Have You Stopped Growing?

Introduction

Well, if you’ve been with us in these first two hours this morning, you know why in the previous days and weeks we’ve been announcing that we had a man of exceptional ability to speak to us in this particular week of special gospel preaching. Brother Kevin Clark is a man of exceptional ability. And in fact, if you didn’t hear either the lessons at the 9 o’clock hour or the 10 o’clock hour, then I suggest that you try to listen to them. You can do that either by going to our website or you can fill out your name on a card at the back and Brother Michael make you a a uh some kind of a tape, disc or whatever it is that you might need. Now I don’t want Brother Clark to get the big head, so I told him in between that if he’d keep on practicing one day he’d make a good preacher.

But frankly, you know he’s already there. And we’re so blessed to have him with us. His wife Jacqueline would be with us also, but they are the parents of three daughters. And being school time, that’s why, of course, you had to stay home in Birmingham with the girls and their school. But we’re thankful that he has the time to come and be with us as well. We’ve also said, and many of you know that he is an attorney in Birmingham. And I don’t know that I’d ever need him, but if I if I had some reason for court, I think if he does anything like preaching, what a what an outstanding lawyer he must be. I’d like him on my side, that’s for sure. But more than that, as the Bible says, out of the heart, the mouth speaketh.

If you’ve been listening to him this morning, you know from his heart it’s filled with the Word of God. And he has a living message that’s so very important for us. We welcome Brother Clark. Thank you for being with us. I have to apologize to you. I didn’t take any time at all to introduce myself in the first two services. That was primarily because I was nervous about coming in on time. If you know anything about my preaching, I have a tendency to go along. Let me give you an example on that. I was at a congregation, and brother had invited me to come. They were struggling with some things about church authority and institutionalism. And so the brother understood the truth and wanted to encourage the brethren with somebody else.

You know, sometimes an unfamiliar voice saying the same message can be effective. So I came over there and I preached everything I knew to preach. Carrot the stick and then some. And I looked up at the clock, and uh, you know, I started at 11 30. I thought it said 12:30. It actually said 1.30. I’ve been preaching for two hours straight. It was so bad there was a sister there that was diabetic. She had to leave, get something to eat. She really wanted to stay, but she just couldn’t hang in there. Then one of the brothers at the end said, Brother Clark, we want to thank you for those lessons, all three of them. I said, I got the point, brother. It was a long time before I was invited back there.

So now you know why I was so nervous about this morning. I just got to it very quickly. But I do appreciate being here. And as was mentioned, I’m from Birmingham and my wife Jack, and we’ve been married for about 18 years and really have enjoyed being together. She’s a strong, faithful woman. And uh one quick uh correction, Brother Harkwright, I’ve got a son, so he might he might take issue with being called a girl. But you’re close. I got two girls, Jasmine, who’s 10 in the fifth grade, and the twins, Brooke and Blake, fraternal, they’re both in second grade, and uh they’re a wonderful uh crew, and we’ve really enjoyed being blessed, uh, as the Bible says, children are heritage from the Lord. And uh, it’s interesting in getting here, it’s always the case.

I you probably have some people here that are like this. I admire these people from afar. People just had their life together. Everything is just in place. Everything is well planned. They never seem to get stressed out. They’re never anxious. Everything is just right. That’s not me. I’m the antithesis of that. In fact, uh, I remember uh one of our partners talking about another lawyer saying, you know, that guy practiced law just one step ahead of disaster. And I thought, that’s my whole life. But uh consistent with that, as I was leaving, going to the airport, I was rushing as always, and I and Sister Harkwright and I have had this conversation. I have a bad habit of losing my phone. So make sure every time you see me, Brother Clark, you have your phone.

So I was driving, going to the airport, and I realized I don’t have my phone. And so that’s the most important thing. So I turn around, I come back, and I’m looking for my phone, and I go back through the house, and while looking for my phone, I realized that my bag that has everything, my clothes, my toiletries, you can name it, is sitting there on the bed. I was about to go to the airport and have nothing that I needed. And so I’m very glad. I’m very glad that I thought that I’d left my phone. In actuality, my phone had slipped off in my car. So it all worked out for the best. Uh but it was it was a crazy trip. And then I I you know, this makes all the sense in the world to you.

I fly from Birmingham to Orlando through Chicago. Yeah, that makes sense from Southwest perspective. And so that’s what I did. And everything was fine, and I get on the flight from Chicago to Orlando, and I’m just really thirsty, and I’m thinking, well, that’s fine. I didn’t buy anything, but you know, they’re always gonna have refreshments and you know, they have little snacks and things, and so I’m sitting there and I’m waiting, and I’m waiting and I’m waiting, and I see the first part, I’m in the back part, the first part of the plane, lady is passing out the snacks, I’m getting excited and keep looking around and keep looking around, and she’s not coming, and lady comes and gives them drinks, and I’m looking around, our lady doesn’t come.

We’re not gonna get and then about that time the plane starts to dip a little bit. Oh no. I said, and I really do I said, God, please take care of the turbulence because uh I know that means they’re gonna suspend drink service, and sure enough, they suspended drink service. Now you may say, Well, that’s a small thing. Hey, God is the God of the small things. I pray to God for whatever I need, and hopefully he’ll say yes. And so I didn’t get that service at that point. So about 30 minutes later, uh, they resume the service. I’m excited now that I’m going to get my drink. And so I’m just waiting, I’m waiting. Here comes the lady. She and she’s taking my drink over, and she’s got all those drinks up.

Oh, here it comes. And she looks down at me. She looks at her paper again. She looks down at me. Sir, I’m sorry, I forgot your drink. I’ll have to go back and get in the back and get it. I just can’t get a drink. But but I tell you what, she made up for it because I wanted some orange juice. She gave me some, and then she came back. Sir, can I get you some more? And she gave me some more. She gave me the whole can. So I thought, okay. Everything’s fine. So I had my drink and got to the airport, and the Hark Riders took me out, and we had a fantastic meal. And more important than the physical sustenance, we had an opportunity to spiritually encourage one another.

What a blessing and privilege it is. The Harkriters, their work is known the world over. And uh when I was asked by Brother Harkwriter to come here, I just can’t tell you how thrilled I was. That’s just that’s an invitation that you can’t turn down. And in fact, I’ll tell you this. Most of the time when I uh preach out-of-town meetings, uh, I do weekend meetings. I do you know Friday, Saturday, Sunday, just because my schedule is real difficult to do that, but I can’t tell Brother Harkwriter no. If he if he said come for two weeks, I’d be here for two weeks. Uh, I just I think the world of him and what he means to the to the brotherhood. So I thank you, brother and sister, for all your work over the years.

In congregations that I have observed in, you’ve probably seen this, we spend a lot of time with our young people having them get ready for Bible class. And we emphasize the importance of being prepared for Bible class, studying the lessons, going through the work works, memorizing verses that are assigned. And uh, and it’s always neat to see the progression. We spend a lot of time and thought about the curriculum and how uh at five they know some things about the Bible, but by ten, they know far more, and by fifteen, even more. There’s a progression. And maybe you’re hitting the same things, but you’re hitting it each time, each pass with more detail, with more meat, more sustenance. And so we see literally the growth of these children in the Lord.

We see them expand their knowledge and the understanding. We see the maturity, we see the fruit of that word in their lives and how they conduct themselves, not only in the assembly, but also in their uh school places, in their communities. And it’s interesting to me that we put so much emphasis on that, and yet sometimes they they get to the ultimate, which is the adult class. They’ve graduated, they’ve gone through all that, and they get to the adult class, and there are no quizzes, there are no tests, uh, there’s no accountability, and we just expect everybody, and some people just come into church and they hadn’t studied a lick and they don’t know anything about the scripture, and there are comments that are made, and the comments are as true as the day as long, but they have absolutely nothing to do with the text under consideration.

And so we have a lot of that. I’ve also wondered why do we emphasize so much growth among our young people, and then we forget that once you get adulthood, well, that’s just not a big deal. And we don’t have systems in place, which by the way, if you’re in one of my Bible classes, we do do memory work. And don’t give me that thing, oh, I’m so far out of school, and I’m too old to do that. One of the best students, two best students I ever had, Bob and Joey Wilson, they were in their late 70s, early 80s, and they got the memory work. So don’t tell me that. You work on it, we’ll get it done. And I understand there are things that make it challenging.

But the point is this: we need to hold each other accountable for growth. And it’s not just growth in the teenage years, it’s not just growth in children. We, as God’s people, are expected to continue to grow. Growth is not a one-time thing, we don’t plateau. And I hope that I can convince you from the scriptures that if growth is not a part of your walk with God, if it’s not an active part of your life, that’s something you must change and you must change now. It’s important. And so that is the title of the sermon this morning. Have you stopped growing? Have you stopped growing? And if the answer to that question is yes, don’t look at the elders. Don’t look at the preacher. Don’t look at the Bible class teachers.

1. You Must First Be Made Alive in Christ

If the answer to that question is no, there’s one place to look. Get you a mirror and look at yourself. Because it’s your responsibility to grow. It’s my responsibility to grow. And we can do it. God has given us everything that we need to promote spiritual growth. We just need to reach out and take advantage of it. So the question is, have you stopped growing? But the first point we want to make, and this is a very important point. The first point we want to make is you must first be made alive in Christ before you can start to grow. There’s no need in talking about growth unless you first have been made alive in Christ. What do I mean? Look at Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 10.

Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 10. You must first be made alive in Christ before you can grow. Ephesians, the second chapter, verses 1 through 10. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 10. The Bible says this. And you he made alive. Who were dead in trespasses and sins. In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we’re by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved. And raised us up together. And made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Now I want you to notice that he’s talking to Christian people here. He’s not talking to people of the world. And he says to Christian people, those who have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, he says that do you know we once were dead in our trespasses.

And we had to be made alive in what? In Christ. And so we can’t talk about growth. We can’t talk about maturity. We can’t talk about completion. We can’t talk about perfection unless we first are made alive in Christ. We must be convinced that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And we must be convinced of the severity of that. You know, people think sin is not a big deal. A lot of people don’t even use the word anymore. It’s out of their vocabulary. You can’t use sin without immediate getting all over you. What do you mean, sin? What is that? Well, sin is transgression of God’s law. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a sin of commission, something the Lord told us to do and we don’t do it, or told us not to do and we do it, or a sin of omission, something that the Lord says we ought to do and we don’t.

Whatever it is, when we commit that sin, that first sin, that one sin, there’s only one just dessert for us. You know what that is, right? It’s hell. What? That’s how serious. Oh, Kevin, how can I do something in seconds that would merit eternal damnation? Because that’s how serious sin is. We don’t understand that sometimes. And we because, oh, everybody does, it’s not a big deal. It is a big deal. And we need to be convinced of that. And Paul is reminding these Christians, that’s where we all were. We all were dead in our trespasses until what? God made us alive. And it’s amazing that He raised us up, even when we were dead in our trespasses, even when we, as Romans 5 says, were enemies to God.

We need to be reminded of that. There’s no spiritual growth. There’s no developing in Christ. There’s no maturing in Christ unless we’re first made alive. And let us make sure that our friends and our neighbors and our co-workers and our colleagues in school and our teachers and our supervisors and our managers know that. There’s no real growth in Christ until he and he alone has made us alive. Yet another reason why we have to spread the message. People say, Well, I’m growing. No, you’re not growing. I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re not growing in Christ. Why? You’ve got to be made alive in order to be growing in Christ. And so the first step, have you stopped growing? First of all, are you alive in the first place?

2. Spiritual Growth Is a Commandment, Not an Option

And what I’m asking is, have you obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you heard? Have you believed? Have you confessed? Have you repented? Have you been baptized into Christ and been made a new creature? Then and then alone can you truly start growing? But let me give you a second point. And that’s this. Spiritual growth is a commandment, not an option. Spiritual growth is a commandment, not an option. Look over in 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 14 through 18. 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 14 through 18. Spiritual growth is a commandment, not an option. 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 14 through 18. 2 Peter, the third chapter, verses 14 through 18. The Bible says this. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things. He’s talking about the second coming of the Lord.

Beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent be found by him, Jesus, in peace, without spot and blameless. And consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures. He says in verse 17, you therefore beloved, since you know this beforehand. Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the air of the wicked. Now listen to verse 18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. What does he say at the end? Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That’s not aspirational. He’s not saying, well, that would be nice. This is just a nice closing piece, just a memorized word that we use, kind of a mantra, just go through to say. No, he’s giving a command. It’s in the imperative sense. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And if it’s a command of God, and it is, and we do not fulfill that command. What is it? 1 John 3 4. Sin is transgression of law. If you fail to do what God tells you to do, it is sin. If God tells you to grow and you don’t grow, what is it?

Sin. That’s a serious thing. Are we growing? We better be. Because God told us to grow. It’s incumbent upon us to grow. It’s our responsibility. As much as any part of the gospel, that’s a part of the gospel. We must grow in Christ. We must become more useful to God. We must grow in our capacity to serve God. Do we think about ourselves that way? We think about growth when it comes to secular things, don’t we? We think about growth in the classroom and the school system. We think about growth in terms of our jobs. And we have these evaluations and we’re trying to do better and we have goals and that sort of thing. And yet we’re so haphazard about our spirituality. We’re not very intentional about our growth.

3. God Expects His Children to Grow

But God says it’s a command that we must grow. And that’s why I ask the question are you? It’s an individual question. Are you growing? Or have you stopped growing? And if you stop growing, we need to repent of that. Because God demands. In fact, that’s the third point we’ll say. Very closely related. Not only does God say that spiritual growth is a commandment, God expects his children to grow. God expects his children to grow. Turn over to 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 12 through 16. First Timothy, the fourth chapter, verses 12 through 16. God expects his children to grow.

The Bible says this. Let no one despise your youth. But be an example to the believers in word and conduct and love and spirit and faith and purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on the hands of the eldership. Listen to this. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Why? That your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Don’t let anybody despise your youth. You’re a young person. Don’t let anybody put you on the sidelines. Don’t let anybody suggest to you that we don’t need you.

He says, Timothy, don’t let anybody despise your youth, but on the contrary, you be an example to all believers in word and conduct and purity and faith and truth and love. You be an example. You fulfill these principles in the sight of all so that they can be encouraged to likewise follow. But I love when he says, you know what, Timothy? Give attention to reading. Give attention to doctrine. Give attention to exhortation. He says, meditate on these things. He says, give yourselves entirely to them. Now we have a saying in America, all things in moderation, right? Oh, do some, but don’t get too involved in that. That’s not what Paul told Timothy. He said, give yourself entirely to them. Completely dedicate yourself to these things. And then what has he said?

That your progress may be evident to all. What’s he talking about there? Progress. That’s growth. That’s growth. He says, if you do these things, if you’re giving attention to reading, you’re giving attention to doctrine, you’re giving attention to exhortation, you’re meditating on these things. You’re investing of yourself in these things. No, it’s not happening. You’re going to grow, and know that people are going to see that growth. I hope that you’ve had the opportunity to be in a congregation. I’m sure that’s true here, where you’ve seen young people, young men and women just literally grow right in front of your eyes. And what a just a heartwarming thought it is.

And you can see the word of God just working on him and how he’s wiser beyond his years. Supposedly, this relationship between him and me is I’m supposed to be mentoring him, and we’ll go to lunch and we’ll have conversations, but he’s mentoring me. And he’s younger than me by a decade or more. Why? Because he’s growing. He’s feeding on that word. He’s studying at the feet of others. He is literally growing before our very eyes. And God expects that from his children. Let me say something. It’s not just young people. That principle doesn’t is not limited to young people. All of us are expected to grow. Look over Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through 16. Ephesians, the fourth chapter, verses 11 through 16. God expects growth from his children.

Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through 16. The Bible says this. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Why? For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Here’s our verse from earlier. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, does what?

Causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. God says, I’ve given you these things. I’ve given you these tools. The evangelists, the pastors, the teachers, all these tools are designed to do what? To equip us, individual Christians, for what? For the work of ministry. There’s work to be done, and the work is not being done just in these walls. The work is being done out there. We are edified. We are equipped. We are given the tools of our trade, and then we take those tools, we take those abilities out into the world and do the work of God there. You see that? And what’s the purpose of that? To grow, to develop, to have a better capacity to save more souls. We grow, we’re edified, we’re built up.

And God says, I’m giving these things to you for that very reason. So if we don’t grow, whose fault is it? It certainly isn’t God. God said, I gave you the things you need. If you do this right, every part is doing its share. And it’s promoting growth too. We can help each other to grow because we’re all working, we’re all doing our part. Are we growing? Well, God expects us to grow. And God has given us every reason to grow. Are you the kind of person that’s hungry for growth? Do you want to be around Christians? Do you want to hear the word of God? Do you look forward to opportunities to be able to sit at the feet of God’s word and learn more?

4. Spiritual Growth Will Prevent Us from Backsliding into Hell

We were just talking earlier about the fact that when we have to talk about, do I have to come to services? Do I have to come to Bible study? Hey, there’s something far larger at work than just the assembly. There’s a bigger problem than just coming to assembly. You got a heart problem. Because the person who understands this principle that I have to grow, that God expects me to grow, is always going to be hungry and thirsting and desiring opportunities to be exposed to that which is going to promote growth. You want to do that. You’re looking for opportunities actively to grow in Christ. Why? Because God commanded it. Why? Because God expects it. But let me give you another fourth thing about growth. Spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth will prevent us from backsliding into hell. Let me say that again. Spiritual growth will prevent us from backsliding into hell. Look at Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. We’ll start verse 9. Go down to chapter 6, verse 9. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 9. Spiritual growth will prevent us from backsliding into hell. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 9 down to Hebrews 6, verse 9. The Bible says this, Hebrews 5 9. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation. Talking about Jesus, to all who obey him. Called by God as high priest, according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God.

And you’ve come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But so the food belongs to those who are full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised and discerned both good and evil. Now, chapter 6, verse 1. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection. Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God and of doctrine of baptism, to laying on hands of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it’s impossible those who are once enlightened have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come if they fall away.

To renew them again in repentance since they crucified again for themselves the Son of God and put into an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it’s cultivated receives blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. He talks to some Christians. He says, Look, I’ve got more things to say about Christ. But I can’t because you become dull of hearing. Whose fault is that? They. It’s their fault. They become dull of hearing. He says, you know what? Y’all have been in the faith. Y’all have been in the church. Y’all have obeyed the gospel and been in the church long enough that by this time.

Notice that. That’s an interesting concept there. That over time, God is expecting this growth. Right? We talked about God expects growth through his children. He’s saying, you’ve been in the faith long enough that you should have grown to the point that you can what? That you can be teachers. Now here’s the problem. Two problems. He says, not only can you not do that, not only are you not qualified to be a teacher, not only are you not capable of teaching. He says, you know what? You need to be taught again the very first principles of Christ. You ought to be a college professor and you’ve got to go back to kindergarten. That’s embarrassing. And that’s what he said. Because you haven’t grown. You have now, you become dull of hearing.

You have not continued to progress. But notice that the growth is expected. In fact, he goes on in chapter 6 and says, and we want to go on to perfection if God will permit. And oh, we want to go, we don’t want to talk, lay the ABCs again. We’ve already done that. We should be done with it. Let’s move on. But he said, we’ve got some people that if you continue on this downward trajectory, you know where it’s going. And then he describes something that just really gives the religious world a tough time. He says, you know what? You can get to the point where even though you’ve been saved from your former sins, even though you’re a part of the body of Christ, you can get so far removed from Christ that you never come back.

And that can happen if they fall away. Somebody said, What about once saved, always saved? That’s false doctrine. Why? Because he says you can fall away. And then listen to that description. No question, he’s talking about saved people. You’re not talking about people of the world, because listen what he says. He says, those, verse 4 who are once enlightened. You don’t talk about somebody who’s an alien sinner as once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift. You don’t talk about somebody who’s an alien sinner having tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit’s not going to be a partaker of an alien sinner and have tasted the good word of God. That’s not a description of the alien sinner either.

And the powers of the age to come. If they fall away, and so I can lose my salvation. And if I get to this point, he says, I’m not coming back. I’m not coming back. Now you said, Well, that’s a negative message. That’s an awful message. Well, no, it’s a warning. It’s an admonition. And why do I say that? Because I didn’t read verse 9 on purpose. Now listen to verse 9. But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you. Yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. So what is he saying? You haven’t gotten to that point yet. We’re confident of better things concerning you. We’re confident of things. So he’s not saying that they’ve gotten to this point yet, but he’s saying you keep on this downward trajectory.

5. How Do I Grow? By the Word and Exercised Senses

You’re going to be there. So you better watch out. It’s a warning. And we if we have this idea that, well, I obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and I’m in the church of Christ, and that’s it. Just go ahead and punch my ticket to heaven. It doesn’t work that way. This is a warning of that. The salvation you once had can be lost. And so we better make sure that we’re growing. That’s how you prevent that. That’s how you prevent the backsliding into hell where you lose the salvation you once had. You continue to grow affirmatively. We’re trying to grow and be more and more fruitful for the master. Well, somebody will say, okay. I’m convinced that I need to grow. But how do I do it?

How do I grow? How do I affectuate growth? How do I promote growth? How do I stimulate growth? May I suggest, first of all, by the word of God. By the word of God, 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. You promote growth by the word of God. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. Listen to what the Bible says. 1 Peter 2, 1 through 3. 1 Peter 2, 1 through 3. Bible says this. Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, all evil speaking, as newborn babes, listen to this. Desire the pure milk of the Word. Why? That you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. I remember not too long ago, I was with a family that had a newborn.

And we were joking about that newborn had like a vice-like grip on that bottle. And once the newborn got the vice like grip, you weren’t getting that bottle out of his hands or his mouth. See, babies like that milk. Oh, it’s good. They desire it. They crave it. It’s important to them. And he says, like that babe that desires that milk. We desire what? The word of God. Does that describe us? Do we crave the word of God? Do we love the word of God? Is studying the word of God a pleasure, a delight? Or is it got to study the word of God, man? Done everything else I wanted to do, but I guess I’ve, you know, yeah, I’ll study for about five, ten minutes, but I’ll spend the rest of the best part of my day doing what I want to do.

But yeah, I got to. No, that’s not the attitude of somebody who loves it. I want God’s word. I love God’s word. I delight in God’s word. I enjoy it. I look forward to it. In fact, I’ve talked to some people who have been in that place where they didn’t like it so much. But they tried it. They started reading a little bit. Maybe they have one of those assigned readings where they’re going to read through the Bible in a year. And they start reading some and it starts to get to them. They start reading a little bit more. And maybe what was 10, 15 minutes will expand to 30 minutes, depending an hour. And I had one man tell me he got to the point where he just he would read on the job.

He didn’t even want to work. He just wanted to read the word of God. And I said, hey, that guy’s really good. I’m not telling anybody not to work. I understand there’s a place for that. But the point being is he just loved the word of God. But he didn’t start out with that. It took him a while to develop that. Try it. If you’re not there, read it. If you’re not there, study it. If you’re not there, meditate upon it. It’ll get to you. It’s living, it’s powerful. It’s like no other book you’ve read. And you’ll want more and more and more. You know what? That’s how you grow. That’s how you grow. You say, Kevin, how do I grow? By the word of God.

But not only that, by exercising our senses to discern good and evil. Did you remember that back in Hebrews chapter 5, verses 12 through 14? Let’s go back over there. You want to grow? Yes, you grow by the pure milk of the word, but also by exercising your senses to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5, 12 through 14. He was saying something here that we need to understand. Hebrews 5, 12 through 14. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. And you’ve come to need milk and not solid food for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he’s obeyed and listened, verse 14.

But solid food belongs to those who are full age. That is those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Man, that’s that’s just jam-packed with good stuff. He’s talking about people, he says that by reason of use. They’ve been using these senses to tell the difference. That’s discern. Tell the difference between good and evil. And he says that’s characteristic, that’s hallmark of what? A mature Christian, a grown Christian, a complete Christian. So you’ve got to work at it. You’ve got to spend some time. And you know what, young people? This is some point that I missed when I was young, back in the day. He says you ought to have the ability to tell between good and evil.

And let me say this. There are things that are evil that may not be expressly stated in great detail in the scriptures, and they’re just as evil as if they were. And if your senses are exercised by use to discern, tell the difference between good and evil, you’ll get those things. You’ll understand points like the writer makes in Romans chapter 13 and verse 14. Turn over there. Romans chapter 13 and verse 14. If your senses are exercised to discern good and evil, you’ll get these points. Romans chapter 13 and verse 14, the Bible says this, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. You’ll understand you don’t put yourself in a position to fail. You don’t invite Satan in and see what he can do.

There are certain situations you just need to stay out of altogether. This the Bible’s not teaching the Teflon Christian. I can see anything, I can hear anything, I can be exposed to anything, I can have whatever I want around me, but I’ll be faithful. Come on, folks. Don’t do that. Media has an influence. Entertainment has an influence. Recreation has an influence. I tell people who say, well, you know, it’s just it’s just the music, it’s just a beat. You know, I’m not paying attention to the words. I want you to think about this. When it comes Super Bowl time, what happens? We got these companies that will spend millions, millions of dollars for 30 seconds of your time. 30 seconds. So I guess according to you, they’re just throwing the money away.

Forget the bottom line. They’re just charity. Yeah, we just thought we’d do that. It doesn’t have any impact on anybody. They don’t help us sell any more widgets. They don’t do anything to our bottom line. Come on, folks. They spend those millions of dollars because they know that 30 seconds played over and over again will impact our thinking and will impact our behavior. That’s why they do it. And so, what do you think when we pump our heads full of that stuff? What is it going to do to us? It has an impact. It has an impact. Don’t be like that. Don’t make provision for the lust of the flesh. Or as it’s said in Ephesians 4 27, don’t give place to the devil. Don’t give an opportunity to the devil.

And see, if you have your senses exercised and turning good and evil, you know, exercise. Let’s work. We’ve got to do it. And you keep making these decisions and you get better. It’s just like anything else. You get better at it. You get better at recognizing, man, that’s a problem. I need to stay away from that. Let’s don’t go down that street. That’s a problem. See the devil a mile away. We’re not ignorant of the devil’s devices, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. We know these things. But sometimes if you have that mentality of, man, if I don’t see it expressly said exactly as I want to say it, then it’s not there. Well, that’s the devil’s work. He’s deluded you. He’s hoodwinked you.

6. If You Want to Grow, Use the Right Standard

He’s got you. You find the such likes. You find all those things that are contrary to sound doctrine, and you’ll start growing. Let me give you a third thing, the lesson be yours. If you want to grow, you better use the right standard. If you want to grow, you better use the right standard. Let me give you an example. Brother Hark Rod was talking about my profession. I remember the firm that I’m working with now. I worked with them in the summers leading up to my graduation from law school. And eventually I got a job and knew that I’d have a job. And I remember one of the partners coming up to me. This is before I’d taken the bar exam, and they have this speech.

And it goes something like In the history of this firm, no one has ever failed the bar exam. Good luck. Well, I mean, thanks. Appreciate that. All the pressure in around nobody, I’ll be the first one to fail it. So there’s a lot of pressure. And there was a lot of prayer, a lot of anxiety. Am I going to be able to provide for my family, provide for my wife? She made the decision to walk down the aisle before I’d passed the bar, so who knows? But I remember there was some advice that the other lawyers would give to kind of help bolster your spirits a little bit and help alleviate some of that intimidation. And they said, Look, just look around you at the bar.

And you’re going to see some people that you can say, if that guy passed the bar, I know I can pass the bar. And you know what? It worked. I mean, there were some people, yeah, if that guy, yeah, I got that. But Midas suggest that whether that is or is not appropriate for the bar exam, it isn’t appropriate for us to try to monitor and gauge where we are in Christ. In other words, we don’t sit around and look at the congregation and say, Well, I got her. And I’m better than him. And I’m more useful to that fellow over there. That’s not the way we do it. We have to have the right standard. In fact, Paul talks about having the wrong standard. Look over in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12.

2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 12. 2 Corinthians, the 10th chapter and verse 12. This is the wrong standard here. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12, Paul says, For we dare not, we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. Paul says that’s not wise. Don’t just look at them on you and say, Well, I’ve got him, I got her. I know more scripture than that brother knows, and I can say a better prayer than that sister. Whatever it is. No, he says you’ve got to compare yourself by the right standard. What’s the right standard? It’s Christ. 1 Peter chapter 2. Let’s turn over there. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 21 through 24.

1 Peter chapter 2, verses 21 through 24. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 21-24. Listen to this. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sin might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. I guarantee you. You want to grow? You put Christ as a standard, you will grow and grow and grow, and you won’t stop growing until either the Lord comes or you give your last breath.

Because you’re never going to get there. You think, oh, I’m so important to the kingdom, and I am so smart, and I’m so well trained, and I’m so valuable, and you start looking at Christ, and you get real humble real fast. Because we all fall short in comparison to Christ. And yet that’s just what 1 Peter said. That’s the example. That’s the way we’re supposed to live. It’s not just, oh, that’s nice, I’m glad Christ did it. No, that’s that’s our life. That’s what it should be. As Paul said in Galatians 2 20, Christ lives in me. And so that is the standard. And it’s a standard that we compare ourselves on everything. How’s your love? How’s your prayer life? How’s your study? How’s your self-control?

How does your control your anger? How is your understanding of the Bible? Look at Christ. And that’s a standard that will keep you growing all through. And we need to be growing. And we need to look at that standard. Don’t be the kind of person that we’ve been battling the same sins for 20 years. Now I understand there’s always going to be something that trips us up, but we need to make progress. You need to start winning some battles in God. Can you look back on your life and say, you know what? I’ve won some battles. I’ve overcome some things. I’m not saying I’ve arrived, not saying I’m perfect, not saying there are not some challenges, but I’ve made some progress. We ought to be able to say that.

Conclusion

Because God expects it. And God does not expect the impossible. If God expects it, guess what? We can do it. How do I know that? Because God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows all of our capabilities and all of our limitations. And despite all that knowledge, he says, grow. Which means that we can grow. But it also makes us accountable for the lack of growth. Have you stopped growing? I hope not. Because if you’ve had stopped growing, there’s nobody to blame but yourself. God has done everything possible, starting with the ultimate sacrifice, which is to give up his son on the cross. Do you think God did that for nothing? You think that was some exercise and futility? You think he was just going through the motions?

The greatest gift that’s ever been given to mankind. A gift of love. Why? That we might have fellowship with him. And then we might grow. And every day, do we have that mentality? Every day, I want to increase my usefulness to the Lord. I want to increase my utility to God. I want to be able to do more. You say you don’t know the minor prophets. Study the minor prophets and start knowing them. I don’t know the book of Revelation. Study the book of Revelation. I’m struggling with my mouth. Get control over that thing. You can. Let’s get better. Do you know more now than you did five years ago, ten years ago? Let’s be intentional. Let’s be purposive about our growth. We spend so much time about growth and secular things, and so little time and growth in the most important thing, and that is your spiritual welfare.

Have you stopped growing? If we have, I beg and I pray and I urge you. Repent of that and start growing in Christ, as I know and as more important than the Lord knows you can. If anybody’s here and hasn’t obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, remember we started with that first point. In order for us to grow, we must first be made alive in Christ. If you haven’t obeyed the gospel of Christ, you’re dead in your trespasses. And I say that as one who himself was dead in his trespasses. So I don’t, I’m not trying to be self-righteous. I’m not looking down my nose. I’m telling you, that’s where I was. That’s where all of us who are in Christ were until we obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And my Bible tells me that God is not a respecter of persons. He does not discriminate. There is one plan of salvation for everybody. And he’s not going to make any exceptions to that. We have to obey that one gospel. You say, well, what is that? I’m already religious. I’m already going to church. I already read the Bible. But you know, it’s not enough to be religious. It’s not enough to simply believe. It’s not enough to simply go to church. You have to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why do I say that? Because in 2 Thessalonians 1, 6 through 9, it tells me that our Lord and Savior is coming back a second time. And you know, it was wonderful when he came back the first time because, or when he came the first time, because he came as a Savior.

He came as a redeemer. But you know what? The Lord’s not coming back the second time as a Savior. He says he’s coming back in flaming fire with his angels, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and those who have not obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of that. The wrath of the Lord. So what do we do? We must obey the gospel. We must know God. Well, how do I obey the gospel? Well, you’ve got to believe. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, went to that cross willingly, died, was raised from the dead, is reigning now with the Father. Believe that.

And that belief doesn’t stay there. It’s not mental ascent, it’s not intellectual facts. But it compels us to do something. Hebrews 11, that kind of faith. It compels us to repent of our former way of life, get self off the throne of life and put Christ where he belongs. It compels us to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and it compels us to be baptized into Christ. And that’s not sprinkling, and that’s not pouring, and I don’t care what Barton W. Stone said, and I don’t care what Alexander Campbell said. I don’t care what Thomas Campbell said. You know what I care about? I care about what the Bible said. And I’m not being disrespectful to those men. But that’s not the basis on why we’re saying you need to be baptized.

It’s the basis of God’s word. Even people, you say, well, that’s the church of Christ. You’ve got people who don’t even the least bit religious. We’ll tell you what that word baptizo means in the Greek. It’s immersion. And so it’s a biblical thing. If you want to be biblically baptized, you’re immersed. And when you’re immersed, you contact the blood of Jesus Christ that washes away all your sins. And then you’re added to the one church, the one body. And the person who does the adding is the only one who can. That’s God. God added to the church daily, those who are being saved. Acts 2 47. And then, folks, we start doing the most noble work there is to be done on this side of the grave.

Just seeking to save that which is lost. Luke 19, 10. You say, why is that the most noble? Because it brought the Son of God to earth. And anything that brought the Son of God from heaven to earth is the most noble work that can be done on this side of the grave. And that is to seek and save that which is lost. And let me caution you. As Paul cautioned Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.16, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. As we are teaching right, please live right. How much harm has been done to the cause of Christ? Well, people who teach right but live wrong. And instead of adorning the doctrine, as Paul tells Titus to tell the servants, we detract from and bring shame to and bring reproach on the name of Christ that we wear.

Don’t do that. Live right and teach right and be faithful. And we have a home in heaven that we’re expecting. If anybody’s here in this audience has not obeyed that gospel, has not obeyed that call, we ask you to come forward as we stand and as we sing and make yourself right with God.