Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

As we have launched into the new year, we have been looking at how to accelerate our faith in 2025. I believe we are in a “now” season where God wants to take what you have learned and couple it with intentional action.

The end goal of maturity in the kingdom is not the amassing of knowledge, it’s application and activation. Application is about the action of putting something into operation, and it requires sustained effort and hard work. The kingdom life is one of application where we take the knowledge we have gained and put it into action.

For example, If I have gain knowledge of forgiveness then I put it into practice and forgive. If I gain kingdom understanding concerning generosity, then I give. If understand the supernatural power available to me through prayer and the laying on of hands, then I pray. If I learn that I am created in the image of love, then I walk in the love of God towards others.

Spiritual growth comes when we apply what we have learned. The pursuit of knowledge without application is a futile pursuit.
It would be like going to the gym, sitting in a chair, watching everyone else lift, and never touching or lifting the weights. What good is it to be in the environment, if you never utilize what is available to you. You will not see growth.

This passage speaks to the fact that there are those who hear the same things over and over, and yet have need of being taught the same things again. The key in the verse is that they only partake (receive, but don’t give).

Spiritual growth will only come when you activate and apply what you have learned. You must put gained knowledge into practice. Take the gym analogy. Strength comes through repetition. In the gym you must take weight and move it over and over to gain strength. The more consistently you lift, the stronger you become.

The same holds true in spiritual growth. You must lift spiritual weight over and over until you gain strength. In the beginning, the weight is often heavier than you anticipated, and you must adjust. It would be foolish to walk into the gym having never lifted and think that you could bench 350 lbs. You could certainly try it, but the likelihood of success is not good.

Where do you start? You begin with the weight you can lift. Don’t beat yourself yup over what you can or can’t lift. Simply begin with the capacity and weight you can sustain. The key to the process is to progressively look for opportunities to increase the weight as you gain strength. Increase adds difficulty initially, but through repetition over time it becomes the new normal. Increase again and continue to gain strength.

For example, in personal evangelism. You may have a deep desire to reach others for Christ and have the goal to lead a team. If you are passionate but inexperienced jumping straight to the leader of the team will typically not work out well. It would be like trying to lift maximum weight without having ever gone to the gym.

To lead a team, you must gain understanding and insight on what works in evangelism and what doesn’t. You will have to gain a strong foundational knowledge of the word concerning repentance, salvation, and how to lead someone to Christ.

You must have practical understanding on how to lead people and personalities. Gain the ability to guide and correct as needed. A lack of experience can prove destructive in the lives of those that God draws to the team.

If you lack experience, what should you do? Join the team of someone else who is already doing what you desire to do. Serving under the covering of others will allow you to get spiritual reps without carrying the weight and responsibility of leading the team. Serving others will provide opportunities to learn, grow, and gain experience.

The most important thing you can do along the way, as you grow, is to look for opportunities to carry more weight.

Does the leader need help prepping supplies before you go out to evangelize? Do they need someone to get the van ready, or clean it out after the event? Do they need someone to make copies of the notes, or lessons to train the team? Do they ask for someone to pray for the team before they go out?

Ask questions about why they do what we do, or what their process is to prepare to lead the team. Any good leader will take the time to teach you, because a hungry heart draws wisdom and instruction out of a leader.

The key factor to growth and maturity is the mind that is determined to grow.

Drawing near yields understanding on how to carry more weight. Proximity to those leading helps you gain understanding, insight, experience, and mentorship. They key is to lean in so that you gain the why behind the what.

The immature need to be told the same things over and over, but Hebrews 5:14 says, “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.”

It is through use that you grow. Like lifting weights, strength comes through repetition.

A side note about lifting: There will be times when the weight is heavier than you expected, and you fail to lift it. I have experienced times in the gym where adding five pounds to a bench press was the difference between success and failure.

Failure is part of the process. In our culture we constantly try to avoid failure. I would actually challenge you to embrace failure. Why? It is a sign that you are stepping into territory you have never tried. It is a sign of forward progress, and effort. You will never know your current limits if you play everything safe.

When you fail, what should you do? Stop going to the gym and lifting weights? Hide in the corner and get angry, frustrated, and depressed? No, you increase the weight little by little. Continuing to show up, push yourself, and put in the work so that, over time, you achieve your goals.

Spiritual growth is the same. You must show up, be willing to fail, take on the heart of a learner, and put into practice what you have learned until your capacity increases.

As I close, I want to answer a question that I hear often, how do I know God’s purpose for my life?

Kingdom purpose is most often found within the gifting you already have.

Let me explain, this past week I had spoken with a gentleman who gave his life to Christ three years ago. He has a passion for food and cooking. He has authored a cookbook, has a food blog, and has even launched a business in the same space of creating food products.

After encounter with Jesus, he felt impressed by the Lord to join a ministry at his local church called Church under the bridge. On five Sunday Months, they hold a church service under a bridge in their local community for the homeless. They make food, feed people, and minister the gospel.

As he followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit, his passion met God’s purpose. He took his love of cooking and utilized it to feed people in need. What I loved most about his story is that he went above and beyond with excellence. He didn’t just make sandwiches. The first meal he made 100 lbs of spaghetti, then pulled pork, smoked briskets, and so on.

The passions, skills, and abilities we possess were placed there by God. He is the one who placed them there. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Often what God does, is He refocuses your current abilities, passions, and skills for kingdom purpose. The gentlemen I spoken with didn’t stop cooking to go do something else for God. No, God called prompted him to use what He already had to make kingdom impact.

Peter a fisherman, is called by Jesus in Matthew 4:19 “Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Saul also known as Paul in the NT filled with zeal for God, sought letters to destroy the Church. Acts 9:1–2 “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

After encounter with Jesus there is a great shift in the life of Saul.

God took the same zeal of Saul and turned it from the destruction of the church to the establishment of the Church.

God’s purpose is revealed in our life when we allow Him to refocus the gifts, abilities, and passions we have for His purpose. Occasionally, He may require you to step into something you would have never thought you would do, and if so, be obedient. He knows what He is doing.

I encourage you today to step up to the challenge and learn to bear the weight of kingdom assignment. The advancement of the kingdom hangs in the balance.