Mature-ish | There's Nothing Like New Life

Message

It seems fitting that Pastor Bill asked the guy with the most kids on staff to give this first message in our series, Mature-ish.

Two of my three kids started their faith journey in the Gables campus nursery shortly after they were born. And right there in that same nursery, would you believe that my wife, Stacy, began her faith journey, as well?

The roots go deep in this church.

And may I just say here that I can’t wait to be with all of you again. I know one day soon we will be. We are looking forward to that day, but until then stay clean, stay safe, and be helpful.

On a typical Sunday morning at each one of our physical campuses, a team of highly trained and background checked volunteer leaders led by our outstanding family ministry staff provide care for our smallest and most vulnerable Christ Journey family members. In fact, our Coral Gables campus preschool director, Jenny Estrada, calls them baby geniuses because their minds are soaking up the world!

From their earliest ages and stages of life, our dedicated caregivers cover our littlest ones in the Word of God by praying over them, singing worship songs to them, and whispering scripture into their tiny ears.

Whether you have been part of this church for years like my wife or you are joining us for the first time at this very moment, you are welcome here, and we invite you to do life alongside one another in this wonderfully messy and beautiful community called the Christ Journey family.

Now, specifically, in the Reed family, my wife and I are preparing to welcome our 4th child, a little girl, sometime within the next month. We welcome your prayers for a healthy mama and a healthy baby.

Likewise, at least one other family within the Christ Journey community shares our same due date for a little boy, so let’s keep them in our prayers, as well, especially amidst COVID-19.

Over the last many weeks, my wife and I have been preparing our home for Baby’s arrival. The crib is ready. We’ve built the swing. The hospital bag is packed, and hopefully, by the time you watch this message, the car seat will be installed.

Caring for a newborn requires a lot of attention. With our 4th kid on the way, we mostly know what to expect - emphasis on mostly - my wife and I have also come to learn how to expect the unexpected!

But with our first, we had no idea what to expect about anything. Stacy and I attended a 5 week birthing class in order to prepare ourselves for our first baby, but come game day, everything went out the window. We felt like we were hanging on for dear life.

At the time, I couldn’t comprehend the extent of Hannah’s total and complete dependence upon Stacy and me. Especially in those first months, she needed her mother every moment of the day. She relied upon us for her sustenance, care, cleaning, changing, warmth, and hygiene. She needed our love.

Newborn infants need all of the trappings of abundant life in order to grow into healthy and mature adults.

In the same way, newborn Christians require the intentional care of mature parents in the faith to help them take their first breaths of new life!

Peter, who was Jesus’ lead apostle, wrote about this very topic in his first letter to the early church, saying:

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 1 Peter 1:22

Love is what defines a family, and for every person who places his or her trust in Jesus, you are given a new last name as God’s son or daughter and welcomed into God’s family.

Like a newborn baby, you have been cleansed from all of your sin and made right by the power of God’s Spirit alive in you. This happens only by faith. On your own, you cannot do anything to earn God’s favor. Salvation is a free gift received by faith, which justifies every believer as good and right in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

For Peter, the only image that could really capture the transformative essence of this radical change in a person’s life is new birth. Peter wrote:

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

Every life born in this finite world will face death. That’s certain. In fact, death is an indicator that continually reminds us that this world is not the way it ought to be. Go back and read Genesis chapters one and two - death was not part of God’s created order. Death resulted from sin, but God has been working to redeem us from our sin ever since!

Why? Because that’s just how much God loves each and every single one of us.

New birth results when God’s infinite Spirit of love and power takes up residence in our finite lives, cleansing us from the inside out. The Apostle Paul wrote: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

As a new creation, now, you live by a different ethic. You are no longer bound by the old ways and powers of life. For spiritual newborns, this is like seeing the light for the very time, and it can feel overwhelming, which led Peter to give a few concrete next steps, saying:

“So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.” 1 Peter 2:1

These behaviors have no place in God’s kingdom. In the same way that a newborn child goes through stages of growth, so does a newborn believer. A spiritual newborn journeys through stages of faith from childhood into mature adulthood, starting first with being cleansed.

The Apostle John wrote: “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9

Kinda like changing a dirty one of these, we need God’s Spirit to continually cleanse us from all of the wickedness that builds up in our lives. Spiritual adults are able to rely upon the Spirit, but spiritual newborns... need the presence of mature Jesus followers to help them turn to God when they sin.

How do newborns do this? They cry out to their parents! Do the same, call out to God and confess your sins to him. Seek wise counsel from others further along than you. God promises to cleanse you.

Babies don’t earn their cleaning. Parents clean their children because they love them. They can’t do it on their own. As a newborn Christian, you can’t do anything to earn God’s cleaning, so don’t feel ashamed about being cleaned or take yourself on a guilt trip. Simply, tell God where you fell short and seek his forgiveness. God is faithful to clean us.

Every time I’ve ever changed one of my babies, they don’t feel ashamed, they feel new.

God already sees you as right standing in his eyes, so feel better. All of us fall short and need the merciful love of our Heavenly Father.

Stay Clean!

One of the ways that we stay clean as a Christ Journey community is by doing life together in family. We need one another in order to help each other live clean lives. New believers need the help of mature-ish followers of Jesus. We’re not supposed to make this journey alone. Join a group. Get involved. Even amidst COVID-19, there are still many opportunities to participate in community. Don’t do life alone. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the initiator who brought you into new life and the perfector, who will one day bring your faith into eternity with him!

Stay clean by getting rid of all evil behavior. Stop your old harmful ways. Be done with lying, two-faced living, envy, and all harsh words.

Instead, consider what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi when he said:

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

In other words, stay clean. Keep your mind, body, and spirit healthy. Your body is a temple, so care for your body and love yourself in the same way that you have been called to love God and others.

Peter continued, saying:

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.” 1 Peter 2:2-3

New birth demands a new kind of nourishment. Peter calls this pure spiritual milk. Like a newborn craves mother’s milk, a newborn in the faith needs spiritual nourishment from God’s word.

Stay clean and Stay Fed

Nourish on the Word of God daily. We’ve heard Pastor Bill say so often, “first light, first thought, seek first the kingdom of God.” Truly, the pure spiritual milk of which Peter speaks is the Bible. Period. Nothing else substitutes for God’s Word. A newborn baby needs the nourishment that only a mother’s milk or its equivalent can provide. Nothing else meets the standards of what a baby needs.

Likewise, no amount of messages or worship songs or books or small groups compare to the pure wholesome nourishment of God’s Word. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to young pastor Timothy, he instructed him on scripture, saying:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

God’s word instructs. It also provides direction.

In the Book of Psalms, the author wrote:

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path. Ps 119:105.

God’s Word is eternal and will stand the test of life’s hardships and suffering.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” Matthew 24:35.

Jesus’ words contain abundant life. Whatever we may or may not possess in this life, God’s Word nourishes our souls like an unending feast with the choicest cuts from the greatest banquet table.

Taste the Lord’s kindness, and experience His overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love! You are so fully, wholly, and deeply loved by the God of Heaven and Earth who created you good and calls you by name!

So for newborns in the faith and for all of God’s people, Stay Clean, Stay Fed, and Stay Loved!

We never outgrow needing to stay cleaned, fed, and loved. Those same needs from birth still exist throughout our whole lives.

Peter closed this passage by quoting Psalm 34:8, which reads:

Taste and see that the LORD is good.

Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Psalm 34:8.

Psalm 34 is a love song. In fact, I am encouraging all of you today to nourish yourself in God’s love displayed to us in Psalm 34. Do that today. Read Psalm 34 and then share God’s word of love with someone else.

What I find so remarkable about God’s love is that no matter how young you are in the faith, this love, ultimately, is meant to be shared. You don’t have to be a pastor or even mature in the faith to share God’s love.

You just need to be mature-ish, kinda like a baby giraffe!

Did you know that baby giraffes fall 6 feet to the ground at birth, and then have the ability to stand after 10 minutes?! You know what’s more remarkable? A baby giraffe can run alongside its mother at full speed after being alive for only... 10 hours?

How amazing!

Be a giraffe Christian! Start running! Don’t wait until someone tells you to run! Get up and let’s run together!

Some of the most on “Fi-yah” Christians that I have ever known had only recently come to faith within days or weeks, so kick out the lie in your mind that keeps repeating that you need to be further along.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16.

Listen, friends, we’ve been given this love to share, not to keep for ourselves, so let’s share it as we seek to stay clean - keep your mind, body, and spirit healthy - stay fed, nourishing on every word of God for eternal life - and stay loved.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 37-39.

If you believe this, then share it. Right now, people are facing true hardship, and need the real deal kind of love that Jesus came to offer. Not the fake junk that leaves people feeling empty, but the real stuff, the pure love of Jesus! Now is the time to share it. During this unprecedented season in which we live, people are more open to hear about Jesus than they’ve been for a long time.

It’s necessary for us to share God’s love to people who are longing for good news in their life! We are a “good news” people. This is a good news family, so invite someone to join you on the Christ Journey. Let’s help as many people as possible find and follow their Lord and Savior and be filled to the measure of all of the fullness of God! Will you pray with me?

- if you’re a believer

- if you’re a seeker or you think today is the day that you would like to take your next step of faith - show me, or pray this:

- maybe you’ve gone to church all your life or have stayed away from church because of something that happened there, I am not talking about church, I am talking about allowing God to come alive in you by the power of his spirit making you new,

- thank you God for never giving up on me and always cleansing me, feeding me, and loving me from now to forever