Moving Out on a Mission (7 of 8)
Series: Unleashed
Craig Smith
Acts 9:32-43
Introduction I want to talk to you today about the secret ingredient for spiritual growth. I think most of us want to grow spiritually...we want to become more like Jesus...but it’s easy to get stuck. And today I want to talk to you about the secret ingredient to getting unstuck. Now, can I be honest with you? When I was younger, I really thought the secret ingredient was information. In fact, I had a phrase I said a lot: right thinking precedes right living. Right thinking comes before right living. And what I meant by that was that if we could just help people think right, then it would be natural for them to live right. That’s what I used to think. And I still think there’s truth to that, ok? But...as I’ve gotten older, it’s become more clear to me that information doesn’t drive transformation. Information doesn’t drive transformation. When I was in college, I had an English professor who had us study the Gospel of John. And at first that seemed like a great thing because this wasn’t at a Christian college, so that was unusual, and at first I thought he must be a Christian and he was using his platform to advance the Gospel. Plus, he looked like Santa Claus. He had a round belly and a big white beard and a twinkle in his eye...he looked just like Santa Claus. But, the reason we read the Gospel of John for this class was so that he could try to talk Christian students out of their faith. And I very quickly realized he wasn’t Santa Claus, he was Satan Claus! But...he knew his stuff. He knew the Gospel of John really well...certainly better than I did back then...and, honestly, maybe even better than I know it today. He had a lot of information...but that information hadn’t driven transformation. In fact, I would say that, in his case, information had derailed transformation...because it had led to arrogance. He was arrogant about how much better he knew the Gospel of John than any ...
Series: Unleashed
Craig Smith
Acts 9:32-43
Introduction I want to talk to you today about the secret ingredient for spiritual growth. I think most of us want to grow spiritually...we want to become more like Jesus...but it’s easy to get stuck. And today I want to talk to you about the secret ingredient to getting unstuck. Now, can I be honest with you? When I was younger, I really thought the secret ingredient was information. In fact, I had a phrase I said a lot: right thinking precedes right living. Right thinking comes before right living. And what I meant by that was that if we could just help people think right, then it would be natural for them to live right. That’s what I used to think. And I still think there’s truth to that, ok? But...as I’ve gotten older, it’s become more clear to me that information doesn’t drive transformation. Information doesn’t drive transformation. When I was in college, I had an English professor who had us study the Gospel of John. And at first that seemed like a great thing because this wasn’t at a Christian college, so that was unusual, and at first I thought he must be a Christian and he was using his platform to advance the Gospel. Plus, he looked like Santa Claus. He had a round belly and a big white beard and a twinkle in his eye...he looked just like Santa Claus. But, the reason we read the Gospel of John for this class was so that he could try to talk Christian students out of their faith. And I very quickly realized he wasn’t Santa Claus, he was Satan Claus! But...he knew his stuff. He knew the Gospel of John really well...certainly better than I did back then...and, honestly, maybe even better than I know it today. He had a lot of information...but that information hadn’t driven transformation. In fact, I would say that, in his case, information had derailed transformation...because it had led to arrogance. He was arrogant about how much better he knew the Gospel of John than any ...
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