From Spirituality to Maturity: Embracing Christlike Growth

Devotional

Day 1: Maturity Over Spirituality

Maturity in the Christian life is not about achieving a state of personal spirituality but about growing in selflessness and love for others. Jesus emphasized maturity over spirituality, calling His followers to put others first and to deny themselves for the sake of others. This stands in stark contrast to the self-centered spirituality that is prevalent in today's culture. The call to maturity is a call to live a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus, where selflessness and love are at the forefront. [05:30]

Ephesians 4:13-14 (ESV): "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

Reflection: In what ways can you prioritize the needs of others over your own desires today, reflecting the maturity Jesus calls us to?

Day 2: The Role of the Church

The church is not just a place for spiritual experiences but a community that equips believers for service, leading to unity and maturity in faith. The Apostle Paul emphasized that the church's role is to help believers grow into the fullness of Christ, becoming more like Him. This involves a collective journey towards maturity, where each member contributes to the growth and unity of the body of Christ. [15:02]

Colossians 1:28-29 (ESV): "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

Reflection: How can you actively participate in your church community to help others grow in their faith and maturity?

Day 3: Fruit of the Spirit

The virtues of love, patience, kindness, and self-control are the Fruit of the Spirit, produced in us by the Holy Spirit. These virtues are not about achieving perfection but about allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us, producing maturity over time. As we grow in these virtues, we become more like Christ, reflecting His character to the world around us. [28:36]

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Reflection: Which Fruit of the Spirit do you feel is most lacking in your life right now, and how can you invite the Holy Spirit to cultivate it in you?

Day 4: Transformation Process

Maturity in the Christian life is not a checklist but a transformation process that requires reliance on the Holy Spirit. It is about becoming less like ourselves and more like Jesus. This transformation is a journey that involves daily surrender and dependence on the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do on our own. [39:02]

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to rely more on the Holy Spirit for transformation, and what steps can you take to surrender this area to Him?

Day 5: Impact on the World

Mature followers of Jesus, characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit, have the potential to transform families, communities, and nations. This maturity is what the world needs now, as it reflects the love and selflessness of Christ. As we grow in maturity, we become agents of change, bringing the light of Christ to a world in need. [36:21]

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV): "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Reflection: How can you be a light in your community today, demonstrating the maturity and love of Christ to those around you?

Sermon Summary

In today's message, we explored the profound difference between spirituality and maturity, particularly in the context of following Jesus. Many people today are drawn to a personalized form of spirituality, often as a reaction to negative experiences with organized religion. However, Jesus never called his followers to be spiritual; instead, he called them to maturity. This maturity is not about self-centered spirituality or even self-centered Christianity. It is about growing up and putting others first, a concept that stands in stark contrast to the "all about me" mentality prevalent in today's culture.

Jesus' teachings, as seen in the Gospels, emphasize maturity over spirituality. He never used the term "spirituality" but instead pointed his followers towards a life of maturity, characterized by selflessness and love for others. This maturity is about saying no to oneself for the sake of others, a principle that is foundational to the teachings of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul echoed this sentiment in his letters, urging believers to pursue maturity rather than spirituality. He emphasized that the church's role is to equip believers for works of service, leading to unity and maturity in faith. Paul used the Greek word "teleios," which means complete or mature, to describe the goal of Christian growth.

Maturity, as described by Jesus and Paul, is about becoming more like Christ. It involves growing in virtues such as love, patience, kindness, and self-control, which Paul refers to as the Fruit of the Spirit. These virtues are not about achieving perfection but about allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us, producing maturity over time.

As we embark on this journey of exploring the Fruit of the Spirit, we are reminded that maturity is not a to-do list but a process of transformation. It requires us to rely on the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do on our own. This journey is about becoming less like ourselves and more like Jesus, ultimately becoming what our world truly needs.

Key Takeaways

1. Maturity Over Spirituality: Jesus never called his followers to be spiritual but to be mature. Maturity involves putting others first and saying no to oneself for the sake of others, contrasting with self-centered spirituality. [05:30]
2. The Role of the Church: The church's purpose is to equip believers for service, leading to unity and maturity in faith. This maturity is about growing into the fullness of Christ, becoming more like Him. [15:02]
3. Fruit of the Spirit: The virtues of love, patience, kindness, and self-control are the Fruit of the Spirit, produced through us by the Holy Spirit. These virtues define maturity and are what the world needs. [28:36]
4. Transformation Process: Maturity is not a checklist but a transformation process that requires reliance on the Holy Spirit. It is about becoming less like ourselves and more like Jesus. [39:02]
5. Impact on the World: Mature Jesus followers, characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit, can transform families, communities, and nations. This maturity is what our world needs now. [36:21]
** [36:21]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:08] - Pop Quiz Introduction
[00:40] - What Our World Needs Now
[01:18] - Trend Towards Spirituality
[02:17] - Reaction to Organized Religion
[03:23] - Faith Framework and Reality
[04:13] - Jesus and Spirituality
[05:30] - Jesus' Call to Maturity
[06:06] - Ultimate Expression of Maturity
[10:03] - Introduction to Maturity
[11:08] - Be Perfect as Your Father
[13:25] - Paul's Call to Maturity
[15:02] - Role of the Church
[16:03] - Attaining Fullness of Christ
[28:36] - Fruit of the Spirit
[36:21] - Impact on the World
[39:02] - Transformation Process
[41:30] - Conclusion and Next Steps

Sermon Clips

When you follow Jesus through the gospels, in other words, if you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, when you follow Jesus through the gospels, you'll discover that he never invites anyone to participate in spirituality. He never ever once encourages anybody to be spiritual or to be more spiritual. In fact, he never even uses that term. He never uses the term spiritual or the term spirituality, which is shocking. It's like, well, wait a minute. Jesus is a religious figure. Certainly he talked about spirituality. He doesn't, he talks about the Holy Spirit, that's a specific entity. [00:04:29]

He insisted on maturity. And his version of maturity, as we're gonna see, actually stands in stark contrast to all about me spirituality. It also stands in stark contrast to all about me Christianity. And it stands in contrast to our sort of modern all about me what can I get out of it theology. Because the ultimate expression of maturity, even the maturity that Jesus points us to, the ultimate expression of maturity is, as you know, even though you may have not have had these words, the ultimate expression of maturity is saying no to me for the sake of we. [00:05:37]

Jesus reserved his harshest criticism for men who camouflage their all about me immaturity with DIY, do it yourself spirituality. When he caught people kind of creating their own spirituality with its own rules, and this is what you do and this is what you don't do, but they created it in such a way as to serve themselves and it harmed other people. He had no patience for that. He reserved his harshest criticism for that. In fact, he had a name he would call these people, and this doesn't make a lot of sense to us because of the way we bury people. [00:09:15]

He says, therefore, here's the conclusion of what I'm saying. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." To which we're all like, well, I'm out, right? I mean, I can't be perfect compared to anybody else, I'm supposed to be perfect compared to God? But the little Greek word translated perfect in these two places is actually the word, Greek word, teleios. "Be teleio, therefore, as your Father in heaven is teleios." And what it's referring to is not perfection in terms of having no imperfection. What it refers to is the idea of being complete, or as we're gonna see, mature. [00:10:48]

The Apostle Paul never calls people to spirituality either. In fact, in 1 Corinthians, his letter to Christians living in Corinth, he actually chastises the people in that church for their pseudo spirituality because they kind of created their own idea of here's what makes a person spiritual. And he called them children. He says, you're so immature, you need to grow up and quit acting like babies. And they're like, we're not babies. We're so spiritual. It's like, no, you're not, no you're not. You have it all wrong. So again, the Apostle Paul, he doesn't call people to spirituality either. [00:13:33]

He said, God put these people in the church not to do something for themselves, but to equip everybody else to do something for everybody else. Because that's what the church is really all about. He goes on, he says, "so that", or the result is, "the body of Christ", that is a local church, "the body of Christ might be built up or grow up." And then he continues. And this is gonna happen, "until we all reach unity". Unity is maturity. We've talked about unity before. Unity in the faith and in the knowledge, because knowledge is built over time. [00:15:53]

The goal is that the individuals in the church would become, over time, grow up to be like Christ. Or the word that we use is that we would all grow to be Christlike, not Christ light, Christlike. And then he contrasts this to make sure that we all understand exactly what he's talking about. He goes on and he says this. He says, then, and then he gets specific. Then we will no longer be babies sucking our thumbs, babies, infants. And this was one of the things that drove him crazy. [00:16:22]

What the world needs now is not more privatized, grow your own, make it up your yourself spirituality. What our world needs now is you and us. What the world needs now is Jesus followers who are striving to become more mature. Jesus followers who are growing up into the fullness of Christ. Jesus followers who want to become more Christlike and who are putting in the work in order to become more like Jesus. People, to borrow a few phrases from the Apostle Paul, these are right out of his letters to other Christians. [00:24:49]

The Fruit of the Spirit is exactly what you hope your spouse is. The Fruit of the Spirit is exactly what you hope your fiance or boyfriend or girlfriend will strive to be. The the Fruit of the Spirit is the person that you, is manifested through the person you hope your children marry someday. The Fruit of the Spirit is what you hope your boss will be or would be, or the people who you've employed or worked for you or report to you or you work with. The Fruit of the Spirit is what you hope is manifested in their life. [00:31:06]

The Fruit of the Spirit is you'll be good at and good to. You'll be the person that's like, he's just such a great person. She's just, I don't know, just good. The Fruit the Spirit is patient. And immediately some of you're like, well, I'm out. No, you need to be filled with the Spirit. That's the point. Well, I'm not good at that. Exactly you're not good at that. You're not, I don't know you, you're not good at any of these, okay? I mean, if the standard, if the standard is the full measure of Christ, isn't there so much we all need to grow up in and mature to? [00:32:58]

Imagine a family characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit. You don't, when a relationship is characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit, you know what? You don't have any rules in that relationship. There are no rules because you don't need them. Because if I'm for you, and you're for me, we don't have to have rules. You don't have to have laws because I'm for you and you're for me, and I'm mature and I'm going to put you first. Imagine a community characterized by those. Imagine a city characterized by those. [00:36:46]

What the world needs now, bottom line, is men and women who are led by the Holy Spirit who dwells in each of us to grow us up. What our world needs now is mature Jesus followers who not who all vote the same way, but who are all pursuing the same goal, which is Christlikeness. So here's what we're gonna do, that's the introduction. For the next few weeks, we are going to unpack one remarkable passage of scripture from Paul's letter to Christians living in the Roman province of Galatia, which is in modern day Turkey. [00:40:38]

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