Summary: A lot of people plateau because they think once they become a Christian, that’s it -- they’ve arrived. If you want to make progress, trade in that attitude for one that says, "I’m going to grow!" *HANDOUT INCLUDED*

Trade-offs for a happy 2005.

Everything plateaus when until you’re willing to make the trade-off.

Mt. Climber up Mt. Everest – started out with cameras, tripods, exotic foods, etc. Discarded them one by one. He had to make the trade-off to keep on climbing upward.

Trade in “I’ve Arrived” for “Let’s Grow!”

2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;”

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Here’s what I’ve got to tell you today in a nutshell.

It’s not about the start – it’s about the journey.

You see, a lot of people think once they’ve become a follower of Jesus – a Christian – that they’ve ARRIVED.

ILLUS> Albert Einstein attended a dinner party. His young, college student neighbor was seated beside him. The neighbor didn’t know who Einstein was. In the course of their conversation Albert Einstein’s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?" "I devote myself to the study of physics," Einstein replied. The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago." (Today in the Word, September 25, 1992.)

How many of you have seen someone who claims to be a Christian, but their lives don’t show it? You know that if you asked them, they’d say, “Oh, yeah, I’m a baptized member of such-and-such a church. . .” But if they didn’t tell you, you’d sure never guess!

You know the difference between that person and a real Christian? That person started, but never grew. They weren’t willing to trade off their “I’ve arrived” attitude for one that was willing to grow.

They may try to hide their lack of growth, but eventually, everyone will be able to see it.

A preacher went to see some people in his congregation. As he came up on the front porch, the door burst open, and swung back against the house with a bang. Out came a red-faced man, and right on his heels was a red-faced woman with a frying pan. . . then they saw the preacher. They quickly straightened up, and the man smiled and said, “Preacher, I tell you – we have more fun than anyone on this block!”

Some people think that spiritual growth is mystical – it’s kind of “out there” somewhere, and if you can find the secret key, you will somehow magically grow. But the truth is that spiritual growth is very practical. There are specific things you can do, specific habits you can develop if you want to grow.

A New York City businessman moved to the country and bought a piece of land. He went to the local feed and livestock store and talked to the proprietor about how he was going to take up chicken farming. He then asked to buy 100 chicks.

"That’s a lot of chicks," commented the proprietor. "I mean business," the man replied.

A week later the new farmer was back again. "I need another 100 chicks," he said. "Boy, you are serious about this chicken farming," the man told him.

"Yeah," the man replied. "If I can iron out a few problems." "Problems?" asked the proprietor. "Yeah," replied the man, "I think I planted that last batch too close together."

There are certain things you must do to grow. . .

1. Make growth a part of your daily life.

“But be continually growing in grace”

This is literally what the phrase means – the Greek verb means “be growing all the time.”

John Maxwell, a well-known business author and lecturer, says this:

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

The secret to your growth and success as a Christian is in your daily schedule.

Let me give you three things you can do daily that will cause your spirit to explode with growth this year.

A. Daily quiet time with God.

There are many benefits of quiet time in our fast-paced world. There’s lots of psychiatrists who recognize the value of quiet time. I was just reading the bestselling book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” this week, and Richard Carlson highly recommends a period of quiet time each day for personal peace and relaxation. However, if you want it to be a time of spiritual growth, spend the quiet time “with God.”

I guarantee that this will not be an easy habit to establish. Start small. Go to work 10 minutes early, and sit in the car before going in and just get quiet with God. Talk quietly to him, focus on Him and what He’s done. Be thankful, and ask Him for help today.

B. Bible study.

Studying the Bible on your own is a fantastic way to grow.

- Reading it daily

- applying it to your life

- writing down your favorite verses to come back to

- Writing down questions you have, and ask someone (me, if you like)

We have this service on Sunday AM, and I gear it for people who are wanting to check out church and check out God. But on Wednesday night, we have a service designed for more serious Bible study and growth. It’s a smaller group format, and we have time for Bible study, discussion, question and answer, and sharing needs for prayer.

C. Share with someone else what God’s done for you.

There’s nothing like sharing it with someone else to cement it in your own mind. The Bible goes so far as to say that we can OVERCOME by the “blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony”. . .

2. Experience God’s love and changing power.

“Grow in grace”

The word “grace” in the Bible has two meanings. The first one:

- Undeserved kindness “being justified freely by His grace” (Romans 3:24)

This is the one that gets emphasized a lot. They talk about God’s grace being free forgiveness and love, even when we don’t deserve it. And that is a WONDERFUL thing.

But a lot of churches these days forget that grace has a 2-part definition. It’s also:

- Enabling power “But by the grace of God I am what I am...” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Here’s what that means: God loves you like you are, but YOU DON”T HAVE TO STAY THAT WAY! He can change you — YOU can be different! The same God that loves you JUST like you are, loves you too much to leave you that way!

OK, so how can I experience God’s grace?

3. Get to know Jesus better.

“...and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

There are two ways that the word “know” is used in the Bible.

- Head knowledge.

Learning about the ignition, starter, battery, fuel injection, pistons. . .

You can do this by reading the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), watching the Passion of the Christ,

- Experiential knowledge.

Starting the car. . .

But I believe that the focus here is not on head knowledge. I believe the focus here is on getting to know Jesus PERSONALLY. There are two ways that we need to get to know him:

Get to know him as Lord.

The word “Lord” meant “master.” If Jesus Christ is your Lord, then you are His servant. If you want to know him as Lord, you’ve got to submit to him, just a like a servant (employee) has to submit to the boss. (By the way, when you submit to him, you’ll find out that He’s the best boss you’ve ever had.)

Get to know him as Savior.

What does it mean for Jesus to be your Savior – the one who saves you?

1. You’ve got to stop trying to be your own Savior.

Too many people are trusting in how good they are. . . they try to be good parents. . . they gave some money to the tsunami victims. . . they go to church pretty regularly. You’ve got to get away from that if you want to know Jesus as your Savior.

2. You’ve got to accept what He did for you on the cross.

He died so you don’t have to. He took the punishment for your sin so you’ll never have to take it. . . IF you accept His sacrifice as YOURS. The way you do that:

3. Ask Him for forgiveness and decide to change.

It’s that simple.

That’s exactly what some of you did last week! This week, I want to offer that same chance to the rest of you.

I’m sure I’m talking to someone here who would say:

“Darrell, I’d like to grow spiritually this year. I know I haven’t arrived. But I’m just not sure about my relationship with Jesus Christ. I don’t know where I stand with him – but I’d like to know today.”

If that’s where you are today, would you like to come forward and pray?

Climbers that failed to climb Everest. Back at the foot of the mountain, they were all depressed, because they had missed the window of opportunity, and now they’d have to wait until next year to try again. The expedition leader walked over to the big window, and spoke to the mountain:

“Well, Everest, you’ve beaten us this time. We failed. But I want to tell you something. We’re coming back. And next time, we’ll win – because You’re just as big as you’re going to get – but we’re going to get better.”

You may feel like in 2004 you’ve been beaten by the Mt. Everests in your life. . . you weren’t able to climb on top of it. Maybe there was a sin in your life you couldn’t conquer — a grief you couldn’t handle — a family issue you couldn’t work out —

Instead of giving up, why don’t you grow? Why don’t you come back in 2005 equipped with more spiritual growth, and take it on again?

_______________

HANDOUT

_______________

Trade-Offs for a Happy 2005

Trade in “I’ve arrived” for “Let’s Grow!”Life is essentially a series of trade-offs. Everything plateaus when you’re unwilling to make the trade-off.

2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;”

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Here’s what I’ve got to tell you today in a nutshell.

It’s not about the start – it’s about the journey.

Habits you can develop if you want to grow:

1. Make growth a part of your __________ __________.

“But be continually growing in grace” (2 Peter 3:18)

John Maxwell, a well-known business author and lecturer, says this:

“You will never change your life until you change something you do ____________.” The secret to your growth and success as a Christian is in your daily ________________.

Three things you can do daily that will help your spiritual growth:

A. Daily ___________ time with God.

Start small – Try this: Go to work 10 minutes early, and sit in the car before going in and just get quiet with God. Talk quietly to him, focus on Him and what He’s done. Tell Him you love Him, be thankful, and ask Him for help today.

B. Bible ____________.

Studying the Bible on your own is a fantastic way to grow.

- Reading it daily

- applying it to your life

- writing down your favorite verses to come back to

- Writing down questions you have, and call me. :-)

C. __________ with someone else what God’s done for you.

2. Experience God’s love and changing power.

“Grow in grace” - The word “grace” in the Bible has two meanings. The first one:

A. Undeserved _______________ “being justified freely by His grace” (Romans 3:24)

No matter what you’ve done, you can experience his __________________.

B. Enabling ____________ “But by the grace of God I am what I am...” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Here’s what that means: God loves you like you _________, but you don’t have to __________ that way!

3. Get to know _____________ better.

“...and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

There are two ways that the word “know” is used in the Bible.

- Head knowledge.

- Experiential knowledge.

But the focus here is not on head knowledge. It’s on getting to know Jesus PERSONALLY. Two ways that we need to get to know him:

Get to know him as _____________.

The word “Lord” means “______________.” If Jesus Christ is your Lord, then you are His servant. If you want to know him as Lord, you’ve got to submit to him, just a like a servant (employee) has to submit to the boss.

Get to know him as __________________.

1. You’ve got to stop trying to be your own Savior.

2. You’ve got to accept what He did for you on the cross.

3. Ask Him for forgiveness and decide to change.