“Spiritual Maturity”

Tonight as we gather together to eat a meal together and fellowship I want us to also begin to think about the importance of growing up into spiritual men and women. I went to the gym last night and watched other folks lift heavy weights and they did this in order to grow some physical muscles. The Bible tells us that after we come to a saving knowledge and faith in Christ we are to become spiritually mature. We are to grow some spiritual muscles if you will.

The early disciples of Christ like Peter and John and Thomas learned from Jesus and began to follow him. Just like these men God too wants us to learn from Jesus and begin to follow Him. God wants you and I to grow up and be strong in our faith. He wants us to learn more and more about the Bible. God wants your love for Him to grow so that we can become spiritually mature.

Let me share with you several wonderful passages in God’s Word that help us to see this.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We as a church have a responsibility to teach Christians to obey all that God has commanded us through His words.

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Paul writes here to the church at Ephesus to help them see the importance of growing up and being mature. He wanted the leaders in the church to help the members so that they would not be weak and immature, but would grow up and become strong.

So how do we become strong and mature. Physically speaking we all understand that we must eat, sleep, and exercise. But, spiritually speaking we must understand several important things as well.

-We must come together and be part of a local church family. This is where everything begins. Like what we are doing tonight. The church body has gathered together.

-We must also gather together and hear the Bible preached, which helps us to know who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

-We also come to church to worship God for all that He has done for us.

-Then we come together and pray with others. We take the Lord’s supper together and practice the many one another’s that we see in scripture.

-And finally, we work together to make disciples. That is why we are all here tonight. One of the great ways to be good disciples is through Bible Study. In just a moment we are going to have several of our men and women come and share with you their names, what they are teaching and where they will meet.

So, before they come up here and stand with me let me fill you in on just a few important things in case you are new to our church or have just joined us.

Wednesday Evenings:

-This fall we will begin our time at 6:00p.m. and finish up at 7:30.

-If you have children or students parents please make sure to pick them up in a timely manner.

-This fall our children and students will not have a full meal provided, however they will have snacks.

-At this time I am going to have our Adult, Children, Students, and College Leaders share with you a little about themselves and where and what they are teaching.

When they are done I will close us in prayer and then if you have questions please come find me and I will do my best to answer any questions that you may have.