Keys of Life: A Guide for Growth

By Robert Padgett

A PLAN CREATED JUST FOR YOU

Through this book, God is calling out to this generation to grow up and to be the people of God He has created them to be. It does not matter what level you are at. It is like a mirror that reflects who you are, allowing you to reach that next level in Christ. From those who are just curious abo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Mar 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887384504

Robert Padgett

After I had been following Christ for eighteen years, the Lord showed me that the illuminations and revelations He was giving me by His Spirit about His Word were not only for my growth but for all who would be willing to hear. I believe this book is a word directly from the Spirit to you for your breakthrough, if you can accept that. Be blessed in Jesus' name, and grow in Christ.

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KEYS OF

LIFE

A Guide for Growth

Robert Padgett

greyscale Trilogy Christian Publishers logo

Keys of Life

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2023 by Robert Padgett

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked CSB are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB®, are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1982 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-449-8

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-450-4

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to my pastors, Archie and Tangie Callahan (fire insurance), and Pastors Scott and Robin Mayo. They have been my pastors since committing my life to Christ over eighteen years ago, and I would not be who I am today without them.

To my amazing and supportive wife, Na, who inspires me to be the best me that I can be.

Also, to my godly parents, Dennis and Laura Padgett, who have always stayed true to Christ and instilled His Word in my heart.

And to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to whom I owe my very life and all. Without His sacrifice that paid for my sins, I would be eternally lost.

It can be hard to take advice from parents or pastors but remember they are not giving you instruction for their benefit, but it is out of love for you, for your benefit through Christ, through whom we are all connected. When one of us hurts, we all hurt; when one grows, we all grow joined together as the body of Christ. Grow!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Stages of Growth

Power and Partnership

Blooming Spiritual Gifts

Humility and Pride

Directions of Growth

Faithfulness

Getting to the Roots, Choices, and Decisions

Father of Time

Fearless, the Dragon Slayers

The Fruits of Growth, States of Being

Beyond the Veil, Resistance Is Growth

Faith as Action, the Heart of Eternity

About the Author

Preface

The Lord is searching for the Gideons among us to show Himself mighty. Those who can face any challenge or trial and say, Thank you, God, for this opportunity to bring glory to your name. Is that you?

No one is born ready to boldly face life in such a way, but through growth in Christ, we can be. It does not matter what your family history is like or what your background is. God can use you to be and to do mighty things for Him. For His Spirit that is in you will teach you all things, guide you in the right paths, and strengthen you for the task He has called you for. It does not matter who said You can’t and You won’t because with me, God says You can and You will. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37, NKJV).

The following was written as the Holy Spirit revealed and illuminated truths to me from the Word of God, and I gave them to my children, Hannah, Sophia, and Ethan, as keys of life to follow. They are meant to accelerate your growth, prepare you for the future, and be a mirror revealing who you can become with Christ’s leading. Following each chapter are the accompanying God-given dreams and visions that go along with them, which are meant to be contemplated and lead to deeper revelation and soul-searching. I hope this book is an encouragement to you as well, helping you to live life boldly for Christ and to see who He is in you and who you are in Him.

—Dad

Stages of Growth

Suggested Listening

We Are Messengers’ God You Are

Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God.

— 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NRSVA)

In order to reach our maximum potential for growth in this life, we need to understand the cycles of growth. And while our vision is limited, God has an eternal view of life, and we need to constantly adjust our vision to align with His. That is, our growth here on earth, while only a beginning to our growth, is truly vital to our effectiveness while here.

It begins with learning, which leads to personal growth, then to expanding your boundaries, then to protecting those within your boundaries (this is actually love, but protection is one of the initial ways it manifests, and fully manifests as you grow through cycles), then to realization of lack of wisdom and seeking God for wisdom, then to teaching those within to protect themselves, which leads to a deeper understanding of what we have already learned, which leads to our own further growth and allows further expansion of our boundaries and on it goes to the glory of God.

Making the most of every opportunity, we must grow as efficiently as possible, as our time here is terribly short. We cannot continue to live as though there is no tomorrow when our lives are only a breath, a vapor. And then why? Why does my growth matter when I am already saved? Because your growth is directly proportional to the size of your boundaries, which is the realm of your effective influence for the kingdom. And your growth is directly proportional to the limits of God’s love that you can express.

So, we must focus our efforts on growth to maximize our opportunities, but to take advantage of those opportunities requires that we disregard all hypocrisy and facades and constantly be our true selves. While it is terrifying to reveal our true selves for fear of judgment or dislike, or scorn, unless we are real with others, they will not respond in kind and our effect will be limited. If we understand growth clearly, we are again set free from concern and can maximize our potential and effect.

That is, by the grace of God, we are not who we were, and yet who we are is not who we will be, and God will see it to completion. For if we are growing, we are in a constant state of change and don’t have to worry about revealing our true selves, and even if we are judged on our mistakes today, by tomorrow we are not the same; we have grown past it. I can say today of just yesterday, I am not who I was, and of me right in this moment, and yet who I am is not who I will be, and God will bring it to completion, and it is freeing to simply be who God made me to be and to act in faith according to His purposes.

Again, be free. The entire purpose of that is to be free of our personal hang-ups so we can have a maximum impact on those in our boundaries for Christ. Because how sad would it be to arrive on heaven’s shore on a dinghy, all alone, bound up in hypocrisy, self-interest, stunted in growth? Has Christ called us to this? How much better, how much greater to arrive on heaven’s shores riding a grand ship fully loaded with those from within your boundaries, being well-grown, full of Christ’s wisdom and love, ready for what lies ahead!

To further clarify, in our lives, we have said that we go through cycles of growth. And that those cycles move through stages. The first of those is the learning stage. Then, from the learning stage to the personal growth stage, which is maturing.

For young children, these steps are quick and easy as they have a very narrow knowledge base and few experiences. So, anything they see or do can add to their learning and lead to their growth, so almost a combined stage. As we get older, we learn in school, then by reading, but mostly by experience.

Sometimes we feel we are not ready for the experiences God gives us. And we can only appreciate them in retrospect. Sometimes we are not ready for them in another way and complain our way through them and ask, Why me, God? In those, we can only look back later and see God’s hand at work throughout the situation and say how great our God is. Especially as adults, we rely on the experiences that God gives us to learn and bring us to the next stage of growth.

As we reach higher levels of maturity, it can be hard and harder to come across challenging experiences that we need that allow us to continue to learn and grow. Often when following Christ and disaster strikes, the knee-jerk reaction is to question God or blame the devil. However, the devil is a defeated enemy that deserves no glory, and God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purposes. The correct response then is to accept it for what it is, a precious experience from God that will give us the opportunity to learn and grow, and our trusting Him through it will bring Him glory.

To further clarify, the next stage that follows learning is personal growth, and personal growth is simply the amount we are able to take from what we have learned and implement it into our lives as our own.

We can get stuck here for years, sadly. Receiving the best teaching and instruction and preaching without any growth. If you do not have a heart attitude of seeking to grow, then when the opportunities to learn and grow come, they will pass you by as useless or disregarded information. If we have the correct attitude of seeking to grow, then we should always be reading and seeking to learn, and the Lord will guide us to those opportunities.

And beyond that is expanding our boundaries. An example would be a toddler whose boundaries are just his family. Then once they go to school, their boundaries may include one best friend, then later a small group of friends.

And what follows that stage is naturally wanting to protect those within your boundaries. Even my three-year-old son, Ethan, naturally does this. When my wife, Na, raises her voice, he will step in and say, Good mommy, good daddy to try and diffuse the situation. Or my elementary-age daughters, who have their first best friend, are ready to go to battle with anyone who dares say anything negative about them (true or not).

But as we continue to grow and mature, we as Christians should naturally come to the next step, which is realization. That is realizing that we lack the wisdom needed to protect those within our boundaries and to seek God and ask Him to lead us, guide us, and give us the wisdom needed.

After that, it is teaching. We take the wisdom and experience God has given us and impart it to those within our boundaries. And it’s in the process of researching, breaking down, and simplifying what we are teaching to others that we gain a deeper understanding of truths and actually complete the cycle and learn again, but on a deeper level.

This leads back to deeper growth, allowing the further increase of our boundaries, and then actually the protection of those in our boundaries we spoke of is actually just the first way our love manifests. As we mature and move through cycles of growth, we begin to see our love grow closer to that of Christ. That is, we reflect all aspects of love to those within our boundaries.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor