Bearing Down

Grow

The man who desires, seek after, and pursues 
leadership instead of Growgrowth is only 
positioning himself to lead people astray.
As we read through scriptures, with specific 
emphasis on the four gospels and acts, 
we will see that God 
first calls men unto growth, before 
He calls them to lead. 
The reason isn't far-fetched: the tools that 
are required in leading and wielding influence 
are acquired via that training for growth.
Before Jesus told Peter...Feed my sheep, 
He had first told him...Follow me. 
Between Follow me and Feed my sheep, 
Peter went through a mixture of experiences 
that shaped him in
 becoming the kind of leader he became. 
He failed, he rose again. 
He made wrong decisions, he was corrected. 
In all, he was being fashioned 
into the kind of leader that would not mess up 
God's plan for His church.
This bit should be clear.
Even if you have a "calling", understand 
that God first calls you to grow. 
Didn't Saul of Tarsus had such a spectacular 
and dramatic encounter? 
And what do we read of him after that? 
He joined the disciples and began to learn. 
It wasn't until some years 
after his spectacular encounter, that the 
Holy Ghost said He should 
be released for the work He has been assigned. 
So dear one, you see all that zeal and fire 
burning so earnestly in your soul? 
Channel it to learning, growing, and 
receiving training. 
Stay active as a Believer, but don't rush 
yourself into becoming a man of influence. 
Usually, and this is the most important part
...if influence comes faster than training, 
the work will be soiled, and 
God's plan will be stained. 
Leadership usually "happens" to men whose 
mind and focus are stayed on growth.

Fruits
Galatians 5:19-26 King James Version (KJV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, 
which are these; Adultery, fornication, 
uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, 
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, 
heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
revellings, and such like: of the which 
I tell you before, as I have also told you 
in time past, that they which do such 
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such
 there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified 
the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk 
in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, 
provoking one another, envying one another.

Apologia!

In a mother’s womb were two babies. 
One asked the other: “Do you believe in 
life after delivery?
“The other replied, “Why, of course. 
There has to be something after delivery. 
Maybe we are here to prepare 
ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life 
after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there 
will be more light than here. 
Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat 
from our mouths. Maybe we will have 
other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. 
Walking is impossible. 
And eating with our mouths? 
Ridiculous! 
The umbilical cord supplies nutrition 
and everything we need. 
But the umbilical cord is so short.
 Life after delivery is to be logically 
excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there 
is something and maybe it’s different than 
it is here. 
Maybe we won’t need this physical cord 
anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, 
if there is life, then why has no one ever 
come back from there?
 Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery, 
there is nothing but darkness 
and silence and oblivion. 
It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, 
“but certainly we will meet Mother and 
she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? 
You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. 
If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. 
We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. 
It is in Her that we live. Without Her, 
this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only 
logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, 
when you’re in silence and you focus and 
listen, you can perceive 
Her presence, and you can hear Her loving 
voice, calling down from above.”
Maybe this was one of the best explanations of 
the concept of GOD.
~ Author - Unknown

BEARING DOWN
I had the image of a woman bearing down 
during contractions in labour and the 
words "bearing down".
She is clenching her teeth and pushing down 
as hard as she can through her pelvis, 
to enable the birthing process for baby to pass 
down through the birth canal and enter
 the world to begin life independent of the
 safety of its mothers womb which has protected, 
nourished and been the means to grow it 
over the course of the last 9 months. 
As the contractions come closer together 
and stronger the woman enters the place 
where she no longer thinks about what she 
needs to do, at this point her body takes 
over and naturally knows what to do because 
this is what it was designed to do and made for. 
This is where it must come to for the believer 
as our walk, faith & belief deepens with the Lord.
When we come to the junction of having 
practised bearing down so much along the way 
that our spiritual man has been so exercised 
and given charge to do his job, that he has
 reigned and is without limitation within and over us. 
As we are habitually in the practice of bearing 
down and pushing through, in our prayer life, 
in meditation, reading the word, obedience 
to the Lord through the Word, application of 
the Word to our lives, in good works, giving, 
stewarding, caring, renewing our minds, 
dealing with hatred and rejection while 
walking in compassion, mercy and 
forgiveness towards all. 
When these things and others that feed and 
sustain our spirit man empowered by 
Holy Spirit because we choose them, 
have become to us as essential as air, 
necessary for life and without we cannot 
live right, we are bearing down in and 
bearing through past the things of our flesh 
and putting these off in our preference to 
pursue the things of the Spirit.
[Romans 8:5 (AMP)
5 For those who are living according to the 
flesh set their minds on the things of the 
flesh [which gratify the body], but those who 
are living according to the Spirit, [set their 
minds on] the things of the Spirit 
[His will and purpose].]
There comes a place in our walk that choosing 
to live as righteous ones moves from being 
second nature (like our nature) to us, to 
becoming our nature. 
Brothers and Sisters there is much work to do 
in our bearing down and pushing through, 
but the result once the labour (work) is 
complete is a joy as no other.
Remember the joy you experienced when 
that little babe of yours came out of the 
birth canal and you were introduced to them 
for the fist time? Remember the wave of 
emotion and love that washed over you and 
how helpless you felt and in awe of this miracle? 
Now consider that 100 fold, at the end of 
our labour here with the Lord, our minds
 have not conceived those things He has 
for us. 
At the end of the bearing down and pushing 
through is reward, a gift, something to behold 
that we have barely even imagined. 
That will be JOY beyond JOY.
I want to hear those words from my Lord 
"Well done good and faithful servant 
Enter into the joy of your lord.’"
Matthew 25:23
Fix your gaze on things above and run to win!
Remember weeping may endure for a night, 
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5