Growing Up Spiritually

Good afternoon, everyone! It's good to see you all here this afternoon. Thank you so much for the special music. Garrett, not only with Garrett's, but all of the special music was really inspirational. It was great to see everybody singing and playing. I can hardly keep from clapping. It was wonderful. Thank you very much. Were they good or not? I think we could applaud that. Especially, I think it's been our tradition to applaud our children anyway. I think some appreciation for them, and certainly do. Thanks. I hope now that you've done that. You'll continue to do that throughout the time that you serve God and are part of the Church. We certainly can use more special music. I know a lot of our areas don't always get special music all the time. So it's nice to have it and to have so much of it today. That was really encouraging. I really appreciate that.

I know as I was coming in, a number of you were able to greet and talk with you. One person said, oh, I remember you were here last year. I said, yeah, I'm back again. They said, we could put up with anybody once and eat once a year. So I'm back, so watch out. But it is good to be here. Good to bring greetings from Cincinnati.

It certainly is. We're still settling in down there. We moved in toward the end of this last year and are getting situated there and really appreciating the fact that we're not having to run back and forth so much, which has been really wonderful. And of course, I notice we've got quite a few of our graduates from Cincinnati that are up here. So that's really encouraging as well. And to see so many of you to participate in all the activities is really wonderful. Of course, one of the responsibilities that I have is also to teach at Ambassador Bible Center. So I hope that some of you graduates might be considering the fact of coming to ABC. It's a wonderful opportunity to really delve into God's Word and look at so many different aspects of the Bible, maybe things you hadn't even thought about in the past. And so this would be a great time to consider it, those of you that are finishing high school. Maybe you're not quite sure which way to go, what direction to turn in your life, especially with your education. Now might be the time to consider ABC and come down to Cincinnati in the fall for that. It would certainly be something I think that would really make a huge difference in your life. So certainly encourage you to think about that. And maybe now is not not the time for you, but if you get a break in your education and would like to come down, that can also be good. Or finish your degree and then come down, because it's an opportunity that's hard to take advantage of when you get on with the rest of your life. You know, if you get married, you have kids, and get on with those things. That makes it that much more difficult to take advantage of the opportunities that ABC has to offer. It can be done, but it can be a little bit more challenging. So encourage you to think about coming down to ABC and really get a grasp on what the Bible has to say and what God has in store for you. So something to think about.

I know it's a challenge as we come together and celebrate the end of a school year, which is sort of what we're doing, recognizing our graduates this year. And it's kind of a big marker in life, isn't it? That you begin to recognize our kids are growing up. They are growing up, and as they get older, they're faced with more challenges. You know, when you're little, things just are much more simple, aren't they? It seems that way. Things aren't very complicated at all when you're little.

In fact, the other day we had a wedding at the home office, and I overheard a couple little boys talking about the wedding and all this. They were just little guys. They were talking to each other. And the one little guy said, well, how many women can a guy marry anyway? And the other little boy went, well, weren't you listening? It's really simple. All you got to do is add it up. And the little boy was just really confused. He couldn't quite figure that out. He said, yeah, didn't you listen to the minister? He said, four better, four worse, four richer, four poorer. That's 16. We can marry 16. So it's all very plain when you're young, isn't it? Don't quote me on that, by the way.

One is a very good number. It's the best, right? But as you get older, life gets a little bit more complicated. In fact, I think it's when you're under 10 that it becomes very simple. In fact, you get excited about getting older. How many under 10 here today? We got a few of you. All right. If you're under 10, that seems to be about the only group that counts in fractions. So that if you ask them, well, how old are you? They'll say, I'm four and a half, or I'm six and three quarters. And they have a tendency to think like that. Now, if you're a teenager, it doesn't matter if you're 13 or 14, you're going to be 16, right? You're going to be 16. You might be 13, but it's not going to be long, and you're going to be 16. And then, of course, once you get by that, you become 21, don't you? You become... that's this huge milestone in life. Becoming 21. And I think that is just that fantastic marker. But then life goes on, and what is it? You turn 30? It's kind of like a bad gallon of milk. It went sour, right? I just kind of turned. Now I turn 30, and then some of you I'm not including myself here. What is it next? Okay, so you turn 30, and then you're pushing 40, right? You're pushing 40, slipping all the way down until finally you make it to 50. And I think you reach it, don't you? You finally reach 50, and it's all downhill from there. So that hopefully, if you can manage to do it and get to 60, you make it. You make it to 60, and then it gets worse from there, I think. And it's almost like you're in a bad car accident, because then you hit 70, right? Just you get nailed, and you're 70 years old. And then I think after that, after talking to my parents, it's like they hit Wednesday, and they make it to lunch. Or maybe they turn 430, I don't know. It's just a whole different way of counting, I think, as you begin to age.

And the reason I talk about those different things, as you think about being a teenager and making these various milestones in your life, from childhood to adulthood, is a huge transition, isn't it? It is a monstrous transition. And there are so many changes in your life that are going on, and it's a big deal as you come to adulthood. It really is. And as you think about those things, there's some amazing passages in the Bible that talk about growing up. What is it like to grow up? What does it mean to grow up? Not just grow up physically. I think everybody, you know, generally grows up physically. But not everybody grows up emotionally. Not everybody grows up spiritually. And so, how are we assured that we should grow up spiritually? Think about that for a little bit. Let's take a brief look at growing up, not just physically, but growing up spiritually. In fact, it doesn't matter if you're a teenager or if you're a grown-up. We all have growing to do, don't we? There's an interesting passage in Ephesians 4. I'm not going to turn there. Ephesians 4, 14, it talks about growing up, that we have to grow up in Christ. And that's something that we never stop doing. That's a path that God's placed us on, that we have to continue to grow into, to be more and more like Christ. So what does that mean? And how can we be sure that we're grown-ups when it comes to spiritual things? Well, let's start with the first concept that I wrote down. I wrote down that grown-ups don't need drama. Grown-ups don't need drama. It seems to be one of those things that so many times we get caught up into the drama. Oh, she dumped him and did you hear what's going on? And did you see that on Facebook? They're not in a relationship anymore. And did you see what happened over there? And I know they're doing this. And wow, can you imagine what's happening? And the drama just builds and builds, and we get caught up in that. Or maybe it's just that that's not fair. Can you believe that? I can't believe that's happening to them.

And so the drama builds and it goes on. And it's one of those things that a spiritual grown-up, I think they can live without it, can't they? We're supposed to live without it. Over in Romans 12, verse 14, I will turn over there, Romans 12, 14, talks a little bit about this idea of not leaving the drama behind.

Or maybe noticing in life things aren't always fair. Sometimes we might end up with the short end of the stick. And so how do we handle it when that might be the case? Well, in Romans 12, the apostle Paul zeros in on this and this idea of growing up spiritually without all the extra drama. Let's notice what it says here in Romans 12, verse 14. Here in the New Living it says this, if people persecute you because you're a Christian, don't curse them. Pray that God will bless them. Do we have to make a big deal about it? Do we have to make a big play, a big skit, a big drama over this fact? Or do we pray about it? It says, when others are happy, be happy with them. If they're sad, share their sorrow, but live in harmony with each other.

Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. It says, And don't think you know it all. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. You see, we can do without all the big acting, right? Verse 18, do your part to live in peace with everyone as much as possible. Verse 19, he goes on, Dear friends, never avenge yourself. Leave that to God. For it's written, I will take vengeance.

Verse 20, instead do what the Scriptures say. If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they're thirsty, give them something to drink. They'll be ashamed of what they've done. Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good. In other words, instead of all the drama, let's put that into action and do what's right. We know what God tells us to do, so let's do the right thing. We don't have to talk about this and gossip about that and let it all build to this huge play that has to work itself out in front of us. He says, no, let's put those godly things into action. Let's make them work for good. Let's see the very good in things and let's do those things because that's what God would certainly want us to do. In fact, over and over and over again throughout the Bible, we're given examples of that on how great men have put that into practice. Fantastic examples of women throughout the Bible that put to work the Spirit of God in their lives and put aside the drama. Despite the situation that was surrounding them, they did what was right.

We'll look at the Apostle Paul in just a moment, 2 Timothy 4. Boy, if anybody had an excuse to have some drama in their life, it would have been the Apostle Paul because he went through so many different things and was persecuted so many times for living the truth, for preaching the Gospel.

And yet he didn't let that drama that was unfolding before him get away from him. He didn't allow that to happen, but he did what was right. 2 Timothy 4. Verse 6 is a great example of what happened in the Apostle Paul's life. I was reading just the other day, just remembered an example, that right now they're having the NFL football draft is going on. I was reading about a football coach in the college levels who was one of the greatest coaches. He was at the University of Oklahoma many years ago, and they were asking him how in the world he could, year after year, produce teams that would be unbeaten, that would win their division and do so well.

And they asked him, what was the secret? What was the secret for it all?

And he had a couple of interesting comments about the secret to his success as a football coach.

And one of the things that he talked about, his name was Bud Wilkinson, one of the things he talked about, he said, you know, it really makes a difference who you play to. Who do you play to?

Who do you play for? He said, a lot of football players will play for the crowd, for all the people that are in the stands, that they're looking for the big round of applause, they're looking for the big cheers, and they're trying to avoid getting booed off the field.

And he said, some players play for that reason. He said, other players play for that special person.

You know, they play for their girlfriend that might be up in the stands.

That could be a little dramatic, couldn't it? Playing for the girl that's in the stands for the guys.

He said, some players, he said, they play for the other team. So that if the other team plays dirty, well, then they play dirty. Or if the other opponent doesn't play up to their ability, they kind of slack off. He said, some of the other players, they'll slack off too.

And they play to that level instead. He said, other players will play just to the level of their teammates. So if their teammates are really fired up and they're doing well, they'll play well.

He said, of course, then there's others who all they can do is focus on the officials.

They focus on what the refs are doing and how terrible a call that was. And they make a big deal over that. And they get sidetracked by the drama of the official and the calls.

And then he said, there's others, of course, that just play for themselves.

They think they're a soloist out there on the field instead of part of a team. He said, so it really makes a difference who you're playing for. And he says, what I try to teach my players is there's only one person you have to play for. And he said, as coach, that's me. My players have to play for... I'm the only one that matters because I'm watching the game. I'm noticing what happens. I'm not paying attention to the boos or the cheers. He said, I'm not looking into that. I'm not caring about whether the officials are fair or not, or if that's a good call or a bad call. He says, I'm not worried about the play of the other team. He said, I'm worried about my team. And I want them to know that they're all in it together. And when they pull together and do their best and play for the coach, he said, I know they're going to win.

I know they're going to win. And as I thought about that story, it reminded me of this, the drama that sometimes can unfold around us and it can kind of grab our lives. That sometimes, you know, we're playing, we're living because somebody might be watching us. You know, do we do what we do just because our parents are watching? We heard that in the announcements. Do we do it just because somebody's watching us? Or is the ultimate coach got his eye on us?

You see, God's got His eye on us. If we're just playing to the crowd, if we're just playing to the other teams, if we're just playing for the other adults, if we're just playing, you know, for the camera, that doesn't count for much, does it? The only one that really counts is that we're living for God. We're living for God's approval, right? We're doing the things that are pleasing to Him. And that's the one who really matters. All the drama that can sometimes be going on, whirlwinding around us, is not what it's about. It's remembering who is the ultimate one, who watches over us, who cares for us. And the one, ultimately, whose opinion counts the most. When it comes to us, who's got our best interest at heart?

Well, our spiritual coach does, right? God the Father and Jesus Christ are looking out for us. And really, when you get down to it, the rest of it really doesn't matter that much, does it?

Really doesn't matter that much. So when you look at 2 Timothy 4, let's notice here the Apostle Paul. In verse 6, here Paul says, He was already being poured out as a drink offering. The time of His departure was at hand.

Here was a guy that was beaten and scourged and shipwrecked and stoned. Do you think he had a lot of drama going on? But was that his focus? You see, that wasn't his focus. His focus was, I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I've kept the faith. He focused on what was most important and ultimately on who had his eye on Paul. That was God. Notice in verse 17, It said, The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, that all the Gentiles might hear, and also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

So with all the things that were going on around him, he looked to God and God delivered him.

So I think that's a goal we all need to have in our life, isn't it?

Not to let the drama get us carried away so we lose focus. So grown-ups don't need drama.

Right? That leads us to a second characteristic of grown-ups, spiritual grown-ups.

And that's the fact that spiritual grown-ups chill.

Spiritual grown-ups chill. They chill out. Now what do I mean by that? Well, that means, hey, let's kick back, let's relax a little bit. We don't have to have everything immediately.

And that's a tough thing for we Americans, isn't it? Because we want it all, and we want it all now! How many times have you been at the store and you've got exactly what you came to get, just what you needed, and then you're standing there at the checkout counter. And you notice over here, wow, that Reese's sure looks good. Well, I don't know. Maybe I should get a Snickers instead. It's right next to it, and then you just cannot help yourself. Oh, I got to grab that Hershey's bar, and there you're standing in line with what you needed. Then the other thing that you could have chilled about, but it's like, oh boy, it was just too tempting. And then, of course, there's a little refrigerator with the Pepsi, and it's, oh wow, I got the candy bar. Might as well get a drink to go with it, too. And then you walk out with that. And we've got to have it, and I've got to have it now. Or we somehow expect that everything has to be just right in our life immediately.

But is that the way that life works? You know, life doesn't really work like that, does it?

There's an interesting Psalm. It's in chapter 37. Turn over to Psalm 37, right at the very beginning of that chapter. At the beginning of chapter 37 of the Psalms, here King David wrote this song. In fact, we sing it quite often at services. This is that song that goes, Envy not nor fret yourself over evil, lawless men, right? We know that song. Well, this is where that song was taken from, the lyrics for that song. Psalm 37. And it talks about this idea of the long term.

That, you know, some things in life we're going to have to just chill about because it's not going to happen instantly. It's not going to happen instantly. Look at what David wrote about. He said, Don't fret because of evildoers. Boy, if somebody does us wrong, is that something that we've got to get all worried about? He says, No, don't fret. He said, Don't be envious of the workers of iniquity because, you know, things are happening around us where it looks like people are doing just fine, but they're doing awful things. You know, they're not getting struck by lightning. You know, they're not keeping the Sabbath and yet, what, are they getting away with that?

And that could get us sidetracked if we're not careful. That could throw us off if we think, well, there's not a problem. They're getting away with that. And we think that maybe that's okay.

But you see, David says, wait a second, just chill about that. Don't get caught up in that kind of thinking. It says in verse 2, For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Right? As the green herb. It says, Trust in the Lord and do good. So, chill about those that seem to be getting away with not doing the right thing and look to God. Look to God, do good. It says, Dwell in the land, feed on His faithfulness. Verse 4, Delight yourself also in the Lord. He'll give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him. You see, this is the best way to live. Even though it might be looking like, hey, they seem to be doing all right and they're not doing the right thing. Or what they're doing is like, I thought about doing that and it looks like it's a whole lot of fun. And what's so bad about that? Well, yeah, I know it doesn't really match up with what God wants, but they seem to be doing just fine. You see, the Psalms here tells us to chill. Chill on that and be sure and be committed to God. Be dedicated to following God, especially as we're making these monumental decisions in our life. What am I going to do after graduation? Well, this is something you don't want to put away as we put away the other things of childhood. We want to make sure we dedicate ourselves to God's way. It says, commit your way to the Lord. Verse 5, trust also in Him. He shall bring it to path. He'll bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord.

And it says, chill. Right? Wait patiently for Him. So don't be envious of sinners who seem to be getting away with it. Maybe friends of yours who have not made the right choices in their life. That seemed like, well, it's not any big deal. But God says, wait a second. Do what's right. Because right now, you know, that might be a temporary thing. But ultimately, the grass is going to have to be mowed, isn't it? I know some of you have to mow the grass, right? When it gets to a certain height, maybe Mom says, all right, it's time to get the mower out and get that grass cut. Well, it says right here, God's going to cut the grass, right? Sooner or later, you can't just keep growing wild. It's not going to happen. Because we know there's a time coming that God is going to hold everybody accountable. And so we've got to make sure we make the right decision. So chill about what looks like they're getting away with things and have patience. Have patience. That's the kind of patience, if you remember, wasn't it? Moses had that sort of thing. He said, you know, I don't need the temporary pleasures of sin. I don't have to take advantage of being in Pharaoh's court. So he saw the good in God's way. So the best thing is to have fun and do it God's way, because ultimately that's the best way. And it doesn't always look like that.

It's not always totally perfectly clear. But God says, wait, just hang in here and do what's right. And it will become clear, because the world that we live in can be very challenging sometimes.

And it's gotten all mixed up. I was reading a story the other day. It was from Sorin Kierkegaard. He was a Danish philosopher. And he tells a story about a group of thieves that broke into a jewelry store.

And you know what they did? They mixed up all the prices on all the jewelry. You know, there was some jewelry that was just costume jewelry. It was like worth nothing. And then there were the fancy diamonds and the jewels and the pearls and all these.

And they switched all the prices. So the things that used to be expensive now were really cheap. And the things that were inexpensive suddenly were really expensive.

And so the next day they come in and you couldn't really tell that anything had happened, because they were very careful about that. And suddenly people were paying nothing for diamonds that otherwise would have been thousands and thousands of dollars.

Now that's an interesting story. If you think about it, isn't that the way our world is?

The world out there is kind of like that. It has gotten totally mixed up.

So the world thinks certain things are valuable and that they're important.

But you know when you get down to it, it looks that way. But that's not reality.

That is not reality. Sometimes when you look out there in the jewelry store of this world, it's hard to tell. Is this the real thing or is this just something cheap?

You see what's so valuable to the world around us? Many times to God, it's garbage. Can you think of some of the things that that would be true about?

Being popular. Well, I'm the most popular, so that must mean I'm somebody.

Right? I think somebody switched that price tag, didn't they? That's not the reality of things. You know, I'm important. I am so important. I must be valuable.

You see, that's one of those price tags I think that got mixed around.

All right, so can you think of another one?

I'm also beautiful. Look how beautiful. I am just so good looking. I am just a hunk.

Right? You're not supposed to laugh. You say, yeah, that's right.

But isn't that true? Isn't that the standard by which we judge?

Well, you're certainly not going to be big out in Hollywood unless you're a looker.

It's just not going to happen. That's just the way it is. But is that God's value? Is that the value that God plays? If you're good looking, if you're handsome, well, then you're important and you're valuable. But that's the world's standards. And they have put the price tags on the wrong things. That's not what matters. That's not what's most important. You see, when you talk about prestige, and you talk about popularity, and you talk about, well, if I've got money, I must be important. That's what it's all about. So people have to like me because I've got the money to back it up.

You see, and those are the things that aren't valuable, right?

And those are tough things, especially, you know, as you go through high school. Those are very difficult things because if you're not hooked up with somebody, you're nobody. If you're not in a relationship, you must not be important. You must not be valuable. You must not be good enough.

But you see, that's garbage. That is the world's standards. That is not God's standards.

And so if you chill, just relax, wait. Will God give you those good things? Yes, He will. He promises that. For those that wait on God, you see, we get the treasure all mixed up sometimes, and we misunderstand what's most important. Matthew 6, verse 19. We see Christ make this point. Now, He doesn't say it in terms of, well, the jewelry store, but it's sort of there's a connection here, at least a little bit.

Let's notice Matthew 6, verse 19. There's a difference in the kind of store that we shop at out here in the world, isn't there?

Notice Matthew 6, 19. Christ said, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

You see, in those things of popularity and prestige and beauty and being in a relationship before you're ready for it, and all those kinds of things. That's an earthly treasure, isn't it? And Christ says, that's not where it's at. He says, that's going to wear out. That's not going to last. That's nothing that's going to continue on. He says, thieves are going to break in. They're going to steal those things. You know, even if you're beautiful, your beauty is eventually going to be stolen by age. We're all going to get older if we try to live by the world standards. But He says, what's most important, He says, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. And you see, that's where things are most important for us. Our treasure has to be in heaven. We have to see the real treasure. We've got to make our way through those price tags that are all mixed up out here. And it's Satan, really, that has mixed up this world and wants us to feel like we're missing out. You know, who wants to make you feel like, oh, you're not getting all there can be. You're missing out on things. You're not really going to have the best of life. You see, that's not God. You know, that's Satan talking.

And so God says, chill out. Treasure what's most important. Build your treasure in a godly way.

And when we do that, nobody can take that away from us. Nobody can take that.

All right, there's a third aspect of becoming a grown-up, especially grown-up spiritually.

And that's the fact that grown-ups deal with it. Grown-ups deal with it. Now, what do I mean by that?

Well, when the challenges come, when there's difficulties, when there's trials, deal with it. Deal with it. If we're spiritually grown-up, we're responding in the right way when we're challenged. Because when times are good and things are going perfectly, well, most of us can handle that pretty well, can't we? No problem when it's going good. But what about when it's not?

When it's not, do we turn the wrong direction? Do we give up? You know, what do we do when things aren't going so well? Romans 8, verse 18, is a good example of this. Once again, we'll turn the example of the Apostle Paul. He says something interesting after all that he's been through. If anybody ever had a reason to say, you know, that's enough. After the second shipwreck, can you send somebody else? Can somebody else go preach to the Gentiles? It'd be sure a lot easier if I didn't have to deal with that. But he didn't do that. He dealt with it. After the first scourging, he got back up and then got stoned. He got stoned and maybe actually died and got back up again, maybe physically resurrected and dealt with it and went on and continued to preach.

So no wonder he could say this in verse 18, in chapter 8 of Romans, I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility or uselessness or frustration that could be translated. It's not by its own choice, but by the will of one who subjected it in hope. Well, what is the hope? It says, because the creation itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Or in other words, it's going to turn out in the end. Hang in there. Deal with the challenges, deal with the difficulties. Even the universe has its challenges. Even the universe is winding down. Even the earth itself. He says it's all decaying.

But the time is coming when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The Kingdom of God is going to be established. And He says there's going to be glory. Where's that going to be revealed?

Verse 18, it says, in us. So when we're faced with challenges, when we're faced with difficulties, when we're discouraged, when we're down with God, we can deal with it. We can deal with it. It doesn't mean we have to blame others. It doesn't mean that we have to point the finger. We have to take it to God and ask Him to help us to deal with those things. Because nobody said life is going to go perfectly, did they? If they did, it was probably a mistake, wasn't it? That's not going to happen. So life's going to have its challenges. It's going to have its difficulties. And we've got to realize that we're going to have to deal with it. And so how we deal with it is very important. God says to deal with it from a spiritual perspective. As a spiritual grown-up, that means I'm not going to blame anybody, but I'm going to get back up and I'm going to start doing what's right, what's most important. I was reading an interesting article that was written by a couple of psychologists.

It was Ron and Mary Hulnick is their name. The University of Santa Monica is where they're at.

And you know what? One of the things that they pointed to is one of the most difficult obstacles for we human beings to overcome when it comes to those challenges and the difficulties that we face.

They said one of the most difficult things is not blaming somebody else.

Not blaming somebody else for my problems. You know, it's all my parents' fault. That's why I'm like this, right? Now, I know we never do that at home, do we? We never say, it was my brother's fault. I wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for them.

Or my sister was the one. She talked me into it. That's a hard thing to overcome.

But they said that having good mental health and satisfying relationships. That's a quote from this article from them. The most common obstacle to good mental health and having satisfying relationships was blaming others. Blaming others. So we've got to deal with it. We've got to quit blaming others and start experiencing what God would want us to have. You know, God wants the best for us. So sometime in the future when we're ready to blame someone else, we've got to stop ourselves. We've got to stop and say, wait a second. I can't do that. Yeah, but they made me mad! Oh, they made you mad? Well, that's their fault, isn't it, that you lost your temper. Is that right? See, that's how easy we could fall into these things. It's there, they made me do it. They made me have this problem. Well, no, wait a second. You lost your temper. So the next time we've got to step back. Got to step back. And maybe we could try to have the perspective like Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, right? You know, one thing he said, very simple. Boy, it's an amazing insight. Short little sense. You know what he said? He said, we're just about as happy in life as we decide to be. I thought that's pretty amazing, isn't it? Just a very simple little proverb. We're just about as happy in life as we decide to be. So can we have the patience to deal with it and develop the kind of character that God wants us to develop?

Remember what it says in the book of James, James chapter 1. It talks about when we fall into trials, when we fall into trials, what's our perspective on that? He says we should have a godly perspective so that even a trial, even a difficulty can produce good things. Can produce good things. Well, maybe we should turn over there. James chapter 1, right at the very beginning. I think it's right at the beginning of that chapter. It's actually verse 2, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. So when we're in difficulty, is it the difficulty? Is it the challenge? Is it the trial itself that we're supposed to be happy about? No, I don't know anybody that's thrilled that they're going through difficulties. That's not it. But the results of the challenges, the results of the difficulty can be very good.

Notice what he says here. Knowing. Here's why it can be joyful, because our faith is being tested, and it says it produces patience. So we can chill out. We can relax, realizing we're in God's hand.

And then that patience is going to produce something even more. It's going to produce other godly fruit that that patience is going to have. It says it's perfect work, complete, and lacking nothing. So even though we go through difficulties, we can deal with it. And if we deal with it in this way that James talks about, it can produce some great things. And so that's a challenge as we're growing up, to realize even when things are tough, when we take it the way we need to and deal with it in a godly way, God says, in fact, it almost looks like a promise to me, right? It's going to produce some good things when we take it in a godly way. Now that's a tough thing for the world out there to do, isn't it?

Hopefully we set the right example. I was reading in the newspaper the other day some examples of the way oftentimes people take it in the world. Maybe you've heard a couple of these stories. There was one I was reading about that a guy went to a boxing match and he drank too much. Got carried away at the fights and he ends up falling down the stairs. Conked out. He had a concussion. They took him to the hospital. He's in a concussion for a week. Well, his family decides they're going to sue. And so they ended up suing, get this, they ended up suing the ticket company for selling him the ticket to go to the boxing match because it was their fault, right? It was their fault for letting him go to the match. Isn't that amazing? Is that dealing with it?

That was the consequences of your own actions. But boy, it'd be a lot easier to blame ticket master than actually admit that you were drunk and fell down the stairs, right? That's the way it is. In fact, there was another one that they talked about. A guy bought a four-seater airplane.

And I don't know why, but he decided he wanted to fly the plane from the second seat. And so he wanted to customize. That sounds weird enough already, doesn't it? So he's going to customize this aircraft so he can fly it from the second seat. So he tears out the instrument panel and then redoes it in the back. Well, in the meantime, he also tore out all the safety equipment that was underneath that whole area to get at all the instruments to move them back to the second seat.

And so, as you can imagine, after he got that thing up in the air, it didn't stay up there for very long and he crashes. He kills himself. The family sues and actually won a million dollars, even though that man altered it and what? Totally misused the original equipment. Somehow, a jury gave the family a million dollars. I can't figure that out. I mean, it's just amazing. But that's the kind of thing that goes on all the time out there. Can we deal with it if we're dealt a little bit of real problems? Well, hopefully we can. Hopefully, we can. There was one that I read about when we were in the... well, actually, it was an interesting circumstance at the feast one year. This wasn't a feast story, but I was reminded of this story that in the Delos, they have these go-karts. And I read this story about a go-kart track where a man and his fiance were doing the go-karts. And they're riding around and riding around. And as they pulled in to finish, the guy thought it would be really funny to kind of bump his girlfriend as they were pulling in to get out of the carts. So as they're going around and around, he's got this all in his brain, and they pull in to get out of the go-karts at the very end. And he comes up behind her and whacks that go-kart a little harder than what he initially wanted to. Well, she ended up wrenching her neck really bad and ended up having to have a couple of vertebrae's fused together later on. But it wasn't his fault, was it? It wasn't his fault that he rammed her purposely from behind. Well, guess what happened? He sued, and the jury found that he was 85% responsible. Can you imagine? He was 85. They got to put percentages on all these things. Insurance companies like to do this. 85% responsible. 14% responsible was the girl, the fiancee. She was 14% responsible. I'm not sure why she was responsible, but oh well. And that left 1%. You know who was 1% responsible? The park. The park was 1% responsible. Why? Because it was their track. And then the jury decided, well, the theme park ought to pay the whole cost anyway.

And so they got stuck with the hospital bills and all the other things involved in the interest of justice. Can you imagine? And these aren't all that unusual. We see these kinds of things out there in the world all the time that people don't want to deal with the results of their actions. They don't want to deal with the consequences. They want to blame somebody else. They want to shift responsibility. They expect somebody else to pay for the things that they ultimately should be responsible for. I mean, who were the ones that were ultimately responsible? But that's kind of the stupidity sometimes in our legal system that's out there. But ultimately, can we get away with that sort of thing? No, we can't. Ultimately, we're going to have to deal with it. Ultimately, we're going to have to answer for the things that we do, for the things that we say, for our actions. Ultimately, we will be judged. So it's best to deal with things now and deal with them in a godly way. That's the best way to deal with it. Over in the book of Jude, Jude 14 has an interesting perspective here.

Of course, there is just the one chapter here in Jude.

And as we get to the end of this letter, he talks about the ultimate judgment, the ultimate way that God's going to deal with the world.

And in verse 14, he says, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them, and all of their ungodly deeds which they've committed in an ungodly way. So it begins by saying here, everybody's going to be responsible for themselves. We're going to be accountable.

So ultimately, God's going to hold the world accountable for the things that they do.

Verse 16 is kind of interesting as it describes sometimes the world around us. They're grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts.

They mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

But see, let's not be taken in by any of those kinds of things. We want to deal with that and put it aside. Get rid of that way of thinking. And so he says, but you, beloved, or in other words, dear friends, friends, remember the words that were spoken. Remember the Bible, especially as you graduate from high school and you go to college. You're going to be surrounded by people with the wrong standards. They're not going to be living by God's standards. You're going to have their own way of looking at things. But here, Jude's remind us, wait a second. Before you get into that, remember God's going to deal with us. So you deal with the things that you're faced with in the right way. Remember, he says, remember about these things. Remember the truth. Remember God's way.

Remember God's way. He had told us, look at the end of verse 18, that there would be those who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. Right? They'd walk their own ways. And he labels them for what they are. They're central persons who caused division. They're not having the spirit.

Don't let them divide you from the truth. Don't let them separate you from God's way. But you, verse 20, build yourselves up on your most holy faith. You see, we can deal with the challenges. We can deal with the trials. We can deal with the temptations by looking to God, looking to Him, praying to Him, asking Him to help us, and utilizing God's Spirit. So he says, verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God. Look to Him, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. So that's the perspective that we're supposed to have. As we're challenged with the different things that we face in our life, let's deal with it in a godly way. And God's going to help us to overcome the trials, overcome the temptations that we're going to be faced with in our life. Then that'll help us continue to grow up. There's a fourth way we can grow up spiritually, and that's keeping it real. Keeping it real. Sometimes we get pretty big in our own eyes. Sometimes we have a lot of self-importance, don't we? There's a couple of interesting proverbs that talk about this. Go over to Proverbs 11, verse 2. In fact, the Proverbs is a great section of Scripture, especially as young people. If you ever want a section of Scripture to study that's easy to get into, maybe you've just got a little bit of time, you don't have hours on end to devote to something, open up the Proverbs. Read a chapter of the Proverbs. It goes really fast, and there is some great wisdom here. Deep insight that can help you. That's very practical.

It keeps it real. The Proverbs keep it real. Give you some practical advice for your life today.

So here in Proverbs 11, in verse 2, it tells us pretty clearly here, doesn't it? It says, When pride comes, then comes shame. But with the humble is wisdom. Or in other words, keep it real.

See yourself for who you really are. Don't think of yourself as something more than you are.

Yes, we need to have self-respect. We need to have self-esteem. We need to have personal dignity. All of those things, no doubt. We don't want to put ourselves down and say, Oh, I'm worthless. I'm useless. Nobody cares about me. No, we don't want to be self-deprecating. That is not helpful. That is not helpful. That's not godly, because God does appreciate us. And it's not wrong for people to respect you. That's not a bad thing. But if we let that get carried away into pride and arrogance, self-importance, then we start getting into areas that are very difficult. That's not keeping it real. We need to keep it real in the way that God was. Does that mean we should have our head up? Yes. We want to have our head up.

We don't want to have our nose up in the air, though. See, there's a little bit of difference to that, isn't there? It's a little bit different. So we don't put our nose up in the air like we're better than anybody else. But we don't want to think that we're useless and that we're not someone that God appreciates because He does. You see, and that's the challenge. I think it's a challenge for all of us to keep life in the right balance, keep our perspective balanced. That's really what God wants us to have, is a balanced approach to life. So we're living for the right reasons, right? We've got to make sure we've got the right perspective.

I heard the story about, if I won't say His name, it was a pastor who had given a sermon after services. He was talking to one of the ladies and he was trying to be humble because she said how much she appreciated the sermon. And he was trying to be humble. He said, well, you know, you shouldn't thank me. You should just thank God. And the lady just looked at him and said, well, I thought about that, but it really wasn't that good. That will bring you back down to earth again, won't it? Not quite that good.

But sometimes we've got to have the right perspective, don't we? If you go over to Proverbs 27, Proverbs 27, well, maybe on the way. Let's go on the way to chapter 13. Proverbs 13, 10 was one I skipped over in my notes, but let's hit that one as we're heading over to 27. Chapter 13, verse 10 focuses in on this concept of keeping it real, that being a spiritual grown-up means we're humble. It doesn't mean we're getting caught up in false pride.

He says, by pride comes nothing but strife, difficulties, arguments. That's what he's talking about. But with the well-advised is wisdom. So we've got to have the proper perspective, in other words, a balanced perspective, a godly perspective. All right, let's go on our way over to chapter 27. Chapter 27, verse 2, I think this presents a pretty challenging circumstance for us today. Let's notice Proverbs chapter 27 of verse 2. It says, let another man praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips. The New Century version says, don't praise yourself, let someone else do it. You know where I find one of the biggest offenders of this particular proverb?

Facebook. Facebook. I see some of these comments all the time. You know, I did this, or I accomplished this, and you know, I was here, and we have to pat ourselves on the back. Sometimes that takes a little bit of effort in order to get your hand back there, and pat yourself on the back. And parents, we're no better.

How many times have I seen this? I am so proud of my son because he had the greatest accomplishment. He got a certificate of participation.

What? We have to do that? Or can we let somebody else praise us, praise our kids?

I think we need to, but Facebook has wiped that out. Now we all have to tell everybody how great I am, how great my kids are, how great my family is, all this wonderful thing, and it's all out there, so everybody else can read how great I am. Isn't that wonderful? Really? We need to do that?

Or should we follow the proverb? Don't praise yourself. I extend it a little bit more. I don't need to praise my kids. Not publicly, not in front of everybody else. I don't need to do that, do I?

Let someone else do it. It says, let the praise come from a stranger, not your own. Don't brag about yourself. Maybe you are a great basketball player. Good. Let your game speak for itself and let others talk about that. Maybe you are the salutatorian. That's wonderful. That is a fantastic accomplishment. Nobody can take that away. But let others talk about it. You don't have to be the one to say how good you are. Otherwise, we'll end up like that preacher.

Well, it wasn't really that good. Not quite that good. In fact, I heard the story about Don Shula.

Anybody know who Don Shula was? He was the coach of the Miami Dolphins when they actually were good. So if you can remember that, it's a long time ago. So he's a Hall of Fame coach. They won Super Bowl, the whole thing. Great. One of the greatest coaches of all time, really. And actually, he's known for being pretty humble, not a very prideful person. It's supposedly what he's known for. Well, he tells a story on himself that one day he and his wife were trying to get away from it all. And so they found this very beautiful place that was way off in the boonies. So it was kind of like they were just going to get away from everything way out in the backwoods. And so they were there for a while. So they decided to go into this little town one evening to kind of just enjoy things for a little bit and go to a movie. Well, that particular night, it was pouring. It was just raining like crazy, just a crazy rain. And as they got into the movie theater, here people stood up and one guy in the front row reached out and he shook his hand.

And it was kind of funny because he says to his wife, wow, I can't go anywhere without people recognizing me. And so he said to the man, how did you know who I was? The guy looked at him and he said, I don't know who you are. But the guy at the theater said, unless we had 10 people, he wouldn't start the show. They were glad he was there. I had no clue who he was. But isn't that about the way it is? Oh, do they know who I am? It's like, yeah, right. And I think that doesn't that put it into perspective that we got to play it real. We've got to play it real and realize that, you know, we're not really that important. We're not really, we've got to make sure we have that humble approach to life because it's really the one who was somebody. Jesus Christ was the most humble, right? There was someone that exhibited true humility. Boy, did he ever do that. He set the example for us. So that's the one we should follow. And he kept it real and he looked to God for his strength and his guidance. And we can do the same thing. We need to do the same thing.

There's one other way that we can be spiritual grownups. And that's the fact that spiritual grownups are straight up. They are straight up. What do I mean by that? They take on their responsibilities and they're dependable. You can rely on them. They're going to be loyal. They're going to be devoted. They're going to work hard and they're going to be committed.

Spiritual grownups. If we want to grow up, we've got to be straight up. We've got to do the things that are right. Since we're still here in the Proverbs, just turn back a little bit to chapter three. Proverbs chapter three, right at the very beginning of Proverbs three. Here we have some instruction on how to be a grownup, especially spiritually speaking. It starts out, My son, do not forget My law, but let your heart keep My commandments. Or in other words, don't forget what you've been taught. Don't forget God's truth. Don't ever give up on God's truth. Don't give up on His law and His ways. He says in verse two, they'll give you a long and satisfying life. That's really what that means. Length of days and long life they'll add to you. They're blessings for following God. Blessings that nobody can take away. So don't let anybody cheat you in this life, but look to God. It says, never, verse three, let not, never in other words, let mercy and truth forsake you. Don't let go. Hang on to what's good and what's right. It says, bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Better than any necklace. Write them in your heart. Keep them deep within you. You keep God's way. You keep His truth deeply buried within your heart. If you do that, He says there are going to be tremendous blessings. Notice what it says. You'll find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Isn't that what is most important? Isn't that what life is really about? When you're esteemed both in God's sight first and foremost, and then people. That's where it really counts, right? Have a good reputation with God and with people. And so ultimately, trust in the Lord, it says, with all your heart. Don't lean to your own understanding. Don't depend on your own way of thinking. When in doubt, turn to God. Look to Him. Look to His Word. And that will ultimately keep you safe. It's like building a wall around your life. You want to build that wall of truth around yourself. Surround yourself with God's way, because that's really the safe way. That's the way to be sure that you'll never be invaded. You'll never be invaded by the ways of this world. In fact, the story of the Great Wall of China is an interesting one, because there's where the giant wall was built. Everybody familiar with the Great Wall, right? This huge wall, it's amazing. Even up in space, they can look down on China. They see the Great Wall just stretching for miles and miles and miles. And so the Chinese built that wall to keep out all the barbarians, right? They were going to keep them out. They didn't want them to invade. So they built this huge wall to keep everybody out. They built it so high, they're not going to be able to climb over it. It's unbelievably thick, so nobody's going to be able to break through it. And so once that was completed, it was like, all right, we are safe now.

Well, that wasn't really true either. Do you know how many times that they were invaded during the first hundred years of the Great Wall? Three times they were invaded. So how did they get in? How in the world could these barbarians get through to invade China with this unbelievably thick wall, this wall that stretched for miles and miles and miles? You know how they got in?

Somebody let them in.

At those walls, since it was so long, they had to have different areas where you could actually go through the walls. They had various spots where you could, it was like a checkpoint, right, where they had a gate. Well, you know what they did? They just bribed the general that was at the gate, and he said, all right, go ahead. And they let them through. And I thought that's an interesting example when you think about it. You know, we can build a wall around us, but if we don't have the integrity to keep the doors shut, you know, what is it that's going to invade our life? You know, what are we going to allow through? I think that's an important thing to think about. You know, are we keeping the enemy out, or are we just opening the door to anybody that comes? You see, we've got to have the kind of integrity, the kind of reliability that God wants us to have. And so we've got to make sure that we're checking everything at the door. Everything has to be checked at the door. Our attitude, the things that we're tempted to participate in. And we've got to live a life that's an honorable life that will show that we're living God's way. That it's not just a front, right? It's not just a game, but it's the reality of things.

And so we can play church and then get out there and do anything and allow anything in. But that's not the reality of what God wants for us. He wants us to build a strong spiritual wall that keeps the temptation out, that makes sure that we are loyal to God's way, that makes sure that we are dependable and reliable when it comes to living God's way.

Because, you know, if we're not grown-ups, if we're just little kids, we can make excuses, we can make alibis. If we're not living straight up, if we're not living straight up, it's easy to break promises, it's easy to dump your friends, it's easy to quit in the middle of a job. If it's convenient, that's what I'm going to do.

But that's not the way that God wants us to look at things. Because the kind of world we live in, isn't it kind of a convenient world? If it's convenient, well then I'll do it. If it's not, then I won't. It's convenient to keep the Sabbath when I'm at home, because my mom and dad make me do it anyway. But what are you going to do when we're out on our own? Hopefully we're going to live straight up, because this is the best way to live.

And God wants us to live this way. And even if it's inconvenient sometimes, it's right and it's good. And ultimately the results will be the greatest benefit you can possibly imagine. And we're not going to live by making excuses. We're not going to live in a way that isn't straight up. Because God's given us the straight up way of living. The straight up way that ultimately brings blessings. So don't make excuses.

I did run across an interesting article about people who made excuses. And I'm just glad I don't work for an insurance company, because they must hear the best ones. These were a couple of excuses that were written on accident forms. So you can imagine, if you've ever been in an accident and you had to say what actually happened, I guess some people have a hard time explaining the facts of what actually happens when you're in an accident. It's a hard time being straight up about the facts. Here's what one person wrote.

A pedestrian hit me and went under my car. Another person wrote, I'd been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident. That's a long road trip, isn't it? 40 years. Okay, here's one. The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.

Talk about being straight up. Here's one. The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end. I never saw a moving telephone pole. I don't know. Then another one. It says, the guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him. And then one person wrote, The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

So that's about the way it is, isn't it? I mean, we all mess up. We all make mistakes. But don't fall to some pretty lame excuses. I think God wants us to be trustworthy. He wants us to be reliable. He wants us to be loyal to His way. He wants us to live His way. And His way is the straight way, isn't it? It's a way that lives straight up. Look over at Colossians 1, verse 9. In Colossians, verse 1-9, we have kind of a summary. The way that grown-ups are to live, especially spiritually speaking. Colossians 1, verse 9.

This is from the New Century version. Colossians 1-9, it says, Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we've continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what He wants. But we're blessed that we do have an understanding for what God wants of us. He goes on, We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things, so that you'll live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way.

You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. Boy, is that a great section of Scripture, maybe to ride out and keep handy as we go through life? Especially as we go through life, as we're graduating, we're moving on to another age, another era in our life. What a wonderful section of Scripture. To have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things, live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way.

That you produce good fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. That's our part. And we see God has a part to play as well. Verse 11.

God will strengthen you with His own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come. But you will be patient and you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who's made you able to have a share in all that He's prepared for His people in the kingdom of light. You see, God wants us in the family. He wants us to be spiritual grown-ups, doesn't He? And He's going to do everything He can to be assured that we're there, that we're a part of the family, that we're in the kingdom. And so now, giving us that strength, giving us the ability, giving us the means to be spiritual grown-ups, He wants us to leave behind the drama. He wants us to wait on Him. He wants us to chill. He wants us to deal with the frustrations, deal with the challenges of life, keep it real, to keep humble, to keep pride away from us, and be dependable, be loyal, live life straight up in His way. You know, if we do those things, then we certainly can be spiritual grown-ups.