5 KEYS TO GROW UP INTO CHRIST
BURLY IN GROWTH
Eph. 4:11-13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Elon Musk Jokes
1. Conversation between a guy and a salesperson during the new Tesla roadster drive test..."Excuse me, sir, I see on the specs that the new Tesla roadster comes standard with a defibrillator. Why is that?” "Are you ready to hear the price?"
2. Why did the kangaroo join Elon Musk’s space program? He wanted to be a Mars-supial.
3. Why did the Audi laugh so hard at the Tesla's joke?
He didn't hear it coming!
4. If you move to Mars and get a divorce, what do you call your former spouse? Your “space-x.”
B. BIG IDEA: BURLY SERIES
God wants us to be burly for Jesus!
“Burly” is defined as ‘strong and muscular; stout; sturdy.’ Synonyms are “strapping, stocky, brawny, thickset, beefy, hefty.”
The Urban Dictionary adds “MUST HAVE FACIAL HAIR.”
C. CONTEST: Call up men with beards 3 inches long (that don’t mind participating). Have them stand at the front and have the crowd decide which one has the best beard. Could have a ‘Viking’ category, or a ‘Santa Claus,’ or a ‘lumberjack’ beard. Present a $25 gift card to the winner!
D. BURLY LADIES
1. Now some of you ladies may be saying to yourselves, “What can this series possibly have to do with me since it involves burly men?” But this term can also apply to women because the central definition of burly is: “strong and muscular.”
2. And I’ve known a lot of ladies who were more SPIRITUALLY STRONG than most Christian men I’ve known. Would you agree? That’s what this series is driving at: God wants us to be burly for Jesus! So we’re talking about spiritual strength.
3. The Bible says, Luke 1:80, “And the child (John) grew and became strong in spirit…” Luke 2:40, “And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” GOD WANTS US TO GROW AND BECOME STRONG IN HIS SPIRIT!
I. THE NEED TO GROW UP INTO CHRIST
A. DEFINITION OF MATURE
1. TEXT: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:11-13.
2. We’re supposed to grow up into Christ, Verse 13, "to become mature," is the Greek word ‘teleios, which means’
a. "having completed natural growth and development;" or
b. "having attained a final or desired state."
3. For the Christian, this means to move through all the various stages of spiritual development until we arrive at the final, desired state of being like Jesus.
4. Paul referred to some of the Corinthian Christians as "Babes" in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1-4). They were definitely spiritually born-again, but hadn't advanced in to maturity yet.
5. Now I really love babies, but I don't want them to stay babies forever. If a baby doesn't grow up, that's abnormal and parents should be concerned. It's the same spiritually!
B. CHARACTERISTICS OF BABIES
1. They don't want their stomachs empty but full all the time. They are self-centered and they think the world revolves around them.
2. Fussy, cranky (do you know anybody like that?)
3. They require a pacifier -- Special attention -- to keep them happy. One of our children, when they were being dropped off at a daycare and had to surrender their pacifier, would say, “Um, um, um, um, um,” enjoying their pacifier to the last time. Quitting a pacifier is about as hard as to stop smoking!
4. They throw a fit if they don't get their own way! Lay down kicking, running in place, pulling their own hair -- thinking their hurting you!
5. VIDEO: KIDS THROWING TEMPER TANTRUMS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI0ae4MHutE
6. They want everything they see. (Hello?) Materialistic!
7. They refuse to eat what's good for them (throw their food, splatter mats).What’s good for us is self-denial, to serve others, to work in the Kingdom, etc.
8. They have to wear a diaper because they're not "house trained." It only takes three weeks to house train a dog, but takes three years for humans.
a. Someone has said, "A perfect example of minority rule is a baby in the house."
b. A lady with difficult children was asked, "If you could, would you have children again?" She answered, "Yes, just not the same ones."
II. 5 PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
A. NO GROWTH: IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN
1. One of our children, when he was still a baby, began to lose weight. We took him to Texas Children’s Hospital and after examination, they diagnosed him as having “Failure to Thrive” syndrome. That is a catch-all title that there’s something hindering a child’s growth.
2. After further tests it was determined that he had reflux – swallowing the wrong direction. A pill to relax his throat muscles solved the problem and he began to “increase” again.
3. Just as it’s abnormal for a child NOT to grow, it’s abnormal for a Christian Not to grow spiritually!
4. ARE YOU HEALTHY SPIRITUALLY? IF SO, THEN YOU’LL BE GROWING! (And I don’t mean in diameter!)
a. Col. 1:10, “so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
b. 2 Thess. 1:3, “your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”
c. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
B. GROWTH COMES ONLY BY CONNECTION TO CHRIST
1. Jesus told us we “branches” must stay connected to the Vine/trunk, because He’s the source of Life (John 15:1-7).
2. Paul spoke to the Colossians about the danger of losing their contact with Jesus (2:19): “They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”
3. CHRIST CAN MAKE SOMETHING AWESOME OUT OF YOUR LIFE!
a. A basketball only costs $34, but in the hands of Stephen Curry it’s worth $43 million!
b. A baseball only costs $22, but in the hands of Mike Trout it’s worth $36 million!
c. A tennis ball only costs $3, but in the hands of Roger Federer it’s worth $106 million!
d. A golf ball only costs $2, but in the hands of Tiger Woods it’s worth $45 million!
4. WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS WHOSE HANDS YOU’RE IN! And it’s awesome that we’re in God’s hands!
C. THE WORD OF GOD IS OUR GROWTH HORMONE
1. 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk [KJV – “sincere milk of the Word”], so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Just as babies can’t grow without milk, we can’t grow without the Word!
2. RENEWING YOUR MIND. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” ROM. 12:2.
Your transformation will only be accomplished if you read and apply the Word to your life. No one else can do it for you. It’s food!
3. NATURE FORMS US; SIN DEFORMS US;
EDUCATION INFORMS US; PRISONS REFORM US;
BUT ONLY JESUS CAN TRANSFORM US!
D. SPIRITUAL GROWTH REPELS US FROM WORLDLINESS
1. As we become spiritually stronger, we throw off the world’s hold on us. Heb. 11:24, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Maturity in Moses made him reject the world’s thinking and it’s direction for his life.
2. Christians who’ve been saved for a year or two – if they stop throwing off worldly behavior – it’s strong evidence they’ve stopped growing.
3. We must ALWAYS be attempting to advance! We’re in an army: we’re either going forward or we’re going backwards – being defeated by the enemy! We’re in a War Zone! There’s no neutral ground to stop & settle down!
E. SPIRITUAL GROWTH ALWAYS CAUSES OUTREACH
1. Reproduction is a sign of a health and abundance; any creature struggling to survive won’t have the extra nutrients to spin off another life. This is true of Christians too; if the life of God is flowing in us, we will communicate life to others. Life can’t be hidden!
2. Paul said, “Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand” 2 Cor. 10:15.
3. True spiritual growth will always lead to evangelism. You can’t help talking about the Person you’re in love with! If you walk with Jesus every day, He will be the first thing on your lips!
4. But if we see evangelism stop, you can be sure spiritual growth has stopped as well! So let’s make up our minds once and for all that we are going to grow as Christians and continue growing until Jesus calls home!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: THE BLOT ON THE HANDKERCHIEF
1. A friend once showed John Ruskin a costly handkerchief on which a blot of India ink had been accidentally made. “Nothing can be done with it now,” said the owner. “It’s absolutely worthless!”
2. John Ruskin, a famous artist, made no reply. But he asked if he could borrow the blotted handkerchief. To which the owner said, “It makes no difference to me; it’s worthless!”
3. Later Ruskin sent it back. The owner could scarcely recognize that it was the same handkerchief.
4. In a most skillful way, Ruskin had made a beautiful picture on the handkerchief, incorporating the blot into it in such a way that it looked as if it was designed to be part of the picture.
5. Not only did Ruskin restore the handkerchief but he made it immensely more valuable since it was now a unique piece of artwork by a master!
B. THE CALL
1. John Newton said, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
2. Let’s make a commitment today to spiritual growth. That begins with the “born again” experience. How many here are not sure you’ve been born again? Prayer.
3. Now let’s all stand and let’s go to God to request He make us hungry for spiritual things and make us “burly” for Jesus! Prayer.
