(If you are just joining us today, get caught up on this mini series by reading Part 1 and Part 2).
I believe that complacence is one of the most dangerous tools of the enemy within the church today. The status quo is not a threat to Satan’s plan. That is where he wants us to stay, and let me tell you—it is very easy and comfortable! We can fall into the trap of “Maybe tomorrow” or “I will start Monday.” Well, guess what? Monday is coming!
No one in the world is done growing spiritually until we reach heaven. Sure, we can fool ourselves into thinking, “Meh, good enough.” And while following Jesus is certainly not about performance, there is a lot more to this journey than just being ok with lukewarm faith. Ray Kroc said, “If you are green you are growing, if you are ripe you rot.” I don’t know about you but I have no desire to live a “rotting” life! Yuck!
We can’t just talk the talk, but we have to walk the walk. Take James 2:17, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Things that are dead, rot. Again, I doubt very many of us want to have a dead, rotting faith. I much prefer a faith that flourishes and produces fruit!
Flourishing in faith is going to look different for all of us, mainly because we all have different spiritual gifts, varying personalities, a wide gamut of callings and are at different seasons in life. But I now encourage you to think tangibly.
What does spiritual growth look like for you in this season of life? Maybe it is seeking a new relationship, such as counseling, coaching or discipleship. Perhaps it is getting up a little bit earlier each day to spend a few moments with the Lord. It could be a desire to read your bible daily, or tackle that fitness challenge by taking care of your body for God’s glory. Maybe it is volunteering in an area that you haven’t considered before.
Our God is creative. We can’t put him in a box. There isn’t really a one-size-fits-all spiritual maturity template. BUT God knows what each of us need to grow. Growing spiritually is not a one-and-done process. It’s life-long.
Earlier this week, I ran across a passage in my daily devotional, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. It said:
“As God leads you in your Christian growth, He will allow challenges that match your character and relationship to Him. God will not totally change your character once you become a Christian. Rather, He will lead you through a process to become more like His Son. He will keep working in an area of your life until it is controlled by the Holy Spirit. You may eagerly desire maturity in every area of your character but steady, gradual growth is more lasting. God will not take shortcuts in His process of making you like Christ. He sees your life from eternity and will take a long as necessary to produce lasting spiritual growth in in you. Do not become impatient while God is producing Christ-likeness in you. Do not seek more responsibilities than those He has given you. Obey all that you know He has asked and He will lead you at a pace that fits your present character and His purposes for you.”
So now, let’s ask God how we can fulfill the words of 2 Peter 3:18 and “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
I encourage you to pray and reflect on what God might be calling you to do by means of spiritual growth as you see spiritual maturity in your life. Keep in mind that all of our journeys are our own, so there are no right or wrong answers.
Friends, I sincerely pray that this spiritual maturity sermon series takes root in your life. God has so many great things in store for us, and being stuck in the mud like the boy on the Ranger run is not one of them. He is offering us a chance to find freedom that only He can provide.
Let’s fearlessly focus on Him, even if we don’t have all of the details of what every step of our spiritual maturity journey will look like for us. Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Let’s trust God to guide us as we move forward, becoming more like Christ as we grow flourish in our faith.
Know that spiritual maturity is continuation of a beautiful adventure with Jesus. He is beckoning us to grow to be like Him and experience abundant life more and more each day. Sure, we might have moments when we get a little bit stuck, or we could temporarily lose a shoe along the way. But as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Flourish in Faith
Capture three tangible disciplines or actions that support your quest to become spiritually mature.
For God’s Glory,
