Last we spoke we talked about your camp: making sure that your camp is supposed to be your camp and purging it of people who aren't supposed to be there.. Speaking of people who aren't supposed there - How do you know they aren't supposed to be there?
Now we can get all deep and spiritual about this and say the Spirit will reveal to you whose supposed to be there and who is not... That's all well and good... We do get to a point where the Spirit guides us and directs us. But how do we distinguish between us (our carnal selves) and the Spirit?
Firstly, we have to make sure that we know God's voice. We know his voice by reading and understanding his word. 2Timothy 2:15 Says: Study to show thyself approved. Now if you've grown up in the Church like I have, you are very familiar with this verse but may not understand it. On the surface it's very simple: Study means to devote time to acquiring knowledge. So the verse on the surface means to devote time to acquiring the knowledge to show thyself approved. Approved? Approved for what.... Approved to be able to teach others about God... You can argue that no formal education is needed in order to do this. But I present this to you If no formal education is needed, why did the Apostles, leave everything behind and travel with Jesus before they embarked on their own journeys? This is because they did not know all that they needed to just as we do not know.
Secondly, we have to make sure we have our own understanding of God's word. Many of us have grown up in or around the Church in some shape form or fashion. Me, I went to Catholic School. But it wasn't until I got older that I came to the realization that what I knew of God's word, is what others taught me based on Their understanding, but I didn't know it for myself. Not knowing it for myself, left me open to all types of interpretations of it. Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it indifferent. There was no way for me to know what was truth and what wasn't. There are still things in which I do not know, but I have gained a better understanding of the Word by reading it and praying on it...
Thirdly, we have to constantly stay in the word. Just like with everything else, we go through stages in order to grow. We start off as babes, then grow in maturity until we become "Adults". *Disclaimer.. Age does not always mean you are an adult* Just like having been saved for 5+,10+, 15+ years does not mean you are a mature believer. A mature believer has studied the word and have an understanding for themselves, yet they understand that there are always things that they can learn. A mature believer understands that they have to read the word daily and meditate on it day and night. A mature believer understands that the things that they absorb through their senses directly affects their way of thinking which directly affects who they allow to be in their camp.
Our camp changes as we mature. This is because we by nature associate ourselves with people who think like us, act like us. If we are operating on another level, those who are no longer on the level with us, nor who are willing to be pulled up by us and along with us, will be weeded out. Some of them will leave, but most we will have to let go.... Being able to do this all comes from the renewal of our minds ( Staying in the word, understanding the word, and hearing God's voice.)
Now we can get all deep and spiritual about this and say the Spirit will reveal to you whose supposed to be there and who is not... That's all well and good... We do get to a point where the Spirit guides us and directs us. But how do we distinguish between us (our carnal selves) and the Spirit?
Firstly, we have to make sure that we know God's voice. We know his voice by reading and understanding his word. 2Timothy 2:15 Says: Study to show thyself approved. Now if you've grown up in the Church like I have, you are very familiar with this verse but may not understand it. On the surface it's very simple: Study means to devote time to acquiring knowledge. So the verse on the surface means to devote time to acquiring the knowledge to show thyself approved. Approved? Approved for what.... Approved to be able to teach others about God... You can argue that no formal education is needed in order to do this. But I present this to you If no formal education is needed, why did the Apostles, leave everything behind and travel with Jesus before they embarked on their own journeys? This is because they did not know all that they needed to just as we do not know.
Secondly, we have to make sure we have our own understanding of God's word. Many of us have grown up in or around the Church in some shape form or fashion. Me, I went to Catholic School. But it wasn't until I got older that I came to the realization that what I knew of God's word, is what others taught me based on Their understanding, but I didn't know it for myself. Not knowing it for myself, left me open to all types of interpretations of it. Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it indifferent. There was no way for me to know what was truth and what wasn't. There are still things in which I do not know, but I have gained a better understanding of the Word by reading it and praying on it...
Thirdly, we have to constantly stay in the word. Just like with everything else, we go through stages in order to grow. We start off as babes, then grow in maturity until we become "Adults". *Disclaimer.. Age does not always mean you are an adult* Just like having been saved for 5+,10+, 15+ years does not mean you are a mature believer. A mature believer has studied the word and have an understanding for themselves, yet they understand that there are always things that they can learn. A mature believer understands that they have to read the word daily and meditate on it day and night. A mature believer understands that the things that they absorb through their senses directly affects their way of thinking which directly affects who they allow to be in their camp.
Our camp changes as we mature. This is because we by nature associate ourselves with people who think like us, act like us. If we are operating on another level, those who are no longer on the level with us, nor who are willing to be pulled up by us and along with us, will be weeded out. Some of them will leave, but most we will have to let go.... Being able to do this all comes from the renewal of our minds ( Staying in the word, understanding the word, and hearing God's voice.)
