1. Aren’t babies wonderful?

2. As a matter of fact, now that I am a grandfather I just happen to have a few pictures.

3. I’ve always loved babies and little boys and girls.

4. Whenever a mother brings a newborn infant into the church for the first time, smiles widen and a crowd forms. Right?

5. People swarm around to see and to touch and to coo and to beg for permission to hold this little package of joy in their arms.

6. Babies are great.

7. Jesus praised little children for their humble and trusting faith (Matthew 18:3,6), He opened His arms so they could come to Him, and warned people not to ever harm them. Jesus loves babies a lot!

8. Babies Grow Up

9. A lack of growth is a cause of concern.

A. Church is not a place to issue edicts; church is a place to nurture growth.

B. Church is not a place for little generals; church is a place for shepherds.

C. Church is a place that exists for the purpose of helping people grow and mature from being spiritual babies to being spiritual adults, so that they can help others grow up too

D. But nobody thinks it’s cute when a person remains a baby for too long.

E. If a small child never learns to walk and talk, never figures out how to feed himself, never outgrows his need for diapers, it’s a sign that something is terribly wrong.

F. If your baby were to ever stop growing up to maturity, you’d call it a tragedy.

G. If your teenagers were still acting just as immature as they did before they turned two, you’d be on the phone looking for professional help. Why? Because although we all love babies, we expect every baby to grow.

A. Jesus said that before we can ever be a part of God’s family and enter heaven, we must be born again (John 3:3)

B. The apostle Peter tells us that we all start out our Christian lives as "newborn babies" who need the pure milk of the Word. (1 Peter 2:2).

C. That is our spiritual starting point for all of us.
But God does not want any of His children to remain baby-like forever.

(Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV) 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. {13} For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. {14} 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.

(1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. {2} I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; {3} for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

D. Just as every other father does, our Father in Heaven wants His children to grow!

E. Specifically, God wants us all to grow up and to mature by continually becoming more like His first and favorite Son, Jesus Christ.

F. Please open your Bible to Ephesians 4:11-16.

G. This portion of Scripture that we will be studying today explains this concept of growth perhaps more clearly than any passage.

H. This passage explains why our involvement in a local church is so important to our spiritual life.

I. When God gave birth to the church in the First Century, He used apostles and prophets to establish healthy believers by means of writing down the New Testament Scriptures.

J. Today, God continues to build up the size and strength of Body of Christ through the work of evangelists, pastors and teachers.

K. But why bother? What’s God’s goal behind all of this

A. 12 -- "to prepare God’s people for works of service". This word "prepare" comes from a Greek word [katartizo] which speaks of repairing and preparing a person’s life in order to equip him and get him ready for service.
For example in Matthew 4:21, this same word is used to describe James and John as they repaired and prepared their nets for fishing. It says (v.216) this involved cleaning the nets of seaweed and sticks, then mending parts of their nets that had been torn or damaged, and then untangling and folding their nets so that they would be quickly useable at a moment’s notice. All of this preparation was so that their nets would be ready to catch more fish. [These nets were not being prepared for storage, but for service.]
[In ancient literature, this same word is also used to describe a physician who realigns a dislocated limb in its socket or who sets a broken bone, bringing healing from the pain of injury and putting it back into proper relationship with the rest of the body. Paul uses this word to describe bringing people to wholeness by completing what’s missing for their full spiritual development (2 Corinthians 13:9,11).] That’s the result of being repaired and prepared too. It gets you ready to be effective fishers of men.
The way it works is that through the process of being equipped, trained, prepared and completed, Christians are restored to their proper dignity as ministers.

B. According to 1 Peter 2:4,9, if you are a believer, you are a priest. Maybe you see yourself as just a regular, everyday, garden-variety Christian, but God sees you as part of a holy and royal priesthood. The ancient medieval distinction between clergy and laity, between priests and lay people, is completely unbiblical. The Bible calls you a priest! One of the key Baptist doctrines is "the priesthood of the believer".
What it means is that you and I are spiritual equals. I am no better than you are in the eyes of God. The fact that I went to seminary and wear the title of "pastor" is insignificant. God gives you authority to do ministry. You are not a second-class Christian. You are a minister. We have an entire congregation full of ministers. That includes you. So, if God gives you a vision to launch a new ministry that is uniquely your own, my desire is to release you to do it.

C. So when you’re talking to other people, please don’t call me "your minister," because according to the Bible, all of us are ministers.

D. Please don’t call me "Reverend," because only God is worthy of that title.

E. Don’t call me "clergy", because the Latin "clericus" means "priest", and scripturally, we are all priests before God,

F. Your prayers are just as effective as mine.

G. So, keep it simple; just call me "Dave". If you need to use a title, call me "brother."

H. The younger kids can call me "Brother Parks".

I. But please, no priestly pedestals.

J. Why? Because you are the ministers! Claim that title for yourself. You have a ministry!

K. In fact, a legitimate question for me to ask you is, "How’s your ministry going?"

L. Do you see it? God’s plan is -- "to prepare God’s people for works of service". The word for "service" or "ministry" in the Greek is diakonias, which is where our word "deacon" comes from.]

M. One of the reasons why God has you here in this local church is that He wants you to grow to become more mature through the process of serving others. God is using this local church to grow baby Christians into mature Christians. That’s why we’re here. We are growing baby Christians into mature Christians.

N. Babies are cute, babies are wonderful, babies are beautiful, but nobody wants to remain a baby forever. It wouldn’t be healthy. That’s why God’s plan for a healthy church is to grow baby Christians into mature Christians. God stimulates us to grow through the process of giving each one of us a ministry, a ministry that forces us to learn and stretch and grow up. It’s a good plan. Our Heavenly Father thought it up. It’s God’s healthy plan for a healthy church.

O. So, which practical step of growth will you choose to take today? Maybe you will decide to always link truth with love in communication. Maybe you will decide to get more closely connected to others in the Body through fellowship. Maybe you will decide to do your part to serve in a ministry. Whatever God is leading you to do, take that step toward your own spiritual growth today.

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