Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life: Section 28

It Takes Time
Section 28 pages 217-223
Tuesday 9 November 2010

There is a time for everything, and a season for
every activity under the heavens:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
...being conﬁdent of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

There are no short
cuts to maturity

Adulthood takes time
Fruit growth and ripening takes
time - ripening too quickly causes
a loss of ﬂavour
Fruit of the Spirit takes time to
develop
Developing Christlike character
cannot be rushed

Adulthood takes time
Fruit growth and ripening takes
time - ripening too quickly causes
a loss of ﬂavour
Fruit of the Spirit takes time to
develop
Developing Christlike character
cannot be rushed
Spiritual growth
takes time - we
worry about how
fast, God is
concerned about
how strong we grow
- He is never in a
hurry

WWII the Allies had a process for liberating
islands in the South Paciﬁc.
1. Soften up - shelling from off shore ships - pre
conversion often God allows problems to soften
us up
2. Small group of marines establish a beachhead -
the initial stage of surrendering your life to Christ
3. Long process of liberating the whole island -
the campaign of God to take over your whole life
- this includes struggles and battles - the outcome
is certain - Php 1:6

Ephesians 4:13
...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
We have looked at:
Believing - through worship
Belonging - through fellowship
Becoming - through discipleship
Col 3:10...put on the new self, which is being renewed
in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

We want speed - God wants strength and stability -
we look for instant answers, one powerful
experience - Real maturity never comes from one
experience - growth is gradual
...so we are transﬁgured
much like the Messiah,
our lives gradually
becoming brighter and
more beautiful as God
enters our lives and we
become like him.

Why does it take
so long?

God could instantly
transform us - he doesn’t
though. Jesus spent years
with his 12 disciples, the PL
was taken little by little - Dt.
7:22 The LORD your God will
drive out those nations before
you, little by little. You will not
be allowed to eliminate them all
at once, or the wild animals will
multiply around you.
Why so slow?

We are slow learners
We [might] have to learn a
lesson many times before
we get it
The Israelites learned this
by quickly forgetting what
God had taught them and
going back to old habits.

We have a lot to unlearn
You cannot imagine all your
problems [past] can be ﬁxed in an
hour - they took years to develop.
You have to take off the old and
put on the new.
Col 3:7-10, Eph 4:22-25
You have a new mature at
conversion - the habits, patterns
etc. are old - and need to go

We are afraid to humbly face
the truth about ourselves
Truth sets us free - but makes us
miserable ﬁrst - are you scared of
what you might discover if you
are honest about your character
defects?
Only in God shining his light on
us do we ﬁnd grace in our time of
need - but you need to be humble
enough to face, and allow, it.

Growth is often painful and scary
Growth = change =
scary [fear, loss, pain,
letting go
It does not have to be
the way you are - let go
and let God do
something.

Habits take time to develop
Character = sum total of your habits - Are
you habitually kind, patient, honest...?
A husband who is faithful most of the
time is an adulterer!
Adults require practice - there are no
instant ones
1 Tim 4: 15 Practice these things, immerse
yourself in them, so that all may see your
progress.

Don’t get in a
hurry

Believe God is working in your
life even when you don’t feel it
Spiritual growth can be
tedious - small steps and only
gradual improvement. In
nature there are seasons of
growth and seasons of
dormancy and stabilising -
gradual change is most often
God’s way in us.

Keep a notebook or journal of
lessons learned
Not a diary - a record of what you
have learned, insights and lessons
about all aspects of your life -
often you learn more by writing
down and reﬂecting on things
Heb 2: 1 We must pay the most
careful attention, therefore, to what
we have heard, so that we do not drift
away.

Be patient with God and
yourself
God works to a different
timetable - 80 years preparation
for Moses.
Mushrooms grow overnight -
trees take many years
James 1:4So don't try to get out of
anything prematurely. Let it do its
work so you become mature and well-
developed, not deﬁcient in any way.

Don’t get discouraged
Habakkuk 2:2-3 And then God answered: "Write
this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block
letters so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's
coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it
doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its
way. It will come right on time.

A delay is not a denial from God
Remember you have come a long way - and
there is a long way to go - but God is not
ﬁnished.

Point to ponder:
There are no shortcuts to maturity

Verse to remember:
Php 1:6
...being conﬁdent of this, that he who began
a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Question to consider:
In what area of my spiritual growth do I
need to be more patient and persistent?

Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life: Section 28

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Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life: Section 28