Spiritual Maturity is Never an End in Itself

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES What On Earth Am I Here For?

Spiritual Maturity is Never an End in Itself By Rick Warren — Oct 6, 2015 “Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 TLB) We are commanded to serve God. Jesus was unmistakable: “Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28 TLB). For Christians, service is not something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came “to serve” and “to give” — and those two verbs should define your life on Earth, too. Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe. Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. The old comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea is still true. Galilee is a lake full of life because it takes in water but also gives it out. In contrast, nothing lives in the Dead Sea because, with no outflow, the lake has stagnated. The last thing many believers need is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need is serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles. Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we’re more interested in “serve us” than service. We say, “I’m looking for a church that meets my needs and blesses me,” not “I’m looking for a place to serve and be a blessing.” We expect others to serve us, not vice versa. But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives should increasingly shift to living a life of service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, “Who’s going to meet my needs?” and starts asking, “Whose needs can I meet?” PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What has God been teaching you lately? How have you expressed it through ministry? What do you think: are you more interested in being served by or serving in your church? Why? How does service make believers stand out in the world? Our Gift: The Purpose Driven Life, Expanded Edition Hardback Book PLUS 3 What Is the Purpose of My Life? booklets Since its release The Purpose Driven Life has been translated into 85 different languages and has become the “Bestselling non-fiction hardback book in history” according to Publishers Weekly, all because of the Christ centered approach the book takes to answering life’s most fundamental question: What on Earth Am I Here For? LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren What On Earth Am I Here For? teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: The Call Is For You Message 2: ​​​​Called To Be Loved Message 3: ​​​​You Are Called To Belong Message 4: ​​​You Are Called To Become Message 5: You Are Called To Bless Message 6: I'm Called To Be Sent Message 7: Why God Made You! PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2015 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe