the final section of instruction
can be applied over the course of your life,
hopefully,
eventually,
daily.
the first daily practice that you can implement into your life in this section
on your journey of minimizing pride and maximizing humility is to
- Identify evidences of grace in others.
not faults…evidences of God’s grace.
we’re good at scouring for fault,
and this is our natural bent, which we will return to
unless we are proactive about searching for evidences of grace.
c.j. mahaney said,
…only those who are humble can consistently identify evidences of grace in others who need adjustment. It’s something the proud and the self-righteous are incapable of.
did you catch that?
it’s easy to point out evidences of God’s grace in people that you think are really on fire,
but how about pointing out evidences of God’s grace
in that person who really needs some correction & help?
(see paul writing to the corinthians)
a good way to start looking for these works of God is by becoming familiar with
- the fruit of the Spirit (galatians 5:22-23)
- the lists of the Spirit’s gifts (romans 12:6-8; 1 corinthians 12:8-10, 12:28; ephesians 4:11; 1 peter 4:11)
once you have these memorized, start looking for them, and point them out when you see them…
i think you’ll be surprised at blind you have been to them (i was).
charles spurgeon said,
I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.
c.j. mahaney followed up with this:
This individual has been previously acted upon by God. That’s the divine perspective we must begin with, or else we will be tempted to look for others’ deficiencies rather than for the evidences of grace in their lives.
further,
Too many Christians are more readily aware of the absence of God than they are of the presence of God, and they are more aware of sin than they are of grace…We motivate others by grace when we help them to see (that God is at work) and one of the greatest joys we can experience is when we watch them come to that awareness.
not only are we quick to notice the feeling of God’s absence,
we seem to also misunderstand Him at work.
for many of us, God’s work is contained only in the dramatic & spectacular.
God’s work is way more than this, which is why we need to study the broad work of the Spirit and point it out in each others lives.
His work may sometimes seem mundane but in the reality of eternity, is simply greater than we could imagine.
an important point here is to realize that human responsibility should in no way be dismissed or even minimized in the light of God at work all around us all the time.
rather,
…we’re to pursue that responsibility in our own lives–and teach and promote it to others–precisely because God is working.
(see philippians 2:12-13)
we need to have faith in God’s faithfulness.
david prior said,
Paul looks at the Corinthian church as it is in Christ Jesus before he looks at anything else that is true of the church. That disciplined statement of faith is rarely made in local churches; the warts are examined and lamented, but often there’s no vision of what God has already done in Christ.
this is not by any means a green light to avoid correction.
mahaney explained,
…any correction will not be effective unless you approach it with a divine perspective of those you’re correcting, because your heart won’t be filled with affection for them or with a fresh faith for change on their behalf.
so in light of this, let’s pursue
application #14: identify evidences of God’s grace everywhere you go through a divine perspective shaped by
- a recognition of God’s active work
- God’s calling in their lives
- full confidence in God’s faithfulness to complete the work He has begun
what are some things that you considered “mundane” and now realize are evidences of God’s grace?
*study on humility based on c.j. mahaney’s book “Humility: True Greatness”
ltlo
You might find the following blogs of interest about C.J. Mahaney and the group he leads, Sovereign Grace Ministries:
http://www.sgmsurvivors.com
http://www.sgmrefuge.com
They tell another side. Hope this helps.
The latest postings about one of their regional leaders withholding the truth for 10 years and suffering no discipline from the group is very sad to read.
@steve240 thanks for stopping by and commenting. i am very thankful for mahaney and all that he has done. i do not find the sites that you have listed as edifying, unifying, or helpful.
with that said, i sincerely do appreciate your concern for the sanctification of the body of Christ and for your motives that i assume to be pure and in pursuit of God’s glory.
i think false teaching needs to be corrected and discipline is mandatory … and i think that unity in the church is at the center of much of the New Testament.
Phil. 2:2
John 13:35
Col. 3:14
Eph. 4:5
1 Cor 1
i pray that you would make an effort to pursue unity even in the midst of what you might consider really messed up.
rlowenfield
I would suggest to you to be aware of unity at any price. Also be aware of those who call any discussion or questioning “gossip” or “slander.”
It appears Mahaney and his group might say a lot of the right things but the actions that are reported about what happens in his group leave a lot to be desired.
Do you think it was a lack of humility that caused this SGM pastor to withhold the truth about another pastor for 10 years. As you can read, the truth being withheld caused a lot of havoc on this other pastor? Would you not agree that an action like this disqualifies a leader at least temporarily?
@steve240 i agree that unity at any price can be dangerous and to be aware of those who call any discussion or questioning “gossip” or “slander.”
(i’m not completely sure of what this price may be considering Paul pursued unity in the midst of the Corinthian church – which i believe all would agree was way more jacked up than SGM)
it all is a matter of the heart and motives behind the discussion. i have not found love as the motive behind those websites that you have posted and i seem to remember Paul saying something like you can have everything in the world and the best and most valid arguments, but if you don’t have love, you are a clanging symbol.
i hope that i am wrong in this, but there was an overarching tone that seemed to be more bitter than anything.
as for the SGM pastor that “withheld the truth about another pastor for 10 years” … it would be foolish for me to make a judgment one way or another without having the whole story.
proverbs 18:17 “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
on another note, i just received the same “comment” from you…verbatim…on my most recent blog post.
i do not see how going around the internet, copying & pasting an attack on a fellow Christ follower is edifying, uplifting or done from a heart of love.
i beg for you to prayerfully consider using all of the time that you have committed to “bringing reform” to SGM to witnessing to the lost just for this week.