"Growing in Maturity"
Colossians 1:28-29
Sunday, April 7, 2013

Introduction: Have you ever noticed that we tend to look to the future? When we were in elementary school we thought about how nice it would be when we get to Junior High, and then we want to be in High School, and then we think about college, and ultimately graduating so that we can pursue our career. We want to grow in maturity: not just in age, but in what we can and will be allowed to do. We want to be 13 so we can be a teenager, 16 so we can drive, 21 so we can vote, and on and on it goes. Although I do have to say that when I turned 50 and got the notice that I can receive my AARP card: that wasn’t necessarily what I was desiring.

            In Colossians 1:28-29 it says, “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” This morning I want to talk about a different kind of maturity: not a maturity of age, but a maturity in Christ.

I.                   Teaching with Wisdom-

a.      Non-Christian teaching- My education includes elementary school,

junior high school, college, and seminary. My teachers were all people who had been trained and who studied to teach what they taught me. They were all intelligent in their own way. They taught me how to write, and how to read, and how to do math, and how to play music, and how to study, and how to understand poetry and literature. Through my training and study I increased in my knowledge.

            But there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. The definition for knowledge is: “the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association.” So knowledge is accumulating information. Knowledge is having information stored in our brain. Yet, we can have knowledge without really using it. You can gain information in a way that doesn’t necessarily benefit your life greatly. For ex., anyone that knows me well knows that I have many facts and figures about sports teams and players in my head. I can tell you that Kobe Bryant just passed Wilt Chamberlain last week as the number 4 scorer in NBA history. I can tell you that Ted Williams was the last baseball player to hit over .400 for batting average. And you might say, so what. How does that affect my life? How does that benefit me in any way? And unless you are a facts and figures kind of person, I would say, it doesn’t.

        Wisdom however is taking the information you have and using it for the benefit or your life and/or the lives of others. Even more, there is the wisdom of God.

b.      Christian teaching- When it comes to teaching with wisdom, there is

nothing that compares with the wisdom of God. How could anyone or anything compare with the truth of God? How could anything surpass knowing our savior Jesus Christ and the truth of eternal life? I have been blessed to have had many people in my life who have mentored me in Christ and taught me the wisdom that comes from knowing God and God’s word. In fact, it is important to remember those people in your life who have helped to teach you in Christ. These people for me are: Glenn Parry, Steve Dickey, Paul Jensen to name just a few.

            Glenn Parry challenged me to memorize the book of James with him, and I was blessed by being able to have God’s word so available to me in this way. I learned the importance of memorizing the scriptures! Steve Dickie helped me to learn how to teach the Bible to students and how to help them learn how to love God. You have to know the Bible well to teach it. Paul Jensen really helped me in being a small group leader and understanding of how growth happens in small groups. Small groups are wonderful in helping us grow in our faith.

            God is the One who has created us. God is the One who has created all things. God is the One who understands who we are and how all things fit together. It is only in God that we can truly know who we are and the purpose God has for us. This is the wisdom we are to seek.

            1 Corinthians 1:18-25 explains this very well: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ ²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

            We don’t always understand what is wise and what is foolish. There are many who think that working hard for money is wise, and spending two hours praying and praising God is foolish. Others might think that reading a popular magazine makes them more knowledgeable, and reading the Bible is dull and not worth their time.

II.                Presenting everyone fully mature-

We start this journey in faith when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and

Lord. In this decision we are saying that we commit ourselves to the Lord. In this decision we seek to leave our sinful life and live the life of righteousness in Christ. We don’t just accept Jesus and then have maturity. We need to grow in our faith; grow in our maturity. The apostle Paul tells us to work out our salvation. We can only do this by seeking God daily; by taking up our cross and fully following God’s word and God’s way.

Illus. Anyone who is a teacher, or who has sought to teach another knows that on the first day of class the students are far from being masters of the subject they are teaching. Each day they seek to add a little more knowledge to the students. Each day they try and help the students understand how to apply that knowledge. The students who become wise, who do well in the class, are the ones who put the knowledge they acquire to a right practice.

            This is equally true in growing as a Christian. If you do not seek to grow in what you know, and then seek to apply it, you will not become mature in your faith.

Psalm 1:1-2 tells us: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord.” When you delight in God’s word, you seek to know it, and live it. When you do this, you will see yourself grow in maturity.

            In Acts 17:11 we read: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

This verse tells us that the Berean’s were of noble character because they were not only eager to learn more, but because they “examined” it each day. They not only read the Bible, but studied it carefully and with great thought and attention!

III.             Contend with all energy-

Like the Apostle Paul, I desire to present others mature in Christ; I desire to see people grow in their faith in Jesus Christ; I desire to disciple, teach and train others for Christ! One of the systems that has helped me to do this is one that comes from how Jesus sought to bring the disciples to maturity. It is referred to as Full Cycle Evangelism.

            If you watch what Jesus did, He first called the disciples to follow Him. To follow Him they had to commit themselves to learn from His teaching and the example that He set. They would watch Him and listen to Him and be guided by Him. They would watch Him teach others and do miracles. They would see His love and compassion for others. They would experience how He cared for the poor and the outcast. They watched and learned.

            Next, Jesus would have them do some ministry themselves as Jesus watched. After they would do this ministry, Jesus would process it with them. This was an important time of learning and growing.

Story- I remember hearing a true story of a Junior High minister who was trying to teach his students how to talk to others about Jesus. After a few minutes into the lesson he could tell the students were getting bored and weren’t really listening. So he stopped the lesson and packed them in a van. He drove them to the park, and as they got out he said: “Go talk to people about Jesus.” They went off thinking it would be easy. But after a short time the students came back frustrated. It was hard for them because they didn’t really know what they were doing. So they said: “Please teach us how to talk to others about Jesus.” Now they were interested in learning and growing.

            After the disciples went out and tried to minister to the people, they came back wanting to learn and grow all the more. This made the disciples more willing listeners and learners. Now in their watching they were seeking to learn how to do it themselves. Ultimately Jesus was crucified, dead and buried. On the third day He rose from the grave. He went up to heaven and left the disciples to make other disciples.

This is what it means to grow to maturity. To not only be committed to Jesus and follow Him with your full desire, but to learn how to share your faith with others so that they too will become followers. You can’t do that by just going to church every so often, or even going every week. We believe here at CPC that one of the most important aspects of our faith is to grow consistently in our devotion and practice to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and sharing this with others. That is why we provide many opportunities for growth:

Sunday School Bible study for adults and children;

Small groups for all ages;

Daily devotional readings;

Mission trips, like our trip to Mexico coming up this summer;

Regular service opportunities in our community;

Classes to learn more about the Bible and Christian growth including Alpha which we will do this summer.

The key is to be one who prays each day: “Lord, help me to grow closer to You today than I was yesterday. Help me to know You better and serve You more.” Let’s us be people who pray this, and mean it. Who seek God out. For this I labor with all my energy. Let us grow in our faith each day so that we will be mature in Christ. Amen.