Encourages Christians to reflect on their spiritual growth, overcome hindrances, and strive for maturity in likeness to Jesus.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ, I stand before you today with a message that is as timeless as the faith we share, as profound as the love our Savior has for us, and as vital as the spiritual breath we draw each day. It is a message that resonates with the heartbeat of our Christian walk and echoes in the chambers of our spiritual growth.
Oswald Chambers once said, "Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Some people mature into an understanding of God's will more quickly than others because they obey more readily; they more readily sacrifice the life of nature to the will of God." These words, my friends, are not just for those who stand behind the pulpit, but for each one of us, as we strive to grow in our likeness to Jesus, to mature in our faith, and to be effective tools in the hands of our God.
Today, we turn our hearts and minds to the words of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3, verses 1 through 5:
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 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; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?"
The presence of envy, strife, and divisions among believers: This is a clear indicator of a lack of spiritual maturity. When we allow these negative emotions and attitudes to take root in our hearts, they act like weeds, choking out the good fruit that God wants to produce in our lives. We become focused on ourselves, our desires, and our interests, rather than on God and His kingdom. This self-centeredness is a major hindrance to spiritual growth.
Verse 4: Paul mentions that some of the Corinthians were aligning themselves with different leaders, saying, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos.' This shows a lack of understanding of the true nature of the church and its leadership. The church is not about human leaders; it's about Jesus. When we elevate human leaders to a place where only Jesus should be, we create divisions and lose sight of the unity we have in Christ. This misplaced focus on human leaders can also hinder our spiritual growth.
Verse 2: The Corinthians' inability to receive solid food indicates a lack of desire or readiness to go deeper in their understanding of God's Word. Just as a baby needs to gradually transition from milk to solid food, so too do believers need to move from basic truths to deeper spiritual insights. However, this requires effort, discipline, and a willingness to be challenged and changed by God's Word. If we are not willing to put in this effort, or if we resist the challenging and changing work of the Word, we will remain spiritual infants.
The Corinthians were still carnal, or fleshly: This shows that they were allowing their old, sinful nature to control their lives, rather than the Holy Spirit. This is perhaps the most serious hindrance to spiritual growth. As believers, we have a new nature in Christ, and we have the Holy Spirit living in us. However, we still have our old, sinful nature, and there is a constant battle between the two. If we yield to the old nature, we will live according to the flesh, not the Spirit, and our spiritual growth will be stunted.
Examine our own lives: Are we allowing envy, strife, and divisions to hinder our spiritual growth? Are we focusing on human leaders rather than on Jesus? Are we resisting the deeper truths of God's Word? Are we yielding to our old, sinful nature rather than to the Holy Spirit? Let us confess these hindrances to God, ask for His forgiveness, and seek His help to overcome them, so that we can grow and mature in our faith.
As we immerse ourselves in the Apostle Paul's words to the Corinthians, we find ourselves confronted with the stark reality of spiritual infancy ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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