BUILT UP IN HIM

This is the 3rd message in a 5 message series on discipleship. It is my intent to make it as personal and practical as possible. I dressed more casually and used a bar stool to deliver these messages from. I wanted to communicate my heart in talking about the most personal thing there is: our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Where you read about a video, you can go to bluefishtv.com and put in the search: The Offering Plate and view it for free.

Read carefully, because there are a couple times in this message where I go to the pulpit and preach a section that I do not believe, in order to make my point.

May you be built up in Jesus Christ as you pursue the growth in knowledge and grace.


BUILT UP IN HIM

Please turn in your Bible to Ephesians 4. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 1014 or 1040.

530 feet below the surface of Lake Superior, just north of the International Boundary in Canadian waters, rests the two largest sections of the famous SS EDMUND FITZGERALD. On November 10, 1975, the National Weather Service forecast a weather front that would bring extremely high and dangerous winds. And they were right. The FITZGERALD sunk, killing all 29 crew members, 2 of which were from this area.

But, the questions remained: Was it a lack of experience that brought the tragedy? Was it a matter of ill-advisement? Could there have been some overlooked design in the vessel? Human error? Those questions no doubt plagued the families who lost loved ones that night shortly after 7 p.m. No survivors were found and no bodies were recovered.

What caused this vessel to sink? Those who have done the research have come up with 2 theories. The first one is that the FITZGERALD had faulty hatch covers allowing water to enter, the ship to list, and then be submersed by a 25 foot wave, unable to resurface. The second theory brings human error into the equation, not by intention, but by a seemingly wrong decision. Captain Earnest McSorley, a decorated Captain and navigator, made the decision to continue on the voyage by tracking just north of Caribou Island. Lake Survey Chart No. 9 warns of shoal within 6 fathoms of the surface.

Did he unknowingly tear holes in the FITZGERALD by neglecting the warnings of his maps? Here are his last recorded words: “I have a bad list. I have lost both radars, and I am taking heavy seas over the deck in tone of the worst seas I have ever been in.” Shortly thereafter the prized FITZGERALD sank, claiming the innocent lives of its entire crew.

It may be, that it wasn’t what they knew that brought destruction; but what they didn’t know. What they may not have seen, what they were not prepared for, brought death and destruction to a powerful vessel and able crew. It can be the same for a believer who has set a new course of this faith journey. At the beginning, he is excited about his newfound faith and about learning and growing in Christ.
But, over a period of years, or maybe even sooner, he becomes satisfied with what he knows. He knows he is going to Heaven. He knows God loves Him, and he knows a few things about the Bible. Isn’t that enough? And before long, without the knowledge of God and His Word, and without the grace to apply it, he finds his faith shipwrecked, and the evidence of spiritual destruction all around him.

As I mentioned last week, this is not just about an accumulation of knowledge, but applying that knowledge to living a life in the sphere of grace. This is a life that is constantly learning, changing and growing. Our theme verses for this discipleship journey and process are:

Colossians 2:6,7 –“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

We are looking at a process of discipleship, becoming a more fully devoted follower of Christ. Jesus Christ Himself asked His followers to “make disciples”, others who would learn to follow Him. And we emphasized last week that Christ’s expectations are not simply that you would say a prayer and be assured of Heaven; but that you would be His follower, continually growing, as our church theme verse says in II Peter 3:18: “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Last week, we concentrated on the first stage of growth, using the analogy of a tree. It is planted and has a need to be deeply rooted. The phrase in Colossians 2:6 is: “rooted in Christ”. We have a banner you see, that reminds us of this all important, first phrase of spiritual growth. I am not going to review everything we covered, but you can get that message if you would like to see where we started. If you would rather take the time to read or review what you heard, I normally post the manuscript of the messages on my blog every Monday.

The discipleship process does not end with the first few steps and signs of growth. It doesn’t end with the newfound joy of salvation and the insertion of a few important spiritual disciplines. The next phase of growth is described by the next phrase in Colossians 2:6 – “being built up in Him (Christ)” You put your roots deeper into Christ, but a healthy tree is going to grow, not just below the ground, but you will see signs of growth on the outside as well.

One of the passages of Scripture, I believe, that describes a growing believer and how the church fits into that is in Ephesians 4. To get the idea of the context here, let me begin reading in verse 11-

Ephesians 4:11-15 – “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

Those who were the appointed leadership in the church were, primarily, and are, primarily, to be helping those believers who attend church to learn how to serve God in its ministry. And these leaders are to help all of us do that so that we will be “built up” (our key theme this morning), toward the goal of having unity and full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but this is to lead toward spiritual maturity (the idea of growth). And did you notice, that part of this process of maturing means that the tree will not be wavering back and forth when the wind blows, but become strong enough to stand firm under fierce winds. In the spiritual sense, there are all kinds of beliefs and doctrines out there, that for an immature, new believer, can feel like a strong storm that can shake the very foundations of your faith. But, one of the main purposes of being a part of a church, in this passage, is that we speak the truth of God, in love, and by that, we all grow to be strong in our faith and ministry. This is not easy. It is a process.

There are a few very rich analogies here in this passage. And although we are concentrating on the biblical picture of tree growth, allow me to give you a glimpse of these other pictures as well, that might help in our understanding. The word translated by the phrase “building up”, in verse 12, gives us the picture of a house being constructed, being “built up”. You have the foundation, which is as important as the roots of a tree. And after the foundation, then you can build up the structure, the frame upon which all else will hang. A long standing, strong home has a strong foundation and well put together frame as it was being built up.

The other picture used in these verses, in particular in verses 13,14 is the importance of growing up. It talks about the spiritual picture of going from childhood to manhood, from immaturity to maturity. Now, we all know that age does not necessarily define maturity; but it is supposed to. If you are growing as you should, you do not act as an adult how you act when you are 2 or 8 or 13. I know that is not always our experience; but the idea is that you grow and mature as time goes on.

When our children are young, we have to do everything for them; and we make their decisions for them, for their own safety. But, as they grow older, they must learn to make decisions on their own; and we trust, continue to make good decisions. The same process happens spiritually. A new believer who has just been born again is fully dependent on others for spiritual growth. This baby in Christ counts on her pastor or others to guide her about what the Bible says and how to grow. But, at some point, the new believer will need to depend less and less on an outside source and instead, find out what she personally believes and why.

As last week, with each stage, we are considering some basic ways to grow in knowledge and to grow in grace. Let’s begin with Growing in Knowledge. In this stage of growth: built up in Him, a believer is:
· Learning personal Bible study

There must come a time when you no longer are completely dependent on a pastor or Bible scholar to study the Bible. But, instead, a growing believer will be able to read the Bible, study it on his own, interpret it and apply it. This does not mean that he can do all of this without useful Bible study tools; but it does mean that he can study the Scriptures on His own, without depending on some authoritative group to tell Him what the Bible says.

II Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

“rightly handling the word of truth.” Is this really that important? Does it really matter that you, personally, can explain the major teachings of the Scriptures and be able to recognize what is not true? Why can’t we just depend on some teacher or pastor for all of our beliefs?

[go to pulpit] - Please turn in your Bible to John 10. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 930 or 951.

Listen very carefully. Let’s talk about Bible doctrine. Let’s talk about what is clear in the Bible that you should believe. Ready? Are you listening?
There is only one God – only one. And the Bible tells us clearly who that is:

Psalm 83:18 – “Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” (King James Version)

It is obvious that the only name for God is Jehovah. All other names are false. The Bible says here that is name alone is Jehovah.

Some of you may be thinking: what about Jesus Christ? Well, what does the Bible say? Look at:

John 10:36 – “Do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, You are blaspheming because I said, I am the Son of God?”

Clearly, this verse has Jesus telling the others that He is not claiming to be God, just the Son of God. Don’t you see it? Please turn over to chapter 14.

John 14:28 – “You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Did you see that? Jesus said, God the Father is better than I am. So, this proves not only that God and Jesus are not the same person, but that God is greater than Jesus.

In fact, the Bible tells us where Jesus came from:

Colossians 1:15 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

He was born. He was created, just like the other creations; and is therefore subordinate to God. Who is Jesus?

Revelation 1:5 – “And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness…”
Jesus Christ is simply a witness, telling others about the one and only true God: JEHOVAH. And not only that, but all true believers are described in this way:

Isaiah 43:10 – “You are my witnesses, declares the LORD [Jehovah]…”

We are all supposed to be Jehovah’s witnesses! And don’t forget what the Bible says in Acts 28:22 – “We want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about these Christians is that they are denounced everywhere!” (Living Bible)

So, if we are true Christians, then we will be denounced in all places. And all kinds of people denounce we, who are Jehovah’s witnesses!

[back to the stool] – Are you confused? I hope not. After telling you to listen carefully, I have given you false information. Yes, I used the Bible and did not make up verses; but I used those verses out of context and in a way that proved my particular point – the points of arguments from those who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. You see, when they come knocking on the door of a new believer or someone who is lives like a new believer, they talk and act like true Christians. In fact, this cult and many others have great smiles, are very friendly, and talk about being true Christians, saved by grace through faith! But, their doctrine reveals the truth: they do not accept Jesus Christ for who He truly is, and they believe you must earn your way to eternal life. Very tricky, very deceptive; and for the person who is not growing in their own knowledge of God’s Word, very confusing and possibly destructive.

You see – you can learn from the Bible that Jesus is God and that doing good works of any kind (including being a part of a religious system) cannot earn you a spot in Heaven.

I did want you to have an example of why it is crucial to study the Bible for yourself; and secondly, under the area of Growing in Knowledge:
· Understanding what to believe and why

Yes, as a child, we are to believe what our parents tell us and teachers tell us, without having to understand or question it. But, as we grow, we must know what WE believe and WHY we believe it. At some point in your spiritual growth, it is not acceptable to answer the question: why do you believe this? In this way: “I believe this because my parents believe it. I believe it because the church constitution says so. I believe it because a television preacher was so convincing!

No, at some point, you need to grow to know what you believe and why, based on the Scriptures, in their context. Yes, good teachers and pastors are important to guide us, but your faith and the reasons for your faith must become your own. Why do many young people graduate from high school and leave the church and their faith? I have read statistics that say that around 80% of all high school Christian kids in America abandon their faith within four years of graduating high school. Why? Because, in most cases, it was their parents faith, their pastor and church’s faith, their friends’ faith; and not their own. This is the sign of an immature believer that has not grown past the first stage of spiritual development. What are you doing to grow in this area?

[back to the pulpit] – Please turn in your Bible to I Corinthians 11. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 994 or 1019.

Let’s talk about some of the most simple, clearest teachings of the Bible that you will ever see:

Deuteronomy 22:5 – “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”

It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? A woman who wears pants at any time, which is of course a man’s garment, is sinning against God! There aren’t any women in pants here today are there? What other clear teachings of God’s Word can we find?

Mark 16:16-18 – “Whoever believes and is baptized will be save, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Pretty clear as well isn’t it? You have to be baptized to be saved; and whoever is truly saved will cast out demons, speak in tongues, not get bitten by handling poisonous snakes and drink poison without even getting sick. I trust all of you who claim to be true believers have done these things! Please look at:

I Corinthians 11:6 – “For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.”

I Corinthians 11:14 – “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him?”

Obvious, isn’t it? A woman is to have long hair and, in church, to have her head covered. And a man should not have long hair that touches the ears.
Last one: turn to chapter 14. This is my favorite command of the Bible – very clear command, by the way.

I Corinthians 14:34, 35 – “The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.”

Crystal clear, don’t you think? Ladies…in church…SHHHHHHHHH! Don’t talk!

Please turn in your Bible to II Corinthians, one book over, and chapter 9.

[back to stool] – Hopefully, you figured out very quickly on this one that I don’t believe everything I just said behind the pulpit. But, believe me, there are individuals and churches that teach those very things, using the very verses that I used. If you do not know how to study the Bible on your own, and know what you believe and why… If you do not know how to interpret the Bible as the writers wrote them, in their historical, grammatical, historical context, you are going to come up with all kinds of beliefs that are not taught in the message of the Word of God. And sadly, what happens is that people not only believe these things but they teach them as truth to others and condemn those who don’t follow.

Growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ is not something that happens automatically or easily. It is a constant process. What are you doing to increase your knowledge of truth and application of it?

Now, let’s move on to Growing in Grace in this second stage of discipleship. There are a few things that seem to fit very well into this area. The first one to consider is:
· Giving

VIDEO: The Offering Plate

Although many people struggle with hearing about the area of giving, it is evident in Scripture that God asks us to give. Certainly a new believer may start giving right away; but we placed this in the second stage of discipleship, because it may be one of those things that needs to be taught and considered by someone who is pretty new to Christianity before they are ready to participate. But, at some point in spiritual development, giving to God through the local church and giving more offerings on top of that should become a regular part of that person’s worship.

There are a few key principles to consider in your giving, taken from:
II Corinthians 9:6-8 – “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

A few simple principles the growing believer needs to apply in giving:
1. Voluntarily -For the growing believer, he gives not because he has to, but because he wants to
2. Joyfully – The growing believer is not thinking about all the things he can’t buy because he gives; but instead thinks of how awesome it is that he can be a part of the ministry God is doing by simply giving back to God some of the money that came from God in the first place!
3. With contentment – Paul reminded them that God would provide all their needs as they gave and that giving generously was the path of blessing. The growing believer truly knows that God is good and that He will have everything that he needs. So then, he is able to be content with what he has and be willing to give as God leads in his heart.

Yes, giving would be a sign that a believer is growing in grace. What else?
· Serving

Again, the picture of growing children comes to my mind. When they are babies, we as parents do everything for them. But, as they grow, they begin to have responsibilities, jobs, chores in the context of the family at the home. As they grow, those responsibilities grow. They are not just beneficiaries of the parents hard work, but they are a part of the family, which includes serving.

The same goes for the church. Certainly, there is a time where someone new to faith basically enjoys the ministry and service of others, pretty much as a consumer. They receive ministry from others. They come to church, enjoy the music, the testimonies, the friends, the teaching (hopefully) and all the other benefits of ministry. But, at some point, the maturing, growing believer begins to be a giver of themselves, serving God and others through the local church, rather than just receiving.

I Peter 4:10 – “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

God has gifted each of you, but not for your own benefit. He has gifted you so that you can give your service to God and others, beginning right here at Grace. At the end of the passage we read earlier, it says:

Ephesians 4:16 – “From whom [Christ] the whole body (the church), joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part [every individual believer] is working properly, make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

When you get involved in serving, in order to build up others, then you are helping us accomplish what pleases God – every part of the body of Christ serving together for His glory! I know that there are a lot of reasons not to get involved in ministry: no desire to be committed to the church, too many other activities with the family, too tired, don’t feel qualified, too busy, don’t feel needed, and the list goes on. But, let me just tell you, as one of the leaders here at Grace, representing all the other leaders, I am sure, when I tell you this: You are needed. You are valuable. We need your help. We will find a place of ministry for you. You will enhance this ministry for the glory of God! Don’t let circumstances or any other excuse keep you from helping to build the body of Christ.


Here are some principles for considering how to get involved in ministry:
1. Pray continually about your willingness to serve and your desire to serve as it would please Him
2. Determine what kinds of things you love to do and with what groups of people you love working with
3. Answer the question: If you could do anything in ministry and money were not a problem, what would it be?
4. Ask a pastor or ministry team leader for help to figure out where you could be a good fit for ministry at this time
5. Just volunteer, get involved, and let God lead you to a good ministry fit, temporarily or for the long term

My best advice to people who aren’t quite sure how they are gifted or where they serve is simply this: Start serving. God is powerful and wise enough to take your willingness and put you in the right ministry at the right time. If you start serving, we will be a church that honors God more than we are without you serving. Are you ready?

We value those who serve here at Grace. One way we do that is to have a special lunch and afternoon program in which we honor EVERY PERSON who serves in any capacity here in this ministry. That special day is coming up and we want all of you to involved in it, whether you currently serve here or not. On Sunday, February 10th, immediately following the morning service, we will have a lunch for everyone who signs up; and then a program here in the worship center that honors all who serve. Please sign up on your bulletin tab today and plan to be a part of that.

The final part of Growing in Grace that I want to mention this morning is:
· Applying truth to life

A growing believer not only is taking in a lot of truth, in church and in her own personal study, but is taking what she hears and working to apply the truths to daily living. This is the SO WHAT question that I many times will give you near the end or throughout one of my messages. Content and knowledge building is great. But, in order to grow in grace, we must make the truths of God’s Word a part of our living experience. The Bible says this: SO WHAT does this have to do with my life today?

James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

I have seen many believers around the country think that they have gotten to a certain level of spiritual maturity, so that they can simply listen to the truth and perhaps build on their already impressive knowledge of God’s Word. People like this don’t think they really have much growing left to do; so they are not constantly asking SO WHAT questions of themselves. They sit, they listen, they discuss whether or not they liked the message; and they live their own lives, untouched, unmoved, unchanged by the truth. Don’t let that happen to you. A growing believer is constantly thinking about how to apply the truths of the Word of God to real life. It is the key to being built up in Christ.

So, with each of these stages in this discipleship process, we need to answer this question: What is the one ministry that can be emphasized here at Grace, that will help people in this stage of development to grow into more fully committed followers of Christ? Yes, there may be other ministries that can help with this area, but we believe we need to make this as simple as possible: one ministry emphasis per area of spiritual development. In this stage of the process, we believe that one ministry is: Sunday school

We go from the large group setting of the morning worship service, where we have a variety of ages and stages of spiritual development to a smaller, mid-size group, with people normally of the same stage of life meeting together. There is a teacher-student type of relationship, with learning God’s Word as the goal. Not only that, it is the teacher’s responsibility not just to dump tons of information on those who attend, but to engage them in the topic under study and to challenge them to apply what they are learning. This is true for all age levels.

We think that those desiring to grow in Christ could benefit from interacting with others in a Bible learning environment such as Sunday school. We want to make our Sunday school ministry the most effective for everyone involved that it can be. This is one of the reasons why every other quarter, we offer adult Sunday school electives. Not only do people have the opportunity to interact with others who are not normally in their class, but they may also be exposed to different teachers. However, the real advantage of electives is the opportunity it affords us to handpick the themes and topics that can enhance spiritual development at this stage. Normally, in our electives, we offer a book of the Bible study, a doctrinal theme study, a Christian living study, and a women’s only class study. Our new quarter of electives begins the first Sunday in March.

We want to continually be evaluating and looking into how this ministry emphasis can help others continue to grow to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

How can you grow in your commitment to being a growing disciple of Jesus Christ?

I have listed some resources on the back of your outline that might be of help to you.

Resources:

Living By the Book – Howard and William Hendricks
Know What You Believe – Paul Little
Know Why You Believe – Paul Little
The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict – Josh McDowell

Let's pray.