Introduction

A young man was appointed president of a bank. Intimidated by his new responsibilities, he nervously sought the advice of his gray-haired predecessor: "Sir, what has been the secret of your success?"
"The secret, young man, is two words: right decisions!" replied the older man.
"But how do you make right decisions?"
"One word: experience."
"But how do you get experience?"
The old man smiled. "Two words: wrong decisions."

Dr. Paul Brand is the grandson of famous missionary to lepers, Granny Brand. He has lived a long and exciting life, including mountain-climbing, medical practice as a surgeon, Christian missionary work and authoring a great book with Philip Yancey, entitled Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Eight years ago he was invited to speak at a ceremony of dedication for a new nursing home—a facility he himself was moving into as a new resident. Included in his comments were these words.

I remember well when I was at my physical peak. I was 27 years old and had just finished medical school. A group of friends and I were mountain climbing, and we could climb for hours. For some people, when they cross that peak, for them life is over.

I remember well my mental peak, too. I was 57 years of age and was performing groundbreaking hand surgery. All of my medical training was coming together in one place. For some people, when they cross this peak, for them life is over.

I'm now over 80 years of age. I recently realized I'm approaching another peak—my spiritual peak. All I have sought to become as a person has the opportunity to come together in wisdom, maturity, kindness, love, joy, and peace. And I realize when I cross that peak, for me, life will not be over; it will have just begun.

Maturity is a legendary, utopian, elusive state toward which we all strive with varying levels of intensity, and one toward which God ennobles and enables us. But what is it made of? We are privileged today to have a peek at the answer. One day, some 1,950 years ago, while the apostle Paul was writing a letter, the Holy Spirit picked him up, piggy-backed him to a place of wisdom then told him to sit down and write it all out for our edification.

Philippians 3:14-17 – I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take not of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

I see three things we need to do to be among the spiritually mature, beginning with verse 15:

Agree with the Mature Viewpoint

The first thing is foundational. We have to have the right mindset. And that mindset is to agree with the purposes of God for our lives. Amos 3:3 asks the central question: Can two walk together unless they agree? Agreement with God must be the basis of our decision-making. And that is particularly so when it comes to our purpose and direction in living for Him.

When Paul says, All of us who are mature should take such a view of things, he was referring to what he had just written in the previous verse about pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

That goal was described by Paul early in chapter three in various ways: to know Christ, to attain to the resurrection from the dead, to take hold of the prize. In one sense our goal is to reach heaven; in another it is to reach maturity in Christ. The first thing to do is to agree with Paul and others about the goal of maturity.

That fact is, if you confess you are a follower of Christ, and this is not your express goal, you are not only not maturing in Christ; you are probably not yet in Christ. To be in Christ is to be inhabited by His Spirit, and his Spirit is constantly urging us disciples on to maturity. In Acts 19 Paul met up with some disciples in Ephesus, and he noticed something in their behavior that made him wonder if they were really Christians. Here’s what he said as he examined them: Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They responded, What’s the Holy Spirit?

So Paul questions their very conversion. What baptism did you receive? They told him they were baptized by John’s baptism. In other words, they had only repented of their sins. They hadn’t yet committed themselves to follow Christ. They were then baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, experienced laying on of hands and the Holy Spirit apparently in some palpable way and came into “agreement” with the apostles and the church.

You can’t help but wonder how many church-going people are deluded by some religious spirit that says you can be okay with God by having your name on a church role, or by mouthing a prayer of conversion, or by doing Christian-like things, without the very essential element of commitment to Jesus as Lord. If your Christian faith doesn’t include the goal of growth in maturity in Christ, it is, in fact, not yet Christian faith.

Science tells us that one essential mark of life is growth. If it doesn’t grow, it’s either inert matter or it’s dead. Paul insists that those who would be mature must at least agree with the biblical fundamental that Christians are in a dynamic relationship with God that moves them from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.
 
The agreement itself is important. In 1:27 Paul called the church to contend as one man for the faith of the gospel—that is unity, agreement. He said, make my joy complete by being like-minded (2:2). Brothers and sisters, nothing makes the church stronger, and nothing makes believers fundamentally stronger, than agreement with God and one another on our purpose--to grow to maturity in Christ. Agree with this mature viewpoint.

Expect and Trust God’s Course Corrections

2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches All we . . . reflect the Lord’s glory [and] are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who the Spirit. The idea of growing into the image of Christ can be very daunting understandably. But we are reminded over and over in the Word that it is not by our own anemic effort that we can ever effect any positive growth. It is Christ in us, doing His work in us, to will and to act according to God’s good purpose. We can be assured that we are not in it alone. God, who said I will never leave you; I will never forsake you, is at work in us, directing this program of maturity.

The new GPS systems in automobiles are great in a number of ways, but the feature I most enjoy is if you get off track or you somehow misunderstand the clear directions you received, the brain in that little chip will re-calibrate with satellite assistance, just where you are now and start all over helping you to your destination. God is like that, too. He is constantly monitoring His children along their journeys toward maturity in Christ and when we miss the clear direction of His Word and Spirit, He doesn’t walk away in disgust. He meets us where we are and patiently recalibrates how to get us to our destination. Romans 8:28.

Look at the second half of verse 15: And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. What a comforting thought! God will not let us veer too far off the path! So, expect God to “tweak your course” on occasion. Because if you’re anything like me and every other Christian I know, you will get off course. Paul teaches, though, if our carnal nature should ever get in our way, should our sinfulness ever get us off track, God is quick to bring us loving His correction.

Your spiritual GPS—your Godly Positioning System—is none other than the Spirit of God living in you. He cares enormously and is vitally interested in getting you to your goal. So, He provides direction and correction, wherever you are, if you humbly listen.

 Psalm 25:9 – He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’.

John 16:13 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

When God saves His children, He doesn’t just forgive our sins, promise us heaven and then leave us as orphans. His awesome plan includes provisions to lead us and empower us from within. He places His own Spirit in us to personally lead us, to resource us with all we need, and even to correct our course when needed.

So we believers can not only expect God to give us ongoing, ever-dynamic direction and correction, we can absolutely rely on it. David prayed with confidence, Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:10) And it makes no difference how far off track we get, or how distant from God’s intent.

Psalm 74:21-24 – When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

And don’t stop there. These precious thoughts continue to flow from David’s pen. Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 74:25-26)

If you trust God wants to direct you, to lead you and correct you, then you must (you must) put yourself in receiver mode to get His direction. A GPS will do you no good, if you never plug it in and turn it on. Get into His Word, pray and listen to His Spirit. Get among His people and let them encourage you, edify you, and help you as His Spirit works uniquely powerfully in the corporate assembly.

Erik Weihenmayer climbed Mt. Everest on May 25, 2001. Eric Weihenmayer is blind. A degenerative eye disease, he lost all his sight when he was 13, but that didn't stop him.

On a mountain where 90 percent of climbers never make it to the top—and 165 have died trying since 1953—Erik succeeded. How did he do it? Mostly, he said, because he listened well.

He listened to a little bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him, so he would know what direction to go. And he listened to the voice of teammates who would shout back to him things like, "Death fall two feet to your right!" so he would know what direction not to go.

He listened to the sound of his pick jabbing the ice, so he would know whether the ice was safe to cross.

Like Eric Weihenmayer, we must learn to NEED God’s direction. Years ago I did not golf at all. At that point my opinion of golf magazines was not very high. To me they were a waste of good trees. Then I began to like golf. My opinion of Golf Digest made a radical turn. I then thoroughly enjoyed reading for advice.

Often we make the mistake of thinking that if we just get into the Word we will be motivated to obedience. There is a good deal of truth to that, but consider what James 1:22 says, and remember that it is those who are busy trying to live for Christ who are the more desperate for His Word. They want to know His will; they NEED to know His will for their lives.

If you want to be mature, 1) get in agreement with viewpoint of maturity, 2) expect and trust God’s course directions through His Word, His Spirit and His people, and thirdly . . .

Get busy obeying what you already know

Eric made it because he listened, but I know what else he did. He acted on what he heard. God’s direction and correction mean nothing if when you receive it you do nothing with it. In verse 16 we see the next element of maturity: Only let us live up to what we already have attained.

At the annual meeting of The American Heart Association, 300,000 doctors, nurses, and researchers met in Atlanta to discuss, among other things, the importance a low fat diet plays in keeping our hearts healthy. Yet during meal times, they consumed fat-filled fast food—such as bacon cheeseburgers and fries—at about the same rate as people from other conventions. When one cardiologist was asked whether or not his partaking in high fat meals set a bad example, he replied, "Not me, because I took my name tag off."

The name tag was removed but the low density lipoproteins remain.

James 1:22 says, Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Robert Kupferschmid was an 81-year old with no flying experience. However, due to a tragic emergency, he was forced to fly an airplane. On June 17, 1998, he and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana. During the flight, the pilot slumped over and died at the controls. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane began to nose-dive and Kupferschmid grabbed the controls. He got on the radio and pleaded for help.

Nearby were two pilots who heard the call. Mount Comfort was the closest airport, and the two pilots gave Kupferschmid a steady stream of instructions about climbing, steering—and the scariest part—landing. The planes circled the little airport three times before Kuperschmid finally felt ready to land.

Emergency vehicles were called out and ready for what seemed like an approaching disaster. Witnesses said the plane's nose nudged the center line and bounced a few times before the tail hit the ground. The Cessna ended up in a patch of soggy grass next to the runway. Amazingly, Kupferschmid was not injured.

This pilot listened and followed those instructions as if his life depended on it—and it did. Imagine what would take place in the lives of believers if we listened to and obeyed the Word of God with the same earnestness!

I have been increasingly impressed in the past few years of my life of the necessity of instant obedience. If obedience is right (and it is) then instant obedience can only be better. The idea is very simple: just as soon as you understand the will of God in a matter, get at it instantaneously.

I once had a long term friend who was not a Christian, as far as I knew. I hadn’t seen him for quite some time. I felt an impression from God to go and visit with him about his life and faith. I put it off for months and the sense of urgency grew weaker and weaker. I heard later that he committed suicide. I don’t know if he ever came to Christ, and the memory of my delay haunts me to this day.

Not only is instant obedience a good habit in that it gets us doing what God wants without complaint, second thoughts or giving the devil the chance to talk us out of it; but it’s also fun! It can be a wonderful way to interact with the leading of God in a true and dynamic adventure. What will God lead me to next? How quickly can I obey His leading?

I have an impression to pray for someone. Pray now. I feel led to contact someone, often not having a clue as to why. I call and before the conversation is over I have discovered why I was to call. The Spirit nudges me to encourage someone. I do it. I feel God reminding me to honor my wife in some specific way. I hop to it, no delay. I have a disagreement with someone and God convicts me I did not act properly and I need to seek forgiveness.

If I delay, nine times out of ten, I will not get it done. If I obey instantly I know the joy of obedience and the thrill of participation with God. As well, I avoid any sense of guilt or having “missed it” in God’s program.

God calls His children to a constancy of devotion. This is the art of maturity—to be ongoingly devoted to Him. It is not the sudden, periodic, staccato acts of bravery for God or the once-in-awhile faithfulness, not the stutter-start inconsistency or the on-again-off-again pseudo-faith. It’s the constancy of devotion.

Micah 6:7-8 – Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn . . .?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Believers, genuine lovers of God, must learn that mature living in the Lord is not found in looking for something great and bombastic to do for Him. Maturity is in the constancy of living out His learned truths in the everyday lives He has already given us. How do we do that? Love Him enough to read and study His Word, pray always, be in fellowship/agreement with His people.

“That’s the same old thing you always say!” Yes. Margaret Thatcher once famously said, “Of course it’s the same old thing—truth is always the same old thing.” Brothers and sisters, these are the ways we come to know and love and obey Jesus.

Arthur Burns was an influential economist who advised several of our presidents. He was Jewish. He was once asked to offer prayer at a gathering of evangelical politicians. He stunned them all with this prayer: "Lord, I pray that Jews would come to know Jesus Christ. And I pray that Buddhists would come to know Jesus Christ. And I pray that Muslims would come to know Jesus Christ. . . . And Lord, I pray that Christians would come to know Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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