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Text: Luke 2:40-52
Theme: Christians must emulate the life of our Savior by growing in grace and wisdom.
Date: 12/31/17 File name: When_I_Grow_Up.wpd
ID Number: 1016
I want to preach this morning on growing in your faith.
The theological word for that is sanctification, but “growing in your faith” will do just as well.
As believers, it is vital that we not remain in place, and grow stagnant in our Christian walk.
That walk is to be a metamorphosis where our character is continually changed from sinful creatures to the image of Christ.
Ultimately, we are to reflect the Lord’s glory in our lives.
The Apostle Paul speaks of this when he wrote to the Christians at Corinth:
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)
The phrase are being transformed in that verse is one verb in the original language of the Bible, and guess what that word is? It’s a verb from of the word metamorphosis.
It’s a verb that is in the present tense, and passive voice, and indicative mood.
Isn’t that exciting?
Ok, so what does it mean?
It means that spiritual growth is never achieved by accident.
You must actively develop your spiritual life through spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual growth begins when you actively engage your faith.
Howard Hendricks has correctly observed, “There is no such thing as a correspondence course for swimming.”
If you want to swim you’ve got to get into the pool.
The same is true for growing in the faith.
There is no substitute for plunging into the Word, into prayer, into Christian fellowship, into ministry, and into worship.
These are the means be which we mature in the faith.
It also means that God is at work in your life.
God uses the events and circumstances that come your way to mold you and to shape you — like a potterer shapes his clay — into an honorable vessel.
That molding and shaping requires our cooperation with God’s Holy Spirit and obedience to His Word.
It also means that our spiritual growth is a real-time event.
It began the moment you became a Christian, and it’s happening right now as a continuous, on-going event in your life.
Now, the question of ths morning is: “What are some of the things you need to do in order to cooperate with this metamorphosis that is taking place in your life?” That’s where this morning’s text comes in.
When we look at the boyhood of Jesus, we can glean some actions that, if we will emulate, we can become more like Jesus and so more fully reflect the Lord’s glory in our lives.
I. THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS TEACHES US THAT SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS A NATURAL OCCURRENCE
1. one of the chief characteristics of children is that they are always growing
a. they are growing physically
1) our text this morning says of Jesus, and the child grew v. 40
2) I have no doubt that Joseph and Mary had as much trouble keeping Jesus in scandals as you do keeping your children in shoes
b. they are growing mentally, and intellectually
1) v. 40 also says that Jesus was filled with wisdom
2) children’s minds soak up everything — good, and sometimes bad — but they are always learning
c. they are growing emotionally
1) v. 40 also says that Jesus waxed strong in spirit
2) as the grow, children are learning how to express their feelings in appropriate ways
3) and, at some point, they also become aware of the ‘divine’
d. children are always growing
2. Christians need to emulate this childlike attribute of growth
a. in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus extolled the virtues of children in our relationship to the Kingdom of God
“He called a little child and had him stand among them.
3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:2–4, NIV84)
b.
I’m sure that one of the characteristics that Jesus was probably thinking of was constant growth
3. there is never a time when the Child of God is to stop growing in the Lord and in the knowledge of His Word
4. if you are not growing in Christ, there are only two other possibilities ...
a. possibility #1, you’ve become spiritually stagnate
1) we all know what happens when water becomes stagnate
2) it becomes stale and bitter to the taste
3) it begins to breed and grow nasty little things
4) it becomes scummy and putrid
b. possibility #2, you’re still spiritually dead
1) the sad truth is that many professing Christians are merely practitioners of religious rites instead of disciples of the Christ
2) they are tares growing up among the wheat — they feign the real thing, but time reveals their true nature
5. if either of these two realities resemble your spiritual life, you need to make a decision to do something about it
A. WE DEVELOP SPIRITUALLY WHEN WE GROW IN WISDOM
1. you can never have too much knowledge of God, His Word, or His Ways
2. the word that is translated wisdom in this verse means a broad and full intelligence of diverse matters
a. we often hear Jesus referred to as a simple carpenter
1) by that, people often mean that He was unschooled or unlearned
b. but there was nothing unschooled about Jesus’ intellect
1) in John 7:46 the crowds said of Jesus, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”
2) when He taught in the local synagogues in His home town of Nazareth, the people were amazed at His knowledge and wisdom
"He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?
55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son?
Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?" (Matthew 13:54-55, NIV)
3) when Jesus was in Jerusalem, He regularly went to the Temple and taught the people
"But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
(John 7:14-15, NIV)
3. it is obvious from the Gospel accounts that Jesus the man, had a thorough knowledge of God, of the Scriptures, and of man’s nature
4. how do you grow in wisdom like Jesus did?
a.
Like Jesus, You Acquire Maturity in You Faith as You Attain More Thorough Knowledge Of the Scriptures
1) the Word of God is the very best place to find wisdom
"Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold."
(Proverbs 3:13-14, NIV)
ILLUS.
The Bible Version of the game, Trivial Pursuit, has a statement on the front of the box I really like.
It reads, “The trivia that is not trivial.”
2) a knowledge of God’s Word leads to wisdom and spiritual maturity
b.
Like Jesus, You Acquire Maturity as You Experience God in the Everyday Affairs of Life
1) you can never be too familiar with God
2) Jesus knew God — I mean He really knew God
3) God was more than a theological concept to Jesus — He was an intimate Father who takes great delight when His children approach Him
4) Jesus experienced God, because Jesus was a man of prayer — every decision He made, every step He took, every disciple He called, every word He said was a result of intimate conversation with God
5) Jesus experienced God, because Jesus always sought to obey God
"Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
(John 5:19, NIV)
6) can you imagine how much better off in life each of us would be if we only did what pleased our Heavenly Father?
c.
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