Marks Of Maturity - The Christian And Sin

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Okay, today. I want to just take a little time had done something back in June three weeks on marks of maturity and one of the things
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I tried to highlight was an Aspect of our Christian life as it relates to sin and I want to delve into that a little bit more this morning
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Because I just kind of touched on it back then but in order to see the big picture I wanted to just kind of do a quick review and then we'll get into that aspect a little bit more detail the
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Christian And sin as it relates to our maturity in Christ two preliminaries.
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They have you in your handout there the first preliminary is Number one that maturity is for everyone
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Maturity is for everyone. It's not just something for as the Marines would say for a few good men.
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It's for everybody in the body Can somebody read you have some of your scriptures already printed there somebody read
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Colossians 128 for us, which is our Team verse on our bulletin every Sunday. Yes Eve.
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Go ahead. Thank you notice
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No less than three times Paul mentions the term everyone, right? Warning everyone teaching everyone that we may present everyone mature in Christ That's the goal is to bring everyone to full maturity in Jesus Christ.
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So maturity is for everyone. That's a foundational truth We need to know secondly There is a distinction between marks of Christian maturity and birthmarks of salvation
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Which is you'll see that in your notes. I'll repeat that there is a distinction between marks of Christian maturity and birthmarks of salvation
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Let's look at a couple passages there first John who can read first John 2 and then we'll have somebody read first John 3
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Eric first John 2. Thank you
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By this we have come to know We know that we have come to know him Salvation so to your ology if we keep his commandments.
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We're not saved by Obedience, it's not a workspace salvation. We're saved by grace alone
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But John's authorial intent in his epistle was first John 5 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
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Son of God in order Purpose that you may know that you have eternal life. So these are just Evidence birthmarks of salvation one of them is obedience.
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How about first John 3 somebody read that please? We know that we have passed out of death into life same language that John the
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Apostle Heard Jesus say in John 5 24 verily verily or truly
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I say unto you He who believes my word has eternal life and has passed from death to life
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So John is saying here. How do we know that we have passed out of death to life? One of the evidences or birthmarks of salvation is because we love the brothers
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You have to twist my hand to come to church Love to be in the fellowship of the brethren.
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So a birthmark of salvation is love for the brethren So these are these are birthmarks of salvation.
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These are not marks of maturity Obedience love for the brethren, of course, those things will grow as we mature now, why is it so important?
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Do you think to distinguish between a birthmark? What's a birthmark of salvation?
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Versus a mark of maturity. Why is that important to distinguish between the two? Excellent.
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Okay, because Christians can be mature and still be saved very good. Why else? Yes Yes Okay, good
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Okay Yes, amen
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So if the birthmark is something you have naturally because we're born of God as we heard last week
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We are born from above born of the Spirit. It's a work of God in saving us. So those happen Supernatural actually through the
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Lord, but those other things are Goals that we are to mature in the process of our Christian faith another significant thing
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I also think along with those is I had a discussion a few years ago when I was passionate with one of the elders is that a lot of times when we see somebody or we're working with somebody is a person that this elder was working with and I was discussing with him the state of this person's
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Spiritual life and maturity the elder would say to me. Well, I I think he's a Christian, but he's not mature yet And I and as I was talking with him,
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I said, well, maybe he's not even saved in the first place Because you can't expect somebody who's not saved that God hasn't saved and caused
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Regeneration to progress to maturity just so those of us who have children. It's the same in the physical realm a
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Baby doesn't have maturity, right? But yet there's signs of life My little one is is eating up a storm.
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He's gonna eat us out of house and home But he's not eating steak yet with his dad because he hasn't reached that maturity level, but he's still eating
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So what this is important also is because a lot of times it can give people a false sense of security People say well,
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I'm saved that person say but they're just not mature yet Well, do they have the birthmarks that John is talking about it here obedience loving the brethren
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Those are signs that God produces in a person because of Regeneration. So a lot of times we use them and say well this person has never shown any
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Signs of a new creation 2nd Corinthians 517 and yeah, it's just because they're immature Well, it might be because they haven't been saved in the first place.
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So it's important to distinguish between the two All right. Let's look at the six marks just kind of a brief overview.
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There's a nine marks ministry I'm going to start a new one called six marks Six marks of maturity and the first few
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I'm just gonna just what go through We're not going to spend a lot of time discussing because I want to focus on the aspect of sin in our relationship to it
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As believers in terms of the process of maturity. Okay, the first one we talked about was doctrinal purity the first Mark of maturity.
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Can somebody read Ephesians 4, please? Yes, Carla. No, that's fine.
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Keep going Excellent foundational passage.
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You should know not necessarily the verses by heart, but you should know this reference This is a foundational passage in terms of Christian maturity in the body of Christ Notice that the reason
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Christ he is a reference to Christ Gave pastor teachers evangelists to equip the
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Saints ultimately for what? goal Notice in verse 13 until we all attain
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That's the goal attain to what to the unity of the faith and to mature manhood the goal of God given these
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People to us pastors shepherds evangelists is that we attain maturity fullness of Christ as Paul puts it in verse 13 and notice the ultimate purpose statement in verse 14 so that We may no longer be children carried about by every wind of doctrine.
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So I'm not just picking Okay, let me let me just try to pick from the clouds. What I think is marks of maturity
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I'm going to scripture and seeing where does scripture talk about maturity and what are those characteristics of maturity and we see here clearly that Paul is referring to maturity.
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Notice a what's a characteristic of a child in this passage a spiritual infant is characterized by what okay tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine a
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Child does not have a biblical discernment a mature Christian is able to discern biblically That's an important mark of maturity.
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That's part of the reason we offer here at the Church Institute of biblical studies to encourage people in the area of doctrine.
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So we're not tossed by every wind of doctrine theology That's very very important.
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You see this happening all the time with all the false teachers that are out there nowadays Anyway, let's go on to the next one.
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We had covered this already just by way of review So we get the big picture number two Christological clarity
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Colossians 128 we read that already. I won't read it again But notice it says there that we proclaim him him we proclaim and actually in the
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Greek it puts The word order in that way to emphasize Christ is the one we proclaim
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It's emphatic We proclaim Christ. We don't proclaim entertainment. We don't proclaim humanistic philosophy
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We proclaim him ultimately for what purpose to present everyone mature in Christ.
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You cannot mature without Christ So to proclaim Christ you have to have a solid understanding of not only who he is
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But also what he has done That's why it's okay that we weren't in 1st
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Corinthians this morning and pastor Mike did the central passage in the gospel of Matthew Because it helps us refocus our hearts and our minds on Jesus who he is and what he's done for us number three a
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Teachable spirit who can read those two verses from Proverbs for me a third mark of maturity Stephen Thank you.
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I love the Proverbs bearers open rebuke and hidden love by the way If you want to know if somebody loves you or not rebuke him
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Just kidding Don't just rebuke for that motive You can figure out if they were wise or not
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But we have to have a teachable spirit never get to the point and even in the process of maturing in the faith
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You never none of us have ever will ever arrive If I had a tag on here, it would say on me still a work in progress
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And that's encouraging, isn't it? we're all still a work in progress which means that when when we are when somebody does approach us for with a rebuke or a
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Word of encouragement or exhortation we need to receive it with a teachable spirit rather than be defensive about it
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Okay, the last three which we're going to focus on this morning on sin Before we get into that I want us to have a little understanding of sin before we talked about how it relates to our maturing in the faith
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Okay, so let's do For those of you who don't come to IBS We're going to do a little
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IBS class here. I'm our theology the doctrine of sin Okay, so help me out here you're going to teach the class define sin for me
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Brian what against the Holy God a Fence, it's an offense against the
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Holy God. Okay, very good Somebody else. Yes, Bruce Okay, missing the mark of what
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God's righteousness notice in both those definitions. It goes back to God's holiness
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God's righteousness. Very good anybody Breaking God's law breaking
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God's law. Very good. Okay So it's an offense against the holiness of God.
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It's missing the mark of God's righteousness breaking God's law Let me give you a few others that I just listed willful disobedience and rebellion against God Having self on the throne and not having
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God on the throne It's not keeping the greatest commandment, which is what to love the
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Lord our God with what? All our heart soul mind and strength. I mean you I've heard you've probably heard it said
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Sins of omission and things of commission sins that we commit and sins that we omit Well, you just take that one commandment and every person stands guilty before God Sin is that which we possess at birth because our inherited corrupt nature
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Remember David in Psalm 51 he said in sin. Did my mother conceive me? How about this one?
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Sin is that which is imputed credited to my account from our federal head
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Adam Romans 5 19 says for as by the one man referring to Adam by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners
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So a person might say to me. Well, I'm really haven't sinned. My heart is pretty decent guess
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I can say it here, but Remember when I was first courting my wife you see here good.
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I'm safe When I was first courting my wife and getting to know my in -laws my mother and my future mother -in -law claimed that she was sinless
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So being the Greek that I am to prove my point across as I was sitting in their living room I got down on my knees and fell prostrate before her so you can imagine that was quite a shock to her
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It's probably my father -in -law was probably thinking my daughter's gonna marry this guy So she asked me what are you doing?
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I said well as far as I know my Bible because you claim you have never sinned
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The only one who's sinless is God himself and Jesus Christ incarnate. Therefore you are to be worshipped and that's what
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I'm doing right now You think that got the message across? But even if somebody doesn't sin think they sin, okay
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We're talking about pre Christ pre before God has saved us that a person is guilty because of the federal headship of Adam It's credited to that person's account a friend of mine had a problem with that said that that's not fair for God to do that What God is not fair?
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How does he not show partiality the Bible says in James that God is not partial God is showing partiality to credit
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Adam sin to my account when I you know How is it charged to my account through the one man's obedience the many more made sinners?
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I said, you know what you're right It really isn't fair, but I think what's even more or less fair is that God would take
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Believers one who is saved their sin and put it on Jesus Christ on the cross so that he bore the wrath for me now
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That's even more for in a less fair And if you want to talk about fairness, what's even the worst the worst of all is that God will look upon me?
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Through the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ now, let's talk about fairness But that's what sin is in essence
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It's as Isaiah 53 says going astray from God turning to our own way right Romans 3 23 for all of sin and fall
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Short of the glory of God. He's a standard basic biblical definitions of sin
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Question who is affected by sin who is affected by it?
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Everyone okay, everyone All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God what are the sins consequences by the way
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Death okay wages of sin is death from in 623 Judgment Hebrews 9 27 is appointed for man to die once and after that to face judgment enmity with God very good
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Bruce Eternal separation from God very good death judgment enmity before God eternal separation from God Brian What's that All of creation the world, okay good.
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Yeah, exactly just another hand. Excellent. Carla Okay, grieve the
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Holy Spirit very good if I did that back in May I think Ephesians 4 How about this?
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Paul describes Remember what happened at the cross? I love that song The power of the cross
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I was talking about it with Dave earlier that on the cross Jesus bore the wrath of God Therefore when
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Paul describes the gospel in Romans, which pastor Mike is gonna do in 16 weeks. I'm looking forward to that The gospel, how does he begin verse 18 of chapter 1
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Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life Romans 1 18 and 1 16
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I'm not ashamed of the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes first for the Greek I mean first for the Jew then for the
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Greek For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed verse 18 for the wrath of God is
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Revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness
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One of the consequences of sin is bearing the wrath of God The wrath of God has to be satisfied.
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That's what propitiation is And if it's not Jesus on the cross for those who repent they will bear the wrath of God the consequences of sin
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Couple more questions as we get into this a little bit more in terms of our Christian maturity before God saved us
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Before God saved us. What was our relationship to sin? How would you describe our relationship to sin before God saved us?
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Say that again Okay Slaves to sin
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I have two people saying slaves can't get a third one. No see We loved our sin,
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I like that we loved our sin we were slaves to sin we loved our sin anyone else Bruce Justified our sin rationalizing it.
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Yes Carmen. Ah Okay, so we didn't even think we were simple we're oblivious we're good righteous moral citizens
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Yeah, according to the human standards very good slaves to sin Remember Romans 6 to highlight what the lady said here
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Romans 6 a couple of times Paul as he goes through that passage It says we're slaves to sin or I love
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Jesus passage in John 8 you should know the truth, right? And the truth shall do what set you free.
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The Jews are like what why should be we be set free? We're not slaves to anyone We have Abraham as our father
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Jesus response to them is he who sins is a slave to sin But if the Son Jesus set you free you shall be free indeed
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So we were slaves to sin How about Ephesians 2 1 we were dead in our sins, right?
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spiritually dead How about since the work of salvation since God has saved what does a believer's relationship to sin happen at that point once God saves a
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Person before they were slaves to sin. They were not Okay, sin has no power over us, okay somebody else sin has no power
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Yes Okay, we are able because of regeneration to choose to do what's pleasing to the
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Lord Brian We hate sin in contrast to what Stephen said we're seeing the contrast here loving sin before hating sin
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Slaves to sin not being not being slaves to sin not having sin doesn't have the power over us Bruce When we sin now it drives us to the cross
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The power of the cross that was the song I was referring to earlier When we sin it drives us to the cross turn with me to first John quickly,
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I don't think that's in your notes As we get into the last three marks of maturity as it relates to sin
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First John 1 and I'll they're listed in in there for you But this passage isn't first John chapter 1 first If somebody can read verse 10 and then somebody else will jump to the first John chapter 3 verse 9 now remember
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John's authorial intent I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God So that you may know that you have eternal life.
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Okay, so he's writing to believers I write to you who believe in the name of Son of God. What's he say in this opening chapter in verse 10?
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flow if we say
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We have not sinned Somebody says I've not sinned We make God a liar and his word is not in us
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I'd rather trust God's word than trust what a person says So the very cleared the Apostle John says as believers of course we know verse 9 if we confess our sins and that's on the heels of that that John says this as Believers we still sin, but what else does he send chapters 3 verse 9?
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Yes Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Thank you.
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How was the Spartan race by the way? No one who is born of God can go on sinning keep on sinning for God seed abides in him
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He cannot because he has been born of God. That's part of the miracle of regeneration Now it doesn't mean that we are it's not perfection its direction
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It's not the perfection of your life as a mature and reaching maturity. It's the direction of your life
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Christians still sin John says but it's not the dominant pattern of their life. They don't Continue to keep on sinning when we do sin as Bruce mentioned it drives us to the cross
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So let's bring these together in the last three marks of maturity the four and five I had discussed last time briefly with you and I'm going to introduce the sixth one to kind of round off this aspect of Sin in our lives number for a growing awareness of our own sinfulness that's definitely a mark of maturity and we simply get it as you seen your notes and as I had discussed back in June the
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Apostle Paul of his Maturing process in life when he wrote first Corinthians.
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He referred to himself as the least of the Apostles When he wrote Ephesians later
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He referred to himself as the least of all of the Saints and by the end of his life when he wrote first Timothy He considered himself his view of himself was
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I'm the foremost the chief of all sinners So as we mature we see more and more of our sinfulness
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We become there's a growing awareness of our own sinfulness how because we become as we become closer to the
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Lord We realize more and more of who he is in all of his holiness and majesty and that reveals more and more of our sin
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But yet at the same time there's this it's kind of two sides of one coin. Is it not number five?
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Steve mentioned before we were saved we love sin Brian said after God saves us We hate sin a growing hatred of sin.
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Somebody read Romans 7 there. It's right in your notes Yes, Janet.
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Thank you Thank you.
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That's a passage. I'd highlighted last time that When Paul is writing this not only is he a saved person.
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He's a mature Christian Okay, so we know the things I do don't want to do I do the things
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I want to do I don't do but he noticed what I highlight there is he does the very thing. He hates he hates sin
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It's something that he detests Question so as we mature we have both a growing awareness of our own sinfulness and Yet at the same time a growing hatred for sin
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How are those two things they seem to be paradoxical? How are those two things coexist in a
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Christian's life as? We mature yes Okay, very good excellent did everyone hear that so we the new man in the old man the constant tension that we have within us
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Very good Yes, Linton excellent
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Galatians 220 that's one of the first verses. I learned as a baby Christian I love the beginning part of that because you see that tension.
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I have been crucified with Christ and Paul says I no longer live Okay, so you're dead you no longer live, but yet later on he says that you just highlighted
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Linton so very well the life I live by faith In the
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Son of God, so I'm living by faith in the Son of God and yet. I've been crucified. I don't live Well, what's which one is
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Paul you schizophrenic or what? No, is that tension? That's it's that Holy tension of I've been crucified with Christ, but yet because of that I live by faith by trusting in the
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Son of God excellent Okay, let's get to the sixth one
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So we're talking about sin, and how it affects us as we mature in the Christian life We have a growing awareness of our own sinfulness, but yet at the same time a growing hatred for sin as we mature in the
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Christian faith let me give you number six you have it there in your notes, and this is the new one a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in my flesh a
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Growing awareness that nothing good dwells in my flesh By the way if some of you came late
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Brian. Do you have any extra copies you can pass out? I don't know if you've got any left over, but okay. They're over there, but you can grab them over there
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So a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in my flesh Romans 718 the same passage in Romans Can somebody read that verse please?
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Go Joe okay again.
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That's that passage in Romans 7 when we see God. I mean Paul's Holy tension as a mature believer that he's wrestling there, and he knows that nothing good dwells in him in his flesh
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So as we mature in the Christian life We don't say this is not a mark of maturity.
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We don't say I'm mature enough I can handle it rather we say
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I know my flesh the corruption that still remains Listen to this.
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It's not in your notes actually turn to it just to show you the power of the flesh Genesis 4 and sin as it relates to us even as Christians Yes, God has saved us from the power of sin and is continuing to do so But we have the corruption that remains with us in the flesh
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Genesis chapter 4 verses 6 to 7 Can enable if someone would read that please?
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Good will go ahead you haven't read yet. Yes. Thank you
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That's what's known in the scripture as a personification Personification is when you take something that's
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Inanimate and make it as if it has life so to speak notice how it talks about sin as if it's a person
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You do not do well sin is doing what? He says to Cain it's crouching at your door and its desire is
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For you what a strong description of sin That early on in the scripture
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God gives to us sin is crouching at the door and his desire is to have you But you must rule over it
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So we need to have a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in our flesh We need to understand our flesh the remaining corruption that remains in house
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How sin can come if you have this awareness as you mature in the Christian life? Then you'll not have the attitude
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I can handle this. I'm a strong Christian if you begin to think that way
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The red light should be going off. Okay. Let's look at two examples from scripture to to support this
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Thing that we're talking about how is sin related to us in terms of maturing in the Christian life this last one
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Especially that we understand that we have a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in our flesh So that when we are confronted with temptation the temper comes along Satan like a roaring lion
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Peter says Peter ought to know better and we're gonna look at Peter in a second that we don't say ah,
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I'm a strong believer I'm a
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Christian Spartan. I can do it Turn with me to Luke 22
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We're gonna look at two examples from scripture on this Peter from the New Testament and David from the
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Old Testament Luke 22 verses 33 and 34.
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Okay, we there can someone read that please Go up, right?
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We know the story and later on if we read the rest of the chapter We know that truly Peter did deny the
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Lord three times, but he said and he meant it Lord, I am ready to go with you not only to prison but to death
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Now I want to in order to understand the impact of this reference I had you purposely read those verses first go back a couple of verses and let's read verses 31 and 32
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Because that's on the heels of what Peter just said and this is Jesus talking to Peter if somebody can read that Pretty thank you.
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Thank you So here Jesus tells him, you know, by the way, we saw this morning that and we'll look at that briefly again that you know when
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The Lord calls you by Satan. That's not a very good thing And when he when he addresses your name, by the way at this point when he addresses
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Peter he had already switched his name He wasn't Simon anymore. He was Peter We know that from Luke 6 earlier
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But yet here as if Jesus is trying to say wake up Peter I'm addressing you by your old name before I came to you
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Simon Simon and you repeats it twice And he says what to him saying the man to have you that he might sift you like wheat
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But you are a strong mature Christian Peter you can handle this No, what did
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Jesus say? Why would Peter persevere? But verse 32
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I Jesus have prayed for you The intercessory work of the second member of the
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Trinity. That's why in first John one of the references We read that if we say we have no sin
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We make him out to be a liar and this the truth is not in us If you continue in chapter 2 the thought continues don't let the chapter make you think that that's the break in the thought
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He says in chapter 2 John says that we have when we do sin I write these things so that you may not sin, but if you do sin as believers, we have an advocate with the
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Father Jesus Christ is your advocate and that's what Jesus is saying to him here and it's on the heels of that Despite that Jesus said that to Simon Peter said no.
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No, I can handle this I won't I'll go to prison and death with you spiritual chest pumping
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Why do you think later? notice how pastor might brought us to Peter the epistle because what
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Peter writes is from his Personal experience with the interactions he had with the Lord. Why is it in first Peter chapter 5
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Peter writes this? Let's turn to their first Peter chapter 5 verses 5 and 6 to show that Peter would at that stage did not have a growing awareness of His flesh
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And that's why he responded the way he did but later on he learned about it Look what he says in chapter 5 of his first epistle verses 5 and 6
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Dave. I saw your hand earlier Would you mind reading that? Thank you. Thank you excellent
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But wait a second doesn't the aunt Peter and Paul in conflict here Doesn't Paul see in the great epistle to the
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Romans chapter 8 if God is for us Who can be against us? Peter says here that when it comes to humility
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God opposes whom the proud But he gives grace to the humble
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Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Well, in essence, you can call this mark of maturity
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Humility when you have a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in your flesh. It's it's humility
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It's growing in humility and understanding that The flesh is still alive and kicking in me think with me
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We don't have to turn to it from this morning Matthew 16 Peter's confession of Christ You are the son of the
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Living God. You are the Christ the son of the Living God the father revealed that to him, right and Yet right after that Jesus says
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I'm gonna go to the cross and The same Peter who just said the confession
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Says starts rebuking him. He began to rebuke him and pastor Mike highlighted and this will never happen to you
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Get thee behind me Satan There we go Growing awareness of our own flesh
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Peter there who confessed Jesus at the same time Also told
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Jesus that should never happen to you. It was a rebuke to him All right. Let's look at the Old Testament this example of David Actually, if somebody can look up 1st
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Samuel 13 verse 14 1st Samuel 13 verse 14 and then somebody else in the
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New Testament Acts chapter 13 verse 22. I'm just going to highlight the character of David here as Testified by God himself to show us how he also to with this mark of maturity at a stage in his life in his life 1st
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Samuel 13 14 Go ahead Ezra. Thank you. Thank you
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Samuel there the prophet is talking to Saul and telling him this information And notice what it says of the
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Lord. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart So this is the Lord himself seeking someone after God's own heart
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Okay, who has acts 13 22? Deep.
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Thank you Excellent question who testified of the character of David there according to the scripture
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God So we know that's true of David because God said it God doesn't lie and he is the one who sought him out and he found somebody
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God that says here in Acts 13 a Man after his own heart who will do all my will.
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Okay, so this is David All right Turn all together.
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Let's go to 2nd Samuel 11 2nd Samuel Chapter 11 and I'll read it this time because I'm going to do a little
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Have a little license with this passage. Don't worry. There won't be any heresy here Because that would not be doctrinally pure But I want
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I want to highlight to you here how David whom God himself testified was a man after his own heart
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Willing to do all his will What happened here? I'll just read the first five verses and you can follow along with me
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We know the rest of the story, but I want to highlight the beginning 2nd Samuel chapter 11 beginning in verse 1 in the spring of the year the time when
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Kings go out to battle David the man after God's own heart
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Sent Joab and his servants with him in all Israel and they ravaged the
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Ammonites and besieged Rabbah But David the man after God's own heart remained at Jerusalem It happened late one afternoon
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When David the man after God's own heart arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house that he saw from the roof a woman bathing and the woman was very beautiful and David the man after God's own heart sent and inquired about the woman and One said is not this
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Bathsheba the daughter of Elion the wife of Uriah the Hittite so David The man after God's own heart
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Sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he lay with her now She had been purifying herself from her uncleanness
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Then she returned to her house and the woman conceived and she sent and told
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David the man after God's own heart I am pregnant God found a man after his own heart and yet we see here as We're talking about this sixth mark of maturity a growing awareness that nothing good dwells in my flesh
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David took license there he saw the fruit and took And we know later the story what he did is he called
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Uriah in and he told him to go to his wife To kind of cover up his sin, but Uriah didn't go to his wife.
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He laid outside his door He says I can't go to my wife when the others are in battle Then David brought him back again as the story unfolds in 2nd
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Samuel 11 try to get him drunk By the end of the passage in verse 27
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It says this of 2nd Samuel 11 and when the morning was over David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife and bore him a son
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But the thing that David the man after God's own heart had done displeased the
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Lord David the man after God's own heart according to the Lord himself did that was displeasing to the
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Lord Because of a lack of an awareness of nothing good dwells in his flesh
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So how do we continue on this path as it relates to our Christian life maturity and as it relates to sin?
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A couple of things you don't have to turn to him. You can jot him down I'll just read him for you as the time closes 1st
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Corinthians 10 12 Therefore actually it's a passage that as Pastor Mike's been walking us through the book of Corinthians Where he took us back to the
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Old Testament and he highlights for specific sins their idolatry testing the Lord grumbling and Sexual immorality and then he says in verse 12
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Paul does therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands Take heed lest what he fall take heed
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So the first thing you can do it to continue in this process of maturity to have in the relationship to sin and the flesh
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Still the corruption that remains in us is to do what Paul says there is to take heed and not to think
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I can handle this Another thing you can do Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 says this as a body
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But exhort one another Every day as long as it is called today.
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Why? That none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin
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Why are we to exhort one another? This is the Christian life is not for Lone Rangers even he had
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Tonto Why do we exhort one another is because none of us would be hardened by what the deceitfulness of sin
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So that's why we are to exhort and encourage one another Reference Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 1st
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Corinthians 1012. Yep. Any comments or questions as we close?
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Stephen Colossians.
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Yeah Yes, I'll give you that's a great example
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If you go to I've always said when you read a book always read the appendix That's where all the nuggets are doesn't mean don't read the book
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But in his book ashamed of the gospel MacArthur writes in the appendix. There was a survey done
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Of you know, Bill Hybels The you know, Willow Creek the secret sensitive guy who recently has put out some stuff on He says that he started his church because he heard a whisper from God So Anyway, so there was a survey done of the people in the church nine out of ten in that survey said they didn't feel they were maturing in Christ Because they weren't giving the the meat of the
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Word of God because everything was secret sensitive nine out of ten people And it was a shock to him.
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He says and it seemed initially that he recanted but in an interview That was done a few months later
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He says no that doesn't mean that we recant from the secret sensitive model But yet the people themselves in the church is saying we're not maturing because of that.
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So that's a that's a great point Yeah, if somebody that I was counseling or just something saying, you know get out of there, you know
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Most definitely but the that was there was a survey done that kind of proves your point there. That's a good point.
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Yeah Secret sensitive means that the perp that who defines what a local body does is defined by a
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Seeker is a misnomer. It's a the church has labeled the secret those people who are seeking after God who are not saved yet But it's a misnomer because Romans 3 tells that there is no one who seeks after God But the point of the secret sensitive services you gear everything in the service towards the seeker or the lost person
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So they dictate to you what you do whether you preach the word what kind of music you have In there that whole thing
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So the whole service is not dictated the church the leadership in the church does not go just by what the Bible says
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They go by what in order to minister to the needs of the secret and they end up dictating what how the church runs itself
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So rather than rather than going out to preach the gospel as we are in our in our neighborhoods and in our jobs
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The whole Sunday morning service is geared solely towards a lost person Yeah In essence, so so in other words the people dictate how the leader should run the church not the scriptures
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That makes sense. Okay. It was our final question back there. No. All right. Let's pray father.
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Thank you for this time together Thank you Lord that it is your desire And that's why we proclaim
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Christ here It is your desire that we do that so that everyone maturity is for everyone
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I pray that you would help us continuing in the process of maturing and growth Especially as it relates to sin help each one here this morning to have a growing awareness of their own sinfulness help each one this morning to have a growing hatred of sin
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And final Lord help us to have a growing awareness that nothing good Dwells in our flesh so that when temptation comes our way by the tempter that we will not say well
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I can handle this like Peter. I can go to prison and death with you but Lord It's only because of your intercessory work in our lives that we will be able to persevere and we thank you and love you for That in Jesus name.