 Ephesians 4:15-18
Carl Siebels
 Printable
version previous
sermon
:: next
sermon
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In just about 35 months - a little less than 3 years - we will embark upon a new millennium. This fact has generated a great deal of excitement - and with that excitement - an even greater level of speculation. The prognosticators have been working overtime to bring us their predictions of just what this new era will bring. Various religious groups are prophesying the end of the world! Many scientists are anticipating the discovery of extra terrestrial life or artificial intelligence. Tabloid psychics foresee everything from natural disasters to the re-appearance of Elvis!
As for me - I don't have clue what the future holds - except for one thing! Of one thing I am absolutely certain! Three years and six months from now - during the first year of the new millennium - something amazing is definitely going to happen. In fact, I'm so sure of it that I can pinpoint the exact date! On the first day of July - in the year 2000, I, Carl Siebels, will reach the age of Modern Maturity - maturity as measured by the A.A.R.P. - the American Association of Retired People! On that date, as amazing as it seems - amazing to me at least - I'll become 50 years old. And consequently I will be entitled to the privileges and benefits afforded to that select group of people who share in my condition. Benefits such as senior discounts, age appropriate magazines and lobby advocacy before state and national legislatures. Although I will welcome the privileges - I'm not overly anxious to reach the point of membership. I'm not nearly as impatient as a close friend of mine who mailed his application 9 months early - claiming that his mother's pregnancy should count as time served! No, I,m in no big hurry - I figure that - God willing - I'll arrive soon enough.
Some of you are already there - some will precede me - and others will follow soon after. And then there are those of you who think that it will never happen to you. If you're in that last category - you're suffering from one of two possible conditions - Youth or Denial. If that's the case, its okay, I understand. In fact, its only recently that I've come to terms with the maturation process myself. I even find it strangely comforting that I will soon be welcomed into a group whose membership requirement is so easily definable. Hit 50 and you're in! It would have been nice if other categories of my maturity had been as simple to identify and as uncomplicated to attain. Some were close - others not. For example, my physical and societal maturity were relatively easy. It was a chronological measurement. Upon reaching 18 years of age - society deemed me mature enough to drive at night (I liked that), to frequent nite clubs (I liked that) and to be drafted into the army (I didn't like that). And physically I was considered to have reached full maturity - my body was fully developed and would stop growing! I've found that not to be entirely true - it seems that I regularly require wider pants! On the other hand, my emotional maturity was a little trickier to quantify. As I recall, I was frequently encouraged to "grow up" and "stop acting immature" - these suggestions came regularly from my teachers, my parents, older siblings and even some friends. Even now - approaching the age of Modern Maturity - my wife, Kath, will occasionally make reference to my level of maturity - or lack thereof. This generally occurs around the time that I tune into a Three Stooges film festival - or pout for a week after my team loses the World Series.
These experiences have left me somewhat bewildered as to what maturity really is - or whether it is within my grasp at all. I have similar questions about Spiritual Maturity. Maybe you do too! What is it? How can I achieve it? Is it important to do so? We'll be exploring these and other issues this morning.
Spiritual maturity! Is it important? Yeah. Yeah it is. So important in fact that we include it in our list of Core Values. If you will refer to your bulletin you'll find them listed there. Notice that number four clearly states that we believe "Pursuit of spiritual maturity is expected of everyone." Put another way: we believe that each and every person in the body - whether they are brand new or a lifelong participant - everyone should be striving to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Or as Paul says in today's lesson, "Become mature-attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Quite simply - that's what spiritual maturity is all about. "Becoming Christlike." God helps us to visualize this concept with various word pictures.
Maturity is frequently compared to the life cycle of a plant or a tree. Matthew record Christ's parable of the four soils - in which maturity is likened to the growth of a seed into a healthy crop producing plant. And the psalm which we heard today compared the mature believer to a well watered tree producing its fruit in season. Similarly - and maybe even more vividly - spiritual and physical maturity are paralleled. Jesus makes the comparison of a new believer and a brand new baby In John's story of Nicodemus, Jesus replies to his question concerning entrance in to God's Kingdom - by stating that Nicodemus had to be "Born Again" - indicating that we must start at the very beginning - as infants - recognizing our complete helplessness and our reliance upon God's nurture and care. We then proceed through the stages of growth. Infancy on to childhood and the maturity. The author of Hebrews expands the analogy, "Anyone who lives on milk - being still an infant - is not acquainted with the teachings of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature." And today's lesson reminds us that upon reaching maturity "we will not long be infants - tossed back and forth by the waves." God welcomes us as newborns - but - as He strengthens us with His Word and His Spirit -as He strengthens us with His solid food - we are expected to grow and mature. And as that occurs - the results are spectacular. A dramatic transformation takes place. The awesome extent of that change reminds me of an episode I have witnessed in my own life.
Just about 17 years ago - roughly this time of year - Kath and I were on our way to Kennedy Airport. It was there that we were to meet our new daughter - a tiny little girl arriving from India. Since her birth, we had been receiving urgent messages from our adoption agency in Calcutta imploring us to complete our adoption procedure as quickly as possible. It seemed that Calcutta was in the midst of a cholera outbreak and there was growing concern that many of the infants were in grave danger of infection and possible death! Because of her four pound birth weight and weakened condition, our daughter was particularly vulnerable and at risk. Driven by the determination that is born of parental fear and concern, we were able to shorten the immigration process considerably and arranged both her air transportation and escort. With great anticipation, we awaited her arrival at the international terminal in New York City; straining to catch the first glimpse of our baby. But despite the medical reports that we had received describing her physical problems - and despite the unflattering photos that had been sent - we were totally unprepared for what we saw. There, wrapped in a threadbare receiving blanket, was a tiny little four month old child - weighing only 6 pounds - ravaged with malnutrition, dehydration and various skin disorders. Taking her in her arms, Kath's eyes filled with tears as she realized the full extent of our child's condition. At that moment it was difficult to be optimistic about the future. That was 17 years ago! During those years, a dramatic and spectacular transformation has taken place! That helpless, sickly little baby has matured into the wonderful, healthy, vibrant young lady that many of you know as our daughter Talia.
I believe that spiritual maturity happens something like that. Regardless of how we arrive - whatever condition we bring to infancy - whether we suffer from hurt, or hate, or fear, or heartbreak - God can transform us - creating a healthy, vibrant, and wonderful person. Maturation is Transformation! We go from here to there, infant to adult, immature to mature, a condition of unloving to loving. That's the process - the life to which Jesus calls us. That's why He came. Through his life, his example, his sacrifice, we can recognize that life transformed and new life is now available. He proclaimed it "I have come that you might have life - and have it abundantly," coming out of your ears - overflowing, punctuated by loving God and others. But if that's the mature life - How will I recognize it? What are the distinguishing marks of that level of maturity?
In order better to identify what it is - it might be helpful to first determine what it is not. I can tell you emphatically that it is not a checklist or a scorecard. Maturity cannot be measure by spiritual merit badges or length of service. I can't earn God's love - he'll never love me more than He does right now. His favor and my maturity do not increase with either my amount or my longevity of service. Our relationship can only improve as I increasingly love Him and my neighbor. Neither is maturity unrealistic for us average folks. "Christlikeness" is not reserved for the superheros of the church. It is expected of everyone.
We often proclaim the words of II Peter 2:9 - "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, " that means you and you and you and me. Everyone. Today's lesson included this phrase "until you all reach unity in faith and become mature" - not just some - all - no exceptions. I remember a friend of mine telling me that he wanted nothing to do with Christianity because it was just a bunch of "Thou shall nots." Maybe you know some one like that! Maybe you feel that way. Personally, I've found just the opposite to be true. As I've grown - so has my liberation. My "thou shall nots" have been replaced by a series of "thou are free tos." Galatians 5 reads "Christ made us free - stay free - don't get tied up again in the chains of slavery." That's what immaturity really is - the chains of slavery - why would we want to be stuck there? I've heard that position described this way, "Immaturity is choosing a life of crushing burdens, failures and disappointments. A life caught in the toils of endless problems that are never resolved." That isn't maturity. And, neither is it instantaneous! As we've seen, it is a process - its an evolution - not an explosion! A series of starts and stops, ups and downs, victories and defeats. It the book of Deuteronomy, just as the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses assures them that "the Lord your God will clear away these nations before you - little by little". In the same way God will help you to deal with the obstacles to your growth. Sometimes it will be slow - little by little, sometimes very rapid and sometimes virtually non-existent. That's to be expected.
Here again, spiritual growth mirrors physical maturity. A recent article reported that pediatricians have discovered that babies grow in fits and starts - with such long intervals between growth spurts that about 90% of the time - they aren't growing at all. Instead of a constant, slow and steady growth the study revealed that infants grow by one-fifth to one full inch in less than 24 hours. And that's how it might seem for our maturity. Sporadic sometimes quick - sometimes slow - but rest assured that it will be steady over time if we cooperate with God in the process.
That leads us to another question. How can we cooperate? How can we determine if we're on the right path and making progress? To accurately assess that - its necessary to honestly take a look at our lives! In II Corinthians 13 we're encouraged to "examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith." And in Galatians 6 we're told that "each one should test his own actions." This self-examination should be on-going. Let me share some ways that I've found helpful - in assessing my own progress.
First, I need to determine my deepest heart-felt opinion of Jesus. Do I agree - without reservation as our first core value states - that He is Savior and Lord. Do I consider him as the only way to commune with God and have I given over control of my life to Him. Too often, we claim Jesus as our Savior, while retaining Lordship for ourselves. We can't treat Jesus as our good luck charm - counting on Him for salvation - without also becoming His fully devoted follower, obeying what He commands. His invitation to "Follow me" necessitates trusting everything that he said, centering my life on His words and emulating His lifestyle.
Second, Is my life becoming noticeably different? I vividly remember a conversation that I had last June during the Promise Keeper's conference. As we were leaving the Carrier Dome on Friday evening, one of the guys turned to me and said, "Carl, if this stuff is really true - and we believe it - shouldn't our lives be dramatically different?" The answer - that night - and now - is an emphatic "Yes" - yes, our lives should be different. Paul emphasizes this fact in II Corinthians by saying that Christlikeness produces "a new creation, the old is gone, the new is come." That newness - that rebirth - has to have an impact on my life and my lifestyle. It has to produce differences with the world at the deepest possible levels. Those differences become a mark of our maturity. Also, I need to ask myself, "Do I evidence fruitfulness?" "Am I displaying outward signs of inward joy and love?" Galatians 5 gives us a list of characteristics of those who are maturing in their faith. "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are known as the fruits of the Spirit - and readily mark maturity.
Are you able to answer these questions in the affirmative? Then you are most probably moving forward. If you're not sure of your answers - then possibly you need to make some decisions today.
If your decision is for the pursuit of spiritual maturity - you need to know that you've chosen a radical lifestyle. If you're dedicated to making progress down that road then you will certainly want to become active in the A.A.R.P. - not the previously mentioned organization but in God's A.A.R.P. - Actions and Activities of Redeemed People. These will serve you well in your journey toward Modern Maturity - Modern Spiritual Maturity. To get there we need to arrange our lives around actions and activities that will help us to receive God's power in order to be transformed into the image of Jesus. Some of these are suggested in today's core value.
Growth in understanding - practice the action of consistently looking into God's Word through activities such as personal scripture reading and participation in group study. Take advantage of such opportunities as the Adult class offered here on Sunday mornings or any of the S groups that meet during the week. In addition, listen to tapes, read devotionals, dissect the Bible - be involved in anything that will add to your knowledge of who God is and what He would have you to do.
Growth in prayer - practice the action of being in communication with your Lord through the activity of prayer. You can't grow closer to someone that you don't know - and you can't know Him without talking, listening and sharing.
Growth in service - practice the action of expressing God';s love in practical ways - in any of the activities that were modeled for us by Jesus himself; teaching, healing, listening, comforting, meeting needs, offering help - just being available.
Growth in stewardship - practice the action of wisely sharing God's bountiful blessing through the activities of tithing. Develop and use your gifts generously. Give of your time and energy. In addition to those listed, your pursuit might incorporate some of the classic disciplines such as, meditation, solitude, silence, simplicity or fasting. Throughout the history of the church, men and women have found these to be excellent means to achieve growth.
When I was involved in sales, one of my mentors insisted that we be pursuit-oriented. He used to tell us to chase a customer until they buy or die! His philosophy was this. We needed to have a clearly focused,singleness of purpose. It seems to me that as Christians we too should be pursuit oriented - that we should develop a singleness of purpose - to actively and tirelessly be chasing after the type of lifestyle modeled by Jesus - a lifestyle of seeking Spiritual Maturity. Is that your lifestyle? Are you pursuit-oriented? I pray that we all carefully examine ourselves.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To contact
Carl
about this sermon, please
write to: Brunswick Presbyterian Church, 42 White Church
Lane, Troy, NY 12180 |
