The God Factor in Spiritual Growth

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The God Factor in Spiritual Growth

• Preparing the ground for dynamic spiritual growth
  in the life of new believers in the slum context.

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Movements must create dynamic spiritual growth

• The danger of modern Christian movements is that
  through organisation and planning they grow
  faster than the spiritual development of their
  constituents and the movement either implodes or
  stagnates.
• Gods work must be done in Gods way with Gods
  power.

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Structure can become more important than a
relational community !

• This the second danger that can limit spiritual
  growth and the fruit of what God does in the slum
  context
• The Holy Spirit exercises His compassion for the
  poor through our availability to respond.
  Mobility and availability are key to our
  authority in Christ to minister with authority
  among the poor.
• Servant Leadership seeks to be authoritative (the
  spiritual dimension) and incarnational (the
  social dimension)

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Mother Theresa focussed on loving people.

• The Missionary Sisters of Charity went through a
  period of creating a structure and fundraising
  organisation.
• After a number of years Mother Theresa dismantled
  this structure because Jesus told her that it had
  taken the focus off loving the poor.
• An incarnational ministry among the poor must
  have that level of integrity. It will always put
  loving the poor before creating or serving
  structures and organisations.

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Organisations create beauracratic structures

• Most organisations create a culture where the
  servants of the organisation give allegiance to
  the organisation first rather than serving the
  needy first.
• Their loyalty is to the organisation that pays
  them.
• This makes NGOs and compassionate Christian
  ministries like the Government organisations in
  the eyes of the poor.
• They see the organisation serving the employees
  rather than them. The rejected poor want to find
  someone who will love them unconditionally.
• Mother Theresa had to start a separate order
  (Missionary Sisters of Charity) to achieve this
  quality of love for the poor, dying and destitute.

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Ministry structures can stifle growth.in lives.

• The freedom to offer unconditional love is a
  dynamic that creates spiritual growth.
• An incarnational ministry among the poor makes
  the worker available to love the poor and relate
  to them when they need help.
• People who know they are loved grow in grace and
  love themselves. They form cooperative
  partnership relationships with the person who
  loves them. This is the way they show their
  appreciation for the love they receive.

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Jesus exemplified this love for the poor and
despised.

• He changed his itinerary to minister to the poor.
  He was people oriented.
• His ministry team was mobile and responsive to
  the needs of the poor.
• He did not place the needs of his disciples ahead
  of His unconditional love for the poor.
• He knew that He was the only person through whom
  the poor were going to experience unconditional
  love.

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The Apostle Paul understood the concept of
partnership with the Spirit

• 1Corinthians 3 verse 6 7, 9
• I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing
  the growth. So then neither the one who plants or
  the one who waters is anything, but God causes
  the growth.
• For we are Gods fellow workers (partners), you
  are Gods field, Gods building.

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The pendulum swing of Christian history.

• In Christian history the Church has swung through
  two extremes
• Formalism with little evidence of the Spirit
• The Spirit will do everything.
• The Church is most effective when it finds a
  balance between these two extremes. This is the
  partnership we have with God that Paul is talking
  about in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 9 We are Gods
  fellow workersGod causes the growth
• The farmer has to till the ground and plant the
  seed and gather the harvest but God sends the
  rains and the sun in its proper time.

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It is Gods workwe have the privilege of
partnering with Him in His work.

• God intended this partnership with mankind in
  bring the power of the Kingdom of God on earth.
• Jesus commanded us to make disciples Matt 28
  verse 18-20
• The Father took Jesus out of the world and sent
  His Spirit as the executor of His will. The
  Spirits presence is manifest in the lives of the
  children of God by His indwelling presence. John
  20 v 22 Acts 2 v 4 Romans 8 vs 9 18 Eph 5 v
  18.
• God has committed Himself to partner with mankind

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We partner with God in all aspects of His work.
His suffering. and His glory.

• Romans 8 verses 17- 18
• We are fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we
  suffer with Him in order that we may also be
  glorified with Him.
• He incarnated Himself, we are to incarnate
• He advocates for us before the Father, we are to
  advocate for the poor before the throne of Grace.
• We are to enter into His joy Read Matthew 25 v
  20 - 23

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What is this joy Jesus was talking about in this
parable

• Jesus was talking about the fact that he has
  given us talents and abilities. When yielded to
  the Spirit of God these talents and abilities are
  to be used in partnership with the Spirit for the
  growth of His kingdom in the lives of His people.
  
• This gives the Master joy and gives us great joy
  as well. To see someone grow up to maturity
  brings great joy.

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The joy of living in a loving, caring community

• Marva Dawn has written a book called Truly
  Community an exposition of Romans 12 v 8
• The Greek word for cheerfulness is hilarotes.
  It implies a deep joy from being in the loving,
  caring community of the Body of Christ
• Paul says we are to show mercy with
  cheerfulness Romans 12 v 8
• Everything you do in slum ministry should be done
  in mercy with cheerfulness a deep joy coming
  from the fact that you are doing what you do in
  the development of a loving, caring community
  contextthe Body of Christ. This was Jesus
  objective with His 12 disciples.
• This is why it is important for the slum activity
  to be a communal activity. The joy comes not only
  from the Holy Spirits presence but from the joy
  of being with each other in community, our
  spiritual extended family.

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The joy of the manifest presence of the Spirit

• God delights in his children who obey His
  commandments. Matt 25 v 21
• There is great joy in obedience. Luke 15 v 7
• We encourage each other in a team ministry, as
  one day one person is up and another down. The
  encouraged one strengthens the discouraged one.
• The Holy Spirit promises His anointing on our
  living together in community
• Psalm 133 How good and pleasant it is when
  brethren dwell together in unity.God commands
  His blessing on such people

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How does spiritual growth occur? How can we help
new believers grow to maturity?

• There are five key elements where we can partner
  with the Holy Spirit in developing spiritual
  growth
• Teaching the new believer how to pray
• Applying the teaching of Scripture to their lives
  revealing the will of God to them, by answering
  their questions in a Biblical way and from our
  experience of what God has done in our lives
• Helping them develop positive relationships with
  their family, community and the Church through
  friendship and reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5 v
  17-19.
• Service of others in the Church and the
  community. Eph 4 verse 12
• Teaching them to experience the presence of God
  through worship, meditation and prayer. Acts 2 v
  42-47

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In this process of growth believers pass through
stages of development

• The Apostle John and Paul described it within the
  concept of human development
• Stage 1 Babies 1 Corinthians 3 verse 1
• Stage 2 Children 1 John 1 verses 12
• Stage 3 Young persons 1 John 1 v 13
• Stage 4 Fathers 1 John 1 v 13-14

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These stages of human development are likened to

• 1. Babes Those in need of intense care
• - Feeding every four hours
• Cleaning every time they soil themselves
• Sleeping all the time no work just
• demands, and needs and intense care
• Why do we do it We love the baby because it is a
  reflection of ourselves. This intense care will
  only last for a season then the joy of childhood
  will come.
• Note Some babes are even born with difficulties,
  handicaps etc. The spiritual babes of the slums
  are like this too handicaps such as drug and
  alcohol addiction, sexual abuse, gambling,
  criminal records, compulsive stealing, violent
  tempers, demonic possession are so commonly
  present in the babes born in the slums. But we
  love them all the same.

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• 2. Children Those learning to talk, walk, eat
  and clean themselves
• Children know their sins are forgiven, they
  experience the joy of Gods unconditional
  forgiveness in Christ
• They know and recognise the Fathers voice, His
  will and His love.
• 3. Young persons Those who learning competency
  in running, playing the game of life, being
  fruitful and productive, choice in decision
  making between good and bad, and obedience to
  God, parents and teachers, and building positive
  relationships with God, family and the community.
  Dependency broken.
• They have become strong, abide in Gods word, are
  fruitful, and know how to overcome the evil one.

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• 4. Fathers They know God intimately
• This came about through years of experience,
  testing, hardship and trials and as the Apostle
  Paul says this produces great faith and great
  hope.
• They have learned the lessons of nurturing
  children to adulthood
• They have been faithful in marriage, and faithful
  in their relationship with God. This process of
  faithfulness and constantly applying the
  principles of reconciliation has produced
  humility and an authority born out of servanthood
• They have moved from delight in power, to delight
  in the intimacy of loving faithfulness.

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Another way at looking a spiritual growth is
through the seasons of nature

1. Spring new birth, rapid new growth from
   infancy.
2. Summer moving on to maturity, harvest, strength
   in the heat, energy, long hours of sunlight.
3. Autumn beautiful colours, a process of dying,
   pruning, the leaves drop off the maximise the
   light of the sun in winter. We distribute seed
   from our fruit
4. Winter little reliance on ones own strength,
   an appearance of death, internal life, pruning,
   buds form, the promise of new growth. Our seed is
   planted and getting ready to emerge in the next
   spring.

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Four seasons of growth in our lives and ministry

• Security We become members of a new happy
  family. We experience new ways of having fun and
  celebrating.
• Commitment Through committed relationships we
  become disciples or disciplined leaders in groups
  with authority to minister reconciliation,
  healing and deliverance. We bear fruit and start
  a second generation.
• Quality Through experience, testing, and
  trials, we become mature quality leaders,
  delegating ministries to others while mentoring
  and supervising a number of groups. A third
  generation is birthed. ( we now have
  grandchildren).
• Calling Apostolic and prophetic roles enable us
  to serve others in pioneering and establishing
  their ministries. Multiple families of great
  grandchildren are birthed.See pages 168-180 Cry
  of the Urban Poor

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Collating these ideas together in a matrix.

• Human Seasons in Seasons in
  groups,
• development nature
  families/communities
• Babes Spring
  Security
• Children Summer
  Commitment
• Youth Autumn
  Quality
• Fathers Winter
  Calling