12 minute read
Christian Living
Marks Of Maturity
By Adrian Rogers
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May I ask you a question? Are you a growing Christian? Are you moving toward maturity? You can be young only once, but you can be immature for a long time. Many churches have people who’ve been born again but cease to grow.
I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong and the word of God abides in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. (1 John 2:13-14)
John mentions children, young men, and fathers. He’s talking about coming from childhood to adulthood, growing into maturity.
What are the marks of maturity? Not just spiritual health—a child can be spiritually healthy yet still be a child. Not giftedness. Samson was mightily gifted, but he was immature. Even the gifted Corinthian church, Paul had to confront: “So that ye come behind in no gift…” (1 Corinthians 1:7) but he said, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1).
Your heart can be right with God, filled with the Holy Spirit, but still immature.
Maturity is Christ-likeness. “Till we all come…unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). “…teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28). Perfect doesn’t mean sinless; it means mature.
Maturity is a lifelong process, not a hundred-yard dash No one is instantly mature. If you want to grow a squash, it will take you 40 days. An oak will take you 40 years.
Whatever your age, no one is saved full grown. Thank God for baby Christians, but baby Christians has to grow up. In one sense, a church is a maternity ward. But some stay in the maternity ward far too long.
Moving from milk bottles to mighty battles, baby Christians should become workers and warriors. “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong and the word of God abides in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” When you begin to grow, you’re no longer being served but a servant, a worker, a warrior.
The Word of God has made you strong. Don’t let Satan have his way because he’s fighting an army of children. Is the devil afraid of you? Young men are strong; they’ve overcome the wicked one. Are you a threat to Satan’s kingdom? Does the Word of God abide in you? From there you move into the wisdom of adulthood. “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning.” An adult has come to mature wisdom; he knows, he understands. He’s been with the Lord so long; his life begins to manifest the likeness of God. If you’re a woman or a young person, this applies to you, too.
A father has children. Have you reproduced? Will you bring spiritual children to Jesus’ feet? A father imparts wisdom to his spiritual children to help them to grow in grace.
How do we grow from childhood to adolescence to maturity?
Growth requires time
You will not instantly be mature. There are no shortcuts. Remain steadfast, and you will grow.
Growth requires nourishment
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby;” (1 Peter 2:2). Feed daily on the Word of God. That’s where your strength lies. Saturate your heart and life with the Word.
Growth requires discipline and exercise
“But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” (Hebrews 5:14). We have so many flabby Christians because Sunday after Sunday they sit, soak, and sour. Find something in your church to do. Help in a ball club, the dining hall, in a class, in the jail ministry. Don’t sit like a turtle on a log. Serve.
Are you a growing Christian? There’s a battle to fight, work to be done. I want you to become a spiritual father, reminding others of God. I want you to grow so much with God that you begin to look like Him and act like Him.
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Christians are Followers of Jesus and have been born again. They pattern their lives after Jesus, are filled with God's Holy Spirit, and will spend Eternity in Heaven.
The first Followers of Jesus were the twelve Disciples, handpicked by Jesus when He began His ministry on earth.
The Twelve Disciples:
• Simon whom Jesus renamed Peter • James, the son of Zebedee and his brother, • John, • Andrew • Philip • Bartholomew • Matthew • Thomas • James son of Alphaeus • Thaddaeus • Simon, the Zealot • Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus
"He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him," (John 1:10-11).
It is sad that Israel was the only nation expecting the Messiah, (Jesus), and yet rejected Him when He arrived:
To be a Follower of Christ, One Must:
• Believe in God. • Believe that Jesus is the Son of God • Believe that Jesus is the Savior who died for the sins of the world.
Those who follow the Christian Faith are to pattern their lives after Jesus. They are to be baptized and then love, serve and take the Gospel to the world. They must trust in God's promises, and prayerfully abide in Jesus.
Jesus Forewarns His followers:
According to Jesus, His followers may face rejection and persecution for their faith in Him. If so, they are not to be discouraged. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also" (John 16:18-21).
Persecution during Jesus Time:
During Jesus life, the world showed its opposition in the form of harsh words, hostile plots, and violent torture. Many of the early Christians experienced rejection, exclusion, ridicule and even death.
Persecution Today:
We must not make the mistake of thinking the hatred of the world toward the Followers of Christ has disappeared. Today there are Christians imprisoned in over 40 countries for practicing their Faith.
In America, Christians are often ridiculed and rejected. An example, in the movies it is not uncommon to see well-dressed cowboys riding expensive horses, alongside a poorly dressed preacher portrayed as an inept bungler, riding a mule or donkey.
In truth, our early preachers were intelligent, often well-educated, robust individuals who loved the Lord, and were fearless in their pursuit of spreading the Gospel.
The Holy Spirit;
The good news is that God did not abandon the Followers of Jesus to struggle on their own The Child of God, living according to God's plan and guidance, can have the most fulfilling life there is.
After Jesus' death and resurrection, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell, comfort and counsel each of His followers. The Holy Spirit brought them peace, joy, and hope, and enabled them to be strong and faithful, despite the world's hostility. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him or knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you," (John 14:16-17)
Hope and Joy for the Followers of Christ;
Paul said, "Therefore we do not
See CHRISTIANS on Page 47
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BEARING FRUIT
Continued from Page 31 difficulties into your life to brush the dust off your leaves. He’ll do it gently, tying you up in a position where you can get sunshine so you can start producing fruit.
When you’re disobeying, God will lift you up. He’ll send situations and people into your life to gently brush the dust off your leaves, and then He'll lift you to a position where you can get sunshine and start producing fruit.
This discipline is God’s mercy! He uses these moments to get our attention, not because He wants to punish us, but because His PRIORITY is your heart.
Would you recognize God’s dusting off if it occurred in your life?
Wondering about purpose?
3 Steps to Confidently Discern God’s Calling on Your Life 2. If you bear some fruit, God will prune you to grow more fruit.
…every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
God is eager to have your whole heart. When He sees fruit in your life, He will do the necessary work to ensure you’re prepared to grow the most amounts of fruit possible. This is done through pruning. • If discipline has to do with God dealing with sin in your life, pruning has to do with God dealing with the SELF in your life. • To prune, He probes your priorities and says, “Yes, there is a lot of fruit. But I’d like to see more fruit because I love you.”
When pruning occurs, significant portions of a plant are sacrificed to allow for more fruit to grow. In the same way, when He prunes your life, He wants to chop off significant obstacles that are stunting the growth of fruit.
Have you ever felt like you’re trying to juggle all these balls, managing family, church, work, marriage, and money, and your life is a whirlwind of activity?
God’s telling you to prune
• Do you find time to regularly pour into important relationships, like scheduling coffee with friends? • Are you participating in church activities and finding ways to use your gifts on a regular basis? • Is there time within your day to hang out with your immediate family and be available for meaningful conversations?
If your answers are no, these are signs that your life needs pruning. Once your life has been pruned, you’ll be able to have a single focus of bearing fruit for Him.
Take inventory and determine if obstacles are keeping you from living a fruitful faith. Broken relationships are obstacles: How to Resolve Conflict and Live Peacefully as a Follower of Jesus
3. When there is more fruit, He wants you to abide.
Abide in Me, and I in you. Abiding is the ultimate connection to the vine. In some translations, it says, “Remain in Me.”
Once you’ve grown to recognize discipline, refinement, and pruning, God asks you to move to the next level. What does this look like?
Abiding, Remain in Him.
Abiding looks different for everyone because we are all on different points along our faith journey. But I can tell you that abiding always looks like intimacy with the Father, and communing closely enough that you know His words and hear His leading in your life.
In other words, first things first
Are you making time to read the Scriptures and meditate on God’s Word? Not because you “should,” but because your soul longs for that time with Him?
After making this a norm in your life, the outcome is supernatural. You’d be amazed at the transformation in your everyday thoughts and decisions.
Bearing Fruit in All Seasons
Bearing much fruit is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your relationship with God. It’s the natural outcome of a heart that is tuned into the Father, abiding and remaining in Him.
If there is no fruit, my hope is that you’ll recognize the discipline that God offers because He is a loving Father. Bearing fruit means that you’ll cooperate with God’s discipline, and then repent and obey.
If you’re producing fruit and He starts pruning, my prayer is that you will get rid of self-dependence and reliance on others, and realign your priorities.
And if you’re already bearing more fruit and want much fruit, it means you take it a step further.
Declare, “I’m going to make my connection with Christ, my time in the Word, and my prayer life the number one priority of my human experience on this planet.”
Then there will be a transformation in you, and then a trans-
formation through you.>
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