13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a
mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness
of Christ. NASU
Introduction
I remember the first time I ever heard someone say they did not know
who they were. It was in a
speech class at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and this
young girl said "I am trying to
discover who I am. I said to my self. "Who you are?" Why wouldn't a
young girl like her know
that? I then thought who am I. I said to my self, "I am Jim McCullen a
child of God, and a
minister of the gospel." I do not recall ever questioning who I am.
So as I have gotten an opportunity I have asked my
grandchildren If they knew who they were. Recently I asked my 13 year
old grandson if he knew who he was, and he quickly said, "I am a
child of God."
Neil Anderson in his book The Bondage Breaker, makes
this very interesting statement. He says
on page 46 of his book "Every defeated Christian I have worked with has
had one thing in
common none of them have known who they were in Christ. Or have
understood what it means
to be a child of God."
1. If You Want To
Mature: Believe!
A. Believe We Became The Children Of God.
1. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become
children of God, to those who believe in His name: NKJV
Illustration
When I was single and still at home I drove my mother to work on the
way to my job. And one
day she said "Jim, I read something very interesting last night." Well
my mom was quite a reader
so, I was not too impressed until she said "Do you know God doesn't
have any grandchildren? Kathreen Marshall, Peter Marshall's wife has
written several books and I was reading one of
them last night. She said she woke up in the middle of the night with
the thought... God doesn't
have any grandchildren. She said that's such a curious thought that she
got up and began
searching the Bible. And she couldn't find an answer to what she was
looking for so she just
knelt by her bed and said 'Lord, I believe you've given me this
thought, if you'll give me a nights
rest, I will look it up in the morning.' She went to bed woke up and in
the morning she turned to
John the first chapter and the 12th verse which says "But as
many has received him to them he
gave the right to become the children of God. To those who believe in
his name. Then
Katherine Marshall said 'That's it no one comes to God as a grandchild,
only as a child.'" What
an excellent thought and yet some are trying to get to heaven on the
skirts of their mother or the
heels of their father. God only accepts children, not grandchildren.
2. Gal 3:26 26 For ye are
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. KJV
3. Rom 8:16 The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children
of God : KJV
Illustration
My Favorite Gospel Song "My God Is Real."
B. Believe We Became A New Creation
1. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become
new.
NKJV
a. Anyone
Creation. "Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ,. . ."
b. Artistic Creation. ". . . he is a new
creation;. . ."
C.
Believe We Received Kingdom Authority
1. Matt 7:29 For he taught
them as one having authority , and not as the scribes. KJV
2. Matt 8:9 For I am a man under
authority , having soldiers under me: and I say to
this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another,
Come,
and he cometh; and to
my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it. KJV
3. Mark 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking
a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to
every
man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. KJV
4. Luke 9:1 Then he called his
twelve disciples together, and gave them power and
authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
KJV
5. Titus 2:15
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no
man despise thee. KJV
6. James 4:7 Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. KJV
a.
Resist Satan after submitting To God.
Illustration
I have been in many situations where there was a discussion of over
coming the Devil, and
temptation. It always boils down to "submitting to God and resisting
the Devil." He will flee if
we resist. Perhaps you will sign a favorite song about Jesus, or quote
a favorite scripture.
One movie the man
turned down the picture of Jesus. That is not submitting to God or
resisting
the Devil.
Application
If You want to
mature, Believe the Word Of God,
2. If You
Want To Mature: Obey The Commandments. 2 Thess 3:4-5
4 We have confidence in the
Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue
to do what we command. 5 May the Lord
direct your hearts into the
love of God and into the
steadfastness of Christ. NASU
Matt
5:17 & 19 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 19
hosoever therefore shall break one of these
least commandments
, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom
of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. KJV
Matt
22:36-40 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus
said untohim, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. 38
This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. KJV
Illustration
God Said It. I Believe It, That Settles It.
It Is Settled Because God Said It.
Some Commands Many
Times Neglected.
1. The Command To
Tithe.
Mal. 3:10 Bring the full 10
percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My
house. Test Me in this way," says the Lord
of Hosts. "See if I will
not open the floodgates of
heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. (HCSB)
- The Command To Make Disciples. Matt 28:19 KJV
- 19 Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Illustration
As a new Christian I wanted to go out on visitation. That became even
more of a concern when I
surrendered to preach. I got two other preacher boys in the church, and
we went out on
visitation. We came to one address that was rather spooky because we
had to walk through the
basement to get to the back stairs to get to this apartment. The other
two preacher boys said we
can go there it's dangerous. I simply reminded them that the Lord
promised to be with us, and I
led the way. We went through the basement walkway and made the contact
with the prospects.
Application
If we grow we must
obey the commands of the Lord. We will be blessed as we do, and
increase
in our faith.
3. If
You Want To Mature: Claim The Promises Of God.
A. Promises
Often Neglected.
1. Phil. 4:13 I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me. KJV
2. Phil. 4:19 But my God shall
supply all your need according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. KJV
3. Heb. 13:5-6 5 Let your
conversation be without covetousness; and be content with
such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will
never
leave thee, nor orsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man
shall do
unto me.
KJV
4. 1 Cor 10:13 There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be
tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to
bear
it. KJV
5. 1 Cor 15:57-58 57 But thanks be
to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour
is not in vain in the Lord. KJV
6. Rom 8:38-39 38 For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. KJV
Illustration
A young businessman was rushed to a hospital in serious
condition. A doctor predicted that he
might die. Not a religious man at the time, he did, however, turn on a
radio and heard a Christian
song being played: "God Will Take Care Of You." He said that he
couldn't get that song out of
his mind. I need someone like that in my life. He began to pray, and as
he did, he reported a sense
of energy flowing in. It was near Christmas, a Sunday morning. He heard
a group of nurses
having a brief worship service in a nearby room and struggled up out of
bed and joined them. While
there, he committed his
life to Jesus Christ. He claimed the promises of God. That man
recovered. Thereafter, for the rest of his life, he remained faithful
to his commitment. He referred
every business and every personal decision to God, living by the
teachings of Jesus.
You've heard of this
man, who told all of this in a book about his life. His name was J.
C.
Penney. He too insisted throughout his life that Paul was
quite right in promising divine help for
those in whom Christ's Spirit lives. E. Carver McGriff, LECTIONARY
PREACHING WORKBOOK: CYCLE B, Lima: CSS
Publishing, 1999.
Do You Know Who You Are?
Do You Want To Mature?
If You Want To Mature:
Believe!
If You Want
To Mature: Obey The Commandments.
If You Want
To Mature: Claim The Promises Of God.
