Articles/Bulletins
Spiritually Stale
It’s a command that’s demanded of every Christian, but yet so many find it so hard. Spiritual growth is something that must continue to take place once we’ve been baptized for the remission of our sins. The Hebrews found it just as difficult as many Christians do today. The Hebrew writer said, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). When spiritual growth should have been taking place, they instead replaced it with complacency. Unfortunately, many Christians are the same way. When spiritual growth should be taking place, most people tend to just go through the motions.
It’s interesting to me that most people know they should be growing spiritually, but yet they aren’t taking the necessary steps to make sure that it’s happening. When people stop growing spiritually, there is usually a blame game that is played. People blame the preacher because they aren’t growing spiritually. The sermons aren’t good enough and they aren’t reaching me like I would like them to. People blame the Bible curriculum, the elders, the Bible classes, the teachers, the members, the worship services, and anything else that they can think of. When will people stop finding excuses and own up to their spiritual staleness?
Instead of trying to find someone or something to blame for being complacent and stale spiritually, it’s time we own up for our own soul and start finding a way to start growing. The Hebrew writer goes on to say that “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). What are you doing to exercise your senses? Are you reading your Bible? Are you studying your Bible class material? Are you praying on your own? Are you trying everything you can do to reach your spiritual goals? Are you listening to sermons online?
If you’re not growing spiritually, take a moment to see whose fault it is. I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the preacher’s fault or the elder’s. It’s not the Bible curriculum the church is using or the teacher. It’s yours. The things around us like the preacher, teachers, curriculum, etc. are just aids in our spiritual growth, but essentially it is our responsibility to make sure our souls have the proper edification needed to obtain our goal of heaven. When we get to heaven some day, I have a hard time believing that God will accept the excuse of, “I know I’m not where I should be spiritually, but we had a pretty lousy preacher.” God sent the greatest preacher this world has ever known: His own Son. Jesus came to preach and teach the kingdom of heaven. If you aren’t growing spiritually, turn to the Lord’s words. He holds the words of eternal life.
Take a moment today to see where you are spiritually. Not where you want to be? Then my advice to you would be to stop blaming everyone else and start taking action. Start exercising your senses today. We can’t wait for others to do the work for us. Don’t let yourself become spiritually stale. Stay fresh and alert. Stay active in the faith. Stay focused on your goal of heaven.
~ Kevin
- Bulletin 9-22-13.pdf.zip (2.08 MB)
