“Marks of Maturity”
April 29, 2012
1 Thessalonians 4:1
“Finally, Brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”
Last week I said that the goal of Christianity is not – salvation; it is not sanctification; but the goal of Christianity is Christlikeness. This morning I want to talk a little bit about that process of going from sinner to saint. I want to talk about that process of going from carnality to Christlikeness.
In my reading recently, I finished a book by A.W. Tozer, called “That Incredible Christian”. I have to tell you that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Tozer. He was a real man of God and he had a heart for God. I learn something from him every time I read one of his books. One of the chapters in the book was entitled “Marks of the Spiritual Man”. He gave a number of marks of the spiritual man – or in other words, “Marks of Maturity”. I want to share some of them with you this morning and elaborate on each one a little bit.
The concept of spirituality varies among different Christian groups. The things that people understand as marks of maturity or spirituality are so different among us. In the first Bible study I went to as a new Christian, the value was in speaking in tongues. If you didn’t speak in tongues you weren’t filled with the Spirit, they taught. The louder and more demonstrative you were the more spiritual you were considered to be.
In another group the emphasis was on sharing the gospel and winning souls. Nothing wrong with that – but not everyone has that gift. Another group valued the guy who could pray long and eloquent prayers. For the Catholic, maturity may be in ritual and in financial support of the church. Some groups have worship on Saturday as a mark of spirituality. We Nazarenes (who have it right ;)) emphasis a second work of grace after salvation – which is ‘entire’ sanctification.
I think, in the Body of Christ, there is room for difference. People are all different. We think differently; we respond differently; we differ in so many ways. So I think Churches, with all their differing doctrines, are okay. I think a lot of those external things aren’t too important. But there is a central core; there is a pillar of beliefs; there is a heart of true spirituality that will always be constant. Because God is unchanging – there are certain things that aren’t going to change. And true spiritually will have these dominant desires. The mature Christian will be marked by his hunger for these things. They are always present in the mature and they powerfully motivate him. These desires control his life. Here they are:
1. First, is the desire to be holy, rather than happy. Tozer says, “The yearning after happiness, found so widely among Christians professing a superior degree of sanctity, is sufficient proof that such sanctity is not indeed present. The truly spiritual man knows that God will give abundance of joy, after we have become able to receive it without injury to our souls, but he does not demand it at once.”
John Wesley said he doubted that some members of a particular early Methodist society were made perfect in love because they came to church to enjoy religion instead of to learn how they could become holy.
Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
I think God delights in seeing His children living in joy. A fruit, a result of walking in His ways, is joy. Living in the Spirit naturally will produce a life of joy. But the one who lives for joy – will miss it. The one whose quest is for happiness and pleasure will miss out on the real joy. Our first and greatest desire needs to be holy – rather than happy. The pursuit of happiness will not produce holiness –but the pursuit of holiness will ultimately lead to happiness. You may have to deny yourself and your fleshly desires in your desire for holiness – but the sacrifice will be worth it. And that which our hearts craved will be met in God’s timing.
2. A person may be considered spiritual or mature when he wants to see God honored – regardless of personal cost. The spiritual man wants to see the honor of God advanced through his life even if it means he himself must suffer temporary dishonor or loss. I think of John the Baptist. He said,
“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3: 30
The mature man lives for God by kind of a spiritual reflex. Every choice involving the glory of God is already made before it ever presents itself. He doesn’t need to debate the choice with his own heart. The choice has already been made. There is nothing to debate. The glory of God is necessary to him. He grabs for it like a suffocating man gasps for air. His prayer is, “Hallowed be Your name” and then silently adds, “at any cost to me, Lord.” God’s Word says,
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
A really spiritual person is marked by this great desire to see God honored at any cost; any personal embarrassment; any financial price, or any kind of self sacrifice.
3. A third mark of a spiritual man is that he wants to carry his cross. An immature Christian fears the cross; fears the sacrifice; fears the burden. But the mature man actually WANTS to carry his cross for Jesus.
Many Christians accept adversity or tribulation with a sigh and call it their cross – forgetting that those kinds of things come to saint and sinner alike. The cross is that extra adversity that comes to us as a result of our obedience to Christ. This cross is not forced on us. We voluntarily take it up with full knowledge of the consequences. We choose to obey Christ and by doing so – choose to carry the cross.
Carrying a cross is to be identified with Christ. Carrying a cross is to be committed to the Lordship of Christ. It is to be committed to His commandments. The person who is so attached, so committed, so obedient – is truly a spiritually and mature person.
4. Another mark of maturity is when a person sees everything from God’s viewpoint. That’s not a natural thing to do. We are born into this world selfish and self-centered. Our little universe revolves around us. It is all about me, mine and my desires. That is why it is such a traumatic thing to come to Christ. Part of the process is surrendering our wills to Him. He asks us to die to self.
The ability to weigh all things on the divine scale and place the same value on them that God does is the mark of a Spirit-filled life.
God looks ‘at’ and ‘through’ at the same time. His gaze does not rest on the surface – but penetrates to the true meaning of things. We are so used to looking just on the surface of things. We too often judge by how something makes us ‘feel’. We need to look deeper. We need to develop the knack of looking at things from the eternal perspective. It would make life so much easier.
The carnal Christian looks at an object or a situation, but because he does not see ‘through’ it he is elated or dejected by what he sees. The spiritual man is able to look through things as God looks and think of them as God thinks. He insists on seeing all things as God sees them – even if it humbles him and exposes his ignorance to the point of real pain. The mature Christian knows that God only allows in our life those things that will ultimately result in our good.
5. Another desire of the spiritual man is to die right – rather than live wrong. An unmistakable sign of maturity is the man or woman of God who has a nonchalance about living. After reading “Foxes Book of Martyrs” recently I was struck with those men, women and even children, sometimes – who had such a nonchalance about life. Some of them seemed eager to climb on the pile of wood and joyfully (and painfully) die for Jesus. The earth loving, body—conscious Christian looks on death with terror in his heart. But as he goes on to live in the Spirit, he becomes increasingly indifferent to the number of his years here below At the same time he becomes more and more careful of the kind of life he lives while he is here. He will not gain for himself a few more days of life at the cost of compromise or failure. He wants most of all, to be right – and he is happy to let God decide how long he will live. He knows he can afford to die now that he is in Christ – but he knows he cannot afford to do wrong. And this thinking becomes kind of a gyroscope to stabilize his thinking and his actions.
6. The desire to see others advance – even at his own expense – is the mark of a mature man. He wants to see other Christians above him and is happy when they are promoted and he is overlooked. There is no envy in his heart. When his brothers are honored – he is pleased because he knows this is the will of God. And if God is pleased to exalt someone else above him he is content to have it so.
“Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”
1 Corinthians 10:32-33
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21
Notice the Scripture doesn’t say “submit to one another out of reverence for each other.” Notice the Scripture doesn’t say “submit to those who deserve it.” It doesn’t say that. Why does the mature Christian submit to each other? “Out of reverence for Christ.” We are to treat each person as if they were Jesus Himself. WOW! If we did that we would treat each other a lot differently, wouldn’t we? The mature man and women do just that.
Well, we have a ways to go, don’t we? We have a lot of growing up to do. But the mature Christian desires maturity; desires Christlikeness – at any cost to himself. I urge you to grow; strive for perfection; reach for maturity in everything you do. That is our desire.
SONG: “As the Deer”
