I Long for a Deeper Walk with God: Moving forward into the Depths of God

One day you will be in a hospital bed, surrounded by loved ones, nearing your last day on Earth, looking back on your life. And you'll ask yourself, did I become all God called me to be? Or did I miss the mark? Will that be a moment of profound satisfaction or a moment of regret and repentance before God? The choice is yours. 

Rewind to today, to right now, this very moment. How can you build your life in such a way, that when you're near death, you may look back and say to yourself: This was a victorious Christian life. I became all God wanted me to be.

If we want to start today, and begin moving in that direction, we may believe a simple statement: I can be everything God desires me to be.

Do you believe that? Or have you sold yourself on a mentality of defeatism? That you can’t ever quite get over that hump? I dare you today, to believe, God is able. I can be everything God desires me to be.

Or as Paul wrote: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." -Phil 4:13

And in Hebrews 6:1a we get a picture of what that journey looks like: “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity” -Hebrews 6:1a

So we want to discover today how to obey that teaching of going on into maturity, with the help of the belief that we can be all God has called us to be, for the purpose of living a victorious Christian life.

What does that word maturity mean in the Greek? It means perfect, mature, of full age. It implies spiritual completeness.

Pastor I can’t be "perfect," true, but we can be mature. This doesn’t mean we never make mistakes, it does mean we are generally mature in our attitudes and thinking. We’ve grown up. A child in elementary school can be expected to behavior as one who is in elementary school. But if an adult behaved as if they were in elementary school, we'd know there was something wrong. Similarly, we who are spiritual should not find ourselves behaving as spiritual grade-schoolers when we ought to have proceeded into adulthood. But the question is: How do we get there?

For our example today, we look to the life of Paul. Paul, writing to his mentor Timothy, who was a pastor at Ephesus, instructs him on Christian living. Paul has written about false teachers, which we discussed last week, but starting in verse 10, he reminds Timothy about his own life.

It says, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,”

We’re looking at Paul’s way of life. And we want to mimic Paul, as Paul mimic’s Jesus. Paul’s way of life is first of all defined by his purpose. In anything we do in life, we have to know our purpose.

Why am I on Earth? What am I here to do? Your purpose on Earth is to love God with all your heart, and to love people around you. Those are the two commands Jesus gave us, defining the base of our purpose, love.

Paul’s love for Jesus who changed his life propelled him forward. It fed his entire being with passion, excitement, he was on fire for Jesus.

If you struggle in your walk with God, it may be because you lack a clear understanding of your purpose. Or, you once were excited, but the flames have died down.

Ask God today, pray right now even, and say Lord, I need you to set me on fire for Jesus. I need you to show me my purpose, so that passion can propel me forward, in Jesus name, amen.

Without knowing our purpose we won’t be able to do anything else on this list Paul gives us. But if we do, zeal will fill us. "Zeal" is a spiritual word, it means excitement.

But if you don't know your purpose you'll be rudderless in life. I see a whole generation of young people who were sold on the lie that life has no real purpose except that which we invent for it. And that philosophy has consequences, it has led to a generation of young men and women are feel like has no purpose. They just go to the bars, doom-scroll social media all day, play videogames constantly, and have no real goals or aspirations aside from hedonistic pleasure. And it's a lie. That philosophy is a lie. And it nearly destroyed me. It may have not been explicitly taught to me in school, but it felt "baked in" to everything propagated by our society, from television to schooling to modernism to scientism and everything in between. And it nearly destroyed me. It's destroying lives today, because people don't know their purpose. But once we know our purpose, who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and where history is going, we become dangerous to a broken system that pushes materialistic relativism. 

Next, is faith. What is faith? It’s conviction in your heart of the truth of something. You believe it’s really true. You trust it’s true. You trust in God for your salvation. You believe essentially that Jesus is really real.

Purpose and faith hook together in your heart and they feed off of each other. You know your purpose is to love God and love others, it fills you with desire to do it, that’s coupled with your faith that Jesus is really real and the gospel is true. This produces a fire in your heart.

If you’re struggling with doubts that’s ok, go back to some apologetics, evidence for God, the Bible, the historical Jesus, and let it fuel your faith. Faith comes from the word of God as well, so study it carefully.

Next, patience. Waiting is the key fact of the Christian life. We are all waiting and waiting, often waiting in difficult circumstances.

Many of you are waiting on the Lord in difficult circumstances. You have chronic health issues that won't go away. You've got unsaved loved ones you've been praying for, for years. But you've kept your eyes on heaven, and waited on the Lord patiently. It is something we all need to understand and learn.

Next, flowing from purpose, through faith, across the great expanses of the wilderness of patience and longsuffering, we come to love. Love is at the very center of the gospel. For God so loved the world that he gave his son.

Everything we do as a Christian is meant to be done in love. Compassion, empathy, affection, it’s all based in love. But we are not able to love on our own.

We must receive love from God, and love God back. That happens in our relationship with Him. The best thing in the world I can suggest to you, is to sit alone with God, on a lawn chair outside, and just talk to Him for hours. And you will sense your heart filling with love. Then you’re able to pour out that love to others.

The key thing God is teaching each Christian is how to love Him and how to love other people. It’s everything. Love is everything. With the goal in mind of going on into maturity, make love your goal. Learning it, doing it, receiving it, giving it, and you’ll become mature in Christ.

Sometimes we face a challenge though. We've been hurt so badly in life, hurt in our child hood, hurt by circumstances, abused and mistreated by someone we should've been able to trust, that we've closed off our hearts from love. We've shut that gate. And now we find ourselves cold, numb, and unable to open that gate again. My challenge to you is to seek God on this one, and let Him take you on a healing journey. He can do a work in your heart, to open that door closed by pain, which will allow love to flow once again.

And endurance. We humans live within the confines of God’s system of time. Life may feel short, but it's also quite long. That’s why it’s so important to have the mindset of endurance, one day at a time.

When we look to the 1828 dictionary, the definition for endurance is “Continuance; a state of lasting or duration.” In the recovery community an individual who has stayed clean and sober another year often celebrates their sobriety date with cake and a coin citing how many years they’ve been sober.

Maybe we should do something similar in Christianity. How many years have you been a Christian? What date were you first baptized? We celebrate our marriage anniversaries. We should be celebrating the day we got saved. I was first baptized February 10th 2013, I still have the video of the testimony I gave that day, endurance is seeing the long game.

In NFL football each team is often focused in on the current drive down the field, play by play, how do we reach the end zone, but any good coach sees the long game, how many quarters are left, how many scores do I need to make to win this game, and if they’re a very good coach they’re thinking weeks ahead, they’re thinking months ahead, years ahead, to build their team to be Superbowl contenders.

Patience and endurance are connected. We talked about waiting in difficult circumstances, like many of you here deal with everyday. Endurance is like that, when we’re dealing with a difficulty long term, endurance biblically does two things: First, it accepts the reality of it and walks with it each day, without endlessly resisting it. Instead we embrace the difficulty and accept that it’s part of what we’re going through. Second, we don't let it weigh us down. We accept the situation, but we never surrender to despair. Never. We always keep our hope and joy strong.

Next, verse 11, “...persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.”

Most of us will never experience the incredible persecutions Paul endured. In Antioch and Iconium Jews in the cities stirred up the crowds and drove Paul out of both cities. In Lystra it was even worse, Paul was surrounded, pelted with stones and his body dragged outside the city gates.

Yet Paul makes the vital statement, “The Lord rescued me from all of them.” I always expect in my walk with Jesus, when I face difficulties, that God will rescue me.

My wife Chelsey and I were really at the end of our ropes in Chicago, at our last posting. We felt trapped, empty, we felt like there was no future, no hope. We were so burned out. And we figured, we can’t ever leave The Salvation Army, I’m called here, so I’m stuck, my wife is stuck, despite how things have gone. But God said no, I’m calling you somewhere new, and we felt so seen by God, we felt so completely that he really did see us, and He made a new way for us. That’s who God is. He is a rescuer. But understand timing, endurance, patience, because I waited many years feeling hope fade before God moved.

Next, verse 12: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted...”

Now not everyone wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. They want Jesus, but they don’t want to live godly. They want Jesus and sin too. They aren't going to be persecuted, necessarily. They aren’t going to heaven either.

But if you want to live a godly life in Christ, you will be persecuted. But the thing about persecution is, it actually helps us. It molds us, it shapes us, it matures us. It shows us how to respond the right way to critics and haters. That builds character.

Next verse 13: “...while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

From the ages of 18 to 27, I went from bad to worse, I went downhill so very fast. And when I was 27 I gave my life to Christ and ever since then, each year I become a better person. That’s God work in me. You see it in yourself as well, God molding and shaping you. 

But it’s often difficult to accept, particularly within our own families, that they aren’t getting better, they are either staying the same it seems, or they seem to be getting worse.

It’s hard to watch as a Christian, because you’ve got the Master Physician working on you each day. And it’s awesome. But to see someone on the other side, without Christ, it’s hard. They don’t have Jesus. They are getting worse over time. 

And there’s really no way to force someone to get Christ. As hard as we try to show someone, it’s their choice. Often attempts to force will actually make it worse. So honor their free will. Invite, encourage, pray for them, don’t try to force them. For children it’s a bit different of course, we can't force them to become believers, that's between them and God, but we can require them to come to church until they reach an age when they can make that decision themselves.

Next, verses 14-15: “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

We understand that going on into maturity in Christ, growing up into our salvation is going to take many things, from purpose to persecutions, but ultimately it’s going to take an attitude of the mind. That attitude is continuance.

Keep moving forward. And what I think that means is this: Make it your goal to keep getting closer and closer to God. Never settle at a particular place. Say no, I’m going to go deeper.

I remember in Owosso we did a series on a book by a famous French contemplative writer named Jeanne Guyon. She wrote a book called Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. We did a series going through the book, and it changed my life. Because it helped me realize one simple fact: The Christian life is about setting out on a journey to dive into the depths of the heart of God.

I’m not sure I can explain exactly what that means. But I think there’s a statement that Moses makes, he asks God, “Show me your glory.” He’s asking God to show him who he really is. He is looking at God and saying, who are you? Not just things about God, but looking at God himself. So often in church we talk about God, but we don’t actually turn to Him and say "Oh hi, you’re right here. Who are you really Lord?"

My wife wants to know people deeply. I love that about her. She doesn’t have a lot of time for small talk. She wants to go deep and see into your heart and talk about your deepest desires and hopes and dreams. And she wants to point you to Jesus Christ in all of it.

Take that desire, to know someone deeply, and point it toward God. I want to know you deeply, all about you, your very depths. It can be intimidating, to launch out in a little space ship toward such a huge God, but make that your journey. God I want to know you more, your mysteries, your ways.

Paul reminds Timothy here, continue forward in what you’ve been convinced of, and look to the holy scriptures, which will make you wise for salvation.

Next, famous scripture, verse 16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

The goal is the servant of God, that’s you and me, may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. All scripture, which is breathed out by God, is useful in attaining this goal.

All of this put together means we are equipped by God’s word, ready then, trained, to do good things for God in the world. We know God, we love God, and we love his people. We've chased God, we know Him, we know His word, and it's fundamentally changed us over the years. We are built up. We are lit up. We are on fire. We are grown up. We are mature in Christ. And from all this flows a beautiful flood of love-filled good works.  And God will not fail to reward us for this.

Bringing in Hebrews 6 again, which God linked with our passage today, verse 10: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

The reward is greater than we could possibly imagine and God will not forget our service. He is watching every single deed, every ounce of love we give, every tear we shed is stored in bottles, every detail of our journeys is recorded in books in heaven. God will not fail to richly reward your faithfulness in seeking Him. Believe that with all your heart. If you go on into maturity, your reward will be great. Why go on into maturity? It means becoming everything God has called you to be, and on judgment day that equals a life without regrets. I can say, "I was all in!" And I can look back with pleasure that I really did believe God could do it. And He did!

But the greatest reward of all will be, when you walk through that doorway into heaven, and you see your blessed living savior, waiting for you with arms wide open, and you’ll know, I became the man or woman He wanted me to be, and now… the adventure has only just begun. Hallelujah!

Let’s Review our Journey Today:

1. You can be everything God has called you to be - remember the goal, looking back at the end of our lives, we want to be able to say, I lived a victorious Christian life, obtaining that means changing the present

2. Go forward into maturity: see it as a journey toward God

3. We learned the equation for success: Purpose, Faith, Patience, Love, and Endurance

4. Expect persecution, but don’t fear it: It actually helps you

5. We may be improving each day in Christ: Don’t expect the same from the world, they are becoming worse and worse

6. See your Christian life as a journey toward the heart of God: “Who are you really Lord?”

7. Through God’s Word we are thoroughly equipped for this journey

8. God will not forget: The reward is greater than you can ever imagine

Perfecting Holiness out of Reverence for God

Before we start today, I want to tell you a little about myself. My name is Justin Steckbauer, I’m originally from Wisconsin. I’m 40 years old. I became a follower of Jesus when I was 27, and God radically changed my life. I have a past, a dark past, which you’ll hear me touch on from time to time, I shared on Pentecost that I was once an atheist. But once I came to know Jesus, I was called by Him to the ministry.

I have several degrees in the study of theology, a bachelors in Christian counseling from Liberty University, I’m a graduate of Salvation Army training college in Chicago, with a two year degree. And I hold a masters degree in the study of ministry from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL.

I’ve served in ministry in various roles for the past 12 years. 6 of those as an ordained minister in The Salvation Army. So Chelsey and I are coming from an extended ministry in the Salvation Army.

I’ve served in ministry with The salvation army, in Wausau wi, Escanaba, mi, Owosso, Mi and Gary, In. Chelsey and I met in Owosso when I was the pastor there, and we worked together in ministry for several years, and got married in 2024. We don’t have any kids yet.

We are very passionate about doing ministry together, Chelsey has served in the past as the program coordinator, and I as the pastor. So we’re looking forward to continue doing ministry together here.

In the last year we felt God calling us toward the church of the Nazarene, and in particular we’ve felt drawn for years toward traverse city. In fact, I was so sure that Chelsey and I would end up in traverse city one day, that I asked Chelsey to marry me here on the beach at mission point light house.

Chelsey and I believe with all of our hearts, that it is God’s will that we are here

I’m going to ask my wife to share a bit about herself as well...

Generally the way that I select a scripture for Sunday morning is I ask God, and God will lead me to a particular passage, so unless we’re in a sermon series, where it’s one section after another, it’s something God brought up.

So let’s get into the passage for today, 2nd Corinthians 7, we’re going to focus in on verse 1, then we’re going to comb through the rest of the chapter.

Verse one says, “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

There are three parts of this verse, the first is “since we have these promises.” Meaning, as Christians we are living from a place of already having the promises of God.

We are not working our way toward the nest, we’re not climbing the tree to get to the nest, we are in the nest, accepted by God, children of God, loved by God, and holders of the promises.

We are not a teenager working toward the keys to his new car, we already have the new car, the keys are in our hands, and we are going for a drive in it.

We are not working on the house, hoping to live in it, we are living in the house, as we are working on it.

Second portion of this scripture, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit.”

As we live the Christian life month by month, year by year, God brings things to our attention, things he wants to purify out of us. When we notice those things, we take action, the Holy Spirit within us, helps us. We pray, we repent, we seek God’s help, we confess what’s going on to a trusted friend, we grieve, and turn. We often seek healing, and that healing will help us, in whatever sin we’re struggling with, it breaks free, when the healing comes.

Third portion, “perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Our God is holy. In fact he is holy, holy, holy. If we could see him right now, we would all instantly, feel completely undone, and we would cry out as Isaiah did, I’m a man of unclean lips.

Therefore, since we have these promises, from a place of acceptance, we purify ourselves of anything that could contaminate our body or spirit, which is, perfecting holiness. That process is perfecting holiness. Slowly we are setting ourselves apart for special use.

What is our motivation? It is reverence for God. The NIV translates that word there reverence, but almost every other translation renders it the fear of the Lord.

We’ll say reverent fear of the Lord. And I’ll share this illustration. Back in 2022 I met my future wife Chelsey. One thing she told me, was that other men treated their faith a bit like a happy go lucky game, and what she saw in me, was that I really did fear the Lord, and really wanted to do what God wanted.

Is it good to have a healthy fear of God? Yes it is. The fear of the Lord keeps us from evil. It’s like a guard rail, and it keeps us from the edge. Now, at the same time, the main thing in my life is the ever flowing love of God. That’s the main thing, daily, all day, every day, all night, all the time. But, at the appropriate moments, the fear of the Lord will come upon me, and it helps guide me away from evil, away from danger, and toward the right. Then the fear fades again, and its replaced by love. The love is the constant, the fear pops up when it’s needed.

Those three portions helps us understand how it works. We are at home with God already, we hold the promises in our hands. This leads us to purify ourselves on the sanctification journey. The motivation in this is the fear of God, that prompts us, to not play games with sin, but to put those sins to death quickly with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The rest of the chapter, Paul is going to be dealing with a very specific situation at the Corinthian church. He’s dealing with issues like repentance, facing difficulties, joy and endurance. I don’t want to get too into the weeds with all of this, so for the rest of the chapter, we’re going to jump around a bit, and try to mine out some gold nuggets, key principles ,we can apply to our own lives today.

Chapter 7 of 2nd Corinthians continues like this, “2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 4 I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.”

A few things to glean here… The command to “make room for us in your hearts” is beautiful to me. It reminds me that we need to make room in our hearts for Jesus. We need to also make room in our hearts for each other. There’s a beautiful Christian Christmas song that includes the phrase, “Is there room in your heart, for God to write your story?”

Often times, we have so many things in the world that we love, there isn’t room in our hearts for the things of God. Can you relate today?

Paul also says, “in all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds.” Is that not wild? Paul had constant problems in his ministry, yet he also claimed joy that was boundless in the troubles.

Joy is the mark of a true believer, a joy that overcomes everything else. I remember being with the church board and sensing a joy among us, because we could all sense God was doing something. Despite all the difficulties, and it’s been difficult! And despite the difficulties, I had a joy with me through all of it. A sense that God was doing it, and it would all work out. If you are going through something, look for the joy.

We’re mining nuggets from this chapter, two nuggets, make room in your heart, and joy despite difficulties.

Let’s look at our next portion, verses 5-7:

5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.”

You will face seasons in your life when you will feel like Paul, harassed at every turn, conflicts outside, fears within. That’s real. I’ve been through some seasons like that. Conflicts going on around us, and fear within. But, God always brings comfort and consolation in those seasons. He will bring someone, or some event, that encourages you, and give you new strength and new hope to keep going.

For Paul, this encouragement came through Titus who came and visited him. And the end result was, Paul says, his joy was greater than ever. Paul knew he wasn’t alone. 

I was on vacation in Minocqua wi and I had an experience that brought me great joy. The vacation had gotten a little rough that day, some traumas from the past came up, and I felt overwhelmed. But, we got to sit around a camp fire with some old friends that night, Skip and Sandy, and the conversation was spiritual, deep, meaningful, and it encouraged Chelsey and I. It was like a cold drink on a hot day. God does that. He may do it for you, or use you to help someone else. When you feel that nudge to call someone, or reach out, or have someone over, maybe they need it more than you realize. Act on it!

Next, verses 8-11: 8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”

Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church brought about sorrow, but, it’s clear that his letter, used by the Holy Spirit, brought about godly sorrow. Godly sorrow, leads to good things.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance, that leads to salvation, and leaves no regret.

This brings us back to our key passage for today, 2nd Cor 7:1, purify yourself from all things can pollute spirit and body.

How does this happen? It happens through the process described in verse 10.

It happens like this, first, the Holy Spirit identifies the issue. We begin to notice, something in our lives, is causing a slight alarm bell to go off in our conscience. It’s not often very loud at first, but each time we do it, it goes off a little louder.

Soon we identify it, and say, ah, the Holy Spirit is saying something to me about this thing.

What follows is something called godly sorrow. We see it, we wrestle in our mind back and forth, trying to justify why it’s ok for us to do that, but, eventually sorrow takes over. And we start to feel sad, that this thing is in our lives, and it shouldn’t be.

It leads us to a valley of decision. What am I going to do? And often times we tell someone about it, we confess it, to our pastor, or a trusted friend. Often we start to study the issue, we read books about it, or even talk to a counselor, and eventually we come to the altar, not necessarily at church, but the altar at home, and we pray: “Lord forgive me, I’ve done this and I see you pointing it out. Please forgive me Lord by the blood of Jesus, and we use the power word, Lord, I repent.”

Which means to turn away from that activity or thing or person or action, and we turn toward God. And this brings a victory. And afterward we may feel tempted to do it, but we stand firm, with the help of prayer, friends, scripture, even support groups if necessary, and we find true and lasting freedom.

For some things, it may be more difficult. A lot of these things I’ve found, are connected with something from our past that needs healing.

Again, we take that to God, and God brings healing. We confess it. We journal about it. We ask God to heal our heart. We bring it to a counselor or pastor, and we share about it. We grieve the original hurts, even with tears, and this brings lasting healing.

This all may seem difficult, sad, like walking through a fire, it may include wrestling, painful memories, and ugly tears. But, the fruit that flows from it, there is no regret after it’s been confessed, healed, and repented of. It’s gone. It’s forgiven. And that hurt that sin that’s been sitting there for years like a splinter in your mind is GONE, and you just want to jump for joy, you’re so excited that your free.

It took walking through the godly sorrow, and hurt and healing and repentance, and exposure, but, the result is a harvest of righteousness.

You’ve fulfilled 2 Corinthians 7:1, you’ve perfected holiness in the fear of God. And you’re free.

God did this with me most recently, with coffee, I’m not saying all coffee is sinful. But for me, God convicted me about 6 months ago, and I was misusing it. Using it to power me through each day. That isn’t right. And I repented, I simply stopped using it. And that splinter in my mind was suddenly gone, and I rejoiced. And I’m glad, I’m glad to be free.

Whatever it is in your life, sometimes we hide it, but it just nags at us, just let it out, confess it, repent of it, and enjoy freedom.

Lastly, verses 13-16:

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14 I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. 16 I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.

Paul writes that Titus when he visited the Corinthian church during this controversy, his spirit was refreshed.

I think the key here, with repentance, and cleansing ourselves from things that would contaminate us, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, the end result after each victory along the journey, is an incredible refreshing of our spirit.

Every time God grows me through some challenge, afterward, I feel stronger, cleaner, refreshed, renewed, and revived.

That will be your experience individually as well, as you engage in this process with the Holy Spirit.

But in conclusion today, let’s expand it, to say, what will the experience of the body of Christ be?

It will be, if the believers are not hiding their sins, or ignoring them, but actively allowing the Spirit to remove them, the body of Christ will experience, refreshing, renewal and revival.

What two things have led to revivals in the body of Christ on Earth? Prayer, and repentance from sins. Those two things when combined, have moved the heart of God to pour out revival on Earth.

Do you long for a new day in the body of Christ? Do you long for a new time in Michigan? Do you long for a new season in Traverse City? Do you long for revival?

Let it start with you. What if each one of us, were praying, and exposing our sins, repenting of them, perfecting holiness in the fear of God? We may yet see a move of God that will shake the foundations of this city forever.

Remember, it starts with you, getting honest, asking God for help, repenting, and praying. Then we will see a revival, in these end times in which we live.

Putting to Death the Sins of the Flesh

We’ve been building a structure, and it’s based around what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We’ve talked about the fact that a Christian walks by faith, trusting in God and following God’s leading even when it seems odd or strange.

We’ve talked about how a follower of Jesus seeks and experiences healing from past hurts and sins that once troubled us.

We talked about how God has redeemed us, made us new, and given us a new identity in Him. And we work from that place of safety in Him.

Now we bring those concepts of faith, healing and redemption together with a fourth concept called holiness.

We’ve learned to walk by faith, we’ve learned to find healing and we’ve learned our identity in redemption, now, we need to discover how to live our live in response to these truths.

How does this work exactly? We’ve received Jesus Christ as our savior. His blood has atoned for our sins. Our sins went to Jesus on the cross, they are deleted. Christ’s righteousness has been placed upon us as our robe to wear.

What’s next?

Well, we find ourselves in this situation that is constantly discussed in the New Testament. We are redeemed which means our sins are ransomed and removed. We are also clothed in Christ, which means we wear Christ’s righteousness as our own.

We also have been given the Holy Spirit who lives within us and directs our choices. But at the same time, we still have the sinful nature.

What is the sinful nature? The sinful nature is what we were born with. It’s the reason we struggle with making bad choices. It’s an inheritance of the line of Adam and Eve, which we’re all part of. It’s part of the curse and punishment for the sin of Adam and Eve.

One might assume, well when I become a Christian the sinful nature must be removed right? Wrong.

Our sins are forgiven. We are changed and made new. We are born again. However, we still have the sinful nature. Which means we continue to have a tendency to want to sin.

So, we made the choice at some point in our lives to give our lives to Jesus Christ. The sinful nature remaining in us, along with the Holy Spirit, you could say is a test.

The test is, after you’ve been saved, will you continue to say "yes" tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Or will you begin to say "no" to God, and "yes" to sin? The choice remains with you, into the future. Of course there will be consequences to the choices we make.

Will you be controlled by your sinful nature? Or by the Holy Spirit within you?

That is holiness, when we say yes to God and no to sin. Here is the definition for holiness. From the 1828 Dictionary: HO'LINESS, noun [from holy.] “The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity.”

This issue is discussed in detail in Romans chapter 8. Let’s take a look at verse 9. Paul has just been writing about the sinful nature. And what it does. Next he says...

It says this: “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”

If you have the Holy Spirit, you belong to God, if you don’t then you don’t belong to Him at all. And the goal is, that the Holy Spirit would control our lives.

Next it says in verses 10-11, “And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead two thousand years ago lives inside of you, today.

So one might also think, well, once we’re a Christian, we should never die then, because God made us new. Also not true, we will still physically die, again because of the curse of death placed over the line of Eve. However, we get a picture of our future with Jesus.

Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but three days later Jesus rose again from the dead. The same thing happens for the Christian. When we die, we can expect we will also rise from the dead after death, and find eternal life beyond the grave.

Because the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead literally lives inside you…

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”

We have no reason to say that we are caught in sin, because we don’t have to. That’s what it says. We are under no obligation to agree with the sinful nature when it wants to do something bad. Instead, the Spirit makes us free.

Verses 13-14 go deeper into what this means… “For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Remember this passage is speaking to Christians, brothers and sisters it says. And it says if you, Christian, live in accordance with the dictates of the sinful nature within you, you will die.

We still have a choice right now, am I going to obey the Spirit or the flesh? And if we make a practice of obeying the flesh, we begin moving away from God and toward sin. We begin to fall away from God.

But it says, if through the power of the Spirit. Through God. Through God’s Spirit, not in yourself. But through the power of the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the sinful nature, you will live.

So what do we need? We need power. We can’t put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by our own strength. Flesh can’t overcome flesh. But, the Spirit of God within us is mighty and powerful. We need power. Power from God. Through the Spirit, we can find victory over the flesh.

That’s a process I’ve seen so many Christians slowly walk through, at least the real ones. They are a new believer. They have received Jesus as savior. But they’ve got all these sins in their lives, lust, pride, theft, drinking, manipulation, gossip, slander, unforgiveness, hatred.

And I’ll watch God take them from one sin to the next, and they repent of it, they turn away from it, and they begin living a new way. Stronghold to stronghold they march surrounding the walls and besieging the strongholds and one by one the fortresses of sin fall tumbling down and come to nothing. 

And one by one, they are gone. The theft is gone, they practice integrity. Then the gossip is gone, they stop talking about others behind their backs. The unforgiveness is gone, they forgive their enemies. The hatred turns to love. And what you’re seeing in that Christian’s life is Romans 8:13 in action, they are, through the Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature.

As those things are dealt with, those past sins, they go from being dominant in the life of the person, to being dormant. They are broken and defeated. They are gone. But I’ve also seen them come back, if the believer isn’t careful.

Sometimes as Christians we get too confident and say, "Oh that drinking is gone!" It's not a danger anymore. And then we go hang out at the bar. And pretty soon we’re drunk again, and saying, what went wrong? You’ve repented of it, great, it’s defeated, but keep your guard up, so it doesn’t come back.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. That’s what it says. Do you really believe that you can be practically led by God’s Holy Spirit each day? It’s true, you can be.

For me it happens very naturally, as long as I’m praying in the morning, doing my devotions, reading the word, and thinking about God and His will throughout the day, I’m nudged by God during the day, and he helps me do His will.

What is His will? It’s little things. It’s praying for someone who comes to mind. It’s stopping to minister to someone who is having a hard day. It’s seeing an old friend and going and talking to them at the store. It’s calling up a family member and praying with them. It’s buying a Bible for your neighbor whose in the hospital and bringing it to them. It’s little things that are actually big things.

I remember I was at camp and God nudged me to give a little cross I had in my pocket to one of the kids in my cabin. I said Lord that child has been one of the worst kids! Why would I give him the cross? So I said no. God said it again. I said no again. God said it again a half hour later, God will just repeat stuff to you, believe me. And finally I understand God wanted me to call out the good in him. So I did, I called him over, and told him I felt God had called me to give him the cross, and he cherished that cross. He held it in his hand the rest of the day. God used it to touch his heart. 

Similarly, it’s rejecting temptations when they pop up. When you see that beautiful woman jogging, you look a different direction. You see that handsome guy at work, you decide to not even look that way. It’s refusing to gossip about someone you’re mad at. It’s saying no to the drama in the break room. It’s not cheating on your taxes. Simple things that are big things.

Now, you may be thinking, "Oh my, I have to put to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature. If I don’t I’m in trouble. If I live in sin, I’m in danger!" You're tempted to feel fearful and concerned. 

I think it’s good to be concerned, to care enough to take action, to want to be free from sins in your life. But, at the same time, we aren’t to be fearful slaves. We are God’s children.

Romans 8:15 says, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

We are not fearful slaves terrified of God. We do have a healthy fear of the Lord, don’t get me wrong. I do tremble at my heavenly Father’s might and power, but no, instead, we are adopted as God’s children. So we call God “Heavenly Father.”

Don’t be afraid. God is helping you every step of the way to be free from sins, to live holy. He desires your holiness. Through the Spirit he helps us to live it. And we do not tremble as slaves, instead, we stand with dignity as children.

Verse 16, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” We can know in our hearts that we belong to God, because the Holy Spirit inside us, will join with our spirit, and confirm you are a child of God!

And lastly, verse 17-18 “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

This is just astonishing what is said here. You are His heirs. Do you understand what this is saying? God is your Father, you are his daughter, his son, which means you will inherit his kingdom. What that means exactly, we don’t know, it’s huge, bigger than we could imagine!

So is it worth it, to put to death the flesh? Yes it is. We will inherit God’s kingdom. Together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory.

But, if we share His glory, we must also share in Christ’s sufferings. I know you all understand what that means, as Christians we do suffer. And it’s tough, it’s really tough at times. But it’s worth it. Because what we suffer now, is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed later. In the next life, you’ll know, and say, wow, it really was so worth it. That suffering was nothing compared to this!

The goal then is that one day our lives would end and we could say, I’ve finished my race, the Holy Spirit really did lead me, the sinful nature was defeated, kept in check, and we can say, victory! The glory of God is my inheritance. Hallelujah!

In conclusion, maybe you’re wondering, why does it matter? Sure, I steal a bit here and there, no big deal. Yeah I fudge the numbers on my taxes, no big deal. Yeah, I look at the woman, yeah I cat around with the guys, why does sin matter so much?

Because there is no sin in the next life. In heaven there is no sin. There’s no place for sin there. So this life is our time to learn to walk free from sin. And we have the Holy Spirit within us, so we have the power we need through the Spirit to be free from sin. We won’t do it perfectly. But we can be free from sin. We will always make mistakes. But when we make mistakes we repent quickly, as soon as it happens, we turn to God and request forgiveness afresh. Despite that, we can learn to not sin, and live holy as God is holy. Jesus Christ has made the way, and given us the Spirit, and the word says we have no obligation to the flesh. It doesn’t control us, the Spirit does. So yes, we can be free.

Review of Main Points
1. Our battle is against the Sinful nature within us

2. The Holy Spirit lives within us & should guide us

3. We have no obligation to obey the sinful nature

4. The Spirit gives us the power to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh

5. The Spirit leads us in a process of victories over the sinful nature (holiness)

6. This doesn’t make us fearful slaves, instead we stand as children of God

7. If we practice holiness in the Spirit, we will inherit God’s kingdom (through sufferings)

And God won’t allow sin into heaven. You have to understand that. I worry many of us think, well I’m going to sneak into heaven with my sin. But that isn’t the case. If you try to bring your sin into heaven, by refusing to repent on the Earth, you will not be allowed into heaven. I firmly believe that. If we show up in heaven will all sorts of sins on our record that we never repented of, we’ll be shown the door. Don’t forget that saints. Repent today, the Holy Spirit will help, and you will be free.

The Way of the Messiah: Deny Yourself, Take up your Cross, and Follow Me

Have you ever seen a star being born? Here we see a picture from the James Webb Space Telescope, of just such an event. From the STSI: “NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is celebrating the first anniversary of its start of science operations with this image of a star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

Its proximity to Earth at 390 light-years allows Webb to capture it in exquisite detail. Reddish jets bursting from young stars light up molecular hydrogen where they impact interstellar gas. A slightly older and more massive star, S1, is blasting out ultraviolet radiation and carving out a glowing cave in the lower portion of the image.”

The birth of a star, the beginning of a burning light in the heavens, maybe that’s a bit like what happens when a dead sinner lost in their evil ways turn toward Christ and cries out for salvation, for hope, and for a new life. That person at that moment is transformed, from a being of darkness and sorrow, to a being of light, hope, and victory. They are born a second time of the Holy Spirit. They begin a whole new life. They burst to life into great brightness and begin a lifelong journey of glowing ever more brightly with the power of God within.

It's an amazing thing.

We’re going to be looking at four sections of scripture today from Mark chapter 8, and I think we’re going to see the centerpiece of Mark’s gospel, the halfway point, the key moment when the question is answered: “Who is Jesus, really?”

Mark is sixteen chapters, and at chapter eight we find the middle point, the moment that depicts the entire point. It answers the question, "What is this really all about?"

All the healings, the miracles, the masses of crowds, the parables, the angry people, the disciples, what does it all mean?

So today, four sections, the first section is a healing that takes place of a blind man. And I think you'll see it fits right into the concept of spiritual blindness and seeing the truth. 

It says this, verses 22-26: They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

On it’s face, you have a recorded event in history, when Jesus healed a blind man who was then able to see from that day onward. I can’t imagine what a moment that must be in someone’s life, to go from blind to being able to see.

But on a deeper level, this is a moment that is reminding all of us, and those reading the gospel of Mark throughout history, that without Christ we are blind. As humans in our sin, we are blind.

There was a time in my life when I had no interest in knowing God. And slowly but surely as people prayed for me, and I began to encounter the message, slowly but surely I began to grope in the dark toward God.

“Can you see anything?” Jesus asked the man.

What about you? Can you see anything? Do you see who Jesus really is? Do you see God in each moment of your life? When you look around you do you see a world made by God? A universe designed by God? And people made in God’s image, with great value?

Or are you still blind? Or perhaps you’re like the blind man, at first he only sees a blurry picture. Some of us as we begin to approach God, or even after, at first, we only see a blurry picture, but as we draw nearer it becomes more and more clear.

Next, we see a conversation that takes place between Jesus and his disciples.

In verses 27-30: Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”

Peter is Jesus’ right hand man, the first guy he trusts and the one he appoints to lead his disciples later.

And in this moment, the Holy Spirit reveals to Peter who Jesus really is. And we get the grand answer to the question, who Jesus is: He is the Messiah.

He is not a mere man, or a prophet, or some sort of special person, or a gifted healer, or a wise teacher, no, more than that, much more than that, he is the Jewish messiah. 

Jesus has been keeping it quiet, not telling anyone, because his mission is a very particular one, his mission is to die. Astonishing mission, a mission of death. A mission, not for his own sake, but a mission to give life to billions who are lost.

Just like Peter's declaration, we as well can only by the Holy Spirit say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Only by God can we know and believe that Jesus is our messiah. Only by God’s wisdom. We can’t come to that on our own.

I remember reading the bible many, many times in my life. I never understood it. It took years. And through much prayer, and learning, growth, people praying for me, I began to understand.

Next, Jesus elaborates on what his mission is, as the messiah. They believe he must be here to overthrow the Roman empire, but instead, his mission is very different than what they might expect.

The messiah has come not to deal with the enemies of Israel, or to make us happy, or to take control of the Earth, but instead to deal with our sins.

In verses 31-33 it says, “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Peter goes from recognizing Jesus as the messiah, to rebuking Jesus for the idea that he would die. And Jesus rebukes him instead and says, “Get behind me Satan!”

How easy it is to go from walking in the Spirit to walking in the flesh! How easy it is to let our own wants get in the way of what God is doing. How easy it is for us to corrupt what God is saying because we want what we want. Or we can’t accept what God is really saying, because maybe it seems too hard.

Jesus explains the way for him as the messiah is the suffering servant. Peter can't fathom the idea of a messiah who is rejected, suffers, and dies. 

Next, Jesus explains what that means for us as Christians. You could call this the way of following the suffering servant. How do we do that? 

It says this, verses 34-38: "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Lets break this last statement by the Lord Jesus into four subsections.

First point is self denial. You must deny yourself, your own ways, your own viewpoints, your own perspectives, your own opinions, your own emotions, your own plans, and put them under the control of the living Lord Jesus Christ, today, right now. Begin to live your life being guided in prayer and bible reading by God every day.

That is a huge shift in how we live. We go from chasing what we want, to chasing after what God wants for us.

That takes denying ourselves, denying what we want, and saying no to that selfish voice in our heads saying "me me me." And instead we turn to Jesus, and Jesus guides us through life.

That is not just some vague spiritual truth, it’s practical, for everyday use.

Second point, if your goal is to save your own life, that’s not going to work, instead, make your goal to lose your life for the sake of the gospel, and you’ll find your life that way.

Lose yourself in the work of serving Christ and serving others. Lose your own ideas, perspectives, your own conceptions of life, your own opinions, your own emotions, your own plans and purposes, and lose yourself in embracing the words of the Bible, the way of Christ, and paradoxically, through losing your life as it is right now, and throwing yourself into a whole new path, the path of Christ, jumping in, all the way, you’ll actually find your life that way. But if you chase your own hopes, your own dreams, your own goals, your own plans, you will then lose everything.

It’s a paradox.

Number three, verse 36 is Jesus making a plain statement of fact, because Jesus knows what he just said is challenging, it’s a difficult, it’s a total shift from how we used to think, and he says, here's the point, even if you chase after your own desires, and get super rich, and get everything you’ve ever wanted, romance, travel, knowledge, money, power, influence over people, all of it, what does it matter in the end, if after you die, you lose your soul, because you lived for selfish desires? You’ll lose it all anyway in the end. So it’s logical to say, well, my soul is on the line, so it’s logical to give myself completely over to Jesus, because there is no other way. Any other path leads to destruction.

If I chase my own wants, in the end I’ll lose everything, so why not totally abandon yourself to the path of Christ?

Then in verse 38 Jesus also reminds us, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.””

Jesus says don’t try to hide the hard way of the cross. Don’t be ashamed of my words. Don’t try to sugar coat it with easy-believism, oh just believe in God and then you’re fine. No, understand, that we must give up our own way, turn and pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

The last statement here is a reminder to be bold with the word of Christ, don’t hide it, don’t be ashamed of the way of a suffering servant, which we’re called to as Christians. They were expecting a military leader, a king to rule the Earth, but instead they discover a way of service, of humility, of love. Don’t be ashamed of it, but proclaim it loudly, and Christ will proclaim us before the holy angels, but if we’re ashamed of it and Christ and hide it, then Christ too will be ashamed of us in the presence of God in heaven after we die.

Lastly, I do want to include Mark 9:1, for some reason this last statement by Jesus is placed in chapter 9, which I don’t understand why the editors would do that. It seems to me it belongs with the statements Jesus had just made.

It says this: “And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”–Mark 9:1

Jesus may have been referring to John who would many years later see a vision of the coming of the kingdom of God recorded in the book of Revelation.

But for us today, I think it’s a reminder that if we earnestly seek after God, really want to know who God is, then we will come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ is to us, and how to follow Him successfully in our lives.

Believe, seek God, and God will reveal himself to you. He will give you salvation through Jesus Christ. He will be your Father in heaven. He will place the Holy Spirit within you, to guide you through the trials and difficulties of the Christian life.

And you will live a life where you take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. You’ll live as a servant of God, with great love, and find victory after death.

The goal then, in the end, is to enter the new city of the messiah, where the messiah will reign as King. The goal is to shine in the afterlife, like that star we saw born in the photograph from the telescope. The righteous, the word says, will shine brightly forever in the city of God. A new city, a new reality, a future beyond what we could imagine. A next phase. A new adventure.

But in this life it takes total self denial, total devotion to Christ, denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Jesus.

Then we receive our reward in the city, to glow with the glory of God, as the next adventure begins, in the New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

The Journey of Progressive Sanctification: 7 Aspects of Growth toward Maturity

Join me now on the open seas, we're hovering over the waters and we're seeing a row boat, with a man rowing slowly toward a bright light. The boat is wooden, sturdy, but small. And it rows steadily. This is you, beginning your journey with Christ. Now we flash many years into the future, and we see another boat, this one is a giant battleship. It has hundreds of crew. It has anti-air guns, deck guns, turrets, depth charges, hull armor, a bridge, engineering sections, crew quarters, and many other abilities and functions.  It's a dedicated, strong, powerful tool of warfare. This warship is you, as a mature Christian, living in the world for Jesus. Which one are you? Where are you at in your journey? Perhaps you're just starting out. Maybe you're further along. Maybe you're a battleship right now. But in any case, the journey from row boat to battleship is what we call the journey of progressive sanctification.

Today we’re talking about sanctification. It’s a big theological sounding word, however, it’s meaning is fairly simple, sanctification is the process by which we are conformed to the image of Christ.

In other words, sanctification is our growth process in Christ, as we live our lives. It’s how God changes us. This is done by God in us, and we respond by cooperating in the process. God builds us, molds us, shapes us, and does beautiful things in us. And God has many tools he uses to do this. Good times, hard times, ,blessings, difficulties, and on and on.

The truth is for each of you right now God is doing many, many, many different things in your life, to make you more like Jesus.

So today we’re talking about 7 ways God builds us through the process of sanctification.

First of all, when talking about the growth process God takes us through, it’s important to understand that God’s goal is to make you more and more refined as a Christian.

We’re like metal that has impurities in. And when you heat up the metal, you can clear out the impurities, and the metal becomes more pure.

Similarly, it’s like you’re an apple tree, or a grape vine. And you bear fruit for God’s kingdom. Maybe you serve others, give people food, help people with repairs in their house, or lead a bible study, or pray for others regularly. That’s what we call “bearing good fruit.”



Now, God picks that beautiful fruit, and then he prunes us. And the goal of the pruning is that the vine or apple tree would produce even more fruit next season.

Jesus describes this in John chapter 15 in the parable of the vine. Our job in that parable is to remain in Christ, and to bear much fruit. Jesus is the vine, and the Father is the pruner.

Point number 2, God builds us and grows us through difficulties. I think you all know this one, I’ve said it about a million times. God builds us primarily I think through various difficulties.

Many of these difficulties test our faith. Many of these difficulties will build various parts of our personality. One trial or struggle may increase our patience. Another trial may expand our trust in God. Another trial may increase our compassion toward people who are suffering. Still another difficulty may grow our faith. Another helps us to better learn to endure in hard times. It’s all a powerful process by which God is making us better Christians each day.

God does that through difficulties. As it says in James 1:2 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

And that’s a key to having the peace and joy of Christ at all times, we should actually count it a good thing when we go through trials.

But I want to add one more thing here, our response to a trial or difficulty, can be good or bad. In a trial, it can push us closer to God, where we seek God in the trial, and draw closer to Him. But if we aren’t trained by the trial, it can be bad as well. Maybe instead of drawing near to God in the difficulty, we start to doubt God, and curse God, and get angry with God because he’s allowing it. That’s a trap we can fall in, so watch out for that. Respond by running to God, not away from Him.

Point number 2, part b, God builds us through good times as well. A blessing, a happy day, a good time, sweet fellowship, a wonderful feast, time with family, a vacation, God often uses all these things to build us in different ways.

A beautiful moment, overlooking a glorious green valley in summer, it grows us by reminding us of God’s beauty.

Spending time with our wife, or husband, or family, teaches us how to love, and helps us to yearn for even more love in the future.

Enjoying a meal with a friend teaches us about God’s love for us, and his love for people.

Yes, difficulties build us, but blessings can also build us. A loving marriage can teach us and train us. Children can teach us and train us. A beautiful home can teach us and train us.

But once again, let’s add this caveat: It’s important how we respond to a blessing. Because once again we can respond one of two ways: We can respond by thanking God, and ascribing it as a gift from God. Or we can become arrogant and start to think, oh I did this myself. Good times, wealth and prosperity, can be dangerous to a person or a society, because we can start to take things for granted, and we can start to think it came from our brilliance instead of from God’s grace. Always thank God, and ascribe it as coming from God. Then the credit stays where it belongs, with God. Pride is a danger, don’t let it into your heart. Stay humble, give God all the glory.

Point number 3, would you like to skip some difficult trials and tribulations? That would be nice wouldn’t it? Yes it would. Then you should read God’s word. Study it diligently, underline it and highlight it in your Bible. And then take it off the page and put it into practice. Particularly, I would point you to the book of Proverbs, which is all about wisdom for right living.

See you could be foolish, and then you’ll blunder into all sorts of troubles and addictions and bad situations. Or you could become a wise person by studying Proverbs, and the entire bible, and then putting it into practice. Then instead of blundering into a bad relationship, you’ll seek God first and know it’s not from God. Instead of overeating you’ll know from God’s word to use proper moderation. Instead of getting into fights you’ll know proverbs says to keep control of your temper. And you’ll live a wise life, and avoid all sorts of difficult trials. Because you’ve been made wise by God’s word.

Point number 4, sanctification is about progressively surrendering more and more of ourselves to God over time.

Or this can be a moment when we surrender everything over to God. Often when we sing, we sing, “I surrender all, to you oh Lord.” This is great wisdom, to turn it all over to God.

A common slogan is “Turn it over to God.” This I think is also wise. Simply turn every problem, every concern, every issue in our lives over to God. What does this mean? This means to surrender our control over the issue, and to place control over the issue in God’s hands.

There is a balance here. We live the problem with God completely. I place my concern with weight loss in God’s hands. I don’t have control. God has control of it. Now, as God leads me, I dutifully respond. So it’s in God’s hands, and God indicates, join a gym, and go 3-4 times a week. Very good, then I do that.

Now some people will surrender it to God, and then refuse to do anything when God tells them. They surrender their marriage problem to God, great, but God tells them to be more forgiving. And they say no. They keep accusing their spouse. So nothing changes.

Another issue is, the person keeps control of the issue, and then tries to fix it with their own ideas. That generally doesn’t work, sometimes it might, if it’s a minor issue. But our own ideas don’t tend to work that well for most issues. So we need to make sure we’ve placed the issue in Gods hands, and then we’re responding to God’s guidance, while leaving the issue under God’s control. Hope that makes sense.

Then as we leave things in God’s hands, and grow, we find ourselves a vessel through which God can work on a daily basis. Like it says in 2nd Timothy 2:21 ESV “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Point number 5, let’s talk about repeating loops. A repeating loop can happen when we have been through a trial, but we refuse to learn what we’re supposed to learn from the trial. Or we may just not have noticed what God was wanting us to learn. Then, unfortunately, we can get caught in a repeating loop. A repeating loop is just like it sounds, maybe the issue we face is alcoholism, I was in this loop for years. The loop goes something like this, get drunk for many weeks, months, eventually the hang overs and blunders lead to consequences, we lose a relationship, we get arrested, we lose a job, or something, then we realize there is a problem, we see the problem, we acknowledge it, and attempt to change it. So maybe we try to go cold turkey off the drink, but it’s so tempting, we relapse back onto the drink. The loop begins again, it gets progressively worse over time, we experience consequences, we hit a rock bottom, we seek help, we acknowledge the problem, we try to quit some other way, it doesn’t work, the loop repeats.

It doesn’t have to be something as flashy as alcohol or drug addiction. It can by lying. Or manipulating others. It can be refusing to deal with a health issue. It can hoarding, not cleaning properly. It can be sexually acting out. It can be keeping God second in our lives. And the loop will keep repeating, until we allow God to bring us out of the loop.

As it says in, “"As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly”

Additionally, if you want to see repeating loops, look at the books of 1st and 2nd kings and chronicles. The loop of sin repeats over and over, sadly. Thankfully, if we cry out to Jesus, he can and will deliver us from any repeating loop we are stuck in.

Point number 6, the effects of prolonged sin. Suppose as a Christian we are practicing repeating sin of some kind. Sometimes we do struggle with sin in our lives as Christians. But we always turn to God, ask forgiveness in Christ, and keep going in the right direction.

But what happens if we start moving in the wrong direction, away from God? This does happen from time to time with Christians. And the pattern that I’ve noticed happens something like this: They are walking well with Christ. They stumble into a sin. They repent. They stumble again into that sin. This time they don’t repent, they continue in the sin. And as they continue in it, it gives birth to disillusionment and cynicism.

The Bible says it this way in Psalm 7:14 “Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.”

So as they persist in sin, they become increasingly cynical about the church. They think oh the church is so judgmental. I don’t like them they’re hypocrites. And we begin to justify and rationalize our sin. We gather around others who sin in that same way, sexually, or lying or whatever it is. And they begin to repeat to us that this sin isn’t a sin, it’s really ok, and just fine. And we began to appear at church less and less. We stop praying. We stop reading our Bible. And in the end, we fall away, we reject the faith, maybe we even share our de-conversion story on YouTube or Facebook live or whatever, and we share how we came to believe Christianity was false and wrong and bad. And it all started with a sin, that we slipped into, and instead of repenting right away, we started to lie to ourselves, or believe the lies of the enemy, that this sin was ok. And it led us to ruin, to shipwrecked faith, as Paul said in 1st Timothy 1:19 “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.”

Now can a person who followed this path turn again to Christ? That is something I’m not certain about. Because it says in Hebrews, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” -Hebrews 6:4-6

But it also says in James 5:19-20 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

So maybe there is still hope for that person. Only God knows.

Last point, point number 7, something we theologically refer to as “entire sanctification.” What this means, is that we have come to a point of Christian maturity.

We have become genuinely who we are called to be in Christ. And it’s consistent. We walk in it everyday, as we pass through this wicked world. We serve the needy. We pray and fast. We study our Bibles diligently. We are truly led by the Holy Spirit of God. We are utterly dedicated to Christ. Christ is seen in our lives. We live yielded to God in everything. We are humble and meek. We share the gospel regularly. We give tithes and offering. We are a real Christian who really lives for Jesus.

That is a beautiful thing to behold. A truly mature, entirely sanctified Christian is a humble hero of the faith. And it’s something God has done in them. It’s not of their own making. The journey doesn’t end there though. It goes on, there are always new things to learn, new roads to travel, new experiences to learn from, but fundamentally this mature Christian is on fire for Jesus and living for Him. And it’s wonderful.

Paul wrote in 1st Thessalonians 5:23 ESV “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And the author of Hebrews wrote, Hebrews 10:14 “For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”

And again in Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Praise God. So the question is, where are you at in this journey? What is God doing in your life? And how can you continue to grow toward true maturity in Christ?

The 7 Stages of the Spiritual Journey from Birth to Death: Beginning, Prevenient grace, New Birth, Growth, Holiness, Death, & Eternity

1. Birth into a crazy world: Imago Dei / Corruption

You were born into the world, a crying baby, in a hospital most likely, with no knowledge of anything in the world around you. We are born in many ways a blank slate, however, we are born into a particular mindset, of self-interest. We are born selfish, born prone to think about ourselves first, prone to sin, to do bad things. And of course we know that reality dates all the way back to the fall. So every human born on the planet is born in a selfish, fallen state. That’s why there’s so much chaos and destruction in the world, people are naturally disposed to do evil, instead of good.

However, we also have this desire within us for something more. The bible calls it “eternity” placed in our hearts.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. -Eccl 3:11

We’re made in the image and likeness of God, we’re special, blessed, we have a desire to create and feel and grow and learn. We’re very special among God’s creation, but we’re also in rebellion, estranged from God. Two things here are true at the same time, one that we’re fallen, and also that we’re made beautifully in the image of God.

If you’ve ever seen a toddler, a child, they’re beautiful. They’re precious. They seek to learn. They begin to explore. They are fun to be around. They are innocent in many ways.

However, if you’ve ever seen a toddler, you can see how we are born with a sinful nature. They are selfish, if another child has a toy, they go and take it from them, they do bad things with you watching, to see how you’ll react. We’re all born into that state.

2. Prior to Salvation: Prevenient Grace / Free Will

Preferably, how it best works, is that parents raise their children carefully teaching them the truths of the Bible. They attend a youth group, church services, and eventually reach the age of decision, when they get to decide will I follow Jesus myself, or will I go a different direction. It should work that way, but very often it doesn’t.

So for many of us, probably most of us, we were quite confused in our teens, and wandering, and uncertain why we felt so bad, and convicted and just sort of aimless in the world.

And so we see that God begins to call us himself. It says in Acts 17:26-28 26 From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live. 27 He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt around for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us; 28 as someone has said,‘In him we live and move and exist.’”

So as family and friends pray for us, God reaches out to us, and calls us to himself. We begin to be drawn toward the Creator. We can resist this process, many do, and many also begin to cooperate in this process if seeking God, and asking questions, and studying the Bible, and attending a church or Bible study. But this process can last years, of seeking God, and God calling us to himself.

But there are two factors once again, to hold together, one that God calls us to himself. Two, that we seek after God. And in that process we draw closer and closer to Jesus Christ, the cross, and the offer of eternal salvation. It’s beautiful. But free will is real. And we can either engage in it, or reject it, God will honor our choice, even if it’s the wrong choice.

3. Moment of Salvation – Second Birth / New Life

Now many in the world will never go beyond step two, of that process of being drawn to God. They will repeatedly reject God as he reveals himself in various ways, through a person sharing the gospel with them, through a bible tract, through a beautiful summer day, through a church service, they will continue to turn away from God. Most people follow that path in fact, unfortunately.

But for us blessed few, who have been called to salvation by Christ, we come to that moment of salvation. This is the moment when we are born again.

When we repent and believe Jesus Christ of Nazareth really died on the cross for us, to wash away our sins and give us eternal life, we are born again by the Holy Spirit, and become a completely new person.

Aspects of the Moment of Salvation:
Our sins are forgiven

We are justified before God

We are adopted into God’s family

We go from darkness to being light

We are filled with the Holy Spirit

We are given Christ’s righteousness as a garment

We become part of the kingdom of God

We go from spiritually blind to spiritually seeing

This for us, is the most important moment of our lives. It’s the moment when everything changes. But it’s not the end of the journey, it’s not one and done, it’s the beginning of a lifelong journey.

4. After Salvation – Growth in Sanctification / Daily Repentance

What happens after salvation? We begin a lifelong journey of following Jesus, serving others, relationship with God, and obedience to His will.

We’re called to live so very differently from the world. We're called to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit, not in our flesh, but in the Spirit's leading, living by a certain lifestyle, the lifestyle of Christ.

We’re given commands such as:
Love God, and love our neighbors

Forgive our enemies

Share the gospel with others

Feed the hungry, provide clothing, shelter, meet needs of Christians and non-Christians

Show no partiality

Be guided by God’s will

Perfect holiness in reverence for God

Pray, fast, and seek God’s face

Pray for government and spiritual leaders

Submit to gov authorities

Let your light shine

There are over 1,000 commands in the new testament, things we’re commanded by God to do or not do. We should study faithfully the word of God, and we will know how to live wisely.

5. Holiness unto the Lord – Security in Christ / Abiding in the Vine

God helps us along the journey. He is very good to us. Our part is to have faith in Him. And to continue on the journey of salvation.

So here we come to the topic of holiness. All Christians are called to go on into maturity. Many Christians remain like babies, drinking only milk, when they should be going on to solid foods.

We abide in Christ, by remaining with Christ. We continue in the faith. We don’t give up. We don’t fall away. We grow, and grow, and grow and eventually we are living as mature Christians. We go on from the basic doctrines, to deeper things of the Spirit. We practice our spiritual gifts, we serve in ministry, we fast and pray, we study our Bible, and we serve those in need. 

Sin is the greatest danger to the Christian. When we stumble into sin, it hurts our walk with God, and gives birth to disillusionment. We become frustrated, convicted, and we struggle more and more as we sin. Eventually sin will drive us away from God, if we don’t put to death the works of the flesh.

Continued obedient faith is an important part of our walk with Christ. Remain with Jesus. It's not one and done as many teach. Instead we must continue, and remain in the vine.  

John 15:1-8 says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

God the Father is the gardener, Christ is the vine, we are the branches connected to the vine, bearing good fruit in Christ. And we must remain in the vine, and if we do not remain in the vine. We'll shrivel up, and be removed from the vine, and thrown into the fire. That's hell. So we need to remain the vine.  And Christ keeps us. Two things we hold together in contention in the Bible, the fact that God preserves us in the vine, and nothing can separate us from His love, and the fact that we need to cling to Christ, and not fall away, but abide in the vine. Otherwise why would Christ command us to "remain in Him?" So we must remain in Him. 

We must abide in Christ, our whole lives, and continue in the faith, moving on toward maturity, and holiness in reverence of God.

2nd Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Hebrews 6:1 “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”

Hebrews 3:12-15 "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

6. Entering Glory – Physical Death / Spiritual Life

The next phase of the journey is a very difficult thing, that is facing physical death. All of us humans born on Earth must face physical death, unless we are raptured before we die, but we won’t get into that right now.

We all face physical death. That moment when we die. Hopefully it’s of old age. But death can come for us at any time. Which is why we must always be ready to meet Jesus.

Hebrews 9:27-28 “Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many...”

When we pass through physical death, we will be brought before the throne room of God. And we’ll give an account for our lives, and the decisions we made. We will be judged, as Christians, on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Isn't that wonderful? God will look and see that we've been ransomed by the Son, and will welcome us into paradise.

However, suppose you are a Christian, who is truly born again, but lives in active sins, judges others, refuses to forgive their enemies, hates others, steals, lies, and then comes before God for judgment. That Christian will be sent to hell. Though they did receive Jesus Christ as their savior, they dirtied their garment of righteousness they were given (Revelation 3:4). They could always have repented at any time of those things. But if they never did, then they’ll have to answer for that at the judgment throne of God. Yes, Christians who live in sin can be sent to hell. So be zealous, and repent of any sins in your life. And live a daily lifestyle of repentance. But try not to worry, God will help you along the way. The Spirit will convict you daily if you're caught in sin or false doctrine, He will guide you out of it, but you must respond to His call with repentance and faith. 

7. Life after Death – New Jerusalem / The Pit

This is what I'm looking forward to, because the journey doesn’t end at physical death. After physical death, we either face eternal life in paradise or eternal life in hell. Those are the two options. There are no middle places, no purgatory, as some believe. There is no reincarnation either. We have this life, then either heaven or hell.

For us Christians who show ourselves faithful in Christ, following Jesus and believing in Jesus, we will receive a mansion, a home, in the New Heavens and New Earth, in a particular city called the New Jerusalem. This city is 1500 miles long and wide and tall. You’ll be rewarded in the New Jerusalem based on the good works you did in life. Every good deed you do in this life is like another jewel in your crown in heaven, another brick in your home in heaven. But of course only Jesus Christ can bring us into the city. The rewards for the good deeds are simply icing on the cake. There are many rewards in heaven (Matthew 5:12, Rev 22:12, Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 6:4).

That for me is when life really starts, the New Jerusalem. This current world is temporary, and empty, and pointless to me. If it were up to me, I would probably want to go to heaven right now and never return to this Earth. I do not love this world, and I hope you don’t either. We should not love the world or anything in the world. But we should have our heart’s set on a new world and a new city, with eternal foundations.

No one can really imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. No mind has conceived of it, no emotion can explain it, no words can document it. It’s beyond us. But it’s real. And it’s good. And there will be new adventures ahead, that we can hardly imagine. It won't be boring. The joy and happiness of heaven is always new, everyday, constantly new, as infinite as God himself. Glory to God, amen.