Growing in Jesus
Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
WELCOME
Good morning, wait to release the kids
Introduce Jennie Baumann
Sharing stories at CrossPointe
Celebrate God’s faithfulness together
Connecting our individual stories to the larger body
Jennie and her family were in Colorado this summer with Cru
Can you introduce yourself - your role with Cru?
What were you asking God to do this summer and how did you experience his faithfulness?
Continuing in our series on discipleship
REVIEW
Week One
Discipleship is about following Jesus
Definition of a ‘Disciple’ (cycle through the slides)
Worships Jesus
through Ongoing Surrender
with Obedience to God
in Everyday Life
by the Power of the Holy Spirit
Week Two
1 or 3 Characteristics of a Disciple (draw a triangle)
Abiding - trusting Jesus to meet all our needs and enjoying him as our greatest treasure
Abiding produces Fruit
Abiding glorifies God
Abiding completes our joy
Abiding leads us to love one another
(Who memorized this verse?) “I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear fruit fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Today
Growing in Jesus
CONNECTION
What does it mean to grow in Jesus?
How would you describe or define growth, maturity?
When it comes to people...
Turning 18 makes you adult legally...
Then we talk about maturity… age doesn’t make you adult
The same clarity is needed when it comes to spiritual maturity
There are false, or unhelpful measurements.
One webpage top 4 ays to grow: pray daily, read the Bible daily, Obey God, witness to others....
There are helpful identifying descriptions
There is part of me that doesn’t like what I’m about to say. It’s cheesy - BUT if it helps you remember the marks of ‘Growing in Jesus’ then maybe it’s worth it.
THE A,B, C s of “Growing in Jesus
;
ABIDING
ABIDING
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
“As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him”
“ROOTED AND BUILT UP”
How did you received Jesus? What did you bring to God sot that you might be saved? Was it your good works? Outstanding character? Your promise to be good from now on?
”For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Grace Alone
Faith Alone
In Christ Alone
Gift
Not works
So walk with Him...
Grow by Grace
Grow through faith
Grow in Christ alone
It is a gift
Growing in Jesus is not by works
“ROOTED AND BUILT UP”
Abiding - trusting Jesus to meet all our needs and enjoying him as our greatest treasure
Abiding - trusting Jesus to meet all our needs
Abiding - trusting Jesus to meet all our needs
BECOMING
BECOMING
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Colossians 1:9-10
“KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING”
Knowledge - to recognize a thing for what it really is, a full and thorough knowledge , discernment
Wisdom - the capacity to know and act wisely (somewhat theoretical)
Understanding - penetrating consideration which precceeds action
“Teach them to obey all that I have commanded” (Matt. 28)
Knowledge - but knowledge alone is insufficient for spiritual growth
Wisdom and Understanding - the application of knowledge into action
If we reduce discipleship to the accumulation of biblical knowledge (information) apart from experiencing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit then we will fail to make biblical disciples.
We could hold theological classes and walk through the richest, most beautiful doctrines of God but if we don’t help one another grow in becoming transformed
Many Christians hide their sinful actions and lack of love and treasuring of Christ behind a veneer of biblical information.
I’m thinking of the seminary student in Dallas, TX arrested in string of rape incidents
I’m thinking of the growing number of priests and pastors who have abused children
I’m thinking of a recent study that said 68% of church going men and 50% of pastors look at porn on a regular basis.
I’m thinking of myself having a read an article about what leads pastors to moral failure and it said - when pastors no longer feel the beauty of the gospel they daily proclaim to others.
We can hide our cold hearts
If we teach you the greatest doctrines and pure doctrine but do not address the transformation of our heart and lives then we will have failed as a church.
Hebrews 5:12-14
This truth is also seen in Scripture
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Maturity is NOT just about knowing the truth but a descirption of those who put these truths into constant practice.
Practice - we aren’t always victorious but we do keep pressing forward, enduring with patience
“SO AS TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THEY LORD”
WHY SHOULD WE PURSUE DISCERNMENT AND OBEDIENCE?
Jesus is Worthy
No just so we have our best life or so things go well. In fact, Jesus tells us that if people hated him for doing the right thing then we should expect the same treatment.
“BEAR FRUIT AND INCREASING IN KNOWING GOD”
As we surrender to God with obedience in everyday life = Gd produces fruit through our lives and reveals himself to us more and more (as we will see in a moment).
By what power and strength do we surrender with obeience...
“BEING STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER, ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS MIGHT”
We are given the ability to surrender with obedience - by God
In a few more verses the Apostle Paul continues by saying, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
Have you ever felt weak? Insufficient? overwhelmed? Inept?
Let the truth of these verse wash the condemnation from your heart and mind?
It is not by your
“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
It is not by you might, your power, your will, your strength - but by the power of God at work within you - for his glory and your joy.”
CULTIVATING
CULTIVATING
So what can we do in this process....? What is the role of ‘Spiritual disciplines.’ Does it matter if we read the Bible, or pray, or fellowship with others. ABSOLUTELY!
“FOUR SOILS” -
BACKGROUND
a large crowd of people come to Jesus
He is about to speak to them in a parable and then after explaining the parable to his disciples he concludes with this:
“Hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” ()
What’s the parable - “The Parable of the Sower” in
Connection
i want you to listen to Jesus’ parable with the end in mind - knowing that he is going to encourage you to take care in how you hear God’s Word, taking it to heart, abiding in Jesus so you bear much fruit with patience.”
The Sower & The Soils
Read
Four Soils (seed is the Word of God)
Seed along the path - trampled under foot and the birds devoured it
Devil distracts and takes the word before it can be believed
Seed fell among the rocks - the word withered because it had no moisture
no root, when testing comes they fall away
Seed among thorns - seed grew and was choked
Faith is choked out by the care and pleasures of this world. They never reach maturity.
Seed in good soil - grew and yielded 100 fold.
Those who HEAR & HOLD FAST = leads to bearing fruit with patience.
GOD IS THE CAUSE
God is the one who causes our growth through abiding in Jesus. We grow in the faith by the same means we are saved:
By grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone
Your responsibility is to cultivate your heart to receive God’s word
CULTIVATE
We all have an opportunity for some gardening in our hearts
Imagine your heart is a physical garden when we are going to plant God’s Word.
We can’t make seeds become plants and bear fruit
What we can do is cultivate the ground, pull out the rocks and weeds - water the seeds
OUR HEART
Rocks - how deep are your roots? Are you just following Jesus in hopes that you can have your best life now or because he is the Creator of the World and worthy of our lives, our every breath?
Weeds & Thorns - are you allowing the care of this world, the pleasures of this world to distract you from what is most important? Things that are chocking out the Word of God bearing fruit in your life.
Do you need to do some weeding this week?
How is God’s Word abiding in you?
Read you Bible, listen to the Bible, think about the Bible, memorize the Bible
Praying
Fellowshipping with others.
This is how we cultivate our hearts the HEAR & HOLD as we abide and become.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Growing in Jesus is about:
ABIDING - Deep Dependence
BECOMING - Transformation - Discernment
CULTIVATING - Cultivating Your Heart
Colossians 9
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord
GOD’S WORD ABIDING IN US
so walk with him,
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you,
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
rooted and built up in him
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
Therefore,
fully pleasing to him
and established in the faith
bearing fruit in every good work
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
and increasing in the knowledge of the God
as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
just as you were taught, abouding in
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
so walk in him,
being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might,
fully pleasing to him:
rooted
bearing fruit in every good work
and built up in Him
for all endurance and patience with joy.
and increasing in the knowledge of God;
and established in the faith
just as you were taught
being strengthened with all power,
abounding in thanksgiving
according to his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience with joy;
giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.