Ministry and Spiritual Growth : Ministry and Spiritual Growth ICF Columbus
March 24th, 2001
Our Goal : Our Goal The goal is spiritual maturity
Ministry is a means of spiritual growth
How does ministry play its part?
Can I be spiritually mature without getting deeply involved in ministry?
Keep focus on we want to be, that is to be Christ like
1 John 2:12 - 14 : 1 John 2:12 - 14 12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
1 John 2:12 - 14 : 1 John 2:12 - 14 Context
Vs. 2, to apply this message, there is a requirement - to be born again
Notice the repetition of “love”, “darkness”, “world”, “command”, “truth”
Vs. 15 - 17, 26, false teaching
John writes to remind what is true spirituality in Christ, assurance and growing relationship with Christ
Growth : Growth Spiritual growth means developing relationship with God
To grow, you need to be born, or, you need to have the relationship
John 1:12, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
Once we have been born, it becomes less in importance in our life
Our focus should be our growth, to develop and mature in Jesus Christ
“children” - vs. 12, 13c : “children” - vs. 12, 13c I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name … because you have known the Father.
Spiritual infancy, new Christian
Our forgiveness and position in Christ
The beginning of relationship with God
Those two are very foundational and our growth are depending our understanding on them
In other words, the foundation of Christian life is being grounded in God’s grace - Eph 2:8-10
“children” - vs. 12, 13c : “children” - vs. 12, 13c The development of our relationship with God is going to be strongly dependent on on our understanding of God’s complete forgiveness in Christ
OR
We will not develop a healthy relationship with God as our Father unless we understand that He is a loving Father who forgives us and accept us unconditionally
Usually, this is a moment full of happiness, excitement, but yet, we want to grow ...
“children” - vs. 12, 13c : “children” - vs. 12, 13c If the foundation is not well built:
Legalistic mentality – Gal 3:1-5
Weak commitment in ministry – Eph 2:10
Prone to failures, insecurity – Gal 4:6,7
Dwell in flesh – Gal 5:1,16
Cold relationship with God – Eph 3:14-21
Cold relationship with others – Eph 4:20-32
Forsake the gospel – Gal 1:6,7
“young men” - vs. 13b, 14b : “young men” - vs. 13b, 14b I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one ... because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
This is where we learn to follow Christ
Christian living involves struggle
The evil one - Eph 6:12,13
Sinful nature - Gal 5:17
“Kosmos”/the world - 1 Jn 2:15,16
“young men” - vs. 13b, 14b : “young men” - vs. 13b, 14b God wants us to join Him in ministering to others sacrificially - 1 John 2
This is where ministry plays a part
This hard stuff but the goal of Christian life is not to be happy
God wants strong, battle ready, trained, and experienced soldiers to carry on His missions
Ministry in Spiritual Growth : Ministry in Spiritual Growth Eph 4:15, “truthing in love”
This self-giving lifestyle will force us to be more dependent on God
That is the struggle as well as a key for a successful Christian living
To grow, we need to overcome our struggles, including in ministry
We will be rewarded because of our ministry – 1 Cor 3:11-15, Matt 25, 1 Cor 4:5
Ministry in Spiritual Growth : Ministry in Spiritual Growth If we are not involved in ministry:
Self focused lifestyle/egotism
Feel a lot of disappointments
Will not experience God’s faithfulness
No struggle, no sense of need for God
Dwell in the flesh
No growth spiritually
There is no maturity outside ministry
How to overcome our struggles?
Ministry in Spiritual Growth : Ministry in Spiritual Growth 1 John 2:14, “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
The main goal of this stage of growth is to
practically incorporate God’s Word in
every area of our lives
This is God’s will for us and there is no growth toward spiritual maturity apart from having a deep practical knowledge and application of God’s Word into every area of our lives
Ministry in Spiritual Growth : Ministry in Spiritual Growth 1 Cor 3:1-2, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”
Heb 5:11-14, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Ministry in Spiritual Growth : Ministry in Spiritual Growth Do we know God’s promises on various area of our lives? This is something that we should be growing and be progressing in
Especially, in ministry
God wants people who are into His Word, learning it, and applying it
We need to be “saturated” with the God’s Word, always ready to be used - “the word of God lives in you”
“fathers” - vs. 13c, 14a : “fathers” - vs. 13c, 14a This our goal and it’s attainable
True knowledge of Christ becomes the dominating reality in our lives
Not a stage of inactivity
Not suffering free, but a mature person will be able to draw from JC’s power and love
Through maturity, God can work through us even more active and more effectively
Discipleship plays a huge role
Conclusion : Conclusion Spiritual growth takes time
Ministry plays a very crucial role in our growth toward maturity
Ministry = “truthing in love”
Need to be familiar with the truth be be able to do ministry effectively
Discipleship is very important
We should be able to see substantial changes in some period of time