Maturing in Christ

This morning we are going to go back to a simpler time, at least in my life… A time way far and long ago… The time is 1994, and there was a movie that became famous. How many of us remember Forrest Gump? We got to see a young Forrest as he tried to overcome physical ailments, trying to understand the complexities of the world especially when things seemed so simple. He grew up into a young adult, served his country, and we get to see him as an adult looking back over the years and the wisdom he has gained. Now, one of the most famous lines he uses, as he speaks to a nurse as he is waiting for the bus goes like this:

“My mama always said, Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get!”

He then goes on to speak about the shoes she was wearing, saying once again “Mama always said there’s an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes...where they’re going, where they’ve been.”

These lines have caused many to ponder, and even replicate those lines when something goes wrong, or something bad happens. Funny how we can remember lines like this from a movie and use these lines humorously, but we struggle when it comes to advice from one much more wise than even Forrest. You see, God tells us in His Word how we are to be stewards of His Grace and how we should mature in Him.

Staying In the Word

Hebrews 4:11–13 ESV

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The beginning of Chapter 4 teaches us that there is rest to be found in God. It reminds us that fear can cause us to lose out on true rest, a rest that is given to us as believers on the seventh day of creation. Notice, this is not inactivity in the life of a believer, but instead it points to a satisfaction and pleasure found in doing things for the Lord. If we think about creation, God created the sea, the sky, the earth, the living things, the crawling things, the things of the sea, ending with the creation of mankind, and all was very good. God was pleased with the completion of His creation and then… he rested. He found rest in the completion of His Will. We, too, can receive rest in the Lord and have a deep sense of fulfillment with our lives and work when we truly believe and trust in Him. We can also take rest in knowing that there is a day coming that is better than any day we will live here on earth, a day that brings perfection and eternal life to the human soul.

But, we can also fall short of God’s rest because we do not know or follow His Word. The same thing happened to the nation of Israel when they ignored Him. Now, they didn’t ignore God’s Word - they memorized every word, but they didn’t equate the Word with their Faith. They rejected God by not having enough faith to follow Him. The same as us today, when we enter into God’s rest, we no longer struggle through the trials and temptations of life, but instead we conquer and triumph over them.

The author of Hebrews goes on to remind us that we must seek to find God’s rest. We, like Israel, can fall short of God’s rest by being disobedient. So, we must truly seek God through our laboring for Him. As has been said before, we are not to sit still and be idle in our faith. Unless we work, consistently, we cannot know what true peace and rest will feel like. One of the ways we stay connected and know what God’s desire for us in His labor is through His Word. The Word of God is not simply ink on paper. The Word of God is LIVING AND ACTIVE! God’s Word is always working and convicting the heart of mankind, therefore God’s Word of rest is not a dead or meaningless promise, but it instead is alive and full of life to the heart of the believer.

Not only is His Word alive, but it is POWERFUL. God’s Word has transforming power in our lives, not simply inanimate words meant for simple learning or education, but instead is meant to challenge us and energize us to do the Will and Works of God.

His Word is described as being “sharper than any two-edged sword, it is meant to cut, to penetrate, and to convict. It pierces the heart and cuts to the soul of mankind, drawing us to Him and showing His love towards us. The Word will not let a soul who hears it ignore God’s promises, but instead separates at the most intimate level to show His love for us.

God’s Word is discerning - it sifts and analyzes who we are on a spiritual level and knows what our heart truly desires. Whether we decide to put our faith and trust in Him, God still knows our intent. Even when we may not understand, when we may try to hide, even when we actively seek to avoid God, we are told no one is hidden from His sight.

You see, God actively seeks us even when we try to avoid Him. He knows our most inner thoughts, even though we try to hide them. His Word points us towards His truth, it cuts, it divides, it convicts - and when we yield to it, all of that stress and turmoil is replaced with peace in and through Him alone. You see, to seek peace we must stay in His Word, but we also must Live for Him.

Living for God

1 Peter 4:1–2 ESV

1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

Not only are we to read His Word and seek rest in His peace, we are also to deny ourselves and live for God. One of the hardest things for us to do, though, is to truly turn our lives over to Him especially when things get tough. Living for God is not a guarantee of an easy, carefree life. Here, Peter speaks to us plainly that Jesus lived out the perfect example of denying Himself. You see, He also suffered in the flesh - BUT He suffered for us. Jesus lived a perfect life, but was still persecuted for it. He who never sinned, became sin so that we would no longer have to be held accountable.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus suffered for us, he took on the humiliation, the ridicule, the mockery, the beatings, and even death in order to please God and save us. We can only imagine, He did not want the consequences of suffering, just as we do not want the consequences of suffering either, but Jesus denied Himself and committed to the Will of God. You see, His whole time here on earth He was living for God. He submitted to the Will of His Father.

So, how is it that we submit to the Will of the Father? We must arm ourselves. How is it that we arm ourselves? We must align our mind with the mind of Christ. The very same mind that delivered and saved Christ. Christ kept His mind and thoughts upon righteousness and salvation. Therefore, Christ gave Himself up—denied Himself—and suffered for us. We must do the same: we must keep our minds upon righteousness and salvation. We must die to self and suffer for Christ. We must become identified with Christ in His self-denial and suffering of death. We must identify with Him by denying ourselves and suffering for His name. Jesus Christ denied the desires of the flesh in order to please God and to save us. We are to do the same; we are to deny the desires of the flesh in order to please God and save men. We do this by keeping our thoughts upon the suffering and self-denial of Christ. We can conquer the flesh and its desires by arming ourselves with the mind of Christ. Therefore, our minds and thoughts are to be armed, that is, clothed, with the very armor of Christ’s mind.

Note one other significant fact: the person who suffers in the flesh has “ceased from sin.” What does this mean? When the world persecutes us, we do not want to suffer and bear the judgment of ridicule, mockery, and abuse of men. Now if we give in to the fleshly desires and go along with the world, we sin and doom ourselves. But if we arm ourselves with the mind of Christ, deny our fleshly desires and suffer for Christ and for the salvation of men, then we deny sin.

It is through arming ourselves with the mind of Christ, and denying sin that we can overcome the trials of life.

Overcoming Trials

1 Peter 4:12 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

We should not be surprised when trials come into our lives and we suffer. Believers often do not understand why they have to suffer. When they suffer, they are surprised and astonished, and they wonder why God does not protect them from suffering and from persecution.

Being a genuine believer in a corrupt world is difficult. People often oppose the believer’s stand for Christ. The world just cannot understand the demands of Christ for self-denial and discipline, for purity and righteousness, and in particular His insistence that they give all they are and have to His cause. Therefore, when a person really begins to live for Christ, the world often wants little to do with him.

Why does God allow the believer to suffer persecution? This verse says that God allows it for one very basic reason: to test and try and prove us.

Persecution measures how strong our faith is. Any person’s faith can be measured by how much he is willing to sacrifice and bear for it. Suffering persecution for Christ shows how strong or weak our faith really is.

Persecution proves our trust in God and teaches us to depend upon God more and more. The more we suffer for Christ, the more we draw near God and plead for His help and strength. This, of course, teaches us to trust and depend upon Him more and more.

Persecution proves and strengthens our patience and endurance. The more we are tried and persecuted, the more we endure; and the more we endure, the more we are taught to endure. Persecution strengthens our patience, endurance, perseverance, and steadfastness in Christ.

Persecution proves our faith and attracts others to Christ. When we suffer and are persecuted, others can see the strength of Christ in us. They see that our faith in Christ is a living reality and they are drawn to Christ, to His salvation and love and care and strength. When others see us suffer for the hope of salvation and eternal life, the Holy Spirit uses our suffering to speak to the hearts of the persecutors and observers. He convicts them, and some eventually turn to Christ. Our faith is proven to be true, and it bears fruit.

Closing

Maturing in Christ requires a choice. You see, we can mature like an exquisite cheese, or we can mature like sour milk. It’s just how we allow everything around us to influence the outcome.

We must mature in our understanding, and our understanding grows as we stay in His Word allowing His Word to lead, guide, and direct us into His Will.

When we allow Him to then direct us, we must fully submit to His direction. To fully submit to Him, it means we have to deny ourselves. It is when we are fully in that we find true peace in following Christ.

And finally, we have to understand that the trials and tribulations of life lead to a refining of our faith, and true peace in our salvation.

It is when we can learn to place our faith and trust in Him and find peace wherever we find ourselves that we can truly mature in Christ.

Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1 Peter–Jude, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 116–117.