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Are You Growing in Spiritual Maturity? · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Good morning, you guys. This is friendly.
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  Welcome back to In the Stillness.
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  Happy Thursday. I hope you're having the best
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  day so far. I've just been spending some
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  time in first John, and today we're going to be in a passage
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  that really hit me in a fresh way.
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  It's about spiritual maturity and I think this is something
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  every single one of us can really press into no matter
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  where we are in our walk with God because truthfully,
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  following Jesus is not meant to be stagnant.
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  It is a journey. It's a constant building.
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  And so I'm really excited to get into this.
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  I think we've got some good stuff for today's episode.
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  So we are going to be in first John chapter 2, reading through
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  verses 12 through 14. I remind you, dear children,
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  your sins have been permanently removed because of the power of
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  His name. I remind you, fathers and
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  mothers, you have a relationship with the one who's existed from
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  the beginning. And I remind you, young people,
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  you have defeated the evil. 1. I write these things to you,
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  dear children, because you truly have a relationship with the
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  Father. I write these things, fathers
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  and mothers, because you have had a true relationship with him
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  who is from the beginning. And I write these things, young
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  people, because you are strong, the word of God is treasured in
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  your hearts, and you have defeated the evil. 1 OK, these
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  verses paint such a beautiful picture of growing up in Christ,
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  and I really love that John breaks it into three groups.
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  We see that there are children, there are young people, and then
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  fathers or mothers. But here is what is super
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  important. This is not about physical age.
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  Paul says in first Timothy 4 verse 12, do not let anyone look
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  down on you because you are young, but set an example and
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  then he goes into what we are to set an example in.
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  So maturity in the Kingdom is not necessarily about how many
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  years of life you've lived, it's about how deeply you know God.
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  So you could be 25 and be deeply rooted in Christ, walking in
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  wisdom with an intimate relationship with the Father,
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  and then you could be 60 and still spiritually immature if
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  you ever remain passive in your faith and not been intentional
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  in seeking it out. This is a pilgrimage and we are
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  meant to grow constantly. So there's kind of different
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  levels. That's how I'm thinking of it in
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  my head. First, we start off with
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  children, and he reminds us that your sins are forgiven.
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  That is the baseline. That is the foundation of
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  everything in the faith. The word used here in the Greek,
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  it actually implies someone who is under instruction in
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  teaching. It's like a child being trained.
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  And this implies humility, that there is learning and there is
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  dependence. And honestly, that's where all
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  of us begin with the reception of God's grace, understanding
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  that it is through Jesus, through his sacrifice on the
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  cross, through his blood that we are fully forgiven and fully
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  accepted. I love Psalm 103 verse 12.
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  It says he has removed our sins as far as the east is from the
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  West. So this identity matters because
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  if you don't know that you're truly forgiven completely, then
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  you're going to live like you're still bound.
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  It is in Christ that you are not an outcast anymore.
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  Romans 8 verse 17 calls us Co heirs with Christ. 2nd
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  Corinthians 5 verse 20 it calls us ambassadors of Christ.
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  And first Peter 2 verse 9 says that you are part of a royal
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  priesthood. You are a chosen people, so this
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  is who you are now in Christ Jesus.
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  And then we go to the second level, young people.
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  John says that the young people have defeated the evil 1.
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  Now notice his wording though. Have defeated.
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  This is the stage where you are actively fighting sin and
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  temptation and you are learning how to win.
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  But how do they win? He tells us the word of God
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  lives within you. This is so crucial because if we
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  are not rooted in Scripture, it's going to be really hard to
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  stand when temptation comes our way.
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  Second Timothy 2, verse 22 tells us to flee from the evil desires
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  of youth and to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and
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  peace along with others who are pursuing purity.
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  And Jesus modeled this for us. When he was tempted by the devil
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  in the wilderness, He responded with Scripture, the sword of
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  truth. That is how you combat sin and
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  temptation. So storing the Word in your
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  heart, memorizing verses, meditating on the Bible daily,
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  that's not meant to be optional. That's actually how you fight.
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  And it's obviously not just that we have to be consistent in
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  prayer through relationship with God, through the leading of his
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  Spirit. But this is where you move from
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  just knowing truth to actually living it out and experiencing
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  victory. And then we go to Level 3.
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  This is the final stage. Fathers and mothers, so really
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  just older adults. What does John say about them?
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  He says you know him who is from the beginning, and he repeats
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  this two times. This means deep, intimate
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  relationship. This comes from walking with God
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  through various seasons, through the highs, through the lows,
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  through testing and growth, because that is where wisdom is
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  formed and developed. This stage is not just meant to
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  be a rival, it's actually depth. It's about knowing God so
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  personally that you can then overflow and pour into others.
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  Maturity in the Kingdom is not just about you.
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  It's about investing in what's to come and in other believers.
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  So for all of us, this growth is talking to everyone.
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  It doesn't stop at a certain age.
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  You don't just reach a peak in the Christian faith.
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  It doesn't stop when you've done enough or accomplished enough in
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  life. There is always more of God to
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  discover first. Peter 2 verse 2 tells us to
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  crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow, so that you
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  can be nourished in the truth. Hebrews 5 verse 14 addresses
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  maturing to solid food through practice and through
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  discernment. So every single day that we are
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  alive is a new opportunity to know God more.
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  And I wrote this question down. What is more important than
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  knowing Christ? Honestly, absolutely nothing.
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  And if something is competing in that place, whether it is image
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  control, success, relationships, that thing can become an idol if
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  you're not really careful because it is not meant to be
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  above God. It's not meant to be above
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  knowing Christ and knowing Him intimately.
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  When you truly understand what God has rescued you from, it
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  changes everything. You no longer identify with sin
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  in the bondage that He saved you from.
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  You now identify with Christ. So think about it.
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  Your Father is not looking at you with disappointment.
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  He's not mad at you. He looks at you with love.
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  He looks at you with the same love that he has for His Son
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  Jesus. John 17 verse 23 says that that
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  is just wild to think about. So why would we ever go back to
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  the very sin that separated us from God?
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  Our Calling is to live free and freedom does not look rigid and
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  ritualistic. It's not lifeless.
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  It looks like joy. Psalm 24 verse one says the
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  earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
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  And I feel like lately that verse has been replaying in my
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  head as I read it a few days ago.
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  And I've just been thinking about how God is good.
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  Simply put, our Creator is good. Therefore what He has made in
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  this world is good. And yes, there is still sin.
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  There is evil in this world that we're going to encounter on the
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  daily, but we are actually invited to enjoy life with Him,
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  in fellowship with him. So the question that I'm going
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  to bring to y'all is, are you truly living in that freedom?
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  It's not a fake happiness, but a rooted joy that truly comes from
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  being in relationship with your father, from enjoying what he
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  has created and living out your purpose and calling.
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  So with all that, I'm gonna go ahead and close this out in
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  prayer. Dear Jesus, thank you for who
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  you are. Thank you that we are fully
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  forgiven, we are fully loved, and we have been invited into a
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  deeper relationship with You. There is no peak, there is no
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  limit. I pray that you would grow us in
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  spiritual maturity, that we would hunger to know You more
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  each day. May we thirst for righteousness,
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  Jesus. We don't want to stay stagnant.
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  We don't want to settle for less than You have to offer.
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  I pray that we would love Your word more and more, that we
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  would walk in victory over sin, and that we would live in the
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  freedom that you've already given us.
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  May we live in that access. God, let our lives reflect real
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  joy so that others would see you through us.
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  We trust you with today. We give you our everything and
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  we just, we live to exalt your name, Jesus in your name, Amen.
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  OK, that is today's episode. Praying for you guys as you go
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  about the rest of your day as you close out this week and
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  especially Holy Thursday as we look ahead to tomorrow being
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  Good Friday. That you would really just sit
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  with the Father and ask Him for a deeper revelation of His grace
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  for what He has rescued you from so that it can channel more
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  appreciation and so that you can live in the fullness of joy in
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  His presence. I'll see you on the next
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  episode.