A Call to Spiritual Maturity Pt 5

The speaker is concluding a series on spiritual maturity and discusses different levels of maturity. They emphasize the importance of understanding that salvation is a gift and cannot be earned. However, there is still a responsibility to live a life of holiness and pursue peace with others. The speaker encourages endurance and not letting one's love for God grow cold. They mention that salvation is a process and that enduring until the end is necessary for eternal salvation. The speaker also references a letter to the church at Ephesus, warning against leaving one's first love for God. They emphasize the importance of repentance and returning to a life of love for God. Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter twenty-four. It's not the first verse I'm going to read, but that's the one I want you to go to. We are finishing up our series, A Call to Spiritual Maturity. This is part number five. And as we have talked about, we have gone through discussing the different levels of maturity. We looked at a section of Scripture in James and how each level of maturity would approach that. We looked at our maturity in light of how the temple was arranged, not rearranged, how the temple was arranged that we can serve God for a long time and still just be outer court Christians, focused on our weaknesses and our sins and what still needs to be done in us, or we can be the holy place Christians where we are serving God and serving each other, or we can go right on into the holiest place, living in God's presence, understanding all that Christ has done for us, that there is nothing that we can do to earn it, there is nothing that we can do to deserve it, there is nothing we can do simply but to accept it. However, there's always a however, because Scripture is very balanced and we cannot, as you know, you've heard me say many times, take one portion of Scripture at the expense of another. Scripture is always the best commentary on itself, and the best way to understand and explain Scripture is through Scripture. And so as we look at maturing, as we look at all that Christ has done for us, that our access into the Father's presence is uninterrupted and completely open because of the work that Christ has done, yet still even through Jesus Himself, we have received instructions from Him about how we are to live and how we are to press on. So the title tonight is Endure. Endure. We started this whole thing in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12 through 14, which the writer of Hebrews says, you're still babies drinking milk, you're still unskilled in the work of righteousness, you haven't yet graduated to the meat of the Word, you haven't yet matured, and so that has been our basis for this series. However, there was one Scripture that I did read before that one, and that is this verse in Matthew chapter 24, verse 12 and 13. By way of review, just so we all remember, the stages of maturity are I, not Christ. This would be, of course, the unsaved person. The second one is I and Christ, the newly saved or young, immature Christian. Christ and I, the growing Christian. The Christ in I says, I recognize that Christ has done everything, but I must continue to be good. I must continue to do the work in order to earn this place in salvation, this place in eternity. The fourth one then, of course, is Christ, not I. The first one, I, not Christ. It's all focused on me. The last one, Christ, not I. It's all focused on Him. We discussed how in our lives we will fluctuate between stages two, three, and four, and that is OK. Where we may be in a number four in regards to a certain teaching or aspect of Scripture, we might find ourselves in another one still in the baby stages of understanding the things of God. And that is OK, because this process of life with Christ, this walk with Him, is indeed something that we have to walk out. Scripture says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That doesn't mean that we have to work for it. The phrase work out means to seek to understand, to live it out, to grow, to build upon this, to build upon that. It is not ever an earning. We cannot ever earn, because we cannot ever be good enough for God's righteousness. We cannot ever say, look God, I have brought this to we have come up with it, for we have nothing in and of ourselves to offer God. Christ has offered it all, and in response we offer ourselves. It is a response once we have received. It is not a giving in order to earn. Amen? Are you with me? So then, what is our responsibility? What does this have to do with enduring? If Christ has done it all, then we can just sit there and do nothing, right? We just wait for Him to come or wait for the end of our lives, and we don't have to do anything. No. In fact, Hebrew says to pursue peace with all men and holiness, without which no one will see God. Pursue peace and holiness. Many times we want to pursue holiness and we neglect pursuing peace, but it's in the same sentence. You cannot separate one from the other. Pursue peace with others and holiness. So there is a responsibility that we have. There is a lifestyle that we are to live. There is a testimony that is supposed to be seen from us, but never, ever, ever should we confuse it with earning our place in eternity. As James taught concerning faith and works, our works are a product of our faith, and our faith is proven by our works. We don't just merely say, I believe, but we live out what we believe. An excellent example is, what time do you arrive at church? Well, maybe I should keep going. It's a great example. You will put effort into what you believe. You will follow what you believe, because your beliefs dictate your actions. Your actions are proof of what you believe. So, what is it that you believe? Do you believe that you have been saved? Do you believe that Christ has made Himself the sacrifice for you to receive eternal life? Do you believe that there is eternal life waiting for you? If your answer is yes, then live like it. There is a conduct that is becoming of those who believe in Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24, and this is actually the verse we started the whole series with, verse 12 and 13, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Father, we come before you tonight, endeavoring, Lord God, to grow and mature in our walk with you. I thank you, Father God, that wherever we are in our walk with you, at least we are walking. I thank you, Father, whether someone in here is just starting that walk with you, or it's somebody who has walked with you their whole life. Lord God, thank you. Thank you for giving us life and letting us walk with you. Thank you for calling us your children. Thank you for making it possible that those who believe in Christ should be called the children of God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Teach us that we may more and more resemble Christ in a world where lawlessness abounds, in a world where the love of many grows cold. May we burn ever so much hotter for the things of you, in Jesus' name. Amen. He who endures to the end shall be saved. You may say, I thought we were already saved. Isn't that what coming to Christ in the first place is? This phrase, endures to the end, shall be saved, appears twice in Matthew. It's repeated in Mark and John. So Jesus felt it necessary not only to say it once, but to say it another time. But in regards to the wording of it, shall be saved, again, Scripture must interpret Scripture. So Ephesians 2, verse 5 and 8, turn there. We're going to turn in Scripture this time, instead of just read it for you. Ephesians 2, verse 5 and 8. Am I in the right place? Yes. Even when we were dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, verse 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18. It says, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 15, it says, If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So we find within the context of Scripture that salvation encompasses a whole lot more than just that day that you confess Christ as your Lord and Savior. That was you have been saved. This growth in God, this maturing process that we are in, is a who are being saved, and on the day of judgment when we stand before the Father, we will be saved. Or rather, our salvation will be complete. There are many in the world and in church who think that just because they prayed that prayer one day, they're set forever and they don't have to do anything else. But it is that process we must be in. And Jesus says very explicitly that those who endure to the end not only have been saved, not only are being saved, but through endurance will be saved for eternity. Don't give up. Endure. Endure. In Revelation chapter 2, verse 4, of course we know that the seven letters in the book of Revelation to the seven churches, that in the majority of them Jesus says to those churches, I know this about you, I have seen this about you, and he usually has something good to say about them. Most of them he has something bad to say about them as well, and one church in particular he has nothing good to say about them, just something bad. But in this first letter, this letter to the church at Ephesus, in verse 4 it says, Nevertheless, I have this against you that you have left your first love. So the first thing within our responsibility, within our command to endure is don't let your love grow cold. Don't let your love grow cold. He tells those in Ephesus, you have left your first love. Not just you have left that which you have loved, but the picture painted here is that of spiritual adultery. You have been unfaithful to the one whom you had first professed love to. You have cheated. You have been unfaithful. Verse 5 says, Remember therefore from when you have fallen, repent and do the first works. There's always that opportunity. There's always a place to say, God, I'm sorry. I repent. Help me get back to loving you again. But you see, if we don't let our love grow cold in the first place, we wouldn't have to rely on verse 5. It's great to know that verse 5 is there. Return to your former works. Return to your first love. Repent. Praise God for that grace. But if we keep the fire of our love growing for God and glowing for God in the first place, we wouldn't have need to come before Him and repent. And he gives a warning, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place. Unless you repent. He tells them twice. Unless you repent. It's there. John says if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's there. It's great. But let us keep ourselves from getting in that place in the first place. The second thing is, as we started, endure to the end. Matthew 10 verse 22 says, And you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. This word endure means remaining under the load, bearing up. For the believer, this uniquely happens by God's power. We cannot endure to the end without the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Impossible. Because at that point in time, we are trying to serve God out of our mentality, out of our capability to understand intellectually the things of God. And without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible. Impossible. Cultivate a life of friendship and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 10 verse 36 says, For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. You have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Again, this has nothing to do with earning. This has nothing to do with proving yourself worthy. This has to do with a heart of gratitude for what Christ has done in your life to save you, to set you free, to deliver you, to set you upright, to empower you, to put His joy and His gladness in you. It's a response, just as works our response of our faith. In the seven letters in Revelation, they all end with the same phrase, He that overcomes. He that overcomes. And as you read through them, what is rewarded to He that overcomes builds on each other. Jesus starts with one thing and by the end of it, He says, I'll give Him to sit on My throne as My Father gave Me to sit on His throne. You cannot get much higher than the throne of Christ. But that is only those who overcome. In other words, those who endure to the end. So here are some practical steps. And by practical, they still need the Holy Spirit. You still need the Holy Spirit. These are things we must do to remain faithful, to preserve our life. Scripture says, Keep yourself in the love of God. Many, many, many love to quote the verse in Romans chapter 8 that says, Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. That no one can take us from His love. No one can remove us from His hand. But then Scripture also says, Keep yourself in the love of God. So, why don't you chew on the two of those. Nothing can separate us. You are right. Keep yourself in the love of God. Does that mean I can be separated from the love of God? Because over here it says nothing can separate me from the love of God. And over here it says that I'm supposed to keep myself in the love of God. So, what...how do we get that? Nothing shall snatch you from the love of God and nothing shall take you from His hand. But don't ever overlook that Scripture also tells us we can walk away. That's what Hebrews 6 is all about. The one who has walked away. Again, we're not earning. We're living for God. It's not done out of a fear. It's not done because, oh, we don't want to slip back into this or that. It's the focus is on Him. The more we mature in our relationship with Him, the less we become us-focused and the more we become God-focused. A great example is the maturity of marriage. As a marriage grows, you become less focused on yourself. You should be less focused on yourself and more focused on your spouse. That's maturity in marriage. And if marriage is the natural, physical example that we can look at as...in reference to our relationship as the bride of Christ with Him, then we see the same thing in that growth. That we must grow to a place where our focus is more about Him and less about us. John said, I must decrease so that He can increase. So the first thing, Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22. One, you need to put off your flesh. Put off your flesh. So I'm going to read verse 20 through 24. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus. That you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. We are to put off our old man. We are to put off the deeds of the flesh, the desires of the flesh, the things that don't please God. We are to put them away. In a church world where a lot of the focus is how much of that can I keep and still get to heaven, this continues to be a countercultural teaching. The instructions from the Holy Spirit Himself is why are you trying to keep that which is dead? Why are you trying to keep that which separates you from God? Put it off. Get rid of it. Lay it down. There is nothing worth doing that keeps us from God. To put off means to lay aside or renounce. We find a similar thing spoken in Colossians 3 verse 8 and 9. This word put off has a similar word to the word apostasy, which means to renounce, stand away from, leaving a previous standing. So whereas Hebrews chapter 6 warns against apostasy against God, the other instructions in Scripture in Ephesians and Colossians tell us that we need to do the same to our old flesh. Don't put off Christ. Put off your flesh. Don't commit apostasy against God, but by all means you can commit apostasy against your flesh. That is the instruction that we are given. Paul says, I crucify my flesh daily that I may serve God. In Romans chapter 13. I'll read verse 11 to 14, but the key verse is verse 14. And do this, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand, therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. So we are first to put off the flesh, but then we are to put on Christ. Put on means to be clothed, to sink into a garment. As close as a garment is to your body, so should the nature of Christ be accepted into your being and reproduced in your daily visible conduct. When I read this definition, to sink into a garment, there is a scene in a cartoon version of Pinocchio where he, of course, gets eaten by the whale and he finds his dad there and his dad pulls him on the boat and he wraps him in this big blanket. And this blanket is so thick. It looks so warm. It looks so inviting. And I'm like, ooh, I could just snuggle into a blanket like that. That's the picture. To put on Christ is to put on this thick, warm, comfortable garment that keeps you safe, that keeps you in His love, that wraps around you all of the acceptance and all of the greatness of God through Christ that He wants to give you. Put off the flesh. Put on Christ. 2 Peter chapter 1. I have a third instruction. I'll read verse 2 through 9. The verse that we'll focus on is verse 5. 2 through 9. 2 Peter 1. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Man, what an incredible statement. He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. And not only that, but it's so that we could partake in the divine nature, that His very nature would be living in us. And then comes the instruction, verse 5, but also for this very reason. Since you have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness, since you have been given the opportunity to be partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption of this world through lust, add to your faith. For this reason, giving all diligence, all diligence, add to your faith virtue. To virtue, knowledge. To knowledge, self-control. To self-control, perseverance. To perseverance, godliness. To godliness, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins." Wow. He who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten, has forgotten, has forgotten that he's been cleansed. That's a level of atrophy of faith that is incredible. It gives us a picture of why Ephesus, the church at Ephesus, found themselves where they were. For they had forgotten their first love. They had turned away from him. They had forgotten that they were forgiven and delivered and cleansed from old sins. I was listening to a sermon recently, and an interviewer asked this preacher's wife why he was so generous. Why is it that your husband is so generous? And her response was this. He's never gotten over being saved. And this man has served God for decades and decades. He has never gotten over being saved. He never got over what Christ did to cleanse him from his old sins. In other words, his gratitude is intact for what God had done, and therefore, he does these things. So Scripture tells us, having received all of this, having been given the opportunity to put on Christ, having already been provided everything that pertains to life and godliness, having been able to partake of the divine nature, add to your faith these things. And I want you to go and study this verse. What is it to add to your faith? We could go through in a whole other sermon and define all of these different things and the progression that goes along with it. How one produces the other. But I don't have time. So, go study. Read it for yourself. My job is to give you what Scripture says. Your job is to actually study it. Consume it. Meditate on it. Chew it up. Apply it to your life. Amen? He's done everything for us to get us into the holiest of holies, but has also given unto us the command to endure. Among all the other commands, among all the other instructions, endure to the end and you shall be saved. Let's stand together. Paul concludes this with a verse that we have talked about. I've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, meaning put off the flesh. But Christ that lives in me, meaning put on Christ. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith. Add to your faith. In the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. These three instructions, these three practical steps are all contained in this very real verse from Paul. I'm dead. He's alive. And it's only by faith. Father, we surrender to you. May we surrender to you ever so much more each day. Relinquishing to you those things of our old flesh and of the lust thereof. Father, give us strength every day throughout the day to put on Christ, to add to our faith that we may endure to the end, being used by you to bring others to this saving knowledge that you may be glorified. In Jesus' name, amen.