Description
DELICIOUS
IM
September 28, 2007
Ed Young
You know, there are few events that mark us like the birth of a child. Some of the parents in the house know what I’m talking about because you have had a courtside seat as you watched a baby, your baby, come into the world. And it’s interesting to talk to people who have been there because they’ll use words like incredible, unbelievable. But the big word is miraculous. “It is a miracle. I just couldn’t believe it!” There is nothing like the birth of a child.
But the Bible says there is an event even greater than a physical birth; it’s a spiritual birth. It is when someone has a courtside seat to watching a person getting born again.
Jesus one time was talking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus. In John 3 he sort of went one-on-one with this guy. This guy came to Jesus at night. He slid into Christ’s life and he began to ask him about the important things of existence. And here is what Jesus said in John 3:3, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Unless he’s born again. Now what does it mean to be born again? To be born again means to come to a time in your life when you turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. You trust Jesus. You believe that he paid the price on the cross for all of your sins. You repent and you receive that forgiveness. You ask him to take control of your life. The moment you pray that prayer the Bible says you’re born into the family of God.
Now, that’s a cool thing because the Scriptures call beginning born into the family of God the doctrine of adoption. Some of you have been adopted. You know what adoption is all about. Well back in the biblical times a family could disown a biological child. They couldn’t, though, disown one who has been adopted.
So I really believe that’s why the Holy Spirit of God chose the whole adoption illustration as it’s used to talk about what happens to you and to me when we’re born again.
Now I’ve got a physical birthday. Mine’s March 16th. Anyone here March the 16th? All right. Excellent. Miami? Dallas? Fort Worth? Okay, sweet. Thank you. Maybe some others are identifying with that. Also, I hope you know that this right now is being seen live in all of our various campuses around town and also around the country. We have a campus in Miami. What’s up, Miami? Downtown Dallas, Fort Worth Plano, and here in beautiful Grapevine. Also, we have a campus all over the world, our television audience. Sometimes I forget that this will be seen all over the place, but it is seen all over the place and that is kind of a cool deal.
So, have you been born again? I guess that’s the question that I want to ask you. Do you have a spiritual birthday? Now many here, you’d say, “Yes, I have been born again.” And you know the date. I’m not saying you have to know the second, like at 7:02 a.m. on a Monday morning I was born again. Some people do know that, and that’s cool. But there must be a time, the Bible says, of your salvation. There has got to be a moment.
And I pray that today the Holy Spirit induces labor, because I believe a lot of us, spiritually speaking, are still in the womb, if you understand what I’m talking about. Because being pregnant is not the easiest thing, is it ladies, especially after you have been pregnant for 9 months. Some of you who have had children. What do women say? “I can’t wait to have this baby!”
Illus: A couple of days ago Lisa and I were in Australia speaking and we know a lady over there named Lucille who’s nine months pregnant. What if I had walked up to Lucille and said, “Lucille, guess what? I know you’re nine months pregnant, but you’re going to have to carry the baby for 50 more months. That’s right, a big 5-0, 50 more months.”
If you told a lady who is 9 months pregnant that, she would be like <hiss!> It would be bad, wouldn’t it?
If you told a woman that, she would go absolutely nuts. But I really do believe that a lot of you, spiritually speaking, are within the womb and I think this talk today will induce labor. I think the Holy Spirit of God will touch some lives and it will induce labor.
So when I talk about being born again, if that makes you shift nervously in your seat, if you begin to break out in a cold sweat, there’s a great chance you have not made this decision. This is the greatest decision you can ever make. And Jesus wants you to make the decision. He can’t force it upon you, but I’m telling you, the most important step that you have ever taken is being put off. So it’s time to be born again.
Just think about it, you can be adopted into the family of God. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. You have power in the midst of weakness. Your sins are forgiven and forgotten. You have a purpose for living like no one else has. God wants to put you on the fast track to maturity. And speaking of maturity, there are stages of development in the Christian life.
So often people think when it comes to spiritual development that it’s kind of a natural thing. Others think, “Well you know what, I will never be spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity is just reserved for the Billy Graham’s, Mother Teresa’s, the pastors, the Bible teachers, not me.”
That’s wrong. God wants all of us –did you hear that – God wants every single person in this house, every single person hearing my voice, to move onto maturity.
Parents, you have children. It’s your desire, as they’re little babies, little infants, for them to move from infancy to adolescence. And you really want them to move through adolescence, don’t you? And they move from being a teenager to being a parent. So basically, you have several stages of spiritual development and physical development. And the Bible uses the parallel of physical maturity with spiritual maturity. So we have infancy. We have got puberty. And we have maturity.
Now, if you’re mature, you don’t have to walk around and tell people, “I’m mature.” I don’t have to tell you that I’m mature physically. You just know it because I show it. I have been married for 26 years. I have four kids ranging in ages from 22 down to 14. You just know it. I don’t have to say, “Hey I’m mature. I’m mature.” Wouldn’t that be ridiculous? That’s hilarious.
Well, as I grow in my relationship with Jesus, as I move on this continuum, if you will, from infancy to being a teenager, from being a teenager to being a spiritual parent, I don’t have to tell people that I’m spiritually mature. “Hey, I’m spiritually mature.” You just know it. Why do you know it? Because people who are mature show it.
Once you mature, you’re old enough to meet someone, to walk down the wedding runner, to get married; you have intimacy and after several years, usually you crank out a couple of kids. That’s just the way it happens. One of the purposes of marriage is procreation; it’s the foundation of our culture.
I marry my soul to Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride. You have worship. You have connectivity. You have intimacy going on. What happens? The result is reproduction. You’re going to have babies. You’re going to share your faith and you’re going to produce fruit. It’s part of maturity. And this process is the foundation of the Church.
That’s why at Fellowship Church we have so many infants running around. That’s why at Fellowship Church we have so many babies running around. One day someone came up to me and they said, “Hey Ed, can you believe all of the baby Christians we have at Fellowship Church?”
I’m said, “It’s incredible, isn’t it?!”
Because when God wants to birth a bunch of baby believers he looks for the best hospital he can find, doesn’t he? He looks for the warmest incubator he can find. And I’m so thrilled that we have so many infants and so many babies right here.
Now when I throw out the letters, IM, what do you think about? Tell me. Yes, instant messaging. Well, over the next few moments I’m going to change what instant messaging is all about, because I want to talk to the infants in the house. I want to give an IM – an infant message to all of the playpen-whining, Gerber-dining, nap-timing babies in the house. So this is directed to the infants, because infancy is a good thing.
You’re born again; you’re going to be a spiritual infant. That’s a good thing; however, you have to go onto maturity. The Bible commands it.
If you have your Bibles turn to the Book of Hebrews 6:1. Here’s what the writer says. “Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ,” that means the A B C’s, “and let us,” let’s say this phrase together, “go on to maturity.”
Now, physical maturity just happens, you know? We begin to eat and we begin to walk and talk and it is a little more of a natural thing. Whereas with spiritual maturity, there are some things that we need to do. There are some disciplines that we need to apply so that we can go onto maturity.
But I’m here to tell you it’s not mysterious. It’s not weird. It’s not out there. It is attainable. And spiritual maturity is God’s plan for every single life here.
Whenever I think, though, about spiritual immaturity I have to think about Simon Peter. You have heard of Simon Peter before; I’m talking about St. Peter, you’ve heard of him. Well Jesus one day said this to him in the Matthew 16:18. Here is this preschool personality, Simon Peter, brand new believer, an infant and Jesus has the gall to tag him with a nickname. He calls Simon Peter, the rock.
Now, Simon Peter, if you know anything about him, was anything but a rock. A rock? He’s up, he’s down. He’s hydroplaning through life. A rock? I guarantee you everybody who heard that had a big belly laugh. Simon Peter, a rock? Are you kidding me? What was Jesus doing? Jesus was speaking into his life.
Jesus tagged him with a nickname because he knew the potential in Peter’s life. He knew what would happen if he did what was before him. He knew what would take place when he went on to maturity. So he called him the rock. And if you read the rest of the story, Simon Peter ended up being a rock, a parent, and a foundation for the church. In fact, we wouldn’t even be here together in this house had it not been for Simon Peter’s greatness.
What is the nickname that Jesus has given you? You’re an infant; you’re a preschooler; you’re a playpen-whining, Gerber-dining, nap-timing baby. What is the nickname that he has given you? Because if we knew that nickname, and I don’t know it, I’m telling you it would be packed with potential.
So what did Simon Peter do? He went from infancy to puberty. Do you know what he told Jesus? He was a teenager and he said, “These other people, at your deepest point of need, might bolt on you; they might diss you. But I’m not. I’m going to be with you. I’ve got your back, Jesus.”
That’s what Simon Peter said. Do you know what Jesus said? He said, “You’re going to deny that you ever knew me three straight times.”
“Not me, not me.”
You know what happened. Jesus was at his deepest time of need. Simon Peter said, “I don’t know him.” He even started cursing. He bolted. Jesus died on the cross for the world’s sin. He rose again. And here is what happened, to give you just the headlines; Jesus reinstated Simon Peter. Simon Peter came to his senses. He moved from puberty to maturity.
And then, as Simon Peter began to lead, we move to the book of Acts. So if you have your Bibles, turn to Acts 2. You talk about going onto spiritual maturity, check this out.
Acts 2:41-42, “So then those who had received his word…” Who’s word? Simon Peter’s word. This guy is a powerful rock now. He is preaching the word. They received it. See, we have to receive Christ. We have to receive the Word. That is what it means to be born again. We receive it.
“Those who received his word were baptized…” Baptism is the litmus test of the Christian life. It is the first test of obedience. You believe, and then you’re baptized. That is the progression throughout Scripture. So those who received his word were baptized.
I love this next phrase, “…and that day there were added about 3,000 souls.” Read here 3,000 men, because back in this time they didn’t even count women and children. So it was probably like 5,000. But let’s just be very conservative and talk about the guys, 3,000 were added that day.
Now we’re talking about the early church. We’re talking about Simon Peter. He was running. He was a spiritual teenager. “I’m the man of the hour, and then no I’m not. I love Jesus. I don’t know who you’re talking about.” And then now he’s at Pentecost preaching and throwing down the word. 3,000 men bow the knee; they come to Jesus Christ. So the first church grew to 4 or 5,000 in 10 minutes. Sometimes people say, “Well I just don’t like a big church.”
I laugh and say, “Then you’re not going to like heaven because heaven is going to be a big place.”
If the church is around a lot of people it should be big. If it is out in the middle of nowhere, it should be small.
It is interesting, 3,000 guys accepted the Lord because of Simon Peter standing up and preaching with that kind of boldness. Now, don’t you know that Simon Peter and the disciples were huddled up going, “What do we do now? We have got thousands of playpen-whining, Gerber-dining, nap-timing infants. What do we do now?”
Think about it, what do you do? Brand new believers, what do you do? Well, the Holy Spirit gave them an infant message – the same message I want to give to all the infants in the house, the same message that I want to give to those going through adolescence, and also those who are the spiritual parents. Are you ready for this? Here is what they did.
Look at Acts 2:42, a huge verse, “They were continually devoting themselves…” Remember, spiritual maturity is intentional. They devoted themselves, read here, “They committed themselves to the Apostles’ teaching…” Okay, let’s call teaching, feeding just for now. “…and to fellowship…” That’s a good name for a church, isn’t it? A bunch of fellows rowing a ship in the same direction, I love that. “…to the breaking of bread…”
Now, the breaking of bread is cool, because this meant they shared regular meals together. Also, it meant they shared communion together. Now the Bible never tells us how often to celebrate communion. It doesn’t say once a day, once a month, once a quarter, or once a year. It doesn’t say. It just says do it regularly. But notice the fellowship, the connectivity. And the word fellowship, do you know what it means? To be in common, to have something in common. What’s the common denominator? Jesus.
So they devoted themselves: to teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread. [The verse continues] “…and prayer.”
Let’s call fellowship walking and let’s call prayer, talking. So we’ve got feeding and walking and talking. Say it with me, feeding, walking and talking.
Feeding. We’re to feed on what? The Word of God. Infants have to feed on the Word of God. Because when someone is born again, you watch, the enemy will put some bogus believer or somebody with some faux, funky faith in their life to try to keep them stymied and stagnant, to try to keep them off the path of going on to spiritual maturity – especially in North America where you have so many different movements and different false teachers out there.
That’s why spiritual parents, the mature, we have to get into what kids and babies are into. Because the great parent know the hottest DVD’s, they know the lingo, they know the Sesame Street Band-Aids, they know the great restaurants, and they know it because they’re parents.
Well, those of us at Fellowship, the spiritual parents here, it is so exciting to see how you’re helping mentor these little infants. So infants, it’s time to feed.
You’re to feed corporately on the word of God. Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together.”
There are 168 hours in every week. Give God a couple of hours for corporate feeding, because something supernatural takes place when people who are gifted sing, teach, and do creatively what Scripture tells us to do. Don’t miss it.
Now parents, what if you fed your infant once a month or once every six weeks? They would put you in jail. But I know a lot of spiritual infants who will just eat corporately once a month or once every six weeks. You will never go onto maturity with this starvation diet. When the doors are open here during the weekend, make sure you’re here.
Also, you need to make sure you’re in a small group. And Fellowship Church has so many small groups. We have so many different small group Bible studies here. We have Newcomers Class and a class to show you how to use your spiritual gifts. We have FC Studies on how to read Scripture and how to memorize Scripture and how we got our Bible. So as an infant you have to feed on those things.
And then, are you ready for this? Infants, this is cool, you have to learn how to feed yourselves. Parents, was that a great day when your baby grew and matured enough to feed himself or herself? You were singing, “Hallelujah, this is great. They can feed themselves. Wow!”
That’s what we want to concentrate on with the infants here in the house. Learn how to feed yourself. How do you do that? Well, we have so many opportunities to teach you that. Go to The Source; we have Bibles just for you, messages just for you, different tapes and videos and all sorts of things to help you learn how to feed yourself.
Illus: And speaking of that, I found a dog a couple of months ago on the freeway, and I’ll do a whole message about him, but check this out. The other day I had my Bible in my office and this dog literally ate the word. And I think he got saved, too.
So feed on the Word. It is the milk. Again, go back to a baby. A baby is born and they see light for the first time, they feel the warmth of their parent’s arms for the first time, they breathe in air for the first time, and they taste milk for the first time.
Someone is born again, they see the light of Jesus for the first time, they feel the warmth of his companionship for the first time, they taste the milk of God’s Word for the first time, and they breathe in the power of the Holy Spirit for the first time.
It is time to go onto maturity, because it’s our desire as parents to see our kids grow and develop. It is God’s desire to see us grow and develop and go onto maturity. So it is about feeding.
It is also about walking, right? That is fellowship. And the Bible talks so much about the walk, our walk. And walking is progression. And it is interesting how the Bible uses that to talk about our Christian life.
Illus: Now our daughter, who is our oldest who is 22 now, is pretty much a medical miracle, because when she was 9 months old, the girl could not even crawl or turn over. But one day, I will never forget it, she was looking around the house and she just jumped up and started walking. Doctors are still writing about it. Our pediatrician still can’t believe it. She just got up and just took off.
How many of you believe that? Some of you are thinking, “Wow!” But no, I just lied to you. That didn’t happen. Do you know what she did? It was a progress thing; it was a progression thing. She started sliding, then crawling and sitting up. Then she was standing there, the falling, hitting her head, a Sesame Street Band-Aid. Then she took her first step. Then her second step. And Lisa and I were right there coaching her and helping her walk.
That’s why, infants, you have to revolve your life around the house. Because in the house, the church, we pray for one another, we encourage one another, we support one another, we love one another. And it is all about one another. Christianity is not a solo sport. We’re not here to do the Pavarotti thing. No. It is a team sport. So we have to concentrate on feeding and walking.
And notice last one, talking. What is talking? That is prayer. How do you pray? Again, go back to an infant.
An infant makes noises. “Oh, she made a noise. He made a noise. They’re trying to talk. Did they say a word?”
Then one day they make that word – ball or mine – and we write it down in the baby book. “Unbelievable! Brilliant!”
And then they begin to string sentences together and then they begin to talk to you. And then they become teenagers and you want them to stop talking.
And as a believer I’m born again. I learn how to pray and talk to God. Then I string sentences together. And then I walk with him and listen to him. I have never met someone who is a mature spiritual parent who has not had a time alone with God regularly to pray and to feed and to assist in his walk. It is not going to happen for you. It is a spiritual discipline. Yes, we have to revolve our life around the house. Yes, we have to be here for this corporate feeding. But we have to learn how to feed ourselves. And we do that through the Word. We do that through conversations with God. We do that with one another.
You know, one of the cool things about Fellowship Church is the fact that we’re diverse. We have many different backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, people from all walks of life, different skin colors, different ethnicities. But one of the things I love about Fellowship is the fact that we have a wide range of ages at Fellowship Church. Have you ever thought about that?
Illus: I knew this guy in high school and his name was Larry. And Larry, when I first saw him, I thought he was in his forties. He was young, but he looked old. Do you know what I’m saying to you? He dressed old and had an old spirit. When I met him I thought, “You’re in high school? I thought you were my dad’s age!” Have you ever met people like that? They’re young but they’re old.
Well, we have people at Fellowship Church who are old. I mean, our world would call them old; however, you’re young in spirit. You see, if you’re young in spirit, you will dig Fellowship Church. Who cares how old you are. I know some people who are old, but who are young in spirit.
On the other hand, I know some people who are really young, but they’re old in spirit. So the goal is, if we’re going to go onto maturity, we have to be young in spirit. We have to be young in spirit. It is all about others.
Illus: Lisa and I went out to this cool restaurant a while back, kind of romantic thing. We were by ourselves and enjoying this mean. And about midway through the meal I look up and it’s like this convoy of strollers surrounded us with all these families and the noise and kids. And I was thinking, “This kind of ruins the moment. All these kids, crying and yelling and drawing on the place mats.”
And then I thought, a lot of people treat the church that way, don’t they? A lot of people say, “This is my meal; this is just my romantic time with God. This is my feeding, my worship, and my little group. All these kids, these infants, get them out of here. I want to move to another table. In fact, I will just go to another church. I just want to be around old people, old spiritual parents.”
Isn’t that sad? Because the church is a vital and vibrant ecosystem. The church is all about movement. The church all about going onto maturity. And speaking of going on, I’m out of time.
[Ed ends in a closing prayer.]