First Baptist Church of Hoquiam
Sunday Worship, September 28, 2025

      • Psalm 119ESV

  • Distractions

    Police officer trying to get by. The person is so distracted that they don’t even notice. They may be a good fundamental driver but they have not matured into a good and alert driver.
    Today’s message is about why it is so important to continue growing as a Christian and what a crucial role hearing at the heart level is essential to that growth.
    Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV
    11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

    About this . . .

    Melchizedek and Jesus being our High Priest

    The author wants to say more . . . needs to say more but the people aren’t ready to hear it.

    What is the problem?

    You have become dull of hearing

    Hebrews 5:11 ESV
    11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
    It is hard to explain not because the message is too hard but because the peoples hearts are not ready to receive this teaching.
    Think back to the example of the nation of Israel who saw everything and heard everything yet turned their backs on God and did not trust Him by faith.
    Remember the warning that we received in light of their example:
    Hebrews 3:12 ESV
    12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
    The message is good but our hearing has become dull.

    What is the consequence?

    Hebrews 5:12–13 ESV
    12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

    Perpetual childhood

    We make fun of the men who grow into their twenties, live in their mother’s basements, sit around and play video games, work a fast food job, and never grow up.
    This passage is warning of that same condition but in your spiritual life. You go to church but you sit in the pew, attend potlucks, come to Bible Study, participated in prayer meeting, but you never mature to the point of teaching others the weighty truths of scripture. You are content to see others do the heavy lifting.

    The value of Milk

    1 Peter 2:2–3 ESV
    2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
    Milk is designed to make babies grow. It is gross to think of a 20 year old walking around sipping on a bottle of formula and depending on their mother for everything.

    What is the Goal?

    Hebrews 5:14 ESV
    14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

    The goal is maturity

    The believer must grow up and deal with some of the harder doctrines of scripture and realize that the milk was designed to establish a foundation of knowledge that is unchanging and fully assured but there is more to learn.

    The mature believer needs solid food

    Matthew 4:1–4 ESV
    1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
    If we NEED every word that comes from the mouth of God are we being diligent to hear it. Remember the problem . . . being dull of hearing. I’ve satisfied myself on milk and eating that steak is just too much chewing. The Word of God is too complex. It’s too much thinking, It’s too hard to understand. I’ll just stick with my bumper sticker beliefs and trust that it is enough.
    Instead we should be hungry for the deeper things of God. We should desire to grow up into Him. If am to be made like Christ, will I ever stop growing? Will I ever stop being challenged and changed? No!
    So Listen: Listen to sermons, read your Bible, seek wisdom, engage the hard things rather than declare them a waste of time. Have ears to hear.
    This does not mean that you have to be the most highly educated. It means that by faith your heart must be open to hear and learn from the Holy Spirit who will challenge to grow in maturity.

    The result is discernment

    The result of maturing in our faith is discernment.
    Romans 12:1–2 ESV
    1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
    In these verses, Paul calls us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. The mature believer will be challenged. They will still wrestle with sin, but at the end of the day they know that they belong to the Lord and will seek to walk with Him. They recognize what real worship is. Life is Worship. The question is, :What are you worshipping”.
    Are you taking the time to discern what is good and evil in your life?
    Philippians 4:8 ESV
    8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
    Put your life under a microscope for a minute. Are you regular, daily activities weighed against such a standard? Think about the conversations you have, the tv you watch, the activities you do, the books you read, the podcasts you listen to . . . part of maturing as a believer is growing in our awareness of what does and does not honor the Lord in our lives.
    How do you determine what is true and honorable, and pure? You must have a heart that is not dull of hearing. You must let God make your heart sensitive to the things that honor Him. It’s not about following a standard devised by hyper-religious minds. It is the diligent work of opening your heart to hear the truths of scripture and plant them in your heart.
    Psalm 119:9 ESV
    9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
    1 John 4:6 ESV
    6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

      • Hebrews 5:11–14ESV

      • Hebrews 5:11ESV

      • Hebrews 3:12ESV

      • Hebrews 5:12–13ESV

      • 1 Peter 2:2–3ESV

      • Hebrews 5:14ESV

      • Matthew 4:1–4ESV

      • Romans 12:1–2ESV

      • Philippians 4:8ESV

      • Psalm 119:9ESV

      • 1 John 4:6ESV

First Baptist Church of Hoquiam
fbchoquiam@outlook.com
3605324887
http://fbchoquiam.com
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