260104 Grounded to Grow

That Jesus did not grow because he needed grace, he grew to give us grace. He lived the perfect human life, patient, obedient, faithful, so that when our growth is slow and uneven, his righteousness stands in our place. Our hope is not that we will grow, but in who grew for us. [00:45:48] (22 seconds)  #GrewToGiveGrace

And here's the irony irony that Luke is setting up for us, the one who's redeemed the world is himself bought as one who needs redemption. Not because Jesus lacks holiness or he has sinned, but because he comes to stand fully with us. He comes to fully fulfill the law that we were under the obligation that we cannot keep. So even at the very very beginning, Jesus is living under the law submitting to it not for his own sake, but for our sake. [00:20:41] (34 seconds)  #RedeemedWithUs

And this is important for us to understand because it's kinda reversed in our head. But in God's economy, a, belonging always comes before becoming. Belonging always comes before becoming. When they presented their firstborn son, they're declaring, this life is God's. And yet, every firstborn son had to re be redeemed, in other words, bought back with silver. [00:20:09] (32 seconds)  #BelongingBeforeBecoming

Look, Jesus grew. His growth was to a cross. His growth wasn't for himself, but it was for you and I. It was to bear greater burdens for others. So you and I are to be grounded in grace, not that we can be motivated to grow for ourselves like this is some self improvement project. No. We're grounded in grace that we grow in the pleasure and the favor of God, and we grow for God, and we grow for others because God has also called us to a cross. He's also called us to a mission of the cross. [00:46:26] (39 seconds)  #GrowthToTheCross

And in his time, he's growing under favor, God's favor. He's not growing under scrutiny. And I think this is where the text really helps us because so many believers think spiritual growth comes from pressure. If I just try harder, if I just do more, if I could just be better. If Jesus' perfect, sinless, beloved child was allowed to grow at human pace, Why are we so hard on ourselves? [00:28:51] (41 seconds)  #GrowingUnderFavor

If your life feels ordinary and you think you're missing God's work, my guess is you're right in the middle of it. You can't see it. And what we do when we get into right places and we slow down and we start to just look and reflect and ask God to reveal, what happens is we start to see that he's already been working through stuff. And what he's doing in everyday life, he's doing. [00:40:23] (32 seconds)  #GodAtWorkInTheOrdinary

And so she hears that she just breaks out in worship. See, look, salvation is here. It's here among us. This is what you've all been waiting for. She's preaching to anybody who will listen to her and praising God. Notice she was not waiting for him to do a miracle, not waiting for a sign, not waiting for the angels to pronounce it. She recognized it in the child of God and she shares that salvation. See b, grace always produces worship before results. Grace moves us into this relationship of worship and praise to God. [00:23:53] (41 seconds)  #GraceProducesWorship

Just he grew. He just grew. In fact, Luke repeats this at the end of the chapter in verse 52. He says, Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. And so why is kinda Luke bookmarking this section of Jesus' childhood with this about growth. What is important here? What is so important for us to understand? I think it it's c. God's greatest work often happens quietly, slowly, and over time. God's greatest work often happens quietly, slowly, and over time. [00:25:51] (41 seconds)  #GodsWorkIsSlowAndQuiet

And we realized very quickly that that emotion is just empty, it's not growth. It might feel like growth, it might be really exciting, but it really didn't create growth. It actually, I think, did the opposite. And see, here's what you gotta realize, d, growth flows from grace not striving. Growth flows from grace, not striving. [00:27:45] (32 seconds)  #GrowthFlowsFromGrace

If you've been there, you feel stuck. You feel like when even when you strive to go forward, you're more like going backwards. I wanna let you know Luke has an answer for us and has some guidance for us. And and it really picks up in Luke two right after the Christmas story where Luke two is at. We go into the next phase of Jesus' childhood, and and it says this simply, but the child is growing quietly, slowly, and under God's favor. [00:16:28] (32 seconds)  #QuietGrowthUnderFavor

And it's why in our world, the the new covenant, why we get so excited about baptism. That God has commanded us, right, to go and baptize all nations, all nations, all people including infants. Because it's not our work. It's a gift of God, of his gift of grace, and God's economy always starts with his grace. He gives it away. And just as the Christ child can hold salvation and bring salvation to the world, God gives salvation to a child. [00:22:53] (37 seconds)  #GraceComesFirst

Now it seems like a simple phrase, but this is a phrase with deep meaning. They're not taking their baby to the temple to show him off. They're coming because Jesus does they're not coming because Jesus already done something remarkable. They're simply acknowledging his truth. And the truth is this child belongs to God. Did you see that in the text? Did you see that in the context? And so this child is God's child. [00:17:58] (31 seconds)  #ThisChildBelongsToGod

See, in ordinary ways, when I understand I'm golden dirt, in ordinary ways, I just say, you know, God, I got this dirt and I confess it to you. And God says, forgive you. I've already forgiven you, but I'm gonna reassure you, I forgive you of this sin. What is he doing? It's just this ordinary simple way he's starting to shape and form us, and he's starting to transform transform that dirt into gold. [00:37:47] (30 seconds)  #FromDirtToGold

So I think one of the problems is we are living so fast in our world today, so busy, so noisy that we don't even understand how we're being formed by all this. How the culture is shaping our worldviews and shaping our mind and our heart. So these ordinary things all in our lives are affecting us. And what we need to do is understand what's affecting us and put ourselves in the right environments and the right experiences and to slow down and say, God, I want you to be the major potter in my life. I want your hand shaping me and and molding me. [00:38:48] (45 seconds)  #LetGodBeThePotter

See, God is far more concerned how deep the depth of your relationship, not of your growth, not the speed of it. See, it's easy to look spiritually mature and then try to leap it with maybe an experience and try to use emotion or maybe just use academics and say, I know a lot. I study a lot. I mean, remember, the pharisees knew the whole testament yet Jesus was there. They didn't recognize him. Fast growth or knowledge can look impressive but deep growth relationship, heart life growth lasts. [00:45:01] (43 seconds)  #DepthOverDisplay

See, grace and grace allows you to say, man, my life is filled with gold and dirt. I try to bring gold to most places, but I got dirt. Ask my wife. I got a dump truck I hit her the other day. Dirt. And I'm praying by the grace of God that he takes my dirt, my brokenness a mess, And by his redemptive blood and grace, he makes gold. Gold I can give for others. [00:36:33] (38 seconds)  #GraceTurnsDirtToGold

Jesus presented to as belonging to the father. He recognized as salvation itself. That's that's pretty important. I mean, they've been waiting, and it's been quiet for four hundred years before Jesus shows up. But notice this, and then he's allowed to grow. No rush, no pressure, not forced. I mean, he's got the world's most important mission, the most important mission for all eternity, and yet he's given his time. [00:28:16] (35 seconds)  #NoRushNoPressure

See, healthy spiritual growth is not flashy. It's faithful. It's rooted deeply in his grace formed slowly through obedience and sustained by the favor of God. Just like Jesus, we're we're gonna stop striving and just start abiding in his grace. [00:50:55] (20 seconds)  #FaithfulNotFlashy

Some of you feel like you should be farther along than you are right now. Stronger faith. I should have clearer direction. I should be more consistent. I should know more. I should be able to verbalize my faith better and live it out. But Luke reminds us, even Jesus grew. [00:29:32] (20 seconds)  #EvenJesusGrew

that God made this outward sign amongst the male because men pass on the sins. Remember? From generation to generation, that's why Jesus was conceived of the holy spirit, so he would not have original sin, but yet he takes on the law of circumcision that this flesh would be ripped, the blood would be shed, foreshadowing this mark of the covenant with us that we are his people. So there's another identity factor that Jesus is his is is God's child, belongs to him under this covenant of grace that he's done nothing that's been given to him. [00:22:18] (35 seconds)  #MarkedByGrace