Growing Toward Spiritual Maturity

Thank you again, Mark. Happy Sabbath, brethren. Good to see all of you with us again on this winter Sabbath day. Well, recently we've shared two different sermons about the importance of personal responsibility and choice as we have begun to prepare for the Passover and the Spring Holy Days this year. About a month ago, we had a sermon on the law of the harvest, and the purpose of that sermon was to remind us that we reap in life what we sow, what we think about we eventually become.

And the thoughts and actions we have this coming year as we prepare for the Spring Holy Days will become a harvest in the years to come. And two weeks ago, we had a sermon that compared the mindset of a scarcity mentality with an abundance mentality, and we saw in that sermon that God has an abundance mindset, and so should we. The way that we think and the way that we live should be abundant, and that's reflected and pictured by the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

It represented having an outlook that's filled with possibilities and potential and giving and sharing and creativity, all made possible by having an abundance mindset. Well, today I'd like to speak about spiritual maturity. The first two sermons were about making choices, and that indeed is very, very important. Making the right choices, being responsible for how we think and how we act.

And I'd like to talk today about spiritual maturity, because that's something that we all have to work on. Some people are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy. They go through their entire physical lives, wearing baby booties, and wearing diapers, and spitting up on spiritual bibs their entire lifetimes, rather than getting beyond spiritual infancy and maturing into the kind of child that Jesus Christ wants. Many people who profess Christianity grow old physically, but they never seem to grow up spiritually. And you and I don't want to be in that category.

So let's begin to look at a very important topic today and look at the importance of our growth, two essential elements of our growth. One element is our part. The other element is God's promise of his part, and see how we can use that understanding again to prepare for the spring of the year. Let's begin by going to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Because God does not want us to be spiritual infants.

He doesn't want us to remain babes in Christ our entire lifetimes. He wants us to grow up to mature, just like a physical child grows from being an infant into adolescence and then teenage years and then to hopefully a fully functioning adult if they grew up in a good family, have a healthy mind.

There's an analogy from that of what God desires in our spiritual growth, in our spiritual lives. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Paul says, and he's speaking to a congregation that had a lot of issues, a lot of challenges. 1 Corinthians is an incredible book to read because Paul addresses so many different problems in the book of 1 Corinthians that this congregation had.

It was a young congregation, unlike ours that's 50 years old, plus this was a very young congregation. They were struggling with many problems and issues. So he says, and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as babes in Christ.

He said, when I was there with you before, when I was dwelling with you, there's so many things I wanted to say, but you could not have digested it because you're still carnal. You're still spiritual infants. You don't have the maturity to handle some of the meatier things of God's Word. Verse 2. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. He says, you're not there yet. You're still wearing spiritual booties. You're still spitting up on a spiritual bib.

Every time there's a new doctrine or something going through the congregation, you're having issues. You're having problems. Verse 3. For you are still carnal. For where? There is envy, strife, and divisions among you. Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? When you're being political and you're taking sides. Well, I like this guy's my favorite preacher, and I like this guy over here, and this congregation's better than this congregation.

You know, this church has fire in its belly, and this church is more laid back. He's saying, are you not just being like the world? Aren't you being political? Aren't you just being carnal when you talk that way? We'll pick it up here in verse 4. For when one says, I am of Paul, and another I am of Apollos, are you not carnal when you're comparing ministers, one minister to another? He says, isn't that carnality? After all, it's not about the ministers. This is about Jesus Christ.

It's not about mere men. Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos but ministers, through whom you believed as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. The ministers are just tools. They're here today, and they're gone tomorrow. You know, all a minister is is a trustee. This is the congregation of Jesus Christ. And all any minister is is a temporary trustee of the flock of God.

And there's a lot of responsibility. There's a lot of accountability that comes with this, but it's not about the minister. It's about Jesus Christ. She says here in verse 7, rather powerfully, so then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. You see, it's all about God. This is God's church. This isn't any one individual's congregation. It belongs to Jesus Christ. Verse 8, now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

So if someone who is a steward of Jesus Christ is a minister, demonstrates compassion and patience and kindness, that's what they can expect from Jesus Christ in the time of judgment. But if an elder, if a minister, is harsh and cruel and unforgiving and uncaring, that's what that minister also too can expect during the time of judgment. He will be rewarded according to his own labor. Verse 9, for we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field. You are God's building.

You see, God, according to Paul here, is into growing things. God likes to grow things. God is a builder. He likes to plant things because he wants lots and lots of fruit and lots and lots of growth. Frank mentioned that in the sermon about the importance of fruits, developing fruits, and he was exactly right.

God is into growing things. Yet I've known people who remained spiritual babes in Christ because they never really intended to grow. They came into the church and thought knowledge was all that was needed, and they worked and strived to learn as much as they possibly could, and they read every booklet, and they had highlighters, and their Bibles looked like rainbows from scriptures being colored, 87 different colors.

It was all about knowledge. I've known people that came into the church because they wanted to be part of a certain organizational name. Or they came into the church because they thought that keeping the Sabbath was all that was necessary. I've known people who sought baptism as a goal, and not too long after they were baptized, they were gone. They disappeared. So even though knowledge and commitment to a church and observance of the Sabbath and baptism are indeed important, they are incomplete compared to what God really desires from us.

God is harvesting firstfruits for His family. That's why Paul says, you are God's field. It's all about growing things. That is what God is trying to do here. God is a builder. The Father is in the character-building business. He is here to grow fragile, carnal people into His spiritual children, who can be part of His family and serve the universe for all eternity.

It's not just about knowledge. It's not just about doing something, knowing something, being a part of something. It's far more than that. Christianity is far more than convictions and doctrines and creeds. It includes character and conduct. It's not a religious philosophy. Christianity is a lifestyle, and it's a relationship with God.

So let's go on and talk about the kind of spiritual maturity that God desires from us. Let's go to Philippians 2 and 9. If you'll turn there with me, Philippians 2, and we'll pick it up in verse 9. There are two verses here that are going to be the heart and core of the rest of this sermon, because I'm going to take those verses and look at them more closely.

So if you have a ribbon or something that you can put in this part of your Bible, you may want to do that. Philippians 2 and verse 9. Paul says here, So it's this scripture here that shows two essential parts of the Bible. But now, much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for his good pleasure.

So it's this scripture here that shows two essential parts of our spiritual growth. And we must be sure, brethren, that we are allowing both parts to happen in our lives, because if we're only focusing on one of these two parts, if we're only connecting on one of these two parts, then we're going to find ourselves in serious trouble spiritually.

So there are three things that I'm going to focus on for the rest of this sermon. Number one is the statement, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Number two is it's followed by it is God who works in you. And then the third thing I'm going to focus on is verse, the latter part of verse 13, that God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.

So let's begin by looking at the statement, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That's what he writes here. This part is our responsibility. This is not a statement from Paul on how to be saved, but how we grow as a reflection of salvation. You see, if we're saved for that salvation to be authentic, there obviously, naturally, must be fruits that occur that are evident to the world, to ourselves, to our families, to our church congregation, that we get it. That God is working through us, that his spirit is developing the fruits of the spirit in our lives.

So again, I want to emphasize, and we'll see later where Paul nails this, Paul is not saying that we achieve salvation by our works. He is saying, work out your own salvation. When you do an exercise, work out, you do it to strengthen your body. You don't do it to get a body.

You already have a body. The purpose of the work out, physically speaking, is to strengthen what you already have. And the same is true spiritually. These verses are about how to develop and grow from spiritual immaturity, from being a babe in Christ, into spiritual maturity. The same is true when you work out your own salvation.

You have salvation, that is a promise from God. You have repented of your sins. You have been baptized. You have received the gift of the spirit, which is God's down payment of his promise to us. And now we do our part to show that that salvation is authentic. And we do it as a reflection of the fruits that we demonstrate, that we grow, that we develop as part of our lives. Now, there are many tools that we do, and we understand that. We have sermons all the time on prayer and Bible study, meditation, fasting, the importance of worship, the importance of fellowshiping with one another on the Sabbath day, and of course, going back to verse 12, obedience are all necessary and important tools on us doing our part to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Let's take a look at this phrase with fear and trembling. This comes from a Greek word fear of phobos, from which in English we get the word phobia, the same root word in which in English we use the word of phobia. It means quaking with fear. Now, that's a pretty strong statement. Why would Paul say, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling? It's because this, brethren, is serious.

We are accountable for what we do or what we don't do regarding our personal spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth is not an option in the eyes of Jesus Christ. The very words of Jesus, if you study the Gospels, are strong and harsh and judgmental towards those who did not develop their fruits or talents. Think about what he told the man with one talent in the parable of the talents in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 28. He said, take away the talent that he had and give it to someone else and cast this person into outer darkness because they're lazy. That's what he said. They are lazy and evil. So those are pretty powerful words by Jesus Christ, and there are many, many others. And that's exactly why Paul says that we need to take our spiritual growth seriously. That's why we're here. If he didn't want it this way, he could have easily had us die in the baptismal tank. He could have had someone lay hands on us when we came out of the baptismal tank and just die. But at least in my experience, that's never happened. Why doesn't he allow that to happen? Well, it's because for the rest of our lives, he wants us to grow from being spiritually immature and just simple little babes in Christ into a deeper level of spiritual maturity. Taking our salvation seriously and doing our part to change from immaturity to spiritual maturity is very, very important to God. And I hope we understand that. I hope we appreciate the seriousness of our calling and exactly what that means. Let's go to 2 Peter, chapter 1, and we will begin in verse 1. 2 Peter, chapter 1, and we will begin in verse 1. 2 Peter, chapter 1, and verse 1. Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. So we're righteous in God's eyes because of what Jesus Christ did, not because of something that we could do. He says in verse 2, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. Verse 4, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in this world through lust. So he tells us at this point that you've been given something very special, and that's actually the second part that we'll be talking about in a few minutes, beyond what our responsibility is and what we're accountable for, and that is to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God's going to do His part, and it's mentioned here two times. Verse 3, His divine power has been given to us, and then later on in verse 4 that we are partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Verse 5, but also for this very reason giving all diligence add to your faith. So you start out with faith, and what's Peter saying here? Peter's saying this is our responsibility. He's saying God will add these things to your faith. He's telling the readers here, you add this to your faith. Virtue to virtue, knowledge to knowledge, self-control to self-control, perseverance to perseverance, godliness to godliness, brotherly kindness, and the brotherly kindness, love.

For if these things are yours and abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call in election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You may have noticed that there's a word that's used here twice.

Verse 5, it says, giving all diligence, and then it says to begin to add these certain characteristics that Peter mentions. Then you'll also notice a little later that here in verse 10, it says to be even more diligent to make your call an election sure. This Greek word for diligence is spode, and it literally means speed. It means to do something with dispatch. So what Peter is saying here is as soon as you can, with haste, with speed, go ahead and add these qualities on to your faith. Don't doddle, don't think about it for 20 years, don't meditate on how wonderful it would be to have these qualities. He's saying do it with speed. Do it now with eagerness, with earnestness. Begin to add these qualities to your faith. The very Bible note says about this particular verse, it says, quote, because what God has done for us, we need to actively supply to our lives the qualities listed in verses 5 through 7. It says, they say, we need to actively supply. I want you to notice again that this is our part to play. This is our responsibility, the choices that we need to make, brethren. What is Peter saying here? He says that this is an essential and necessary part of working out our own salvation. As God's children, we've been called to a life of constant and continual growth, of developing in fruits. Not just taking it easy, what was the analogy Frank had laying on the couch? Not just laying on the couch spiritually speaking, taking it easy, but continually growing and using a very powerful tool that we'll read about in a minute, along with our own commitment and our own effort to continue to change and to grow. To do this is a choice, and it has to be part of our value system.

We have to believe in our hearts that the reason that we were called was to change and grow.

Not just to know stuff, not just to do stuff, not just to say stuff, but literally to be transformed and to grow, to become more like the mind of Jesus Christ. Because if we don't do that, all the obedience and all the doctrine and all the things in the world won't help us.

You know, the Pharisees were pretty good doctrinally. Where'd it get them?

Got them nowhere.

Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8.

Since we know that the law of the harvest means we eventually become what we think about, doesn't it make sense that we add the qualities to our lives that Peter just discussed?

Since we understand that God has an abundance mentality, doesn't make sense that we stretch ourselves to reach our God-given potential? God looks at us and says, that person is unlimited.

You can't stop the growth that my children have. No one can hold them back, only themselves.

They can only hold themselves back because their potential is unlimited.

What I offer them as a coach, as a mentor, the gift of the Holy Spirit, can take them to dimensions that they never dreamed of. The only ones who can hold us back, brethren, are ourselves. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8. Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Now, Paul isn't contradicting what he said. We read earlier in Philippians chapter 2. Again, in Philippians chapter 2, the context was about how we reflect an authentic salvation by our conduct and by growing from spiritual immaturity to maturity. In this case, Paul is correctly saying that we cannot earn by any amount of goodness that we may think we have, or any amount of good works that we do to help others or to give to others, we cannot literally earn God's approval in salvation. That was only made possible by the grace of God to shed blood of Jesus Christ and the fact that we accepted Christ as our Savior, as the one who paid the price for our sins. That is what makes salvation possible. So he continues here, verse 9, not of works lest anyone should boast, for we are His workmanship. You see, it's not really about what we do, it's about what God is doing in us. It's about what God is doing through us. We are His workmanship, and hopefully what people see when they look at us, they see a dynamic people, a people who are a light and an example to the world, people who have their lives together, people who are positive, people who live for a purpose. Hopefully, when people look at us, that's the kind of workmanship quality that they see in our lives. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. So with what Paul just said, will the good work save us?

Absolutely not. But the good works will show that our salvation is authentic, that it's not just lip service, that we're not just phonies, that we're not just going through the motions and pretending we're Christians. The good works will show authentically that we are followers and disciples of Jesus Christ. Continuing, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Do you know that God is creating something wonderful?

Do you know that God is creating something beautiful? He's creating you.

That's what's wonderful, and that's what's beautiful about God's plan. We are being personally designed and built by God. Remember the scripture we read earlier? You are God's building. That was 1 Corinthians chapter 3. God not only has a work in which he's preaching the gospel to the world, God is doing a great work in your life. You are part of God's work.

Now, some people might look at us and say, yeah, well, he's sure a piece of work. That's not what I meant. But we also, individually, in our own lives, are a work. God is building something wonderful and beautiful in your life. That's what he's doing. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11. Let's go there. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11. God is the master craftsman.

And what's the purpose of his workmanship? Good works in our lives, because that's what gives God glory.

Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11.

It says, and he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Edifying, that's just a Greek word. It means edifice. That's a huge building.

Why do I say that? Because God is a builder. That theme is throughout Scripture. What career, physical career, did Jesus Christ have? He was a builder. Some people would say he was a carpenter, probably more like a stonemason by today's standards of what we call... But, in essence, even his physical career, he was building things. And what did that symbolize? It symbolizes that God is in the character building business. That's what it symbolizes. So, continuing here, for the edifying, building of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is full spiritual maturity. And we're all a work in progress, aren't we? None of us are there yet. We still all have a long way to go, but that's the goal. That's the standard. Verse 4, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Oh, and it never ends. The new moons, the flat earth. I mean, it's just unbelievable the agendas that people come up with because they have distorted their minds into thinking knowing something equals having a relationship with God. They're two different things altogether.

Verse 15, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ. So what does God want all of us to do? He wants us not to be pushed around by agendas and ideas of men and doctrines of men and all of this stuff that always goes around. Instead of that, he wants us to grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined in it together by what every joint supplies according to the effect of working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. What does God want to do? Remember, he grows things. He wants to see growth of the church. He wants to see growth in his body, and that's possible when every part does its share. Let me ask a rather serious question here. What part have you been sharing with the brethren? Everyone has to play a part.

Everyone in this building has been given a spiritual gift, has been given a physical gift and talent. Are you sharing it? Are you helping the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love? Or your talents and your abilities? The best kept secret on earth.

You see, we all have a part to play. Some people can preach, some people can organize, some people are good with numbers, some people can inspire and motivate, they can get on the telephone and encourage, some people who are totally disabled can pray. We can all do something. Are we doing that something? Are we playing our part? That's very important to God. Verse 17, this I say, therefore, and testified in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. You see, the people of the world who aren't called by God, they don't really have a plan. They don't understand that they're part of God's family.

They wake up every morning, how can I get more toys? How can I make more money? How can I have a prettier person living with me? How can I have a bigger home? A nicer car? How can I have all these things? That's a feudal. Their minds are in futility. It's all about the now, it's all about the physical, it's all about get while the gettin's good. Their minds are in total futility, where when your priority is seeking first the kingdom of God, you live by different values, and that changes who you are. Verse 18, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them and the blindness of their heart.

They are blinded. It isn't their time to understand His way of life. They'll have a time when they will be called, and those blinders will be removed, and they will no longer be ignorant because God will allow them to receive spiritual knowledge. But that time isn't here yet. Verse 19, who being past feeling had given themselves over to lewdness, to work in all uncleanness, with greediness, but you have not so learned Christ. In other words, you didn't learn any of those qualities from Jesus Christ. You learned the opposite. You learned the way of give.

Verse 21, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that you may put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. You know, when we were baptized, at least if I had the privilege of counseling you for baptism, I specifically went over the powerful metaphor that baptism pictures, and that is you go into the water, you picture the death of the old man itself, the old man, and that old man is supposed to die in the water symbolically, and then you come out of the water and you are a new creature in Christ. It pictures a resurrection. The old man died. The new man is coming out of that water with a new attitude, a new purpose in life, cleansed, refreshed by the Spirit of God, and just ready to do wonderful things and be a faithful disciple. But what happens to all of us, myself included? The world gets in the way.

Problems get in the way. Challenges get into the way. Our carnality gets in the way. And then pretty soon we find out that that old man, kind of like the ever-ready cat, got nine lives. And every once in a while the old man pops his head up and says, I'm still here. I'm still injecting this thought in your life. I'm still injecting this attitude. I'm still tempting you to do this. And of course, Paul understands that. That's why he talks about the importance of realizing that we need to put off our former conduct because we haven't done it a hundred percent, have we? I haven't. We need to put off our former conduct. The old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lust, we need to be renewed. We need to prepare for this Passover and walk in here with the same level of excitement that we had when we came out of that baptismal tank, knowing that our lives and our hearts had been renewed, knowing that yes, this new man is going to take control of my life. And I'm going to grow from spiritual immaturity, that carnality of that old man, continuing to tell me what to do and continuing to try to guide and rule me. And I'm going to work harder than ever before in my life for that new man, that new person, to be living in my life. Continuing here and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Paul is saying to the believers in Ephesus, it's time to grow up in all things, and that means examining our conduct and seeing if the old man is still residing there in our hearts. Let me answer that question for you. Yes, the old man is still residing in our hearts.

So we need to renew God's spirit. We need to rededicate ourselves to becoming that new creature. And as we prepare for the Passover this year, we should think about this.

One problem that many people have, far too many people stop here.

They try to change and grow alone without anyone or anything else, including God's Holy Spirit.

Two problems with this. It's a serious mistake. Number one, you can't overcome yourself and the world alone. It's impossible. If a human being could overcome themselves in the world alone, Jesus Christ would not have had to die in the cross for humanity. It's impossible to do it. It's an unwinnable battle. We need spiritual help. We need guidance from God.

The second problem with that is that if someone believes that and they're trying to overcome their problems and their sins without connecting with the power of the Holy Spirit, they don't really understand or appreciate what God is offering to us. And I've known people who had very strong willpower. I'm going to lose 40 pounds this week, right? These huge audacious schools. I'm going to do this and sometimes they would do it. But the problem with just having great willpower is that it only works short term because you didn't change the root cause. If you need willpower, it means you constantly have to resist forever. You don't change your values. You're fighting yourself forever. That causes stress. That causes aggravation within ourselves when we're constantly fighting against a force that we don't understand and we think that just our willpower, just being determined enough, will help me to overcome that problem, that issue. Brethren, it doesn't work that way. And that's why the second part of the verse there in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3 says, for it is God who works in you. So the previous verse was our part. Now we're going to talk about what God promises to do, what his part is, and we need both. If we do our part but ignore the Holy Spirit, we're not going to get anywhere. We're going to be drooling over our infant bibs spiritually for our entire church lives. On the other hand, if we do nothing and we sit back and say, okay, Holy Spirit, change me, that's not going to happen either. So both are very important here. John chapter 14 and verse 16. Let's see what Jesus promised his disciples on the evening before he would be arrested and eventually crucified. The discussion he had with them, beginning in John chapter 14, we usually read this scripture during the Passover service itself. Chapter 14 verse 16.

He said, and I will pray the Father and he will give you another helper. We often miss the importance of this statement, another helper. You know Jesus Christ was a helper. This is the Greek word paracletos. And in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 1, it describes Jesus Christ as a paracletos.

But he was saying that he wasn't going to be with them much longer. But because he didn't want to leave the orphans, he was going to pray to the Father that they would get another helper aside from him. And he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I won't go into the explanation how the Greek does with genders. Obviously, the Holy Spirit technically is not a he, but bear with me on this. I'm just reading the scriptures as they are here in the New King James Version, and he's telling the disciples that you don't have the Holy Spirit yet. Right now it's dwelling with you, but on the day of Pentecost it literally will be in you. Verse 18, I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.

The Holy Spirit is given to the children of God, again as another helper. Jesus Christ is the first helper, and that word means an intercessor, an advocate, something who comforts an individual.

And here's the wonderful news, and what would Jesus Christ is saying in these scriptures? He's saying you don't have to walk this difficult earthly mission alone. And that is good news. He's saying that I and the Father will come and share the same spirit we both have and will give it to you to help you throughout the day of your life. So we've not been abandoned. We've not been left to our own devices. It is the promise of Jesus Christ that his disciples would have a special help. Let's drop now now to verses 25 and 26. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. So this very powerful spirit will open our hearts and minds and reveal spiritual understanding to us. That's part of the growth from being spiritually an infant into someone who becomes spiritually mature. And it'll even give us the ability to recall things that we learned earlier, maybe in sermons 30, 40 years ago, something we read in one of the church publications. We'll say, yeah, I remember that. Oh, ha, that's right. That's what that is. Now I remember it. It's even going to bring back to us remembrance of all things. That's part of the learning and growing process because teaching is progressive.

It doesn't happen all at once. You learn the alphabet letter by letter before you learn to read.

So teaching is progressive. It takes time. It takes patience. I might also add that teaching also requires a student who is willing to learn. If we think we know it all, if we're immersed in self-pride, no one and nothing can show me, teach me anything I know it all, then God's Spirit can't help us one bit. We'll grieve it, as a matter of fact. It'll be stagnant in our lives. Chapter 16, turn a couple of chapters forward with me if you would, verse 12. Chapter 16 and verse 12.

He says, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. You see, brethren, babes in Christ can't handle difficult or complex spiritual truths. It's like giving a small infant a piece of meat. They might chew on it for a while, might even try to swallow it, but pretty soon it's it all comes back up. Their digestion cannot handle that strong piece of meat. And that's what Jesus is saying here. I shall have many things to say to you, but you've got to grow up before I say those things to you. You've got to mature. The parallel to that is Paul telling the congregation in Corinth that there are many things I would have liked to have told you, but you can't handle it, yet you're still spiritual babes. So he was telling them that they needed to grow into understanding deeper truths. You know, God's Spirit won't force us to do anything. God's Spirit is there to help us.

It's an unseen dark spirit that takes over people's minds, that forces people to do things against their will. That's not how God's Spirit works. God's Spirit is a coach. It's encouraging. It's a mentor. It's there when we tap into it and say, okay, my mind is open. I'm receptive. I'm listening. I'm open to correction. I'm open to my conscience being pricked. If I do something silly or hurtful, I'm listening. Then God's Spirit can work with us, but it's not going to force us to do anything. He says here, if we're receptive to our need for personal growth, we're doing our part, the Holy Spirit will help us. It'll give comfort. It'll teach, provide, recall. It will guide us. It will reveal truth to us. All those are really good things, important in growing from spiritual infancy to becoming a mature disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let's go to Luke chapter 24 and verse 44 and see one more important quality of the Holy Spirit that I think we oftentimes overlook.

Luke 24, 44. This is a situation after Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. He appeared to his disciples and picking it up here in context. Then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. And he said to them, thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.

And you are witnesses of these things. So he goes and he begins to say, I fulfilled this scripture in Isaiah, and I have fulfilled this scripture in Hosea. And in the book of Psalms said this about me, and here I am, I fulfilled all of those scriptures, and on the third day I've come back to life fulfilling everything that had ever been written about my life and my purpose on this earth. And then he says something to them very profound in verse 49, Behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. I'm going to read verse 49 from another translation, the New Century Version. It says, I will send you what my father has promised, but you must stay in Jerusalem until you have received that power from heaven. The Greek word for power here is dunamis. You know what the English word is, what we get the word, English word from dunamis, the English word that we get from that root is called dynamite. Jesus was saying that I'm giving all of you dynamite in your lives. And in original Greek, it means miraculous power, ability, abundance, mighty deeds, and that includes the power to be healed when we need healing. The power to get on our knees and pray for someone, and a miracle happens. A barrier, an obstacle that was affecting the church, or one of our brethren, or one of our family members is miraculously removed. The doors open for us that we're closed. What is that? That's dynamite! God has all put within us dynamite, the power of His Holy Spirit. Are we tapping into that dynamite? Or is the Holy Spirit saying to us, hello, remember me?

I'm still here! Anybody home? So how is it in our lives?

The third thing, and the final thing I would like to talk about from Philippians 2 and verse 13, was the statement that followed those two scriptures that we looked at, number 1 and 2, and that is, to will and to do for His good pleasure. Again, this is from Philippians 2, verse 13. To will and to do for His good pleasure. I'm going to read verse 13 from the new century version, because God is working in you to help you want to do and to be able to do what pleases Him.

Brethren, you are not a bother to God. You and your existence gives Him pleasure.

He created you with the anticipation from the foundation of the world of giving you His glory and the sharing everything He has with you as His Son and His daughter. He takes great pleasure in our lives, a great interest in our lives. The very Bible notes say here about verse 13, it says, this indicates that we do not work alone and also that we experience His working in us as we work for Him. So the two work together, our part and God's part, and they work together to create change.

They work together to help us to develop the mind of Christ, to grow from spiritual immaturity, babyhood, spiritual babyhood, into a fully functioning, mature spiritual being.

That's what God wants, just like our children in a physical world eventually grow up, and hopefully they grow up to be full-functioning adults. That's what we want, is physical people, and that's what God wants spiritually. He doesn't want to hold us back. He doesn't want to hold us down. He doesn't want us to be infants our whole lives. He wants us to grow up. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 1. Let's turn there. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 1. Let's see how long God anticipated your life, your existence, how much that means to God. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Let's see about what's really important in this world.

You've been called. That's a blessing. God gave you His Holy Spirit. That's a blessing.

God gave you a mind that can think and reason. That's a blessing. Physically speaking, I don't see too many people here. It looks like they skipped a number of meals. That's a blessing.

We all have warm homes. We all have a way to get here. We really want to. We have a way to get here. So you know what? God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Our calling, forgiveness, the gift of His Holy Spirit, sonship. As a child of God, what more could you possibly ask for? Every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, who to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. So why did God call us from the foundation of the world? And that basically means that God said, I'm going to call this person in their physical lifetime. At the end of the 20th century, beginning of the 21st century, I'm going to give that person a chance of the calling in eternal life, and hopefully they'll respond. That doesn't deny that other people, they certainly, in their own order, everyone gets an opportunity to be called. And why does God do that? When we get on our knees to pray to God, they say, oh, not Him again.

No, it says, according to the good pleasure of His will. We bring pleasure to God. Our lives bring pleasure to God. In a very weak and mediocre analogy, as a grandfather, when I sit back and see my grandchildren running and laughing and playing, that brings great pleasure to me. When they're enjoying themselves, I'm enjoying watching them play, watching them do the things that they do. And God the Father is the same way with us. Sure, we're not perfect. Sure, we struggle with certain things. My grandchildren aren't perfect either. I know that's a shock to all of you.

But I love them and adore them the same, even though they're not perfect.

According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the beloved. Brethren, we're not here by accident. We're not here by chance. We're not here by coincidence. We're here because God the Father planned for us to be called in this lifetime during this age long, long ago. As I've said before, most surely, the one who knows the beginning from the end also knows what happens between the beginning and the end. And He decided a long, long time ago that when you would be born and you would live in this physical lifetime, that He would call you and that He would call me. Why? I don't know. Maybe He has a sense of humor. But He did. And that's why we're here. We are here according to the good pleasure of His will. We were created to bring Him joy and pleasure. We're here by God's grace. We're accepted by Him because of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. That's what the end of this verse says here, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He has made us accepted in the beloved, referring to Jesus Christ. Okay, only two more scriptures. Hebrews chapter 13. Let's turn there. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20.

Hebrews says, beginning here in verse 20 of chapter 13, Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. What is God's will for us? His will for us is that we grow up, that we do our part to diligently grow spiritually. And along with the Holy Spirit working with us, we become more mature, complete, spiritually whole. The interesting thing about this Greek word, and it's good to think about as we prepare for the spring holy days, is the word that's translated complete in English. The original Greek word is katartizo. Katartizo, and it means to complete thoroughly, to repair, and to adjust, to restore. So do you need a little restoration? I do. There are some parts of our lives that need to be restored, repaired, maybe a little like an attitude adjustment. Something in our lives this year that we need to change. We need to do our part and call upon God's Spirit to help us, to make those changes. You bet. I think we are all in that situation. Let's take a look at our final scripture for today, Luke chapter 12 and verse 32. Final scripture. Jesus Christ said, Do not fear, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Some people speak as if God is holding his nose at us, as if we're just a constant irritation and frustration to God. But that's not what the scriptures say. That's their interpretation of the God that they believe in. Jesus said, It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Provide yourselves moneybags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So make your treasure spiritual things, not just physical things. As I've said before, he who dies with the most toys does not win, he just has the happiest heirs.

So let's have our treasure in the right kinds of things, spiritual treasure. Stored up for us that when Jesus Christ returns, he says, this is your reward with interest. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Verse 35, let your waste be girded and your lamps burning.

He says here, let your waste be girded. Have your spiritual tool belt on. When you had your waste girded, you were ready for work. Are we ready for work this year? Are we ready to put on that spiritual tool belt and take our lives to another level? Continuing here, he says, and your lamp's burning. Are our lives reflecting the power of the Holy Spirit? When people look at us, do they see a certain quality, a certain character, a certain persona that comes from us that says these people or this person is truly committed to what they believe? They're very faithful to their religious beliefs. And you yourselves be like men who wait for their master when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Are we receptive to what God is telling us when we realize the need to change something? Are we diligent, as Peter described it, meaning speed, meaning right now, meaning do it? Are we doing it immediately, or are we putting it off? No, I'll put that on my list and I'll get to it in the year 2087.

On that list, I'll get to it eventually. That they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. So, Jesus Christ is saying that we need to have our waste girded to be ready for action. In this case of the analogy that he has here, they had to be observant, and they got to be ready for a journey. And we need to have our spiritual tool belts on. Your lamps are burning when your life reflects the power of the Holy Spirit working in you. If Christ would return to earth today, are we ready to serve him now? Could we say in our own hearts, deep in our heart of hearts, I'm ready? Whatever you ask me to do, wherever you ask me to serve, I've prepared. I'm ready. Are we vigilant about the return of Jesus Christ? Do we pray every day, thy kingdom come? Is that part of our prayer? Looking for the return of Christ, knowing that's the only true answer to this world's problems? My brother and I had a discussion last week. He said, well, what can stop these kids from going in these schools and just hurting so many people? And I told him this world is incapable of solving those problems.

There are no answers in this world. The only answer is the kingdom of God on this earth. That's when the insanity will stop. Well, brethren, the beautiful thing about this Scripture, and an example for us from Jesus Christ himself, is the Scripture says here that it is the Father's pleasure to give us the kingdom. And if we're doing our part, if we have on our spiritual tool belt, if we're paying attention, if we're watching, if we're praying every day, thy kingdom come, we're doing what we can, we're going to see something that is absolutely incredible.

Only possible by someone who loves us as much as Jesus Christ. It says here, shortly I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down and will come and serve them.

God loves us so much that at the wedding supper of Jesus Christ, he'll say to you, and to you, and to you, sit down, because I'm going to serve you. Thank you for the life of commitment that you had to my values. Thank you for praying every day, for my return. Thank you for loving the brothers and sisters that I gave you in that congregation in Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for obedience. And because of that, now I want to honor you.

Sit down and prepare to enjoy the wedding supper of the bride. Well, brethren, it isn't too many weeks away that we will be celebrating the Passover and the days of unleavened bread this year.

I encourage all of us to take a look at our lives, realize that there are areas in our lives in which we could focus on more deeply, more faithfully, and do our part, and realize that we can't do it alone. We don't have the willpower. We don't have the ability to overcome the kinds of things that we struggle with. But God does, and He can do it with the power of His Holy Spirit as we do our part. And why does He do all that? Because He loves us. Because our lives bring Him pleasure. He wants to prepare us for eternity in His wonderful family. Have an awesome Sabbath day.