Growing Up: Spiritual Vital Signs - Steve Ferris

Welcome to the Grace Church Weekly Podcast. We're an international church right

in the heart of Stockholm, Sweden.

Each week, we share a message that's rooted in the faithful teaching of God's

Word and open to the vibrant work of the Holy Spirit among His people.

Here's this week's message.

Today we're in a series uh it's the last part

of the series about growing up maturing in

our character and growing up in christ i want

to ask just think of a mental note when's the last time

you had a doctor checkup you took somebody to an

appointment we're encouraged to do this

on a regular basis i know some of us

don't get in the habit of doing that maybe we're afraid what they'll tell us

they'll tell us to stop eating the stuff we want to eat they'll tell us we should

probably be moving more than we should they'll tell us you know who knows sometimes

that they have some fears around it but the reason we do have that good advice

to have regular checkups with your physician,

is because you want to catch stuff early on you catch stuff early you have a greater chance of,

fixing it with less problem.

So most of those visits, there's going to be a few things that happen.

You can probably count them happening to you.

You're probably going to check your heart rate. Oftentimes they'll check your blood pressure.

And these are just seeing a baseline of, is there anything obviously going on

with your vital signs that we need to know about when you're seeing them?

So they have all these devices that they use. You have professionals who have

devices and they can put it on your body. They can figure out what's wrong with you.

We now have smart devices we can wear in different areas that tell us our metrics,

let us know what's going on with our bodies. What about our spirit?

It's a little less obvious, I think. And I think sometimes we need to learn

about how do we check that? Who is checking that?

Today, we want to talk about that.

Now, we learn about our bodies in school. And this is part of growing up.

You learn, like, what is the heart for?

How do I keep it healthy? We learn these things because we need to learn how to care for them.

If you don't know how to care for them, then it's a good chance you're going

to have some problems later on.

And we need to learn about the components of our spiritual life in the same

way. And I was thinking about this.

I was trying to think of our spiritual life is multifaceted.

There's lots of parts of it. But I was just thinking for a moment,

just like, you know, God created a spirit.

God created the natural world. And I was just, I'm not into science or biology by any means.

And I'm really intimidated to talk about it in rooms like this where there's

so many who are smart and passionate and actually gone to school and learned

all this stuff. So just bear with me, okay?

So seven characteristics of living organisms.

So this is what they are. So you've got movement, respiration,

sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, gross word, and nutrition.

So I took a moment, I was thinking about this and just praying,

is there anything here we can look at?

And I wanted to look at it because, you know, Scripture tells us that God reveals

His glory through creation.

So I really believe that there's something here for us. And as we look at it,

first off, there's seven characteristics.

Biblically, that's significant. Seven is a number that means completion,

means wholeness, means God's finished work.

So the author of life has actually put us a signature right there in the fact

that there's seven characteristics that define something as living.

Now because there's this link between the spiritual and the natural I want us

to have what's it look like in your spiritual life so respiration.

Respiration so we're told we need to breathe,

all the time and we're encouraged in scripture to pray without ceasing nutrition

this is a daily kind of sustenance getting your fuel to keep moving and we're

told to consume the word man should not live on bread alone every word that

comes from the mouth of God.

Movement. We need action. And then most of us who have sedentary jobs,

we know this is a struggle.

We're struggling from lack of action sometimes.

And this action, we need to be doing good. We need to be doing good works,

listening to the word that we read.

Excretion. Well, that's a cleansing.

We need to have a way to be getting junk, waste out of our lives.

We do that as Christians through confessing and repentance.

And then there's growth, what we're focusing on.

That's the result of all these things. It's as maturing in character.

It's growing more and more into the likeness of Christ.

And then there's reproduction, which is what we've been called to do,

is to go into all the world and make disciples.

So the goal of all these things working as they should, working well,

as God has designed them, is that we would reproduce our own time.

And whenever there's pain and there's resistance in your spiritual life,

I think there's probably a corresponding vulnerability in one of those areas.

So I'm going to ask questions for each one. I'll ask a few. These are diagnostic

questions. You don't raise your hand. Just think.

Is prayer my oxygen or an emergency measure? How do I think about it?

What, besides the word of God, is feeding my inner life?

Do I hear or do I do God's word?

Am I more Christ-like than I was two years ago?

And then who is closer to Jesus because of my life right now?

That the question where you ask yourself if you're more mature,

more like Christ than a couple years ago, this one has gotten me so many times.

We don't want to be stunted in our spiritual growth.

Nobody wants to be a spiritual baby forever we should be growing up it's the

natural way of things and then also,

there is no such thing as spiritual tenure because

you show up and sit in these rooms in these pews that does not equate to any

kind of spiritual growth at all there are many many spiritual babies who have

been in the same spiritual maturity for decades because this is what they think

is equating to what they're doing and regrettably,

Sadly,

that's not what Christ has called you to do. You are called to be growing.

There's an opportunity for so much more.

And so, in Psalm 92, 12, it says, The righteous flourish like a palm tree and

grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

We want to flourish and we want to grow.

But each of us, we know that we're falling short somewhere.

When we look at the big list of things that I had, I know. I know about the

word thing. I'm not in it very often. I know I know.

And I look at that list myself and I can see areas where I'm just,

I know I'm not doing nearly as good as I should be doing at this stage in my

walk with the Lord. So what do we do?

You go to the next slide, Noah.

First, we need to keep in mind our environment.

If any living thing is going to do well, it needs to be in the right environment.

So for the Christian, that environment is Christ. So in Acts 17,

28, we hear, For in him we live and move and have our being.

As even some of our own poets have said, for we are indeed his offspring.

So we're one with Christ. We're united in him, wrapped up and hidden in him.

Colossians 3, verse 3 says, for we have died and your life, it says for you

Colossians 3:3

have died and your life is hidden in Christ with God.

This last week, we had a session of Zoom theology.

We have those probably about monthly. And Sam Albury was speaking with us.

And we all left really encouraged, really just kind of excited about just kind of.

Coming at this idea of our unity in Christ, just with a freshness and just understanding

how central it is to the Christian life.

And he told us that Jesus isn't like off in the distance.

And you're just trying to catch up to follow him.

And sometimes I think that you could feel that way. But the reality of being

in Christ is that by his grace, that's divine enablement.

By our faith, that's trusting in the unseen, we are enclosed in divine love

and life. Now think about that for a moment.

Is your love lacking? Is your life feeling vibrant into the full?

If not, how much hope is there in Christ when you recognize you're already in Him?

You don't have to catch up. You're in Him. There's so much there for you to

get right now. Now, if you remember where you are, that's your environment.

We thrive there.

So the first vital sign you can look for to see if we're growing spiritually

or not is our appetite for God.

So growing in the knowledge of Christ. So growing spiritually into a strong

Christian, it's not going to be something that you're working to do.

It's not learning to do things the right way.

That stuff happens as a byproduct, but actually, growing in Christ means you're

growing into the knowledge of Christ.

The Apostle Paul, he was willing to give up everything for this.

In Philippians 3, 7 and 8, he tells us, But whatever gain I had,

I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish

in order that I may gain Christ.

You should be so hungry to know Christ more. There's so much there for us.

And sometimes I find myself feeling really convicted. I know that I don't desire at the moment.

I'll catch myself. Yeah, there's probably 10 other things on my list of things I would like next.

And it's not spend more time with God. It's not know Jesus more.

And I have to catch myself, not to repent.

Because this is the thing that I should be pursuing as one of his children, as one of his people.

So we need to know that he's there for us. We have so much there.

You also need to know your heavenly identity. If you're going to learn to function

properly, you need to know who you are.

So you have the mind of Christ. Once you've come into him and you're enveloped

in him, you have the mind of Christ.

You have his spirit. He's giving you His Spirit, and you are seated with Him

in heavenly places beside the Father.

That's already an amazing place of privilege.

And I think sometimes the struggle is not just figure out how to do things better.

It's really accept that reality and live like it's suitable for that.

Things begin to fall away because they're not suitable anymore.

We're seated in such a high place.

And so that leads to the second vital sign, which is your resistance to sin and temptation.

So as you know more about Christ, those old things, they're going to fall away

because they don't suit the person that you are in Christ.

And I think for those of you who have struggled with shame over your past,

this is something we can really take joy in, is that those things have fallen away.

Those things are no longer a part of us. Now, our people who knew us,

who have known us, they may remind us of the things we've done.

Satan will certainly remind you of things you've done.

But you're a new person, and those things don't exist anymore.

In God's mind, you've been washed in the blood of Jesus.

So, two things are important for you to understand. If you're in Christ, you're not a sinner.

You were a sinner, but now you're in Him. He's changed that.

He's actually regenerating your spirit and reestablished your standing with

God by His blood and by His work.

So we can't be owning that title anymore. All we can do is praise God for He

has changed it by His grace.

Also, you're not only human. Now, those are two things that we're tempted to

say when we see a weakness and there's a stumbling.

We put their sin we know that we were we were short we were aggressive something

came out that wasn't quite Christ-like and we're just tempted to go I'm only human.

So the Christian, that's not so. You're actually a new kind of human.

I'm going to get into that in a moment.

But in 2 Peter 1, verse 4, it says.

2 Peter 1:4

He, that's Jesus, granted to us His precious and very great promises,

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires.

So if your spiritual health and wellness, they matter to you,

you need to know that now you're actually a different race of human than you were before Christ.

You have been born of the Spirit. You are a person of heaven.

That's your citizenship.

So it's amazing that out of all peoples and all races, God has created one united in him.

2 Corinthians 5, 17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

So you've passed from a previous state of living to a new one.

2 Corinthians 15, 47 says, the first man, this is Adam, was from earth, a man of dust.

The second man is from heaven. We know that second man is Jesus.

So your new state of living is actually a heavenly one.

Do you see how this is starting to prepare us for growth and acceleration in

a certain direction? because we're starting to establish actually who we are and who we aren't.

And so now the decisions we make day to day with our time and with our devotion

starts to get a bit more clear for us.

So then what's maturity?

Growing up in this.

Well, plainly, it's just growing up into the fullness of our kind.

So if we want to look, how many of you like puppies?

We see a puppy in the neighborhood. You can see a young dog. You're quite excited.

You look out the window, and if someone's with you, you're probably,

you know, you get excited. You go, look at that puppy. It's this cute little dog.

We had a dog in our neighborhood, Rocky, the golden retriever.

And he was so cute. And I was amazed at how fast he grew.

He grew into the fullness of his kind quick. And that's how they get you.

Like, they promise you, like, cute little animal. And then within,

like, a year, it is, like, massive.

And it's just destroying your house. It's hair all over the place.

But that's what we're supposed to do. We grow into the fullness.

How many of you have children who are growing up a little too fast?

I have one that's taller than me now. He's grown into the fullness of his kind and son.

In Genesis 1.11, we hear why this is so.

And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,

and trees bearing fruit in which

is in their seed, each according to its kind on earth. And it was so.

So we replicate our kind. What kind are you now?

Well, so as a Christian, we grow into something that's resembling Christ.

That's our kind.

Some of us, we have things that our parents and our families have passed on

to us. There's traits, physical traits. Sometimes there's personality traits.

But all of those are superseded by the reality that we're in Christ.

Christ has actually redefined who I am.

I have spiritual genetics that actually trump everything else that's in my life.

I can't hold on to things that are not Christ-like when Christ is really the

one who's creating a whole new me.

I need to yield to that.

And so, who is Jesus? Well, we know He's the Son of God, God the Father.

And who is God? Well, we hear that God is love.

So, the single vital sign used to measure your growth is love.

In 1 John 4, 16-17, we hear, So we have come to know and to believe the love

that God has for us. God is love.

Whoever abides in love abides in God. And God abides in him.

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day

of judgment, because he is also.

Where we are in this world.

Are you struggling with your love for God? Are you struggling to do that?

I've had seasons actually where that was actually really, really hard.

I did have a time, a complete spiritual crisis. There was a season where I was

like, I just didn't have a value for God. And he was gracious with me.

And I'm so grateful for what he brought me through. But then that wasn't an

overnight thing that I just kind of like, all of a sudden, I just valued God in his word overnight.

No, it kind of went from, God, I don't have any value for you.

Then actually through his love, his patience, I got to where,

God, I acknowledge you as my creator.

Then I got to, God, I see that you're a powerful God and I respect you.

And then eventually it got to like, God, I'm really grateful for what you've

done. And then that turned into, God, I love you.

And that was about a year and a half process.

So wherever you're at on that spectrum, just know that God's patient.

God is kind, but he is deserving of your love.

And you'll get there if you're hungry, if you're desiring that.

If you haven't turned your heart against him, then there's definitely hope for

you to find in that place where this is not a struggle anymore.

And maybe you haven't fully believed in the love that God actually has for you.

Maybe you can believe it for everybody else.

For God so loves all the world, he tolerates me.

That's not true. He loves you too.

And I think sometimes that's the hardest thing to accept is that we're loved

that much for something we didn't do.

We feel it's wrong. We feel like we should be having to pay some kind of penance.

We should be having to do more to get this. But it's there.

You're in Christ. You're receiving that love now.

And that has an effect on us. that makes us want to grow into him because that

love's already been poured out on us.

There's freedom in that.

There's no fear. I'm free to do this out of a place where I know that I'm loved

and I'm accepted and God's desire is to be with me.

So in turn, that begins to grow the desire of me. Don't you want to be with

people who want to be with you? Think about your best friends.

You want to be with people who like you. who see the best things in you,

who think that you're funny, who think that you've got great style,

who think that you cook amazing, and they're telling you this all the time.

You are being affirmed and edified when you're with them. Those are the people you want to be around.

Now, that's partly why it's important we keep a life full of praise and worship

because the Spirit of the Lord loves to just come and just rest on us in those places.

God loves soaking that up too. But you know what? It's not just a one-way thing.

God is pouring out his love over all of us since he sings over his people.

And we suffer so much trying to keep trying better so we can win that love.

So when we get into conversations about spiritual growth, we feel this weight

of like, I know I should do it. I'm not doing it.

Not worthy of, you know, look at, I'm messing it up. I can't get it right.

And I think the encouraging thing is you read through the story of the Bible.

It just seems to be a storyline of just humans never get it right. God fixes it.

Over and over and over.

We're in good company.

We don't need to be trying harder. Jesus has paid it. He paid for it all.

So the question is, will we get to a place where we're happy to repent,

return from our sin, be baptized in the name of Jesus? and let ourselves be loved by the creator.

And that love is immense. And once you've experienced it,

your love for God and others around you is just going to explode because you

will not be able to give out anything in your life that you haven't received from him.

Especially when it comes to love as he defines it as supernatural.

And when you begin to walk and you move in that kind of love,

your spirit is going to prosper, no matter what circumstance that you're in.

We're going to remember Christ today with communion.

Can I have four volunteers come and help us?

We're going to remember Christ's love through this act.

But as you take the bread and you take the wine, Christ's body and his blood,

we're going to know that he is really inside of us.

We need to take a moment to understand that he's really there.

You are really wrapped in him. It goes so many different ways.

It feels really confusing, but just know that our God is just, he's big like that.

You're in him. He's in you.

With all this, you're wrapped up.

And in doing this, we're going to affirm our unity with Christ again,

knowing that it's the one thing that's going to carry us through this life.

Flourishing and growing the whole way. We hope that this sermon has encouraged you.

If you'd like to learn more about us, visit us online at gracechurch.se.

Thanks for listening. Thank you.