Grow Up
Joshua LeBorious
The Mission of Edgewater • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 16 viewsWe are reminded that God is more than enough to sustain us. We are encouraged to grow in our faith.
Notes
Transcript
Complacent and Stagnant
Complacent and Stagnant
“You need to grow up.” That’s essentially what Hebrews tells us here. In verse 12 it says “though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” Chapter 6 starts by saying “therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.” The author of Hebrews uses long sentences and elaborate words, but if you boil it down - he’s telling us to grow up.
Now I think there are a few different possible reactions to this kind of comment.
The first is someone who is new to the faith, who is a child in that regard. I would imagine that their reaction would be along the lines of “you’re right, I do need to grow up” or “I’m working on it, okay!”
Next we have someone who has been in the church a long time but who has never really progressed past the basics of faith. They’ve never really gotten into God’s Word, they don’t really ever do anything with church beyond Sunday mornings, and they’ve never really thought about what their faith means for their lives. I would image that the reaction would be along the lines of “I’m fine where I am, why do I need to grow up - growing up is hard” or maybe “how dare you say I need to grow up, I’ve been in the church my whole life.”
Next we have someone who has worked to grow and thinks they’re done. They’ve read the Bible, they’ve attended Bible Study, they’ve grown up a little bit, and they think they’re done. I would imagine that the reaction would be along the lines of “I’ve done my growing, this doesn’t apply to me” or maybe “how dare you suggest I need to grow more?”
Finally we have someone who has grown and continues to try and grow more every day. They still faithfully spend time in God’s Word, they’re involved with a community group, and their faith regularly impacts their daily lives. I would image that the reaction here would be along the lines of “I’m trying my best” or maybe “you’re right, I do need to keep growing.”
And the reality is, no matter which of those categories you best fall into, this text speaks to you, speaks to us. If you are a new Christian, you do need to keep growing and go on to maturity in your faith. If you’ve never gone past the basic understanding that Jesus died and rose for you, you do need to keep growing even though it’s hard. If you think you’re done growing, you’ve reached maturity, this reminds us that we do always have more to learn and understand and grapple with. If you recognize you still need to grow, this passage encourages you in that pursuit. And I can’t tell you which of those categories you fall into, I find myself falling into each of the four depending on the day and what’s going on, but I can tell you that this call to develop our faith more applies to each and every one of us.
Clinging to Childhood
Clinging to Childhood
And this is a problem that Christians have faced since early in the church. Our author in Hebrews is addressing a problem that is right in front of him, using the metaphor of milk. Milk was food for children, for the sick, and for the invalid. It is great, vital even, for early stages of development before a person develops a more sophisticated digestion system. And the “spiritual milk” that Hebrews talks about here of salvation by faith in God, of baptism, or prayer, and of eternal judgement - it is great, vital, for early stages of faith before a person develops a more sophisticated relationship with God and with His church. But Hebrews is relying on the fact that as a person grows, their tastes evolve. Infants need milk, middle schoolers want Mountain Dew and Skittles, and adults need a balanced diets of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, etc. And the author here is connecting the faith of the Hebrews to that. They started needing to understand the fundamentals of faith, but as they grew and developed those needs and mediums change. He tells them that they need to move on to more substantial fare.
No Pain, No Gain
No Pain, No Gain
So we take the lesson from Hebrews, we grow and develop. Which brings us to the next part of our mission statement here at Edgewater, that we nurture Christian development through worship, education, and prayer. And that stage of development might look different for each person here, so we’re going to look kinda broadly at four different stages of development and what worship, education, and prayer might look like for each. And my challenge for you is to sort of “check off” where you’re at, which of these stages you fit best in.
We’ll start with the Infant Stage. Worship in the infant stage might simply be showing up on most Sundays. Worship is important but not necessarily a major priority. When you’re here you listen, but you don’t really engage too much. Education for the Infant Stage is mostly limited to just the sermon on Sunday mornings and maybe some quick devotions during the week. Prayer for the Infant Stage is mostly just short, rhyming prayers that they’ve memorized like Come Lord Jesus. If you feel like this is the stage you’re in, your next steps might be committing to being in worship every Sunday for the rest of this month, making it a priority to watching the daily video devotions every day, or to pray a little more intensely - maybe using the Lord’s Prayer.
The next stage is the Adolescent Stage. Worship in the adolescent stage is probably being in church almost every Sunday but, just like with real teenagers, there can be a little bit of self-consciousness so they might not get super involved in the service and they might not sing out loud much. Education in the Adolescent Stage probably involves some regular engagement with a devotional or with a daily reading plan. Prayer for the Adolescent Stage is more flexible than with the Infant Stage, but you probably have a habit of falling asleep or getting distracted when you’re praying. If you feel like this is the stage you’re in, your next steps might be to volunteer to help in service as an usher or resolving to fully participate in the service, joining the In the Word Together reading plan, or to remove distractions from your prayer life.
The next stage is the Adult Stage. Worship in the adult stage is in church every Sunday, fully engaging, carrying the attitude of praise and worship into your daily life with how you spend your time and money. Education in the Adult Stage would be daily devotions, Bible Readings, and being involved in a community group to be in the Word with other Christians. Prayer is a consistent habit for a Christian in the adult stage. If you feel like this is the stage you’re in, your next steps might be to get involved as a leader in one of these aspects of the church.
The final stage is the Teacher Stage. Worship in this stage invites others to worship and builds them up, helping people to understand why we do what we do. Education in the teacher stage might be working to lead a community group or helping other people to get involved. Prayer in the teacher stage might be to lead a prayer partner or join the prayer team here at Edgewater. If you feel like this is the stage you’re in, your focus is shifting from your own faith to help build up others in the faith - if you’re looking for next steps, schedule a time to sit down and talk with me.
And there’s nothing wrong with any of these stages - unless you stagnate there and stop trying to grow and get to the next stage.
Certainty
Certainty
Because all of these stages assume one thing, and it’s the same thing the author to the Hebrews assumes in Hebrews 6:9
Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.
He is sure of better things, he is assuming that the Hebrews have faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ. This question of development has nothing to do with their salvation, infants in the faith are saved just as much as teachers and leaders are. You are no better off eternally for being mature in your faith, the author here is assuming that the people he’s talking to know what Jesus has done for them. God’s promise of salvation is greater than any understanding, development, or lack there-of you could possibly have. Because whether you are an expert in orthodox Lutheran theology or you’ve just recently come to faith - Jesus died and rose from the dead to redeem you, to make sure that when you are judged for eternity you are good.
You Don’t Have to Get It
You Don’t Have to Get It
Because even though we strive for more mature, more developed faith - your salvation doesn’t depend on it. And to illustrate that, I want us to look right in front of us. In Matthew 26:26-28 we read:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
We look in front of us and we hear Jesus say “this is my body, this is my blood.” Not “this represents” or “this is like” just “this is.” And if you tell me that you understand how that works beyond “God can do what He wants” - you’re lying to me. Jesus says this is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. We don’t really get communion, we don’t really understand how it works or why God did it this way, but we trust that it works. God promises to be here and to forgive us - we don’t have to understand how or why. So no matter what stage you find your faith in: infancy, adolescence, adulthood, or leadership - know that you are loved and forgiven by our God. Amen.