Several years ago, I had a series of encounters where Jesus grabbed me by the hand and took me into the stars, saying, Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away with Me (Song of Solomon 2:10). In an instant, I was there with Him in the galaxies. He looked at me and smiled, and said, Watch this! He then reached out His hand and rearranged several stars. Several days later, He came to me again and the same thing happened, only this time, He said, Let’s do it together. And we did. The third encounter was the same as the first two, except that He said, You do it. You know what to do. Even though I didn’t fully understand the intricacies of what was happening, I did what I had seen Him do before and what we had done together. I rearranged several stars, as He looked on with delight. The classroom itself was about times and seasons, but for the purpose of this chapter, I simply want to highlight the way the Lord interacted with me as I grew in authority and in a practical understanding of His ways. The first time, He did it all. The second time, we did it together. The third time, I did what I had seen Him doing. The point is this: As we mature, God incrementally shifts from doing things for us to doing things with us to doing things as us! This encounter was an experiential demonstration of what I call our “maturity map.”
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
–I John 2:12-14, NKJV
We see here that the first stage of maturity is simply to receive the gift of salvation, to learn the nature and character of God and to realize who you are – a son of God, born of His very DNA. Understanding your true identity breaks the stranglehold of shame and condemnation, enabling you to accept responsibility for sin and quickly repent without over-identifying with it. Children must know that their sins are forgiven.
Then, built on the foundation of knowing your true identity and the nature of your Father, you must be given opportunities to overcome in order to grow strong and to gain authority and credibility in the realm of the Spirit. The young man phase of your growth is all about growing strong, abiding in the word (oneness with the One who IS the Word) and overcoming the evil one.
When you look up I John 2:13-14 in Strong’s Concordance, you will find that the word for “evil one” is #G4190, the Greek word poneron. It is the same word used in Matthew 6:13, when Jesus, modeling prayer for us, prayed, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…” Note that the evil here is directly connected to temptation. Now, please understand that I am not denying the existence of a literal adversary. But I am saying that what is in you and what you are in agreement with is more important that what is outside of you, for the adversary only has power over you where there are places of agreement! This agreement might be something you are not yet consciously aware of or might be an area where you simply need to apply the work of the cross to something handed down to you in your bloodline. Though you have an adversary, temptation itself is all about those things that resonate from within your human nature (you know, that person you’re NOT!)
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
–-James 1:14, NLT
In stark contrast, our Savior said this:
I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]
–John 14:30, AMPC
What Yeshua is saying here is that the adversary had no power over Him, because he had nothing in Him. And you have power over the adversary in the same way! You don’t have the impossible task of making evil stop being evil. As a maturing son, you simply have to overcome your personal adversary by ceasing to be in agreement with him. This happens as you allow Holy Spirit to shine His spotlight of truth, moment by moment, on whatever it is time for you to see and overcome in your life at that time. The young man phase (which, by the way, is not a gender specific term) is simply that developmental phase of growth whereby we transition from child to father by way of overcoming. The Father knows how to motivate His sons who are reluctant to grow, and often, He will appeal to the childish selfishness that is still being worked out of us to lure us into a classroom where we gain authority… most of all, over ourselves.
Just as Yeshua endured the cross by focusing on the joy that was set before Him, so you can look forward to many exciting adventures in the eternal realm as you mature. Being a father has to do with procreation and co-creation, which is done from the Father’s heart, outside the realm of time. Everything — EVERYTHING — exists in its entirety there in His heart! Every promise is already fulfilled. Everything is already restored. Every miracle is already complete. Every desire of His heart melted into ours is already “yes and amen” there in that place!
So, be encouraged in knowing that, as you submit to the process of maturation, going from child to young man to father, endless exploits await you. In the Father’s heart is where you co-create with Him, birthing spiritual reality into the realm of earth! In that place, nothing is impossible!
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