- Sermon Title: Step Into Growth Hebrews 5:11-14
Sometimes the greatest thing someone can do for you is to tell you the truth. Some people respond well to it, while others, the confrontation is far too much to handle emotionally. - A friend telling you that you’re not the same you used to be. A boss telling you that you need to reengage with your work. A doctor who tells you that you need to change your lifestyle.
- It stings. But its truthful and helpful to bring you back to reality and focus.
- That’s what’s happening here in Hebrews. The writer has made a hard turn from explaining who Christ is, to now how you must apply it to your lives. From information to intervention.
- To listener of Hebrews, it might come as quite jarring………receive it as such///. The week after Christmas can be emotionally dead, or at least physically draining. Back to reality!
- The Christ child arrived. What are you going to do about it? Step into growth. Don’t stagnate.
- Spiritual stagnation is not neutral. God expects His people to grow, and growth is revealed by what we hear, what we teach, what we consume, and how we discern. Step into growth.
1. Grow in Hearing (v.11)
Bible putdowns seem to have a much deeper sting that normal language
- 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
- One of the things that bothers me is when people say to me “didn’t you hear what I said”
- Obviously I didn’t. If I had heard what you had said, I would have heard it. I wasn’t listening.
- Not listening is much different than ‘dull of hearing’. This means you aren’t comprehending.
- The writer of Hebrews is saying, I’ve explained to you but you’re losing the ability to hear it
- Heb2:1 we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
- And that’s the challenge of Hebrews and Christianity- once you stop hearing you stop growing, once you stop growing you’re going to start drifting. If you drift you die. You grow you live.
- These believers once heard clearly, but over time they became selective in what they were willing to hear. They went from onfire for Jesus to why do I have to go to church
- Growth begins when we regain spiritual attentiveness and start listening to what God is actually saying, not just what we prefer to hear. Christ is in us, we exalt him by listening to him!
- How much longer are you going to live a dull life because you have dull ears?
- Zech 7:11–12 READ There’s some distinctions in that verse- which are true of the dull of hearing
- Refused to heed– They heard it with their ears, they just didn’t want to apply it
- Shrugged their shoulders- really an indifferent mindset, ‘whatever’ no big deal
- Stopped their ears- There’s a point you just close your ears to truth- all of it
- Made their hearts like flint- God doesn’t do this- you do this through refusal
- Refused to hear what God had sent- God tries to help and direct but people refuse
- Then only wrath- God always brings a measure of wrath to the disobedient.
- don’t life a life with Refusal, shrugging, closed ears and get wrath. You don’t have to! Listen!
- Matthew 13:15 READ You’re not going to grow if your ears cant hear and your eyes are closed.
- How do you grow in hearing? Pro 4:20–22 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
- Do you notice the key here? Give attention to what God is saying. Incline your hear. Life v death
- God loves you enough to give you clear ways to stay close to him in relationship.
- You ‘incline your ear’. Make a demonstrative disctinctive switch in your posture. incline
- Choose attentiveness You decide in advance that God’s voice has priority. Listening is not automatic. It’s an act of the will. You say- Christ is exalted when I listen to his loving voice.
- Move closer to the source You reduce distance and distraction. You reposition your life so God’s Word can be heard clearly. Ancient world- you actually leaned towards who was speaking
- Submit before you understand Inclining your ear assumes you’re willing to obey before you fully grasp the outcome. When you trust someone you don’t need full explanation. You obey
- Stay teachable It’s the opposite of dullness. A person who inclines their ear expects to be corrected, shaped, and led. They realize that they have areas to grow and expect more.
2. Grow in Teaching (v.12)
12 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.
- By now, the writer says, you should be teachers. He’s saying-we’ve been at this so long that at this point you should be pouring out into other people, not constantly receiving.
- You are adequately full enough to teach others- you just need to stop waiting to be asked.
- Growth means you stop the ‘WIFM’ and move to the Whats in it for Others. WIFO-
- If faith never flows out of us, it will eventually stagnate within us. God’s design is that every mature believer becomes a conduit, not a container. He loves us so we will love others!
- Chapter 6 will show us the basics and it connects here-
- People want the deeper things of God but they aren’t walking in the shallow things of God
- Turning from sin and self righteousness. I preach this to help you grow in Christ! Get it out
- Active faith towards God- Not believing facts- a posture of faith in all areas of life and practice
- Instruction About Baptisms- Not the mode- the meaning- Having allegiance publicly.
- Living out faith by laying on of hands- blessing others, imparting spiritual gifts, prayer
- Resurrection of the Dead future bodily resurrection. our hope is not escape, but restoration.
- Eternal Judgment Accountability before God. History moves to a conclusion, not randomness.
- But when you live in this cyclical life of what do I believe, am I a Christian, am I going to live a Christian life, is this who I am, lets argue about the basics of our faith etc. you’re lifeless
- If you never progress past the basics, you’ll never disciple anyone and that’s the goal
- Matthew 28:19 therefore Go and make disciples of all nations
- Who are you discipling and who have you discipled in the faith that you are a part of?
- ‘but I don’t know everything’. You don’t have to know everything. Teach the basics. Teach love
- We have a discipleship guide on the app that you can use. The only person stopping it is you.
- ‘who do I disciple’. Well, if you moved past your own selfish spiritual growth and looked around, you could see new or lost people in the church you could teach. People do this w/o being asked!
- At the minimum you should Deut 6:6–7 Teach them diligently to your children.
- God lovingly gave us a church so we can grow together in HIM for HIS glory.
- Whats in it for me? They say. You grow when you help others grow. Grow In discipleship.
- Here’s some practical application for this point- Ezra 7:10 He prepared his heart to study the Law… and to teach statutes and ordinances.- Here’s a few- Love others- Make it about Jesus
- Start by realizing that You know the basic principles of God and that God want more than milk for you. Then pray that God would embolden you and lead you to begin to disciple others.
- You know the greatest step you take to grow in your discipleship of others?
3. Grow in the Word (v.13)
13everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
- The wording here is so rich and demeaning at the same time- you’re a baby who needs milk
- Ouch! Milk is not bad, but it is insufficient over time. Its even ok to have a little milk
- But babies live on milk, not adults and the basics should already be settled in your life
- You must grow into your knowledge of the word of God. It must be central to your life.
- Remaining on milk produces spiritual immaturity and instability. I love you enough to tell you!
- Psalm 1:1–3 His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
- Man, I try so hard to get you to be people of the word of God. I use constant scriptures in sermons, post on facebook every day, bible studies, sermons, now we have the weekly devotion
- But there’s still people who never make the time to spend time in the word of God
- If you are refusing to make time for the word you are unskilled in the word and a milk baby.
- More doom scrolling, tv, streaming, hobbies, sleeping, exercising, talking etc is m ore important.
- Time in the word is the best time that you can spend doing anything. Brings him most glory!
- If you don’t know God- you can know him 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.
- As a 15 year old convert I was able to easily understand the basics and mid level scriptures.
- If 15 year old Matt can do it, there is zero reason why you cant do it. Its just your apathy.
- It really bothers me when people say “church shouldn’t be so complicated for the unbeliever”
- Listen- if you feel like you met God, get into his word. Christianity isn’t hard to learn
- If you gave God two hours a day, you could read the whole Bible in forty days. The issue isn’t access. It’s appetite. How important is it for you to grow in your knowledge of God?
- How do you grow in the word?
- You have to view the word correctly- John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
- When we read the words of Jesus they are the source of our life and practice in him. Read them
- You have to meditate on it- Jo 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night.
- You can’t mediate on what you don’t know- ‘he will keep him in perfect peace who’s mind is stayed on you’. I don’t even know the address- I don’t need the address. I need the word!
- You have to let it lead you. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
- Its not about knowledge its about life change- when you let it dwell in you it changes you.
- Become skilled in the word of righteousness and you’ll move past the milk!
- I’ve met countless men with no formal education that know the word inside and out because they became students of it! The issue isn’t education its perspiration. Will you do the work?
- Theres zero excuses in 2026 to not ingesting the word. Print, phone, online, recorded.
- I promise you- ‘read your bible pray every day and you’ll grow-grow-grow’
4. Grow in Discernment (v.14)
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.
- Our faith isn’t a faith of reading and knowing- it’s a practical useful faith for our lives.
- But there’s a measure of maturity of our faith and only comes through ‘reason of use’
- You have to practice your faith. You have to walk it out to grow in it. Grow in love by loving more
- Proverbs 2:5 says- we can understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
- King Solomon prayed– 1 Kings 3:9 Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
- We can grow in this discernment. But it has to be led by the word of God and spirit of God
- 1 John 4:1 Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.
- We have to grow in our discernment of what is of God and what isn’t so we aren’t led astray
- Pr 2:10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
- That’s the joy of discernment- you understand and you don’t drift. You are kept from evil.
- Maturity results in trained senses. Discernment is developed, not gifted. You get involved
- Its very sad to me to see Christians that should have known better be led astray through apathy or the passion of another person who has a theological bend they know more than you
- Seen it many times- people haven’t grown in their own bible and wolves lead them astray.
- Discernment comes through practice, obedience, and repeated exposure to truth.
- The failsafe in this church is that I always push you back to the word. I will not lead you astray.
- How do do we grow in our discernment?
- Stay grounded in the word. Stick with the word. Always the word. The WHOLE word, not just one word. Cults, aberrant theologies, wolves, false prophets, all hand pick a dozen verses
- Stick with historical Christianity- what has been true for the longest period of time. Your goal isn’t to become spiritually intelligent and impressive, its to be spiritually discerning-
- To be able to hear, read, or see something and say- that’s not of God, I don’t want anything to do with it. My life is to honor Christ and display his glory. Its not about me at all.
- Directly apply scripture to your life- do what the word says in practice and see what it does
- When you forgave did it change? When you loved? Served? Gave? Read? Worshipped?
- The practical application of the word of God will teach you the discernment of its truth.
- This is a warning– 2 Ti 4:3-4 the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
- Paul is not warning about one specific heresy but about a pattern of false doctrine shaped by human appetite rather than biblical truth.
- Avoiding repentance, centered on self, redefinition of God’s loving character, lack of holiness, saved without submission, Experience over scripture, feelings over the authority of the word
- Glory w/o suffering, christ w/o a cross, victory w/o obedience. Entertaining goats. Weak morals
- A Mature Christian hears the word, teaches the word, knows the word and discerns it!
- They know Good and evil and walk in victory because they are no longer on MILK but FOOD
- Be committed. Step into growth. See what God can do with it.
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