Day 2246 – Hebrews-9 – The Peril of Failing to Thrive – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2246 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Hebrews-9 God’s Son – The Peril of Failing to Thrive – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 06/11/2023 “The Peril of Failing to Thrive” Hebrews 5:11-6:8 Last week, we continued our extended series through the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. We learned how God’s Son is also our Great High Priest, and cross-referenced verse 5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus, I Timothy 2:5. In our message today, we will see that God encourages us, no expects us, to thrive as believers, not just barely getting by. Instead, he warns us of The Peril Of Failing to Thrive.   Parents and doctors begin monitoring our physical, mental, and emotional growth from birth. Our advancement is measured and compared to others, and people get worried if we lag in any area. But how do we measure our spiritual growth? And what happens when we lag in spiritual progress? Who’s there to size us up spiritually and tell us to grow up when we need to hear it?   The Bible says much about spiritual growth (1 Cor. 14:20; Eph. 4:14–15; 1 Pet. 2:2). We come into God’s spiritual family through spiritual birth (John 3:1–8). From there, we grow spiritually through being nourished by God’s Word—from simple doctrines and practices of the faith to more advanced knowledge and skill in spiritual things (see 1 Cor. 9:24–27). As we continue to grow, exercising our spiritual gifts and being strengthened by the community of the Spirit, we advance toward spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:11–16). But just like natural growth, spiritual growth can be stunted. We may partake of the wrong spiritual food or neglect our spiritual sustenance altogether. We may stumble backward into childish attitudes and actions, undoing the maturity we once achieved. Or we may wallow in spiritual infancy because we have nobody around us to set examples of spiritual maturity. All these things result in our failure to thrive, and it’s this problem that the author of Hebrews addresses in 5:11–6:8. 5:11–14 The tone of Hebrews 5:11–14 is one of disappointment. Let me first read this passage on page 1867 of your Pew Bible. 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.   The author says he has much to explain concerning Jesus, who was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (5:10) Still, his readers “No longer try to understand,” or the NLT says, “you are spiritually dull” (5:11). Think of a bored, unambitious adolescent who has to be told several times to get off the couch and do their chores. It’s a trait of immaturity and...