Everyone Mature in Christ

According to Offers.com, here’s what people will make new years resolutions about this year (they track this to see if they can predict consumer spending based on their resolutions):

Exercise more/lose weight – 38%

Save money- 37%

Travel – 24%

Get a new job/hobby – 12%

Make new friends – 11%

Find love – 7%

Other – 3%

None of those things are necessarily bad… but that list leaves me feeling a little… empty. Does it feel that way to you?

Like, these things have some earthly value… most of them will only last as long as your will-power allows… (and if you have some of these goals for 2019, don’t hear me discouraging you...)

(and if you have some of these goals for 2019, don’t hear me discouraging you...)

But I want to challenge you this morning to think beyond the typical resolutions… and consider some life commitments that are the Holy Spirit’s desires for you… commitments that he has promised to help you fulfill in his power if you seek him.

A lot of times, we pursue a commitments with a little bit of skepticism because in the past, we’ve failed at keeping our commitments.

But today is not about making vain resolutions that you will fail to keep. Today is about prayerfully and dependently looking at God’s desire for every follower of Jesus Christ and then intentionally making some commitments that will help us grow.

Here’s what God wants for you this year:

Big Idea: Make intentional commitments to grow in maturity in Christ.

Read

Three Ongoing Steps to Grow Mature in Christ

Three Parts to Maturity in Christ

Ground maturity in the hope of Christ’s presence in his church.

Maturity’s goal is for EVERYONE to be fully established in Christ.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

If it sounds like we are jumping into the middle of a thought, it’s because we are! So who is Paul talking about when he says, “them”? And what is this rich and glorious “mystery” that he made known to the Gentiles?

Paul is in the middle of giving his purpose statement for his ministry: He’s saying, “I have suffered… I have given my life… for the sake of Christ’s body… the church. He says, “I have considered myself a minister… really a slave or bondservant of the church.” And here’s why:

Because I have been entrusted with an incredible stewardship from God for you. He’s given me a job: to make the word of God FULLY KNOWN.”

To bring full understanding to the beautiful rich truths of God’s word.

You see, for thousands of years, when people would pick up their Old Testaments, there was this BIG mystery they were missing... they could not understand what Paul was about to reveal...

But NOW God had given Paul this special job to reveal this mystery… to make it FULLY known... specifically to the saints… to the church of Jesus Christ who have been made holy… set apart for God’s purposes.

That’s who “them” is in verse 27… the set apart church of Jesus Christ.

So what was this rich, glorious mystery? Christ in you, the hope of glory.

“Them” is the “saints” (the set apart ones) who have now received the revelation of the glorious riches of Christ. The mystery is also that these riches have been given to the Gentiles. “Them” is “US”… Christ’s church!

…The mystery is that the glory of the Messiah is now present in his church… and that fact gives his church HOPE of a glorious eternity with God.

He makes this personal for the Colossian church, which was mostly filled with Gentiles who were being told that they didn’t belong to God… he says the mystery is “Christ in YOU is the hope of glory.”

Now the Gentiles are gathered into this new body called the church and get to experience the presence of God…

And Paul then makes this specific for the Colossian church… he says, “Christ in YOU is the hope of glory.”

The “you” there is plural… it’s the church… Jews and Gentiles now experiencing the glory of the risen Chrrist in their midst...

The certain expectation that God is going to finish his work and bring his people into his glory forever is that Christ is powerfully present among his church NOW.

And that’s our hope too… Our only hope for growing to maturity is that Christ is present in us TOGETHER as his church.

Our only hope for growing to maturity is that Christ is present in us TOGETHER as his church.

Yes, the Spirit indwells every believer individually… but God’s vision is to create a mature PEOPLE of all his saints together.

God at work in and through his church…

And yes, he indwells every believer by his Spirit individually… but God’s vision is to create a mature PEOPLE of all his saints together.

Maturity is grounded in the hope of Christ in you.

Growing to maturity is a corporate effort.

God doesn’t just have an individual vision for your life this year… he sees you as a part of a whole.

That understanding is ABSOLUTELY essential for making some commitments to growing in maturity this year. You have to know that maturity is a corporate effort.

Ephesians chapter 4 says it this way:

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We aren’t mature until we are ALL mature.

I was sick this past week… had a bad cold… and it was like my face was a faucet… but that didn’t just affect my face… I was so exhausted that on Thursday night I fell asleep on the couch at 7:15 in the evening. When one part is sick… the whole body is sick.

And the church is a body… and that means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

That means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

We are a body… and that means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

That means my spiritual growth affects you, and yours affects me.

But this is also true: our potential is as great as the one who is our head.

God has designed us to grow together as a body in response to the proclamation of truth.

Jesus is described in this verse in Ephesians the head of the church… and we are all learning together how to respond as his body to the head.

According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, “Head” there refers to “the dynamic force that provides its direction and unity” (Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Head. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 936). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Head. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 936). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

God has designed it so that the parts of the body to grow together in response to Jesus as his truth is spoken within the body.

See that there in the Ephesians passage?? Speaking the truth in LOVE we grow up in every way into him who is the head...

That’s exactly what Paul is saying to the Colossian church: we grow in maturity as Christ is present with us… controlling us together as his truth… and we grow in response to his truth proclaimed.

This is the second ongoing step toward maturity that I want you to see today:

Grow maturity through receiving the proclamation of Jesus.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Paul says that everyone must be presented mature in Christ...

The picture there is of Paul showing Jesus the results of his stewardship on the day of final judgment.

Here’s the mature body… everyone is mature… every part is working properly.

And he says he is getting ready for that day by proclaiming Christ to EVERYONE (that’s how he’s going to present everyone mature) - he breaks that down into two parts: warning and teaching. It’s like the difference between these two signs:

Proclaim - two parts: warning and teaching

Maturity’s goal is for EVERYONE to be fully established in Christ.

Sometimes we need the sign on the right… we need the sign that TEACHES us that there is a one way street and we need to know which way to go. We need to be taught the way of Christ.

But sometimes, usually because we’ve missed the sign on the right... we need the sign on the left… we need warned: “WRONG WAY!” Sometimes we need a warning that we are headed the wrong way down the wrong way street. We need someone to get our attention and help us see that the way to glory is a one way street and his name is Jesus.

Sometimes we need taught. We need our eyes opened to see how Jesus is central to everything. We need help seeing what we do not understand.

So as you consider your commitments in 2018, be sure to include some commitments that intentionally get you around God’s word. Here are some ways we are trying to do that as a church this year:

Starting NEXT week... Series in 1 Peter - Living with Hope

GCs (meet this week) - This is where we get to speak the truth in love to one another. This year, we are going to be working on some ways to improve that “one another” element as we grow in gospel-centered accountability and encouraging one another with the word.

GCs meet this week

Student retreat sign-up going on… teens and kids, what I’m talking about today is not just an adult thing. You don’t wait until you are an adult to grow to maturity in Christ. So make some commitments today about getting around God’s word. The retreat is one great way to do that…

Financial Stewardship - Christmas Giving @ Oak Hill - see bulletin insert (explain fund and giving projects... include the 3 "Nepal Christmas Giving" Slides after "Christmas Giving" slide in Focal Points)

Student retreat sign-up going on...

...but it will also require ongoing discipleship. Maybe that’s making sure you participate fully in the NextGen discipleship hour.

Student retreat sign-up going on...

…or maybe it will mean asking an adult to be your mentor...

… maybe for some of you taking the next step in maturity will be making your faith your own through baptism...

First Principles… there’s a sign-up in the lobby... Participating in the Mission of the Church… followed by “Cultivating Habits of the Heart” followed by an equipping class on Evangelism.

First Principles sign-up in the lobby... NextGen Discipleship hour

Building on what we preached last Sunday…

You are Loved!

Expectation: that we don’t just LEARN about these things… but we put them into practice.

Four simple ways that we have planned to grow TOGETHER with Christ’s body… but it’s going to take this last step … effort.

Give maturity the effort that it deserves.

Maturity doesn’t just happen. It requires our own effort… it requires the effort of spiritual leaders…

So many people are willing to give a lot of effort to their

Paul uses two words that I wish he didn’t use:

Toil - the Greek word means to work until you are tired.

And maturity is something that we pursue TOGETHER because the goal is for EVERYONE to be mature in Christ.

Struggle - the Greek word is agōnizomai - it’s where we get our word “agonize”… Paul says I agonize over presenting you mature in Christ.

This is what keeps us as church leaders up at night… we have been given a stewardship… we have been entrusted with this precious part of Christ’s church...

And we have to give an account for the souls entrusted to our care…

And so my commitment to you this year is to work hard to proclaim Christ, warning and teaching everyone using the wisdom of God in his word as my foundation...

But you need to make some commitments too...

I’m pretty sure Paul expected some fruit for his labor… in fact, just 6 verses later, he urges them to walk in Christ as they received him.

in fact, in the next verse, he urges them to walk in Christ as they received him.

He urges them to be grounded in the hope of being in Christ.

And he urges them to be “built up” in Christ and established in the faith… in the teaching.

Maturity takes effort.

And the good news is that God will POWERFULLY give you the energy you need to produce that effort.

We don’t work at this alone.

Christ in us is the hope of glory.

So with that knowledge, and with that hope, what does God want for your 2019?

Specifically, how does he want to grow you to maturity in Christ together as a body here at Oak Hill?

If you are visiting with us and you have a church, consider how he wants to grow you in your church.

If you are visiting with us and you do NOT have a church, God wants you to grow as part of a local expression of his body.

It starts with knowing Jesus… and one of our leaders would love to talk to you if that is you...

And then the next step is committing to a local expression of his body… if you haven’t been baptized that’s where it starts for you...

And from there, growing in maturity means responding to the way of a disciple of Jesus Christ together with the local church...

Inside the insert in your bulletin, there is a more full description of what it looks like to follow in Christ’s way… to be a disciple of Jesus…

This is a summary of our membership statements… and it’s meant to give you a snapshot of what we are growing into as disciples...

No one has arrived here…

And so this is a tool for you to use to make some growth commitments for the next year...

Maybe its some things that you are already doing… you just want to give them full attention...

Maybe it is a new habit that needs to be integrated into your life...

We’re going to take some time now for you to get started on prayerfully considering those things…

Read over the profile of a disciple and then start working out some commitments for each area of life.

Consider how others will play a role in your maturity and how you will play a role in the maturity of others.

And at the bottom of the tool is a space to write out some God-sized prayers… we must seek the power of God if we are going to fulfill the plans of God.

Inside flap:

When making growth commitments, ask yourself,

1. “Which current habits in my life help my growth in Christ and must be maintained or increased?”

2. “Which current habits in my life hinder or slow my growth in Christ and need to be removed or decreased?”

3. “Which new habits could be added to my life to help facilitate growth in Christ?

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