Sermon # 37 - Which Side Are You On? Series

I want to begin by sharing a testimony from last week. For the past two years, a family from another district have been regularly listening to the messages that were shared on social media. They called in to tell me that as result of this, their entire family had committed their lives to Jesus, and I had the blessed privilege to minister to this family last week. Every time I wonder if it is necessary to use social media to share the worship and messages, the Lord confirms this through some testimony to attest and encourage me. Let me encourage all of you that as long as we in obedience to the will of God, do all that the Lord desires to accomplish through us, He will certainly fulfill all of His plans through us, and no one can hinder it.

Put childish ways aside and grow in maturity

We read in Jonah 4:11, “Shouldn't I feel sorry for this important city, Nineveh? It has more than 120,000 people in it as well as many animals. These people couldn't tell their right hand from their left." (GW)

These are the words that God spoke to Jonah when he was disheartened that the Lord did not destroy the city of Nineveh, but relented when the people repented, and spared them from His great wrath. God’s reply to Jonah was that His heart was moved with compassion for the great city of Nineveh had more than 1,20,000 people as well as animals, and also for the fact that the people who lived there couldn’t tell their right hand from their left.

All of us as adults know the difference between our right hand and left, but it is generally very young children who can’t tell the difference. You might have noticed how when a parent asks their toddler to shake hands with someone, they will often stretch out their left hand, and then the parent will correct the child encouraging him or her to extend their right hand instead. The same child when they are a little grown up need not be told which hand to extend to someone while greeting them. This maturity comes with age, and the child on growing up has learnt to decipher between their right hand and their left.

The God who felt sorry for the people of Nineveh, is the same God who sympathizes with us and has pity on us. When Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus, He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, yet, He sympathized with those around, was moved with compassion and wept. The assurance we have is that we have a God who understands our deepest emotions, and can feel for us. We often complain that people have not understood or sometimes misunderstood us, instead let us decide to take all our woes to God, and pour out our hearts to Him for He alone fully comprehends all that we are going through. Sometimes we make the mistake of pouring out our hearts to others, only to find that they often have betrayed our trust, and misrepresented our situations to others.

God is calling us to not be like children who cannot decipher between their right hand and left, but grow in maturity and in our walk with the Lord.

1. Grow up and leave your childish ways

• Guard your speech

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways.” (GW)

All of us were little children at one time when we spoke, thought and reasoned childishly. Little children are generally finicky, and constantly complain about others. The reason is because children usually are attention seeking, and wish to be in the spotlight the whole time. Our children as infants may babble, and we enjoy the fact that they are trying to speak, but, as they grow up we expect them to speak intelligibly, and will not encourage baby talk which would be inappropriate for their age.

However, sadly there are those who in their spiritual walk are still like babies, and have not sought to mature in their speech, thoughts or reasoning. Our maturity in the Lord will be evident only when our speech is seasoned, our words bless others, and comfort those who are in grief. Our thoughts must be mature, and we must be those who discern everything that is being shared with us. Sometimes, we associate with the wrong people who when they gain entry into our lives or families cause division and discord. Our growth in our spiritual walk must enable us to discern those who are filled with the Spirit of God, and those who are not. When a man of God enters our home there will be peace and unity, not division and discord. Let us wait on the Lord, meditate on His word, and earnestly desire to have our minds broadened. The verse is clear that when we become adults, we must set aside every form of childish ways (speech, thought or reasoning) from our lives. These childish ways don’t go away on their own, but we have to deliberately choose to cast them aside.