Grow Up

Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. The Bible is not just a book of knowledge, of doctrine, of theological truths. It's the living, breathing voice of God. The scripture is not just about learning ancient truths.

It is that. Everything in it is true. It's all the Word of God.

But the scripture is about God speaking to you in real time. Welcome to Summit Life, the Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author, and theologian, J.D. Greer.

I'm Molly Vitovich. Thanks for joining us this week for our study in the book of 1 Peter called Together We Endure. As always, if you've missed any of the previous messages in this timely series, you can catch up at J.D.

Greer dot com. But right now we're going to jump into a simple command that God gives in 1 Peter. Grow up.

But what does that mean? In our spiritual lives, it can sometimes be hard to judge whether or not we're actually growing up. Today, Pastor J.D. provides a very practical list of what it looks like to be a mature believer.

Whether you're a new or seasoned follower of Christ, you'll want to keep listening. So grab your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Peter. Well, today, in the first 10 verses of chapter two, we're going to find the command that Peter gives to us, and then he gives us an explanation for how to accomplish that command. What's the command?

Well, very simple. The command is grow up. Look at chapter two, verse one. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word so that by it you may, there are those words, grow up into your salvation. Now, Peter does not phrase this as an imperative here, but this is clearly his desire for these believers. He is concerned because some of these believers don't appear to have gotten past the baby stage, the infant stage in Jesus, and he fears that if they remain as spiritual toddlers, they're not going to be able to endure the persecution or the ups and downs that Peter believes are coming their way. And could I just ask you, are you a little bit like that?

Are you the kind of person who is spiritually hot, on fire for God one day, but then cold the next? Peter says, if that's true, it's because you haven't grown up yet. I've always thought Peter's analogy here with young children, with infants, is really helpful. I mean, think for a minute about young children. Young children can be unstable in their emotions, right? I mean, young children can go from the heights of exaltation to the depths of despair. In a matter of seconds, when my kids were young, if somebody took a toy from them or mom left the room, they would go into travail of soul. But if you go over to them, you gave them a lollipop or you poked them in the tummy, they just start giggling.

They go from one extreme to the other really, really fast. Sometimes the emotions are even mixed together. They're laughing and crying at the same time, like, oh, you're like, I'm not even sure.

Are you laughing or crying or which one is that? Well, see, a lot of Christians are like that also. They can be on top of the world spiritually, overflowing with the love of God, and then the slightest thing, and just kind of on a dime, a little financial trouble, a relational breakdown, a spiritual setback. It upsets them and makes them question everything. Most adults aren't like that. Adults are more steady in their emotional stamina. Kids can sometimes be insecure.

Kids need constant reassurance that their parents care about them and that they aren't going anywhere. Baby Christians can be like that. They're insecure about the goodness and the promises of God. Something bad happens and they're like, why, God? Why have you forsaken me?

Where are you? How about this one? Sometimes young kids can be gullible, excessively gullible. Kids will believe pretty much anything. When I was a young kid, my dad used to tell me that he had a button in his car that could control the red light, green light. What he learned to do is just watch the light go in the other direction, the crossroad. And when it turned yellow, he knew he had about four seconds. So he'd always see that and he'd say, okay, here we go, three, two, one. And then you press this button and the light would turn another like, whoa, my dad is the most powerful man in the world.

Right? Kids tend to be a little bit gullible. The apostle Paul says a lot of baby Christians are like that also. In Ephesians 4, 14, Paul says to the Ephesians, for example, he's like, you're like children, you get blown about by every different wind of doctrine. A lot of Christians, a lot of young Christians are suckers for a powerful speaker or a miracle story or, or the latest bestselling book.

You'll believe just about any teacher with slick production and a good worship band. Here's one more. Kids can be possessive, right? I mean, every parent knows that one word declaration that defines arguments between young siblings.

It's intended to settle disagreements by, by fiat. What's that word? One word? Mine.

I hold tightly to what I want because my happiness depends on possessing and holding that thing. We see immature Christians can be like that. And when they, when they're like that, that leads us to the, to the list that Peter opened the chapter with. Chapter two, verse one. When Peter tells us to rid ourselves of malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander, those things come from a, from a childish and insecure, a possessive way of looking at the world that, that isn't content with the promises of God. It needs things in its hands right now.

And Peter just tells them you need to grow up. Now, why is that so important? Well, because, because living in a harsh world requires a grown up hope, not warm fuzzies or, or the constant need for a stream of signs and wonders. In fact, needing warm fuzzies and needing constant miracles is not a sign of spiritual hunger. It's a sign of spiritual immaturity. You need a grown up unwavering faith that is built on the solid rock hope of the empty tomb.

Okay. That's the command. Well, next he tells you how to obey the command. One thing I love about the apostle Peter is that he doesn't just smack you upside the head. He gives you, he gives you practical ways to obey. He's going to give you four practical ways that you can grow up.

Here they are. It's imbibe the word, establish your foundation, embrace your identity. And then number four, excel at your purpose.

Let's take those one at a time. Number one, he says, imbibe the word verse two, like newborn infants desire. He says the pure milk of the word so that by it, you may grow up into your salvation. And in that word, he says, if you have tasted indeed that the Lord is good, a quote from Psalm 34 eight babies, of course grow by drinking milk, lots of it. That's what Christians need to do. Peter says with the word, imagine if a mother only fed her baby one day a week, what would happen to that baby?

Well, if it even survived, it would likely grow up malnourished with perhaps serious growth defects. The same thing happens with a Christian that is not nourished continually and often on the word. Peter in these verses is going to give you three qualities of the word that explain why the word is so necessary to our lives.

First, he says, the word is imperishable. That was actually at the end of the last chapter, verse 23, Peter says, you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable. And then he continues, all flesh is like grass and all of its glory, like the flower of grass, the grass withers and the flower fails, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Everything else in the world, Peter says is temporary, but God's word is forever. If you build your life on anything else, the approval of people, the strength of your family ties, the love of your spouse, your financial security, well, then you'll constantly feel insecure and continually anxious, whatever it is, whatever you build your life on eventually will fade. And so if your life is built on that thing that fades, then you along with that will fade also.

And the result will be anxiety and constant insecurity. The only way Peter says to find permanence in your life is to build it on something permanent. And that's the imperishable word of God. Second thing he says is the word is living. The Bible is not just a book of knowledge, of doctrine, of theological truths. It's the living, breathing voice of God. In this book, you encounter his very voice, the same voice that created the stars, that healed lepers, that gave sight to the blind, raised the dead. The scripture is not just about learning ancient truths. It is that everything in it is true. It's all the word of God, but the scripture is about God speaking to you in real time with real direction and putting that kind of life into your soul.

Without that voice of God in your life, your soul will shrivel and die. Third, Peter says the word gives you confidence. Go back to verse three in chapter two. You see where he says, in the word you have tasted that the Lord is good. Let me give you a little interpretive tip to help you read 1 Peter. Throughout the book of 1 Peter, Peter interchanges the word of God and the person of Jesus rather seamlessly. For example, at the end of chapter one, Peter's talking about building our lives on the word.

And then in chapter two, he just shifts to the rock we build on being Jesus. For Peter, the word and Jesus are the same. In the word of the gospel, you meet Jesus, the person who gives you a taste of the goodness of God and teaches you that in all things, you can trust him because in him, you know that the Lord is good.

For example, in Jesus, you see that at your worst moment, Jesus still loved them, pursued you, and you know that if he loved you then, he will never leave or forsake you now. So Peter says, you got to nourish yourself constantly on that imperishable living good gospel word. For some of you, I'm sad to say the only Bible that you get is from me.

In fact, let me just ask, do you do a quiet time? Do you have a daily time that you pour the word into you? If not, I can guarantee you that you are shriveling up spiritually. I don't care how long you've been a Christian or how many facts you know, how many books you read or what. If you're not hearing the voice of God on a regular basis through his word, your soul is shriveling. You need the constant intake of the imperishable life-giving word of God. Listen, 10% of everything Jesus has recorded as saying in the Bible was a quotation of previous scripture. 10%.

He was saturated in scripture, just flowed out of him. Is that true of you also? Are you looking for something to celebrate these days? Well, see right here, you got it, right? It's right on your nightstand.

This good news is even better than anything that John Krasinski from the office can bring to you. So imbibe the word. Listen, before we go on to number two, let's do real talk for just a minute. What if you just don't feel it? What if you're sitting there right now and say, I don't want to crave the word, but I don't.

I don't desire it the way a newborn infant desires milk. Here's a little prayer I learned from John Piper that I found helpful when I feel like that, and that's true sometimes. He calls it praying the IOUs. These phrases are all taken directly from the Psalms, and they're great things to pray when you feel dry spiritually. I incline my heart to your understanding. Oh, open my eyes that I may see wonderful things out of your word. You unite my heart to fear your name.

S, satisfy me this morning with your unfailing love. So number two, after we imbibe the word, Peter tells us, establish your foundation. He's talking about on Jesus verses five and six. You yourselves, he says, you yourselves as living stones, a spiritual house, or being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, for it stands in scripture. See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame, a quote from Isaiah 28. Part of imbibing the word is establishing your foundation. A foundation, of course, is what you build the rest of your life on. A key word to underline in these verses is that word cornerstone. Now, I am not a builder.

I will freely admit that, but I do know this. The cornerstone is the most important stone, the foundation stone in the whole building. The cornerstone holds together all the other stones. All of them eventually tie back into that cornerstone, and if the cornerstone is stable, then the rest of the building is going to be okay. Martin Luther, commenting on this passage, said that for each of us, our lives have a cornerstone. Your cornerstone, he said, is whatever you build the rest of your life on. It's your anchor.

It's your foundation. It's what you turn back to when other parts of life crumble around you. In other words, when life falls apart for you, what do you retreat into? Where's your heart go to tell yourself that things are going to be okay in the future? Do you find yourself, for example, thinking, well, I still got plenty of money, so I'll probably be okay. Well, if that's what you think, then money is probably your cornerstone.

Do you find your heart thinking, well, at least I have a strong family, and if we're together, we can get through anything. Well, if that's the case, then marriage and family are likely your cornerstone. Peter tells us that if your cornerstone is anything else except for Jesus, then your life is going to be characterized by instability.

It's going to be manifested in all those things. Peter listed out in verse 1, malice and hatred and envy and jealousy of others and deceit, lying to make yourself look better, hypocrisy, slander, codependency, and many other things. Look at what he says, in fact, in verse 7, so honor, which means longevity and legacy and success, that'll come to you who believe and make Jesus your cornerstone. But for the unbelieving, well, the stone that the builders rejected, Jesus, that one has been made the chief cornerstone. A quote from Psalm 118, Jesus will be, verse 8, a stone you either build your life on or one that becomes a stone that you stumble over, a rock to trip over. Number 3, after you imbibe the word and after you establish your foundation, number 3, you embrace your identity.

That's verse 9. But you are, Peter says, this is who you are now. You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession. Establishing your foundation is going to lead you to embracing this new identity. I want to talk for just a moment about this massively important concept of identity, self-identity. Identity, simply defined, is the self-definition you live with of who you are, what your value is, and the role that you're here to play. I've always found Clayton King's definition of identity really helpful. Identity, he says, is what the most important person and the most important people in your life think about you. The question is, who is that for you?

Who is the person or group of people that what they think about you is your identity? Most of us live our whole lives plagued with the question, am I enough? Am I enough for those people?

And trying to prove to ourselves and to others that we are enough. Am I man enough? Am I strong enough?

Am I smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, good enough? And we live in a culture that seems designed to tell us that we're not enough and then to make money off of us because we feel like we're not enough. The point of just about every advertisement that you see on TV is that you're not enough.

You're not a good enough mom unless you use this brand. You're not good enough unless whatever they convince you that you need to buy so that you can line their pockets with your money so that they will have enough, right? Whatever it is, you're not enough. We hear it all day, every day, you're not blank enough.

And even if you feel like you are enough right now, you live with the fear that one day you won't be. Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of his generation, but one day, one day he will be surpassed and forgotten. Michael Phelps was the greatest swimmer, but that's not going to last forever. My family loves the movie, The Greatest Showman. It's the fictional account of P.T. Barnum's rise to success. There's this really moving scene where his prospective father-in-law tells him he will never be good enough for his daughter. He says, she'll see that and one day she'll come back.

She'll grow tired of the poor, miserable life that you're going to give her. Well, see, that played to a very deep insecurity that P.T. Barnum had, one that really we all have. So no matter how successful Barnum was, he never really felt satisfied.

His wife begged him to realize that he was good enough, but he just couldn't shake it. The American College Health Association has noted the rising anxiety in this generation of students that is entering college. And they say it's because the primary message children receive now is that they better be the best at everything or they're just not going to make it. It's made exponentially worse by social media, Instagram, because everybody on those platforms creates a fake best version of themselves to compete with everybody else's fake version.

And everybody's afraid to reveal their inadequacies and their insecurities. Peter tells us that we can stop this frantic race to the top. He says, because Jesus is our foundation, you got a new identity, right? You're a chosen race, he says. God chose you to be in his family.

What greater place of privilege is there than that? And here's what's more, he says, you're a royal priesthood. In Israel, the chosen people, there was a specially chosen line of royalty, the line of Judah. They were the chosen within the chosen. And there was another separate specially chosen line of priesthood.

That was the line of Levi. Peter says that in Jesus, you're actually both of those. You're the chosen of the chosen of the chosen, right?

You can't get into a higher place of privilege. He continues, you're a people for his own possession. You're a value possession that Jesus purchased with his blood of all the things that he wanted. He shed his blood to get you. The King of Kings has set his affection on you.

And he has a plan for you. Friend, what more do you need to feel like you are enough? You are not enough because you're more remarkable than somebody else or because you got to the top faster or because you're better. You're enough because of who loves you, because of who stands behind you and because of who has put you into service. Listen, you will never win enough to feel like you are enough. The good news is that you don't need to. Jesus won for you.

He values you and promises he has a plan to use you for good. And that is enough. Let me show you this real quick.

This really helped me. You got to choose where you're going to build your identity. And maybe it's out here in this external sphere. It's because you're smart enough or pretty enough or strong enough, athletic, popular, rich, righteous enough, whatever. You got something that says I'm enough. Well, if that is the case, you're always going to be insecure and fearful of who is more than you on these things. But if you build your identity in here because you are in Christ, you will be secure. Build your identity on the outer circle. You will always be insecure.

Build it on the inner circle and you'll become a rock that can weather any storm and who makes a positive contribution to the world because you become a living stone built up in his temple, channeling the life and the purposes of God in you and for you. Listen, let me say this before we move on to our last point, because I think some of you may desperately need to hear this. You need to release yourself from the self-imposed obligation to be enough for others. You're never going to be wife enough to save him, ladies.

Man, you can't be husband enough to keep her home at night. Sons, you can't be son enough to make your insecure daddy proud. Ladies, you won't ever be daughter enough to please your pride-filled parents. You can't be their savior. They need Jesus to fill that insecurity in their lives. You just need to be who God made you to be and fulfill his purpose in your life and let his affirmation and approval be your identity.

That'll be enough. Number four, Peter says, excel at your purpose. This is at the end of verse nine. So that you may, he says, proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. Once you imbibe the word, once you establish your foundation and then embrace your identity, well then you're ready to live out, to excel at your purpose. Our job, Peter says, our role is to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us from darkness to light.

I love Peter's imagery here. In Genesis, God created the world. The Latin phrase is ex nihilo, means out of nothing. There was nothing. And then God spoke and created everything, nothing, everything. Peter says, that's what happened to you in salvation.

You were completely unrighteous. You were spiritually dead. And then God spoke and made you righteous and alive, just like there was darkness and there became light. So you were unrighteous and God made you righteous and alive. You are to proclaim that.

He reminds him in verse 11. He's like, we're just sojourners and exiles. You're just passing through. So of course we don't care how many people know our name.

We're just passing through. We only care about how many people know his name. Let me close with Peter's warning here. Peter says that this word, this hope, this new identity is offered to you freely in Jesus, the cornerstone, if you'll just receive it. He's ready for all who would receive him. But if you don't receive him, that cornerstone, Peter warns you, he turns into the rock that crushes you.

It's like C.S. Lewis used to say, there are only two categories of people. There are those who become insanely happy in Jesus and then those who find Jesus to be their worst enemy. Here's how Charles Spurgeon said that to his congregation in 1856.

And with this, I close. He who would place himself in front of a fast moving railway car will be crushed and will be just as foolish as you who are opposing the gospel. If the gospel is true, remember the truth is mighty and must prevail. Who are you to attempt to stand against it? You will be crushed.

And let me tell you, when the railway car runs over you, the will will not be raised even an inch by your size. For what are you? The tiny gnat, a creeping worm, which that will will crush to less than nothing and not leave you even a name as having ever been an opponent of the gospel. Let all the infidels in the world know assuredly that the gospel will win its way, whatever they may do. Poor creatures, their efforts to oppose the gospel are not even worthy of our notice.

And we need not fear that they can stop the truth. They're like a gnat who thinks he can quench the sun. Go, tiny insect, and do it if you can. You will only burn your wings and die. Likewise, there may be a fly who thinks they could drink the ocean dry. Drink the ocean if you can, old fly.

More likely you will sink in it and it will drink you. Peter says you have a choice. You come to the rock who is Jesus and he will establish your life and give you eternal happiness forever. Or you oppose him and he becomes the rock that crushes you.

Which category are you in? Are you in that category of those who have found security and identity in him? And are you learning to be insanely happy in him? Or have you made yourself his enemy? Have you surrendered your life to Christ and his purposes?

What kind of person are you? Are you one who has found your security and identity in Christ? Or have you made yourself his enemy? Have you surrendered your life to Christ and his purposes? If not, do so right now. We'd love to hear from you.

If you have any questions about what this means, be sure to reach out to us online at jdgrier.com. JD, as we come to the end of this year, we all know how it feels for everything in our lives to suddenly become uncertain. Yeah, you know, Molly, for a lot of people, Christmas is tough, even in normal years. This year especially, I think a lot of us feel like almost a sense of uncertainty and I've heard some describe it as almost like darkness.

Like, what's going to happen in the future? It's what makes the first Christmas and the promises that go along with that that much more relevant. Isaiah said that that Christmas was about the people sitting in darkness seeing a great light. And I wrote a book called Searching for Christmas that tries to get behind the manger scenes and behind the holiday stuff and just say, God was saying something profound here, something that we instinctively start to know at Christmas, something we yearn for, and that is that sense of fulfillment and peace and family and joy and hope We'd love to give you a couple copies of this book, one for you and the one for you to give away. What a great Christmas present it can make to show somebody the real meaning behind all this. So if you go to jdgrier.com, you become a gospel partner with us. We'll give you a couple copies of this book and I think you'll find it something that will help you rejoice more in who Jesus is this Christmas and maybe help introduce somebody or help them get to know him better also. Yeah, we'd love to have you as a partner here in our ministry. Our study this month has certainly give us reason to look back at where we've been this year, but also to look ahead at greater things to come.

And Thanksgiving and Christmas certainly make that list as we remember all that we truly have to be grateful for this year. One of the ways that we're celebrating this truth is through Pastor JD's new book titled Searching for Christmas. This brand new resource is our gift to you today when you donate to support this ministry at the suggested level of $25 or more. And like JD said, we'll send you two copies, one to keep and one to give away. Ask for Searching for Christmas when you give by calling 866-335-5220. That's 866-335-5220.

Or you can give and request the book online at jdgrier.com. I'm Molly Vitevich inviting you to join us tomorrow when Pastor JD teaches the two crucial changes of perspective that we must have to thrive in the world. Just two resolutions we need to make. That's it. Discover what they are when you enter Tuesday to summit life with JD Grier. Today's program was produced and sponsored by JD Grier Ministries.