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Friday pm 28^th March 2014 – Gustavo Lara

Song 1:2; Luke 2:52; (Ezek. 47:1-6); (Hos. 4:6); (Matt. 16:21-23);

Acts 7:9-10; 1 Cor. 2:6; Ps. 51:5-6; Gen. 41:39-46; 2 Sam. 5:4; Luke 23: ??

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). We find in Jesus this example that we can reach. As the body of Christ we need to reach the stature of the whole man. This speaks about process. It is not an issue of falling, it is not a jump; it is a process. If you want to reach the deepest waters you have to go through a process (Ezek. 47:1-6). We understand from the natural body that everything that lives will grow up. Growing is part of our nature. The Greek meaning is to push and advance, to propel ourselves. It is difficult to grow up because the cost of our clothing, shoes, and food changes. Growing has its costs.

Some little foxes have invaded the process of our development. We need to confront them because we pass through this life only once. These are the little foxes trying to prevent us from growing up:

1. We want everything to happen right now, immediately. No, it is a process. Our minds are formed through a process of education. Our potential in Christ demands a process of discovering Jesus so we can discover ourselves. As much as I know Him I can know myself. It is a process from glory to glory and from grace to grace; from power to power, from wisdom to wisdom. We are in urgent times. People are waiting for answers. We need to remember that lack of knowledge brings destruction (Hos. 4:6).
2. Comfort kills your sensitivity to the needs around you. It is a time of consecration. Growing up will take you out of comfort zone.
3. Self-pity is a little fox that makes you see yourself as a victim. This is a thought the enemy tried to put into the mind of Jesus through Peter, “Don’t go to the cross, take care of yourself” (Matt. 16:21-23). It is good when you are criticized so you can discover if you are a victim or if God can take you into battle. It is important to be free from the spirit of self-pity.
4. Do not be afraid to take risks. Do not be afraid to love, to forgive; do not be afraid to open your heart, even if someone would hurt and betray you. Keep loving!
5. Inability to recognize the grace of God in my brother, like the spirit of Cain. Cain could not accept that the favour of God could be on his brother. Rejoice in the favour of God on your brother. When you are full of pain and suffering you cannot see the favour of God on your brother.

Joseph also grew in wisdom and grace (Acts 7:9-10). Wisdom gave Joseph the stature to rule Egypt. The purpose of stature is government. We need to remove the word ‘government’ from politics. Government is much more than politics. Let us talk about wisdom. The book of Proverbs is about a father transferring wisdom to his son. It is trans-generational wisdom. He teaches his son to relate to all types of people; to parents, to children, with a spouse. He teaches regarding sexuality, money, employment, business; how he should be related to those types of people and things. Wisdom! A second kind of wisdom goes beyond the wisdom of relationships. It is wisdom about the mysteries of the Spirit. It is the kind of wisdom Paul received from God. When Paul wants to share it with the churches, he encounters a problem; they had not yet learned the first level of wisdom. The Corinthians had relationship problems. You cannot share spiritual mysteries with people who still have relational problems (1 Cor. 2:6). There is a wisdom that Paul wants to deliver regarding times and seasons. He shared with the Ephesians the mysteries of each dispensation. That is why the first level of wisdom is to learn how to relate to each other. He knew with whom to share the wisdom. Do not try to put people where you are. Accept them in the place where they are; and wait; they are going to grow up.

You can reach a place where you learn wisdom. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (Ps. 51:5-6). God loves truth in the innermost places and honours the times of intimacy and without you knowing He gives you wisdom.

The word “stature” means balanced growth at the right time. God is taking us to the level which heaven and earth is waiting for us to reach. Stature is more than height because height is just in our physical body, but stature has to do with the spiritual inner man. Every Goliath appears to separate those who have height from those who have stature. David was small in height but great in stature. You can only defeat Goliath with your stature. It is not the size of your church that is important, but rather the stature of your church. Let us work towards the stature of people because people with stature will change this generation. Stature has to do with maturity and maturity is not the end of our journey. Reaching stature and maturity is the beginning of manifesting the stature of Jesus Christ on the earth. In the Scriptures the number ‘thirty’ represents maturity. That is when Joseph started ruling over Egypt (Gen. 41:39-46). David started ruling over Israel when he was thirty years of age (2 Sam. 5:4). Jesus started His ministry when He was thirty years of age (Luke 3:23). It seems that life is divided into seasons. The process to maturity is the process to the consummation of the purpose. The journey to maturity brings us face to face with the purpose of God in our lives. We need to grow up. We are in a time when the consummation of what started in Jesus will be seen. The Spirit of God is stirring the spirits of the rulers of this world because there is a prophetic church in Babylon. People with stature will cause shakings of kings and kingdoms.