Reconciled to Authentic Community

Imagine if someone came to you promising that you could maintain your lifestyle eat anything you want not exercise by only taking a pill would you buy it? What if they said you could achieve a healthy and fit body by only spending about 1 hour a week thinking about exercise? Have you ever had the thought it’s time to get into shape? Being unhealthy is a multifaceted thing and usually cannot be overcome by pills, or fad diets, or gym memberships. I actually bought a book called the one minute workout because that is my biggest excuse for not working out, time. I don’t know if you have ever heard of the ROM exercise machine, it advertises a full body 4 minute workout. All you need to do is work out 4 minutes a day and get into incredible shape. Even the First lady made it a national conversation for the sake of our kids growing up in an increasing obese society. We are all looking for the miracle pill which would change our bodies. We sort of know that an unhealthy diet, which is part of an unhealthy lifestyle will not be cured by a magic pill or a 4 minute workout. The conversation has even shifted from weight loss to health, weight loss is a short sighted goal in fact we understand that the goal is not a weight but a healthy lifestyle and weight is a by product. The problem is not that we don’t know that, in fact being told that is just condemnation. We need something more guilt and condemnation only lead to death. We need a different motivation and message. Spiritual health, strength and growth are akin to physical growth in fact they are a clue to help us understand what Spiritual maturity looks like. Jesus when confronted with his own physical hunger is tempted by the enemy to use a miracle to turn stones into bread. He answers, quoting Moses, man does not live by Bread alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. Here he demonstrates the Spiritual maturity we are called to as a Church, and as the Family of God. Now go back to my initial question, what if a pastor, or spiritual leader told you that you could have a healthy spiritual life by only thinking about God about one hour a week? Or you went to a marriage counselor who shared that a healthy marriage relationship could be maintained by spending one hour a week with your Spouse?

See where we are going? This is a recipe for a moribund spiritual life, spiritual immaturity or unhealth. Harambee this is not what God has called us to. He intends for us to have new life, an eternal life, life in the spirit. Jesus went through everything he did not so that we could retain our way of life and tack on religious habits, but to give new life. This new life is founded on spiritual blessings, and God’s plans.

Having been raised to new life we now no longer walk in the deadness of our sins rather we walk in the Spirit having been given God’s empowering presence.

Having been blessed with knowledge of the Good news of Jesus, given a place in God’s family guaranteed by His Spirit we now have a purpose God’s purpose that we would praise and glorfiy him in our lives, this is Spiritual Maturity a process of ongoing spiritual growth, a Spiritual walk.

When I use the term Spiritual maturity what do you think of? How would you define it? Lets look into the Process of Spiritual Maturity.

Here is what I want to express today.

Full Vision/Mission Statement (What do we see?)

By the grace of God we are a diverse family renewed and reconciled together with God by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins. Because of the love of Jesus we are compelled to share His message of reconciliation and renewal so that everyone in our community would experience the love of Jesus and be empowered to follow Him into eternal life.

Mission Tagline (What are we about?): Working together for the reconciliation and renewal of all people in Jesus

Life Groups To accomplish our vision Harambee Church regularly Gathers for corporate Worship, and in LIFE groups. LIFE groups cultivate a discipleship environment by providing authentic community to love one another, experience growth together, and engage in our community.

Vision Outcomes/Values (What does success look like?)

New Birth: Planting seeds of the good news of Jesus Christ to see God bring about new birth in the kingdom of God.

Spiritual Maturity: Teaching people to obey and follow Jesus in the everyday things of life.

Healthy Family: Leveraging godly wisdom, counsel, and instruction for building healthy families and relationships.

Authentic Community: Forming a people marked by unity in truth and love and diversity in expression.

Gospel Saturation: Developing leaders that would go out and start new expressions of God’s church in other places.

Measures:

Multiplication

Community

New Birth

Family

Maturity: Teaching people to obey and follow Jesus in the everyday things of life. Loving God and loving/serving others.

Measures: Engagement in personal prayer and study. Repentance. Gathering attendance. Giving. Loving and serving “the least of these” and other needs-based ministry.

Spiritual blessing: God’s plan

Spiritual walk: God’s presence

Spiritual Maturity: God’s purpose

Spiritual blessing: God’s plan

Ephesians 1:3 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Ephesians 1:9–11 NLT

God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

Where does maturity begin? Does maturity naturally happen or is it guided. Physical maturation is inevitable, we as humans grow up our bodies get bigger and older. This physical maturation or growth as we all know does not necessarily mean we also will mature cognitively. physical maturation requires cognitive maturation, compels it, these are a clue the reality of spiritual maturation. we plan for the first two, but God has laid plans for the third. In fact God has a step by Step process built on the foundation of His love worked out in the Gospel.

The Good News is relationship with God is reestablished in our lives through this message which is the power of God to salvation.

God knows us, He has made plans which include us.

Matthew 28:18–20 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

this is an echo of the creation story, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. God’s plans are well established and are for our Good.

He has also made a way to know Him.

He has given us Nature: Romans 1:19–20

Romans 1:19–20 NLT

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

His True Word: 2 Peter 1:3–4

New Living Translation Chapter 1

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

God desires a relationship with us, this begins with knowing about God, but is aimed at knowing God. The path to spiritual maturity starts with God’s power in every spiritual blessing we have recieved because we are united with Christ and we will see is carried on by His Empowering presence.

Paul prays for us:

New Living Translation Chapter 1

I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God

This Plan of God blesses us with every spiritual blessing, establishes us as his family and fills us with His presence, The Holy Spirit. Most importantly for us to understand and pursue is the new community we have been united with.

in Eph 021921

New Living Translation Chapter 2

You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Spiritual walk: God’s presence

New Living Translation Chapter 1

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

The spirit brings new life - we are new creations, not at individual organism but are born into a new family our individuality is a gift to the new community united in the Spirit.

What are you devoted to?

It is our daily habits which demonstrate what we are trusting in. Life in so many ways is oddly repetitive. I am not sure why I find it funny that we all sleep. Every 24 hour cycle your body will just shut down and stop moving. You lay down an make yourself comfortable. It is the routine nature of habits, that makes them sort of invisible to us. In fact brain science is figuring this out as well.

Rat maze study - Brains slowed down after developing habit. It was something which started/triggered the habit and the reward which turned back on the brain. For us this means we can engage in habitual routine behavior without thinking. Have you ever started driving to work and then sort of woke up while you were on the freeway already? Made coffee, etc. Habits formed are sort of hard wired and hard to change.

Your trust, what you believe in, what you really believe will give you life is demonstrated in your habits and routines of life. Take out extra curricular activities and think about a normal week. What do your habits say about trust in God? Love of Christ. What would someone conclude concerning your opinion on how important and effective prayer is by looking at your daily habits?

Old habits die hard. The scripture uses the word walk to describe our daily lives, the way we live, in thought attitude and action. Or we could say Mind, will, emotions the things which make us persons.

Remember God’s plan it was not to leave you to your own devices to change. This is the power of the Spirit within us. trying to change yourself to please God is religion. God wants way more than Sundays and Wednesdays nights, He has opened the door to real relationship with himself.

I hope to challenge you today to examine your habits to turn your brain back on during those times and decide are these faith habits or something else.

Jesus sent his followers out to make disciples, and promised to be with them this still stands because it is God’s plan. A new people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (ethnos) what is described as God’s masterpiece. A body of people chosen and empowered to praise and glorify god.

Spiritual maturity then is not a destination. We see those with religious motivations confronted in scripture by Jesus.

We see those who thought a super spiritual lifestyle expressing the gifts of the Spirit was spiritual maturity.

We see those who are know it alls thinking they have all theology figured out and engage in fruitless discussions arguing about words being called out by Paul.

Spiritual maturity is a lifestyle, not a destination. Of course maturity is recognized but the most spiritually mature people you will meet are the most down to earth, really the most like Jesus.

Ephesians 4:1–8

New Living Translation Chapter 4

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,

he led a crowd of captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

What are you devoted to?

Acts 2:42 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

Devoted is a daily focus, an enduring focus a walk.

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:8 NLT

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

Ephesians 5:15 NLT

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.

A great outline of spiritual disciplines is right here in Acts.

Apostles teaching is the word of God learning and submitting to it’s teaching.

Fellowship is the unity in Christ and partnership in the Good News and the disciple making enterprise in which we are commissioned.

Breaking of bread is simply eating together, practicing hospitality and coming together to share in the Lord’s table accepting the invitation to Jesus new covenant relationship.

Prayer, constant, together, for all people, etc.

These simple habits in ones life are the way of Spiritual growth, spiritual maturity.

John 15:1–8 NLT

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Spiritual maturity is God’s plan, empowered by god’s presence and is God’s purpose for His people.

John 15:16–17 NLT

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.

Spiritual Maturity: God’s purpose

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Here is Harambee’s plan for spiritual maturity in every member of our Church.

Gather on Sundays corporate worship

Gather in life groups, relationship and experiencing Jesus together in the everyday things of life

DNA groups aimed at life change

Church based theological education.

To truly pursue these things we need the whole body, we need unity, we need the Spirit of Christ indwelling and empowering us to submit to His word and will. We also need to have faith, to trust that Jesus gives life.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

God’s plan flows from His love for us, which he expressed in sending his Son, Jesus that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. This is how we know what love is because Jesus laid down his life for us, and so we can lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Our spiritual maturity starts with God’s love for us and will work itself out in the same love. We are made right with God by faith, made whole by faith, the Gospel is the message of faith, the righteous will life by faith. This speaks of a new life, which starts with knowledge of God in the Gospel which brings us into relationship with God through His empowering presence in our lives. this knowledge of God and relationship with him leads to trust. which is what faith means to consider trusyworthy. I want to challenge you today to walk out your faith in the area of Spiritual growth. I am not preaching religion here and I wan to be so clear about this, there is nothing you can do to make yourself acceptable to God, the rules only lead you to your need for Jesus because you know you haven’t kept them. I am challenging you to put your faith to work, to decide to trust that God will keep his promises. To believe that walking in the spirit, eagerly pursuing the bond of unity in the church, being a part of the plan God is working out here at Harambee is what He has called you to. Let your faith transform your habits, let God work in you by His Spirit and around you through your new family the church, to bring about the life described:

Galatians 5:22–25 NLT

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

This is what it means to be a spiritual person who is on the journey of Spiritual maturity in in Christ.

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