Know God | Growing Up

GROWING UP
Know God

SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT) 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

Hebrews 5:11-14 (ESV) 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:11-14 (NLT) 11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

They had time, they had access, but they hadn’t matured.

Time alone doesn’t produce maturity. Intentional growth does.

Spiritual growth is expected, but it is not automatic.

“Because everyone counts, Destination Church relentlessly loves and serves like Jesus.”

This is the journey of a healthy church and the journey of GROWING UP as a church:

Lost people get saved → saved people get pastored → pastored people get discipled → discipled people get mobilized.

You can’t grow up in God until you Know God.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (NIV) 1The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One-night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

God doesn’t wait for maturity to speak, He speaks so we can mature.

You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by knowing God.

1 Peter 2:2–3 (NIV) 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

You grow up spiritually by feeding on God regularly, not randomly.

SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

We Know God through:

1. Weekend Services:

Romans 10:17 (ESV) 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Weekend services introduce God, but they don’t replace daily devotion.

SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

2. Daily time with God:

Jeremiah 9:23–24 (NLT) 23 This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. 24 But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Sunday builds awareness; daily time builds intimacy.

SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

3. Musical Worship:

John 4:23–24 (NIV) 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

Worship isn’t just singing, it’s re-centering.

Worship doesn’t change God, it grows our awareness of Him.

SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

4. Prayer:

James 4:8a (ESV) 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Psalms 145:18 (NIV) 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Prayer isn’t graded. It’s relational.

Samuel’s prayer was simple: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”

Prayer is not a performance to perfect, it’s a relationship to pursue.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT) 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Prayer doesn’t make you perfect, it makes you present.

A SIMPLE PRAYER:
"Speak, Lord. I’m listening. God, right now we slow down. We quiet the noise, the pressure, and the distractions. We choose direction over perfection. Help us to recognize Your voice, to know You more, and to take one next step toward You. Speak, Lord…Your servants are listening. Amen.”

Colossians 1:9–10 (NIV) 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, t 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…