Tag spiritual maturity

The Frozen Chosen: A Prophetic Editorial to the Body of Believers

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“By Now You Ought to Be Teachers” — The Divine Indictment

The modern church is filled with believers who have mastered the art of showing up without ever truly growing spiritually. They attend services faithfully, sing with enthusiasm, and serve occasionally, yet they remain unchanged in their spiritual maturity. These are the saints who occupy the church building but never embrace the deeper promises of faith. They are what I call the “frozen chosen.”

The Spirit addressed this condition long ago, warning believers through the words of Hebrews: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12). This is not a gentle suggestion but a stern rebuke.

The Lord is essentially saying that you have been part of the church long enough to grow, to mature, and to reproduce spiritually. You should be teaching others by now. Yet, instead, you still require someone to reteach you the basics repeatedly. This confusion of longevity with maturity is the tragedy of the frozen chosen.

The Highchair Church: When Milk Becomes a Lifestyle

Paul’s words to the Corinthians express a similar frustration: “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat” (1 Corinthians 3:1–2). Milk represents the beginning stages of faith, while meat symbolizes spiritual growth and maturity.

Unfortunately, many believers have made milk their permanent diet. They seek comfort without conviction, blessings without burden, inspiration without obedience, and sermons without surrender. They grow older in the church but not deeper in Christ. A church filled with believers who refuse to develop spiritually will never be able to fully digest the truth.

The Immaturity That Weakens the Witness

Paul warns the Ephesians about the dangers of spiritual immaturity: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14). Immature believers are easily swayed by trends, follow personalities rather than Christ, fall for false teachings, get offended quickly, and require constant supervision.

Such believers cannot stand firm because they have never learned to walk in faith. They cannot discern truth because they have never learned to listen to the Spirit. They cannot lead because they have never learned to follow Christ. A church filled with spiritual children cannot confront the mature darkness of the world.

The Mission Failure: When the Church Refuses to Go

At the heart of this editorial lies a deeper issue: the church has failed its mission. Jesus did not command believers to sit and wait, stand in one place, or hope that people would come to them. Instead, He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).

The mission is to go, not to stay; to make disciples, not merely maintain programs; to teach, not tolerate; to preach, not preserve. We are called to be living stones (1 Peter 2:5), lights in the world (Matthew 5:14), salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), witnesses unto Him (Acts 1:8), and ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Yet many believers have become stationary stones, dim lights, flavorless salt, silent witnesses, and passive attendees. We change pastors, churches, worship styles, and programs, but we rarely change our posture. Discipleship demands action and commitment.

We desire salvation without surrender, calling without cost, and purpose without participation. But Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Hearing without doing is not discipleship; it is self-deception. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

A church that refuses to go is a church that refuses to grow.

The Illusion of Progress Without Transformation

Many congregations mistake activity for advancement. They celebrate anniversaries, programs, conferences, installations, and renovations, but none of these guarantee true transformation.

Jesus did not say, “By this shall all men know you are My disciples—that you attend faithfully.” Instead, He said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

A church can be busy yet barren, full yet fruitless, loud yet lifeless. If the people are not growing, the ministry is not succeeding.

The Lampstand Warning: When God Removes What Man Preserves

The Lord Jesus gives a final warning to churches that refuse to mature: “Repent… or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place” (Revelation 2:5). The lampstand symbolizes God’s presence, approval, witness, and authority.

A church may hold onto its building, programs, traditions, and calendar, but if it refuses to grow, God will remove its lampstand. He will not endorse immaturity, empower stagnation, or anoint apathy.

A frozen church is only one step away from becoming a forsaken church.

A Resolution for the Body of Believers

Let every believer hear the Word of the Lord: “By now you ought to be teachers.” Growth comes quickly to those who pour out what God has placed within them. The whole concept of sowing and reaping applies to doing the work of the ministry. Do not be a perpetual student, lifelong infant, or spiritual dependent. Leave the Father’s house and go to work in the field.

Resolve to grow beyond milk, hunger for meat, go into the world, preach the gospel, teach the nations, shine as lights, live as witnesses, obey the Word, and bear lasting fruit.

For the Spirit is speaking to the churches: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 2:7), before the lampstand is removed.

Wanderers Are Never Conquerors

Allen Frederick Leave a comment
Why Most Believers Never Cross the Jordan

The Tragedy of a Backward Glance

Most believers never cross the Jordan because they never stop looking back. They do not look back to sin as much as they look back to familiarity. They look back to tradition, predictability, and the comfort of what they already understand. They look back to the “way we’ve always done it,” even when the way they’ve always done it has never produced transformation. They look back to Egypt, not because Egypt was good, but because Egypt was known. Scripture says, “They said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” [Numbers 14:4]

This backward glance is not harmless. It is fatal. It is the very reason an entire generation died in the wilderness. They were delivered from bondage, but bondage was not delivered from them. They were physically free, but mentally enslaved. They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was not out of them.

The Grumblers Were the Wanderers

The wilderness generation is remembered for one defining trait: they murmured. They complained. They resisted. They doubted. They questioned God’s goodness, God’s timing, and God’s leadership. Scripture records God’s indictment: “All the men who have seen My glory and My signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested Me these ten times and have not obeyed My voice, shall not see the land that I swore to give to their fathers.” [Numbers 14:22–23]

The grumblers were the wanderers. And the wanderers were the ones who died in the wilderness. They never tasted the fruit of the Promised Land. They lived on manna when God offered them vineyards they did not plant and cities they did not build. They lived on survival when God intended inheritance.

The Wilderness Is a Circle, Not a Journey

The wilderness is not a destination. It is a holding pattern. It is a place where God waits for unbelief to die. Scripture says, “The Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.” [Numbers 32:13]

The wilderness is full of people who think they are moving forward but are actually going in circles. They attend services, but they do not surrender. They sing songs, but they do not obey. They hear sermons, but they do not change. They know the language of faith, but not the life of faith. They are active, but not advancing. Busy, but not becoming. In motion, but not in transformation.

The Jordan Is a One‑Way Crossing

Crossing the Jordan is not a casual step. It is a decisive break. It is the moment when a believer leaves behind the wilderness mindset and steps into the inheritance God prepared. It is the moment when faith becomes obedience, and obedience becomes movement. Scripture says, “Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’” [Joshua 3:5]

The Jordan represents consecration, identity, maturity, and calling. Once Israel crossed, there was no path back to the wilderness. No path back to manna. No path back to wandering. No path back to Egypt. The Jordan is a one‑way crossing. It is the place where God says, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you.” [Joshua 1:3]

But most believers never reach that point because they are still looking over their shoulder. They are still longing for the familiar. They are still anchored to the past. They are still shaped by tradition. They are still defined by what was instead of what God is calling them to become.

Lot’s Wife: The Icon of a Divided Heart

Lot’s wife did not look back because she loved sin. She looked back because she loved familiarity. She looked back because she could not release the life she built, the rhythms she knew, and the world she understood. Scripture says, “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” [Genesis 19:26]

She froze between two worlds. She could not move forward because her heart was still behind her. She is the picture of the modern believer—one foot in worship, one foot in tradition; one foot in calling, one foot in comfort; one foot in the Spirit, one foot in the familiar. Frozen. Stuck. Unable to ascend.

You Cannot Conquer What You Refuse to Enter

The Promised Land was filled with fruit, but Israel could not taste it until they crossed. Scripture says, “They came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them.” [Numbers 13:23] The fruit was real. The promise was real. The inheritance was real. But the people who doubted never tasted it.

You cannot conquer what you refuse to enter. You cannot inherit what you refuse to pursue. You cannot walk in promise while clinging to the wilderness. You cannot step into destiny while looking back at Egypt.

Wanderers Are Never Conquerors

This is the truth the modern church must face: Wanderers are never conquerors. Wanderers do not take cities. Wanderers do not defeat giants. Wanderers do not inherit promise. Wanderers do not walk in authority. Wanderers do not experience transformation. Wanderers do not see the wonders of God.

Only those who cross the Jordan—those who consecrate themselves, those who stop looking back, those who release the familiar, those who embrace the upward call—become conquerors.

Scripture declares, “But the people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” [Daniel 11:32] Exploits are not for wanderers. They are for warriors. They are for those who move forward. They are for those who cross.

The Call to Move Forward

The God of Scripture is calling His people out of the wilderness and into inheritance. He is calling them to stop circling the same mountains. He is calling them to stop longing for the familiar. He is calling them to stop looking back. He is calling them to cross the Jordan.

He is calling them to believe again. To obey again. To consecrate again. To move again. To trust again. To ascend again.

For the promise still stands: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

Wanderers are never conquerors. But those who cross—those who rise—those who obey—those who refuse to look back—become the people who take the land.

What Foundation Are You Building On?

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Question Every Disciple Must Face

Every life is built on a foundation, whether we acknowledge it or not. Jesus made this clear when He said,

“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock”
(Matthew 7:24–25)

The storm did not reveal their intentions; it revealed their foundations. Both men heard the words of Christ, but only one obeyed them. The difference was not sincerity, emotion, or religious activity. The difference was obedience to the words of the Lord.

Paul echoes this truth when he writes,

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”
(1 Corinthians 3:11)

He warns believers to “take heed how you build” (1 Corinthians 3:10). This is because the Day will test every man’s work with fire. Wood, hay, and stubble burn quickly, but gold, silver, and precious stones endure. The question is not whether you are building, but what you are building with—and what you are building on.

Sincerity Is Not a Foundation

Many Christians today are sincere, but sincerity is not a foundation. Sincerity can be sincerely misplaced. Israel was sincere when Paul said they had “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). They were passionate, but they were passionately wrong because they substituted their own righteousness for the righteousness of God.

Jesus confronted the Pharisees for the same reason:

“You make void the commandment of God by your tradition” (Mark 7:13)

They did not reject God outright; they simply elevated human teaching until it overshadowed divine instruction. This same pattern repeats in the modern church. People cling to rituals, holidays, denominational doctrines, and inherited practices, believing that by keeping these traditions they are honoring God. Yet when asked what the Lord requires of them, many have no answer, because they were never taught to ask.

When Tradition Replaces Truth

Many believers were taught to follow the church calendar, but not the voice of the Shepherd. They were taught to keep the traditions of men, but not the commandments of God. They were taught to carry out religious acts, but not to repent, believe, and be led by the Spirit.

Replacement holidays like Christmas and Easter are only the most visible examples. They are sentimental, familiar, and deeply ingrained, but they are not the foundation God laid. They are cultural observances elevated to the status of holy days. Meanwhile, the appointed times of the Lord are dismissed as “Jewish” or irrelevant. These times were written by His own hand, fulfilled by His Son, and witnessed by His Spirit.

Yet the New Testament speaks of Passover, Pentecost, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Tabernacles with reverence, not dismissal. These feasts carry God’s fingerprints. They are covered with the blood of Jesus. They need no wreaths, ornaments, or external trappings to feel holy. Their holiness is inherent because their Author is holy.

But the problem goes deeper than holidays. Churches have elevated ritual washings, denominational formulas, and man‑made requirements. They value these above the weightier matters of repentance, faith, and the leading of the Spirit. People are taught to trust in the act rather than the transformation. They believe in the ritual rather than the repentance. Their faith lies more in the formula rather than the faith.

Scripture says plainly:

“As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14)

And again:

“If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9)

Yet many have been taught to trust in outward forms while neglecting the inward witness of the Spirit.

The Foundation God Requires

A true foundation begins with repentance, continues faithfully, and is sealed by the Spirit. It is shaped by obedience to the words of Jesus, not by the expectations of culture. It is strengthened by the fear of the Lord, not by the comfort of familiarity. It is aligned with the Father’s will, not with the calendar of man.

Micah asks the question plainly:

“What does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

Jesus answers it even more directly:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27)

The foundation God requires is not built on tradition, ritual, or sentiment. It is built on Christ, His Word, and His Spirit. Anything else is sand.

The Coming Test

The storm is coming, the fire is coming, and the Day is coming when every man’s work will be revealed. Jesus warned that many will say to Him, “Lord, Lord…” and list their religious activities, but He will answer,

“I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23)

Not because they were evil, but because they built on activity instead of obedience.

Only what is built on the Rock will stand. Only what is built on Christ, His Word, and His Spirit will endure. Everything else—no matter how sincere, sentimental, or traditional—will collapse when the winds rise.

How to Test Your Foundation

Scripture never leaves us without a remedy. The Lord not only commands us to build on the right foundation—He tells us how to examine it.

Paul urges believers to “examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). This examination is not optional, because the testing of our foundation is not optional. The storm will come. The fire will come. The Day will come. Wisdom examines the foundation before the shaking arrives.

The first test is obedience to the words of Jesus.

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)

Our foundation is unstable if tradition, culture, or denominational teaching shape our lives more than the commands of Christ. This is because it is cracked.

The second test is repentance.
John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord by crying, “Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). Repentance is not a ritual; it is a turning of the heart. If repentance is absent, the foundation is weak.

The third test is the witness of the Spirit.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God”
(Romans 8:16)

If the Spirit is not leading, convicting, guiding, and confirming, then the foundation is not Christ but self.

The fourth test is alignment with the Word.

“Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth”
(John 17:17)

If our beliefs can’t be traced to Scripture in context, they can’t support the weight of discipleship.

Wisdom or Folly

Jesus ends His teaching on foundations with a warning and an invitation. The wise man hears and obeys. The foolish man hears and ignores. The difference is not in what they heard, but in what they did with what they heard.

Ignoring the condition of your foundation is folly. Checking it is wisdom. The storm will expose every hidden weakness, every unexamined assumption, every tradition elevated above truth. But the one who builds on Christ, His Word, and His Spirit will stand when everything else falls.

The question remains for every disciple:

What foundation are you building on—and will it stand when the testing comes?