Moving Beyond the Basics

Hebrews 6:1-3 The Message

So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!

Dear ones…the subject of maturing in the things of Christ is on my heart today. These scripture verses in Hebrews instruct us to move beyond the basics. So many want to camp out just inside the door to the Kingdom. “It is enough that we are saved and going to heaven,” they say. However, I believe this passage says otherwise. I like the way The Message version puts it.

The basic foundational truths are in place:

God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that.

But there’s so much more.

Yes, we are saved through faith in the cross.

Yes, we have been baptized and born again.

Yes, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We know we are going to Heaven. We have the blessed hope of the resurrection.

If you haven’t, then you haven’t done the basics, so that is the first step for you. For those of you who have, we also know about the laying on of hands which is healing, deliverance, and being anointed for the work of the ministry. We understand that these signs shall follow those that believe: we will heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, cleanse the lepers, and make disciples of all nations.

But there is more… Let’s get on with it!

What is this more then? How do we get on with that? First, we have to believe that the basics is just a starting point and that there is so much more. We must want to move beyond the basics. If we say, “it is enough and that is all we need,” then we will never dig deeper into the scriptures to move beyond the basics. We will never realize our full potential as Kingdom Citizens and Ambassadors of Jesus in the Earth.

Jesus modeled way more than the basics. Some of those things he modeled and taught involved controlling weather, cursing a fig tree, multiplying food, disappearing in a crowd, knowing the thoughts of others, and teaching with wisdom and authority. He told His disciples that with just a mustard seed of faith they could move mountains and rebuked them for not having faith when a storm rocked their boat.

Think about it. If Jesus did and said these things, then we should also be doing these things when the situation calls for it and have the faith to move mountains. We should trust Him in the storms and even be able to speak to those storms and quiet them.

I encourage you to prayerfully dig deeper and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you how to move beyond the basics to become mature Kingdom Citizens exercising the authority that Jesus gave us…exercising that authority in the Earth.

After all, Jesus taught us to pray…Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done…where? In the Earth as it is in Heaven. He taught that the Kingdom was at hand, even within our reach. How can we bring His Kingdom to Earth? I believe it is by moving beyond the basics and learning how to walk in wisdom and authority as Kingdom Citizens.

Be a Berean. Study to show yourselves approved, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Matthew 5:48 MSG

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Ephesians 4:14-16 MSG

I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold to shame you. I’m writing as a father [mother] to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers [or mothers] willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was [is] as Jesus helped [helps] me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became [become] your father[mother]. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.

1 Corinthians 4:14-16 MSG

Shalom dear ones…until next time.