Grow Spiritually Becoming More Like Jesus

Grow Spiritually Becoming More Like Jesus

Colossians 2:6‭-‬7 GW

You received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live as Christ’s people. Sink your roots in him and build on him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving.

1.) GROWING ROOTS

Accepting Jesus (or "starting a relationship with Jesus" or "inviting Jesus into your life" or "becoming a Christian") is not the same thing asfollowing Jesus. It's just the first step in a lifetime of steps.

Sadly, some people never move past accepting Jesus. They say "yes" to his forgiveness, enjoy the moment, and then set it aside. Maybe they think "following Jesus" is like following someone on social media, which is totally passive. All you need to do is click a link, swipe a screen, or confirm a request.

But following Jesus requires us to be actively and intentionally connected to him personally. We can't just check in now and then, or mute his updates or ignore the notifications. We need to make time to be with him, to listen to him, to learn about him, and to learn from him. 

In these verses, Paul writes: 

"Just as you haveaccepted Jesus as your Lord, you must continue tofollow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught..."

Accepting is step one. Following is every step that comes after that.

TO THINK ABOUT

What's the difference betweenaccepting and following?

What are some ways you can become a deep follower of Jesus ("let your roots grow down into him")?

What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of your life?

2.) SEEDS and SOIL

Scripture

Luke 8:4‭-‬15 GW

When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Jesus from every city, he used this story as an illustration: “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds. Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture. Others were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up with them and choked them. Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.” After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!” His disciples asked him what this story meant. Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given ⌊directly⌋ to you. But it is given to others in stories. When they look, they don’t see, and when they hear, they don’t understand. “This is what the story illustrates: The seed is God’s word. Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. They hear the word, but then the devil comes. He takes the word away from them so that they don’t believe and become saved. Some people are like seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it. The seeds that were planted among thornbushes are people who hear the word, but as life goes on the worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke them. So they don’t produce anything good. The seeds that were planted on good ground are people who also hear the word. But they keep it in their good and honest hearts and produce what is good despite what life may bring.

Human hearts are like soil. Things grow there - thoughts, ideas, and attitudes. Some of the things that grow are good. Some aren't. Even in the most beautiful gardens, weeds grow and need to be pulled so the good plants can be healthy. And even in the rockiest places, where there's no dirt to be seen, trees and other plants find ways to grow. But they can't survive heavy storms, and they won't grow tall and strong without deep roots.

Heart "soil" can change. Hard and rocky hearts can be transformed into gentle and loving hearts. Dry and dusty hearts can be changed into joyful and kind hearts. Weedy hearts can be changed into clean and pure hearts. 

We can't change our hearts on our own. Only God can make that kind of change, which he promises to do if we give up control and trust him to work in our lives. 

TO THINK ABOUT

What things might cause a heart to be rocky? shallow? filled with weeds and thorns?

What needs to change about the "soil" of your heart?

Even healthy soil needs tending - weeding, fertilizing, mulching, etc. How do you tend the soil of your heart? What tending do you still need?

3.) GOOD FRUIT and BAD

Luke 6:43‭-‬44 GW

“A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. You don’t pick figs from thorny plants or grapes from a thornbush.

One way to measure how closely we're really following Jesus is to take an honest look at our lives. (You could ask another person to give you feedback about this, too - your leader, a pastor, a mentor, a friend).

Jesus said, "A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit". He's talking about people, not trees. And "fruit" symbolizes our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. 

"Good fruit" are things like love, joy, peace, patience, honesty, kindness, goodness, justice, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. 

"Bad fruit" are things like selfishness, pride, greed, anger, envy, gossip, unkindness, and hatred.

As we follow Jesus and grow closer to him, his Spirit living in us will help us produce more and more good fruit, and less and less bad fruit. The changes in thoughts, attitudes, and actions will continue for a person's whole life because God is never done teaching us, shaping us, encouraging us, and transforming us into the person he created us to be - someone who consistently loves him and loves others.

TO THINK ABOUT

What "good fruit" are the least natural for you? Why?

What things would you add to the list of good fruit?

How does the Spirit help you produce good fruit?

4.) TREES and STREAMS

Psalms 1:1‭-‬6 GW

Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers. Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord and reflects on his teachings day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams— a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does. Wicked people are not like that. Instead, they are like husks that the wind blows away. That is why wicked people will not be able to stand in the judgment and sinners will not be able to stand where righteous people gather. The Lord knows the way of righteous people, but the way of wicked people will end.

Jeremiah 17:8‭-‬10 GW

He will be like a tree that is planted by water. It will send its roots down to a stream. It will not be afraid in the heat of summer. Its leaves will turn green. It will not be anxious during droughts. It will not stop producing fruit. “The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is. I, the Lord , search minds and test hearts. I will reward each person for what he has done. I will reward him for the results of his actions.

Trees are awesome. Next to God and humans, trees are mentioned in the Bible more than any other living thing. In Bible poetry, trees rejoice, dance, and clap their hands to worship God.

Trees are a great metaphor for followers of Jesus. If they are deeply rooted and have access to water, trees will flourish, they will bear fruit, they will be healthy, and they willgrow.

That's true for us, too. If we have deep roots (meaning we spend time with God, learning to know and love him more each day) and if we have access to "water" (meaning we are feeding our life of faith with the right things, like the Bible, prayer, worship, time with other Christians, serving), we will be healthy and will produce the kind of fruit you read about yesterday. 

Some people think "doing good things" is the same as "producing good fruit." But that's not necessarily true. If "doing good things" is a result of loving God and wanting to follow him, that's great. But "if doing good things" is a way of trying to earn God's love, that's not great. And it's not the way God works. We don't need to earn his love. He offers it freely. 

During the stormy spring season, the trees in my backyard sway wildly. Dead branches fly off. The trunks bend over until I'm sure they'll break off. Leaves fly through the air in spinning swirls. But the healthy trees don't fall over. They survive because their roots are deep, because they have access to fresh water, and because they soak up the sun's rays each day. I know these trees are healthy, even if it's not a season when they bear fruit, because they survive the bad storms. They flourish, even through difficulty and pain. Jesus makes that possible for us, too.

TO THINK ABOUT

As a follower of Jesus, how are you like (or not like) a tree planted by streams of water?

As a follower of Jesus, what are the "streams of water" that feed you?

What things can help you grow deep roots of faith?

5.) VINE and BRANCHES

John 15:1‭-‬17 GW

⌊Then Jesus said,⌋ “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit. “You are already clean because of what I have told you. Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me. “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me. Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned. If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours. You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples. “I have loved you the same way the Father has loved me. So live in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will live in my love. I have obeyed my Father’s commandments, and in that way I live in his love. I have told you this so that you will be as joyful as I am, and your joy will be complete. Love each other as I have loved you. This is what I’m commanding you to do. The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends. You are my friends if you obey my commandments. I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. You didn’t choose me, but I chose you. I have appointed you to go, to produce fruit that will last, and to ask the Father in my name to give you whatever you ask for. Love each other. This is what I’m commanding you to do.

In these verses, Jesus is talking to his closest friends. He weaves together different parts of following him.

a. God loves Jesus (verse 9).

b. Jesus loves us the same way God loves him (verse 9).

c. We abide in (or stay connected to) Jesus as we accept his love (verse 4 and others).

d. We obey Jesus as we abide in him (verse 10).

e. We bear fruit as we obey and abide in Jesus (verse 5).

f. We show we are his disciples(learners and followers) as we bear fruit (verse 8).

g. We now love others (verse 17) which is possible because God loves us (verse 1).

All these things are tied together in a genuine relationship with Jesus. We don't get to pick and choose which parts of following Jesus we like best. We can't just spend time alone with Jesus - we must also serve others. We can't just bear fruit - we must also grow deep roots of faith and wisdom.

All of the things are connected to each other and flow from each other. Love, abide, obey, fruit, learn, love, abide, obey, fruit, learn, love, abide, obey ... 

You get the idea. Following Jesus as Lord (not just hanging out with him as a friend) starts and ends with love, and is filled with abiding, learning, and bearing good fruit.

TO THINK ABOUT

How do you "abide" in Jesus on your own? with others?

What parts of the love-abide-obey-fruit-learn-love process is hardest for you? Why?

How do you feel about "being obedient" to God? Why?

If you feel blessed by this please share with friends so they can partake in the blessings of the Good Lord