09-13-2009 Pastor Tim Pusey

GROW UP!
Colossians 2:6-8

One of the greatest joys that Cindy and I have experienced in life has been the privilege of raising three children. Having gone through a season when we feared we might not be able to have children, we were so thrilled when Cindy became pregnant with our first child and ecstatic when our son Justin was born! And then our blessings seemed to quickly multiply when, 20 months later, our twin daughters, Krista and Kara, were born.

You know, I think we’ve enjoyed every stage of our kids’ lives.
• They didn’t stay babies long—which was a good thing, because we had far too many diapers to change for a while there!
• It wasn’t long before they had their first day at kindergarten, and we enjoyed their elementary years! Our lives were full as our kids carved their way through schoolwork and ballgames and music lessons and church activities and summer camps and family vacations. We had a blast!
• And before we knew it their teen years had arrived and life seemed busier than ever—and they weren’t as anxious to have us at teen camps as they had been to have us at children’s camps, and they went away on mission trips, and they started driving and it seemed that they spent a lot of time with friends on Friday and Saturday evenings. And it seemed like we were watching them grow up before our very eyes—and we shared a lot of laughter and a lot of good times through those years.
• And it wasn’t long before Cindy and I found ourselves saying tearful goodbyes as we turned and walked away, leaving them to begin their college days on campuses far away from home. We’d look forward to holidays and spring breaks and summer-times when they’d be home again—and our house was always more full of joy when they were around!
• We made it through the college days and then have enjoyed watching as they’ve launched into careers and married life partners and now are beginning to have children!
I guess the fun has only begun!

Sure, there are melancholic moments when we long for “the good old days,” but, honestly, it would have been disappointing if our kids had had the capacity to grow up and didn’t! We have cherished memories of their childhood days, but we’ve known all along that it’s God’s design for children to grow up—for children to emerge into adulthood!

In the evangelical church world, we have made much of the point at which people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior—and are, as scripture called it, “born again.” Jesus spoke of the miracle of the new spiritual birth—when we become “new creatures in Christ.” It’s a great moment when, by faith, we accept God’s forgiveness of our sins and when we launch into a great journey of faith. Paul described it in 2 Corinthians 5:17 in this way—
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
And just as we marvel at the newborn baby, we rejoice in the life of the new believer in Christ! The day we make our first steps as a true follower of Jesus Christ is a significant day indeed!

But just as God designed for children to grow up and become adults, so He has designed that we “grow up” in our faith, too—and reach toward maturity as Christians. Scripture speaks of this in many ways. The Apostle Paul often wrote of it, challenging the new believers to grow spiritually.

I particularly want us to look at a passage from the pen of Paul found in the book of Colossians. Paul was in prison far away in Rome. Epaphras had gotten word to Paul about the crisis of faith and practice with which the Colossians were wrestling. This quickened Paul’s mind and his heart ached for them. His letter to them went far beyond the sentiments of, “I’ve been thinking about you.” This is a letter reflecting deep intercession—energy-consuming and emotionally-draining intercession, the kind of praying that is a channel for the mysterious but awesome working of God in people’s lives.

What was Paul praying for? Paul was praying for the Christians in Colosse to grow up spiritually—and allow the Lord to develop mature characteristics of increasing Christlikeness in their lives. What we read in Colossians is Paul’s heart-cry for their spiritual development. Look with me at the beginning of chapter one and let me quickly take you through it—
COL 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints– 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth…
COL 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…
COL 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation– 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel…
COL 2:1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Now look with me at Colossians 2, verses 6-8—

Let’s look at another passage from Paul’s writings. It’s in Ephesians 4—
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work… (Ephesians 4:11-16)

And let’s bring one other image to the table, as we consider the words of Peter in 1 Peter 2—
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)

May I put this all in the context of the long-range plan of our church? We have embraced as our mission—
PASSION FOR GOD
COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
We have understood that we are to carry out that mission from the blessed vantage point of together being Christ’s Church and, as a united body of believers, we are sent out into the world to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him. One important dimension of this whole picture is the challenge of—
DISCIPLING
We as a church have accepted the challenge to develop ministries by which we teach, train and model growth in Christlikeness in each of our lives. We understand that “Christlikeness” is the essence of “holiness” and that God has called each of us to live holy lives. We also recognize that, on our own, we’re incapable of living up to that standard—but, by the grace and power of the Lord poured out over the lives of the fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit works in powerful ways within us to mold and shape us to be more and more like Jesus. It’s a journey that won’t be completed until this life is over and we’ve come into the Presence of the Lord where we will be forever—but it’s a journey to which we must commit ourselves throughout the days of our lives. We are “to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in [our] faith.” We are to grow up spiritually!

What does it mean to grow up spiritually? I suppose simply speaking, we’re not to keep acting like children! I will confess that there have been many times as a pastor that I’ve observed some of the conflicts and struggles with which people were engaged and have wished for them to simply “grow up” spiritually—knowing that their lack of spiritual maturity was the source of their problems and the problems they were creating. Growing up spiritually impacts our attitudes and our actions; it shapes our whole perspective on life—just as the eyes of adulthood bring a whole different perspective to things that seemed so important to us when we were children.

I read something in my personal devotions this past week that hit the nail on the head in this matter. I had read from Luke chapter 6 the words of Jesus—
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:20-22)
Then I read the words of Rick Warren reflecting on this passage—
God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. (Rick Warren)
Warren went on to say that God wants us to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. God wants us to develop the kind of character described in the beatitudes of Jesus, the fruit of Spirit, Paul’s great chapter on love and other New Testament lists of the characteristics of an effective and productive life. Every time we forget that character is one of God’s purposes for our lives, we become frustrated by our circumstances. We get to wondering, “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?” And what Rick Warren was reminding me—and now us—is that one significant answer to those gut-wrenching questions is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what makes us to grow.

It is not nor was it ever God’s plan for us to remain immature in our faith. Our son is now a key figure in managing a fairly large hospital in Palmdale, California. He’s had to grow up in order to handle the responsibilities that he now has. Just as our kids have needed to grow up in order to carry out the challenges in life that are now before them, so it’s vital for the child of God to grow up in matters of faith so that we are not shaken and destroyed by the circumstances and challenges of life—so that we’re able to handle life effectively, reflecting the light and the love of Jesus as we do. And we have a responsibility within the church family to prompt and nurture and encourage that kind of “growing up” in all of our lives!

There are those who assume they’re mature in their faith simply because they’ve been Christians a long time. I don’t think we can back up that assumption scripturally. In fact, it would seem to me that much of the New Testament is written at correcting such a false assumption and the problems that had arisen in the Early Church because of people who assumed they were mature in their faith and weren’t! What we’re all called to do is to humbly submit ourselves to the Lord and to His continual work in our lives so that we in ever-increasing ways reflect His holy character in and through our lives. We dare not become smug or overly comfortable with where we are, but recognize the further work that God has to do in us—and allow God to stretch us toward that, regardless of how painful that process may seem at times.

In the Colossians passage, Paul deals with the matter of distractions along the way—
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Karl Valletin of Munich, Germany, was a master among the performing artists we call clowns. The scene for which he is best remembered took place on a darkened stage illumined only by a solitary circle of light. Valletin, with long-drawn face and deeply worried expression, walks around and around this circle of light, desperately looking for something. A policeman enters the scene and asks, “What have you lost?” “The key to my house,” replies the clown. The policeman then joins the search, but they find nothing. After a while the policeman inquires, “Are you sure that you lost it here?” “No,” says the clown, pointing to a dark corner of the stage, “over there.” “Then why on earth are you looking for it here?” asks the policeman. The reply was simply, “There is no light over there.”

Here’s a great lesson taught to us by none less than a clown. The clown’s scene is a picture of the snare in which we become entangled. We go to whatever promise of light is available. Not unlike the Colossians, we respond to explanations that appeal to rational thought, to offers of salvation that put us and our efforts in the center, to any philosophy that defines clearly and closes all the gaps of mystery. So Paul gave us strong warning here not to be drawn into the deception of hollow philosophies depending on human tradition. And what I believe he is most saying to us is this: the secret to life is in a Person, not in philosophy—and that person is Jesus Christ. The solution to our greatest challenges in life are found not within ourselves—not within our human capabilities—but the solution is found in Christ. Paul said,
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught… (Colossians 2:6-7)

As important as knowledge is, knowledge is not the answer to meaning in life! We can’t think our way through to reality. An experiential relationship with Jesus Christ is the foundation for the Christian life. This doesn’t mean that we can be sloppy in our thinking and our reason—for God gave us minds and He expects us to use them, and we must use them if we’re going to communicate the Gospel to a huge segment of the world today. But right thinking doesn’t make us holy—it’s only by the grace of God that we can ever responsibly respond to God’s call for us to live holy lives. Paul isn’t demeaning philosophy or learning or intellectual growth—he’s simply warning us against putting human reason above God’s desire to cultivate true Christlikeness in our lives and specifically in our character.

We find our purpose and meaning “in Christ”—in Christ alone. And honestly, my own experience has been that it was those times when I came to the end of myself and the end of my own resources that I discovered the mysterious sufficiency of simply being “in Christ.” It seems like that’s somehow when we get ourselves out of the way and humbly recognize how much we still need the powerful hand of the Lord to work in us! And it’s only “in Christ” that we experience inner peace. And, amazingly enough, those are the times to which we can look back and see most clearly the development of Christlikeness in our lives as we go through the growing pains of maturing spiritually.

Do you remember that Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). Wasn’t Jesus proclaiming for all who will hear that He is all that we’ll ever need in life? Wasn’t He trying to help us understand that we find our fulfillment and our peace and our purpose in Him—in Him alone?

This morning, we have the opportunity to share in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper—in which Jesus took bread and broke it and gave it to His disciples to eat, saying, “This is my body which is broken for you.” Don’t you suppose that their minds went back to His words, “I am the bread of life”?

May I remind you as you prepare your hearts and minds for communion that just as we received Christ Jesus as Lord, we are to continue our lives in Him. As we become firmly established in Him, we are to grow up in matters of faith and trust, learning to depend upon Him more and more…