Apostles-Center Discussion Board

[Teacher Sheryl]

Today we are going to take a look at our growth cycles and the pattern that they follow. This is a huge subject and we will not be able to cover it in its entirety, but I hope that we will benefit from what we will study today.

The cycles of our growth follow a 3 part pattern called revelation, resistance and reward. We will observe this pattern in the example of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness. It is the same pattern that Jesus set for us by His own example when He was on earth. God set this pattern in His Son for the testing of our faith by victory in Christ (through the use of His tools), so that He could reward our faith. Now, let us take at a look at Jesus’ testing. Let’s turn now to:

Matthew 4:1-11
1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

It was the Spirit of God that led Jesus into the wilderness for the purpose of testing Him. The verse plainly says that God set the scenario for Jesus’ testing. We can see revelation here by the identification of the Spirit of God – which led Jesus to the wilderness (the scene for the test)

Every growth cycle begins with revelation. Jesus set this pattern in Himself. We can see this illustrated further if we go back a few verses to

Matthew 3:17
17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

God’s revelation came from heaven to confirm Jesus Christ. God’s grace abounds to each one of us as He daily reveals Himself to confirm Christ in us. As God’s grace comes, our hearts are strengthened and we have a heart to perceive Him.

Let’s go on to verse 2.

2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward and hungered.

Satan always appeals to us to choose the rhythm of the flesh over the rhythm of the Spirit. It was the same with Jesus. Satan did not come to Jesus until His flesh was physically weak from His long fast. It was then that God allowed Him to be tested. We see also the second part of the pattern (resistance) identified in verse 3.

3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

In verses 3 and 4, we see that Jesus identified:
1)The voice of Satan
2)He also distinguished that voice from the voice of God.

Now, let us examine the resistance. Although Jesus’ body and form was of the flesh, He was also capable of using His divine powers to turn the stones into bread. Satan’s appeal to Jesus was to use His divine powers to satisfy his physical hunger and satisfy His fleshly hunger. If Jesus had succumbed to Satan’s suggestion, He would have failed the test of faith by obeying Satan’s voice, instead of God’s voice. Specifically, Satan tempted Jesus to go beyond the restrictions placed upon Him to fulfill His commitment, which was to die for the sins of the world.

Now, let’s go down to verses 8 & 9 which is the last scenario of Jesus’ testing.

Matthew 4:8-9
8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Here, Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world. All Jesus had to do was go around God and ignore the due order of His plan. Satan suggested that Jesus did not need to suffer and die on the cross. He wanted Jesus to bow down to him and acknowledge HIM as the greater one. However, Jesus reflected on the plan of God. He remained consistent to the ordered knowledge and plan that He had set upon Himself for the redemption of man.

10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Jesus made a choice of faith to heed and obey the voice of God, and to reject Satan’s words.

11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The angels that came to minister to Jesus signified the end of the testing and brought relief to Him. This exhibits the pattern of ‘reward’ that follows our growth cycles.

We can also observe Christ as the pattern for our faith in 3 ways:

1) Government: The doctrine of Christ and His holy activities for living faith are received through the teachings of the apostles’ office.
2)Truth: God’s knowledge sanctifies the soul
3)Spirit: Through our labor with the priesthood tools, we experience His grace and the effectual work of His Spirit

Not only is Christ the pattern for our faith, He is the pattern by which we overcome, as well. As we are educated to Christ, His knowledge and His pattern of grace and truth, we learn to distinguish truth from error.

Our education includes discerning powers and spirits and understanding the differences between:

The record of the flesh & the record of Christ
The rhythm of the flesh & the rhythm of the Spirit
The kingdom of darkness & Christ’s kingdom of righteousness

As we observe Christ in our cycles of growth, we behold Christ in the pattern of revelation, resistance and reward. As we identify the patterns and cycles of our growth and what it means, we are keeping ourselves in mind of the pattern of our faith.

We are also aware of the kingdom of darkness. We can discern between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, thus we can make choices that please God.

Identifying our cycles of growth means that we are able to identify what we are overcoming. As we do so, we can then testify that Jesus is the faithful witness. He is faithful in His revelation of grace, faithful to assist us through the resistance, and faithful with His rewards. He is faithful to author our faith and faithful to finish our faith. As we observe Jesus’ faithfulness in our cycles of growth, we can encourage one another in our activities of faith.

WE GAIN SPIRITUAL SKILLS THROUGH FAITH DURING OUR GROWTH CYCLES:

Our growth cycles are not only about discerning the spirits and over-coming; we also grow and gain skills as we walk with God in righteousness. Let’s take a look at several of the things that we learn:

We compare God’s holy knowledge against false knowledge. We are becoming strong by remaining joined to God’s grace and we become confident in His pattern of grace and truth.

We observe the rhythm of nature against the rhythm of the Spirit. The rhythm of nature indentifies how the flesh lives by the knowledge of the world, the signature of the soul, and the fruits of iniquity. Sinners try to build their lives by these things by using their imagination and aspirations, in order to achieve their goals of increase and gain of the things of the world. Satan uses these things to destroy the soul, but the terms of God’s holy covenant brings healing and restoration to the soul.

We recognize what is essential for our growth. Due to the teaching of the apostles, we have a full understanding of the knowledge of Christ and know how to walk in the fullness of faith. Our testimony and knowledge of Christ is based on our experience with our growth cycles.

We observe how God daily teaches us as we are obedient and conform to His terms for faith. By doing so, we experience His power. We see the results of our faith as we triumph over sin, for we gain victory over the kingdom of darkness, and overcome our carnal, fleshly nature.

We understand the process of bearing fruit to God. We see how Christ is daily bridging the revelation and reward by His grace, as we endure the resistance. Again, our testimony is based on our experience with our growth cycles.

We learn the fear of the Lord. God does not permit us to bring His salvation down to what is convenient for us. This is why our experience and conformity with our growth cycles brings rest to our souls, as we experience His peace through holy contact in our priesthood.

Praise God for these important spiritual skills that we learn by persevering through our cycles of testing!

Even though the resistance we face in this world brings frustration, God has assigned us to these challenges for the reward of our faith (just as we saw that the Spirit let Jesus into the wilderness and He was rewarded for His obedience). God has not given us over to the hand of Satan.

We receive this assurance from God:
“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord,” (Ps.27:14).

We can take confidence that the testing of our faith IS by the design of God. The scenarios of our growth cycles are not by chance and God is always in control.

Let us notice a prayer that Jesus prayed in:

John 17:15
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

God does not shield us from the contradictions of the world, but His power in the tools of the priesthood shields us from the workings of Satan. The contradictions that we face always come from the kingdom of darkness, and we always have the choice to refuse that resistance by taking up Christ’s tools.

As we reflect on the cycles of our growth, we should not place an emphasis on resistance. We are not struggling against resistance trying to pry meaning from it, but we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices, either.

It is not necessary for us to identify what Satan is doing. We are not talking about looking at the cycle of growth to try to set a measurement about what Satan is drawing upon. That is not what faith is about. Faith is about Jesus Christ. As we walk according to His pattern of grace and truth, we can discern how the adversary uses the soul to promise a benefit that is removed from the covenant. This is the challenge that we overcome each day by faith in Jesus Christ.

As we remain faithful in our priestly duties, God is faithful to issue grace to us. We know that grace is defined as: revelation, communication, illumination, enlightenment, and awakening. When we “feel” that enlightenment we can identify what is going on. When we “feel” faith being drawn from our heart we can identify what is going on. This builds our confidence as we learn how to work with the Spirit through contact in our daily priesthood service which joins our souls to Christ and brings our souls into rest and His perpetual care. Amen!

There are two kingdoms at war over the hearts and minds of men. Each kingdom bears witness to the record of its own kingdom. While Satan destroys the soul, Jesus gives beauty for ashes, as He redeems the soul from the effects of sin and iniquity through the operation of regeneration. It is through His holy knowledge that we are able to escape death. It is by enduring the cycles of our growth by using Christ’s tools and the activities of faith; that the scars of iniquity are removed from our soul, and are replaced with His virtues.

When we reflect on our cycles of growth, what do we see? We see that our soul is being regenerated and that we are overcoming sin. It is obvious to us that the witness of God is greater than the witness of man. God is daily forming Christ within us through our choices of faith. “Identifying” cycles of growth means that we identify this pattern and the power that Jesus set for us to follow Him. God tests our faith for our overcoming. This is why we choose to use the tools of the covenant and rest in His peace.

It is important for us to reflect upon these things daily because it is important for us to reflect upon Christ and His work within our souls. God has given us this knowledge for our edification, exhortation, and comfort. The Spirit of God engrafted in our hearts uses this knowledge upon which we reflect in order to bring forth an increase within our souls. This is how we see grace and truth being joined together in order to make our faith living and to bring each cycle of our growth to completion according to the purpose and design of God.

Faith pleases God. Each daily cycle of growth takes place because we are still in this world, but we are not of the kingdom of darkness. We no longer follow the knowledge, rhythm, and spiritual ties to Satan’s kingdom. Even though we face resistance from Satan, we choose Christ, rather than Satan. We make this daily choice of faith and God daily rewards our choices of faith.

James 1:3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

We must patiently endure the process of our growth. Each cycle of growth begins with grace in the form of revelation and is assisted with truth. We suffer as our pride is touched by times of resistance. However, we are joined to God with peace. Our souls are regenerated by Spirit as we use His tools of sanctification and our soul increases with the fruits of the Spirit. This is our reward and God is glorified in the process.

In closing, let us look at:

1 Peter 1:5-7
5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus

Praise God for the cycles of our growth that encourages us by illustrating His power and for revealing to us our ongoing growth by the pattern of revelation, resistance and reward; for we know the testing of our faith will prove us worthy of our eternal reward. Amen!
_________________
Yours in Christ,
Teacher Sheryl Verdelli

[Carol Skelly]

Dear Teacher Sheryl,
Thank you very much for this teaching on our cycles of growth. I have received much encouragement and comfort from it, and since you emailed it to me months ago, I have revisited it and find that my understanding is increasing each time and the pattern becomes a little clearer. Praise God for the light and easy yoke of Covenant service and for the tools of faith that we can use in obedience of faith regardless of whether we understand it all , or not!