GROW UP

Introduction: How can we GROW UP in 2023? This is the question I want to answer today.

· How do we grow physically? We eat food.

· How do we grow intellectually? We learn new things.

· How do we socially? We get around other people.

· How do we grow spiritually? We practice TRUTH!

So, then, what are the key elements necessary for anyone to GROW UP in all areas of their lives? I want to draw your attention to seven of them. Let’s jump in. The first is,

I. Lay aside sin – 2:1

1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

Growing Christians must put off certain behavioral characteristics. Behavioral characteristics that one might see in the life of an unsaved person. Peter mentions five sins that we are to put aside. They are:

1. Malice – hate, spite, meanness, cruelty.

2. All deceit – not some, but all deceit.

3. Hypocrisy – play acting, stop pretending to be what you are not.

4. Envy – desiring what others have.

5. All evil speaking (see 1 Peter 3:10)

Christians need to remember what their lives were like before they came to Christ. This list of sins can describe many of us and may still describe some. Do you see the words “laying aside”? It can also read, rid yourselves. It has the idea of putting these sins off as we do with soiled clothes at the end of the day. Get these sins out of your life.

Remember that Peter is addressing believers!

If you look at these sins, they affect relationships with people. Therefore, it is important to put them to death.

Isn’t it time you GROW UP by taking care of the sins that you have been dragging along with you through the years? Now is the time for some positive change in your life. Make it happen today.

What is the second necessary element needed to grow up? It is to…

II. Desire the Scripture – 2:2

2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

· As a newborn baby

What do you know about a newborn baby? They are totally dependent upon their mother's milk. Babies are helpless at birth. They need loving supportive parents.

Newborn Christians need connection with a supportive and caring Church. People who desire to see the baby in Christ mature and grow up in the faith. I thank God that I was saved in one of those loving and caring churches. I want SLBC to be this kind of church. We must seek to support newborn babies in Christ. The goal is maturity in Christ.

Therefore, it is important that every person attending SLBC gets plugged into a small group and connected with other believers. Scripture teaches, Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 17:17).

If you want to GROW UP, you need community. Get some good solid Christian people around you.

· Desire the milk of the word

You will spend your time doing what you desire most in life. What will you do with the 8,760 hours that God will give you in 2023? Here is the time data for your info:

· Sleep – 8 hours a day (weirdos sleep 5 hours) (2,920 hours).

· Eat – 1 hr. 15 min per day (45 hours a week) (456 hours).

· Work – 9 hours a day (45 hrs a week) (2,200 hours).

· Commute – 200 hours.

· Toilet business – 2 hours a week (100 hours).

· Miscellaneous – (300 hours).

· Television – 4 ½ hours a day (1600 hours).

· Phone – 3 hr. 15 minutes each day (1200-1600 hours per year).

Now we have an idea of where our TIME goes. I hope that you will use some of your TIME to read through the Bible. Or at best, to develop a Bible-reading habit.

If you want to GROW UP you must spend time in God’s Word. Look at the next words in our text…

· That you may grow thereby

If a baby takes in no nourishment, they stop growing and they will eventually die. The same is true in the spiritual realm. Scripture intake means growth, no Scripture intake means immaturity and carnality! Which means, simply living in the flesh.

Every Christian ought to read through the Bible at some point in their faith journey. Why not read through the Bible in 2023? I’ve provided you with some Bible reading schedules on the back table. Find one you like and start reading through the Bible today.

· Chronological Bible Reading Schedule.

· Through the Bible in One Year (Navigators).

· YouVersion Bible App has reading schedules.

When you read your Bible consistently you will have…

· Tasted the Lord is gracious – 2:3

You can’t read the Bible for very long without acquiring a taste for it. As you read the Scripture you discover just how good God is, and how gracious He is to all of us as His children.

Scripture reads in Ezekiel 3:3,

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

I also want to remind us that sometimes God’s Word speaks about judgment, but this too shows the graciousness of the Lord. Listen to the words of John. He writes in Revelation 10:10,

10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

God’s word provides doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction (2 Timothy 3:16). All of this shows us that the Lord is gracious. God wants us to GROW UP!

What is the third necessary element needed to grow up? It is to…

III. Understand your Salvation – 2:4

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

Knowing that you were chosen by God ought to encourage you to GROW throughout your entire life. When I attended Liberty University, I was a part of a program called: The School of Life-long Learning. The point I am trying to drive home is that our education, learning, and acquisition of knowledge should never end.

There are three thoughts in this verse that I want to point out. They are:

· Rejected by men

Men may reject you, but really, they are rejecting Jesus Christ whom you serve. It’s the world we live in. There are a lot of people that will reject a relationship with Jesus Christ. All we can do is to be found faithful.

· Chosen by God

God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). I don’t understand all of this, but I accept what is written on the pages of the Bible.

You and I who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have been chosen. How does that make you feel? Men may reject you, but God hasn’t!

· Precious

To God all His children are precious. How does it make you feel to be precious to God? We are His precious!

What is the fourth necessary element needed to grow up? It is …

IV. Finding your Place – 2:5

5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

· Living stones “many stones” –

In certain parts of the county and in certain parts of the world homes are built with stones. God’s house was built with stones. You and I house God today, and thus, we are pictured as living stones. God’s house is made up of over two billion people worldwide. This is the many stones.

We are called, “Living stones”. Thus, I would ask, are you living for Jesus Christ? Or are you living for yourself?

· Spiritual House –

Together we are to be building a spiritual house. This means that the Church is to focus on God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We are to be about spiritual things.

· Holy priesthood –

Every Christian is a priest. You can talk with God. You do not need to go through a religious system that sets up men as a priest. That was old school (Old Testament) – religion does this. Scripture teaches that you can approach God at any time. Men, you are to be priests in your home. Women, you too are priests, and so are you're born-again children.

We can all come “boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”(Hebrews 4:16).

In theology, this is called, The Priesthood of the Believers.

Note: We are to be Holy Priests.

· Spiritual sacrifices –

What are the spiritual sacrifices that we as priests are to offer up to God? In Hebrews 13:15-17 we have at least three sacrifices mentioned. Let me point them out for us:

1. Praise and giving thanks – Heb 13:15

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

2. Doing good and sharing – Heb. 13:16

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

3. Obeying those who rule over you – Heb. 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

· Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ –

In whatever service we might render to God, we should ask ourselves if this would be acceptable.

As God’s people, we must GROW UP and find our place, and we must do what we know we should be doing. Give God your best, not your left-overs!

What is the fifth key necessary element needed to grow up? It is recognizing that not everyone wants to follow Jesus Christ.

V. Keep Jesus Precious – 2:6-8

6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

· Precious to believers

Those of us who are in the Bible as a regular habit know that Jesus Christ is precious. We know that life would be meaningless without Him. We know Him as our Savior and as our Lord.

· Rock of offense to unbelievers

Here’s the thing. Jesus is a rock of offense to those who are disobedient, and who reject the “stone”. The Greek word used here is lithon, and it means, One Foundation Stone. For whatever reason, they looked at the stone (Jesus Christ) and they rejected Him. They wanted nothing to do with Him. We read here that they stumbled over Jesus Christ, and that they were disobedient to the word, and don’t miss the last words of verse 8,

To which they also were appointed.

I ask you, why is it that people can be presented with the same evidence, see the same Scripture, and arrive at two different conclusions? You see, to some Jesus Christ is precious, but to others they reject Him.

I remind us that throughout our text that Jesus Christ alone is presented as the chief cornerstone. Some received this, and others rejected Him. What do stone masons do with a stone they reject? They throw it away in a waste pile. This is what a lot of people are doing with the person of Jesus Christ.

What is the sixth necessary element needed to grow up? You must…

VI. Know your identity – 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

· Chosen Generation – Chosen, hand-picked by God.

· Royal priesthood – You are God’s priesthood.

· Holy nation – Holy (pure, undefiled, spotless) nations (people groups that makeup God’s Church).

· Special people -

· Proclaim the praises of Him – Shout out all that God has done for you, your family, and this Church body.

· Called out of darkness – We are no longer held in the bondage of darkness, in the grips of Satan. No, we have been called out of the darkness.

· Into His marvelous light – Let us, therefore, live as Children of the light. Walk in the light. Let your light shine before men.

All this ought to spur us to GROW UP. Spiritual maturity means that we live up to our understanding and our ability to comprehend.

Stop making excuses for why you are not GROWING UP. 2023 is to be a year of NO EXCUSES! Don’t blame your parents, your genetics, the color of your hair, the side of the tracks you were born on, your education, your poverty, your skin color, or anything else. A NO EXCUSE year!

What is the seventh necessary element needed to grow up? You must…

VII. Live the Transformation – 2:11-12

11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Another word I could have used here is sanctification. This word means, to be made holy, or set apart unto holiness.

If we desire to be built up into a spiritual house, there must be a transformation within us. I think that we have an easy “believism” today. We have people who say they know Jesus, but their lifestyle has never changed. They do everything the unsaved do and more.

What is the truth found here in verse 11?

· We are to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.

What is the truth found in verse 12?

· Having conduct (behavior, lifestyle) honoring among the Gentiles.

This is simply saying that the lost world should see a change in us. Once we have been saved our lives should have been altered. We are no longer what we were. We are New Creations in Christ, and old things have passed away, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As believers, the lost world can say all kinds of evil against us, but the truth of the matter is that when they see our good works, which they observe (we are being watched), all they are really able to do to glorify God in the day of visitation. When God shows up they will have nothing evil to say about those who are walking with Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: As we enter this New Year do you want to GROW UP? Be honest with yourself. If you want to GROW UP you will need to take the following steps:

1. Get rid of the sin in your life.

2. Desire God’s Word (Scripture intake = Progress).

3. Understand your Salvation – chosen by God!

4. Find your place to Serve in God’s body.

5. Keep Jesus Precious – He is our only Foundation.

6. Know your identity – who you are in Jesus Christ.

7. Live the transformation life – you are a New Creation.

My challenge today is that we may GROW UP as we walk through another 365 days or 8,760 hours. Make the choice to press forward in your walk with Christ.