Maturity Matters | June 25, 2023

Main Point: Maturity is the result of discipleship, which engages a person in denying self, serving others, and understanding God’s wisdom.

Denying Self leads to Maturity.

Matthew 16:24-25 NIV

²⁴ “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

“And yet I decide, every day, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily–open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride.” – Peterson 

1 Corinthians 11: 1 

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” NIV

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” ESV

• How do I become someone worth following? Most would think ‘leadership’ but Jesus says “servanthood”

Serving Others leads to Maturity.

Mark 9:33-37 NIV

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. ³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” ³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

John 1:29 NIV

²⁹“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Seeking God’s Wisdom leads to Maturity.

Ephesians 3:7-10 ESV

⁷ “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 3:19 ESV

“…to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Conclusion: Diversity embraced in the church will lead to Maturity expressed in the church.