Date:   03/12/06

Text:   Hebrews 2:18, 4:15-16

Title:   Growing Like Jesus

Theme: Since the Scripture has shown us Jesus' life and how He grew; as followers of

  Jesus Christ we must learn from Him in our spiritual journey.

Introduction:

  (What does it take for the baby to grow? The essential ingredients include: a loving environment, proper nutrients, and preventive injections to fend all kinds of germs, bacteria, and social contacts. This is nothing new to us.

  For those of us who have been Christians for 5, 10, 20, 30 and more years, how did we grow? Or how would we explain to a new Christian how to grow like Jesus? Besides telling them to come to church on Sundays and fellowship/small groups, what else do we teach them?)--- Replaced by Video

  Last week we studied that we're born to grow. We're born into God's family and given a new life. This new life will then begin to grow. God desires this new life to grow to become like Jesus. This morning we want to begin to explore how to grow like Jesus.

I.   Jesus grows in the presence of Holy Spirit. (John 3:34)

  John 3:34, “ 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” At the very beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. His life was under the control of the Spirit. What does this mean?

  First it means Jesus ministry is centered on God's word. With the Holy Spirit within, Jesus spoke the words of God. After his teaching, people were amazed because he taught them with authority. He further affirmed this authority by casting out the demons and healing the sick. God's words are authoritative and powerful.

  Secondly, it means that Jesus' life manifested the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with compassion and love. He cared for the widows and blessed the children. He healed the man who was sick for 38 years, giving eye sight to one who was born blind and healed the 10 lepers. When he was ridiculed and attacked, he exercised self control and did not retaliate. He was peaceful and serene in the midst of storms and adversities. He explained and demonstrated his gentleness and humbility. On the cross, he cried out, “It is finished.” He had faithfully completed the mission that sent him into the world. In Jesus' ministry and growth, there is this manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control….”

  When we are born again, we are given the Holy Spirit. We are to let the spirit take control of us. When individuals are controlled by alcohol, they lost control of their behavior. The 24 year old young man under the influence of alcohol drove his car into a house at 4 am killing the couple who was sleeping. When under the influence of alcohol, 3 college students set fire to at least 3 churches in Alabama . And now, fully awake, are awaiting the consequences of such behaviors.

  When we are under the control of the Holy Spirit, our conduct will be in conformity to God's word, God's standard. When we are controlled by the Spirit, we'll speak God's words to comfort and encourage the discouraged ones. When controlled by the Spirit, we exhibit the fruit of the spirit in life. Very often, we associate spiritual growth with activities. We measure spiritual growth in terms of whether or not we are serving in the church or in fellowship/small groups, or how many times we have read the Bible. We measure growth by the number of mission trips we've taken; how active are we in teaching ss or serving as elders or deacons. Even when we pastors explained to you the mission of our church; Worship, Teaching, Caring, Outreach and Service, we may also fall into the danger of suggesting or projecting the perception that by these activities and functions, we are growing and maturing. It is very easy for us as a church and as individuals to substitute activities for the fruit of Holy Spirit.

  We may be the best ss teachers, preachers, fellowship and small group leaders, serving as deacons, elders and advisors, but if there is no manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we are at best good and skilled religious workers. We may be most active in serving in different departments and committees, sharing the gospel with others both locally and globally, yet without the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we are at best like noisy drums. As Paul writes, without love, without the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we are NOTHING.

  For us to grow like Jesus means we are to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This does not mean that ministries, activities and our mission are unimportant. Rather, our priority is to manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did. How would we measure growth? Compare to last year, two years ago, am I more joyous, loving, patient, gentle, good, kind, faithful, peaceful and being more self-control?

II.   Jesus Grows in trials. Luke 22:28

  Last week we learned the word ‘grow' means to break through. Jesus grew in the midst of obstacles. In Luke 22:28, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials..” What are some of Jesus'' trials in life?

  First, temptations. The writer of Hebrews 4:15, “ 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He was tempted as we are, yet he did not sin. Or in Jesus' own words, John 14:30, “……. He has no claim on me.” Jesus was tempted in every way just like us. Many times those temptations were very strong, yet, the temptations had no tracking on him. To put it in a contemporary way, he was Teflon coated. He grew and developed character and discipline in temptations.

  As his followers, we are also surrounded by temptations. There are the temptations of luring us into sexual immorality, unethical behavior (especially in this tax season); or blatantly disobey God's teaching in the Bible. There is also the temptation of Plenty. Materially, we want more and want the best. In ex-Enron CFO Fastow's words, “It's greed, never satisfied.” Our temptations when we were younger are different than the ones when we are older. But all temptations have this in common: to pull us away from God. We don't have to give in to them. The Holy Spirit will help us overcome the temptations. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13b, “…..God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” We grow in the midst of temptations.

  Secondly, another of Jesus'' trials was being misunderstood. When he was 12, his parents found him in the temple discussing with the religious leaders. They did not understand him and blamed him for not following them home. He was misunderstood by his family, his parents. Later, there was one time he was so busy that he had no time for meals. His family thought he was out of his mind, that he was crazy. Throughout those 3 years of public ministry, he was misunderstood by the religious and political leaders. Moreover, even those closest to him; his 12 hand-picked disciples could not understand him. Nothing could be worse than being misunderstood by those close to us. Did Jesus get mad and react to them? Did it stop him from his ministry? No, he faithfully continued his work. Calvin Miller pointed out that during the last 6 weeks of Jesus'' life, when being misunderstood came to its climax, there was also numerous times when he addressed God as ‘Father'. When being misunderstood, he stayed close to his heavenly father. He received the assurance of being loved, and being understood. Yes, no one may understand him, but its ok, because God, his heavenly father understands Him. He grew and developed character and discipline in being misunderstood.

  I don't know about you, I hate being misunderstood. When I sense I am being misunderstood, my strong emotions will begin to surface. I want to explain, explain and explain. I want to find anyone who would listen and explain my thinking and action. But I am also beginning to understand that it's Pride that causes me to be afraid of being misunderstood. I am learning that it is ok to be misunderstood. When misunderstood, stay close to the heavenly father. It is ok to be misunderstood by people close to you. God understands me. In the midst of misunderstanding, we grow and mature into Christ's likeness.

III.   Jesus grows in obedience. Phil 2:8

  Phil 2:8, “…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” As we learned last week, obedience is a hallmark in Jesus'' life. In Luke 2:51, we learned that Jesus grew in obedience to his parents. We teach our children to obey parents so that as they grow up, it will be easier for them to obey God.

  Besides being obedient to his parents, Jesus repeatedly stated his obedience to God. John 4:34, “ 34 Jesus said to them, "“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."” 5:30, “…..because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” 6:38, “For I have come ….. not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” Jesus was also familiar with the OT prophecies about his mission, purpose and end. He was obedient to the word and died on the cross as the suffering Messiah.

  This is one area I feel we need to make a major paradigm shift. Throughout the church history, individuals came to faith in God because he is the creator, the Truth. But in recent years, many became Christians when they found themselves in crises situations. We prayed and God granted our wishes so we decided to believe Him. We then hold on to this reasoning that God is there to listen to me and give me what I want. This is a rather man-centered religion. And when one day I realized that some of my prayers and wishes were not granted, situations unchanged, I began to doubt Him. The paradigm shift is that no matter how and what our motives are when we became Christians, we need to remember that, like Jesus, we are to learn to obey God. When we walk closely with him, out of his mercy, God often gives us the desires of our heart. However, God is not there to obey us, like our personal vending machine. Instead, we are to listen and obey him for He is our King, Master and Lord. This is how to grow like Jesus.

IV.   Jesus grows in a community.

  We have seen how Jesus grew under the Holy Spirit, trials, obedience. Did it take place in a vacuum?

1.   Jesus grew in communion with God. Mk 1:35, “ 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Lk 6:12, “ 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” Jesus grew through spending time alone; in isolation with God.

  God often used moments of isolation to draw us close to Him and speak to us. As I look back, I began to understand a little of why God called me into full time ministry while we were in Taiwan . We were in Ca for 5 years, a very familiar and comfortable place; with plenty of friends and family members. The pressure from family, friends and colleagues would have been too great to make a major change in one's life direction. Whereas in Taiwan ; it was a new and unfamiliar place with few friends. There were only Cynthia, Francis and I. It was there, that God's calling me into full time ministry became loud and clear. You may have such experiences too. Whether it is self-sought isolation, or forced isolation, it is at those situations, that we experience growth, drawn closer to God.

  Jesus grew not only through his communion with God. He also grew through being with God's people. Mk 3:14, “ 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.” 14:33, “ 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.” What did we learn from these and other passages? He called the 12 disciples so he could send them out. Not only this, he called them so he could be with them. The disciples were with him for 3 years. They were with him when he was transformed into his glory on that mountain. He also wanted some of them to be with him during those agonizing moments in the garden of Gethsemane .

  Yes, we grow, and are drawn closer to God in those isolation moments, by spending time alone with God. But we also grow when we are with fellow Christians. This is why we always encourage you to join a fellowship or a small group, so that we can grow together. We need each other to encourage and support us when we face those temptations and misunderstandings.

Conclusion:

  As an ethnic group, Chinese by nature are achievement driven. If you read books like, Chinese in NA, Chinese in St. Louis or one day someone will write a book on Chinese in Houston, you will find a common thread: We are where we are today through hard work. Immigrant parents teach their children if you want to be ahead in this country, you have to study and work hard. We measure success by our accomplishments. We let our doings define our being.

  After we become Christians, we bring similar values into our belief system. In many Chinese churches, we equate faith and growth with activities. When some one becomes a believer, often we begin teaching them how to serve in a church. For this reason, in most of the Chinese churches in NA, we can find a group of highly motivated workers doing different ministries in the church. This is certainly a very good and important aspect of the church and Christian growth.

  Yes, the scriptures teach us to serve one another, to care for the poor and the sick. We are commissioned to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ wherever we go. However, God's word also clearly teaches us that He wants us to grow into Christ's likeness. It is about quality of life. It is a life filled with the Holy Spirit; manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is a life that stands firm in trials, being obedient to God and in communion with God and God's people. We are not to let ministries/activities substitute for Christ-likeness in our lives. Our ministries and activities must be an outflow of who we are. Our being, that Christ-likeness, is to define and direct our doing.

Note: Main Resource: Grow in Grace by Sinclair Ferguson.