A Faith That Matures

Thank you so much for joining us today. My name is Tim Powell and I have the privilege and the honor of being the campus pastor at our new life church, Greenbrier Campus. We are a non-denominational church located in the state of Arkansas with 19, about to be 20 campuses across the state. Our heart behind partnering with Pando through God Behind Bars is to allow your family an opportunity to connect to Biblical community so that they can be growing in their walk with Christ at the same time that you were growing. So if you do have family in Arkansas, encourage them to check out newlifechurch.tv to find a campus that fits them. Thank you so much for being here. Now let's listen in to today's message. [music] Come on new life church, can we give it up for the ladies in the house today? [applause] Man, we just wrapped up our woman conference. As you guys can tell, one of the pastors texted me this morning, we had just under 3,000 ladies that came together in our Conway location over two days for this woman conference, but that's not the most exciting part. There was 199 men that showed up to serve. That's what I'm talking about. [applause] Now I'm just kidding about that too. The most exciting part is there was 57 decisions for Christ in those two days, and that's a great place to give God some praise in this place. [applause] Man, so thankful for the ladies in the house and the way that you guys serve and the way that you are going all in. I'm proud of you. As you know, we kicked off a new series last weekend out of Hebrews chapter 6, if you've

got your Bible and you want to turn there. We're going to spend a little time in Hebrew 6 and then a few pages over in the book of James, but Hebrew 6 lays out six foundational doctrines for us. As a matter of fact, the writer of Hebrews tells us that they are elementary doctrines. These are areas in our life that we need to establish, that we need to settle, and that we need to make sure that we have clear understanding as we move forward and grow. Amen? You need to understand too the audience that he is writing to in this. These are born again Jews have been following Jesus for 30 years, and now they're facing some resistance. Anytime that we begin to grow, how many of you know that you're either growing towards God or the world is pulling you away from God? It's obvious there's a lot of resistance that we face today around us. Well, the audience that this writer is writing to is facing some of that resistance. We're having to face the decision. Do we go back to the way we used to live, or do we continue to follow and move forward with Jesus? Hebrews 6 verse 1 through 2, the writer tells them, says, "Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity." Everybody say maturity. Not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Last weekend we covered three areas around these six doctrines. We talked about repentance, and repentance is far more than just having a little bit of a shift in our daily routine. Repentance calls us to turn around, to turn away from the world and turn to God. The second thing we discussed is that we must leave dead works behind. If you've grown up in church, there's a good chance that you've been under this impression that you just need to serve more, work more, be better, and then God will love you more.

Well, the fact is, is you can't do anything to make God love you more than He already does. In fact, if God left it up just 1% to us, we would mess it up. So we can't work our way into heaven. We can't work our way into a healthy relationship with Christ. We can only surrender our way into a relationship with Jesus. Amen? And number three, it's time to stop second guessing our salvation. We've talked about this. The enemy wants to whisper in your ear, you're not good enough. The decision that you made, well, that was just an emotional decision. And I believe God's calling us to grow into maturity in a relationship with Jesus and to walk out our life in confidence. If you've made a decision, the Word of God is very clear about this, that if you believe in your heart, you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life. He was crucified on the cross to pay for all of our sins. He died, was buried, he rose three days later, and today he's at the right hand of the Father. If you believe this in your heart and you've accepted Him into your life, I want you to stand up, hold your head up, and walk out the life that God's created you to live. Amen? Stop second guessing. You know, part of the vision of New Life Church is for us to grow in maturity, for us to grow spiritually, emotionally, even mentally. But the number one problem in the world is lack of maturity. Do you guys agree with that? Look at your neighbor and say he's about to talk to you. of the time though when I sit down with a couple that struggling in their relationship the reality is is somebody needs to grow up and 80% of the time both of them need to grow up right it's maturity that God is calling us to and we begin to live a life focused on what it is that God is calling us to and turn

away from what the world is trying to pull us into then we're able to live a spiritually mature continually growing in our relationship with him but I'll tell you what maturity is not maturity is not age what would you laugh in for Christie she thought I got this one no it's not about age it's not about it you can be 60 and act like you're six I've watched people do it but I've also been around this next generation and man I'm like they are wise beyond their years I'm so proud of the way that this next generation is growing and maturing spiritually I'll tell you what else it's not it's not appearance you know you can put on your makeup in the mornings all you men don't do that and and you could have the appearance that you've got it all together but it's not maturity it's not about academics you could have more degrees than a thermometer and still be immature so how do we measure maturity well one of the measurements is assessing where your faith is at that's what I want to talk about today there's a whole book on this written by the brother of Jesus his name is James he was a leader in the Jerusalem church and it's all about an active faith that is actively maturing you in Christ James 217 tells us that faith without works is dead right but what does a mature faith look like a mature faith is a faith that can suffer you go oh he started there I even thought about moving this one down a little bit a mature faith is a faith that can suffer James 1 verses 2 through 4 says consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance let perseverance finish its works so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything I don't ever remember sitting around and just praying for more pain Lord I just need a little more complications in my life just to sharpen me a little more now we don't ask for that but the first test in our faith is how do you respond when you face adversity when things are not going your way when things are not turning out the way that you hope they would do you shut down do you turn away do you give up do you get defensive do you complain and right are you always upset are you mad at everybody around you or do you per severe it's the perseverance and problems and pain that gives you a

spiritual muscle if I could do one push-up and look like Brandon Weaver I would be swole but the reality is if we are going to get in shape physically we're going to have to push ourselves beyond comfort it means we're going to have to get a little uncomfortable we're gonna have to do more than one push-up you need to do two or three well it's in that pressure it's in that pain that we grow and the reality is I hate to say it but I can't remember a time that I've truly grown spiritually more than in the moments when I was hurting the most it's just reality is it fair is it comfortable no it's not it's those moments when we don't turn from the pain but we turn to God in the midst of the pain when we begin to mature it's when going gets tough the tough get what going you know you see this a lot of times in sports don't we I love baseball I coach baseball for several years with both of my boys there's something about the smell of red clay dirt and white chalk it's just manly gives me goosebumps all over I just love it I love it and I love coaching these boys in baseball and you know both of my boys both both of my sons they just had a little grid about them it's like when practice got tough they just found another gear I was always proud of them both of them were that way but I had some players at times that when practice got tough you looked up they were gone like any you couldn't find them. I had one particular player. I coached in Little League and as I He's married, and it makes me feel really old. And his name's Caleb, and he just had a little swagger about him in practice and in the games. And he's just a great kid. He's a fine young man today. But I used to love it, because if we would face a team that had a picture that could throw a little heat, some of the kids would get scared. He would just stick his chest out a little bit. It's a coach if they put one close to the plate. I'm putting it out of the park.

Well, he had to, because my wife could outrun him. So he wasn't very fast. So he had to hit it hard. But he just had a grid about him. It wasn't that he was afraid to face adversity. He welcomed it. I think all of us can learn something about this in every area of our life. Every time there's an obstacle in the way the obstacle sometimes becomes the way. When you meet a head-on, you grow. You mature. Some problems, you don't go around. You have to go through. And is it comfortable? No, it's not. Oftentimes, when I sit down with families that are struggling, you can see those that are mature in their faith. Because I've been around people that they're going through a difficult season, and they're just falling apart. They're melting. I've been around others that they're walking through a season of hail. But they have a confidence. It doesn't mean that they're not affected by it. They just have a confidence because they're spiritually mature, because they've got God's Word planted inside of their heart. They've put in the time.

They've been through difficult seasons in their life. And they know that they're not going through this difficulty alone. That is a spiritual maturity that I yearn for each and every one of us. Because life is not going to be easy all the time, is it? The Word promises us. Pastor Rick says it all the time. He says, you're either coming into a storm, coming out of a storm, or about to hit one. Or in the middle of it. So if we know we're going to face these storms in our life, and we know we're going to face adversity, and we know we're going to go through these difficult seasons, how do we respond when things are not going our way? Well, Isaiah 4810 says, see, I have refined you. Though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Preparation. The next piece of evidence that reveals a mature faith is a faith that's sensitive to others. I'm going to brag on our church for just a minute. I'm so thankful for you guys. The heart that you have, you know our heart for local mission outreach here. You know our heart for outreach. I'm going to tell you part of the reason why it's so important in here in just a minute. But the way that you serve, or think serving, the way that you serve for Christmas

is small, I don't know if you guys have noticed. Have you noticed the price of gas at the pumps right now? Diesel. Like I've had people trying to pay me to take their diesel truck, right? Like it's insane. Utilities, so expensive. When we get to a place where we realize that could be us for someone else that is in need, and the reality is, many times it has been us at some point in our life. You remember how far God has brought you. It's a reason we take communion. We remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. But it's being sensitive to the needs of others is evidence of a faith that is maturing. James 1 27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless as this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." You're either growing towards God, or you're being pulled into the world. James 2 8 through 9 says, "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as yourself." You are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. Are you only serving those that can serve you in return? Are you only helping someone that you think can help you? Or are you seeing people through the eyes of Jesus?

Because when we begin to see one another the way that God sees them, you begin to understand that each and every person is created in God's image. I don't know about you, but I'm really glad that God didn't make the sacrifice that He made because He thought I had something to give Him. It was why we were still sinners. He paid the ultimate price. Every person is valuable to God. Every person. leprosy, sinful, discarded, those that everyone else said were unreachable, Jesus loved. You know, as we age, we begin to get more sensitive to things, don't we? Like if we wait too late to eat dinner and it's approaching eight o'clock, I'm like, "Ooh, I don't know about that." We'll talk, right? I mean, the older we get, the more realistic this is. I mean, our eyes get sensitive. Well, I pray that as we mature in our relationship with Christ, that we become sensitive to the people around us, and to the needs around us, the people that are hurting, that are broken, because I promise you, they're out there. I promise you that they're in this room, and I promise you if there has never been a time in your life that you needed help, there will be. There's going to be difficulties, there's going to be trials, there's going to be decisions, there's going to be conversations with doctors that are just uncomfortable, there's going to be naysayers, there's going to be people that are going against everything that you're trying to stand for. There's going to be resistance, but it's a spiritual maturity that I pray that we continue to strive for that helps us get through those seasons. Amen?

Number three, it's a faith that masters my own mouth. Ooh, this is going to be good. Y'all about to get quiet in here. This is an area that I struggle with. Sometimes, y'all just need to know what I want to say, right? Anyone ever felt that way? James 1.26 is though who consider themselves religious, and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues to seed themselves, and their religion is worthless. Talk about scripture busting your right square in the mouth. You know, there's two reasons that most people don't have a relationship with Jesus. One, they've never met a Christian. Or two, they've met a Christian, and then mature one. The words that we say, the words that we speak, have far more impact on the people around us than we'll ever imagine. Even the ones that you don't know are listening. Ever been in a restaurant before with littles and the booth behind you? It sounds like they should be sailors, like you want to crawl underneath the table, and then turn around to see that it was a pastor. No, I'm just kidding. This is one of the hardest things for me to work on, is up again growing my relationship with Christ, because the culture is that somehow the world tells us that our language somehow identifies our strength. And that's just not true. James 3-2 says, "We all stumble in many ways, anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, and able to keep their whole body in check." So we know we're not perfect. There's not a perfect person in here. But I am challenging you this morning to pray about this. I am challenging you that there may be something to you being here today,

and this may be the very reason. James 3-10 says, "When we put bits in the mouth of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal." Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder. Wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boast. So true, isn't it? Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless, evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. And listen to what the writer says. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Your tongue directs your life. I love the analogy that James is making here. stop it. So our mouth can get us off course, but it takes a moment to correct that course, doesn't it? Sometimes, if you've ever been to a place where you said something and as the words were coming out of your mouth, you're like, "I want those back." Oh, man, maybe it's just me. It's like a spark. I've seen one word or one statement or one sentence completely change the temperature in my house. Sometimes, Shelley just needs to watch what she says, just kidding. Now the reality is sometimes I just want her to hear what's on my mind. I'm like, "Is it worth it?

Is it not worth it?" Yes. No, it's not. Yes. Oh, I'm just going to say it, you know? And that's that moment you're like, "I wish I could get that back 48 hours later." We pretend I didn't say it. We encourage or we discourage. Our words are a powerful force for good or for evil, blessing or a cursing. You see, life and death are in the power of our tongue. Well, what if the people that you come in contact with are looking at you because they're wondering about this relationship with Jesus. And they've never made that personal decision, but they've heard that you have. Do they see a difference in you? Are you different than the others? Or is that just something for Sunday? I've heard people try to justify spiritually using bad language. Well, that's just how men talk in the workplace. Spiritually immature men, you're right. Well, that's just the culture we live in. We cost a little. Spiritually immature people do. What if the person in the workplace, you're the closest thing to Jesus that they've seen? And the way that we respond when the heat gets turned up a little bit. Remember the refining through the fire? And how we respond causes a spark in them to want to learn more about the word. I'm not condemning you. I'm just asking you to think about it. Ephesians 4, 29 through 31 says, "Do not let any and wholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. That it may benefit those who listen and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Your mouth can grieve the Holy Spirit. So it's more than just language. It's more than just comments. It's more than just getting a point across. It can grieve the Holy Spirit. Do you find yourself encouraging more or complaining more? Do you find yourself picking out what's good or do you find yourself picking out what could be better? The words that we speak hold power to the people around us. Number four is a faith for the future. James 4, 13 through 17 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city.' Spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why do you, why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow? Why? You don't even know what's

going to happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, underline that in your Bibles, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.' What? If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. Let me be clear about something. It is a holy thing to start planting your life out. I'm not saying that it's not. It is, but it's not holy to do it without God's help. Anyone ever got ahead of God before, oh man, I catch myself still this day. I got a plan. Oh wait a second. I probably ought to check with the boss and I'm not talking about Shelley. I probably ought to go to the Lord and make sure that it's His plan. I want you to know that every decision that we make here that affects It's season in prayer. There's wisdom that's sought out. And we make sure that it's God's direction. We want to be a church that's led by the Holy Spirit. Now, are we always going to get it right? No. My pastor said one time, said, "You know what? If there's an area in our church that we're missing and that we're getting wrong, let us know about it and give us a little time and we'll do everything that we can to make some adjustments." But if there's an area in our church that we're really getting right, that we're acing, just give us a little bit of time because there's a good chance we'll mess it up at some point. We're going to make mistakes. We're going to get off. But he's the biggest variable in your future. Mature people, they seek the Lord's direction in every decision, every conversation, and every step they take.

They go, "Man, I just don't have the answers. I just don't know. I don't really know where to go. We're to turn. What to do?" You know, if I tell my wife today, I'm going to take her to her favorite restaurant. And we're going to have a date tonight. She's not going to get in the truck and ask me what exit I'm going to take if I'm going to turn my left, blink her on, or my right one. Now, she's going to trust to know that we're headed in the right direction. Sometimes when you know the Lord has given you a direction on something and you don't have all the answers, sometimes you just have to trust the Lord and let him lead you. Because if you had all the answers, if you knew everything, then you wouldn't need him. So sometimes he leaves some of the details out for our dependence upon him with every step that we take. I'm almost finished, I promise. In Proverbs 16-3, he says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Whatever I'm doing, I'm asking God to help. They go, "Well, I don't want to bother God with the little things. You're not bothering God with the little things." Go to him with everything, just a few more minutes, I promise. Go to him with everything. I'm asking his help. The last one is a very sensitive area, but I want you to lean in for me for just a second.

A mature faith is a faith for miracles. I want you to think about your life. I want you to think about all the prayers that have been answered to get you to this point. Physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially. Think about the miracles that had to take place to get you to where you are right now. It is a miracle that you are here. And I'll tell you something else, we serve a God that's still in the miracle working business. He's not done yet. James 5, 13 through 15 says, "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make a sick person well. The Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven." Now the word "sick" here in the Greek means "weak." So whatever area is your week in, you're a candidate for an immediate miracle. You're a candidate for that. But this is important and don't miss this. You're not responsible for the miracle. God is. You're responsible to be a vessel that he's called you to be. Let me tell you my theology around this. God is going to heal me every time but once. And then I'm going to be completely and totally healed in the presence of my Lord and Savior. I cannot tell you how many times I've stood outside of a door looking for the words

to give to a family that's about to lose someone that they love and they care about. And how many times I've said, "Lord, I just don't have the words." And he says, "You don't have to, I do." You know, I want to be able to walk into those rooms and walk into those homes. I want to see them stand up and walk out. I want to see them healed completely. I know God can perform miracles. We watched one right here in this room, in that floor. You can argue it all you want to. That was a miracle that happened right here in this church on Mother's Day this year. So yes, we do know that we serve a God that's fully capable of miracles. And I'm gonna believe and pray for them every single time until they take their last breath. I am believing for God to show up and for a miracle to happen. And if it doesn't happen the way that I pray and that I believe for, I'm gonna be ticked off at the enemy, but I'm gonna continue to worship the Father. And believe that He is sovereign and that He is in control. Does that mean that we give up faith? Absolutely not. We have faith through every storm, through every season, every moment. That's what God has called us to be a vessel for. That's what He's asking each one of us to do. Sometimes God heals through doctors. Sometimes it's through your immune system.

Sometimes it's immediate through a miracle. And sometimes it's in heaven. And we don't have the answers. Listen. (breathing heavily) I didn't share this last night. When I was 17, I lost my dad to cancer. And I begged and pleaded with God to heal him. But he didn't heal him the way that I thought he should. And because I was spiritually immature at that time in my life and because I didn't understand God's sovereignty and because I didn't completely grasp the magnitude of everything that God was doing. You see, in my mind, my dad was dying way too soon. And then I got mad at God about it. But then as I've matured in my faith and as I've grown in my relationship with the Lord and as I begin to understand that we live in a broken, sin-filled, fallen world, I look back over the last 30 plus years and I've seen how God took that moment and He still used it for His glory to grow His kingdom. And I witnessed how God was able to take what the enemy meant for evil and He turned it for good. And no, I didn't wanna lose my dad. He was my hero. But I also know that when I'm having a conversation with someone that's dad is sick, I can feel for them in a way that had I not lived that, I could, and does it mean that we give up?

No, we do not. And I don't want you to give up either. I want you to fight. I want you to have the faith that goes beyond understanding because He is in the miracle-working business. And your dad is gonna be healed. He lives to be healed on this side of heaven or on that side. And there's some of you in this room that you don't understand. The word of God tells us that we see things today as pieces of a puzzle, as almost as broken glass. And we don't understand. But I do know this. Unless Jesus comes back, first each one of us will reach the end of our life on this earth. And it's what we did while we were here, the decision that we made will determine where we spend eternity. So the real question is this. The miracle is what Jesus did for us on the cross. So that when that day comes, if the person that we love and that we're fighting for and that we're believing in, and that we will continue to intercede for. If they take their last breath here, we can rest in assurance knowing that they are totally healed and whole in the presence of Jesus. And if we've made that decision,

It is temporary. Does it hurt? Absolutely it hurts. It absolutely hurts. It's a refining moment in our life, but as we begin to mature spiritually, and as we begin to grow in our relationship with the Father, and we begin to understand that we serve a God that he comes from eternity, and he sees through eternity, and his plan is greater than anything that we can do on our own, then we trust in him, because we can trust in Jesus when everything else fails us, if you would by your head's moving. We talk about this maturity in our faith and growing spiritually, but can I tell you the first step in that maturity is making a personal decision to invite Jesus into your life, and if you've never made that personal decision, I don't want you to over-complicate it. It is a free gift that's already been paid for by Jesus on the cross. But if you're here and you've never received that, if you've never accepted that gift, and you're ready to make that decision, this morning, would you raise your hand up? I want to pray for you. Anyone in this room? Anyone here? The same thing goes if you're listening in right now. If you're in a place where it feels like the walls are closing in and you feel like there's no hope,

there's a God that loves you, he cares about you, and he sees you right where you're at. He will not leave you, he will not forsake you, but it begins with a decision. Does it mean that you'll never have problems again? Does it mean that everything you're dealing with will just disappear? No, it does not, but it does mean that you don't have to walk through it alone. For everyone in this room and everyone listening in, if you're at a place where you know that you've found yourself almost slipping backwards, you were on fire for God, you were growing, you were headed in that direction, but for whatever reason, distractions or people, disappointment or conflict has caused you to drift. I just pray that you just come back, just like the rudder of that ship directs it. Allow the Holy Spirit to pull you right back on course. Father, I thank you so much for your work. I thank you Lord that we don't have to wonder, we don't have to guess how we're going to make it through the most difficult times in our life. We know that you're there with us. And Father, for those in this room that have someone that they love, that they care about is struggling, God, I pray that you increase their faith tenfold. Be with them.

And God, we're going to continue to battle on our knees for them. And God, for everyone that's here, I pray just a nudge from you. That if there's an area that we need to work on, that we need to mature in, maybe it is our mouth, maybe it's the way we communicate with others. Whatever it may be, Father, just allow us to grow one step closer to you today. God, we love you and we praise you. It is in Jesus' name we pray. And everybody said, "Hey man, can we give God some praise in this place?" (congregation clapping) [BLANK_AUDIO]