How We Grow

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"How We Grow"

“God wants us to grow up… like Christ in everything.” Ephesians 4:15 (Msg.)

“We are not meant to remain as children.” Ephesians 4:14a (Ph.)

Your heavenly Father’s goal is for you to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, many Christians grow older but never grow up.

To many of us get stuck in spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties.

The reason is that to many of us never intended to grow.

Spiritual growth is not automatic.

Nor can someone else cause it to happen for you.

To grow spiritually, it takes an intentional commitment from you.

You must want to grow. You must decide to grow.

Discipleship- the process of becoming like Christ- always begins with a decision.

Jesus calls us and we respond: “ ‘Come, be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So, Matthew got up and followed Him.” Matthew 9:9 (NLT)

Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you.

It is at this point of or this concept of commitment that most people miss God’s purpose for their lives.

Many people are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life living it day to day, year to year or better yet, paycheck to paycheck with no purpose or real meaning.

Or many of us make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which leads to frustration and mediocrity.

And some have made a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter.

Every choice you make consciously or unconsciously has eternal consequences, so you had better choose wisely.

Peter warns, “Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!” 2 Peter 3:11 (NLT)

“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

“Work out” is your responsibility.
“Work in” is God’s role.
Spiritual growth is collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit.
God’s Spirit works with us no just in us.
This verse is written to believers, is not about how to be saved, but how to grow.
It is does say, “work for your salvation”.
But is says “work out”… workout!

God has given you new life; now you are responsible to develop it “with fear and trembling.”

That means that you are to take it seriously!

When someone is casual about their spiritual growth- it means that they do not understand the ETERNAL implications of their decision.

2. Change your autopilot.
Behind everything you do is a thought.

So, to change your life you must change your thinking.

Every one of your behaviors is motivated by a belief and every action is prompted by an attitude.

God revealed this thousands of years before psychologists understood it; “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Proverb 4:23 (TEV)

You can try to change your autopilot by sheer force of will-however, because of the constant resistance from your old flesh you will only achieve short-term change.

There is an easier way!

Change your autopilot by the way you think through the lasting work of the Holy Spirit.

True…lasting spiritual growth starts in your mind.

Real change always starts with your mind- the way that you think.

The way that you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.

Paul says, “There must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:23 (NLT)

Repentance…
In the Greek this literally means “to change the way that you think.”
You repent whenever you change the way you think by adopting how God thinks about:

The Bible says, “Stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” I Corinthians 14:20 (NIV)

“Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want.” Romans 8:5 (NCV)

So, in order to start thinking like Jesus means that you and I need to start thinking maturely… focusing on others and not ourselves.

Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle.

The core of this lifestyle is thinking of others, as Jesus did, instead of ourselves.

“God has given us His Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think.” I Corinthians 2:12a (CEV)