MILK, MEAT, AND MATURITY

The writer of Hebrews in chapter five, verses 12-14, chides the congregation for their lack of spiritual growth. The foundational principles ought to have been learned and built upon. When they should have been focused on growing, they were still fixated on grounding. The preacher must consider his audience and feed them appropriately.

Babes need MILK, “you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe,” (v. 12b-13). They would choke on meat. We should always have some infants in the audience. That means the church is engaged in evangelism and new spiritual babes are being birthed into the family of God. The preachers and teachers must consider them and nurture them. Only as they are given milk will they have healthy growth.

Adults need MEAT, “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,” (v. 14). If the preachers and teachers only offer milk and do not give meat when the believers need it, then their growth will be stunted and they may well seek another local church where meat is offered. There ought always be grown-ups in the congregation, for this means the church is dedicated to discipleship. Solid, substantial Scriptural truths are given to them to chew on as growth is sustained.

Soul nourishment brings MATURITY. Babies are precious, but if they never develop then there is a problem. As that is contrary to the normal physical pattern, it is likewise in the spiritual realm. 

This is evidenced by duplication, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers,” (v. 12a). Children have matured biologically when they can reproduce. They not only have the capacity to do so, but the competency for doing so. Maturing disciples multiply disciples. The taught become teachers. 

It is also manifested in discernment, “that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” (v. 14). The immature are easily led astray. Children are naive and gullible. You have to keep poisons locked away from them or they will consume them. The church may have those prone to drink toxins as if it were truth. Cult members target such. Adults have learned to weigh what is presented to them. There is discernment that detects what is good and they swallow it, but the evil doesn’t pass, “the smell test.” They sniff it, and usually turn from it, but if they taste it they spit it out!

The healthy church family is one where new babies are being birthed and given milk to mature them, and where maturing saints are discipled as they are given meat to multiply them. The church’s preachers and teachers must be mature and model this if they are thus to lead the congregation.

IS THERE STUBBORN REJECTION OR SCRIPTURAL RECEPTION?

“‘But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.’” (Zechariah‬ ‭7:11-14‬‬)

If you were to ask me about how many responded to the sermon last Sunday, I would tell you, “100% !  Everyone responded. Some said, ‘Yes,’ and some said, ‘No,’ but all responded.” Each time you walk out of the meeting house doors, you leave better or worse—closer to God or farther away.

Notice in these verses how the rejection of the Word became more pronounced. Truth makes a heart healthy or hard.

Arteriosclerosis is a physical malady where the arteries that carry the life-giving flow of blood become hard and clogged by cholesterol.  The result can be stroke, heart-attack, even death.  It is all the more deadly because the development of the disease is slow, gradual, almost imperceptible.

Spiritual arteriosclerosis is the hardening of our heart against the Word and the Lord. Likewise, the sinister, subtle nature of it can be deadly to the state of our soul. There is a way back to God. Repentance can be the surgical scalpel to open our heart and begin restoring our health.

What you have just read will be helpful or hurtful, depending on your response. Don’t shrug your shoulders, stop your ears, and stiffen your neck against the Word, as these did in Zechariah’s day.

THE STATE OF YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH

“Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah‬ ‭7:12‬‬)

Each year, I have a physical.  At my age you get poked and prodded—not something I look forward to—but, very important.  The doctor will examine me to determine the state of my physical health.

As we head into the final months of 2019, what is the state of your spiritual health?  It is an opportune time for us to take an examination.

Not only are we to be concerned about our spiritual health, but the health of the church—the body of Christ.  A healthy church has five focal points: worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship and ministry.  These are the vital signs we must evaluate.

This week we are going to get under the X-ray of the Word of God.  The place to begin is in the area of worship—so crucial to spiritual health.  If we aren’t healthy here, we won’t be anywhere for this is the matter of the heart.  As you can see in the passage in Zechariah, the people had spiritual heart trouble.

Have you checked your pulse lately?  Does your heart beat with a passion for love for God?  Or, is there a hardening of the arteries—clogged with concern for the things of the world?