What is true spiritual growth? Part 1

Every now and then I like to invite guests preachers to come and preach. It gives me a break from studying and preaching and it gives you a break from listening to me. A few years ago, I asked a well-known pastor in the area to come and preach for me. His sermon was on church growth. He said one sentence that caused me to decide I would never invite him back. He said, “If I wanted to, I could triple your membership in just six months.”

Now I don’t know what you think about that kind of claim. But it reminds me of those hair growth products for men. Guaranteed to thicken your hair and fill in that bald spot in just six weeks! They show you the picture of the man who used to look old and unattractive and now he looks young and fit and he’s got a beautiful woman standing beside him running her hands through what is obviously a photo-shopped head of hair. It’s a gimmick. It’s too good to be true. We know it’s harder than that to regrow hair.

It’s also harder, and takes longer, to grow a church than my fellow pastor claimed. It takes everyone being on board and all-in. It takes a commitment to evangelism, sharing the gospel with your friends and neighbors. It takes a commitment to disciple the new members and help them to grow. It takes effort to befriend them and build relationships with the new folks; otherwise they come for a few weeks, notice that no one speaks to them, and decide to try out the church down the street.

But perhaps what bothers me the most about the whole church growth thing is that it makes a very important and false assumption. You want to know what that assumption is? The assumption is that the best kind of growth a church can experience is numerical growth.

Now some of you are going to hear me preach this sermon and you’re going to wonder whether I’m against numerical growth. So hear me now: I am not against numerical growth. I am not against numerical growth; I am for numerical growth. I’m not saying I don’t want our church to grow; I do. That’s not what I’m saying. So turn to the person beside you and say, “That’s not what he’s saying.”

What I am saying is that when I open the pages of the my New Testament ()which is the same one you have, by the way), I find that the apostles didn’t seem to think numerical growth was the most important way a church can grow; they seem, rather, to say that spiritual growth is the most important way a church can grow. And I don’t know about you, but I want my ideas of what we should be about here at Buffalo to come not from church growth experts but from the Bible.

As we start our study of Colossians, which will run us through about mid summer, the first passage we are looking at is a passage that deals with spiritual growth. And it tells us four crucial things about spiritual growth, the first being that spiritual growth is something to celebrate.

#1: Spiritual growth is something to celebrate

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version Chapter 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ cby the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the asaints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints

Now transitioning from the book of Genesis which is story, or narrative, obviously Colossians is different; Colossians is an epistle, or a letter. Letters followed certain conventions in the ancient world. There would be an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. We’re looking at the introduction this morning. The introduction contained typically three elements: it contained a notice of who’s sending the letter (in this case, the apostle Paul, and Timothy who is with Paul as he writes this letter); then there’s a notice of who it’s sent to (in this case, the church at Colossae in western Asia Minor, modern day Turkey). This shows us that the biblical authors were men of their time. They wrote letters just like everyone else wrote letters and they followed the expected customs.

But Paul takes this typical introduction and he infuses it with Christian content. Paul redeems the ancient letter. First of all, he identifies himself as an apostle, a “sent one”, someone who was commissioned directly by Jesus Christ; someone who therefore had the authority to speak and write in Jesus’ name. To say that Paul the apostle wrote Colossians is to say nothing less than that Jesus Christ wrote Colossians.

The second way Paul infuses the introduction with Christian content is found in who the letter is written to: he says, “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are Colossae”. He calls them saints and faithful brothers, establishing up front that all Christians are in fact saints, set apart for faithful service to God. And by using the term “brothers”, he reminds them that the church is not a non-profit organization; the church is not a charity organization; the church is not first and foremost a soup kitchen or food bank or counseling center; the church of Jesus Christ is a family. We are a family because we are one with each other and one with Christ.

So Paul, writing this letter, is using the letter writing conventions of the day. But for Paul, Christ is the overriding reality to which everything must ultimately bow. And so he presses these letter writing conventions into the service of Christ. Paul may be writing a letter like anyone else in the first century, but he makes clear that he is doing so as a sent one, an apostle, an emissary, and ambassador of the one true God. And the Colossian church may be located in the city of Colossae in western Asia Minor, but their true citizenship is in Christ. And so for us. We’re sitting in church this morning in Shelby, NC. We’re really here. But even more real than the fact that we are here is the fact that we, like the Colossians, are in Christ, and because we are in Christ, we are a holy people, saints and faithful brethren.

Now, on to church growth. Church growth is something to be celebrated. Where do we see that? We see it in how Paul writes the thanksgiving section of this letter. He begins, “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” Paul is grateful; Paul is joyful; Paul is overflowing with thankfulness, why? Look at verse 3 again and then into four: “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints” (Col. 1:4-5 NASB).

Now that’s not exactly what we would expect. We might expect Paul to say “I’m thankful that you finally finished that building project.” Or, “We give thanks to God because you finished the year in the black? Because they had to go to two services because their attendance was so high? No. Paul is not thankful to God for any of these things. Paul is thankful to God because of how the Colossians have grown in their faith. He is thankful, he says, for their faith in Jesus Christ. Notice their faith is specific. It’s not a vague religious feeling. It’s not faith in faith. It’s not the “just believe” mentality where you don’t really know what the person is placing their faith in. Christian faith is specific;’ it has definite content. Christian faith is directed toward a person, Jesus Christ. Christian faith looks to Jesus, crucified in our place for our sin. Christian faith rests on Jesus alone for salvation.

And because this faith saves us, makes us new, this faith in Jesus inevitably produces love for others. Notice the extent of the Colossians’ love. It’s not just toward those they look. It doesn’t say, “We thank God for your faith in Christ and your love for just those people in the church who you have more in common with.” He says “the love which you have for all the saints”. Listen to this, church: Christian love moves toward the person you have the least in common with. There’s nothing Christian about love that’s directed only toward people you like. Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matt. 6:47 NASB). Christian love says I might not have much in common with this person or that person at church, but I’m called to love them, and God might want to use them in some way in my life and possibly even use me somehow in their life.

When you see vibrant faith and holy love in a church, as Paul did with the Colossians, it’s a sight to behold. It’s something to be thankful for. It’s something to celebrate! Paul had a wonderful habit of telling people about the spiritual growth he saw in the people he pastored and ministered to. You know what? I like that about Paul. I want to be that kind of pastor. So let me tell you, church, what I see in you.

I see senior church members who are unfailing in attendance, in support, in prayer, in giving. You’ve labored in this church for decades. We stand on your shoulders.

I see deacons, humble and godly men; men who love one another, men who care practically for the members of this church; men who care for me; men who have convictions, men who are willing to have hard conversations and do hard things for the glory of God.

I see a worship leader and a worship team who see what they do as more than just playing instruments and trying to sound good; I see a worship team who really desires to lead our church in worship, and they’re good at it, and they work hard at it.

I see a search committee being intentional in seeking a godly and called man to lead our youth and children.

I see a real hunger for the Bible, for deep Bible teaching. I see you taking notes and listening intently.

Most importantly, I see genuine love for one another. I see you calling to check on one another, making meals for one another, praying for one another. People visit Buffalo and right away sense that love.

We are a church that is growing spiritually. I’m thankful for it. I hope you are too. Our numbers may not be the best right now, but we know why that is. It’s hard to grow numerically right now, but we are growing spiritually, and I believe that if we tend to that, God will see to the rest of it. Let’s cultivate more of it here. The missionary Jim Elliot said this: “Wherever you are, be all there.” It’s possible to be here and not really be here. Let’s bring all of ourselves to this work of strengthening our church.

Spiritual growth is something to celebrate.

#2: Spiritual growth is fueled by gospel hope

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version Chapter 1

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you

Spiritual growth is fueled by gospel hope.

Now first of all, what do I mean by gospel hope? Well look with me at verse 5 and notice the word “because”. We use the word because when we’re giving the reason for something, right? I decided to skip lunch yesterday because I had a big breakfast. The reason I skipped lunch is that I ate too much at breakfast. That’s the reason, the explanation, for the fact that I skipped lunch. Well in verse 5 Paul gives the reason why the Colossians have such vibrant faith and love. Why do they have such vibrant faith and love? “Because”, he says, “of the hope laid up for you in heaven.”

Ill. When I was a kid, I remember going on a lot of errands with my mom. I remember at the K-Mart in Morganton there used to be a thing called the layaway window. Of course with layaway you can reserve an item even if you can’t pay for it right away. They put your name on it and keep it especially for you, and you make payments on it; during this time no one else can purchase the item. It’s yours pending the final payment. The term layaway is appropriate: you lay it away for the future.

Well, here, the picture is kind of like that. Paul says our hope, our future, our inheritance as a child of God is reserved for us. It’s got your name on it. It’s reserved for you. The NIV really captures it well when it says our hope is “stored up” for us. It’s laid away for us, totally secure, it’s no one else’s. And unlike K-Mart, your possessing this hope, this inheritance, you know, it’s not dependent on making the payments because Christ Jesus paid it in full. It’s yours. It’s kept in heaven, reserved, laid up, stored up just for you.

This gets to the biblical idea of hope. Is it wishful thinking? That’s how we tend to use the word hope. I hope my loved ones don’t get wick with COVID. But they might. My hoping for it doesn’t make it so. There’s no certainty to human hope. It’s dependent on factors we can’t control. I hope there’s something in my retirement account when I retire. I can save up for retirement, but there are factors that could empty that account before I retire and those are factors totally beyond my ability to control.

Well when the Bible talks about hope, it’s totally different. When the Bible talks about hope, the thing we hope for is certain. It’s the opposite of wishful thinking. It’s confident expectation. There’s no wondering whether we will have an inheritance; there’s no question as to whether the circumstances will come together in just the right way at just the right to produce what we hope for. No, what we hope for is already a reality. We just can’t see it yet. I like what the Puritan pastor Richard Sibbes had to say about this.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans “Times Are Bad, God Is Good”

Whatsoever our condition be, let us never limit God. God’s people should never be better, the times were never worse. Where we be bad, God is good. Times are bad, God is good. He can alter all. When there is no hope of escaping, no likely issue, God can make it good.

This is gospel hope. The gospel is the message that God in Christ has done everything for us necessary to secure our eternal happiness. No box left unchecked. No task left undone. No half measures. Our future salvation is so secure the Bible speaks of us having eternal life even now, this side of heaven. That’s gospel hope.

Now, how does gospel hope fuel spiritual growth? Gospel hope fuels spiritual growth because gospel hope eliminates worry. Worry comes from uncertainty about the future. Will I live to be an old man or an old woman? Will I have enough money to make it until that time? What will happen with COVID? Will it ever go away? These questions are worry questions. They come from uncertainty about the future and uncertainty about the future produces anxiety.

But if my future is totally secure - if the end of my story is already written - if I can know for sure that whatever becomes of me here, I know what is waiting for me there, who is waiting for me there, then I have no reason to worry. And if I have no reason to worry, then I am suddenly freed up to focus on serving others. Those of you who struggle with anxiety, you know what it does to you: it makes you self-focused. Minute by minute, anxious thought by anxious thought, we are training ourselves to be concerned with making sure our fears don’t materialize, and that leads us inevitably to be self-centered.

In electronics there’s a term called bandwidth. What is bandwidth? Bandwidth is the amount of transmission that a computer network can handle. If you have a lot of phones and laptops hooked up to a network, its bandwidth is reduced and performance suffers. The Internet moves slowly. Pages take forever to load. Movies buffer into eternity.

Think of your mental energy as mental and spiritual bandwidth. We can only handle so much. We can only expend so much mental energy. Worry is consuming; it eats up all the bandwidth, meaning there’s none left for things that actually matter: like conversation, sharing the gospel with others, investing time into your kids and grandkids, serving at church. We say things like, “I can’t even think about that right now.” “I don’t have the energy for this.” Because we’re consumed with worry.

But what gospel hope does is gospel hope comes in and displaces worry and anxiety, because now the thing I would normally worry about, like health and money and all of that stuff, those things don’t matter nearly as much, because they aren’t the end of the story.

Spiritual growth is fueled by gospel hope.

#3: Spiritual growth is happening across the globe

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version Chapter 1

just as ain all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth

But spiritual growth is also happening across the globe. Spiritual growth is happening across the globe. We see this in verses 5-6. Paul says the hope they have in heaven was proclaimed to them in the preaching of the gospel. “Of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you” - that is, to Colossae. But it didn’t stay there. The gospel that has come to them, Paul says, is at the very same time, in verse 6, “in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth” (Col. 1:6 NASB). In other words, Paul is saying that the transformation the Colossians have seen in their own lives is something that is happening not just in Colossae but around the world.

Christianity is a global religion. This is so important, church, and so easily forgotten.

Ill. There was an artist commissioned to paint a picture of a dying church for a religiously themed art show. Everyone thought they knew just what they would see when he was done. They thought he would draw a small and raggedy bunch of churchgoers in a broken down building. But that’s not what he drew. Viewers were surprised to see a painting of a beautiful and stately church building: magnificent stained glass windows, cathedral-like ceilings, huge stately doors on a porch lined with giant stone columns at the top of a huge staircase. The key to the meaning of his painting was found only if you looked closely by the door of the church. Just beside those huge doors was a tiny offering box with the word “missions” written on top of it. Its opening was covered up by cobwebs. The point couldn’t be clearer: that church died because it neglected missions. [Swindoll, p378]

Spiritual growth is happening all around the world. Most historians believe America is now a post-Christian nation, with some saying we are now a post- post-Christian nation. Secularism has taken root. The same thing has happened in Europe. The center of Christian gravity has shifted south and east to places like Africa, South America, Southeast Asia. Churches in those parts of the world are popping up everywhere because the gospel is spreading like wildfire. God is powerfully on the move. Those Christians and churches are thriving, even in countries where they have to gather in secret.

America may have been founded on Christian ideals, but there were Christians long before there were Americans. By the end of the first century, the gospel had spread from Jerusalem all the way to Rome and what is now Turkey and maybe even Spain. Christianity is a global religion. It was always this way, even in the OT. God called Abraham and promised to make a nation out of him, Israel, and this nation, God promised, would bless all the other nations of the world by bringing salvation, by bringing relief from the curse that we saw as we studied Genesis. The book of Acts records the apostles preaching the good news of Christ crucified and risen; they would preach, some would ridicule but some would believe. Those who believed were organized into churches. Leaders and pastors were chosen. They became self-sustaining churches. They became churches that planted other churches.

And those churches planted other churches. Eventually the gospel spread and churches were formed in Europe and from Europe they made their way here.

We should lament that America is a post-Christian nation, but then we should roll up our sleeves and get to work. Because if spiritual growth is happening all around the world, part of our spiritual growth will mean doing what we can to join God there in what He is doing. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said, “I will go down if you will hold the ropes.” Some of us might be called to go down there. All of us are called to hold the ropes by giving and praying.

And you might not be called to go to India or South Sudan, but you are called to be part of a gospel movement here in Cleveland County. I believe revival is coming to America again. I think an increasingly secular society in which God is absent is going to leave people spiritually starved as they realize they can’t live that way. Are we going to be ready when they have that realization?

Here’s something else: God rarely does something the second time the same way he did it the first time. It might not look like we would expect. It might not involve, initially, people breaking down our doors to come in and worship with us. The current generation is the least likely in American history to darken the doors of a church. When - not if - but when Cleveland County is reach again for Christ, will it be because of Buffalo Baptist Church, or will it be in spite of Buffalo Baptist Church? If we’re not willing to leave this building and go to them, where they are, as Jesus did for us, coming down from heaven to earth where we were, then I’m afraid that Cleveland County will be reached for Christ despite us.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Part of our spiritual growth, part of our discipleship, will mean that we will step outside our comfort zones and go into their communities to minister the love of Christ to them there.

Because in Christ, and through the church, God is doing what He originally purposed at creation. In Christ and through the church, God is doing what He originally purposed at creation. Now why do I say that? Take note of that word “increasing” in verse six. If you underline in your Bibles, I want you to do two things. I want you first to underline the word “increasing”. Just underline it. Then next to it, if you have room, right the reference Genesis 1:28. Because in Genesis 1:28, we read this:

English Standard Version Chapter 1

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And the word in the original language for “multiply” is the exact same word Paul uses is Col. 1: 6 when he says the gospel is bearing fruit and increasing. That is not a coincidence. You see, God’s originally purpose for humanity was for us to spread out across the world and exist in perfect relationship with God and perfect relationship with each other. Adam and Eve were created to worship. You and I, are created to worship. And it was God’s will to fill the whole earth with worshipers. Sin entered in and spoiled God’s good purposes. But through the gospel, what God originally intended is coming true. Now God in Christ and by His Spirit is fulfilling His original creation purposes, and you and I get to be a part of that. We call this the Bible belt, but the reality is that Christianity did not originate here; Christianity originated in the deserts of the middle east and made its way here as an outworking of God’s original purpose to fill the earth with worshipers. Adam and Eve failed in it; now, by the Spirit the church is succeeding at it.

Spiritual growth is something to celebrate; it is fueled by gospel hope; it is happening all around the world; and lastly, spiritual growth is a result of the ministry of others.

#4: Spiritual growth is a result of the ministry of others

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version Chapter 1

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

We are always having an impact on others - always. You can’t interact with someone in any way without you somehow being influenced by them being influenced by you. And because we are always impacting us, and because we are always being influenced by other, we want to make sure the influences in our lives sanctifying influence, godly influences.

The Colossians were influenced by a man named Epaphras. Epaphras was a missionary and a preacher and an evangelist. In fact, it was probably Epaphras who originally preahed the gospel in Colossae and founded the church there. [ISBE p955]. And we see this in verse 7: “just as you learned it” - that is, the gospel - “just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf” (Col. 1:7 NASB). God used to Epaphras to create and establish the church at Colossae. Epaphras was an agent of spiritual change in their lives.

You and I can do that too, and you don’t have to be a pastor or evangelist or missionary to be an agent of of someone’s spiritual growth. You just have to be faithful where God has placed and invest in the people He’s placed around you.

For example:

St. Augustine was saved because of his mother’s prayers. She labored mightily in prayer for the salvation of her and did so continually until he came to faith in Christ. Her name was Monica. Monica was an agent of spiritual change in her son’s life.

Martin Luther struggled tremendously with feeling like he couldn’t be good enough for God. Martin Luther desperately needed to understand the grace of God. And God used a man named Johann von Staupitz as an agent of spiritual change in Luther’s life. He explained the grace and love of God to Martin Luther.

John Wesley was mentored and discipled by a man named Peter Boehler. Boehler had a vibrant faith in Christ and it was his faith that convinced John Wesley that he was lost. Wesley put his trust in Christ and was born again.

And behind William Carey was a man named Andrew Fuller. Fuller was a fiery and passionate evangelist. It was Fuller’s zeal for missions and seeing the lost converted that ignited a fire in Wesley to be the first missionary to India.

Those are famous people I just mentioned, but for the most part the people who God used in their lives were ordinary people. No books have been written about them. But God was pleased to use them to build up HIs church.

Church, we must be faithful to invest spiritually in the lives of others. Not only because it’s matter of obedience, but also, just practically speaking, if we don’t pass on the gospel to the next generation, if we don’t train the next generation to lead, if we aren’t willing to hand them the reins of leadership, and it they won’t take up the mantle of responsibility, our church will close its doors. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Spiritual growth is something to celebrate, it is fueled by gospel hope, it is happening all around the world, and it happens as a result of the ministry of others.

Conclusion and call for response

So, how do you grow spiritually?

Read your Bible daily - even when you don’t feel like it, even if you don’t understand it, even if there are a million other thing that seem more pressing. Read your Bible daily.

Come to church regularly. And not just on Sunday morning. Come to the small group Bible studies. Why do we have 50-70 people in here on Sunday morning but only 10-15 on Sunday and Wednesday night? Listen, church, you’re going to learn about the Bible in here on Sunday mornings, but you really grow in the Lord when you’re part of a small group Bible study. It’s the combination of studying God’s word, discussing and processing it with other believers, enjoying fellowship, and praying for one another. That is where spiritual growth really happens. If you want to grow spiritually, you’ve got to come to the small group Bible studies as well as Sunday morning.

Engage with the sermon consciously. Have your Bible out and a pen in your handle. Jot down notes. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His word.

And then lastly, share your faith with the lost and disciple your fellow believers faithfully. Make an investment in their lives.

[CUE MUSICIANS]

So why don’t you and I commit this morning to make at least one of these things a priority for this next seven days? Choose your option and stick to it. Then in a week, add another one, and then another one. Do these things in faith, believing that God will meet you in that and that He will reveal Himself to you and help you grow.