Actively Press - Kingdom Maturity

You have your Bibles turn to Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

We're going to talk about actively press and actively

press. We are living in a society,

especially in the United States, that is rebellious to the things

I'll speak about today. And I say that because of the

word press by itself, OK? Our culture through technology

has put us in the position where we want to do less.

We have we have taken this idea of, you know, doing less so that

we can enjoy more of our own life.

Well, when I made Jesus the Lord of my life, my life cease to

exist. So if I'm trying to do anything

for my own life, I'm already in heir for John the Baptist said I

must decrease and he must increase.

And Paul said I've been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live. It's no longer I.

It's no longer I who live, it's no longer I who live, but the

life I live in the flesh, meaning this new created being

that I am in Christ. I live for one purpose and

that's to follow Him. Amen.

And you know what? Who I follow will train me to be

able to go at His pace. That's the whole point of a

pacesetter is that they're there to pace you so that you can run

your race. The problem is, is we are trying

to tell the Lord of glory, the Creator of heaven and earth, of

how we want to pace our own lives when he's like, no, you're

going to have to kick it up a notch.

Now here's the thing, He created you and He knows what's in you.

And again, as I've already used Coach Hurley this this morning,

you know, a lot of times when you're around players and you're

around them and you begin to see them develop and grow, you

bigot, you, you, you can learn pretty quick whether they're

giving their all or not. You know, when a player shows up

in your life, they're not, they're not just they're not,

they don't have it today. Now, it's not because they don't

physically have it. They're not mentally having it.

And So what you have to do as a coach is get them past their

mental fatigue. Are you hearing me now?

Again, in that sector of society, we have no problem

because it is one of the greatest idols we have in the

United States. And that is the realm of sports,

OK? Because there are tons of men.

I'm talking what what we call men, right?

Burly men that they will get absolutely indignified in what

they look like at a game when their team is winning or is

coming from behind or does something great.

They will get in. They will.

They will even get more indignified than this when the

ref makes a call that they do not agree with and it is costing

their team to gain. And they are not short of words.

Are you hearing me? If they win the championship,

they will cry with joy at the release of the pressure of all

that they've done. Have you seen some of these

greatest athletes win that championship?

When they hold to that trophy, it's a trophy now.

Then all of a sudden they'll breakdown and cry because what?

What are they releasing? All of the sacrifice to finally

obtain this and winning is not it.

It is continually going for the goal because if winning was just

enough, then the minute you won, you would stop.

But it's not enough. That's why they chase

championships. Are you hearing me?

And so we find ourselves in a culture where in the United

States specifically, and the United States has a great

influence on the rest of the world of where, you know, we're

trying to do less. Trying to figure out how we can

kind of get out of when there's a press that has to take place

and there's a pacesetter in your race that knows you've got more

in you. And if you'll get outside of

your mind and get into the mind of Christ, you'll find yourself

doing some amazing things. Amen.

All right, everybody, all right, in Ephesians you talk to me, it

helps me. Ephesians 411 to 16 says this,

and he gave some as apostle summers, prophets, summers

evanges summers, pastors and teachers.

Why? Verse 4 four.

Verse 12. Excuse me for the equipment of

the Saints, for the work of service to the building up of

the body of Christ. All right.

Verse 13 until we all attain to the unity of of the faith of the

knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the measure of

the statue which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and

thereby waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by

the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful

scheming, But speaking the truth and love.

We are to grow up, say grow up in all aspects into him who was

the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body being fitted and

held together, say, held together by what every joint

supply, say I have a supply according to the proper working

of each individual part causes the gross a growth of the body

for the building up of itself in love.

Now we know here, according to this passive Scripture, we've

written a book concerning being equipped that God never intended

for the church to only educate. We do not have the system of the

world of education. We have the system of the

Kingdom which is equipping, and in order for you to be equipped,

education is a part of the process.

But it doesn't stop there, because if all you ever do is

educate the body, the best you can produce.

As a Pharisee, what we want to do is we want to be an equipped

body. We are ready for the work of

ministry to have the endurance and longevity to accomplish

everything God has assigned to every one of us individually,

but as a team, as a team. And so your individual gift was

never for you and God alone, and it's to be deployed as a whole.

So we know that he gave gifts. Those are the fivefold ministry

to help pull those things out. As I was saying to someone

before service, the most unused and misused gift in the church

is the ministry gifts. Now the church loves the gifts

of the Spirit because the gifts of the Spirit, when we open them

up, when we yield to them, it's the Holy Spirit coming upon you

as He wills, where He'll bring 9 gifts that can flow through you

and man. We desire those.

In fact, we are to earnestly desire those.

But again, a gift is only good if you open it and if you're not

yielding to the gifts of the Spirit, even though He may move

on you to give a tongue, an interpretation of tongue, a word

of knowledge, give you the gift of faith for something or the

working of miracles. If you do not act on it, it is a

gift that's come upon you, been presented to you, but you never

open. The same thing is with the

ministry gifts because in the church the ministry gifts is to

equip you to help you understand that you are a new creature in

Christ and the Holy Ghost lives in you and you can hear the

Spirit of God. And you are to be led by the

Spirit of God and to train you on how to be led by His Spirit

and then to train you how to discern between good and evil.

But what happens is, is once the process starts, then all of a

sudden the Saint decides I don't need the gifts anymore.

The ministry gifts, I can hear God on my well, you understand,

this is the problem that happened with Miriam.

This is the problem that happened with others in the

wilderness. They're like, we can hear God

for ourselves and they want to discredit Moses.

Well, that was a problem. Say that's a problem again.

The ministry gifts cannot control you.

They are there to assist you and to equip you.

And there's some things you will not be equipped in if you do not

open the gifts. A lot of times people are coming

and telling the gift. This is what God told me without

asking the gift since I've been assigned here.

Am I hearing right? Because if we're all pursuing

unity, we'll come to the same conclusion.

Say Amen. The remedy.

Verse 13 says this because this is what I want to key in on

today until we all reach true unity of heart, methods, motives

and principles in harmony with the knowledge of God as revealed

in Jesus and become say mature, mature and develop Christ like

character. Another translation of verse 13,

the ISV says it this way until all of us are united in the

faith and in the full knowledge, say full knowledge, the full

knowledge of God's Son, and until we attain mature adulthood

and the full standard of development in the Messiah.

One more of verse 13, it's the amplified.

It says it this way until we all reach oneness in the faith and

in the knowledge of the Son of God, growing spiritually to

become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the

fullness of Christ, manifesting His spiritual completeness, and

exercising our spiritual gifts in unity.

Hallelujah. What I want to talk to you today

about is maturity, because salvation alone is not maturity.

And these verse 13 tells us that we are to come to the full

knowledge of God's Son. You know what?

There's something else to know about Jesus besides that He died

on the cross. He rose from the grave, that the

blood he shed and put on the mercy seat in heaven forgave us

of all of our sin, and that if we call on his name, we'll be

saved. You know, there's more about Him

than that. And if that's all, you know, you

are a babe. In fact, if we were to go on

into verse 14, which we won't, other translations say leaving

immaturity. So when it says leaving, you

know, child being a child, it's in in essence, it's saying we

are not to stay immature because verse 14 tells us what happens

to immature believers. They're tossed to and fro.

They are easily deceived. They jump with every wind of

doctrine. Now, why are they this way?

Because they're not allowing themselves to grow, say grow.

God never intended when Jesus Christ died and rose from the

grave that we as a church in the earth would only be concerned

about the salvation of man. He never intended that.

In fact, there is no context of Scripture that that is the sole

responsibility of His church. In fact, in Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

as you know, Jesus said I will build my church, which means he

did not delegate church building to the apostle, the prophet, the

pastor, the teacher and the evangelist.

They have a part to play with him.

We are Co laborers with Christ. He's building the church and if

he's building the church, the church he's building has the

pathway to maturity. It is not a pathway to salvation

alone. It is not just accepting Jesus

as your Lord and Savior. So you know, or you'll go when

you die. In fact, Jesus never once said

go into all the world and make converts.

He said go into all the world and make.

Now a disciple by definition is to enroll as a student.

A student is to learn, to grow, to be equipped, not educated

alone, so that they can have the completeness character of Christ

in whom they've been created in. Can I get an Amen?

Oh, I'm going to roam a little bit more.

So we see here that God always intended that the church would

mature. In fact, He's coming back for a

mature church. Now, I don't have time to preach

on this, but I do want to give you a little insight.

The Bible talks about the former rain and the latter rain, and

that is a farming scenario that has to do with the Holy Ghost or

the outpouring of His Spirit in the last days.

The former rain happened on the day of Pentecost when the Holy

Spirit was poured out and the sons and the daughters began to

prophecy. All of us became the temple of

the Holy Ghost. Glory to God, it's no longer God

up there and we are trying to do something in our own self to

maintain some layer of righteousness until Jesus pays

the pride. No, it's Christ in us, the hope

of glory. Our spirit.

Man has been recreated in the likeness of God.

The Holy Ghost now lives in us. He came down to dwell with man.

Wow, how awesome is that? And now in these last days, he

poured out his spirit on all flesh.

And what a day it was. But the latter rain, say the

latter rain, is even more than the former rain.

But in the realm of agricultural terms, a farmer plants a seed.

The farmer doesn't want the seed, the farmer wants what's

within the seed. So in order for a farmer to have

what's in the seed, the seed needs to be water, needs a early

rain, 'cause then when the Holy Ghost comes upon that which is a

seed or that needs to die, it says unless a seed dies.

Jesus said unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and

dies, it will not produce. So in essence, the early rain

was all the seed of the Word placed within the disciples and

humans, humanity of the Word of God, that when the Holy Ghost

came, it called that seed to finally die.

Where we died, we broke forth and we produced the plant.

We became a plant, we became in Christ.

That's conversion. When you see a plant come up out

of the ground, it's no longer a seed, although it has the

potential to bear seed now. Are you hearing me now?

The farmer doesn't want the plant because a plant without

fruit is failure. What farmer wants to plant in

Hastings? A bunch of potatoes and have a

bunch, a lot of green, lush green foliage.

But everyone they pull up, there's no potatoes on the roots

or have all these stalks, but no corn ever shows up.

It may be beautiful and green and wave when the wind blows

through it and everybody drive by and go, my gosh, look how big

this field. There's so much corn in there.

We don't even call it a plant. We call it by its fruit.

However, we don't even see the fruit.

And the farmer, when he goes to harvest, he's not there to get a

plant, he's there to pick the. So the latter rain is for the

maturing of the crop. It's so that the fruit that's

being produced can be ripened, because what good is corn if you

pull it before it's ripe? What good is any fruit for that

matter, if you pluck it before it's time to eat?

Because if you pluck a fruit too early, it's bitter, it doesn't

produce what it or it doesn't produce more seed so that they

can go on generationally. So the latter rain that we are

looking for, although it will have a harvest of the lost, the

intent is more for his church. I'm going to say that again,

this latter rain has more of an intention, not for the lost,

although they will have a benefit from it, but it's for

the church. And it's so that there'll be a

reigning church, a church that matures, that walks in unity,

where all the gifts come together in harmony as a mature

man and man, when we do this, when could the lost come in and

find us backbiting, gossiping, slandering.

They're trying to get us. And you're like, I can't find

one person to say something bad about another person.

I can't get anybody to go crawl. I can't see anyone getting

offended. And man, I could have been

offended this service, but nobody is getting offended.

Everybody's walking in forgiveness.

Everybody's walking in love. Everybody is producing the

fruits of the spirit. My gosh, I mean, I'm trying to

get this thing to Jack up, but I can't do it.

Why, 'cause they've matured the world at that poem must say

there must be a God. There must be a God if who I am

as a human can put down their flesh at that level.

Amen. And honestly, my assignment as

an apostle is to put the demand on maturity as one guest came

one time, attends a different church, met with them one time

for coffee because the things we are doing in government really

excites them. And they were looking for that

church. They just happen to go to a

different one that they thought was in that vein, but not like

we're in that vein. And so they were, you know,

conflicted and said, you know, do you mind if I come on

Wednesdays? I said, let me just say this.

You can come on Wednesday. However, you're going to have to

choose because you cannot serve in two visions.

Can't do it. God is assigning you to a local

vision that you need to be loyal and run with.

So you may come some, but at the end of the day, you're going to

have to answer that question. They're not here, so.

They're assigned to the other as far as I'm concerned, and praise

God for it, have no problem with that.

Why? Because who's assigned here is

assigned here. Who's assigned somewhere else is

assigned somewhere else. For those who are assigned here

going somewhere else, they'll never produce the fruit.

They should hear. For those that are that are here

but are assigned somewhere else, you're never going to produce

the fruit and that's why you get frustrated.

So just go ahead and pack your bags and get to the place you're

supposed to be. You're not you're not affecting

me. You're affecting yourself if

you're not where God placed you because again, you've already

made the mistake in your American gospel that you get to

pick church when we know First Corinthians 12/18 says and God

has placed you in the body as it pleases him, each individual

member. And if he knows how much hair is

on your head and he knew you before you were in your mother's

womb, then he sure don't get it wrong at what body he wants to

plant you in so that you can grow.

He doesn't. We just have to be confident

enough to say you I yield control.

I know of many church plants right now and startups that I

know that I know people are called to throughout the United

States, but they don't go because they evaluate how does

it affect their family When if you would go, then you would

help release what they don't have.

Well, they don't have this for my child.

Well, maybe you're the one to release it, but we want instant

gratification, instant spiritual maturity.

There is no such thing as instant spiritual maturity.

But in the last days you can mature quicker.

I will say that. But that's not without the tests

necessary to mature you. Are you hearing me?

So salvation is not maturity. Let's look at Philippians

Philippians 3:12

chapter 3, verse 12. Y'all doing all right?

Amen says this, Paul saying this, not that I've already

obtained it. OK, now this is Paul when he

wrote the Philippian letter. This is not Paul when he's

writing to Timothy and he says I've poured out my life.

See, I got to help the process because what happens is the

Saints will jump on certain scriptures and then live in that

and not take full context of the scripture.

So what Paul is saying, I'm going to go ahead and let you in

on the secret. He he arrived, I'm just going to

tell you that he arrived because when he told Timothy, I have

fought the good fight, I have run my race, I have finished my

course. What he has not obtained yet he

does obtain which allows him to release because it's the exact

same letter that he says this. I am betwixt between two places,

whether to go on and be with the Lord or to remain here with you.

And he realized I have not done all that I need to do.

And why is he at this place? Because of the circumstance.

It's weighing on his mind because it's weighing on his

body. See, he's in jail.

In fact, if you read the scholar Rick Renner in the his Greek

account of Paul's Philippian imprisonment, he will tell you

that he was in the lower part of the prison where all of the

bowel movements of the other prisoners rolled down into.

Do you like that? PG131 there, All right.

And he was chained on a wall. And tradition happened, has it

that it could get so deep that those prisoners could be waist

high. Rats would be running through.

And because they're in a place where there's no sunlight, that

the walls are claiming clammy and that the iron bars are

rusty. And the next thing you know,

because they were chained to it, then they would develop sores

and the rats would find them at night, begin to eat on their

sores and you'd hear scream. Now that's pretty.

And now if that was happening to you, you might want to go on and

be with the Lord too, right? You understand, Like Lord Jesus,

take me now. Right now, Paul is at this place

because of what's going on in his life.

Yet the prisoner guard says, Paul, come here, you got a

letter. And he receives this letter from

this church that he planted with money.

And they said, when you get out, come see us.

We're praying for you. So every thought he's having is

in this condition he's in. You understand?

You know, the enemy's like son, what good was it?

Do you planted that church? Come on, you just got you in

trouble with the authorities. Now you're thrown in prison.

What's it good to follow the name of Jesus?

Look what you're in now. You should just quit.

You should just stop. You should just give up.

This church plant and stuff is crazy.

Don't even think about it. And man, it weighed so much.

He said I am stuck between these two place.

The only thing that got him over was the thought of someone

beyond himself. Oh, you don't that he actually

had to overcome his comfort because there may be another

human, although they may betray me, I still should get in front

of are you hearing me? Oh my gosh, so he's saying here

he says now this verse 12, not that I've already obtained it.

This goal of being Christ like or I have already been made

perfect, but I here it is actively press on so that I may

take hold of that perfection for which Christ Jesus took hold of

me and made me his own. Now before I finish reading,

know this that Paul is making a decision in this same letter

that you know what I realize I'm not all that God needs me to be

yet and this this thing that I'm in is actually helping train me

to become who I should be. Now in the Spirit, he's in

Christ. He's the righteousness of God in

Christ his spirit man's perfection.

However, his spirit man is having to continue to grow.

Now we're talking about a Paul who has already been set apart

for 14 years, and Jesus Christ was a personal mentor to the

mysteries that he's about to unload on everyone.

That nobody has this revelation and thinks he's a crazy guy

because he's preaching doctrine they've never heard before.

Yet because of that encounter with Jesus, he knew that he was

preaching true doctrine. But here he is.

He wants in his soul. He wants in his whole nature of

man to reflect a Christ likeness, maturity.

So he says, not that I've been made perfect.

That's the same Greek word for mature.

So when we hear perfect because we've been stuck in the King

James a lot of time, well, you know, you just can't be perfect.

The Bible's not asking you to be perfect.

The Bible's asking you to be mature.

So wherever you see perfect in your Bible, quit seeing it as

perfection, see it as mature. And maturity is a requirement.

It is considered something to be obtained to and you are actually

without excuse to obtain to it. In God's eyes, maturity is a by

product of your salvation. Should you give to the training,

it can't help but show up just like the right now.

A minister friend of mine, Josh and and Hope Wyatt gave birth to

twins and in those boys that they gave, she gave birth to

last night is in them naturally to mature the manhood.

It's going to happen, but now their soul and their spirit,

that's a whole nother part of their being that's got to be

dealt with. Are you hearing what I'm saying?

Once you're in Christ and your spirit is made alive, it is just

natural for it, if you will allow it to retrain your mind to

grow to maturity. But if you suppress it, you

create an abnormal thank you abnormality in its manifestation

of something that just wants to supernaturally mature.

So Paul says, look, I actively press, which means this is not

something I get just because I was saved.

I have I have the ability to attain to it because I am saved.

But if I don't do my part, I'm not going to get there.

He goes on and says, brothers and sisters, I do not consider

that I have it all, that I have made it my own yet.

But one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching

forward to what lies behind. Notice these words actively

press reaching forward. You know, 10 today.

Everybody's like, oh, they just push and push and push and push

and push. You understand, if you're a

believer, you should be doing that on your own.

That's actually a believer's philosophy, a way of living no

different than Coach Hurley when he's like, OK, let's do another

round. All right, let's hit it and let

me throw you 10 more balls for you to hit.

Let's here's some more grounders.

How many times I got to do a coach?

I know how to feel the ball. And you just keep doing it and

you just keep doing it and you just keep doing it.

Why? Because you're trying to get to

the place. Like Mick here, who played

baseball with the major leagues. I mean, he attained to a place.

Why? Because of training, right?

Training, training, training, training.

Not everybody in the room can. Just like Coach Hurley got you

the majors. Just like right here got you the

majors. Because of practice.

Jake. Yes, I came to the area.

Jake didn't look like he wanted me to call his name out.

You know, he kind of like, so I was being sensitive.

But since my wife ratted you out, Jake, Jake's a little more

shy than the rest. And I know that about Jake.

You know, Jake's not here to please don't ask for his

autograph, all right? Although he could have given

them out. My point is, is that there was a

time they realized if I'm going to get there, I'm going to have

to do more because it's within them.

Well, you're a believer and don't bother lie.

This is why the immature accepts.

Oh, well, don't. I don't have to do anything.

You know I don't. I shouldn't have to be pushed so

hard. I shouldn't have to do that.

I shouldn't have to do nothing. I mean, Jesus did law.

Jesus did everything so you could qualify to be able to come

into the Kingdom. Now, once you're there, he

expects you to do what he did and that is to actively move

towards maturity and press on. I mean, why does Paul have to

press and you don't? Why do we think the five fold

ministry has to press but the Saints get a free ride?

Like I supposed to come and just bring grapes while you sit in

these comfortable chairs. Tony, let me give you a grape.

Can I massage your feet? I don't want you to do a thing,

bro. I mean, we've picked up this

idea and then the enemy's winning because the church stays

immature and has is not threatened by it.

He's not threatened with your soulless praise.

He's not threatened with your daily devotion that you don't

actually apply. He's not intimidated by those

things and he sure isn't intimidated by your cry because

even the Lord has plenty of scripture that when people

ignore to grow. He's like, I hear him crying,

but I'm not coming. And those are part of scriptures

too. Now, I don't know when it is

that God makes certain shifts, but all I know is he expects us

to move forward. He goes on and Paul says again,

verse 14, Nick, look at this word.

He says I press on towards the goal to win the heavenly prize

of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus man.

You see these words actively press reach forward.

I press verse 15. He says all of us who are who

are what say it louder, say it louder.

Now the amplified qualifies. What mature is in the next

statement, all of us who are pursuing spiritual perfection or

maturity. So maybe I'm not talking to

everybody in the room right now because those who do not want to

press are saying I want to be immature.

They're acknowledging their immaturity.

Don't tell me what to do. Don't tell me how many times I

got to be here. Don't tell me I have to study.

Don't tell me that I always want you to be up at the church.

I always want you to be up at the church.

I always want you to be up at the church.

I always want you to be up at the church.

I don't want you to be up at the church.

I want you to be with a head of the church, and the head of the

church has a church, and it is a physical manifestation of people

assembling together that are jointed and fitted together.

Now, if you want to be an amputee, go ahead, but that's

your immaturity talking. All of us who are mature,

pursuing spiritual perfection should have this attitude.

So if you don't have that attitude, you're just

confessing. You want to be immature.

I'm not doing that. I want to press, man.

I want to press. I want to keep pressing on.

I want to keep moving forward. I want to keep striving for the

goal. I want to accomplish all that

God has placed within me and discover the things I hadn't

even discovered yet because I hadn't been faithful.

What he's told me to be faithful with at this point.

But once I get faithful there, then he'll give me another

thing. Because if you're faithful with

little, you can be faithful with, which means the assignment

grows and the opportunity stretches you and the capacity

expands. There is no such thing as

vacation. There is rest, but man, I rest

really well in the will of God. I do because I know when the

Holy Ghost says, OK, I need you to press into praying in the

Spirit because I need to recharge you.

He'll tell me get 8 hours of sleep.

OK, we'll get 8 hours. Why?

Because he knows what I can take.

A lot of us we if we don't watch out, it's our immaturity that

says stop. That's too much.

There's times I've looked at my wife and I'm like, I know.

Yeah, I know. Yeah, I don't like it.

I don't want to do this. I don't want to, man.

I get it. But His grace is sufficient, and

I know this about my King. He'll give this and He'll do

this, and He's not asking me to do something that I can't.

So let me not hear what the immature says.

Well, there's a bunch of workaholics out there.

Well, there are workaholics, tons of workaholics, people who

work for not God's purposes. That's true.

But I strive to only work for His purpose, and I'm not made

His purpose. My God.

He is my God, So His purpose is honoring Him because I know I

can look at my wife and say the Lord said we're getting away.

Yeah, but we have all this going on.

Doesn't matter. He's building it.

I'm out. It's his church.

If this thing falls because I left for six months, which I'm

not, but I'm just saying if it did, well, you know what, then

he has that problem. I didn't have it.

And if you fell apart because I wasn't here then that means you

were following the wrong voice because you're not supposed to

be here for me. You're supposed to be here for

the assignment and whether I'm here or not see relevant because

your assignments here because anchor Faith Church is not you

doing the vision God gave me. It's you doing the vision God

gave you and you show up. Are you hearing me verse 15.

All of us who are mature, pursuing spiritual perfection

should have this attitude. And if if in any respect you

have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.

Meaning if you don't have this attitude, God's going to say you

need to get this attitude. He'll say, you know, you don't

have this attitude. You've been a little lazy.

You kind of want it your way. You want me to come and whine

and dine you. You want me to wait on you hand

and foot, which I've empowered you with my name to go do

something again. The Bible says we are Co Say

that again. Say it one more time.

I don't know how you define labor, but labor's work.

This is consistent with we equip the Saints for the not the

retirement of service, not the vacation of service, not that I

don't have to do anything now that I've been born again.

It's not Co relaxing, it's Co labor.

And labor is not a dirty word. The only time work is a dirty

word is when you're telling God how you're going to do it and he

has to accept it. That's called works.

But when God tells you how to do it and you obey it, that's

called a work of faith. And that work is blessed because

it's not you doing it as much as you obeying what He's asking to

be done. And then He empowers you to do

it. You do have a part to play, but

it's under His grace, which means you do things that are

beyond your capacity or your or your natural ability.

And you look back and go, wow, but for the grace of God, yet

you are part of the process because you actually showed up.

Grace doesn't even work if faith isn't applaud, it is by grace.

How through faith. If faith's not there, grace

doesn't work. Well, I'm in grace.

Well, are you in faith? Because faith is calling those

things that be not as though they were and allowing it to

govern your life and act a certain way, live a certain way.

Come on y'all doing all right and I want to shut this down.

Help me out. OK so he goes on and says all of

us who mature we're going to have this attitude.

Then he says in verse 16, this is very powerful verse only let

us stay true to what we have already attained.

Now this verse is very telling, which tells us that maturity has

to be maintained. It doesn't just come and it

stays without effort. Paul is letting us know now.

I am pressing. I am actively pressing.

I'm reaching for it. I press on to get to this mature

state in Christ that I have the virtues, the the morals, the

reflection, the attitude, the way Christ walked.

I walk as he said, imitate me as I imitate Christ.

But then he said, now we, we got to stay true to what we've

already attained. You know, when I was in the

Baptist Church, I sang Baptist songs.

I sure sang them. And you know what?

They were applicable based upon what I knew, based upon what I

knew they were applicable and I sang them.

I sang them well. Then I got filled with the Holy

Ghost, whatever is Speaking of tongues and assembly God.

Well, there became some new songs that I didn't sing when I

was in the Baptist Church. I didn't sing about the power of

the Holy Ghost, didn't sing about that.

So I had a new song. Right now, if I just went back

to the Baptist hymnal, I would never acknowledge the Holy Ghost

in this power. I would never sing about it.

In fact, if I didn't watch out, what I would do is I would begin

to act like the Holy Ghost doesn't do what I experienced,

so I can't go backwards. I got to keep well, then I went

out to Bible college and found out that there's this authority

that the believer has. Man, when I found out about the

authority of the believer, I found out there was a lot of

songs I could no longer sing because I had attained to a

place that that song was only about my feelings.

That was the song of someone who doesn't know that they have the

name of Jesus and that demons tremble now that we walked in on

the sea and that sickness and disease will bow.

So there's a lot of songs that I had to cut out because and

anytime we listen to anything that's popular, they're great

for those churches because some of those churches are preaching

A theology that is perfect for what they sing.

But they can't make it to this house that way because I've

attained to something now that doesn't say I'm better.

What that says is this house is looking for the full counsel of

God to move to maturity. And what I didn't know in one

time, I now know now, God forbid I go back and sing about

something that I now have. Revelation is different.

So I have to change the one song we just sang today.

I changed the word Hallelujah to the one who came in made a way.

I'm like he didn't make a way, he made the way.

Now I'm not you, you out last critical bro.

I'm just letting you know right now, A&D are two different

thoughts and somebody that's come to this church lost and

think that there is more than one way and we're saying he made

a way. Well, that reinforces there's

more than one. So I went back, I said change A

to V. The song's awesome.

Love the song, but I'm like we can make it a little more clear

because he didn't come and make a way.

Now he made a way, but it's not like there's an others.

He made the way. Jesus didn't say I am a truth, I

am a life, I am away. He didn't say that.

Now you know what the immature will do in this context.

They'll act like in all you're just getting critical.

No, I'm trying. I am working hard to rightly

divide the word of truth because I don't want to be ignorant of

the devil's devices and I don't because I've had experience with

people who have been in the coexisting environment.

I have been to India where I've looked at people in the face and

told them about Jesus Christ as Lord and they are ready to

accept him as Lord. But they're thinking is I will

put Jesus on the shelf with the other thousand gods we worship

here in India. That's why I have to say, would

you put you in jail? I have to say, now listen, you

have to denounce all other gods that are here in India because

Jesus is the only God. He's the only God.

And everyone else you have, you're not adding Jesus.

Jesus is the only way you must denounce.

And when I said this to one couple, the lady, her eyes

rolled back and hit the ground. I had one of the nurses come up,

you know, and I'm like no, no, because I knew something

spiritual happened. A spirit had left her.

In essence she had an N word. I denounced this and that spirit

left. They confessed Jesus as Lord and

her their daughter was crippled. Their daughter was crippled

because of the spirits in her house.

I looked at them. I said when you go home, I want

you to find every idol God you have.

I want you to take it out of the house.

I want you to throw it away. I want you to.

I don't don't give it to nobody. Burn it.

The next year I came back. The child wasn't crippled

anymore. Come on, say Amen.

So, you know, you may scrutinize between A, A and AV, but I've

been in a place that A&V are a whole world apart.

Because when you attain to a place you are passionate about

reflecting the true nature and calling of God, you don't make

it semantics anymore. You make it purity of form.

You're passionate about that because equipping the sanctions

for that purpose. Paul went on to say this in the

Hebrews. I'm gonna have to shut down.

Maybe I won't even finish this today unless I do a speed round.

Hebrews 511 says it's concerning him.

We have much to say and it's hard to explain since you have

become dull of hearing, which means you used to hear one time

but now you don't for though by this time you ought to be

teachers. You have need again of someone

to teach you the elementary principles or oracles of God.

You have come to need milk and not solid food.

The Bible says to desire sensitive milk that you may grow

by milk is for infants. So in essence he's saying you

used to be mature. You should be serving steaks

today, but you're not because you've lost the ability to to

eat steak yourself. You yourself have gone back to

maturity. This is why Paul said in the

Philippian he said only stay true to what you've attained.

I've seen many people, this is the danger.

This is a danger to come to Anchor Faith Church because I'm

going to teach about being born again.

I'm going to teach about the baptism, Holy Ghost, whatever,

speak in the tongues. I'm going to teach about the

healing power of God. I'm going to teach about the

authority of the believer. I'm going to talk to you about

the prosperity of God, but I'm almost also going to talk to you

about the Kingdom of God. Not everybody's talking about

that. And if you attain to the

teaching of the Kingdom of God, which is what's who's coming

back? The king suffering, servants not

coming back, the King's coming. If you learn that and then you

decide you want to go back to a non emphasis, you're going to

become dull and hearing because you're not staying true to what

you attain to. I've talked with some of our

board members, he said. They said, I cannot believe

someone could abandoned the message.

Now that doesn't mean they don't love Jesus, but you can go from

maturity to immaturity. You can die and go to heaven and

mature. Although once you were mature,

well, it's quiet in this Baptist Church now, he said 4 verse 14

but solid food is for what? The mature.

So you know what it's the most frustrating thing for a fivefold

ministry is when the Saints demand meat and they know they

can only take milk. I need something more solid.

You're not even you're not even acting on the milk, right?

Not even acting on the milk. Teens, I'm going to talk to you.

You look at your parents. You want more responsibility,

more things to do this, that and the other.

Yet you struggle with just a simple basic principle of

obeying your parents, of acknowledging them as your

spiritual lead, that you can discover God without him.

I can tell you right now there's some in our elementary and

middle school that are chewing meat more than people in this

sanctuary right now. And it doesn't matter about

their bodies, their spirit man, they are obeying God and they

talk to their parents. Well, how come such and such and

why did this and how come this and how come the world's doing

this? How come that person looks like

that? Because they're already doing

verse 14. They've they are actually had,

they've already had their senses trained to discern good and

evil. But those who drink milk can't

do that. So there are plenty of believers

who cannot discern between good and evil, even though their

spirit man's been changed. This is why back to Ephesians 4,

they're tossed to and fro, not because they're not alive to

God, but it's because they're immature.

So being born again doesn't make you spiritually discerning.

It gives you the opportunity that only comes through training

and then maintaining your training.

Pastor Mike could tell you if you do not stay in it, you lose

it. Period.

This does it in the natural. It's definitely do it in the

spiritual. The cool thing about the spirit

is the spirit can work faster than the natural in building,

but it works the same way. You can lose it faster.

Oh, you don't want to hear that? You can lose it faster.

If you can build spiritual muscles faster, guess what?

You can lose them faster. Just take a week off from

reading the Word and see how fast your flesh starts talking.

James chapter 3 verse 2. James chapter 3 verse 2 says

James 3:2 James 3:2

this. I'm going to give you these

three and we're done for. We all make slip mini slips.

If anyone never slips in his what speech he is a man of, he

can control his whole body too. So the sign of spiritual

maturity is your mouth. Come on now, come on now.

It's your mouth. And James here, although he goes

on and talks about taming the tongue.

What are you saying is, is that unlike man who can tame beasts,

I cannot tame your tongue. You have to tame it yourself.

A man can tame other beasts, make them submit, but nobody can

make your mouth submit but you. And he's saying the minute you

get your mouth under control, then maturity will manifest.

And that is not just saying nice things.

That's refraining from saying things.

It's not I'm mature. Look, I'm going to quote

scripture. I'm believing God, yet you'll

talk about somebody and run them down.

That is an immature believer because the devil quotes

Scripture. Your Scripture quoting doesn't

mean you have a mature mouth. Your fruits of the Spirit and

walking in love and then keeping your mouth right in every

situation shows your maturity. Say Amen.

Anyway, the minute you do that then you control it all because

it doesn't matter what happens in God will vindicate the rest.

Matthew 548 says this. Jesus, you therefore be perfect

again. What's that word mean?

It doesn't mean perfection. It means mature.

Therefore we you therefore will be perfect.

Growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character.

Actively integrating godly values into your daily life as

your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus says this.

He says you are to mature like your daddy's mature.

Say maturity is obtainable. Let's just mature, Amen.

Let's be a church that matures. Let's do this.

So don't cry when somebody is saying, hey, that's not

necessarily a mature response. I want to be mature.

Let me get that right. Are you hearing me, coach?

Coach Hurley says that may be working in high school, but son,

that pitch is never going to get you in college.

Never going to get you in college.

I'm glad that everybody thinks you all that, but unless you

start doing this training and you start doing this and you let

your arm mature and you let your muscle mature, then you'll

finally get to this. I know you may want that pitch,

but that pitch ain't for you today because we need to get you

here. Because if you don't do it

right, then you can hurt yourself so that you never get

to the next level. Last verse is this Colossians

chapter one verse 28 says this. We proclaim him warning and

instructing everyone in all wisdom that is with

comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God so that

we may present every person completing Christ mature, fully

trained and perfect perfect in him the anointed.

This is as Paul's heart writing to the church as the apostle of

Anchor Faith Church and my wife Apostle Marcy, our job is to

present you mature, not born again mature.

That's our assignment is to mature you and that's why we can

handle your crime, just like Coach Hurley does with his and

Coach Jake and Coach Luke. They handle the whining and

they're not moved by their crime because they're going after

their potential. They want them to mature as an

athlete and that's what we're doing to mature you.