Origin Story Part 3

THE TAKEAWAY:

Corrupt attitudes keep us from the spiritual food of maturity

MESSAGE:

Two dungeon explorers, a Bard and a Knight, discover a treasure chest in an ancient and mystical mine.

Bard: Score, we found a chest. Open it.

Knight: Do you think it’s weird that the dangerous dungeons of evil have treasure chests full of things we need?

Bard: Nonsense, someone left us this wonderful bounty. (opens the chest). Amazing! There’s a quarter-pounder hamburger in here.

Knight: This is an ancient mine, left untouched for a millennium. How could there be a hamburger in a chest?

Bard: It’s got cheese, pickles, and bacon.

Knight: All those ingredients are way past their expiration date. I wouldn’t eat it.

Bard: The cyclops battle took half my health, dude! How was I supposed to know he was deaf and couldn’t hear any of my charm songs?

Knight: But still, we shouldn’t be eating hamburgers in dingy basements of peril and evil. This thing can’t be fresh.

Bard: I’ll try a bite, just one, and prove this is a delicious and worthy treasure.

Knight: Can your constitution even handle a poisoned hamburger?

Bard: My constitution is fine. At least a six. (takes a bite of the hamburger)

Knight: Is it good?

Bard: Ugh! I think I might need a saving roll.

One of the most stinging truths Paul had to lovingly drop on the church of Corinth was that their attitude kept them from experiencing mature spiritual growth. Because they were jealous and petty, they had to stick to the infant food options, while other churches were eating more complex foods. Paul wasn’t punishing them; he couldn’t mold them into true disciples of service until they forsook their awful behavior toward one another. They had to stick with the elementary knowledge of Christ until they could reconcile this problem.

If you ever wonder why you can’t advance your walk with God, it might be because you are stuck in a bad attitude or sin that needs to be addressed. God won’t give you the heavier responsibilities and tasks if you aren’t ready. We were made to mature in our relationship with God, becoming more like Christ, but a habitual habit might be holding us back. When we practice repentance, asking God to remove it by any means necessary, we set ourselves up for the next level of growth.

FIGURE IT OUT:

1 Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, 3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? 4 1 Cor 3:1-4

  1. Circle some keywords or phrases that are significant to you. What makes them important?
  2. What sort of spiritual lessons/opportunities will a “Baby Christian” miss out on because of a lack of maturity?
  3. How does a fleshly lifestyle keep a Christian from growing?
  4. What steps could this church take to move on to mature foods? What steps do you need to take?

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