Move on to Maturity!
Hebrews 5:11-6:3

When a baby is born the mother feeds him/her milk.  Milk is the main food that provides the nutrients necessary for the baby to grow.  However, there will be something really wrong if all you feed the baby is milk when he is 2 years of age, 4, 6 etc.  When a person becomes a Christian Scripture calls this process a new birth.  Just like a new born baby, we too are given milk to drink when we are infants in the faith.  The Hebrews to whom the book of Hebrews is addressed never got beyond the infant stage of their faith.  This is not a unique phenomenon; here in the 21 century we have Christians who are still in the kindergarten stage of their faith and they seem to be content there; they seem not to be bothered by it.  If you are 10 years of age, 15, 30, 60 and you are still in kindergarten not even the chair fits you anymore.
God expects his followers to move on to maturity in their faith and knowledge of him

In Hebrews 5 the writer began to explain to his recipients the fact that Jesus was “The great High priest.”  He explained the implications of Jesus being our great high priest; a priest unlike any in the Old Testament because instead of offering a sacrifice, he sacrificed himself in order to redeem sinners. In verse 11 the writer interrupted his explanation regarding Jesus the Great high priest because he remembered the kind of audience he was writing to.
Hebrews 5:11-6:1
(v.11)  expresses the desire of the writer to say much more about Jesus; but his recipients were not very good listeners.
We have so much I want to tell you, but it’s hard to explain it to you since you have become dull of hearing.  You are sluggish, (lazy) in your listening skills.

The Hebrews were still in pre-k when they should have already been the teachers.
     – dull of hearing.  (Faith comes from hearing, then if your hearing is not good, your faith won’t be better).
– They should have become teachers by this time.  But instead, they needed someone to teach them again the basic principles of the word of God.  To teach them again, teach them all over again, elementary things they should have grasped already.

They were still drinking milk.  They were still behaving as infants in their faith.
If you are a Christian and this letter was addressed to you because you still behave as an infant in the faith.  This is what it means.
– You are still drinking milk not solid food.  Then you are unskilled in the word of righteousness.
     – You are not mature because you have not trained yourself to discern that is good from evil.  (v.14) like an infant doesn’t know what is right and wrong.  The same happens to a Christian who doesn’t mature in their faith.

Therefore, move on to maturity.  In order to move toward maturity, you must leave the kindergarten chair behind.
Leave behind the elementary teachings about Christ.
Leave the elementary teaching of Christ behind and move on to maturity.
Moving to maturity means moving beyond the basics.
     – Foundation of repentance from dead works/ deeds
     – Instructions about faith toward God.
     – Instructions about baptism (washings)
     – Teachings about laying on of hands (this was always connected to prayer)
     – The resurrection of the dead
     – Eternal judgment

These are basic stuff in the Christian faith.

How do you move beyond the basics?
     – Tune up your hearing to God’s word.  As your hearing the word goes, so will your faith and your maturity.  It is the word of God that will cause us to grow, it contains elementary teaching

– Stop preferring just spiritual junk food. Junk food is defined as food that has low nutritional value.  It may be very appealing and enjoyable, but not nutritious.  We have lots of spiritual junk food in our churches, in Christianity in America.  There are many Christians who are just feeding themselves with “Spiritual junk food” and as a result live malnourished lives; they become sick spiritually speaking.  This food has become the substitute for the word of God. (The true source of nutrition for God’s people)
     – Fellowship meetings.
     – Attending Christian concerts, camps, conferences. Etc.
     – Listening to Christian radio
     – Listening to a sermon via TV and on line.

People have made these things a replacement to learning God’s word.  These things should complement your faith, but never become a substitute to the word of God.
Moving on to maturity means you spend quality time in God’s word, you get to know God’s teaching.