Growth Beyond the First Step

The Three Elements of God's Purpose

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Perfecting of the Saints

Spiritual perfecting does not mean becoming sinless or flawless; it means becoming complete. The word carries the sense of restoration, adjustment, and completion, like a physician setting a broken bone or a fisherman mending nets. The saints are those already saved by grace, yet they are works in progress. Every sermon preached, every prayer lifted, and every act of discipleship exists to bring you to maturity in Christ.

The passage establishes a clear sequence:

• Equipping the Individual (The Perfecting of the Saints): Transformation begins in the heart of the individual believer. Pastors and deacons and spiritual gifts within the church exist to nurture, ground, and mature believers so that they are no longer tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
• Activating the Calling (The Work of the Ministry): The matured saint does not remain a passive recipient. As you are restored and equipped, you are propelled into active service. Ministry is not reserved for a select clergy; it is the natural outpouring of a maturing faith.
• Strengthening the Whole (The Edifying of the Body of Christ): As each member grows into spiritual stability and executes their ministry, the entire body is built up in love and unity, growing to reflect the full stature of Christ.

The Holy Spirit presents a progression of spiritual growth: the saints are perfected or equipped, that equipping enables them to participate in the work of ministry, and that ministry builds up the body of Christ. In other words, your spiritual growth is not only about what God wants to do in you; it is also about what He intends to do through you.

The Perfecting of the Saints

To be a Christian is to begin a journey, not to reach an immediate destination. Salvation brings you into Christ, but discipleship teaches you how to live in Christ. The Spirit of God desires to develop your faith, deepen your understanding in His Word, strengthen your character, refine your motives, and teach you to walk faithfully with Him.

Your salvation was never meant to be just a transaction. Every struggle you face, every conviction you feel, and every season of difficulty are invitations to grow deeper in Jesus Christ. He did not save you from sin just to leave you stagnant; He saved you into a life of increasing Christlikeness.

The hard truth wrapped in grace is this: you cannot stay where you are. Spiritual maturity requires your active participation. It demands that you engage with Scripture, that you let the brethren challenge you, that you repent when you stumble, and that you press forward even when the path feels lonely. There is no shortcut to becoming who God has called you to be. So, let God perfect what concerns you. But here is the breathtaking truth:

Your growth matters.

It matters to your salvation story. It matters to your calling. It matters to the people God has placed around you. And it matters to the body of Christ.

You are necessary, but you cannot become everything God has called you to be while refusing to grow.

You need Jesus, and you need to keep growing in Jesus. The more you grow in Him, the more your life becomes a vessel through which His love, His truth, His grace, and His power can reach others.

Do not stop at being saved.

Grow until your life looks more and more like the Christ who saved you.

Truth, The Highest Form of Love

The Compassion with Confrontation

Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

The Proceed Any Further Is Dangerous...

“Warning every man” means the message of Christ is not soft-pedaled. It is urgent. It confronts sin, exposes self-deception, and calls every person to turn from the broad way that leads to judgment. The warning is not hatred; it is mercy. A faithful preacher does not flatter, entertain, or excuse. 

And Teaching Every Man In All Wisdom

Warning alone is not enough. People must not only be told what to flee; they must be taught where to go. The Holy Ghost therefore joined warning with teaching. The gospel gives understanding concerning God, sin, judgment, grace, faith, holiness, and eternal life.

This teaching is “in all wisdom.” Biblical wisdom is more than possessing information. It is learning to see life from God’s perspective and a view of eternity. A person may know religious facts and still lack spiritual wisdom. True wisdom leads the heart to Christ, produces humility, exposes self-righteousness, and teaches the believer how to walk faithfully in a fallen world.

The gospel therefore speaks to the whole person. It warns the conscience, enlightens the mind, convicts the heart, and calls the sinner to Jesus Christ. It does not merely invite a person to add Christianity to an otherwise unchanged life. It calls him to repentance, faith, and a new life free from sin.

The Good News of Jesus Christ

The gospel contains good news, but it also contains a serious warning because humanity stands in danger apart from Christ. To warn someone is to love them enough to tell them the truth about a danger they may not see.

The Warning To You

You cannot inherit salvation from someone else. You cannot borrow your parents' faith. You cannot substitute church membership for conversion. You cannot substitute morality for regeneration. You cannot substitute religious activity for the transforming work of God.

You need Christ, not merely as an example to follow, but as the Savior you cannot do without.

And you need more than an outward profession. 

You need to be born again.

The Salvation of Jesus Christ

So this warning is for you: do not merely admire Christ, come to Christ. Do not merely learn about the new birth, be born again. Do not rest in religion, morality, or your own goodness, because none of these can save you. You need Jesus. You need the new life that only God can give. If you have never been born again, the most important thing you can do is turn to Christ in repentance and faith.

The Gospel Demands More Than Words—It Is A Call To You

Into the Unknown: Carrying the Gospel Where No One Has Gone

2 Corinthians 10:16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.

Understanding the Gospel's Expansive Call

The passage calls believers to extend the gospel of Jesus Christ into untouched territories rather than taking credit for work already established by others.  Paul's exhortation to you in 2 Corinthians 10:16, carries profound implications for how you understand and exemplify your Christian faith.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Central Mission

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the core message of salvation—that through Christ's death, burial and resurrection, according to the scriptures you have access to redemption, adoption, and eternal life by the power of God. This isn't merely a doctrine to be intellectually assented to; it's a transformative truth meant to be proclaimed to every creature.

When Paul speaks of "preaching the gospel in the regions beyond," he's emphasizing that the gospel's reach should constantly expand into new territories, new generations, and new hearts. The gospel isn't meant to be confined to comfortable, established edifices or familiar audiences. It's a living, dynamic proclamation that pushes boundaries and dares to ventures into spiritual wilderness. 

The Danger of Spiritual Pride and Borrowed Glory

The second part of the passage warns against boasting "in another man's line of things made ready to our hand." This speaks directly to the temptation of taking credit for spiritual work.

The Holy Ghost of God is addressing a subtle but deadly form of spiritual pride: the tendency to build your ministry reputation on foundations laid by others. It's easy to:

• You settle into established congregations and claim credit for their spiritual health
• You incorporate conveniences into the ministries to inflate your growth
• You boast in numbers and successes by pilfering other fields
• You rest on your laurels

The gospel of Jesus Christ demands authenticity and integrity. When you take credit for another's labor, you dishonour both the sacrifice of Jesus  Christ and the Holy Spirit's perfect work. You also compromise the very gospel you claim to preach—a gospel rooted in humility, sacrifice, and the power of God.

The Call to Sacrifice

2 Corinthians 10:16, invites believers into evangelism the difficult, unglamorous work of taking the gospel where it hasn't yet reached. This might mean:

• Proclaiming Christ with those you work with
• Engaging with belief systems and worldviews hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ
• Building bible studies from scratch
• Accepting the yoke of the gospel of Jesus Christ without guaranteed success

The gospel of Jesus Christ thrives where it's not yet rooted. It transforms hardened hearts, breaks the yoke of spiritual bondage, and creates children of God. But this work requires courage, humility, and willingness to labor without immediate recognition.

A Personal Reckoning

Here's where this becomes personal for you: You are being invited to ask yourself whether you're truly advancing the gospel of Christ.

Are you content to work within systems already built, taking comfort in established structures while the gospel remains unknown to those around you? Or will you have the courage to venture into your own "regions beyond"—the difficult conversations, the resistant hearts, the unfamiliar spiritual territories that God has placed within your reach?

The gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't need your boasting; it needs your sacrifice. It doesn't require that you build monuments; it demands that you lay down your reputation, your comfort, and your need for recognition at the feet of Jesus. When you do, you'll discover something extraordinary: that the deepest joy, the most authentic fulfillment, and the truest spiritual victory comes not from inheriting someone else's work, but from pioneering new ground for Christ's kingdom.

The question before you is this: Will you be faithful to preach where others have not yet gone, content to plant seeds in soil no one has yet cultivated, and willing to let Christ alone receive the glory? 

The Warning That Shakes the Foundation

A Faithful Warning in an Age That Hates Alarm

The judgment day is coming,

We warn you faithfully;

A shelter find in Jesus;

Be saved eternally.

We plead with fervent pleading:

From wrath and peril flee,

And find in Christ a refuge,

A hiding place for thee.” The Judgment Day Is Coming, We Warn You Faithfully (Elisha Hoffman)

Warning and Redemption

The message we proclaim is not selective, nor is it softened by fear of offence. We preach Christ to all, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, because every soul stands shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The call to repentance and faith to every man, for the need for every man. No one is exempt from accountability, and no one is excluded from God’s grace and mercy.

Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

The Imperative of Warning

Our mission is unequivocal: to preach, to warn, and to teach every man with absolute wisdom. This is not a casual invitation, but a critical proclamation that carries eternal consequences. The goal transcends mere words - It should be your desire to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

The Approaching Judgment

The drumbeat of impending judgment reverberates with unmistakable clarity:

• The day of reckoning is drawing near
• Wrath and peril stand as stark realities
• A divine call demands immediate response

The "perfection" Paul speaks of isn't a state of moral flawlessness we achieve on our own; it is the state of being "found in Him." When we flee the "peril" and enter the "Refuge" of Christ, His righteousness becomes our covering. The "Hiding Place" is where our perfection is found. We are "presented perfect" because we are standing behind the one Shield that the judgment cannot pierce.

If You Loved Them, You’d Wake Them

We live in an age that finds "warning" to be offensive and "pleading" to be intrusive. We are told that to tell someone they are in danger is "judgmental." But if you see a person sleeping in a house that is silently filling with carbon monoxide, the most hateful thing you can do is let them sleep in "peace." The most loving thing you can do—the most faithful thing—is to shake them and plead with them to wake up.

The "emotional gravity" of these passages is found in the tears of the watchman. The warning isn't proclaimed from a position of superiority; it is proclaimed from the doorway of the Shelter by someone who has returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.

There is a day coming that will test the foundation of every life. Delay is dangerous, and indifference is costly. The refuge stands ready, but it must be entered. The "peril" is real, the "wrath" is certain, but the "Hiding Place" is open wide. The warning is the most beautiful sound you will ever hear if you understand that it is a love letter from a God who refuses to let you perish without a fight. He isn't just watching the clock tick toward judgment; He is sending messengers with "all wisdom" and "fervent pleading" to bring you home.

The Kindness of the Alarm

Don't mistake the alarm for the fire. The alarm is the mercy. The plea is the grace. Step out of the "peril," leave the "scarlet" of your past at the door, and find in Christ the only Refuge that can turn a fugitive into a masterpiece, presented perfect before the throne of God. 

The Day Purpose Changed Directions

How God Turns Relentless Passion into Holy Purpose

Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Unbridled Purpose

For context, Paul (then Saul) is already a man of an iron will. He is not drifting. He is determined. He wakes each day with purpose, armed with conviction, marching toward Damascus convinced he is serving God. His energy is fierce, disciplined, relentless. He is the kind of man who finishes what he starts. The tragedy—and the tension—is that his strength is aimed in the wrong direction.

“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

This is the turning point of history for Paul. Notice what he does not ask:

• He does not defend himself.
• He does not explain his intentions.
• He does not ask for clarity about the future.

He Asks For Orders

The same determination that once hunted believers now bows its knee. His will does not disappear—it is recruited. God does not destroy Paul’s fire; He redirects it. The persecutor becomes the preacher. The man who dragged saints to prison will one day walk willingly into chains for Christ.

Paul is called to move: to rise, to enter, to listen. The triad (arise, go, listen) reframes action as receptivity. The conversion is not a static conversion of belief alone but a dynamic reorientation of purpose. Now, the same fire that made him a relentless persecutor is now refined into a relentless passion for the Gospel. He trades his comfort, his reputation, and his safety for a new mission. He went from hunting Christians to "being all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

The Ultimate Re-Casting

When you embrace your own calling, asking, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" You open yourself to a life filled with meaning and challenges that shape you into who you are meant to be. Paul’s unwavering commitment becomes an encouraging reminder that, when empowered by faith, you can rise above your pasts. The most powerful journeys often begin with the most unexpected surrenders – where you stop asking "What do I want?" and start asking, "Lord, what do you want me to do?".

If you would like to know how you too can fulfil your calling reach out and drop a line, leave a message and someone can show you from the scriptures, how you can live a bible believers passion filled life for the Lord, today, right now.

The Enduring Truth Is On The Paper

Your Checklist

God’s ministry lives in both spoken word and written text. The preacher’s parting request for “the papers” echoes Paul’s appeal for “the parchments”—especially the parchments. Recognizing that he had fought the good fight and finished his course (2 Timothy 4:7), Paul understood that preserving truth and imparting knowledge depended on tangible, written materials. This highlights that true ministry thrives through passionate preaching, effective instruction, and reverent stewardship of God’s written Word

2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Old Baptist Preacher, John Moore

John Moore (1662–1726) was an influential Baptist preacher and a Nonconformist, meaning he wasn't part of the Church of England.

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Early Life and Faith

Born in Yorkshire, Moore had a deeply religious upbringing. As a teenager, he struggled with intense spiritual anxiety and a sense of guilt. However, he found himself under the instruction of an order preacher, William Mitchell who instructed him in bible truth allowing him to find peace and comfort in his faith.

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Ministry and Lasting Impact

After serving in a church in Lancashire, Moore became the pastor of the College Street Baptist Church in Northampton in 1720. His sermons were known for their theological depth and warmth. He published a collection of his sermons in 1722 entitled, Several Sermons by John Moore of Northampton.