............... ... ............... ............... ............... ............... .................. ......... ......... ... ......... ......... ...... ...... ......... ... ... ...... ...... ......... ......... ...... ...... ......... ... ... ......... ...... ...... ......... ... ...... ... ...... ...... ... ...... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... And then as newborn babes desire what is right, you know, it's interesting when you open up Psalms 1 You know how Psalms 1 starts the Psalms 1 is the Psalm of the Blessed Man You could title someone the Psalm of the Blessed Man What is the Blessed Man known for and most people say they're known for the Word of God?
But primarily the first thing they're known for is what verse 1 says blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful the First thing he's known for is what he does not do and what he does not associate with So you have to stop doing the wrong you have to first put off the old man and then his Meditation is on the law of the Lord and his law that he meditate day and night He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, you know trees by rivers always do well, don't they? They have a creek around them some some way to resource their their roots They they grow well and the Word of God is what produces that so so there has to be a putting off We have to get rid of sin and I can tell you if you don't do that it will stunt your growth you will remain as a babe and immature person and What would happen to a baby though if you fed it meat choke on it, right Choke on the meat some of us choke on me because we try to get it down too quick In a physical sense, but the danger of a babe in Christ is that they choke on God's truth. They can't handle certain deeper truths of God's Word There are some easily digestible truths that young believers take in such as Jesus loves you He will forgive you he died for you.
He rose again. He's the father who wants to work in your life and And they're like, yes, they get excited and they tell their friends and then somebody comes along and says Can you explain for me how there is evil in the world and how there can be a been all benevolent God? They're like, well, I don't know Sometimes their small faith can be uprooted by a question that they've never come to grips or thought through The deeper truths of God's Word means God is calling you to not simply know more intellectually But to grow in the Word of God to to receive the meat of the Word isn't simply intellectual it is Obedience to the truth. It is practically living out what you hear Immature Christians will absolutely choke on some truths because it will convict them of sin It will convict them of sins.
They're doing It's things that's hard for them to handle. You mean I need to reform this part of my life That's why Immature Christians struggle with hearing preaching about God's holiness calls for purity They don't want to hear what God says about sin punishment for sin death in hell that hell is real that judgments true that God Calls us to live with humility instead of pride Purity instead of lust thankfulness instead of complaining contentment instead of covetousness giving instead of receiving being last instead of being first loving others more than self seeking the bottom instead of the top walking in the Spirit over the flesh denying self instead of gratifying self proclaiming the gospel over hiding it silence over gossip loving your enemies over hating them Forgiveness over bitterness serving instead of simply sitting in a pew immature Christians choke on these things Because now they have to do something with it and they're like, ah Preach on Jesus loves me So you have churches that are the preaching on Jesus loves you churches, right? And you need to know that Jesus loves you, but there's a whole lot more in the Bible than just those words Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments he attached Loving him to obeying him. He said Peter if you love me feed my sheep God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Right immaturity won't go to a cross and and immaturity won't give up their life for Jesus It is a it is a growing process When you got married you weren't mature as you probably could have been and hopefully have grown to be But as you begin to mature You learn that hey, I'm not gonna get you know, it's not about what they can do for me But I need to be serving here. I need to be forgiving here. I can't be resentful.
I can't be bitter I can't you begin to put off those things. That's what maturity produces immaturity produces the other and so You will know them by their diet. They can they take the word in and Live the word out That's why it's important to sit in a church and hear the truth But what happens if you only sit and hear the truth and don't apply it?
Does that leave you as mature or does that leave you as sign as immaturity? There needs to be some there needs to be some fruit, right? So we take in the Word of God We need to live that out Just like when you put water on a plant you expect it to produce right if it's receiving nourishment It should give forth signs of that Jesus said you'll know them by their fruits number eight a another thing that an Unbeliever is or immature Christian.
I should say is known for is that they demand constant attention. I Kind of touched on this last time, but this is a little different aspect to this They need constant attention, you know babies need tended to all the time This is implied in this passage They daily need cared for out of all the churches Paul wrote to There is none that he spent more time on writing to than this church Nine letters are recorded as scripture that Paul wrote to churches wrote the book of Romans has 16 chapters Galatians six chapters if he and I don't know if you know it But the Bible was not written in order for Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians on They filed it that way because first and second Corinthians are the longest epistles and then it goes from longest to shortest but what you find is is You have Galatians 6 chapters Ephesians 6 Philippians 4 Colossians 4 1st of the Thessalonians 5 you have 2nd Thessalonians 3 1st Corinthians 16 and 2nd Corinthians 13 I Mean they're filled with with just every chapter a new problem every every chapter Something else they had to deal with They they were fleshly sinful and carnal. They were suing one another they were going to court and suing one another They were getting drunk at the Lord's table They were allowing open sin to go and they were boastful about it Listen don't be bad.
Don't feel bad. If you are a Christian who needs to be ministered to we all do at times But one sign of maturity is where you go from being ministered to to ministering to others Here is a sign of immature immaturity as well is when you feel like people aren't ministering to you like you think they should All I can tell you this when you have a servant When you're a servant minded person who's focused on ministering to others. You don't get offended Can I just talk about marriage for a quick second?
What happens in marriage the reason that people get offended at their spouse and we're all guilty of this is Is we expect them to minister to us. Let me show you how this works So you go into the workplace and some of you may be teachers Some of you may be in a place where you're just like you're you're a nurse You're you're you're you're a waitress. You're like serving all the time, right?
You're you're like pouring out. You're listening to needs you're doing all this stuff you come home and In the the switch got flipped You went from like pouring out to now you're like, you know, it's time my time now and you get annoyed It's like why am I getting annoyed at people inside my house for things? I did not get annoyed for with people outside of my house Does that make sense? It is all due to the fact that I went from serving to now thinking about being served you don't Intellectually or cognitively think about that, but that's actually what happens At a guy one time he said he said pastor it's it's I don't understand it He said my nephew comes over he's seven years old You know and I can just play with him all day and care for him and I don't even like kids But I you know, I helped us get out and you know We just you know, I just really can listen to him and do all these things And then and then with my my my wife I can get so aggravated. I can feel so impatient and I'm like and what I showed him and I've showed many people through the years is that you went from having a servant mindset a mature mindset And you flipped over to an immature mindset How many times did Jesus get offended for not being served?
Show me look in your life at the mature people in your life. You just never see them get offended Just don't And you'll find them serving people That's why that's why when you go to people around, you know, they have a serving job They don't they're the only time offense comes is when they start focusing on what they didn't get Oh, they didn't tip me enough or they didn't serve, you know, they didn't care for me And I were they they start for and it can happen anywhere, but I can tell you that is what happens I mean, I mean you just look at a toddler, right? I mean the toddlers are always self-focused and that's the danger of You know the the selfie mentality it's it's that self-focused kind of idea of just just We got to get away from that and that is that is an anti-christian doctrine in the world. It's it's an it's it's a you know when they with You you guys know how I feel about taking selfies And it's always an I don't even like talking about it because somebody will send a selfie of themselves to me after the service And I was always like annoying So but there's like a place down in Dayton. I think it's the mall or somewhere where they have like 30 selfie stations You know, I think there's like a half a dozen people that sent me the news article on that I was like threw up on it every time I read it and you know Let's go in there and take a picture of yourself, you know, just so consumed with self Can you imagine 50 years ago?
Imagine Neil's generation in the 1930s and 40s like hey, let's keep taking pictures of myself and Now teenagers do it to the point to where like they it's like this I don't even I don't even want to get down in the road of it, but it's like, you know Like what are you taking me? Oh, no, we're just that's how we're communicating Stop taking pictures of yourself So but I can tell you that Examine yourself if you feel like you you get offended at people It's not because you're seeking to serve them. It's because you're seeking some kind of service from them And it's not that we don't have a right to be ministered to by people but if somebody continues to offend you you need to go to them if maybe some sometimes they're failing their Obligation to minister to you and that needs to be dealt with Let me give you two last ones number nine one of the sign of immaturity One of the signs of immaturity is that they are divisive with others. They're divisive.
They can't get along with others Look what he says in verse 3 for ye are yet carnal for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions Are you not carnal and walk as men? You know one thing you know about little kids is they will get in a fight I remember when my youngest was in the nursery and It was like every week she has caused battle wounds on somebody else, you know, I was like, you know You're you know, daddy's trying to grow the church here and you're running off all the families, honey Stop scratching them in the face. You understand don't do that. You know, like oh man, I remember going over there and Talking to one of the precious new young families. I was like, hey, you know and yeah one of the kids scratched You know in the face. Oh, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry, you know and and and I was like, you know, I'll see what we can do and and And then I go and they were too kind to tell me it's your daughter. That's abusing my child back there I'm like, I'm so sorry, you know but that's one thing kids do is they you know, they They fight they they're divisive. They struggle to get along often times When evidences of of being carnal he says is that you have endings. It's it's a Greek word of zealous It's where we get the word zealous from it means they get worked up you ever known somebody when they just A little bit bad happens to a man. They just spikes them They just get worked up so fast They just get riled up man.
They just they turn molehills into mountains. They take small issues and just make a monumental One thing about a mature person is they just they live it. They live a pretty stable life.
They just pretty even-keeled I Just not to put them on display, but but I think about Jerry and Carolyn Easton Nothing seems to rattle those guys. I mean they've just just I've known them for a dozen years or so and just You know, just just loving gracious Good, peaceful and I and I see that in so many in our church the vast number of people here Spiritually mature Saints. I will say this early on in the church There'd be people get riled up riled up over silly things Arguments and because it was just a young body of believers People getting upset over little things and there wasn't enough mature people to like calm them down There wasn't enough refs It's like It's like coaching a game and it's like we got a lot of a lot of youth in here and and and people could get stirred up over things and frustrated over things and and it just Just as it's an unfortunate thing. I'm so thankful It's so much easier for me in so many ways even though the church is it has has grown Tremendously over the years. It's easier to pastor a large church like this Because of the mature people that are able to minister inside the body.
I Can't even tell you what benefit that is You know early on when you have 150 people and and and you just don't have spiritually mature people. They're just Battles that go on and it's like man. Is there some more adults we can bring in here to help kind of calm things down and so it just it was patience and preaching and teaching and then people would grow and grow and grow and and It's just been a joy to see that and and it's and it's like having a family, isn't it? I mean when you have three or four young ones that are six and under in your house There can be some conflicts, but by the time they get to be, you know 18 20 25 there should be able to have some maturity there I Always found that one of the signs of maturity is just people are able to get along with other people They just they just don't get so worked up and and the next word here says they're filled with envy They're filled with strife. That's debates Striving one of the signs of immaturity is people who think that knowledge Makes them spiritual and they like to debate people on their knowledge Romans 16 17 says now I beseech you brother mark them which cause division offenses Contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them 2nd Timothy 2 23 foolish and unknown questions avoid Titus 3 9 but avoid foolish questions Genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law for they are unprofitable in vain I've seen immature Christians through the years have argumentative spirit. They're always debating with somebody That's a sign of immaturity, you know, one thing you'll find is when Paul wrote to the churches He he wanted them to have peace among themselves Another word is divisions here. He says you have strife ending divisions the word divisions means standing apart The word is used in Romans 6 17 it says now I beseech you brother mark them which calls divisions mark them Which calls people to stand at odds with one another? It's an immature fleshly carnal attitude that causes divisions among people Unity is a sign of maturity When you can get along with other people It's a sad commentary and people think when they have a divisive spirit It's saying something about the person that they don't like but it's actually saying so much about themselves Well that person over there, you know, but but really it's like Cry if Christ can get along with me enough to save me and send his spirit to dwell within me Who am I to be so annoyed with them? Have I forgotten how annoying I am? I think you ever think about Ephesians 4 30 Grief not the Holy Spirit of God you think the Holy Spirit inside of us is like this numbskull.
I Mean think about it. I'm not trying to be too crass, but I'm just thinking like He knows what I think all the time he knows what I do all the time and say and don't say or whatever in life and and and and and and and we we We like self righteously get stirred up and annoyed with somebody and the Holy Spirit has to be thinking Can you look in the mirror for just a moment? like Aren't you thankful God's a lot more gracious and with us and we are with others and so So envy jealousy strife quarrels divisions. All of these are signs of immaturity 1st Corinthians 1 12 he kept dealing with the church at Corinth They were just they were filled with divisions and schisms Those words are used repeatedly in the book of Corinthians. And the reason for this is they were so focused on themselves They were elevating themselves 1st Corinthians 1 12 they were they were elevating themselves based on who baptized them One would say I am of Paul.
I have a policy of Cephas and I'm of Christ. It's an eye disease you know Paul ends his second letter to the Corinthians and This is how he ends it and I want you to hear some of these things I want to wrap some of these things up pretty soon 2nd Corinthians 13 11. He says finally brethren fell what farewell be Be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you. I Want to take a moment just to say how much God desires us to be at peace with one another Romans 12 18 if it's possible as much as lies in you live peaceably with all men Colossians 3 13 forbearing one another that means being extremely patient with each other forgiving each other if Anyone has a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do you that's the standard isn't it? And above all these things put on love or charity, which is the bond of being perfect or perfectness Perfectness and let the peace of God rule in your heart to which also you are called in one body and be thankful Frustrated immature Christians are not thankful people who live at peace James 3 13 who is a wise man and dude with knowledge among you This is a this is a section of scripture worth I could preach love to preach a little sermon on this for a moment But I won't He says who is who really is wise among you. There's true heavenly wisdom and Devilish wisdom and he shows the difference. It's very powerful He's let said let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom but if he has bitter envying strife in your heart and This is somebody who is saying a lot of wise things seemingly and and they're spouting off a lot of knowledge He said how do you know if it's biblical wisdom or?
satanic Wisdom just with good words. He said it because if it produces bitter envying strife in your heart Glory, not lie not against the truth this wisdom descends not from above but as earthly sensual devilish For where envying and strife is there is confusion in every evil work, but look what he says here But the wisdom that is from above is pure. It's peaceable It's gentle and look what he says.
It's easy to be intrigued that mean it makes concessions It gets along with other people. It's easy to be in treated It's full of mercy good fruits without partiality without hypocrisy and the fruits of Righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace and you know what James 3 is about the whole chapters about the tongue, isn't it? So I can tell you if you want to know if you have true godly wisdom or evil wisdom It's not because you have the knowledge to spout something off.
It's what is that producing? Is it division is it or is it producing peace? So so immature immature Christians are divisive and I can tell you they're also divisive against their leaders When you and I were immature and I was an immature young teenager. I was rebellious against my parents I was rebellious against the authorities of my life teachers or whoever else and divisive rebellious Immature Christians will be rebellious against their spiritual leaders. It could be their parents. It could be their pastor. It could be their spiritual leaders at church Paul's heart broke for the people at Corinth.
They were they rebelled against him He said in 2nd Corinthians 12 15. I will gladly spend and be spent for you though the more abundantly I love you the less I be loved You know, it's it's a tragic thing through the years I've seen where parents pour into their children and their children can turn against them and it's like, you know, you understand you would you would they have done so much to care for you and And so just just understand that one of the signs of immaturity is you you you create divisions you cause divisions and schisms and and that that's something that is is The Bible calls that it's a sinful thing It is a distracting thing and and it is it is something that will keep you from growing spiritually Let me give you one last thing That I think is is important to say Is in 2nd Timothy 4 verse 2 and we can just show these verses up on the screen The the tenth element of an immature the evidence of an immature person is they desire entertainment over information One of the things you see in a little baby or a young child is they want to be constantly entertained When you buy a baby crib, there's things hanging down in front of them. Could you imagine as adults?
Things hanging in front of you so you can keep your attention But for a baby, there's all kinds of cute toys noise makers things to keep their attention When my kids were little they would have shows That would come on that would teach kids the alphabet or colors and they would watch the people on the set. I would find myself amazed at how foolish adults could behave I'm like, is that is that a real man acting that way like a blues clues or something you ever seen one of those? But the giant purple Don't even it's like a cuss word to me. I don't really like it It's like the worst thing in my life was if Barney took a selfie and sent it to me I'd be over the top.
I'm over the top Don man, I would tackle that dinosaur but But I see that and I and I would be like 10 minutes deep into it because it would capture me with their singing and their lights in there and I'm just like Anybody else ever do that you're just like this what did I just do I just wasted my life You know, I can't get that ten minutes back and these kids can you know, they can learn some things from certain I don't know if that's probably was toxic for them. I probably should never have let them see any of that stuff but but but babies and toddlers and kids as they grow they Oftentimes are defined by having a short attention span right having a very short attention span And today we have churches that have transformed their church into entertainment centers Their entertainment centers their entertainment driven This is what second Timothy 4 2 through 4. This is this is the last statement of Paul before he dies Last letter he writes. He tells Timothy preach the word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But after their own lust their own passions shall they heap to themselves teachers because they have itching ears their ears They want someone to tickle their ears to make them laugh to make them feel good They shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned on the fables Give me an entertainer not a preacher Give me someone that makes me laugh instead of makes me mourn over my sin Elevate the things that I love to do and tell me why God loves me You can go to some churches and it's a sermonette with a concert that is designed to entertain and there are some churches that They can preach the Word of God and have some areas that they can be entertaining obviously And and it doesn't mean that a church should be a dry orthodoxy. That's not at all what that means but it means that One sign of maturity is you build your attention span your focus you can focus And I've said it before but at lighthouse we want to do adult church We don't want to come in here and it'd be like a junior church activity. All right What's lighthouse do we we want to herald the Word of God? We want to do what Paul said preach the Word of God by the way before he said that he said I call to record God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ before whom you will stand Timothy preach the Word You will stand before them and give an account It's a pretty big standard, isn't it? And one of the signs that you have grown up in the Lord is that you can pay attention enough to read a chapter To listen to truth That when you read the Bible in the morning You don't have to check your phone three times through the one chapter, right? You can you can put away childish things so you can focus on the spiritual things you say Well, what if my phone has my Bible on it?
It's okay just just put mute on there for a moment, right? Thank you for your love for the word This is a Wednesday night. It's hot been a long week for many of you. You're here. Your kids are here The teens are here hundreds of people come out to this church on Wednesdays Others we have more people really that listen online on Wednesdays and even that physically come here and so Thank you for your your love for the word We need to be people who are growing in the Lord if there's ever a time when the world needs mature believers It's now isn't it? We need to be mature people that are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ That when someone sees you they would see the glory of Christ in your life That you would be a light shining people to Christ. You would be like an arrow pointing them to him It's what Matthew 5 says doesn't it? Let your light so shine for men that they would see your good works and they would glorify your father in heaven. Amen
