Scripture Reading:
Galatians 5:13-23
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Introduction:
As we begin the New Year, did you make any New Year’s resolutions? One of the best things about the New Year is that when the calendar turns over we have the opportunity to symbolically wipe the slate clean. We can start anew as we strive to grow.
Common Ground
I know I have some goals for personal growth. I’d like to lose some weight this year. I am so happy that we have organized a Healthy Christians FCC initiative. I have a goal of being more organized. Do you think someone could start and organized Christians FCC initiative too? I’m tired of misplacing my wallet and my car keys. These are personal growth goals that I have.
But I also have some spiritual growth goals. Deep down I know as a leader of this church how important my own spiritual life is to the health of this body. I don’t think I say that from ego. I don’t say it from an inflated view of my self importance. I KNOW this church body here can function without me. I’m not irreplaceable, and I never will be.
But I know my imperfections. And it was drummed into my head during Bible College that if I am not growing, it will likely be reflected in the church where I pastor. I know the harm I can do to God’s Kingdom if I do not reflect the character of Jesus more and more. I know my personal need to be growing closer to the likeness of Jesus every day. So a major New Year’s resolution I have made with myself is to work on growing spiritually.
For Congregation:
Now before you say, “What does that have to do with me?” Or before you think, “I’m glad to hear that. Every church needs a pastor who is growing”, I hope that you understand the need for your own spiritual growth as well. My growth does not automatically mean your growth.
Purpose Statement:
My purpose today is to convince you to set your own spiritual growth goals today.
Why is it important?
It is important because we are to ALL grow up as disciples of Jesus. We are all to gain spiritual maturity. Let me read some passages to you as we look to develop the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives.
2 Peter 2:2-3
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may GROW UP in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Hebrews 5:13-14
13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to write in chapter 6….
Hebrews 6:1
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be TAKEN FORWARD TO MATURITY…
We are called to become mature as followers of Jesus Christ. It isn’t a natural process of time. It doesn’t just happen. And it does not happen overnight.
Illustration:
Let me illustrate that with two sports analogies.
I think one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play in the NFL is Jerry Rice. He still owns three NFL records: career receptions, career receiving yards, and career receiving touchdowns. He is now retired, and he elected into the NFL Hall of Fame on his first ballot. Now Jerry Rice had some natural ability, but other guys at his position have been faster and taller. Natural skill wise they matched up with Jerry Rice.
Jerry Rice became great because he worked as hard on his craft during the off season as he did while the season was going on. His teammates often marveled at his off season workout regiment. Rice was a great football player because he disciplined himself to improve. His goal was to be a disciplined, mature football player.
Few physical skills will ever grow with infrequent usage. It is the same with spiritual growth.
Second illustration is Michael Jordan. Possibly the greatest basketball player to have ever taken the court was once asked about how it felt to hit so many game winning shots. His reply was this. “I’ve missed more shots than I made.” Michael Jordan drove himself to seek perfection on the court. As Christians, we should have the same drive spiritually.
Listen to what Paul writes.
2 Corinthians 13:11
11 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
We may stumble on that word “perfection.” Unless you have an enormous ego, you are likely asking, “How can you and I be perfect?” The problem is that we see perfection as the end result of the process. However, the N.T. meaning of the word “perfection” is talking about the process itself.
If you have an updated NIV, I think you might see what Paul is talking about.
2 Corinthians 13:11
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
It should be noted here that the aim of perfection is not just something for SOME believers or church leaders or pastors. It’s not just something for new believers to strive for. It’s something all believers are called to become. That’s why part of our purpose here is that we help each other grow in maturity as followers of Jesus.
Let me also add that you and I will never mature spiritually if our only spiritual practice is sitting in church on Sunday mornings. Worship together is really important, but it is not the only way nor is it the best way to grow in maturity.
That’s why we provide opportunities for growth outside of Sunday morning worship. It’s why we are developing new opportunities that we will announce during this series of messages. We believe that your, my, our spiritual growth is important.
What does that look like? I want you to remember this phrase…. “More and more.”
So how do I know if I am growing as a follower of Jesus?
Let me give some indicators from the scriptures we have looked at. This list is not comprehensive. There are other indicators of growth we have seen in the passages that talk about growth.
You will notice that each of this is prefaced by the phrase, More and more.
Growth indicator one.
Indicators of Spiritual Growth
MORE and MORE
I. I can find joy even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
In 2 Corinthians 13:11, Paul say to “be joyful.” Joy is a mark of a maturing follower. In fact one of the characteristics of the fruit of the spirit is joy. Christians produce joy. In 2 Peter 2:3, Peter says we have tasted that the Lord is good because we know salvation.
Even in the midst of difficult circumstances we can have joy and peace. If it’s true that we have tasted the sweetness of salvation that God provides to us in Jesus Christ, then that sweetness of God’s goodness should prevent the taste of bitterness.
I want to suggest that the follower of Jesus who quickly becomes bitter on life’s journey is one who has forgotten the sweet taste of salvation. Just examine your experience in life. Have you noticed how many ex Christians are bitter about something? Bitterness and following do not fit together; but joy/peace and following do.
I hope that doesn’t sound judgemental. That’s not my point. What I am saying is the one who is growing in maturity can look past the difficulties of life we often experience to see the gift of salvation that God provides.
Evaluation Question:
Take a moment and ask yourself, “More and more, do I find joy even in the midst of difficult circumstances?”
Can I find joy and a sense of peace even when I’ve lost my job?
Can I find joy and peace in the midst of cancer or arthritis?
Can I find joy and peace even in the midst of the sorrow of not being able to conceive a child?
More and more, we should find ourselves able to rejoice in the midst of even the most difficult circumstances. That’s the first indicator.
Number 2 is this.
Indicators of Spiritual Growth
More and More
II. I find myself encouraging rather than critical.
Notes
Paul in 2 Corinthians 13 to one of the things we should do in growing is to encourage. The fruit a growing follower will produce is patience (forebearance), kindness, and gentleness. Encouragement can take patience or forebearance. I love that word. Forebearance is a pre-decision to bear someone else’s load. It is a pre-decision to maintain an attitude of kindness. In kindness we build up courage or encourage someone. Encouragement brings hope into sharp focus to others.
This one is so difficult because in this world it is easy to discouraged And I know when we get discouraged, it is easy to invite others there with us. Misery loves company. Discouragement in ourselves often leads us to discourage others. And often we end up voicing our discouragement in the form of criticism. That kind of criticism is usually far from gentle.
I find that ironic because the word “critical” has meanings on two different levels. Critical can mean to evaluate; but it can also mean an evaluation of importance. An airplane has secondary systems, non critical systems; and critical systems. Critical systems are the one’s you don’t want to lose in especially in flight. A planes wings are critical systems.
Since that is true, let me ask, “Should we not focus our criticism on critical things?” Should we not evaluate specifically those things that are vital?
I have found from experience that criticism most of us share is about inane and unimportant things. It happens far too often in churches in general. To be honest, it happens far too often in this church. I am not immune to the criticism bug. I have discovered in my own life that to reign in criticism often takes self control.
The follower that is maturing more and more finds himself or herself with words of encouragement rather than criticism.
Now we can take this to an extreme and say, “We should never say anything in any way that could be seen as critical.” I am not saying that we should not be critical about anything. But if we find ourselves constantly criticizing we better evaluate the importance of what we are criticizing and see if there is way to encourage rather than discourage.
Evaluation
We need to ask ourselves, “If people overheard my conversations in the coffee shop, would they hear hope and courage or would they hear discouragement in the form of criticism?”
That’s number two.
Number three is this.
Signs of Spiritual Growth
More and More
III. I find myself on the same page as those who are spiritually mature.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13 we are to be of one mind! Part of that is to be in harmony with those who are leading us. When we trust the spiritually mature, we produce more and more faithfulness in ourselves. The tough part of being on the same page is this.
Even when we don’t understand the direction, we have to trust those we have chosen as leaders to guide us because we trust their spiritual maturity. We stay on the same page!
What often happens is we like to become back seat drivers.
I remember when I taught my oldest daughter to drive, I was a back seat driver. I had to be because she had no experience driving. As she has gained experience, I hope I have become less and less the back seat driver. She might beg to differ with that. The point I am making is that as she has grown as a driver, I can trust her more and more. And she could trust me to teach her to drive because I was a more experienced and mature driver.
It’s the same way in leadership. The men we have in leadership have life’s experience and I trust that they are spiritually mature. I hope they are striving to continue to grow as well. Men in leadership I hope you come along with me and are the first to say that we will put into practice whatever disciplines are necessary to help us grow, to help us become more and more producers of the fruit of the spirit.
Church, if that’s true, do you think we can trust those we have selected in leadership?
Do you think we can trust that they are in tune with God’s direction…even when we don’t understand? Can we trust them to steer the vehicle?
You see when we start to mature, when we get on the same page as those who are spiritually more mature…. when we start to become more and more loving, more and more joyful, more and more peaceful, more and more patient (or forbearing), more and more kind, more and more gentle, more and more faithful, more and more self controlled…when we do all that, we become more and more like Jesus.
Signs of Spiritual Growth
More and More
IV. I find myself loving the way Jesus did.
The natural question then is this? “How do we accomplish this growth?” You are going to have to come back the next few weeks as we start to explore the tools of growth we have in our spiritual toolbox.
Conclusion:
Today, the invitation we offer is growth. We have established that your growth and my growth are important to the health of this church? Your growth and my growth are important to the building of God’s Kingdom. We have established the expectation that we become more and more followers of Jesus. When we do, we begin to produce more and more of the fruit of spirit as we become a fellowship that reflects Jesus!
So imagine with me what it would look like if we were more and more of what Christ wants us to be? Imagine the difference we could make in Onawa and Monona County.
Today as we finish I want to read again our theme passage, I challenge you to choose a characteristic to work on. I challenge you to commit yourselves over the next year to set some spiritual growth goals for yourselves.
Conclusion:
Galatians 5:13-23
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
