Who is Journey Church? (Part 2)

Me:

New Year Reminder: Who is Journey Church

Mission Statement: Our Journey is to Connect with Christ, Grow closer to Him and Serve His Kingdom and our community.

Last week - “Connect”

Ekklesia: (Body of Believers)

Connecting with Christ (Look like Jesus)

This week we are looking at the second component

“GROW” ..... closer to Him.

Transition Statement: When we think of “growing,” the dynamic we find in scripture is one of “growing spiritually” not physically.

WE:

One of my favorite verses of scripture is James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

“Draw near” is the understanding of growing closer to God.

For God .... it is not about growing toward an understanding of us, but being allowed by us to grow within us.

At Journey Church, this is what we are desiring to cultivate ..... US growing closer to Christ.

It’s not just knowing OF Christ but coming to know Him more and more .... (it’s a progressive things).

To help understand this idea, Paul uses the analogy of (Infants/adults).

Transition Statement: Turn in your bibles to the Book of Hebrews 5:13-14 and I will show you what I mean.

GOD:

Hebrews 5:13-14 “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.”

Lets break these 2 verses down.

We have a comparison of infants to adults

Have you ever used the statement .....

Grow Up!

You are so immature!

Act Your Age!

Paul uses the comparison of “Milk” and “Solid Food”

All of this is spoken of in the spiritual dynamic.

Read Hebrews 5:13 “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.”

“Milk” (Gala) - Spiritual milk: elements of Christian instruction

Basic Instructions to Christianity

“To everyone who lives on the basic instruction to Christianity (Milk) ....”

“Unskilled” (Apeiros) - Inexperienced: ignorance of true doctrine

“in the word of ...”

“Righteousness” (dikaiosyne) - legal aspect that satisfies the moral requirements of God’s Character.

“To everyone who lives on the basic instructions to Christianity as found in the moral requirement of God (Righteousness) ....”

You basically classify yourself as a Child/Infant.

“To everyone who lives on the basic instructions of Christianity, founded in the moral requirement of God, you are an infant/Child.”

Paul then uses the word, “BUT” to transition to his next thought.

Could be translated as “on the other had …”

Read Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

“Solid food” - Solid (opposed to liquid) food (Spiritual nourishment)

“Food for the Soul”

“Mature” - (Teleios) brought to completion, fully accomplished

“This spiritual solid food that is to bring you to completion …”

“FOR”

Those who have their ....

“Powers of discernment” - (aistheterion) organ of sense [MIND]

“trained” - (Gymnazo) exercise / train to use

“for those who have their mind being exercised ...”

“BY”

“practice: - (hexis) condition of body/mind resulting from practice.

“To”

“distinguish” - (diakrisis) the act of discerning.

“GOOD from EVIL”

Verse 13-14 reads ....

(13) To everyone who lives on the basic instructions of Christianity, founded in the moral requirement of God, you are an infant/Child. On the other hand ....

(14) This spiritual (solid) food is to bring you to completion, for those who have their mind being exercised by conditioning the body/mind which will help you discern Good from Evil.

When we stop growing .... we negate the ability to discern GOOD from EVIL.

Transition Statement: Growing closer to Christ looks like this ....

YOU:

Moving from “Milk” to “Solid food”

Coming to a deeper/more accomplished understanding of Christ

Someone who is exercising daily / Maturing in their faith

Resulting in the ability to distinguish GOOD from EVIL.

Paul is not chastising the reader but he is giving them a picture of what they should look like ..

Off the milk and onto solid food.

Moving from basic training to mature understanding

Not being fed by others / but feeding themselves from the manna of God

Becoming the Image of Christ.

Tranistion Statement: This is what we are desiring to do/ become at Journey Church.

WE:

If you are new to the faith .... it’s okay to still be on the milk.

Just don’t rest there.

Keep growing!

If you have found yourself “complacent” in your walk with Christ ....

Put down the milk and start eating the solid food.

If you feel you have stopped growing/you are shrinking ......

start eating again!

Milk to Solid food.

God hasn’t stopped offering ..... you have just stopped eating.

PAUSE:

One of the “next steps” in your journey with Christ, after you have entered into a relationship with Him is testifying to the world what has taken place in you ....... Baptism.

This is what these next three people are doing today.