This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 12th 2025 by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here. Maturing on the Move: From Shallow Faith to Deep Roots
A Journalist goes to this famous hospital and asks - are there any big men who were born here? And the nurse answers, no sir, only babies are born here.
We all come into the kingdom born again as babies, regardless of age. And just as in the natural, we go through the stages of growth -
Infants: 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”
Children: Eph 4:14 “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes”
Young men and women 1 John 2: 14 “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
Mature manhood / womanhood - Hebrews 5:13 “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Maturity is the ability to prioritize values over impulses.” Stephen Covey.
Just as in the natural, no stage is bad and everyone’s journey is different. But the will of God for us is that we are moving towards maturity. If we want to say like Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.(2 Tim 4:7), we need a mature faith.
What does it mean to mature? It is not a measure of age/ success/ position/ stature… Eph 4:13 “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Maturity means to look like Jesus.
How do we do that?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Perspective - “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” The Big picture! We are not alone. God, in eternity past, created us to look like him - made us in his image. But the fall separates us when we are out of relationship with God, we have a distorted image of who we are to become. And since then he has been choosing for himself, who can display God to the world. These are the carriers of God’s presence and by faith they have inherited these promises of God from one generation to the next. You and I are Abraham’s promised children, Jacob’s holy nation, Moses’ redeemed people.
The word witnesses here does not mean spectators in a race; it comes from the root word martyrs and it means those who have borne testimony with their blood. So we see their lives of faith and their testimony as an encouragement for our race. illustration: Copernicus discovering that the sun is the center of the galaxy. We are not the superstars that they've come to cheer for. They have passed on something of great value, that they paid with their lives of faith, and we receive and run with it in humility.
Application: Study the scriptures, study their walk of faith.
Its great to have all these online resources, but what we need is not more guides, we need fathers and mothers. Find faithful fathers and mothers in your own life whose walk you can emulate. Phil 3: 17 “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us”. Do you have anyone in your life that walks according to the example of scripture that you can emulate. Can you give yourself to be mentored by them? For those of us who are older, can we look out for someone to pass on our faith to?
Preparation: Any athlete prepares before running the race. The preparation for us is let us also lay aside / throw off:
Every weight/ encumbrance: They are simply things you and I are not meant to carry. They are doctrines, patterns of thinking and belief systems that we are not meant to carry. This was Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees. They placed a yoke on people which is more than what the law required. Weights I’ve had to throw off - perfectionism, acceptance based on performance, my past sinful self. These are dead weights that get heavy the longer you carry them. Trekking with rocks in the backpack. But Jesus promises that His yoke is easy, his burden is light. How do we identify what is a weight in our life? The word of God, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Application: What are some weights in your life? What is in your backpack that needs to be thrown out. (get with the Holy Spirit and ask to identify and replace them with the truth that sets us free)
and sin which clings so closely - Some sins have a short rope - addiction to drugs, alcohol, pornography. Get it out now or you won't be able to run. Some sins have a long, long rope… means it’ll let us run for a while before it trips us up - pride, arrogance, a grumbling heart. Some sins are generational - they are long enough to bind generations of people, and unless you deal with them through spiritual deliverance, you will simply pass them on to the next gen. Sins are chains, because they enslave us to the enemy. Grace helps us say no to sin. How do we throw off sin? We pray and fast and replace it with healthy practices. Application: What sins is the Holy Spirit bringing up in your heart. Don't push it aside, deal with it.
Participation: Let’s run the race marked out for us! If we stopped with preparation, Christianity is no different from a spiritual self-help group.
Run…difference between the athlete and the audience. It means obeying God and doing the good works that have been set aside for us. When Jesus called his disciples, he did not gather them to set up a study circle and teach about the kingdom of God… he taught on the go. Illustration: internship vs. classroom teaching. If you are a follower, an intern, an apprentice of Jesus, you are to move with him from day 1. Has Jesus retired? No he is alive and active - he is saving, healing, delivering, setting free… What are we doing? Are you too young to run? Look at the disciples - teenagers who were sent out to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead. Be strong and courageous! Are you too old? Reignite your first love… do the things you did at first.
the race marked out for you: there is a path of obedience for you and I to walk today. There is a space for you to show up as your authentic self and use your specific set of gifts God has given you. Running someone else’s race leads to unhealthy competition. Application: Do you know what your race is? What is your race to run today?
Perseverance: not only do we need to enter the race, but endure it. Passion alone will burn us out. We run with endurance - we need endurance because there are trials. James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” We are handed trials as per our capacity. When we go directly for the big weights, 2 things can happen - we get injured or we develop a bad posture. What is the posture of your heart when you go through hard things? Maturity is not measured by position but by fruit. Gal 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” When you bear fruit in this season, you are ready for the next. Have we proven ourselves trustworthy? Can we obey god where we are? Step up in the things we’ve already been entrusted with. It is not grabbing for a rank or position. Promotion comes from God… But our job is to endure, build strength, stability, get grounded in the word, bear fruit in and out of season… it is laying your life down… what if your promotion comes and its not a step up but down? What if leadership is not speaking in front of 100s of people but washing 100s of feet. Can you endure it?
Perfection: Looking to Jesus!!!! the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. That is where we want to be looking. There is only one perfect lamb of God who serves as an example for us all. God’s biggest move was from heaven to earth, glory to dirt, the almighty to a baby, crowns to a cross. The way to stay the course, to run the race and to finish well, is to look to Jesus. What we behold we become. 2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
We are living in the time of renewal of all things and God is moving in us and through us. He put these treasures in jars of clay because the surpassing worth belongs to him… but there is one more move left… when Jesus will come back… not as gentle and mild, but in glory, he will come back for a mature bride, so we need to make ourselves\ ready with courage in our hearts and oil in our lamps.
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