Mission 2023: Personal Spiritual Growth

Introduction

Around the new year it seems like everyone talks about resolutions. Businesses are talking about data projections. Pastors are talking about vision. And churches are consumed with growth and ways to attract people in their community. Church growth is something that is either over-discussed or never discussed, and as is the case with most things these days, the truth lies somewhere in between the two extremes.

Church growth often isn’t discussed because we all know churches that put too much emphasis on numbers. We aren’t a secular business. Our success is not hitting a certain numerical benchmark. It’s like a business where we want to see a 10% increase in our budget and attendance and if we only get 9% then it’s a failure. Numbers aren’t the end all thing that we should be searching for. How can we know that? Because small churches have been a part of God’s plan for thousands of years and many are faithful to the Word of God. They aren’t a failure just because they don’t see the growth that other churches might see and other churches that see massive amounts of hands raised and millions of dollars of income year after year aren’t automatically healthy and faithful just because they have the numbers.

Numbers aren’t the most important thing… but numbers DO matter to our God. How do we know that? Because numbers at the end of the day are people and people matter to our God because each person in Salem, Missouri is made in God’s image! Over the next 3 weeks we’re going to start off 2023 by looking at our mission for the year and that mission is to “make a dent in the lost population of Dent County for the glory of God and the good of our community.”

How can we do this? Obviously that will require prayer, Bible study, discipleship, evangelism, and those types of things… but it starts with growth. Not dollars and cents growth. Not people in pews growth. But spiritual growth in our lives here at FBC Salem. Have you grown from the time you became a Christian to today? Lindsey and I talk often about how we’re trying to soak up our time with Gabriel while he’s as little as he is because we know that time is a thief and he’s growing bigger and bigger each day! But I’m going to be honest with you, whenever he’s waking up at 2am sick and crying, I do look forward to the days whenever he’s older and doesn’t get sick seemingly every other week in the winter time. I know that Gabriel will grow up and those types of things will change as he gets older. Physically, we all get older. We all mature mentally and physically over the years… but spiritual growth doesn’t always look the same for each person. I’ve known people who have come to church their entire lives and they are just as mature today as they were 30 years ago. Could you imagine a 40 year old who acted like a 10 year old? We’d tell that person that they just need to grow up! The same is true for our lives spiritually, friends. If we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are saved to serve Christ. This requires us to grow. There isn’t a single person in our congregation who has “arrived” and no longer needs to grow - this is a call for each one of us today to understand that God has something more in store for us in 2023 and that in order for us to do the work that God is calling us to do, we must grow individually and as a church body. The first part of our mission this year is for our congregation to experience personal spiritual growth. Let’s dive into Ephesians 4 and see what the Bible says about the importance of spiritual growth today.

Ephesians 4:1–16 CSB

1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. 9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Before We Grow, We Must Have a Solid Foundation (1-6)

Paul begins this wonderful text of Scripture with a call to walk worthy of the calling that they have received. There are a lot of different ways to get something to grow. If you’re hoping to get a plant to grow it’s going to require sunlight, soil, and some sort of water supply. The same is true for teenage boys, give them sunlight, water, and food and they take off! We know that there are things required for growth to take place… but what is required for us to grow spiritually? That’s hard to quantify.

It’s easy to know when you’ve grown physically as your pants don’t quite fit or you start looking down at someone instead of up at them… It’s easy to know when you’ve grown mentally as you’re able to start doing more advanced and complex problems that you used to not be able to do. You can quantify those types of growth! But what about spiritual growth? How can we grow? How can we see that growth take place? Before we can grow, we have to have a solid foundation to build upon. Paul, in Ephesians 4 gives us this solid foundation that is necessary for us to build from the ground up.

As a Christian, we are called to be in the world but not of the world. This means that we live in the world, but we live in the world as citizens of heaven. This requires us to stand out from those around us who might not belong to Jesus Christ. The way that we stand out is not by physically looking different, it is through the way that we live our lives. Paul urges these Christians in Ephesus to live their life with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through peace. What is Paul saying here? He is saying that, as a Christian, you have responsibilities and expectations before you. If you look around our world at the people who seem to have the most stuff, they might seem to be lacking in these types of character qualities. One wealthy CEO years ago shared that he had made his fortune through the hard work of his two hands and brain and he deserved to live off that fortune in comfort and relaxation for the rest of his life and if anyone in his company spoke against him then he’d simply fire them because he could. This mentality isn’t isolated - lots of people have genuine problems with humility and patience and keeping unity through the bond of peace. Think of the people that our society promotes - are they often humble people? Some of them are, but the majority aren’t! The first time that they step up to a microphone the first thing out of their mouth usually is the word “I.” I’m so great. I did this thing. Our world has a fundamental problem with humility. We must heed what CS Lewis shared about humility in Mere Christianity, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” If you’re going to grow to be more like Jesus, you must think of yourself less and more about Him - this is exactly what the Bible tells us in places like John 3:30

John 3:30 CSB

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Before you grow, you must have a foundation that tells you that you always need more of Jesus in your life!

Paul also hits on other character qualities in these opening verses that can be a struggle for us at times. It can be hard to be gentle and patient whenever people are pushing our buttons. This year on Christmas Eve we celebrated with my mom’s side of the family at my Uncle’s lake house in Branson and Gabriel happened to be napping while we were opening presents and was in for quite the surprise whenever he woke up! We walked down the stairs and Gabriel saw probably 50 different presents that belonged to different people and was soaking it all in and trying to figure out what each present was. Eventually he made his way over to my cousin’s son’s presents and that’s when patience was tested. My cousin has a son named Zack and Zack is 5 weeks older than Gabriel. They like some of the same types of toys and my grandmother got Zack a race car track that Gabriel has at home… What does Gabriel start doing? He goes over and takes Zack’s race car because he thinks that it belongs to him! Zack gets upset so I give the car back to him and then Gabriel gets upset… why? Because it’s hard to teach a 2 year old how to share whenever there’s a toy that they really really want. What I’ve discovered in life is that we don’t all get past that 2 year old stage, do we? It’s hard to be patient with others whenever there’s something that we want. This is crucial for us in our Christian lives to understand that Jesus Christ has saved us into His family and for now that means that we belong to His bride, the church. If we’re going to grow to be the Christians that Jesus wants us to be, we have to start individually practicing the things that He calls us to practice. How do we practically lay this solid foundation? Here’s an example given by Richard Coekin.

Bearing with one another in love means accepting the failures and flaws of others because we love them and making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace means protecting the unity created by the Holy Spirit in our congregation. Whenever tension arises, instead of stirring up the pot, practicing godless gossip, bitter aggression, or pretending to know everything, Paul shares that we must first walk worthy of our calling by prayerfully practicing humility, speaking gently, forgiving other patiently, and listening well… not because it’s easy but because this is the foundation of our faith.

Our motivation to live this type of life personally and as a church body is based on the Word of God - before you can grow, you must dive into God’s Word consistently. Imagine being the quarterback or the first chair trumpet player for the Salem Tigers. You worked hard for that spot and you finally got it and then you go to your coach or director and you tell them this, “I’ve already paid my dues, I’m not going to practice this either week, but I’ll be ready to start on Friday night.” What do you think that coach or director is going to say to you? They’re going to laugh because they know that no one is silly enough to dare to say something like that to their face. If you choose not to practice, you aren’t going to play… simple as that! Here’s our problem at times… we treat God that way. God, I really don’t need to read my Bible because I went to church on Sunday. God, I don’t really need to go to Bible study this Wednesday night because I listened to this podcast on the way to work and I got my spiritual nourishment that I need. I don’t really need to go to church because I don’t have the time for it… but I can’t wait for the next program or big event!

We tell God that we’re not disciplined and we’re not going to practice and work on the fundamentals of our faith… but we want to play in the big game and shine in the spotlight when it looks like fun! That’s not how it works, though. What must our foundation be? No different than an athlete training for their sport. It’s not sensational… it’s steadfast. It’s not revolutionary… it’s a routine… It’s not being super innovative… it’s creating daily habits that lead to results over time. If you want to grow in your walk with the Lord in 2023, if you want to look at Ephesians 4:4-6 and be a person who stands on that incredible statement about our faith, it starts with a daily decision to practice the fundamentals of the faith. Before you and I will grow, we must lay a solid foundation. We have to believe right things about God like our text says and we must be ready to practice those things as well. Over time, days, weeks, and months, those practices produce fruit in our lives and we begin to grow… but what do we do whenever we grow? Our text answers this question

As We Grow, We Must Serve, Speak, and Support One Another (7-16)

It would be pointless to grow or improve at something and not use that skill. Paul continues onward and shares that the reason that God saves us and gives us gifts is so that we would use them in the context of the church. As we grow in our understanding of God’s Word and the people that He wants us to be, our words and actions begin to change. Did you know that every single Christian has been given grace from God? We know that God has saved us and that in and of itself is in fact grace, but in addition to that, God gives us spiritual gifts that help not only ourselves but our entire church out! Whether you’re 8 or 88, if you’ve been saved by grace through faith in Christ then God has given you a spiritual gift and God expects a return on that investment just like with Jesus’ parable of the talents. He gifts you in order for you and I to use our gift to serve and worship Him! As we enter a new year today, I want you to think about that spiritual gift that God has given you. Do you know what that is? Are you using that gift consistently? Part of growing in your walk with the Lord is using the gifts He has given you and exercising them in His church. This is a part of spiritual growth.

Romans 12:4–5 CSB

4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Lots of research has been done on consumerism within churches, especially in the Bible Belt. If you’ve studied this at all you know some of these types of labels. Seeker-sensitive, Attractional church, 6 flags for Jesus, the list goes on! There’s a temptation in our lives to treat church as a spectator sport. As if church exists to bless and benefit me by my simple attendance. I pray that whenever you come to FBC Salem that you are blessed by the Word of God and the fellowship of God’s people - that blesses me each week! But church doesn’t simply exist to tickle your ears and check something off your to-do list. Church isn’t a spectator sport where you just consume, it’s a community where you contribute! Jesus didn’t just create us to be but to belong. So many want the blessings that only God can provide but they want them divorced from the marriage to God in the first place and that is found in the local church - the bride of Christ! FBC Salem will never be attractive to an unbeliever and that’s fine. FBC Salem will be very attractive to people who are hungry for the Word of God but FBC Salem must be welcoming to every person who steps through our doors and to every person in our community. Why? Because whenever you were lost, a Christian was welcoming to you. Whenever you were lost, someone invited you to church. Whenever you were lost, a Sunday school teacher loved you enough to put up with your antics and they told you about how Jesus alone saves sinners. Whenever you were lost, a pastor preached about salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. FBC Salem will always be a place where sinners are welcomed because the Gospel alone is the solution to our sinful problem. As we grow individually, we’d better be ready to step up and serve in our church because there are people in our community who desperately need the hope of the Gospel. The only way that that need will be met is for us to use our God-given gifts and serve faithfully. Are you using your gift today to serve?

It doesn’t stop with serving within the church, though. You and I both know that there are competing messages being taught in our world. There is a message that is centered on self that says that each person is good enough just the way that they are and that they don’t need saving in the first place. This is the message that is being shoved down the younger generations throat. “You’re enough” “You’re perfect just the way that you are.” If that is true, why does nearly every American start their new year off with a New Years Resolution that is centered on changing something in their life. If we’re perfect, we wouldn’t ever change anything. We know deep down that we’re not perfect, but our world preaches that we are. Who do we believe? Whenever you first became a Christian, or if you’re here and you’re not a Christian, you’re probably going to believe the lie because it’s clever and it preys on our pride and boy do we love our pride at times as human beings. As you look around and look inside your own heart, though, you begin to see that there’s a fundamental problem with this message.

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

We’ve dropped the ball. Generation Z, 11-25 year olds are being told they’re enough at school, on their sports teams, on social media, and everywhere they look. Do you know what message stands out? The message that says that you’re not good enough… but Jesus was for you. Believe in Him! As we grow in our walk, we must speak this message with others because there are so many who are being deceived. There are people who go to churches who are being sold a lie that tells them that God will do x, y, and z for them if they just have enough faith or if they just give extra money to this person’s private jet fund. Our world is deceived and God is not the author of that confusion! If we’re going to remain steadfast in the midst of these confusing times, we must grow, and we must help others along the way.

Paul has 5 pairs of contrasts in these verses

Infants vs Mature

Tossed About vs Held Together

Deception vs Speaking Truth

Human Origin vs Christ

Crafty Speakers vs Honest Servants

As you grow, you grow to the right and you help others do the same! After you have a solid foundation built and after you understand that God has given you a gift to use for His glory in the context of the local church, you grow. You mature from milk to meat. You don’t get so riled up about every little thing happening around you and around our world because you are held together by Christ. You don’t try to deceive others to a false position, you speak the truth in love. You grow to be more like Jesus. You don’t care as much about making a name for yourself as you do magnifying the only name that will stand on the last day! This should be the process in our lives as Christians. We should all grow and as we grow, we are brought closer in our relationship with Christ and we look more and more like Him. This isn’t to say that God loves some Christians more than other Christians or that Jesus has some people on His best friends list and others that He has blocked from His friends list… But the more that we understand God’s Word and the more that we apply it to our lives and live a Christlike life, the more we glorify Christ and reflect Him to a watching world.

This won’t happen overnight. It’s going to take time. You wouldn’t go up to a 5 year old and give them a set of keys to your pickup truck and tell them to drive to the store and pick up the groceries. That’s insane! Your child has to be taught and they have to have time to practice. Over time, they learn and they grow, and if you have grown children then you still might get a little nervous whenever they drive, but you don’t panic like you used to. Why? Because they’ve grown up. We must grow up spiritually speaking as well. The eternal destination of thousands in our community is too important to just say that we’re comfortable coasting through this life. We must grow to be more like Jesus because our community desperately needs to know the Jesus of the Bible! This starts with each one of us personally and our individual walks with the Lord.

So, how can we do this?

How Can We Grow in 2023?

Reading God’s Word Consistently

It’s been said before that no spiritual discipline impacts your life more than reading Scripture daily. Maybe that clicks but maybe it doesn’t. Think about this, if you want to be a better dad in 2023, if that’s your New Years Resolution, to grow and be a better dad, where do you start? You could start with a classic like “Being a Great Dad for Dummies” and get a nugget or two of helpful advice… or you could turn to God’s Word and see how to be a better father by understanding your Heavenly Father and all that He has done for you. Bible reading impacts every part of our life and it is essential for our spiritual growth. If you’re serious about growing in 2023, read God’s Word consistently. If you read for 11 minutes a day, you will read the entire Bible in 1 year and I guarantee you that this time next year, your life will look different! If you’re serious about growing and doing this task, I have a handout at the welcome desk that gives instruction on how to read the Bible through in a year. If that sounds too crazy, start with 5 minutes and start with the Gospel of John. It will take you 2 hours total, or about 3 weeks if you stick to 5 minutes a day and I believe that you’ll grow in those 3 weeks and want to pick up another book when that’s done!

Applying God’s Word Consistently

If God’s love is so great, if His salvation is so life-changing, and if He has saved you, then your life should bear witness to what the Word says. Spiritual growth and Bible reading and Christian service aren’t things that only pastors are responsible to care about. If you’re saved, you’re responsible to obey God’s Word. It’s not enough to give God 1 day or 1 hour or read 1 chapter of His Word and go back to living for yourself! We must apply God’s Word to our lives and do so consistently. If you’re serious about growing to be more like Jesus, you need to apply His Word to your daily life and what better time to take that seriously than the start of a new year? We can’t just apply the words and books that we like, as we grow we build our whole life on the totality of God’s Word and we seek to apply it all to our daily lives.

Standing on God’s Word Consistently

We live in a world that hates God’s Word. Our world is fine with a baby Jesus in a manger, but not a Jesus that demands our exclusive worship and praise and devotion. That’s not tolerant enough for a diverse world like ours. If you know what the Bible says and if you strive to apply it to your daily life, you’d better be ready to stand on it when the rubber hits the road. This is where we grow the most, though. This is where we obey King Jesus and follow through with John 16:33 as He said that if you follow Him, you will have trouble and tribulation and suffering… but it’s worth it to stand on God’s Word. How? Alistair Begg puts it like this, “Obedience to Jesus does not mean we skip the fires; indeed, often obedience will bring us into the fires. It is in the midst of the fire, that God often shows himself the most clearly to us, and reveals his strength to us.”

Lots of churches today will talk about numerical growth. Numerical growth isn’t automatically a bad thing if we genuinely believe that God cares about each person, and I do. However, the difference comes here and we have to “get this” clearly. What drives growth? It’s not flashy lights. It’s not fog machines. It’s not zip lines. It’s not 6 flags for Jesus… that has created a generation of nominal consumers who keep looking for the best “experience” money can buy. The pastor preaching better and better sermons won’t drive numerical church growth either although I try my best to use God’s gift better each week and pray that God would use this broken vessel for His glory… What brings about growth? The Holy Spirit of the Living God. How does the Holy Spirit bring about growth? Through God’s people growing in the Word, serving in the Church, witnessing to their neighbors, and discipling their families. In 2023, let’s be a people who take seriously our charge of growing. Not by having a revolutionary idea, but through building Godly routines. Not by having sensational entertaining services, but through a steadfast commitment to God’s Word. Not by contemporary self-help ideas but through practicing Godly habits inside and outside this physical building.

If you are saved, God has saved you to serve others, to speak the truth in love, and support those in need just like a body supports itself. Our only hope to do that with excellence is to grow. How can you grow in 2023? Let’s be a church of contributors, not consumers, and let’s help one another grow this year! If you’re here this morning and you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you haven’t repented of your sins and placed your faith in Him as Lord and Savior, then my prayer for you is that you would start this new year by understanding your desperate need for Jesus and that this year would be the best year of your life as you begin to grow in your walk with Jesus.

Let’s pray