spiritual growth

F

forgiven61

2 peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.


growth comes in many ways trials the word through prayer. but mainly being a doer of the word and not a hearer only .

we start out with milk
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
we have to get in the word ..
then we start becoming of age .. Hebrews 5:14
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

if a person is not growing then we can became like those in the Corinth church--- 1 Corinthians 3:2
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
#4
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Corinth church had fussing --division much like we see today

Galatians 5:15
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
these are all characteristics of a baby Christian who has never grown . they stayed on the milk so long they can not digest strong meat.

almost like little kids playing who cant get along either run and tell or get mad and take their toys home.

in my 25 years of ministry i have seen all the above a parable a new pastor went into the church decided to move the piano to the other side of the room.. some had a cow lol fit .. said its been there for years it can not be moved.. so for the sake of peace in the Church . he moved it back he then procedded to move ita small amount at a time. till it was moved to the other side :eek::D
nobody said a word..

if everything offends you get off the milk and into the meat

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
 
The world clings to us like sticky tape. Yes, you can rip it away but that's very painful, but if you apply some acetone or something similar the gum will melt away by itself.

This is a metaphor for faith. Many gung-ho believers seem to want those new in faith to just pull, but it hurts and stops people in their tracks. A better approach is gentleness, consistent pressure, and love.

Most won't go zero to sixty in 5 seconds so why expect it?
 
LearningToLetGo said:
We all walk at a different pace.
Click to expand...

Hello forgiven;

Your thread reminds me of a time when I was in my 30s and very much served in the music ministry. The Pastor and I took the Communion Table, "In Remembrance of Me" off the stage so the praise team, instruments and piano had more room.

One of our late patriarchs (an original member and Elder) who helped construct the Church building in (1958) was livid when he arrived at Church during the weekend and saw this. It prompted a Church town hall meeting and he was very angry and expressed his reasons.

Later Pastor and I met with him and took responsibility for moving the table. It was positioned there for years while the music ministry grew. He acknowledged the spiritual growth of the individual praise team members, but also appreciated us for being transparent with him though we didn't have to. Truth be told, he never had authority where the table was placed.

Later the praise team gave our long time Elder a gift and a signed card from everyone. 🩷 I remember the look on his face.

That was during a time I was drinking a lot of milk.

forgiven, I tell you the truth. All the Scriptures you share fell short with me during that time. But I brought this on myself. I wanted to take my ball and go home many times which summed up my overall attitude in the Church and my elderly seniors.

As the years rolled I could see these elderly seniors exercised the love and patience toward me. The Scriptures began to sink in and in time the Lord filled me with a listening ear. It wasn't them speaking to me, but the Lord.

The former elderly members have all passed away but what they left me was their spirit of love, mentorship, transparency, Scriptures and a plate of meat.

I'll be 69 in January. We will see my Dad and step Mom next month and spend some quality time with him. He's 89 and I know he has some things we need to discuss, some serious stuff.

LearningToLetGo shared we all walk at a different pace. Amen to that. I appreciate the pace the Lord has placed me.

God bless everyone.

Bob
 
LearningToLetGo said:
The world clings to us like sticky tape. Yes, you can rip it away but that's very painful, but if you apply some acetone or something similar the gum will melt away by itself.

This is a metaphor for faith. Many gung-ho believers seem to want those new in faith to just pull, but it hurts and stops people in their tracks. A better approach is gentleness, consistent pressure, and love.

Most won't go zero to sixty in 5 seconds so why expect it?
Click to expand...
its about growth ive seen those in the faith many years still carnal fleshly minded
LearningToLetGo said:
Most won't go zero to sixty in 5 seconds so why expect it?
Click to expand...
who is expecting in fact growth has never happened over night its a process . its also evident as we can see some are still on the milk. it can be compared to a 6 year old still on the bottle
 
Good morning,

Drinking milk is a metaphor for study and spiritual growth in new believers, whereas meat is the deeper study of doctrine for mature believers.

During the 80s and 90's my time of drinking milk was when all this Christian stuff, studying the Bible and having to change our character from darkness to light was when God was building me up.

I was in my late 30s when our Church hosted an event. The Pastor and organization committee used a combination of other Church's musicians instead of our own praise team. I was very upset and vented at my Pastor. I felt we should have been leading the praise and worship since it was "our Church." During the event it was hard for me to enjoy because we should have been up there, instead.

At the time I just didn't understand their decision. I remember Pastor was very patient with me and I learned later it was about giving glory to God and not about me being up front.

Today I would praise God and enjoy the gathering of people while worshiping the Lord.

It's also important to know that none of us have mastered "spiritual maturity." Sometimes we fall back into drinking milk because we're still a work in progress and continuously growing for the Kingdom.

God bless everyone.








 
The progression of spiritual growth can be assessed only by the person doing the growing. The process of sanctification is directed by the Holy Spirit uniquely for each individual believer. It is not something that can be measured by external third party observers. Sometimes the lessons learned as part of failure are significant elements on the path to Christlikeness. Third party observers who measure others' Christianity by their outward behavior do so at their own peril.
 
BibleLover said:
The progression of spiritual growth can be assessed only by the person doing the growing. The process of sanctification is directed by the Holy Spirit uniquely for each individual believer. It is not something that can be measured by external third party observers. Sometimes the lessons learned as part of failure are significant elements on the path to Christlikeness. Third party observers who measure others' Christianity by their outward behavior do so at their own peril.
Click to expand...
yes but one can discern a immature believer.. we are all a w.i.p sanctification is a 3 step process which does equal a type growth .step one is positional.. we are saved placed into the Body of Christ .. step 2 is progressive which is what we are discussing we grow in the grace and knowledge . which is a never ending process while living for Christ .. much like the fruit in john 15 i think it is the true vine we are to abide in the vine . abide in him and him in us.. every branch that bears not fruit is cut off.. ( wide discussion on this part ) a book titled the secrets of the vine.. (i do recommend it ) in it a man buys a vineyard and then hires a vine dresser to prune it shape it up... he walks up to a vine with a huge bumper crop of grapes. he cuts it off the owner about freaks out.. what the owner couldnt see was baby grapes starved for son light..

sometimes God removes something so we can grow in that area . one thing i am not is a writer i preach i dont write books or read a sermon off 5 pages of notes. more power to those who do..


fruit can represent growth the w.i.p progress is spiritual growth . which we all have areas that needs sonlight to grow
 
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