Sabbath 6-28-14 Daytona Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Wray= The Purpose of My Life Part 2 = I John 2;2-14

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Sabbath 6-28-14 Daytona Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Wray= The Purpose of My Life Part 2 = I John 2;2-14

 

Continuing on the teaching of Spiritual Growth, the definition of Spiritual Growth is matching my practice with what I profess. It is not a matter of what is in your head because head knowledge does not always get things done. It takes the will to do. Spiritual maturity is being able to put into practice God’s Word. It is a matter of willing oneself to do as God wants! The devil knows more scriptures than you do! Knowing and doing are two different things. Why should We Grow spiritually and Why is it Important?

a) It Is A Matter Of Being In Harmony With God’s Plan:
Going the same way of God’s plan. Each of us were created to bring glory to God. Not to ourselves. It is not what Pastor Wray does, but what God does through Pastor Wray. We must keep this in mind. God has given all of us a will. He will not make you do anything. You have to will to His way. You have to want to do what God wants you to do. Want to do right, then do it! If you are a child of God, you have the ability. The ability is the gift God gave to you when you were saved. If I am a child of God, I can live a wonderful life serving God. That is I can if I want to! I can if I am committed.

b) Spiritual Growth - How We Grow:
In the text, it says that we have our sins forgiven in Jesus name. We have victory in Jesus name. We know God the Father who started this all. We have victory over the evil one. There are sharks that are put in a fish tank and will only grow six inches but they are mature sharks. If you put them in the ocean, they will grow 8 feet long! Some Christians are put in a church where they are not taught and they will be cute little six inch Christian who swim around in a little pond. However, if you put these Christians in a larger arena, a church that teaches them the whole counsel of God’s Word, they will grow 8 feet long! They will become 8 foot long Christians for the Lord! That is why I, as a pastor, work hard to teach people to participate in all of our services. They are to study God’s word and to grow spiritually in the Lord. There are three level of Spiritual Growth in I John. Jesus spoke of the progression of growth when He referred to the levels of grain in Mark 4:28. “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; First the blade, then the ear and after that the full corn in the ear.”

In I John 2:12, John uses the term “little children”. This has nothing to do with age because a child in spiritual growth could be a 90-year-old person. John breaks up the children into three categories: Little children, Young men and Fathers. He uses these labels as levels of Spiritual Growth.

1) Little Children = Infants that know the father and that’s about all an infant will know. He knows who his parents are. He does not know much else and he needs to be fed the Word.

2) Young Men = They have overcome the devil’s influence in their lives. We have to grow to overcome his influence. Vs 14. The young men are strong and the Word of God abides in them. You cannot grow without food! You need the Word! These young men were taught the Word of God and it made them strong! The Word abides in them, lives in them and affects them. It does not just reside in their memory but becomes part of them! They live and make all their daily decisions by lessons they learned in the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:14 Be ye no more children tossed to and fro from by every wind of doctrine by men waiting to deceive. Satan is the master deceiver. Many saved people believe and do wrong things in sincerity, thinking they are right. Many are sincere but know that you can be sincerely wrong! However, this is not the case with the mature believer because they know the principles of the Word of God and know when Satan twists the scripture and uses half-truths, that do not fit. Jesus said “my sheep hear my voice and will not follow another!”

3) The Fathers = This is the greater level of spiritual growth. The Father has a deeper understanding of God and has a close relationship with Him. Spiritual growth is a progressive thing, each step is important and you need the Word of God to become a mature Christian. You cannot jump from one step to another because it is a progressive thing.

GOD’s Word is the Truth and we as believers are to bring glory to GOD! We must follow Jesus to get the FULL protection of the Shepherd. A sure test of spiritual maturity is how one thinks about the world. Jesus said we cannot have two masters. We CANNOT serve God and money-the world. We will love the one and hate the other. John says the one who continually runs after the world and loves the world more than Christ, is NOT saved! If the love of God does not abide in you then you are NOT a child of God. To the lost people, the glory of God means nothing; the love of God means nothing. The lost one ONLY notices God when he is in trouble. Then his prayer to God is asking for something. How can one say they love God and dishonor Him so? This is not right for the self-professing Christian.

In Romans 1:18-21 it says that ignoring God leads to a downward spiral in life. People knew God but did not treat Him as God but instead trivialized God and themselves by refusing to worship Him. They made themselves small and became confused with no sense of direction. They pretended to know it all but were illiterate with life. They traded God to worship cheap idols figurines that you can buy off any roadside stand. This is the way of the world and it is not the way of a child of God. God’s children are able to see that the sinful ways of the world are destructive to their lives, families and friends. The Spirit of God that is in His children will show them the sins of the world and how to stay away from them.

In 1 John 1:5-7 it says that God is light and He has no darkness in Him. We cannot say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness. This is a Lie. If we have fellowship with God, we walk in the light of God and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sins. Our relationship with God is an individual thing. Jesus said He came to save the sinner from his sins. Jesus does not want any to perish but for us all to surrender our lives to Him so we can follow His will and His way.

AMEN