Spiritual Growth Is A Journey

Rom. 12:1–2

Theme: To become like Christ requires the combination of personal commitment, the work of God, and the Word of God..

Introduction:

We all want to be more than we are, but we aren’t sure how. Remember the spiritual life is a journey, and you can always see farther down the road spiritually than you currently are. For that reason, the Christian life is often haunted by dissatisfaction at best, and deep travail at worst. In the better moments of our spiritual pilgrimage, we are gratified with the spiritual growth God has granted, enriched by the communion of the Lord and the fellowship of other saints. Yet even in these good moments, we know that there is more. As Christians we are unsettled and drawn inescapably beyond the ground on which we stand, toward the warmer climate of fuller fellowship with Christ (Anders).

Then there are other moments in our Christian experience when we rush out into the darkness and weep bitterly because of some failure. We wonder how the Lord Jesus can forgive us so great a sin, or a sin committed so often. Though this struggle is all too familiar, it does help to know that growth is an extensive process!

Message:

There are three key ingredients required for someone to develop a mature Christian character and know a life marked by victory instead of defeat. If we make these a part of our daily experience and recognize how God uses each of them, then we will indeed grow in the Lord.

I.      Make a Conscious Choice to Change (Rom. 12:1-2)—You Must Decide to Live God’s Will. Romans 12:1–2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, [complete] will of God.  The verse answers the question, “What does God want?” Another way of asking it is, “What is God’s will?”

A.     God wants you.  “Present,” “conformed,” “transformed,” and “prove” are the key concepts in this passage. The first three are commands and the last states the overall objective. That is we must present ourselves to live for Christ, and refuse to conform to worldliness by transformed thinking.  Why?  That we may prove God’s will is the most complete and best way for us to live. But, how do we do this?

B.     Give Him your Body.  Paul urged us as believers to “present” our bodies (see Rom 6:13) as living sacrifices (1Cor. 6:19-20; Phil. 1:20-21; 2Cor. 4:10-11). 

                                                1.      1 Cor. 6:19-20, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

                                                2.      Phil 1:20-21, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

                                                3.      2 Cor. 4:10-11, Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11, For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

                                                4.      The day I was married to my wife Patrice I presented and yielded myself to her and I refused all others.  Every day since then has been an effort to prove that life with here is the best life for me.

                                                5.      We are to offer or “yield” (Rom. 6:13, 16, 19) our bodies—the totality of our life, personality, and activities, which is expressed through the vehicle of our body. 

                                                6.      This is our “reasonable service,” which refers to any ministry performed for God, such as the ones mentioned in the following verses (Rom. 12:3-12).  Christians are believer-priests, identified with the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 7:23-28; 1 Peter 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6). A believer’s offering of his total life as a sacrifice to God is therefore sacred service.

C.     Give Him your Mind.  Paul then stated the general implications of a believer’s offering his life to God as a sacrifice. Such an offering represents a complete change in lifestyle, involving both a negative and a positive aspect.

                                                1.      First the negative, Paul commanded, “be not conform” or no longer live according to the worldly lifestyle or the pattern of this present age. Don’t allow a godless society pressure you to be just like the average individual who ignores God.

                                                2.      Then positively Paul commanded, “But be ye transformed,” we are to keep on progressing through spiritual changes from the inside out. The key to this change is the “mind”—“by the renewing of your mind.” The mind is the control center of our attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions (see Eph 4:22-23). As our mind keeps on being made new by the spiritual input of God’s Word, prayer, and Christian fellowship, our lifestyle continues to be transformed.

                                                3.      Scuba divers and gymnasts know that where their head goes, the rest of their body will eventually follow.

D.    Give Him your Will.  As a Christian is transformed in his mind and is made more like Christ, he comes to approve of and desire God’s will, not his own will for his life. Then he discovers that God’s will is good for him, and that it pleases God, and is complete in every way. It is all he needs. But only by being renewed spiritually can a believer ascertain, do, and enjoy the will of God.  

E.     Become a Living Sacrifice. But, What Is Sacrificial Living? It means breaking the world’s mold; going against the flow of society. Yet God does not hesitate to confront us with the choice. The option is not whether we will conform; rather, the choice is to whom will we conform? Will our lives follow the pattern of this world or God’s pattern? The following are components of God’s pattern:

                                                1.      Offer our bodies—Delivering both the inner and outer self into God’s control.

                                                2.      Be nonconformists—Consciously resisting the suggestions, values, and pressures of the world around us.

                                                3.      Renew our minds—Constantly asking God to teach us to think as he thinks.

                                                4.      Estimate ourselves honestly—Having neither false humility nor inappropriate pride in our serving relationships with others.

                                                5.      Utilize our gifts—Identifying those gifts to be used in helping others; finding a purpose, a place, and a position to serve other believers. –The Life Application Commentary Series 

II.  Respond Faithfully to The Work of God Within (Phil. 2:12-13).

Phil 2:12-13,Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

A.     Know that God is at Work.

                                                1.      God is working in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”  He creates desires and empowers spirit ambitions!  He gives inner promptings to guide His people.

                                                2.      Someone has said, “God does the work of God, and man does the work of man. Man cannot do the work of God, and God will not do the work of man.”

B.     Fulfill Your Responsibility. If that is the case, we must be clear about what is the work of God and what is our responsibility. We must look to God to initiate the work in our hearts, and we must respond with faithful obedience.

C.     Be Sensitive to God’s Word and His Still Small Voice Within.

III.          Get into the Word of God Consistently (Heb. 4:12).

A.     Transformation Cannot Be Complete Without The Word Of God. Without the Bible, we don’t know what we should do, and the Holy Spirit does not have His key tool in our lives. The book of Hebrews says: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) 

                                                1.      That is God’s Word is jam-packed with living penetrating power: it is sharper than the sharpest sword; the Bible cuts swiftly and probes deeply into our innermost thoughts, motives and desires; it literally exposes us for what we really are.

                                                2.      The inner life of a Christian is often a strange mixture of motivations both genuinely spiritual and completely human. It takes a supernaturally discerning agent such as the Word of God to sort these out and to expose what is of the flesh. The readers might think that they were contemplating certain steps out of purely spiritual motivations when, as God’s Word could show them, they were acting unfaithfully as did Israel of old. –Walvoord, John F. : The Bible Knowledge Commentary

B.     The Scriptures Have Inherent Power As They Are Used By The Holy Spirit In Our Lives. The apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished [comprehensively equipped] unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

                                                1.      In addition to being God’s love letter and self-disclosure of Himself, the Bible clearly spells out His plan for our redemption and restored fellowship. It is also our final authority for all matters of faith, morality, and practice. Through the inspired Word, God the Holy Spirit illuminates and guides believers in our Christian walk and also prepares us for our future heavenly destination.

                                                2.      It was George Mueller who said: “The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Word in our life and thoughts.” Determine to give the Bible a greater place in your life.

                                                3.      David wrote in the Psalms, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9).  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).   He also wrote, in Psalm 19, that the word of God was more valuable than gold, and sweeter than honey, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ¹¹ Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:10-11).

                                                4.      Without the Scriptures, no one has a hope of always making wise decisions, of consistently discerning the will of God, of knowing how to sustain relationships, of having a morally tuned conscience, of knowing right from wrong in the small as well as great areas of life, of knowing God’s will and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, or of being equipped to live and minister in this world. In addition to the work of God, it takes the word of God to become spiritually mature.—Max Anders

                                                5.      Our finite minds will never be able to comprehend all of the teaching of Scripture, but the essential truths related to our redemption and Christ-like living cannot be misunderstood. It was Abraham Lincoln who once observed: “Read the Bible for whatever reason you can accept and take the rest on faith, and you will live and die a better man.” –Osbeck, Kenneth W.: Amazing Grace

Conclusion:

The truth is we have undergone a miraculous transformation through the new birth! When we accepted the Lord as our Savior, something wonderful happened. A reorientation of our inner being took place. As any growth process, our change is often imperceptible to us. Yet over time, as we spiritually mature, we will come to exhibit more and more of Christ's holy character.  

Anyway we have been changed for the better! The Christian life is one of continual transformation, from the revolutionary change of our conversion to the daily renewal of our hearts and minds as we learn to live like Christ. We live in hopeful expectation of ultimate transformation, as well, when we shall be made perfect.