April 20, 2008
Morning Worship
Text: Isaiah 44:1-5
Subject: Stages of Growth
Title: What I Want to be When I Grow Up
One of the really special things that I have held on to as a dad is that as our children grew I celebrated the various changes that they went through as they grew. Yes, some of those times were emotional. I suppose that I am not the only one who was sad when their child went to school for the first time. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who got excited as they watched their child make a great play to win a ball game or bring home good grades for the first time. We watched as our girls went from elementary school to junior high to high school. (Don’t forget driver’s licenses). Then we cried as we took them off to college and then one by one gave them away in marriage. And now they are doing the same things with their families. But each step was something special and unique and was worth celebrating.
Having said that, I think that sometimes we look at ourselves and like children, as they are growing up, wonder if we are ever going to get where we are supposed to be. Are we ever going to go higher, farther, deeper or wider with God? Will we ever see His promises come to pass in our lives? Will we ever begin to really move forward with Him? The Psalmist asked the question, “46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?”
Fortunately, we have His promise that a life in Jesus is never wasted. But growth is a process and we can be sure that if we continue with Him we will get to where He wants us to be. Most of us are in different stages of development, but you can be sure that the Lord is right there with you. You never have to face life alone. Every day God is answering your question, “What do I want to be when I grow up.” And the answer is, He wants you to be faithful to Him.
Open your hearts to receive a touch in your spirit today.
I. SOWN (1-2) 1 “But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This message is for those who wonder where God is in their lives. He says, “Listen!” That word, “listen” in the original language means, “to hear intelligently”. This message was originally intended for the nation of Israel but notice how God also refers to Israel by another name; Jacob. Jacob was a deceiver. He tricked his father into giving him the blessing intended for his brother. Even though Jacob was called by God to be the father of many nations, he somehow thought he had to help God make that happen. So when God refers to the nation of Israel He reminds them where it was that they came from when He first called them. Not only does God remind them of their past, but He also mentions what He wants them to be – His servants. Finally, God wants them to know that He is the one who chose them and not the other way around (whom I have chosen.) Do you understand what this is saying? It may be difficult to grasp, but God chose you. You may have made the decision to accept Jesus into your life. You may be the one who has decided to live for Him. It may be your choice to be everything that He wants you to be. But none of those decisions hold any validity if God didn’t first choose you. Jesus told His disciples in John 16, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. When God chose you a seed was planted – something was sown. God saw that seed fall to the ground before the creation of the earth. 2 This is what the LORD says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you. Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” I want you to get the significance of this fact. If God knew you and chose you before you were ever born, that must mean that He has a plan for you life. That plan was for you to bear fruit as Jesus said. But before you can ever bear fruit you have to be planted. Before you can be planted you must be willing to submit to God. When that happens He sows you and He sows into you. In verse 2 God uses the name “Jeshurun”. It is another symbolic name for Israel and it means’ Upright”. Do you see what God is saying to Israel. First He reminds them that they were like Jacob the deceiver. But eventually they will become “Jeshurun” – upright! That is the way that God is working in your life right now. When you were first planted you weren’t much. (I’m talking about when you were first saved.) Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. You can boast in the Lord because God is taking you from being a “Jacob” to being a “Jeshurun.
II. WATERED. He is growing you by watering you. Once you are sown or the seed is sown in you God does not forget you and say, “Good luck – I hope you do well!” When He plants you He will water you and give you the nourishment you need. In a chapter about rethinking discipleship James Emery White wrote in his book Rethinking the Church, : Some of you may remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. He said when he first came to the United States from Russia, he wasn’t prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk -- you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice -- you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, What a great country! One of the most basic assumptions made about life change is that it happens instantly at salvation. According to his belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. As a result disciples are born not made. The question for rethinking discipleship is this: Are these assumptions valid? If they are, then working this formula in the life of the church should consistently give the same result: a new community of people who are becoming increasingly like Jesus in their life and thought. If that is not the answer a church gets when it works the equation, then it needs to rethink whether the formula is sound. Unfortunately, many churches are not getting the correct answer. In fact, a Search Institute study has found that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to only 32 percent for churchgoing adults. Why? Because true life change only begins at salvation, takes more than just time, is about training not trying, and is a team effort. But God says once you are planted He will give you every opportunity to grow into what He wants you to be and He has done that because He has poured out His Spirit. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Do you understand that God grows individuals and churches in the same way? In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh… That happened on the day of Pentecost and the purpose was to empower believers but it also grew the church. Acts2 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Spiritual growth is always brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit. You cannot grow spiritually without the work of the Holy Spirit in your life for it is the Holy Spirit who enlightens scripture to you. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches you. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers you. It is the Holy Spirit who gives gifts to you. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts you of sin unto repentance. It is the same Spirit that will always go where you go. Psalm 139:7, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? The answer is, “Nowhere!” Jesus said this, 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Not only does God sow, but He also provides water for growth, both to the church and to individuals. One quick note – do you see what accompanies spiritual growth? I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. As long as you strive to grow in the Lord you are receiving the promise of blessings for you children.
III. FLOURISHING 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. When a seed is planted properly in good soil and then watered and fed the right food, growth is inevitable. You know don’t you that is what has happened in this church. You are feeding on the Word of God – whether it is the word you get from your reading or from my preaching the Word of God. In a recent issue of "Glass Window," a contributor recalls that several years ago, The British Weekly published this provocative letter: Dear Sir: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister’s time might be more profitably spent on something else? For weeks a storm of editorial responses ensued... finally ended by this letter: Dear Sir: I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals- mostly my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet... I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.
It is the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in you and in the church that takes you from being “Jacob – the deceiver” to “Jeshurun – the upright.” 5 One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’S,’ and will take the name Israel. Israel means, “He will rule as God.” And that is the place where the planting and watering will take you. You will flourish because God is ruling in you. Your spirit man is now in control. The flesh has lost all its power. The natural man can try to get you to feed the fleshly desires of life but the spirit man says, “I don’t want that anymore, I don’t need that anymore, I’m not going to do that anymore. Natural man, you’ve been in control long enough but now I have been planted, I have been watered and I am flourishing in this life in the Spirit. There is a river of life flowing in me and through me and out of me. It is watering the dry places and filling me up with the Word.
When I started out talking about my children and how I chose to rejoice in every stage of life that they have gone through, I would hope that most of you have experienced that or are experiencing it now with your children or grandchildren. I want you to know something – God, as your heavenly Father is experiencing that with you right now. When you grow He rejoices. When you fall back He is there to pick you up. If you turn away for a time, He grieves over you and continues to send His Spirit to call you back. He does that because He is the one who has sown into your life. He is the one who has watered. He is the one who cause you to flourish. Every time you take a step forward in Him you bring glory to His name.
Keep growing. Allow the Holy Spirit to grow in you as a church and as individuals. Bear fruit. Then you can plant a word in someone else that will enable God to begin to do sow in them, water them, and watch them flourish. That is what God is doing in this church today. That is the kind of church that we want to be when we grow up. That’s what I want to be when I grow up.
And that pleases God.
