1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,600 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,240 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,760 In this podcast series, we're going to be looking into biblical 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,920 words that have great significance to our faith. 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,840 The name of this series is called the Word of the Week, where 6 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,920 once a week we will dive deeper into these words that we are 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,560 familiar with in Scripture. 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:26,400 So come along with me. 9 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:28,720 Let's study the Word of the Week. 10 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,160 Pastor Josh here with another Word of the Week. 11 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:35,720 And again this week, we're going to be looking at discipleship. 12 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,920 We've looked at the definition of discipleship. 13 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,800 We've looked at what it means for us to grow in the truth of God, 14 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,440 and we've looked at what it means ultimately for a disciple to 15 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,480 be a learner or a follower of Christ. 16 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,560 We're also called in Scripture to point other people to this process 17 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,240 of discipleship, as the Bible says in Matthew, chapter 28, to make 18 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:55,920 disciples. 19 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,320 And so we've understood what the definition of discipleship is. 20 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,920 We've understood the directive of God for us to make disciples in 21 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:04,280 that process of discipleship. 22 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,360 But now we're looking at some things that we can do practically 23 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,600 in this process of discipleship. 24 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:14,160 And we talked last week about the idea of encouragement or exhortation, 25 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:18,120 challenging one another to walk in accordance to the word of 26 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:18,480 God. 27 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,160 And we've talked about that accountability, we've talked about 28 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,160 that edification, strengthening one another, and the 29 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,280 passage in Hebrews chapter 10 that speaks of the importance of 30 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,040 assembling together for the purpose of exhorting one another 31 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:31,360 for love and good works. 32 00:01:31,890 --> 00:01:35,650 And so another aspect of discipleship is pointing one another 33 00:01:35,650 --> 00:01:38,210 to spiritual growth through the Word of God. 34 00:01:38,450 --> 00:01:40,610 And the Bible uses some analogies. 35 00:01:40,610 --> 00:01:43,970 And one of the analogies that we're going to look at here in this 36 00:01:44,210 --> 00:01:48,930 study is the analogy of becoming a spiritually mature adult. 37 00:01:49,330 --> 00:01:53,210 The Bible says that when we are converted, when we are saved, 38 00:01:53,210 --> 00:01:56,650 when we are justified, we are spiritual babes in Christ, which 39 00:01:56,650 --> 00:01:57,850 is the natural process. 40 00:01:57,850 --> 00:01:58,850 We are born again. 41 00:01:59,610 --> 00:02:04,730 But the Bible says that we are to be growing in maturity from the 42 00:02:04,730 --> 00:02:09,850 place of a babe drinking the milk of the Word to a place of meat, 43 00:02:10,410 --> 00:02:14,090 moving on to the deeper matters of the faith and the application 44 00:02:14,090 --> 00:02:14,650 thereof. 45 00:02:15,049 --> 00:02:18,170 And one of the passages of Scripture that reference this is 46 00:02:18,170 --> 00:02:20,890 in First Corinthians, chapter three. 47 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:25,660 Paul is coming to speak here at the church at Corinth, and he 48 00:02:25,660 --> 00:02:28,420 is recognizing that there are some things that he would like to 49 00:02:28,420 --> 00:02:32,020 bring to them, but they are not at the maturity level to do that. 50 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:34,380 But what we can see here through the context is that they 51 00:02:34,380 --> 00:02:36,220 should be able to receive these things. 52 00:02:36,220 --> 00:02:38,140 They're not growing at the rate that they should be growing. 53 00:02:38,140 --> 00:02:41,740 And so many times within our churches, we are emphasizing people 54 00:02:41,740 --> 00:02:43,860 coming to Christ in salvation, which we should. 55 00:02:44,340 --> 00:02:47,380 But one of the elements that we do miss is that nurturing process 56 00:02:47,380 --> 00:02:51,140 of discipleship, to see people become more mature in their faith. 57 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,960 And when we're babies, as, as humans, we are very selfish, right? 58 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:55,960 We, it's all about us. 59 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,480 It's all about getting food, it's all about getting comfort, it's 60 00:02:58,480 --> 00:02:59,320 all about getting sleep. 61 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,640 But as we mature properly, we are then to turn our attention away 62 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:05,640 from ourselves and turn it to others around us. 63 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:09,000 So maybe for a mature parent, their focus is not on themselves 64 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:09,520 all the time. 65 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,120 It is on their children and what we're seeing here in First Corinthians, 66 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,120 chapter three, Paul is speaking and he references them as, 67 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:17,440 as babes in Christ. 68 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,030 He says in verse 1 of First Corinthians 3, and I, brethren, could 69 00:03:21,030 --> 00:03:23,350 not speak unto you as unto spiritual. 70 00:03:23,350 --> 00:03:26,070 He says, I can't come to you and speak to you as spiritual people. 71 00:03:26,150 --> 00:03:30,150 Why, why can't I speak to you on these spiritual matters? 72 00:03:31,510 --> 00:03:35,070 But as unto carnal, as he says here, so, so I can only reference 73 00:03:35,070 --> 00:03:37,910 you as someone who is carnal or fleshly, even as unto babes in 74 00:03:37,910 --> 00:03:38,070 Christ? 75 00:03:38,070 --> 00:03:41,310 So he says, I can't reference some of these deeper matters of the 76 00:03:41,310 --> 00:03:43,670 faith because you're still walking in the flesh. 77 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:47,030 You're still dealing with those things that you should be getting 78 00:03:47,030 --> 00:03:49,110 victory over because of your spiritual maturity. 79 00:03:49,110 --> 00:03:53,860 Now, in Scripture, we are told that throughout our salvation, well, 80 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:57,380 let me say throughout our sanctification after salvation, we 81 00:03:57,380 --> 00:04:00,100 are dealing with the wrestling between the Spirit and the flesh, 82 00:04:00,100 --> 00:04:00,460 right? 83 00:04:00,460 --> 00:04:03,940 We are to live in the Spirit, but many times we don't appeal to 84 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:05,220 the Spirit, we appeal to the flesh. 85 00:04:05,220 --> 00:04:08,580 And so he's telling them here, I can't refer to you as someone who 86 00:04:08,580 --> 00:04:10,540 is spiritual because you're still acting in the flesh. 87 00:04:10,540 --> 00:04:11,900 You are still a babe in Christ. 88 00:04:12,620 --> 00:04:14,460 Then he says, I have fed you with milk. 89 00:04:15,020 --> 00:04:17,980 And, and we know that in other passages of Scripture that's specifically 90 00:04:17,980 --> 00:04:20,740 dealing with, with the, the basics. 91 00:04:21,460 --> 00:04:26,340 And the basics are, are needed and discipleship for a babe in Christ. 92 00:04:26,340 --> 00:04:30,660 We need to stick to the basics to get them to a place of maturity. 93 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:32,740 I've used this example before within church. 94 00:04:32,980 --> 00:04:35,620 You know, when, when our children were born, we weren't feeding 95 00:04:35,620 --> 00:04:40,820 them t bone steaks the first week of their life, but we give the 96 00:04:40,820 --> 00:04:44,060 appropriate nutrition at the appropriate time. 97 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:48,080 And so for a baby we give them the appropriate nutrition in milk 98 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:48,840 or formula. 99 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,360 That's the same thing with a Christian. 100 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,800 So there is an opportunity for us to give them milk. 101 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,080 But then there is a time when we need to bring the meat as there's 102 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:57,320 the spiritual maturity going. 103 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,040 And so in verse two, it says, I have fed you with milk and not 104 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:01,640 with meat. 105 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:05,280 For hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye 106 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:05,520 able. 107 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,400 So he says, I fed you with the milk. 108 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,640 I've not been able to feed you with this meat, the solid food. 109 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:13,440 Why? 110 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,280 Because you were not able to receive it. 111 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,720 You're not able to move forward in the truth. 112 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:20,720 And he says, even now you're not able to. 113 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:21,920 He says, why? 114 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,760 Because you're acting like someone who is still in the flesh. 115 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:30,280 For verse 3, for ye are yet carnal or fleshly, for whereas there 116 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:31,840 is among you envying. 117 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:35,200 So he says, these are the things that are indicating that you're 118 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,600 still walking in your flesh. 119 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:38,920 You're still immature. 120 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,820 And so essentially what he's doing here is he's describing the 121 00:05:42,820 --> 00:05:43,780 immature Christian. 122 00:05:43,780 --> 00:05:45,300 He says, you, you should be mature. 123 00:05:45,540 --> 00:05:46,660 You should be growing. 124 00:05:47,060 --> 00:05:50,740 But these things that are evident in your life are proving 125 00:05:50,740 --> 00:05:52,660 that you are still in that immature process. 126 00:05:52,660 --> 00:05:55,540 So he says, here among you is envying. 127 00:05:56,020 --> 00:05:58,020 So there's envy in their midst. 128 00:05:58,580 --> 00:06:02,100 Envy is essentially desiring what someone else has and thinking 129 00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:04,300 that they should not have that in their life. 130 00:06:04,300 --> 00:06:06,100 So I envy what that person has. 131 00:06:07,780 --> 00:06:09,500 And with that comes a lot of selfishness. 132 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:10,900 And then it says, and strife. 133 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:16,590 Okay, so when we, when we're dealing with, with strife in this 134 00:06:16,590 --> 00:06:17,950 context, what are we talking about? 135 00:06:17,950 --> 00:06:22,910 Well, here, here in this context, he's talking about fighting, 136 00:06:23,390 --> 00:06:26,830 being against each other, having divisions. 137 00:06:27,150 --> 00:06:29,070 So he says, strife and divisions. 138 00:06:30,830 --> 00:06:32,990 Are ye not carnal and walk as men? 139 00:06:33,470 --> 00:06:35,870 So he says, you are still walking with jealousy. 140 00:06:35,870 --> 00:06:37,270 You're still walking with this envy. 141 00:06:37,270 --> 00:06:38,590 You're still walking with fighting. 142 00:06:38,590 --> 00:06:40,880 You're still walking with division. 143 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,000 And he says, so that, that is the problem. 144 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,720 And he actually goes into a situation here where he addresses 145 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,280 the, the core of their problem. 146 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:52,080 And the core of their problem is their eyes are set on man instead 147 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:52,600 of God. 148 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,720 And that's a challenge when we're dealing with discipleship, 149 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,960 that we don't want to point people to a pastor. 150 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,760 We don't want to point people to a, a person, so to speak, that 151 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:06,760 they wrap their whole faith up into. 152 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,200 And, and, and, and I think that that sometimes is a challenge. 153 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,960 What we have to do is we have to point people to the gospel of 154 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,960 Jesus Christ we have to point them to a relationship with the Lord. 155 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,960 Now can a person help someone grow in that process? 156 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:20,400 Certainly. 157 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:21,840 But what does he say here in verse 4? 158 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,120 He says for a while one saith, I am of Paul. 159 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,040 So there's a person who says, I follow Paul. 160 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,120 And, and obviously Paul is the writer here. 161 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,160 And so he says, there's some people that say that in other, in 162 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:33,640 another, I am of Apollos. 163 00:07:34,350 --> 00:07:37,030 So, so there's another person that says, well, I'm not a follower 164 00:07:37,030 --> 00:07:37,430 of Paul. 165 00:07:37,430 --> 00:07:38,670 I'm a follower of Apollos. 166 00:07:39,230 --> 00:07:41,470 And at the end he says, are, are you not carnal? 167 00:07:42,270 --> 00:07:46,750 Is, isn't that a very human focused way to think about things? 168 00:07:47,230 --> 00:07:53,110 He says, who then is Paul and who is Apollos but ministers by whom 169 00:07:53,110 --> 00:07:56,430 ye believe, even as the Lord gave to every man? 170 00:07:56,430 --> 00:08:00,760 So he says, look, it doesn't matter who, who the teacher is. 171 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:02,800 He is just a servant, a minister. 172 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,680 So you can't say, well, I'm following Paul or I'm following Apollos, 173 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:07,600 or I'm following Pastor so. 174 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,320 And so no, it should be I followed Christ. 175 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,440 These are individuals that are proclaiming the truth of Christ. 176 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,400 And so really, essentially what he's talking about is not falling 177 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,080 into the trap of man worship, not falling into the trap of, of 178 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,640 simplifying discipleship down to just copying another person. 179 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,520 To be Christlike means to follow Christ. 180 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,100 Now yes, Paul does say in, in some passages of Scripture, he follow 181 00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:33,060 me as I follow Christ. 182 00:08:33,060 --> 00:08:37,460 And so we can't have godly examples, but it's not ending with 183 00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:38,340 following that person. 184 00:08:38,420 --> 00:08:40,300 It's ultimately ending in following Christ. 185 00:08:40,300 --> 00:08:43,780 And so he gives this whole analogy here in verse six, he says, 186 00:08:43,780 --> 00:08:44,660 I have planted. 187 00:08:44,660 --> 00:08:46,180 So Paul says, I've planted. 188 00:08:46,260 --> 00:08:49,100 Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 189 00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:51,460 And so ultimately it is God who gives the growth. 190 00:08:53,060 --> 00:08:53,900 And verse seven. 191 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:57,340 So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that 192 00:08:57,340 --> 00:08:59,820 watereth, but God that giveth the increase. 193 00:09:00,620 --> 00:09:03,260 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. 194 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:07,180 And every man shall receive his own reward according to his own 195 00:09:07,180 --> 00:09:07,740 labor. 196 00:09:08,220 --> 00:09:09,140 And so we'll stop there. 197 00:09:09,140 --> 00:09:10,420 And what is he talking about here? 198 00:09:10,420 --> 00:09:15,540 He's talking about in that discipleship process in the direction 199 00:09:15,540 --> 00:09:21,180 of spiritual maturity, we cannot have a focus on, on the teacher. 200 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:24,500 The focus must be on the one who is being taught. 201 00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:25,420 And that is the Lord. 202 00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:30,660 Not, not, not necessarily the receiver of the knowledge, but the 203 00:09:30,660 --> 00:09:32,620 one who has created that, and that is God. 204 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:36,420 And so the point that Paul is trying to make here is that it doesn't 205 00:09:36,420 --> 00:09:39,900 really matter who's doing what in that process. 206 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:42,500 And so, for example, some people go, I want to be the one that 207 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:44,660 plants, I want to be the one that waters, and I want to be the 208 00:09:44,660 --> 00:09:45,420 one that gets the increase. 209 00:09:45,420 --> 00:09:49,500 But what we can see here is that God uses some to plant, not 210 00:09:49,660 --> 00:09:50,780 all to plant. 211 00:09:50,860 --> 00:09:52,910 He uses some to water, not all to water. 212 00:09:52,910 --> 00:09:55,190 But ultimately, it is God who gives us the increase. 213 00:09:55,190 --> 00:09:57,230 It is God who gives the growth. 214 00:09:57,230 --> 00:09:58,630 It is God who gives the fruit. 215 00:09:58,630 --> 00:10:03,870 And so if we want to see people spiritually mature, if we 216 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:07,310 want to spiritually mature, who do we rely on for that growth? 217 00:10:07,310 --> 00:10:09,590 We rely on the power of God. 218 00:10:09,670 --> 00:10:11,790 We rely on the wisdom of God. 219 00:10:11,790 --> 00:10:13,990 We rely on the direction of God. 220 00:10:14,550 --> 00:10:17,590 And so sometimes it's very difficult for a young Christian, 221 00:10:17,590 --> 00:10:23,930 an immature Christian, to see that happening, because we want to 222 00:10:23,930 --> 00:10:28,130 have things happen quickly and, and, and have these dynamic 223 00:10:28,130 --> 00:10:29,010 changes in our life. 224 00:10:29,010 --> 00:10:31,810 And sometimes those dynamic changes do come in the discipleship 225 00:10:31,810 --> 00:10:32,130 process. 226 00:10:32,450 --> 00:10:37,170 But sometimes the discipleship process is a bunch of little steps, 227 00:10:37,170 --> 00:10:41,330 little decisions that align ourselves with the Lord and therefore 228 00:10:41,330 --> 00:10:43,250 get us to a place of spiritual maturity. 229 00:10:44,050 --> 00:10:49,120 It's very hard for me to see my children growing, even though 230 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:50,720 I see the results of their growth. 231 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,640 Like, I don't wake up in the morning and literally see my children 232 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,600 growing in front of me, but each day they're incrementally growing. 233 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,920 And one day it's like I'm noticing, wow, you're, you're tall, 234 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,720 you're growing, you're, you're, you're changing. 235 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:08,720 And that's how it is sometimes with Christians. 236 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,400 I mean, though we do see sometimes drastic change in the life 237 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,840 of an individual, sometimes it's that slow progression of being 238 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,960 more Christlike and dying to self and yielding to the Spirit. 239 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,040 And sometimes that takes time, and ultimately it takes trust in 240 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:23,960 the Lord to do the work. 241 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:25,320 I cannot change someone's heart. 242 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:27,160 I cannot be the Holy Spirit. 243 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,759 So as I'm discipling someone, I can't be their Holy Spirit. 244 00:11:29,759 --> 00:11:31,000 I can lead them to the truth. 245 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:32,920 I can show them in the Word. 246 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:34,760 I can be the example. 247 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,320 But ultimately, at the end of the day, I have to say, you know 248 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:37,400 what? 249 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,420 For them to spiritually mature, they have to understand the 250 00:11:41,420 --> 00:11:42,140 power of Christ. 251 00:11:42,140 --> 00:11:44,500 They have to be relying in the Lord for faith. 252 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:48,540 And that is where there is going to be serious, real, authentic 253 00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:51,140 growth in that believer's life. 254 00:11:51,140 --> 00:11:52,860 Now, ultimately, the Spirit's doing the work. 255 00:11:52,940 --> 00:11:54,700 We saw that in John chapter 15. 256 00:11:55,340 --> 00:11:56,380 John chapter 15. 257 00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:01,060 It tells us that in verse five, Jesus speaking, here I am, 258 00:12:01,060 --> 00:12:04,460 divine, year of the branches, he that abideth in me, and I In him 259 00:12:05,180 --> 00:12:06,750 there same bringeth forth much fruit. 260 00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:08,270 For without me you can do nothing. 261 00:12:08,270 --> 00:12:11,030 So without the Lord in our lives, without the indwelling of 262 00:12:11,030 --> 00:12:14,230 the Spirit, we are not able to see any fruit. 263 00:12:14,310 --> 00:12:15,670 And so it's only through God. 264 00:12:15,830 --> 00:12:19,430 We even go into the book of Galatians, Galatians, chapter 5. 265 00:12:19,430 --> 00:12:23,670 Speaking of the fruit of the Spirit, one of the prerequisite to 266 00:12:24,230 --> 00:12:27,270 seeing the fruit of the Spirit manifested in our life. 267 00:12:27,350 --> 00:12:29,430 And of course we know the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 268 00:12:29,430 --> 00:12:32,230 peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 269 00:12:32,230 --> 00:12:32,870 temperance. 270 00:12:33,780 --> 00:12:36,460 If we are to see those things in our life, the only way that those 271 00:12:36,460 --> 00:12:40,860 are going to be truly, authentically manifested in the way 272 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:43,100 that we live is when the Spirit indwells us. 273 00:12:43,100 --> 00:12:44,540 How does the Spirit indwell us? 274 00:12:44,540 --> 00:12:46,340 The Spirit indwells us in salvation. 275 00:12:46,740 --> 00:12:50,100 The Bible says when we have the Spirit, we are his children. 276 00:12:50,100 --> 00:12:54,100 When we trust in Jesus, when we are justified in faith, we now 277 00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:55,260 have the Spirit indwelling us. 278 00:12:55,260 --> 00:12:58,060 And so it's a work of God, it's a miracle of God for spiritual 279 00:12:58,060 --> 00:12:58,340 growth. 280 00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:03,060 Now, spiritual growth will not happen unless a person is indwelled 281 00:13:03,060 --> 00:13:03,500 by the Spirit. 282 00:13:03,500 --> 00:13:06,780 And spiritual growth will not happen unless someone is walking 283 00:13:06,780 --> 00:13:08,100 in the truths of the Word of God. 284 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:15,260 We, we know that in John, the Book of John, chapter 8, Jesus defines 285 00:13:15,260 --> 00:13:17,380 what it means to be a disciple. 286 00:13:17,700 --> 00:13:19,140 And, and we want to be disciples. 287 00:13:19,140 --> 00:13:20,460 Our desire is to be a disciple. 288 00:13:20,460 --> 00:13:24,340 And John chapter 8, verse 31, Jesus says, if ye. 289 00:13:24,340 --> 00:13:28,510 If he's talking to those who believe in verse, verse 31, he says, 290 00:13:28,510 --> 00:13:31,710 and then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, if ye 291 00:13:31,710 --> 00:13:33,590 continue in My word. 292 00:13:34,710 --> 00:13:38,390 And that word continue is talking about living in his word, 293 00:13:38,390 --> 00:13:39,630 walking in His Word. 294 00:13:39,630 --> 00:13:43,910 If ye continue in My word, then are ye my disciples indeed. 295 00:13:45,030 --> 00:13:46,950 So what does it mean? 296 00:13:46,950 --> 00:13:50,970 Walk in his word, trust in him, obey him, follow Him. 297 00:13:51,610 --> 00:13:53,410 And that is what we're doing as disciples. 298 00:13:53,410 --> 00:13:56,730 As disciples, we're pointing people to the truth. 299 00:13:56,730 --> 00:13:59,050 We are pointing people to the Word. 300 00:13:59,050 --> 00:14:04,890 We are pointing people to the evidence of God in, in our lives. 301 00:14:05,050 --> 00:14:07,930 When we live our lives publicly, we're not living our lives 302 00:14:07,930 --> 00:14:10,330 publicly for praise or acclaim. 303 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:14,050 Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men that they may 304 00:14:14,050 --> 00:14:16,090 see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in 305 00:14:16,090 --> 00:14:16,370 heaven. 306 00:14:16,370 --> 00:14:20,140 So we all go back to this idea of spiritual growth, spiritual maturity. 307 00:14:20,140 --> 00:14:20,820 Where does it come from? 308 00:14:20,820 --> 00:14:21,780 It comes from the Lord. 309 00:14:22,180 --> 00:14:25,860 We are just vessels to point people to that true growth that only 310 00:14:25,860 --> 00:14:27,220 happens through the Spirit. 311 00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:31,100 So another aspect of discipleship here today, let's not 312 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:34,180 look at a certain curriculum. 313 00:14:34,180 --> 00:14:35,700 Let's not look at a certain person. 314 00:14:35,780 --> 00:14:37,380 Let's not look at a certain program. 315 00:14:37,860 --> 00:14:41,060 Let's look to Christ for our spiritual growth. 316 00:14:41,140 --> 00:14:44,420 Let's look to the guidance of the Spirit for our spiritual growth. 317 00:14:44,890 --> 00:14:46,170 And we lead those folks to that. 318 00:14:46,170 --> 00:14:48,530 So anyway, thank you so much for your time. 319 00:14:48,530 --> 00:14:53,690 Thank you so much for your, your attention. 320 00:14:54,170 --> 00:14:55,250 I do thank you for that. 321 00:14:55,250 --> 00:14:57,850 If you could pass along this podcast to someone else, I know that 322 00:14:57,850 --> 00:14:58,890 it would be a blessing. 323 00:14:59,530 --> 00:15:04,650 And I know that ultimately the Lord is, is, is blessing us. 324 00:15:05,290 --> 00:15:08,090 He's blessing those of that are his children. 325 00:15:08,490 --> 00:15:11,410 And though sometimes there's difficulties in our life, ultimately 326 00:15:11,410 --> 00:15:12,490 we know we have hope in Him. 327 00:15:12,490 --> 00:15:15,370 So I pray that you can know that hope here today. 328 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:16,280 Well, God bless you. 329 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,640 We'll come back next week with another word of the week. 330 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,320 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 331 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:22,960 podcast. 332 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,520 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 333 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,520 If you would like to find out more information about our church 334 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,920 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 335 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,800 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 336 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,480 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, middletownbaptistChurch.com 337 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,560 if you've enjoyed this podcast. 338 00:15:43,020 --> 00:15:47,260 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 339 00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:48,860 Thank you so much. 340 00:15:49,100 --> 00:15:49,820 God bless. 341 00:15:50,060 --> 00:15:51,340 Have a wonderful day.