Kingdom Maturity

2 Timothy 2:23-26 - Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

What does this mean?

In a culture where everyone has a platform and anyone can share there thoughts by the press of a button,

God is trying to get us to understand that He’s more concerned with winning souls than arguments.

As a church we’ve got really good at winning arguments but not souls. What would it look like if we dropped all cares for being right and looking smart and just loved and taught people?

We’re supposed to give the non-believers a place to belong before they believe. Jesus made the outcasts and gentiles feel loved and safe before He got them to believe.

It our job to do the same now. But we’re too busy debating the non believers that we’re forgetting to make them feel welcomed and like they belong.

“Debates” is the boujee replacement of the word arguments for people who are filled with head knowledge.

People who have lots of head knowledge often avoid heart correction. And it’s okay to have head knowledge, just don’t let the head knowledge have you. (I’ll explain how we stay away from this later.)

People who have head knowledge usually enjoy being right all of the time.

Don’t let your love for being right, block the joy of the salvations you could see. If you just loved people instead of debating them.

It dont matter if you win the argument if Jesus didn’t win the soul.

Or as you grow you start to think you know more than your parents.

How does this happen?

We spend more time in the Word than we do in fellowship with God. (The word isnt bad but if Jesus doesn’t meet you while you’re reading it, you’re just becoming better prepared to debate someone.)

Pride (We just think we know more than everyone else.)

Self-Righteousness

How do we fix it?

1. Matthew 18:1-6 - At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

There’s so much to unpack from these 6 verses of scripture, but we’re going to keep it brief.

Jesus is telling us in order to become the greatest we have to become like a child? What did He mean by that?

By Jesus telling us to become like babies He’s showing us that in order to be called great in the kingdom of Heaven we must lower ourselves. What does this look like?

Babies aren’t stuck in their ways, even if a baby is right about something. If there father told them that they we’re wrong they’d believe it. And do what? LISTEN. Some of us here believe that we’re wrong sometimes but we won’t listen because we want to be right so bad. And the problem is we’re holding onto things that our heavenly father is telling us to let go of but we’re so stuck in our adultish ways we’re gripping on and squeezing onto the very thing that’s holding us back. And that’s why Jesus here makes an emphasis on acting like a CHILD.

Jesus tells us to act like children because children depend on there care taker. They depend on them to provide and guide and nurture them. So while we’re stuck on this “I can do it on my own” mindset Jesus is telling us to drop that pride and let Him be the one who guides us, because if we’ere guiding ourselves it’ll only lead to disaster.

Children have no sense of importance, or desire for status or glory. A child is okay with what they have, until they older and start to want more. But if we stay in that child like mindset we’ll start to appreiciate what God has given us. The lord has called us to be childlike not CHILDISH.

Kingdom maturity looks like the opposite of worldly maturity. Kingdom maturity says “become childlike and rely on God” worldly maturity says “i got this” “i’m self made” “i can do bad on my own” “just me,myself, and i” and what happens is we get so caught up tryna be mature in the world we miss the mark in the kingdom. It takes humility to rely on God for everything

Jesus ties humulity to greatness. I have nothing without God, I am not the savior, He is.