As I prayerfully look back over the past year, I realize that God is dissatisfied with me. As a pastor, as a husband, as a Christian, I have not been the person this past year that God wants me to be, and He is dissatisfied with me.
Now, that may sound like a serious confession of spiritual failure, but I have no hesitation in sharing it with you. Why? Because I know that as much as God is dissatisfied with me, He is just as dissatisfied with you. Am I wrong? Is there anyone here today who would make the claim that at this point in your life you are everything God wants you to be?
No, just as I know that God is dissatisfied with me, you need to know that God is dissatisfied with you. And if God is dissatisfied with us, we need to be dissatisfied with ourselves!
Now, wait a minute, you may be saying. Haven’t you taught us that God is not angry with us; that He sees us as righteous and holy through the blood of Jesus?
Col 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight;
And haven’t you taught us that God does not condemn us; that He loves us just the way we are?
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Absolutely! God does love us the way we are, and because of what Christ did for us on the cross, God will never condemn anyone who receives Him as Savior and Lord. But, it’s also true that God loves us too much to be satisfied with us the way we are. That’s the message of Philippians 1:6…
Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
God is not finished with us yet! I think we all realize that we need to change, to become more the man, or woman, or young person that God called us to be. As long as I am satisfied with being the way I am, I have no motivation to change. I’ve got to be dissatisfied with where I am now before I will be motivated to pay the price to get to where I need to be.
ILLUS: Yesterday, the Tennessee Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens in a pro football playoff game. Before the game, all the commentators talked about was that the Titans had lost the last five games to the Ravens, and how the Ravens seem to have their number. Nobody gave the Titans a chance. So, how did they win? Well, I wasn’t in the Titans locker room, but there is one thing I’m confident of. Not only were the Titans a very good football team; what really caused them to win was … THEY WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THEMSELVES AND THEIR STATUS QUO. They were not satisfied to continue to be a team that was good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to beat the Ravens. And because they were dissatisfied, and said this situation cannot stay the way it is, they were willing to pay the price, in hard work and determination, in playing hurt, in continuing to push out when they were so tired they could hardly stand ...
The whole point of my message today is that we need to be dissatisfied with the way we are in order that we might become determined to become everything God intends for us to be.
Like the Tennessee Titans, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME HOLY DISSATISFACTION WITH OUR STATUS QUO!
Let me show you this in Scripture this morning. Go with me to Heb 5:12-14, where the Bible talks about this very issue, and let’s draw some lessons ...
Heb 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Look at what God is saying to the church in this passage:
• You are still spiritual babies when you ought to be grown up, and I am dissatisfied with you!
• You still need to be taught when you ought to be teachers, and I am dissatisfied with you!
• You are still drinking spiritual milk when you ought to be eating the meat of the word, and I am dissatisfied with you!
• And you need to be dissatisfied with yourselves!
We want to draw some lessons from this passage on what it means to have a HOLY DISSATISFACTION with the way we are so that we can be determined to develop into what God wants us to be.
1. God Has A Timeline For Your Life
He has plotted the course of your life from beginning to end ...
Psa 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
There are certain things that need to be accomplished in your life by certain times.
ILLUS: You are supposed to go to school and start learning to read and write by about 6 years old. If you are 12 and still can’t read and write, something is wrong!
In the same way, there are some spiritual milestones that God expects us to reach at certain periods in our spiritual lives. That’s why we can’t afford to just drift along in life. We need to be asking ourselves:
• Am I at the place I should be by this time in my spiritual life?
• If I’ve been a Christian 5 years or 15 years or even 1 year, or 1 month, have I made the spiritual progress I should have made by this time?
• If I am, spiritually speaking, a 6 year old as a Christian, have I made it to 1st grade yet, or am I still in kindergarten?
Understand: there is nothing wrong with kindergarten! But, if I am 6’2 and 30 years old, kindergarten is not the place I’m supposed to be!
THE ISSUE IS NOT BEING A BABY. THE ISSUE IS STAYING A BABY.
Everybody is a baby at a point in their life, but babies are supposed to grow up! There is a certain level that every child is eventually supposed get to, and if he doesn’t, something is wrong.
ILLUS: Not every healthy adult can run a 10 second 100 meters; but every healthy adult should be able to walk without falling down. Every mature person will not necessarily be a dentist, but everyone should be able to brush their own teeth. If they can’t, something is wrong.
Just like every healthy baby grows up physically, every healthy Christian is supposed to grow up spiritually. The issue was not that these Christians in Hebrews 5 were spiritual babies – everybody is a baby at some point. The issue was, they were still spiritual babies when they should have been grown up!
YOU MAY BE A SPIRITUAL BABY, AND THAT’S OK. BUT YOU SHOULD NOT BE CONTENT TO STAY THAT WAY!
ILLUS: I don’t remember this, but my mom told me that when I was a little child, everybody thought I was going to grow up to be a minister because I was always preaching sermons along the lines of “you need to be good!” Everybody said how wonderful it was. But if my sermons today were still just “be good!” wouldn’t you think that I wasn’t where I should be as a preacher?
Here’s the bottom line ... If you are still a spiritual baby, that’s fine; BUT IT’S TIME TO GROW UP!
2. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE DON’T GROW UP
Look again at our text this morning:
Heb 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
One of the signs of spiritual maturity is the ability to teach God’s word and His ways. Not that you must preach from a pulpit or teach a Bible Study class, but we should all be able to share the ways of God in the context of the Word of God.
Let’s take a very simple example. Can you share the gospel?
1 Pet 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
If not, don’t be satisfied with your status quo! Everybody is not meant to be Billy Graham, but every Christian is meant to reach a standard of spiritual maturity and scriptural competence that allows them to give a meaningful testimony of what God has done for them and can do for others.
2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Be diligent! That means to work hard at developing our knowledge and understanding of the word of God. That’s what it takes to grow to spiritual maturity. Look at what happens when we fail to grow up spiritually:
(1) We ourselves suffer; we miss out on God’s good plan for our lives.
Jer 29:11 (NIV) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
ILLUS: Erica got her license and started driving this past year, and I know she considers that a great blessing. But what if she was the kind of kid who threw a tantrum every time she didn’t get her way? No good parent would turn such an immature child loose with their own car. Her immaturity would have caused her to miss the blessing!
(2) People around us suffer because of our immaturity (childishness!)
1 Cor 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Think of some of the words we use to describe spiritually immature people: selfish, unloving, jealous, bad attitude, defensive, inconsiderate, proud, critical, judgmental, gossiper, spiteful, liar, untrustworthy, unreliable, unmotivated, uncommitted, taker rather than giver, fearful, discouraged, depressed.
How many of us enjoy being around people like that?
(3) The church is weakened, and people don’t get ministered to.
We need people for children’s ministry, women’s and men’s care groups, the decision counseling ministry … Leaders! But the Bible says to put your hands suddenly on no man. These ministries can’t go forward until we have spiritually mature people to lead them.
Here’s what the whole message today is about: We cannot afford to be satisfied with anything less than reaching the level of spiritual maturity God has called us to. In other words:
WE NEED TO HAVE A HOLY DISSATISFACTION WITH STAYING THE WAY WE ARE!
3. What Stands In The Way Of Us Becoming Spiritually Mature?
Heb 5:13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
Our text teaches us that one of the major hindrances to us becoming spiritually mature is when we are unskilled in the word of God, and when we fail to consistently apply it in our lives.
We are all educated beyond our obedience. We all know more word than we put into practice. Think about some issue you are facing in your life today: Finances, family, job, a relationship. Are you specifically and intentionally applying God’s word to that situation, or are you just doing the best you can?
When we started this church, I wrote down my vision for what our people would be like:
Each member will develop a basic understanding of the Christian faith, including:
• How to know for sure that they are saved, and how to lead others to salvation
• Basic familiarity with the organization and overall message of the Bible
• Understanding of the principles of Christian living and how to apply those principles in their daily life
• Knowledge of God’s purpose for the church, and how a believer should function within it
• Insight into their own spiritual gifts and God-given temperament, and how these are to be used in ministry
Are you there yet? If not, you need to be dissatisfied with staying where you are!
CONCLUSION
What I want you to get out of this message is that it is good and right and necessary for you to be dissatisfied with yourself the way you are, and you refuse to be satisfied to stay that way.
ILLUS: Dr. Herbert Jackson was a missionary to the Philippines. He tells a story about something that happened to him when he was just getting started on the mission field. He was given a car that wouldn’t start without a push, so he quickly devised different ways of getting that car started without him having to push it. He would park the car on a hill; or leave it running. One-time he even went to a school near his home and got the children out of class to push the car to get it started. He did this kind of thing for two years. Then, when a new missionary came, Dr. Jackson was showing him the car, proudly explaining all the creative methods he used to get around the starting problem. While he was talking, the new man looked under the hood, saw that the problem was a loose cable, tightened it, turned on the ignition, and guess what … the car started! Can you imagine Dr. Jackson’s embarrassment. He had spent two years without ever finding out what the problem was, and how easy it was to fix, because he had been satisfied to make do with a car that needed a push to get started.
My goal for this sermon today is that you will leave here this morning with a determination to develop to your full level of spiritual maturity. No matter how long it takes – and it will take time; no matter how much effort and work it requires. Determined to become skilled in the word of God. Determined to learn how to apply the word in your life. Determined to learn how to share the word with someone else.
My prayer is that you will make this commitment for yourself: I want to be the man or woman of God I was created to be, and nothing will stop me. Because I am determined to be developed!
