Winter Retreat Session 1

“A group of tourists visiting a picturesque village walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked him, “Were any great men born in this village?” The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.”

Every person who is a born-again believer starts life as a baby in Christ. Whether the new convert is six or sixty, that person is still a new Christian and needs to grow in the Lord. A baby Christian who has been saved for forty years is a tragedy. God intends for us to grow and mature so that we can be a positive influence in the lives of others. Until we learn to dig into the meat of the Word for ourselves, we will never grow.”

All of you are here this weekend for different reasons. Some because you wanted to get away from school for a few days. Some of you were invited by your friends because they told how awesome the weekend retreats are! They are and during this weekend I hope you have fun and build connections with each other. I’ll be honest though, by biggest desire for all of this weekend is to see us all grow up.

I want to see us all grow up in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to see us grow up and be hungry to know our Lord. I want to see us grow up and walk away this weekend transformed to live boldly for Jesus Christ. Why do you I desire this? Because I want to see lives changed, in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to see our communities changed, in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to see those who are hurting to be healed, in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to see those who are blind spiritually to be able to see, in the name of Jesus Christ. This can’t happen though if we don’t grow up. If you have your bible, open up to Ephesians 4:11-16 and 2 Peter 3:18 as we discuss the importance of growing up in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:11–16 CSB

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

2 Peter 3:18 CSB

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

(Prayer)

Why Do We Need To Grow Up?

Both the Apostle Paul and Apostle Peter emphasis the importance of growing up in our faith. I briefly want to mention why and then discuss how.

1.) If God calls you into ministry, you need to be able to equip the body.

Apostle: An envoy of Jesus Christ commissioned directly by Him or by other apostles; normally someone who has been taught directly by Jesus and who is invested with the authority to speak on His behalf. (Example: The 12 Apostles)

Prophet: In the OT, a prophet is a person, either male or female, who functions as God’s spokesperson and is commissioned by him to deliver his word, either to individuals or to groups. The prophet receives the word of God through various means, including dreams, visions, and theophanies. In the NT, a prophet is one whom God has equipped, alongside apostles, pastors, and teachers, to lead the church through the edification and encouragement of believers.

Evangelist: An evangelist is similar to an apostle in function, except that being an apostle involved a personal relationship to Jesus during his earthly ministry. The evangelist stands in contrast to the pastor and teacher. The former makes the initial proclamation, and the latter provides continuing follow-up ministry that develops maturity in the believer. (Example: Craig Bach)

Pastor: A leader of a church that cares for people and their spiritual needs like a shepherd would care for the physical needs of sheep. (Example: Pastor John, Pastor Ryan, Pastor Leo, and myself)

Teacher: Any person who teaches others (Example: Small Group Leaders and you.)

All 5 of these roles are to help build up the body and reach unity in Jesus Christ.

“If we don’t grow up, then we rot.”

2.) Growing up helps not fall for lies.

Ephesians 4:14 CSB

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

Boat Story: Imagine you had a boat but you never read the instructions. You want to use your boat, but you don’t know how to start it, which is the gas and break pedal, how to raise the sail, and how to use any other equipment that comes with it. Now the instruction manual is right in front of you and instead of reading it, you first try to operate the boat based off your own opinions. “I think the boat will turn on if I....” You notice your own opinions don’t work so the next thing you do is call someone you trust. “Hey Bob, I have a boat and I don’t know how to use it, got any advice?” Bob says “Well, all boats are the same so try x,y,and z and in no time you’ll be good.”You listen to Bob and BAM! your engine blows up. Alright so your own opinions didn’t work, Bob blew up your engine, I guess there is only one other thing we can do...”Google It.” You get 20 pages worth of ideas and suggestions and by the time you’re done, your boat sinks to the bottom.

Here’s my point, this is how many people who claim to be Christians act. We have the owners manual, the Word of God, and instead of reading it, we based Christianity on our own and other peoples opinions. I am a Christian because....

my parents are

my culture claims to be one

I’m a Republican

I’m a Democrat

I’m attend church

I attended this weekend

It will make me rich.

Christianity is like all other religions. Just be a good person and you’ll get to heaven.

God? The Bible? That’s irrelevant to today. That stuff is from 2,000 years ago. That doesn’t apply to us.

“Christianity isn’t defined by what we what others think. Christianity is defined by what the Word of God says.”

When we grow up in our faith, we don’t believe everything we hear, we test the spirits.

How Do We Grow Up?

2 Peter 3:18 CSB

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

*If you don’t have a saving relationship with Christ, everything I am about to say won’t help.”

1.) Have a hunger to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

2.) Surround yourself with other believers.

3.) Recognize it’s your responsibility to grow up.

Closing:

A women by the name of Deborah Ann wrote a poem called “If God is the Potter” based off of Isaiah 64:8 and the poem reads as followed;

“If God is the potter, shouldn’t we be more pliable so He could mold us to be . . . for Him much more flexible?

If God is the potter, shouldn’t we rest in His hands so He could mold into us . . . His divine righteous plans?

If God is the potter, shouldn’t we be more workable so He could mold us to be . . . to the truth more adaptable?

If God is the potter, shouldn’t we trust Him for all things so He could mold into us hope . . . no matter what life brings.

If God is the potter, shouldn’t we be more bendable so He can mold us to see . . . how on Him to be dependable?

If God is the potter, shouldn’t we be the obedient clay so He can mold into all of us . . . the truths of His way?”

Growing up means we allow the Lord to model us. With every head bowed and eyes closed I want you to ask yourself, “Do you want to be molded by God?”