Who Are You Becoming?

Everybody take out your Bible or your device. Make sure you've downloaded the Refuge app, because there's notes that we put there every single week so that you can follow along during the message. And if you're joining us for the first time here in person or online, we're in a multi week series that started on August 10th entitled Mature Audiences Only. And we've been talking about spiritual maturity and what that looks like, what it means to pursue spiritual maturity. And we're still in this series.

We're in actually part seven this week, but I want to take three or four minutes and I want to just quickly review some of the things that we've been talking about. Maybe for those who are just joining us, or maybe you have missed some of the weeks of the series. But the reality is this, that across America especially, there's an epidemic of spiritual immaturity in the body of Christ. And research has shown why that is. And there's a number of reasons for that.

First of all, most Christians equate spiritual maturity with rule following. Who wants to do that? Who wants to give your life to just following a bunch of rules? Secondly, most churchgoers have no idea what their church expects when it comes to spiritual maturity. You've heard the old saying, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.

That's true. When it comes to spiritual maturity. If we don't know what the goal is, if we don't know what it looks like, people are just kind of wandering around, never really making progress in their spiritual growth. Number three, most Christians have a one dimensional view of spiritual maturity. In other words, they think it's just one aspect, one thing.

And as we've been talking about over the last six weeks, it's a conglomeration of many things. Number four, many pastors do not prioritize spiritual maturity for their church, nor do they see it as an issue. Well, that would explain why there's an epidemic of spiritual immaturity in the body of Christ if pastors don't even prioritize it. Let me tell you, you're part of a church that thinks it's pretty important and we're trying to equip you and help you so that you know what the goal is. And that's why we put a document in front of you on August 10th.

It's there on the app, it's still in the notes. You can go back and pull that up. But it's a document that our pastors created back in 2020, and we spent weeks talking about what is a disciple? What does spiritual maturity look like? And I just want to refer back to that because everything we're doing in this series flows from that five point document.

So we talked about the fact that a spiritually mature person is one who's died to self. And there's different indications of what it means to die to self.

First of all, we said dying to self means that you demonstrate and obey the laws of love, Jesus laws of love, which are this. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. So we talked about that. We talked about the second bullet point under that first point of dying to self, which means that you build bridges, you build relationships with sinners and with unbelievers.

Thirdly, it means that you live a blessed life according to the Sermon on the Mount. And we spent the last three weeks talking about Jesus most famous message, Matthew 5, 6, 7, and what that looks like for us. What does it mean to live according to the Sermon on the Mount? And then the fourth thing under that first point is that somebody who's dead to self serves other people. I preached a message I want to refer you back to on February 16th of this year.

And it's still available on our YouTube channel. It's still available on the website. And the entire message was about serving. It was about serving others. So that's the first point on that document that we created.

The second point was this, that we obey Jesus commands. Again, I want to refer you back to a message that I preached on March 2nd of this year. And the entire message was on obedience. Some of you remember I had my dog up here, that Daisy, Daisy who went insta famous with over 2 million views after that message. It was ridiculous, it was crazy.

But you can go back and see that message. It's all about obedience. Third point of the document says this. Somebody who's spiritually mature lives a life that displays and demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit. That's what we're talking about today.

And then two weeks from today, Pastor Prabhu mentioned next Sunday Pastor Nathan will be preaching and ministering as we honor the Smith family. But two weeks from today, we're going to talk about point four of the document. Point four says this spiritually mature people disciple others. We're going to talk about what that looks like. And then we'll wrap the series up with the last two Sundays of October and talking about 0.5, which says this.

If you're spiritually mature, then you practice biblical stewardship. We'll talk about what that means. You practice biblical stewardship, but today we're talking about living a life that displays and demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit. Take your device, take your Bible, if you will. Go to Galatians, chapter five, Galatians, chapter five, if you haven't done so already.

Pull the notes up on the refuge app. Stand to your feet to honor the greatest book on the planet.

In Galatians, chapter 5, we're beginning in verse 16. The apostle Paul writing to the church at Galatia. And he says this. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. Can anybody relate to that? Or am I the only one that deals with that kind of stuff?

Here's what Paul says. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. So you're not free to carry out your good intentions. I heard somebody say years ago, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Let me say it again. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the Apostle Paul says this, verse 18. But when you're directed by the Spirit, capital S by the Spirit, you're not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear.

Paul says, sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anybody living that sort of life, Paul says, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 22. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives. Say it with me.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Then he says, there's no law against these things. Let's make some declarations together before we dive into this today. Everybody together. Even those watching online.

You ready? Go. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This Word is life to my body.

I will be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. And I am confident of this.

We'll complete it in Jesus name. Do me a favor. Welcome everybody that's watching on the Panda app in prisons all over America. Come on, give it up for them. Amen.

We welcome you men and women. Thanks for joining us today.

Horace Greeley said This fame is a vapor. Popularity an accident. Riches take wing. Those who cheer today will curse tomorrow. Only one thing endures character.

Only one thing endures character. And some of you might be wondering, what does that have to do with with the fruit of the Spirit? You're going to find out in just a moment. In Matthew 4, the disciples are about to enter into a school of discipleship and fruit bearing that they didn't even see coming. They didn't even realize that's what was happening here.

In Matthew chapter 4, beginning in verse 18, it says this. And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And then he said to them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Notice this. They immediately left their nets and followed him.

Jesus says, come, follow me and I will make you. Come, follow me and I will make you listen. They were doing the right thing, but the result of the doing was different than the desired result of the one who gave them the ability to do what they were doing in the first place. Did I thoroughly confuse you with that statement? Let me say it again.

They were doing the right thing, but the result of what they were doing was different than the desired result of the one who gave them the ability to do what they were doing. Let me try to explain it this way. Maybe God's given you the ability to make money, and maybe you're using that ability to buy stuff and to impress other people. But there's a desired result of the one who gave you the ability to make money. And the desired result of the one who gave you that ability is not for you to just buy stuff and impress other people, but the desired result is that you would bless and not impress.

Come on, are you with me?

So Jesus says to them, hey man, what you're doing is okay. There's nothing wrong, nothing sinful about it, but there's a desired result that I have for you. Their result was catch fish. The desired result of the one who gave them the ability was to catch people. That was the desired result of the Master.

But in order for them to embrace a new paradigm, they there would have to be a change of being, not just a change of doing. That's key for us. There had to be a change of being, not just a change of doing. Jesus wanted to shift them into a new dimension. He says, come, follow me.

Now. Our part is to follow him. Our part is day after day after day to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, to Imitate Jesus to try to replicate what Jesus did while he was here on the earth. Come, follow me. That's our job.

He says, then I will make you into fishers of men. His job is to change us. Our job is to follow him and listen. Here's what happens. As we pursue him, change takes place.

As we enter into intimacy with him, our lives are transformed so that then we take on the image and the likeness of who he is. So what does it have to do with the fruit of the Spirit? Everything. You see, in the Greek, the word fruit is karpos, and it literally means character. It's the character of the spirit, the character of the person, of the Holy Spirit.

So it's not something we can just muster up on our own. It's not something we can do on our own. But it means that word karpos in the Greek means everything that's done in partnership with Jesus. And that's the key. Like, God's not asking you to manufacture these things in your own life.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience, self control. He's not saying you gotta just will yourself into these things when you recognize man. I'm not a very gentle person, but maybe if I. Maybe I can produce some gentleness. No, no, no, no.

It's in partnership with Jesus. Cause let me make something real clear. There's no way in your own ability that you can demonstrate and display the character of the Holy Spirit. It'll never happen. But as you enter into partnership and into intimacy and into relationship with.

With Jesus, all of a sudden you begin to bear fruit. And listen, fruitfulness is measured by character. Look what John 15 says. I'm the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes.

Anybody ever been pruned by the Lord? Y' all know what that's like, being pruned by the Lord? And sometimes we misinterpret that. We think God's mad at us. We think that the Lord's just being unfair.

We think that he's pruning us because he's just in a bad mood. And the Bible says that he prunes us because he sees potential in you to bear more fruit. He prunes you because he's like, now there's a person who's pursuing me, and they're capable of so much more. So I've got to cut some branches back so that they can bear more fruit for the kingdom's sake. Now listen to Me, by definition, Karpos fruit character results from two different lifestreams.

The Lord, who's the vine, living his life through us, the branches, he is the vine. We're the branches. And so this stream of Jesus, the vine, flowing through you and I, flowing through the branches so that we can yield what is eternal, we can display what is eternal, we can demonstrate the character of the person of the Holy Spirit. There's so many people that just think it's all about willpower. It's about willpower.

Well, I'm not a patient person, so I've got to will myself into this. That'd be like an apple tree saying, well, let me see if I can make some apples today.

You ever walked through an apple orchard and heard trees grunting and I got to make some apples? No, they don't go poo. There's an apple.

You know why? Because by their very nature, they produce apples.

They don't have to. And it's like so many people, I'm not a patient person. Let me see if I can produce some patience. We just get more frustrated because we're trying to will ourself into something that we're not capable of producing. Are you with me?

But listen, your nature is to bear fruit in partnership with Jesus, and you can't manufacture it. You can't produce it on your own. You can't be holy enough by yourself. But as you grow in relationship with Jesus and with the person of the Holy Spirit, guess what happens by nature. Fruit, Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control.

Not because you've willed yourself into it. Y' all with me? Is this making sense? Talk to me a little bit.

No, but just by you being in intimacy with the Holy Spirit, being in intimacy with Jesus, you were made in the image of Christ, and it's your nature to produce fruit. And if you just stay close to him, if you walk with him every single day and listen, some of the things that we've said in this series is that it's a process. Spiritual maturity is a process. We've said this over and over, that the choices you make today determine the person you'll become tomorrow. We said this, that it's long obedience in the same direction.

It's just day by day by day by day by day, just getting up and doing the thing that you know to do, following Jesus, not out of some religious rule following thing, but just out of a love relationship with him, with the One who died for you. And as you just do that, as you're faithful to do that day after day, guess what fruit will be produced in your life. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 17. Jesus says this. Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them by their fruit. Let me tell you something. There's a responsibility and a privilege on you and I to grow in the Lord, to mature in the Lord.

Why? Because according to what Peter said, we're living epistles known and read by all men. Do you understand and realize that a messed up world who the majority of people don't have a proper concept of who Jesus is. That the way that they're gonna know what Jesus looks like, how Jesus acts, is by the way that you and I live our lives.

And so we've been put here on the planet. We're alive in 2025, not so we can just have some great experiences and make some money and buy some stuff. No. The ultimate goal, the ultimate reason that you and I are here is so that we can grow in our relationship with Jesus. We can produce fruit from him so that this messed up watching world who doesn't understand properly who Jesus is can look at you and say, now I get it.

Now I understand what Jesus looks like. Now I understand more clearly who Jesus really is. That's the goal. That's what this is about. God's evaluation of us as he watches our spiritual growth and our development is not what are you doing?

But it's who are you becoming? Come on, somebody. It's not so much about what are you doing? It's about who are you becoming? So let me just give you this and then we'll close.

Just four foundational principles for you and I to understand and to embrace in order to display the fruit of the Spirit. Number one is this discipleship is following. Now, maybe you've caught on in the seven weeks that we're in this series, maybe you've caught on to this, that we have interchanged the words discipleship and spiritual maturity. Why? Because they're one and the same.

It's the same thing. That's right. You've heard me talk a lot about discipleship. You heard. You've heard us talk a lot about spiritual maturity.

They're the same thing. It's the same goal. It's what we're after in discipleship. Or spiritual maturity is following a disciple was an apprentice. You know what an Apprentice is somebody who enters into an apprenticeship maybe to learn a trade, maybe they become an apprentice to learn plumbing.

And they're learning the skills from somebody who's done it for a long, long time. But listen to me, let me make this clear. The goal is not to reproduce a skill. The goal is to reproduce the person, the master. So our goal in apprenticeship with Jesus, that's what discipleship is.

As we're following Him. The goal is not to just reproduce some skill. The goal is reproduce Jesus to the world. And we do that by following him day after day after day after day. Jesus called us to come.

He said, come, be with me. Why in the world would these guys walk away instantly from their livelihood, walk away from their nets, just by some guy coming along on the shores of the Sea of Galilee saying, hey, guys, come follow me. No, like we're making money. Why would they do that? Because they understood.

This is like we got invited to be in Harvard or, you know, you Yale or whatever. Here's a rabbi who's inviting us into apprenticeship with him. It's like, boom, no brainer. I'll walk away from the nets right now to follow this guy because we've heard about him. We know what a great teacher is.

We know he's opened blinded eyes, made lame people walk, raised people from the dead. Oh, yeah, I want to follow you so I can reproduce who you are. That's why they would walk away from everything. Come follow me. That was their job.

And I will make you, I'll transform you. I'll impart to you not what I do, but who I am. Jesus is. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this. Christianity without discipleship, always Christianity without Christ.

Number two. We have to understand and embrace this principle. Many people want to be inspired in church, but very few people are willing to be changed.

When he invited them to follow him, they dropped their nets. They immediately started pursuing him, following him. And what they did immediately brought about a change gradually. In other words, it wasn't instantaneous. Listen to me, discipleship is not a three week class.

Discipleship is not a six month program. Discipleship is a lifelong journey of following Jesus. Are you with me? We're so addicted to instant gratification.

We want the change to happen overnight. We want to just go faithfully to church for six months and think, man, I'm spiritually mature now. And if we're not, we just get frustrated and leave. And so many people are content to just be inspired in church. Let me just show up, let me get a goosebump, let me Jump around, let me worship, hear a message, walk out the doors.

But I don't really care about being changed. Listen, I've been doing this a long time, over four decades.

And there's so many people in the American church that want to come in, they want to hang out, they want to worship, but they're like, don't get all up in my business.

Seriously. It's like, hey, man, let me do my thing. But don't mess with my life, don't mess with my lifestyle. Pastor. And when somebody starts doing that, a small group leader or a pastor or leader in the church starts really digging in and saying, hey, man, let me help you journey with Jesus.

And then they immediately back up. Why? Because they want to be inspired, but they have no desire to really be changed. Here's number three. We have to desire relationship more than we do an experience.

Let me tell you something. One of the reasons we have so many people that Church Hop America is because people are addicted to the experience.

And after they come to the church and they're here for a few months or they're here for a year, and then they hear about some experience somewhere else, and they jump to another church and they do the same thing there. And then they hear about something going on at some other place and jump to that. Why? Because they're addicted to the experience. And.

And their roots never go deep. That's a reason we have an epidemic of spiritual immaturity, is because people are not willing to be faithful, to stick it out through the stuff, through the hard times, through the junk that goes on. And people digging into their lives and the relationships and the complexities, they're not willing to stick it out. Why? Because they just want the experience without the relationship.

Listen, a wedding is an experience. You, marriage is a relationship.

Hey, having a baby is an experience. Parenting is a relationship. Let me tell you, spiritual maturity is not just about coming in for a few weeks or a few months and having some goosebump experience, attending some revival services, having a goosebump experience. No, it's about obedience, long obedience in the same direction. It's about relationship with Jesus, relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit, and relationship with others in the body of Christ who love you enough that they'll call you out on stuff and they'll help you to grow.

Are y' all hearing me today?

Here's the fourth thing. Discipleship is a partnership with him to go from one way of life to another.

When we walk with him, we don't know the exact moment that everything changes. For us. And we can hopefully mark the day that we invited Christ into our hearts. We know our salvation experience, and things instantly change, right? We go from old to new.

If any man be in Christ sees a new creature, old things are passed away, all things are made new, Right? But it doesn't end there. That's just the very beginning of this lifelong journey with Jesus where we're changed in a moment, we're changed in an instant, but then we start walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We start walking very closely with him, in partnership with him. And over time we are transformed into his image.

We take on his nature, his character. And we can't say, oh man, I know the day I became spiritually mature. No, you don't. No, because it just happens gradually over time where all of a sudden you might realize, man, you know what? I used to be the most impatient person and now I have so much more patience than I used to.

It's because you're maturing in the things of the Lord. I used to have such an issue. People will say with self control, but man, I don't know the moment it happened, but I just know as I've served him, I have so much more self control. And it's not self in control itself under the control of the Holy Spirit as you learn to submit to Him. And sadly enough, there's so many people who don't realize or maybe don't believe that they can have a relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit.

That's a game changer.

Everything changes when you enter into a relationship with a person of the Holy Spirit and then you can display who he is. A lifelong journey that leads us to a place of contentment. Listen, here's the thing. Obedience is your opportunity to be the person that God says that you are. The person that God sees that you are.

It's obedience. It's saying yes to the Lord. Not just once, but every day. Every day you wake up and you say yes to him. You say yes to him even when it's tough, even when it's hard.

You say yes to him. Jesus, I want to be like you. That's the goal. That's the goal. I want to be like Jesus.

I don't want to just check the religious boxes. I don't want to just try to impress people around me. No, he's the pearl of great price. He's the ultimate prize. And I just want to be transformed into his image.

And I want to display to this watching world who Jesus is. Listen, we were all lied to. When we were growing up. And here's the lie. Practice makes perfect.

No, it doesn't. There's no perfection this side of heaven. Practice doesn't make perfect, but practice makes possible and practice makes permanent. Let me say it again. Practice doesn't make perfect.

Practice makes possible doing the same thing over and over in relationship with Jesus. And practice makes permanent. So that just becomes routine. It becomes normal for you to obey scripture. It becomes normal for you to acknowledge the Lord in every aspect of your life.

The question is this. Who am I becoming? And I'm going to leave you with this. And then we're going to pray. If you are not intentionally being discipled by Jesus, listen to me.

You are unintentionally being discipled by the world.

If you are not being intentionally discipled by Jesus. And it just doesn't happen by osmosis. It doesn't just happen because you desire that. No. It happens because you pursue Him.

And if you're not pursuing him, let me tell you something. Without you even realizing, you're unintentionally being discipled by the world and by the Antichrist spirit that's so prevalent in our community, in our world, pursue him.

Become who he says you can be.

Again. The goal is not to do something. The goal is to be like Jesus. Would you.