The scriptures include 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. It was preached on February 16, 2020 at Morton Presbyterian Church, Hartsville, SC and at Presbyterian Communities, Florence SC vespers service that afternoon..
Spiritual
Growth 101
Some
of you may know I am a candidate for ministry,
not
yet ordained,
however,
looking for my first call to a church.
I
will not bore you with the call process and requirements
that
have brought me to this point,
yet,
I do want to tell you something
I
have learned while discerning my first call.
Spiritual
growth is an important component
of
what congregations are wanting.
Spiritual
growth.
How
do different churches put this into words?
Here
are a few phrases from several MIFs,
Ministry
Information Forms:
…many
in our community are seeking spiritual guidance
…ministering
to the spiritual and emotional needs
…who
we as a congregation can turn to for spiritual growth
…spiritual
growth developed through education,
Bible
study, and prayer
…to
grow spiritually through worship, education,
and
outreach
…shepherd
the spiritual growth of all members.
Spiritual
Growth.
It
is an important part of our Christianity.
You
and I have a desire to keep learning,
to
find new ways to understand ourselves and God,
to
discover another path along our journey.
Sometimes
it takes place in familiar surroundings:
in
Bible study or worship;
Sometimes
it is outside of the church
through
mission, outreach, and evangelism.
It
happens through prayer, both individual and corporate.
And
on occasion in unexpected ways:
-being
in God’s creation,
whether
hiking in the mountains or staring at the ocean;
-during
an activity with a group,
either
in play or work;
-or
simply talking with others
in
theological or daily life discussions.
There
is another part of a MIF that lists
what
leadership competencies a congregation
is
searching for in their new pastor;
almost
all churches list Spiritual Maturity
as
one of these qualities.
Spiritual
Maturity refers to a faithfulness of purpose.
For
me, this is a way of understanding call;
through
wisdom and experience
and
the individual’s relationship to God.
So,
churches,
congregations,
individuals
are
looking for their ongoing path of spiritual growth and
someone
to walk with them on that journey.
This
is what you and I desire today.
What
did the Corinthians desire in Paul’s time?
The
same thing!
In
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he is addressing this issue,
first,
by referring to them as infants in Christ.
“I
gave you milk, not solid food,
for you were
not yet ready for it.
Indeed,
you are still not ready.”
Why
does Paul refer to them as infants?
They
are acting like children:
with
petty disagreements,
not
getting along with each other,
arguments
and jealousy.
Paul
began his letter addressing part of this issue,
with
encouraging them to unite as one in fellowship,
the
fellowship they share in Christ.
The
Corinthians are focused on the ones who taught them
or
baptized them, not on Christ.
Paul
explains its not about the leaders,
it
is about being one in Christ.
“What,
after all, is Apollos?
And
what is Paul?
Only
servants, through whom you came to believe
—as
the Lord has assigned to each his task.”
Paul
and others are caretakers, farmers of the field.
When
I read this scripture,
something
I heard years ago came to my mind;
do
you remember Paul Harvey and his
Rest of the Story
broadcasts?
One
thoughtful contemplation he spoke of was about the farmer.
It
begins with…
And
on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned
paradise
and said,
Mr.
Harvey goes on to describe the qualities needed and the
responsibilities
that God has entrusted to the farmer…
God
said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn,
milk cows, work
all day in the fields, milk cows again,
eat
supper and then go to town and stay past midnight
at
a meeting of the school board."
God
said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with
a newborn colt.
And watch it die.
Then
dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.'
God
said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees
and
heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and
wean
pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets,
who
will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken
leg
of a meadow lark.
So
God made a farmer.1
That
is how the Apostle Paul sees his role, he is the caretaker.
He
planted the church in Corinth,
Apollos
followed, watering,
both
servant of God.
Paul
and Apollos and many other leaders
are
not the source of grace, life, or growth;
they
tend the field, plant and water,
however,
it is God that gives the growth!
Pause
and think on this a moment,
when
you or I decide to plant a garden,
we
prepare the soil, plant the seeds or bulbs,
water
it, pull weeds,
but
you and I do not make the plant or flower grow.
That
is life; that is a gift of God.
God
is the source of life!
We
are in so many ways helpless children,
yearning
to learn and grow,
wanting
to have and know it all right now.
So,
we talk about spiritual growth,
you
and I strive for it through so many methods:
devotionals,
study groups, fellowship, outreach,
and
all are helpful in their own way.
Yet,
it is not something we can achieve immediately
or
on our own.
God
gives the growth!
The
high school I attended had a motto:
as
we grow in age, may we grow in grace.
I
do not think I understood it as a teenager,
but
with time and experience,
it
makes more sense to me now.
Maturity
comes as we grow older
and
certain qualities are associated with that aging.
Wisdom
is usually what first comes to mind,
learning
good and hard lessons of life gives each of us
a
unique way of looking at situations.
Growing
in grace, also deals with the wisdom of experience.
By
grace, we grow to know more about ourselves as individuals
and
about our relationship to God.
There
is spiritual growth, a journey of spiritual maturity.
One
thing I believe to be very true is you and I are always
on
the path of spiritual growth;
it
is something we will always yearn for more.
You
and I have an inner desire, like the Corinthians,
to
receive more than milk, we want the solid food.
Paul
says the Corinthians are not ready because of
the
strife within their community.
Are
you and I ready for it?
Are
there things that get in the way,
things
that shift out focus away from God?
We
all have busy lives,
we
get distracted,
we
worry about little things.
We
are human, flawed, and sinners.
Yet,
there is grace, God reaches out to us.
God
the source of life,
the
light in the dark corners,
the
love, mercy, and forgiveness that gives us hope.
The
hope we find through Christ Jesus,
the
unity,
the
fellowship we are called into through Christ.
A
fellowship that can erase the petty disagreements,
that
bring us from strife to life,
Our
relationship to God is always evolving.
The
way we pray, understand, and approach God
is
different in our youth
from
when we are in our 40s or 70s.
There
is spiritual growth,
aided
by those who plant the seeds,
those
who water,
those
who tend the garden.
it
all comes together because of the one
who
gives the growth.
As
we grow in age, we do grow in grace.
Thanks
be to God.
1
Paul Harvey 1978 ‘So God Made a Farmer.’
