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To TEACH you how to read AND apply God\\u2019s Word to your life.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

To HELP you see your life from God\\u2019s perspective.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,\\xa0rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,\\xa0so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

For it is by grace\\xa0you have been saved,\\xa0through faith\\u2014and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\\u2014\\xa0not by works,\\xa0so that no one can boast.\\xa0Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

For we are God\\u2019s handiwork,\\xa0created\\xa0in Christ Jesus to do good works,\\xa0which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

Message Title:\\xa0 \\u201cSpiritual Maturity\\u201d

There is a point we all must reach physically, mentally, and SPIRITUALLY where we move past IMMATURITY into MATURITY.

The goal is not PERFECTION\\u2026 but PROGRESSION.

As a prisoner\\xa0for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy\\xa0of the calling\\xa0you have received.\\xa0Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another\\xa0in love.\\xa0 Make every effort to keep the unity\\xa0of the Spirit through the bond of peace.\\xa0Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

There is one body\\xa0and one Spirit,\\xa0just as you were called to one hope when you were called;\\xa0one Lord,\\xa0one faith, one baptism;\\xa0one God and Father of all,\\xa0who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

But to each one of us\\xa0grace\\xa0has been given\\xa0as Christ apportioned it\\u2026 Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

So Christ himself gave\\xa0the apostles,\\xa0the prophets,\\xa0the evangelists,\\xa0the pastors and teachers,\\xa0to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ\\xa0may be built up until we all reach unity\\xa0in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God\\xa0and become mature,\\xa0attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

Then we will no longer be infants,\\xa0tossed back and forth by the waves,\\xa0and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.\\xa0Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

Instead, speaking the truth in love,\\xa0we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,\\xa0that is, Christ.\\xa0 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows\\xa0and builds itself up\\xa0in love,\\xa0as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer\\xa0live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.\\xa0 They are darkened in their understanding\\xa0and separated from the life of God\\xa0because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.\\xa0 Having lost all sensitivity,\\xa0they have given themselves over\\xa0to sensuality\\xa0so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

That, however, is not the way of life you learned\\xa0when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.\\xa0Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off\\xa0your old self,\\xa0which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;\\xa0to be made new in the attitude of your minds;\\xa0and to put on\\xa0the new self,\\xa0created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV)

1. We fight for UNITY.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another\\xa0in love.\\xa0 Make every effort to keep the unity\\xa0of the Spirit through the bond of peace.\\xa0 Ephesians 2:2-3 (NIV)

The first sign of a mature Christian is\\u2026 how well they fight for unity.

2. We are CONTRIBUTERS, not CONSUMERS.

So Christ himself gave\\xa0the apostles,\\xa0the prophets,\\xa0the evangelists,\\xa0the pastors and teachers,\\xa0to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ\\xa0may be built up until we all reach unity\\xa0in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God\\xa0and become mature,\\xa0attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 11:13 (NIV)

A mark of maturity is recognizing the needs of the house\\u2026 and acting with initiative.\\xa0

3. We are confident in what we BELIEVE.

Then we will no longer be infants,\\xa0tossed back and forth by the waves,\\xa0and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.\\xa0Ephesians 4:14 (NIV)

Instead, speaking the truth in love,\\xa0we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,\\xa0that is, Christ.\\xa0Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV)

Confidence is not an excuse for hatefulness.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows\\xa0and builds itself up\\xa0in love,\\xa0as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV)

4. We are pursuing of HOLINESS.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off\\xa0your old self,\\xa0which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires\\u2026\\xa0Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

\\u2026to be made new in the attitude of your minds;\\xa0and to put on\\xa0the new self,\\xa0created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

The pursuit of holiness is God\\u2019s invitation for us to be like Him.

5. We are living in the LIGHT.

For you were once\\xa0darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light\\xa0(for the fruit\\xa0of the light consists in all goodness,\\xa0righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.\\xa0Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV)

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,\\xa0but rather expose them.\\xa0 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.\\xa0 But everything exposed by the light\\xa0becomes visible\\u2014and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.\\xa0 Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV)

This is why it is said: \\u201cWake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.\\u201d Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV)

Be very careful, then, how you live\\u2014not as unwise but as wise,\\xa0making the most of every opportunity,\\xa0because the days are evil.\\xa0 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord\\u2019s will is. Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV)

Living in the light breeds integrity; Living in the dark breeds hypocrisy. \\xa0

6. We are full of the HIS SPIRIT.

Do not get drunk on wine,\\xa0which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit\\u2026\\xa0Ephesians 5:18-19 (NIV)

\\u2026speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord\\u2026 Ephesians 5:18-19 (NIV)

When you are full of the Spirit\\u2026 you are under the spiritual influence of something that alters your natural state.

7. We are full of GRATITUDE.

\\u2026always giving thanks\\xa0to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20 (NIV)

Being thankful is foundational part of true spiritual maturity.

I urge you to live a life worthy\\xa0of the calling\\xa0you have received.\\xa0Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)