GROWING SPIRITUALLY PART 3

Chapter 3 CHILDHOOD

"That we henceforth be no more children..."

-Ephesians 4:14

Paul is talking about spiritual children here. He wrote this letter to the church at Ephesus and we know they had at least twelve men in that church. Acts 19:7 tells us about twelve men and I'm sure they had more. When Paul said "that we hence­forth be no more children" he was talking about that they would be no longer spiritual children but would grow up spiritually.

Characteristics of the childhood stage of spiritu­al development are similar to the physical.

Unsteadiness

When my son was a boy of thirteen or fourteen, I told him to mow the yard. The way he grabbed that lawn mower and lit out you'd have thought he would have had it mowed in thirty minutes. Back then we had a push mower, the yard wasn't too big, and he could have had it mowed in forty-five if he'd kept at it. I had to go to town to attend to some business. When I came back after about an hour and a half, there sat the mower in the middle of the yard. He'd made about two strips after I'd left. I began to look for him. I asked my wife where he was.

"I don't know," she said. "Didn't he go with you?"

"No," I said. And I looked to see if I could find some boys playing ball on the corner. I knew if they were, that's where he would be. They were. And he was.

He was unsteady. You couldn't depend on him. As has been said many times, you can't put a grown head on a child. You can't. The same thing is true spiritually.

A mother tells her young daughter, "I want you to do the dishes and sweep the kitchen. I'm going next door for a little bit." The daughter starts out

all right, but when the mother returns the dishes are unwashed or half done and she can't find Mary anywhere. She goes outside and begins to call her. After a while she goes to the neighbors on the other side and Mary is there playing dolls with Susie.

Children   in   the   natural   are   unsteady ... unreliable... impressionable...spasmodic. Spiritual children are the same way.

When a new pastor comes to a church everyone comes. I've gone to pastor a church and people would gather around, pat me on the back, shake my hand, and say, "Brother Hagin, I want you to know I'm with you. I'm with you one hundred percent. I'm behind you." Six months went by and I didn't see them. Nine months went by and I didn't see them. I thought, "Well now they're be­hind me; they said they were." The trouble was they were so far behind me I never could reach them. They were too far behind to do any good.

Then as an evangelist I went from church to church holding meetings for several years. The first service or two some people would get right in and shake my hand and hug my neck and tell me, "Bless God, I'm with you. I believe this is it. We're going to have a meeting." Then we'd run two or three weeks without seeing them again. The last Sunday night when the pastor would announce we were closing I've had them run up to me, look at the pastor like he didn't know what was going

on and say, "He's not going to close this meeting, is he?" As far as they were concerned it had been closed all the time.

Curiosity

Children are full of curiosity. Just as sure as you'd come in with a sack and set it down on the kitchen table, our second granddaughter, about eight at the time, would be in that sack. She was full of curiosity. She wanted to know what was in there.

Some of these spiritual children that have never really grown up spiritually — though they've had time and opportunity —as sure as they can catch a little bit of gossip going want to know, "Who? Who?" They're full of curiosity.

Curiosity is the characteristic of a child. If you tell a child not to look in a closet, he is going to get in it as sure as the world. Curious. Spiritual chil­dren are the same way. They're always poking their noses in the other fellow's business. The Word of God teaches us to tend to our own busi­ness. God doesn't want you poking your nose into the other fellow's business. Learn to be quiet and tend to your own business.

I was pastoring a church when one fellow wanted to know what all I was doing with my money. I said, "What are you doing with yours?"

He said, "That isn't any of your business."

I said, "I don't consider it any of your business what I'm doing with mine."

He got the point. You know, it is no more the church member's business what the pastor is doing with his money than it is the pastor's busi­ness what the church member is doing with his.

Curiosity is a characteristic of a child.

Talkativeness

Children have never learned the value of silence. They are talkative. And you will find folks in the childhood stage of spiritual growth are nearly always talking.

Did you know the Word of God has something to say along this line? It tells us, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin...." (Proverbs 10:19). And, "...a fool's voice is known by mul­titude of words" (Ecclesiastes 5:3). We need to learn to be quiet. A child doesn't know any better so he's always blabbing.

I remember one time when my boy was three years old. We had gotten into bed late one Sunday night after church. I had preached twice and was tired. We all slept in one large room. He was in a bed across the room from us. The baby was in the crib. The lights out and it was dark.

"Daddy," he said.

I hadn't gone to sleep but I thought if I pre­tended to be asleep he would hush and go to sleep.

"Daddy."

I didn't say anything.

"Daddy."

I didn't say anything.

"Daddy."

I didn't say anything, and he just kept getting a little louder.

"Daddy."

Finally my wife nudged me and said quietly, "Why don't you answer that child?"

I whispered back, "Knowing him he'll get started talking." He was three years old and didn't know anything about the value of silence. He'd get started talking and you couldn't get him to shut up. I thought if I didn't answer him he would think I was asleep and shut up. But he just kept getting louder.

"Daddy. Daddy. Daddy."

Finally I said, "What is it, son?"

"What's tomorrow?"

I said, "Oh, be quiet and go to sleep. It's time to go to sleep."

"Well, what's tomorrow?"

"It's Monday. Now go to sleep."

"What's the next day?"

"It's Tuesday."

"Is tomorrow always Monday?"

"No, tomorrow is not always Monday. When tomorrow gets here then tomorrow will be Tues­day."

"I thought you said it was Monday."

"Well, it was Monday, but when Monday gets here then tomorrow will be Tuesday."

"If tomorrow is Monday, how can it be Tues­day?^a

"Well, that's just the way it is."

"What's the next day?"

"It's Wednesday."

"Will it ever be tomorrow?"

"Yes. Now shut up and get to sleep."

"What's the next day?"

"Thursday."

"What's the next day?"

"Friday."

"What's the next day?"

"Saturday."

"What's the next day?"

"Sunday. That's today."

"Is Sunday always today?"

"No, it's just today today. When Monday gets here, it will be today."

"I thought you said it was tomorrow."

"Oh, now you have me confused. I want you to be quiet, and if you don't be quiet I'm going to get up and give you a whipping."

Like natural children, spiritual children have never learned the value of silence. We need to be careful about what we say.

There was a fellow called Father Nash who used to go along ahead of Charles Finney and get a few folks together to pray for the revival. Someone once asked Finney, "Do you know a little preacher by the name of Father Nash?"

Finney said, "Yes sir. He goes along ahead of time and prays for the revival. I don't have him hired. He just took it upon himself to do it."

"What kind of a fellow is he?" this person asked.

"Well," Finney said, "he's just like any other fellow who prays — he is a fellow of few words."

Folks who are talking all the time are usually guilty of at least three sins. They are often guilty of evil speaking — talking about and discussing the faults and failures of people not present. They are often guilty of vain speaking — always talking about themselves: what I've done; what I'm going to do; where I've been. And they are often guilty of foolish speaking — jesting, joking, and things that are unprofitable.

1. Evil speaking — talking about and discussing the faults and failures of people not present.

(We'll soon get through with this negative side of growing up and get on to the positive side. But this side needs to be dealt with, too.)

I was holding a meeting in Oklahoma when my son was about twelve. He had a four-day weekend holiday so I drove down to Texas and brought him back to spend a few days with me. I was gone all the time and didn't get to be with him much. We stayed in the parsonage with the pastor and his wife.

One day at the table, the pastor got to talking about some of the church members, airing some of their faults and failures. I noticed my boy just kept looking at him.

Finally I said to him, right at his own table, "Brother, I wish you wouldn't talk that way in front of my boy."

He looked at me rather startled.

I said, "I would rather you'd curse in front of him. That wouldn't register on him. He wouldn't pay any attention to that. But for the twelve years I pastored, he always thought every member we ever had was an angel."

They weren't —any more than all his members were. But Ken thought all of them were sprouting wings — he didn't know that was just their shoulder blades sticking out. He never heard his parents say one word about any deacon, Sunday School teacher, superintendent, or church mem­ber.

You need to be careful what you say around children, and other people as well.

I remember one dear soul. Bless her heart. Every time we took prayer requests she would say, "Pray for So-and-so," and she'd call her husband's name. He came with her every once in a while and even if he was there she'd never stop to think about it; but would get up and call his name."

He rather liked me and I'd go visit him. We'd talk about the Bible. To tell you the real truth about it, he knew more about the Bible than she did. And in talking to him, I learned some things. I learned where she was missing it. I tried to talk to her about it, but it didn't help.

So one Wednesday night when there wasn't anyone there but us; when she said, "Pray for So-and-so," I said, "Sister, we're not going to do it."

I answered her right back from the pulpit and said, "We're not going to do it. Don't turn in another prayer request for him. We've prayed and prayed, but you undo all our prayers. You run home from church every single time some woman in the church looks a little hatefully at you — you think — and you tell your husband what an awful person she is. And if the preacher doesn't just preach to suit you, you run home and tell him what an awful person the preacher is. I know. I've talked to him. He couldn't have known it unless you told him. He knows more about what's going on down at this church than anyone in the church. You run home and tell him everything that is — and a lot of things that ain't. You rehash every­body's faults, failures, and shortcomings. And as long as you're going to do that, you're going to un­dermine the effects of our prayers."

I learned to appreciate that dear soul. She had enough sense to listen and she straightened up. She became a splendid Christian. And he got saved. I dealt what seemed like severely with her, but she took it. She wasn't an ignoramus. People who do have a little something upstairs are able to know when you are telling them the truth. Some folks would never know and you just have to help them the best you can.

2.  Vain speaking — always talking about themselves.

Sometimes I almost get sickened when I go to church. All the singing is about what I did, what I felt, and what happened. We scarcely worship the Lord. It's no wonder to me that God doesn't move any more than He does in our midst. The Bible said in the 13th chapter of Acts concerning this group down at Antioch, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,...." (verse 2). They weren't ministering to one another.

If we can be humble enough and yielded enough God can use us. I just don't like the idea of leaving the impression we are something big and something great. It's all right to talk about how God uses people and rejoice about what God is doing. But I've been in some meetings where those in charge bragged on each other from the natural standpoint until it was simply nauseating.

Thank God for His blessings. And let's be careful that we are not taken up with vain talking.

3. Foolish speaking.

It's all right to be friendly. And it's all right to tell something funny sometimes —but it is possi­ble to spend too much of your time doing that. The Bible even says something about jesting and joking that are not convenient. It doesn't say they are a sin necessarily, but it says they are not conve­nient.

EPHESIANS 5:4

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talk­ing, nor jesting, which are not conve­nient: but rather giving of thanks.

I was holding a meeting one time for a fellow, a fine fellow. I think a lot of him. He's changed con­siderably. But I never saw a fellow as full of jokes as he was then. We had two services a day, and ev­ery time I saw him he'd tell me a new joke. I don't see how in the world he could remember them. He'd tell me at least three a day which were brand new. Morning service, evening service, and when we'd go out for a bite to eat after church he'd have another one for me; sometimes several.

I usually quote my scripture as I preach and once when we were out eating he said, "I wish I could remember scriptures like you do."

I said, "You could if you'd spend as much time on them as you do on jokes. How do you remem­ber jokes? I can't remember them. I go to tell some of them and get them all messed up."

The thing about it was I wasn't interested in them.

Now don't go off and say I said it was wrong to tell something funny. I didn't say that at all. I said it is wrong to put that first and just blab, blab, blab, blab, and leave God out. I'm talking about things that will hinder our spiritual growth. We are never going to grow spiritually and just feed and talk on those kinds of things.

I'm a preacher and I fellowship with preachers more than anyone else. It's a strange thing, but sometimes in trying to fellowship with preachers you can't find too many you can really talk to about spiritual things. I've held meetings in church after church — Full Gospel churches — and preacher after preacher wants only to talk about fishing and hunting, or about how many cattle they have down on their ranch, or how many houses they have, or how much property they have. I think it's all right to go fishing. It's all right to go hunting. It's all right to have property. I'm glad they do. But if you'd try to mention the things of God and get in the least bit deep, they'd look at you like you were a nut.

I'm glad it's not that way with some folks. But it is that way with too many. And we cannot grow spiritually and spend all our time talking about natural things.