Printer Friendly VersionIn the book The Fisherman and His Friends, Louis Albert
Banks tells about a man who was spending a summer near the shores of Lake
Superior. One day he came upon an old pine that had been blown down by a recent
storm. Knowing something about trees, he was intrigued by that huge evergreen
lying on the ground. He examined it closely and figured it was at least 250
years old. What impressed him most, however, was what he discovered when he
stripped away the bark. It was evident to him that on the day the tree fell
it was still growing.
That’s the way it should be in the life of the believer.
The years pass and our physical strength declines. The outward person perishes
but the inner person should keep on developing—mentally, emotionally,
and above all spiritually—until the day we die. In fact, the Word of
God is quite clear on the subject of growth. God wants the Church to grow
and expects the Church to grow right up until the very end of the age.
Acts 2:46 records that following Pentecost, believers continued
to meet together, breaking bread in their homes, praising God, and enjoying
the favor of all the people; and the Lord added to their number daily those
who were being saved. That is numerical growth through outreach and it is
a sign of a healthy, vital church. God expects us to do all we can to reach
out with the gospel. That’s why I preach evangelistically, why we present
the Passion play, Rainbow Express, York Fair, radio, send mass mailings and
support world missions, all so that men and women and boys and girls will
come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior. God expects it. He commands
it. “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). But
there is another kind of growth God expects of the Church after a person comes
into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is growth in Christlikeness: spiritual
growth, Christian maturity, and the Scriptures are filled with both expectations
and examples of in-growth (growth in Christlikeness). Jesus himself grew in
body, person, and spirit: “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and
in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Paul knew that growth in Christlikeness
is normal for the believer and brings about changes for the better. “When
I was a child I spoke as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish
things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Peter exhorted Christians, “Grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). It’s
a fact. God wants and expects the Church to grow both numerically and spiritually,
outgrowth and in-growth, to grow in Christlikeness.
You will be interested to know that your pastoral staff met
with me this past week in a retreat setting for 24 hours of vision casting,
planning, evaluation, and prayer. And most of the retreat was spent in asking
this question: “How can we help the people of Stillmeadow grow in Christlikeness?”
That is our calling, by the way. Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-13,
“Christ who gave some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s
people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up, until
we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
We want to become God’s helping hand to help you grow in Christlikeness.
That is our desire. The big question is, “How? How does one grow in Christlikeness?”
The Word of God is quite clear on this too. It’s as simple
as the fingers on your hand. Five things are essential for your spiritual
growth—growth in Christlikeness. I will introduce them today and expand
on them throughout the summer.
1. Devotion: To grow in Christlikeness, you must spend time
with God in prayer, Bible discovery, and praise every day. Jesus wants to
meet with you every day. He said: “Come to me all you who are weary and
burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me
for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” If you’re not growing
spiritually, chances are you do not have a satisfying, fulfilling devotional
life—you are not spending time with the Lord in prayer, Bible discovery,
and praise. We give you a devotional guide every quarter called “Come
Ye Apart.” We’ve given you a prayer journal and an Advent devotional
guide. But we want to do an even better job in helping you grow in Christlikeness
through a devotional life.
2. Worship: To grow in Christlikeness, you must enter into at
least one weekly, corporate worship experience. Worship is the acknowledgement
of the worth-ship of God. We express God’s worth through prayer, praise,
and the proclamation of God’s Word through preaching. It is God who calls
us into worship. The writer to the Hebrews said, “Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage
one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews
10:25).
3. Discipleship: The Scripture says that we are to make disciples.
How did Jesus make disciples? He gathered 12 people together in a small group
for the purpose of sharing His words with them, prayer, mutual support, and
accountability. This was the Master’s plan, according to Robert Coleman:
selection, association, consecration, importation, demonstration, delegation,
supervision, and reproduction. That was Jesus’ method and I’m not
sure it can be improved upon. We, your pastoral staff, believe every person
associated with our church needs to be in a small group, a church within the
church, for the purpose of prayer, Bible discussion/learning, community building,
and accountability.
4. Witness: Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Witnessing
helps you to grow in Christlikeness. It’s our church’s responsibility
to encourage you to witness and help you share your testimony witness with
others. (Contagious Christian training, the Andrew Society, special events,
the Passion play, and revival speakers.)
5. Service: Remember our Vision ’96 theme, “Have You
Found Your Ministry?” Why? Because so many Christians, as Evelyn Underhill
suggests, “Adorn Christ’s head while neglecting His feet.”
In other words, we are far more likely to adorn Christ’s head through
worship than we are to wash His feet through acts of service. Our task as
your pastors is to equip you for ministry as a way of growing in Christlikeness.
General
1. Are you more like Jesus than you were a year ago?
Specific
2. Are you thirstier for God than ever before?
3. Are you more and more loving of God and neighbors?
4. Are you more sensitive to and aware of God than ever before?
5. Are you governed more and more by God’s Word?
6. Are you concerned more and more with the physical and spiritual
needs of others?
7. Are you more and more concerned with the Church and the Kingdom
of God?
8. Are the disciplines of the Christian life more and more important
to you?
9. Are you more and more willing to forgive others?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to most or all of these questions,
it is because you intend to grow in Christlikeness, and because of your commitment
to devotion, worship, discipleship, witness, and service. You are sowing seeds
in the Spirit. If the answer is ‘no’ to most or all of these questions,
then isn’t it time you made these biblical disciplines a regular part
of your life?
I have commissioned our pastoral staff to enter into conversation with you about these five things. We want to be God’s helping hand in your life. It is our desire that you grow in Christlikeness.
