Faith Bumps 2: Obstacles to Growth January 24, 2014

Faith Bumps 2: Obstacles to Growth January 24, 2014 Let's play a little game. If you could, would you choose TV #1, TV #2, or TV#3? Now unless you are weird, you picked TV #3. Why would you settle for the little guys if you have that huge flat-screen? Just guys on this one. If you could, would you choose car 1, car #2, or car #3? Those of you who picked car #2 will have your man-cards revoked at the door. Why would you settle for a Yugo if you could drive one of these brand new Vettes? Ladies: If you could, would you pick home #1, home #2, or home #3? Now my wife Julie would pick home #2 if it came with me. Guys: If you could... Now this one is a little dangerous. If you are married, you might want to look like you are thinking hard. If your wife or your girlfriend were bitten by zombies, guys, would you pick girl #1, girl #2, or girl #3 to be your new wife? Everything else being equal, why would you settle? Ladies, your turn: Same scenario -- If you could choose, Guy #1, Guy #2, or Guy #3? How many of you are like: "I want the lazy guy with the beer gut!" If you had your pick, would you settle? Really? Now here's the deal guys. I've heard people say over and over again, "I don't care about some mansion in heaven, I' I take a shack near the garbage dump as long as I make it in." Maybe you've said it. Sometimes it comes across like this: "I'll do as little as I can to make it into heaven, and not a bit more. So what's the least I can do to get in?"... Really? You wouldn't want to settle when it comes to TVs or cars, or homes, or spouses, but you're more than willing to settle for the least you can get in heaven? Really? Let me be straight with you. If you want to blow off what I'm going to preach about this morning, you might still make it into heaven. If you don't want to grow up the way God wants you to, and if you don't want experience everything God wants you to you might still make it. But why are we so willing to settle? Why are we willing to settle for way less than what God wants for us in this world, and way less than God wants for us in the next? Really? Doesn't make much sense, does it? Do we really think that doing life God's way in this world will

make our life worse... less purposeful, less exciting, less full? I'm telling you guys, when we settle, we short God, we short our families, and we short ourselves. Now, this morning we're going to look at the spiritual growth path God puts in front of every single one of us. And we're going to focus on the biggest obstacles that keep us from making it to the end of this path. This is big stuff! This is about living life to the fullest here, this life, and the next. We don't want to settle. Now last week I started out by describing this spiritual growth path. Stage one is "Just Looking." Something makes you take a look at Jesus. I know you have your doubts, you have your questions, you have your fears, but you're looking, and you're thinking about taking that big first step. Stage two is "Getting Started." We make that decision to follow Jesus, we take that first step. We go from believing in God to a relationship with God through Jesus. We are Jesus followers now, and that starts changing the way we think, and that starts changing the way we live. Stage three is "Digging Deeper." We begin to realize that we need more than church can give us. We need to spend time with God on our own, we need to read the Bible on our own, and pray on our own. We need to find a place to make a difference with the gifts God gives us. We need to take personal responsibility for our spiritual growth and our closeness to God. Stage four is "All In." It's not about me anymore. It's not about what I want, what I need, what I feel. It's about what serves him, and what reaches them. We're completely surrendered to God, we're madly in love with God, and we trust him implicitly. By the way, it is really hard to get to "all in" and stay there. Now that's kind of the bare bones of the spiritual growth path we laid out last week. And then we studied two verses that kind of laid out the challenge. If you have a Bible, or a smart phone, or a tablet with a Bible app, you can look it up, but I'm going to move pretty fast, so you might just want to jot the references down. The Bible says, "We must (this is not an option; if we are Jesus followers, we must) become like a (spiritually) mature person, (we must keep on) growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection." (Ephesians 4.13 NCV) We

can't quit this path. We can't settle for just "getting started." We can't even settle for reaching the "digging deeper" stage. We must become "like Christ" - which means "all in." And then the apostle Paul reinforces this idea with these words. He says, "We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, (we do absolutely everything we can) so that, if possible, (here's the goal, here's our goal; so that) we may bring every man (that includes you ladies too) up to his full maturity in Christ." (Colossians 1.28 Phillips) We won't settle for getting you to "getting started," or to "digging deeper," our goal is to drag each other to "all in," to "Christ-Driven 24/7." Now this week 1 am going to add one more verse. Near the end of his life, the apostle Paul says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." (2 Timothy 4.7) Now that's what I want to be able to say someday; and that's what I want you to be able to say someday. Two things. First, he calls it a good fight; a good fight. It's worth it. There are some hard things worth fighting for, and finishing this path is one of them. Second, he says, I have finished the race. Guys, you don't finish this race at stage two, "getting started." You don't even finish it here at stage three, "digging deeper." The race is finished at "All In," Christ-Driven 24/7. Okay, here's what I want to focus on this morning: If this spiritual growth is normal, God's normal, if this path is what we were made for, what trips us up? What makes it hard? What are the biggest obstacles between these stages of spiritual maturity? What's going to keep you from moving beyond "just looking" to "getting started," and from "getting started" to "digging deeper," and from "digging deeper" to "all in"? I want to try to show you what the biggest obstacles are, so we can overcome them. So let's start over here. What prevents most people from getting started? You see, in our world, in our culture, most everyone does some looking, but a whole lot of people never get started. A lot of people actually believe in God, and some even believe that Jesus is probably the Son of God. But a whole lot of you never go from believing in God to a personal relationship with God through

Jesus. You never decide to become Jesus followers, to do life with God, God's way. So what blocks most people from getting started? Now I am going to make some of you "just looking" guys a little irritated. You're going to push back some, I think. Because I'm going to tell you what I think the biggest obstacle is, and you are not going to agree. That's okay. Just think about it, and see if there may be some truth to what I'm going to suggest. You see, most of you who are just looking think that your biggest obstacle is that you don't really believe enough yet; you are not sure about God yet, or you are not convinced that Jesus is the Son of God yet. Or sometimes you don't think you need "saving." You re not convinced that you are so broken that only Jesus can fix you. You think the biggest obstacle is your doubts, your questions. Maybe you question whether this Bible can be trusted. In fact you saw a History Channel, or a National Geographic special that attacked the credibility of the Bible, and it made you wonder. And there are all these contradictions in the Bible, right? Or, maybe there are things about God that don't make sense to you. Like, if there is a God, why is there so much pain in this world? If God is so good and powerful, why doesn't he fix what's broken? Or, maybe your questions are about us. If following Jesus is supposed to change people for the better, then why are so many of us Jesus followers jerks? You're not sure you want to be one of us, you think. So a lot of you think the biggest obstacle between "just looking" and "getting started" is this pile of doubts and unanswered questions. And I am going to tell you... it's not. The biggest obstacle to "getting started" is being willing to bend your knees to Jesus. We are not sure we are willing to call Jesus... "Lord." You see, we don't want anyone else to be the boss of me, not even Jesus, not even God. We want to set our own goals, we want to live by our own rules. We want to do what we want, go where we want, live how we want. The biggest obstacle to "getting started" is pride: dethroning that "me," and giving God his rightful place in my life. I know you are going to have your doubts and your questions... join the crowd. But here's what God does for all of us, and he's done it for you. When you come

face to face with Jesus, God's Spirit will convict you about who he is and what he's done for you, God convicts you of his truth. You have felt God's Holy Spirit tugging you towards Jesus, and you know it's the right thing to do. But if you just don't want to go along, then you'll start finding reasons not to. When you feel God's tug, and you don't want to give in, you'll start asking these questions, and you'll start looking for an excuse to doubt. Guys, listen. You'll never get your minds around God - he's too big. There will always be questions you can't answer. For some of us, there will always be doubts about this and about that. That's okay. He has given you enough reason to take that first step... if you are willing. He gives us enough to trust him, he's gives us enough to follow him, if we really want to. That's obstacle #1. That's what prevents most people from getting started. Am I willing to dethrone me, and give Jesus his rightful place in my life? Let's move on. Here's obstacle #2. This is biggest obstacle, I think, between "getting started" and "digging deeper." Here it is: to get to "digging deeper" we have to shift our focus from being fed, to feeding ourselves. We have to shift our focus from being served, to serving others. This is where we start to take personal responsibility for our spiritual growth, and for our life with God. You see, back here at "getting started" we really need the church to feed us, and get us started. So in our worship those getting started learn to give God the praise and the thanks he deserves, and they get some practical direction on how to do life with God. In our classes, those getting started learn how to dig into the Word, and how to start thinking and living as a Christian. But if you hang around church for a while eventually you'll discover that being fed and being served is not enough. Let's go back and think about being on a trail. When we took kids on the trail for our wilderness camps, the newbies would need a lot of help. We'd tell them what to wear, and what to bring, and help them pack their packs. We'd carry some of their food, and water. We'd have to teach them how to build a fire, and how to cook their food, and where to put their tents. We'd show them what poison ivy looks like, and which berries to eat, and how to read the trail markers, and their maps. But eventually they would learn to start taking care of themselves. They'd learn to prepare their own packs, and carry their own

weight, and cook their own food. They were learning to take responsibility for themselves on this trail. Well, we have Jesus followers who have been on this path for 10, and 20, and 30 years who still tell the church: "feed me," "serve me." And when they stop growing (which they will), they think it's the church's fault. When they start feeling distant from God (which they will), they think it's the church's fault. And to some degree our churches have made this obstacle bigger. We used to think it was on us to keep people fed and served... Well, there was a massive study done of spiritual growth in our churches. Here's what they found. You see, we thought that if we could get people to do more church - more worship, more classes - they'd just keep on growing. Well they discovered that it doesn't work that way! We thought it was about us - if we could keep our preaching deep enough, are our classes good enough, are our programs exciting enough - they'd just keep on growing. Well, they discovered it's not about our worship, and our classes, and our programs. They discovered that unless churches challenge people to take personal responsibility for their life with God, people stall, and they get grumpy. Now when you are just getting started the church will be the most important part of connecting you with God and getting you going. But to get to "digging deeper" stage you have to move from being fed to feeding yourselves, from being served to serving others. It's on me now to stay close to God and to keep on growing spiritually. A good church will help, but the responsibility is mine. So Obstacle #1 is dethroning me, and giving God his rightful place. Obstacle #2 is moving from being fed, to self-feeding; from being served, to serving. Obstacle #3:... There is this huge obstacle between "digging deeper" and "all in" - maybe the toughest obstacle of them all. You see, here's where our focus shifts from growing ourselves to growing others. Here's where it's not about "me" anymore. And our goal is to take you to "all in." You see, our goal here at Capital City is not just to be a place where we grow disciples; our goal is to be a place where we grow disciples who make disciples. Our goal is to grow disciples who say, "It's not about me. It's not about what I want, what I need, what I like. It's about what serves Him, and what reaches and grows them."

You see, back here at "digging deeper," it's still a lot about me: "Am I growing, am I staying close to God." Over here at "ail in," it's really not about me any more. It's about whatever honors him, and whatever builds his kingdom. It's about honoring God, and reaching and growing the people he loves. That's what it means to be Christ-Driven, 24/7, Christ-like, 24/7. You see, a fully mature "all in" Christian goes full circle. When you're "getting started," it's a whole lot about me. Even at the "digging deeper" stage it's about my taking responsibility for my spiritual growth, my intimacy with God. But as a Christian fully matures, it's less and less and less about me, and more and more about Him, and them. We're trying to grow disciples who are all about making disciples. You see this path is really kind of a circle. Back here at getting started, we need others to get us going. Here at the digging deeper, we start learning to take responsibility for our own life with God. Do you know why? Because those who were helping us have to go back to help others get started. And when we go all in, it's our turn now to go back and help others get started. We become disciples who make disciples. We're almost done, guys; just a couple more pieces... Normal, God's normal, God's expectation is that we grow up: from just looking, to getting started, to digging deeper, to all in. And here's what happens if we don't - keep growing. Two things happen that are, I think, inevitable - and they are not good. If we don't keep moving, we get stuck. If we stay too long at any of these stages, we get stuck. The people who did that massive study on spiritual growth discovered something surprising, and scary. Here's what they found. Guys, if you are "just looking," and if you've been coming to church for more than 5 years, chances are you will never become a Jesus follower. The longer you attend church without making that decision to follow Jesus, the less likely you will ever make that decision. Guys, you've got to get it done! Now we think it's just the opposite. We think if we can keep you coming, eventually you'll give in to God. It doesn't work that way. Eventually you just get stuck "just looking." You get comfortable "just looking," and you don't want to move on. You get used to telling God "no."

Now they didn't test this principle with the other stages, but I think it works with them too. They tell us that a whole lot of Jesus followers are at the "getting started" stage - about 40% of us. And a whole bunch of you "getting started" guys will never get to "digging deeper." You'll spend your whole life expecting the church to feed you, and serve you. You will settle, and you'll miss out - in this life, and in the next. You see, if you stay at "getting started" too long, you get really good at telling God, "no further, I'm comfortable here." You guys have to keep moving! And there are a whole lot of people at the "digging deeper" stage who will never go "all in." Partly because it's really, really hard to finish eliminating "self." But partly because we get comfortable here, and we get practiced at telling God, "no further." So if we don't keep moving, we get stuck. And listen guys - this is so important - - when we get stuck, we get bored and grumpy. If you stay at the feed me / serve me stage too long, you'll get bored and grumpy. Even if you hang out at the feed myself stage too long, you'll get bored and grumpy. There are bunches of studies that play this out. Stalled Christians are bored and grumpy. You see, when we focus on being fed, and being served, we become critical of the food and the service. But when we're pursuing God, when we learn to feed ourselves and feed others, when we!earn to serve rather than be served, when we learn that it's not about me any more - this thing gets fun! It's not about doing more church, it's not even about our doing church better, it's about moving down this path. Don't get stuck, or you will get grumpy and bored. Guaranteed. Okay... where are you on this path, and do you know what your next steps are? In a couple minutes we're going to sing a song of worship and reflection, then we're going to share the Lord's Supper together. That's where we remember how Jesus went "all in" for us, and that's where we are challenged to go "all in" for him. During this song, during this Lord's Supper, be honest with God: Do you know where you are on this path? Are you willing to take it to the next level? And do you know what you need to do to get there?

If you are just looking, Keep coming to worship with us. You need to experience some compelling worship and hear some practical teaching about a different way to live. And try out a class out a life group. You'll be able to ask some of your questions and dig a little deeper than we can here in worship. In fact, we have a Starting Point lunch today after church. Even if you haven't signed up, join us. And next week we'll have a Starting Point class for you at 11. Come to our 9:15 worship service, and try out the Starting Point class at 11. We even want you to jump in and volunteer somewhere. Feel what it's like to be used by God to bless someone. It's cool. But here's the big one for you "Just Looking" guys. You've got to make a decision, you have to take a stand. The longer you wait, the harder it will get. Just do the right thing! If you are here at the "Getting Started" stage, Keep on coming to worship. In fact it needs to go from being something you do when you feel like it, to part of the rhythm of your life. We Jesus followers worship every Sunday unless something really big, bigger than a ballgame, stops us. And you need to get serious about connecting with a few other Jesus followers. You need to be in a life group, or in a good class where you actually do life with a few other Christian. We need each other on this path. And you need to get serious about serving. Next week Todd Layne, our Discipleship Minister is going to start a series about finding and using your spiritual gift. You have one, you know, and God wants you to use it. And to get to the next level, you'll need to start learning to study the Bible on your own, and pray on your own. In fact on Wednesday nights, Jay Fulton is teaching a class that will help you do just that. Okay, if you are here at the "Digging Deeper" stage, In addition to what you do here at church, you are spending some serious time with God outside these walls. You are in the Word, nearly every day. You get alone with God, nearly every day. You are serious about giving, and you are serious about serving.

And you are starting to realize there is still more. And it's so worth it. To get to that place where it's not about me anymore. It's not about how I'm doing with God, and how I'm growing with God. It's about getting to that place where I am a disciple who makes disciples. I'll do whatever it takes to reach those who don't follow him yet, and I'll do whatever it takes to grow them up as Jesus followers. And if you are over here, at "All in,"... Go get 'em! Go bring them in, and grow them up! Now here's what we have for you. If you know where you are on this path, if you want to come up to the signpost, we have a card there for you with your next steps. Take it, and use it. And if you want, we have another card at the worship stations that kind of spell out this whole spiritual growth path. Guys... this is God's dream for you. And you will never experience all God wants for you unless you just do it.