Hebrews 5:12-14: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV)

It is that time of year again--summer is here and so are the graduations. Children all over the country are graduating from Kindergarten, graduating from Elementary, graduating from Junior-High (Middle School here in the South), and of course graduating High School. My own daughter made the trek across the stage this week to accept her awards and graduate into ninth-grade! Wow!

All these graduations got me thinking about growing in my Christian walk. The life of faith in Jesus Christ is one of progression. You are either moving forward with Jesus Christ or you are moving backwards. There is no standing or sitting still. It is a progression towards spiritual maturity. When we are first saved by the Lord we are spiritual infants. We need to grow in the Word and in our faith. As we learn to trust the truths of Jesus and exercise faith in the Truth we grow and become more like the Savior. This is the process of Sanctification--growing into Christ-likeness.

In the Bible we are exhorted to grow in our faith. In Hebrews five the writer is rebuking people who have been Christians for some time but their faith is not maturing and as a result they are still spiritual infants. When he says "you need milk, not spiritual food" he means that they are not able to go deeper with the truths of Jesus because they have not grown up from the basics of the "milk" of the Word. They are still acting like children who do not know what is best.

It is amazing for me to see people who profess to have known Jesus 10, 20, 30, even 40 years and they are still immature in their faith. At my church, just like at your church, there are two types of Christians: the ones who are immature and the ones who are mature in their faith. How do you know? The writer of Hebrews tells us in verse fourteen. The mature ones have "discernment" when it comes to good and evil. They are in the Word consistently and making it their constant practice of being trained by Scripture so that they will avoid acting immature and fall into evil.

Sadly, there are many people who sit in churches every Sunday acting like they are still in Junior High. Even more sad is that some of these people even hold positions of leadership in the church.
They are operating with a junior-high faith, they are not progressing to maturity, and as a result they have become dull in hearing (v.11) and they engage in evil thoughts, words, and deeds. This is the person that allows petty differences to get them all bent out of shape. The person who doesn't like anyone telling them what to do and thinks their opinion matters the most. This is the person who thinks they do not have that much wrong with them but loves to point out what is wrong with others. This is the person who plays games with people when they disagree about something--they act like they are in Junior High--they won't talk to you, they won't be kind to you, and they certainly won't cooperate and try to work things out with you. They are like the petty people I went to school with who constantly made a big deal about things that don't really matter.

The writer of Hebrews says this is the person who should be a teacher because they have heard countless sermons and teachings from God's Word, however, the information has not led to transformation in their lives. They know much about the Bible but practice it little and the teaching that is meant to transform them falls on deaf and dull ears because they are not progressing. They are still in Junior High--not focusing on what really is important--namely Jesus and becoming more like him.

So the question for all of us as we enter into summer: Do you have a Junior-High faith or a Mature faith? What are the things you are focusing on in your Christian life? Are you focusing on Jesus and becoming more like him? Are you in the Bible and allowing God's Word to transform you and take you deeper and farther than you ever have been before? Or are you playing games with God and games with people? Are you looking "religious" but acting immature? Are you engaging in evil thoughts, words, and deeds? Are you acting like a spiritual whiny-baby who can't get their own way? Are you still in caught up in Junior-High like attitudes?

Here's the bottom line loved one: God wants you to press on to maturity. He wants you to grow-up in your faith. You have been hanging around Junior High long enough, it is time to move on. So make a commitment to go to Summer School with God's Word over the next few months and make a daily choice to go deeper with Jesus. If you allow God's Word to transform you on a constant basis then growth will happen and you will be able to properly discern good from evil, graduating to the next level in spiritual maturity.

For the Fame of His Name,

Pastor Ryan

"Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! 7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries." --Psalm 112:1,7-8 (ESV)

Let me ask you a question, "Do you ever get afraid of bad news?" It seems like I always know plenty of people who are the bearers of bad news. Just negative people who always focus on what is going wrong in their lives or in the church instead of focusing on what is going right. They always look miserable, hardly ever smile, and they take life way too seriously. They are so negative that they could produce their own t-shirt line and make a fortune off of it because they go around making everyone else just like them.

And I have to admit, hang around that long enough, and my inclination the minute someone says, "Hey, Ryan guess what?" is thinking to myself "This is going to be bad news." The minute I see an email from someone in the church or someone I know, I think to myself "This probably won't be good!"

I am just wired that way. I always think bad news is coming. Maybe it is because I am a glass half-empty guy and maybe it is because as a pastor you deal with a lot of negative people. As a matter of fact, if you came to me and asked, "Ryan, do you want the bad news or the good news first?" I would always say, "Give me the Bad." That is just the way I am, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. So, if you are like me and get afraid of bad news and the ones who constantly bring it, then take heart--there is a solution in God's word.

In Psalm 112:1 it says that the man who is blessed by the Lord is the one who "fears the Lord" and "who greatly delights in his commandments."

Fearing the Lord means to "stand in awe of" or "revere" God. It means I live to honor him and fear bringing dishonor to his name. It means I desire to make much of Him and not much of myself. It means I value God for all that he is worth and to treasure him above all else. According to verse 1, fearing God is described as "greatly delighting in his commandments." When I am fearing the Lord by delighting myself in his word, this kind of joy will cast out the anxiety of impending bad news. I will not be afraid of bad news or the people who bring it because I am trusting in the good news and the one who brought it, namely Jesus. I am believing God and delighting in his word, trusting all that God is for me in Christ.

In v.7-8 the result of this kind of fearing-delight is clearly stated, "His heart is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries."

As a pastor, it always seems that somebody is about to approach me with bad news. Some people sincerely want to share their heart and the bad news in their life to receive encouragement. However, some are just negative and are natural born "againsters" and it seems Satan loves using them to try to get you to become as negative and anxious as they are. But despite how "bad" the news is or what is the motive of the person sharing the bad news, your heart can remain firm. You don't have to be afraid of what is going to happen next or be anxious about tomorrow because you are actively delighting in the gospel and all the promises God has for you in Jesus Christ. You know God will give you ultimate victory because he promises it for those who fear him instead of fearing man (v.8).

So the next time someone approaches you with potential bad news, remember the gospel is "for you" and not against you. Fear the Lord and delight in God's Word instead of fearing man and being anxious about things you can't control. Don't be afraid of bad news by delighting yourself in the good news of God's word.


For the Fame of His Name,

Pastor Ryan

2 Samuel 24: 24: "...I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing." (ESV)

Can I ask you a question: What does worship cost you? Think about that for a moment with me. In order to answer the question we have to define what worship really is. We are not talking about Sunday mornings in-church kinda-worship. That is a form of worship but not worship in its totality. Worship is simply this: to honor and obey God with intense love and passion.

Worship is honoring: Psalm 22:23--"You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!"

Worship is obeying: 1 Sam. 15:22-- "And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

Worship is loving intensely: Mark 12:30-- "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Worship is passionate: Luke 24:32--"They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?'"

Worshiping God is honoring and obeying him with intense love and passion. When you define worship that way you can see why worship is a lifestyle (Romans 12:1) and not just singing praises on Sunday morning.

So many people are caught up in going through the motions of worship but they are not intensely loving the Lord. They are just like Jesus said, "This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:8)

The problem is most people's worship isn't costing them anything. David said he would not offer worship to the Lord that didn't cost him something. In other words, an essential part of worship and service to the Lord is sacrifice. You have to sacrifice your needs, wants, and desires to highlight God in your life. You have to do what Jesus said, "Deny self and pick up the cross and follow Me."

The problem with most professing Christians today is that they want something for nothing. They want all the benefits of grace while they remain in cruise control. We wants the gifts of grace but we don't want to give of ourselves. We want our church to grow but we don't want to work hard so it will grow. The plate is passed but I'll pass on putting anything in the plate. I'll do ministry but it better be easy or I quit. I'll look for problems but I don't want to be part of the solution. I want to sit here in the pew and enjoy a free ride all the way to heaven and I don't want you to interrupt my schedule or my life!

Listen to the words of David again: I will not offer anything to the Lord that costs me nothing. In other words, he deserves intense honor, intense obedience, intense love, and intense devotion. Anything short of that cheapens his glory and makes me look more valuable than him.

So, are you coasting with God? What is your worship costing you? Inspect your heart and make sure you are worshiping God with intense love and passion. Stop expecting something for nothing and start attributing that value and worth to God he truly deserves. Make worship your lifestyle and not just something you do with your lips. Anything short of David's attitude towards worship, is lukewarm at best.

For the Fame of His Name,

Pastor Ryan