DISCIPLESHIP

Why Spiritual Maturity is so Important!

Saddleback Pastor Lance Witt shares important principles for growing more Christ-like.

Did you know that God wants you to grow stronger in spiritual maturity? In fact, that's one of God's five purposes for your life. But how do you do it?

Saddleback writer Chris Meyer recently sat down with Lance Witt, Saddleback's Pastor of Spiritual Maturity, to talk over God's purpose of discipleship. Here's a short portion of their conversation:

 

Q. I've committed myself as a follower of Jesus, I was baptized and I even joined Saddleback Church. So why do I need to worry about spiritual maturity?

A. Spiritual life, like physical life, is a process of growth and change. God wants us to grow deeper in our relationship with Him and live out our purposes. The Bible says one of our purposes is to become spiritually mature. Getting saved is only the starting point.

 

Q. What is spiritual maturity?

A. Growing Christ-like. We will never fully achieve it in this life, but it is clearly the target on the wall that God wants us to shoot for. These are the components:

•Gaining a biblical worldview.

•A surrendered heart engaged in knowing God.

•Living out God's purposes.

•Spiritually reproducing our lives in others.

 

Q. OK, you convinced me. So how do I start down the road to maturity?

A. Start by getting connected relationally. Maturity doesn't happen in isolation; it happens in community. Christian relationships help us build the habits of maturity into our lives: prayer, Bible reading, fellowship and tithing. The habits are not an end in themselves; they help us live the Christian life.

 

Q. Don't know what to say when I pray. I feel guilty making requests when so many other people in the world seem to have greater needs. Got any tips?

A. Use the Nike principle: Just do it! Be yourself. Be real. Talk in normal words. God is interested in your presence and attention, not the words. Don't be afraid to ask. What matters to you, matters to God, just as what matters to a child matters to his father. But prayer is more than petitions. It's about learning to be grateful and to confess your sins.

 

Q. What's the point of praying if God already knows what I'm thinking?

A. Because God commands us to. And because prayer changes things. Jesus said, if you have the faith of a mustard seed, I can move mountains. My prayers and my faith really do make a difference. God can change circumstances, and He can change me. Prayer teaches me patience and perseverance. I get on my heart the things on God's heart. At the end of the day, there is a sense of submission to God's will and purposes. Ultimately, I don't know what's best.

 

Q. I'm really busy between work, carpools and the kids' soccer schedule. How am I ever going to find time for a daily quiet time?

A. It's an issue of priority. We need to carve out time and value the time we have with the Lord. Hurry and busyness are the archenemies of spiritual intimacy. You can't develop intimacy without time. Ultimately, if we're too busy to spend time with our Creator, we're too busy. Think: "What can I cut out?" Start in bite-sized steps — 15 minutes a day.

 

Q. I've tried reading the Bible, but it's hard to concentrate. My mind wanders and I wonder how relevant some of those rules in Leviticus are. How can I get a better focus?

A. It's critical that we read the Bible because it is how God reveals Himself to us. It's also His instruction manual. Even Leviticus contains timeless truths. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:

•Find a translation that's easy to understand. The Message paraphrase presents the Bible in today's language.

•Start with books that are easy to understand, such as John's Gospel and 1 John.

•Focus on what you understand and try to apply it. Take your questions to a reliable Christian resource.

•Find a place and time when you're least likely to be distracted. In our culture, we are uncomfortable with being quiet and we have to train ourselves to concentrate

•Ask for God's help.

Your understanding of the Bible will increase as you spend more time in it. As we go deeper with God, we will learn new truths from the Bible and new applications for the different seasons of our lives. Focus on the life of Jesus; he is the template for our lives.

 

Q. Joining a small group is another time problem. It's hard enough to get to church on time. What's the benefit?

A. God made us to be in relationships. Your Christian life cannot be fulfilled if you're not living in community. Think of you small group as your spiritual family. It is a place to receive support, care, guidance and accountability. It is a place to nurture relationships and to grow.

God instituted the tithe in an agrarian society, but it couldn't apply in our complicated economy. All they had to give was a couple of sheep or bushels of wheat. How can I find 10 percent with these huge mortgage payments, sky-high interest rates on my credit cards and Mello Roos taxes?

Tithing is one of the Bible's timeless principles. Every culture has financial pressure and 10 percent is a constant. But the reason we tithe is because God commanded it. I need to bring my financial life into alignment with God and trust God to meet my needs. Every time I write a check, it reminds me that everything I have really belongs to God.

We have to realize that God doesn't need my money. He's interested in what it represents. Jesus said that your heart is where your treasure is. God loves a joyful giver, someone who realizes that giving is an opportunity to get involved in what God is doing, to give back in gratitude.

 

Q. How do I know if I'm making progress?

A. Maturity is hard to measure because it's an internal working in your heart. It is not measured by how much you know, how often you attend church or how much you give. You have to ask yourself, "Am I becoming more like Jesus in my attitudes, relationships and ability to live out the purposes? Am I developing a servant's heart?" Peter describes this continuum in 2Peter1:3-9:

As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God better leads to self control. Self control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.

 

Q. If I become spiritually mature, do I have to be solemn all the time? Can I still have fun?

A. There is nothing more fun and freeing than walking in intimacy with the one who made you. It is not restrictive; it is liberating because you are now aligned with God. There's a false stereotype that mature equals dull. But spiritual maturity is not about what you gave up. It's more about the transformation of your heart, about what you've gained.

 

Q. Can you give a picture of a mature Christian?

A. You sense that they have a deep love for God, that they are connected with Jesus in a way that others are not. They are loving in relationships and they love those who are not easy to love. They have servants' hearts. Their worldview is oriented toward God, not the culture.

 

Q. Once I get mature, then what?

A. You never arrive. You just keep growing. It's more about the journey than the destination.

 

Q. Do I need to reach a certain stage of maturity before I can serve in ministry or participate in a mission trip?

A. No. One of the ways to move to maturity is to serve. So jump on in.

 

By Chris Meyer - 1/7/2002 10:06:54 AM

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