROCESS of being dissolved, what kind of person ought [each of] you to be [IN THE MEANWHILE] in consecrated and holy behaviour and devout and godly qualities,
What does “IN THE MEANWHILE” refer to? Well we are in the “meanwhile” and 2 Peter 1 is useful in explaining the “PROCESS” and describes in verse 8 what happens in “THE MEANWHILE”
2 Peter 1:8 For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will (IN THE MEANWHILE” … comments mine) keep [you] from being IDLE or UNFRUITFUL unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
We cannot make “PROGRESS” until we recognise and submit to the “PROCESS”, and this verse has posed the question, “what kind of person ought [each of] you to be”.
IF WE AVOID THE “PROCESS” THEN WE FORFEIT THE “PROGRESS”
John 8:37 [Yes] I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you plan to kill Me, because MY WORD HAS NO ENTRANCE NO PROGRESS, does not find any place) in you.
A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE IS OF NO VALUE WITHOUT A CHANGE OF BEHAVIOUR
Luke 3:8 Bear fruits that are deserving and consistent with [your] repentance [that is, conduct worthy of a heart changed, a heart abhorring sin]. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up descendants for Abraham.
James 1:23-24 For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror; For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.
To be “Transformed” is the PROCESS, to be “Conformed” is the PROGRESS.
We are not just in a state of being, but in a state of “becoming”.
Matthew 19:11 But He said to them, Not all men can accept this saying, (this relates to divorce, but the principle still stands … comments mine) but it is for those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given. (Or to those who are engaged in the “PROCESS” .. comments mine)
Part of the “PROCESS” is the embracing and absorption and then the manifestation of God’s word, just one or two of these actions are not adequate, there needs to be all three. This is not an osmotic process (which often results in a distorted understanding, that’s why the Bereans “searched the scriptures” comments mine) but a direct “steeping” (embracing) in the Word so that whenever the need arises, and that is probably moment by moment (absorption), then the Word will prevail over what we see as circumstance. (manifestation) No “PROGRESS” will ever be achieved when there is a resistance to the truth of God’s Word, whether that resistance be passive or active or plain neglect. Do we know the difference? Mental assent has to be verified by demonstrated action, and it shows up as “fruit”.
Genesis 50:20 As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, (or in other words, Father had a “PROCESS” in train … comments mine) TO BRING ABOUT (PROGRESS) that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day.
The general church population seem to only use the Word of God as a text book, not a Living organism, and therefore do not extract the nourishment or the light, or the relationship and intended improvement that the Word provides. The “PROCESS” involves the “fire and Hammer” of Jeremiah 23:29, and the refining of Isaiah 48:10, (refined in the furnace of affliction) and eloquently described in Psalm 12:6 (silver purified 7 times)
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. (This must be the catalyst for us to fill our inner spiritual silos with the prerequisites for preservation …. comments mine)
Psalm 119:11 Your word (embracing) have I laid up in my heart, (absorption) that I might not sin against You (manifestation)
Psalm 119:130 The entrance (embracing) and unfolding (absorption) of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple. (manifestation)
John 8:31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, IF YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD (To “abide” means to live, or reside, not just a visitor, no matter how frequent … comments mine)[hold fast to My teachings and LIVE IN ACCORDANCE with them],(This is in fact “Obedience”, the garb of a disciple … comments mine) you are truly My disciples. (Notice it is not only those who “read” the Word, but there is a requirement to “apply” the Word” if we dare call ourselves disciples) Verse 32 then describes the result, “The truth will set you free”.
In John 8:37 we see people who claim to have the APPROPRIATE HERITAGE asserting that their background was adequate qualification for calling themselves Abraham’s off spring and therefore they are untouchable. But see the response, and it is the same today, to those who will not apply themselves to study of the Word, who rely on their parent’s experience, or some other event.
Psalm 119:130 The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple. (This is a clarification of John 8:31, no background is mentioned, but a present tense, moment by moment demonstration … comments mine)
“Because My word has no entrance (makes no progress, does not find any place) in you.” How obvious does this make the principle we are exploring, without submitting to the “PROCESS”, that is, the intense study and application of the Word, then we are excluded from the “PROGRESS”.
There is more than one “PROCESS” to pass through on our way to the summit to be in “THAT PLACE BY ME CALLED “THERE”, (Exodus 33;21- see study “A Place By Me”) and they all have designs that fit our character and nature. Father is very conscious of our predilections and adjusts the process to accommodate our little (sometimes major) quirks.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child (process) in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (progress) There may be objections, tantrums, ultimatums, don’t get sidetracked by these juvenile reactions, and dare I suggest that the “child” in this context need not always be of few years, there are a lot of very old children!!!!!
Sometimes my “BENT” may not seem to fit in with convention, and if it is a selfish pursuit then the fruit of that digression will identify the improper route. When however I am cultivated in the particular “BENT” that coincides with Father’s requirements then you should be able to see my “PROGRESS”, or as otherwise called “My Fruit”.
1Timothy 4:15 Practice (practice is required to produce ability … comments mine) and cultivate (cultivation is required to produce fruit … comments mine) and meditate (meditation is required to produce ministry) upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody. “Everybody” is all embracing, it is not just friends, or Christians we know, but “EVERYBODY”
Fortunately this scripture does not include a clause “and let everybody know about the process you are passing through”, because more often than not this is what people want to talk about, they are consumed because they object to the “PROCESS”. There is a direct instruction that we are prone to avoid found in:-
Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves],
Psalm 18:33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the DANGEROUS HEIGHTS of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.
Like the Psalmist recorded in Psalm 18:33, the “high places” are rocky places, but he had to have the process of getting his feet ready before he could progress. So there are two things here to look at as we proceed, 1. Why are these places “DANGEROUS” and 2? What constitutes “HINDS FEET”?
These heights are dangerous because we are engaged in a “PROCESS” of being able to deal with the “TESTING AND TROUBLE”. I love acronyms, and in this case it is “TNT”, you are going to get bombed!!!!!
How well are we dealing with these things, do they cause us consternation or stress, do we berate ourselves because we are failing the test? The “DANGER” is that we fail to recognise God at work, we kick against the pricks, we object to the terrain we are called to traverse, we don’t like the people God is using to test us; we are so overwhelmed with our tasks that we complain and react.
Isn’t the Christian life meant to be a bed of roses? That’s the way the world sees and promotes the style of existence we are supposed to enjoy. Well not according to the Psalmist, it is full of “trouble and testing”, or as I would like to call it “PROCESS”.
All Christians, whose feet have been suitably prepared, that is, they have submitted to the “processing” required, who have taken notice, will be swift to run the way of Christ’s commandments; our souls will be strengthened, and our hearts enlarged with the love and grace of God; and to surmount and clamber over with ease, all difficulties and obstructions that lie in our way. David was a proponent of reliance on God despite the “TROUBLE AND TESTING”.
Psalm 18:29 For by You I can run through a troop, (this suggesting that David, when confronted by an army, simply runs through them, which I would think constitute “TROUBLE”) and by my God I can leap over a wall. (Does not this suggest testing, for if he didn’t jump high enough the results would evidence he failed the test) If we try to use the world’s methods in avoiding the “T/T” then we will be asked to jump through hoops, and never get to experience the exhilaration of jumping over a wall.
Ephesians 6:15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
“PREPARATION” provides three things here, “STABILITY, PROMPTNESS, and READINESS”. This enables me to do a quick check to see if I have done the preparation necessary. If I exhibit any trace of double mindedness, then there will be no stability. (James 1:8)If I exhibit any trace of slackness then this would be sin according to Deuteronomy, and the lack of Promptness leads to and defines that I am not Ready.
Deuteronomy 23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not be slack in paying it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and slackness would be sin in you. That’s why we need to be careful in the songs we sing, the Lord may keep us to our word,
Remember how I have previously stated that “We can be totally prepared but be completely unready”
There is again a reassuring and encouraging comment made by the Psalmist, one who had adequate qualification to make these statements:-
Psalm 18:29 For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. These sorts of exploits follow “Knowing God”, they follow “Being still”, and in the natural seems like a contradiction.
Habakkuk 3:19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon MY HIGH PLACES [OF TROUBLE, SUFFERING, OR RESPONSIBILITY]! (The “PROGRESS” is preceded by the “PROCESS” and the “strength, bravery, invincibility is the progress or consequences … comments mine)
But I like Habakkuk’s rendition of Psalm 18:33, because he adds another level onto the “PROCESS” and this is the one we are all negligent in applying. Firstly he expands upon David’s exclamations, describing more eloquently the role of the hind’s feet. When we understand this description of Father’s provisioning, and then we will be less susceptible to the “Dangerous Heights”, because Father is committed to be our “STRENGTH, BRAVERY, AND INVINCIBILITY”, which means that everyone who names Jesus Christ as Lord and dedicates themselves to His purpose will be awarded a spiritual VC, because as we have seen, this is awarded to those recorded in:-
Daniel 11:32 And such as violate the covenant (or would choose the easy way out by avoiding the “PROCESS” .. comments mine) he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL PROVE THEMSELVES STRONG AND SHALL STAND FIRM AND DO EXPLOITS [FOR GOD]. VC winners!!!
But he, Habakkuk, has added in now, “RESPONSIBILITY”, this is another level of our “PROCESSING”, and
Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up (or engage in the PROCESS, and as “fit” people will tell you, that to “build yourself up” you need exercise … comments mine) [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit;
THE HIGHEST SPIRITUAL JOY IN THE MIDST OF THE GREATEST MATERIAL DESTITUTION, IS POSSIBLE TO A GOOD MAN, AND THIS REQUIRES BEING RESPONSIBLE OR ANSWERABLE FOR OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
SOME DEFINITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
*Answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically
*Involving responsibility; involving a degree of personal accountability on the part of the person concerned.
ABLE TO BE TRUSTED; RELIABLE; TRUSTWORTHY.
*Having the job or duty of dealing with or taking care of something or someone — able to be trusted to do what is right or to do the things that are expected or required — involving important duties, decisions, etc., that you are trusted to do
I have to be able to boil this down to determine how “BEING RESPONSIBLE” applies to me, and you, individually. This is where it can get rather awkward, because to be responsible requires a large degree of “VULNERABILITY”, not only am I required to say the right things, I am expected to “DO” the right things.
If I break the word apart it looks like this: “RESPONSE —— ability
NOT “REACT ——— ability
Life rests on two pillars, the providence of God, and the responsibility of man.
If you have knowledge you have responsibility, but some folk are content with knowledge only.
It may be a good exercise here to begin to nominate the areas that may fall as our responsibilities, and this list no doubt will be expanded dramatically as we study the implications and relate them to our behaviour.
Let me nominate some areas from scripture for a starter:-
- Matthew 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God
- James 1;22 Be doers of the Word
- 1 Timothy 1;14 Do not neglect your gift
- Proverbs 8:33 Do not refuse instruction
- Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child
- Ephesians 5:25 Love your wives
1 Peter 3:1 Submit to your husbands (The last part of this verse is very important “so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives,”
- Hebrews 10:25 Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together
- Isaiah 58:6-14…. Worthy of revisiting this study
- Ephesians 6:1 Children obey your parents
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing
- 2 Timothy 4:2 Be instant, Keep your sense of urgency, be unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.
- Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do as unto the Lord
- 1 Peter 5:2 Guard the flock
- Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s faults
- 2 John 1:5 Love one another
- 2 Corinthians 5:15 Live no longer for yourselves
Ross Smith 