A very good morning to you, family of God. In touching on maturity we need to know the following, many problems result when sons fail to grow: some go back to the world, others cause strife because of ignorance or become stumblingblocks because of irregular attendance, worldliness, or indifference. Here are some of the steps each Christian should take to grow spiritually. Just as a baby needs to do certain things to grow physically, so Christians need certain kinds of activities to grow spiritually. When sons dont grow, it is because they lack one or more of these. A DESIRE TO GROW A. We Will Never Grow Unless We Want to Grow In the physical realm, children WANT to grow. I want to grow up to be just like Mommy/Daddy/... I cant wait till Im 18 so I can drive. Parents and kids become so excited when kids learn something new - the first step, first word, draw picture, etc. Everyone wants them to develop new abilities. Parents sometimes use this to encourage children. Likewise, in spiritual matters, Christians must WANT to grow. 1 Peter 2:2 - Desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. Some seem to like being spiritual babies. They dont want to grow. Its easy to be a baby - no responsibility. Others feed you, clothe you, change your diaper. In the church, you dont have to teach, rebuke sin, or do work. Its a free ride! But being a baby is not the goal of life. We are born babies so we can grow up and be productive and useful. Likewise, we are born again, so we can become mature, sons, actively serving the Lord. One of the conditions for becoming a child of God is REPENTANCE. One must determine to turn from sin and GO TO WORK in Gods vineyard. Then one must bring forth the FRUITS of repentance. This will lead us to grow and improve in Gods work. Otherwise, we have not accomplished our purpose for becoming children of God. 1 Peter 2:21 - Jesus set an example for us, and we should follow in His steps. We should ask ourselves, Dont I want to grow up to be spiritually strong like Jesus? B. We Must Maintain This Desire to Grow. Some members who once wanted to grow, may lose that desire. They may start off on fire for the Lord, but lose their zeal. They develop a spirit of indifference or negligence. Others develop a level of maturity and stagnate. They are satisfied, thinking no more growth is needed. The Scriptures teach that growth is always needed. Philippians 3:12-14 - Even Paul, as mature as he was, did not consider himself to have achieved perfection (maturity) such that he could cease striving to improve. He forgot past achievements (and failures) and pressed on to greater accomplishments. God bless family of God as we continue to grow into mature sons of God for this earth to stop its groaning. Have a glorious day in the presence of God.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 05:56:11 +0000