Today’s message summary of July 22, 2018 from Pastor Gus Brown:
Experiencing growth is not easy. Things that occur may be painful or difficult, or even embarrassing in some ways, but it does bring about maturity.
In your spiritual life, God will give direction, and in some ways correction, to help you develop maturity as a believer. It is important to have ears to hear wisdom, but it also matters that you keep your eyes of Jesus and be willing to accept how He speaks to you.
The flesh can exists while you live as a Christian. It is a matter of living like the world and not accepting any of the challenges that Jesus presents to you. Are you a person who strives for the gold and silver or do you settle for wood, hay and stubble?
John 6:63
The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
The flesh is mere human nature, apart from God’s influence, and opposes God.
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
Luke 8:14
As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.
Romans 8:3-4
What the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:8
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 7:18
For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.
The carnal Christian’s mind is not on godly things. They have godly knowledge but choose not to use it.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?
The baby in Christ refuses to grow. It is a refusal to grow up and mature in faith. It is all about staying as a child and doing childish things.
1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.
How does one add to their faith?
2 Peter 1:5-8
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At some point, growing (an increasing measure) must take place. Maturity must be part of one’s thinking. If you are going to grow in Christ, you have to make the decision to put fleshly things behind you. God wants you to trust Him in everything, and not in yourself.
When things get difficult, do others still see you as a godly person?
Jesus wants you to add to your faith and take the next steps in walking with Christ.
To grow is to live by faith and not by sight.
Love must be at the forefront of your faith. If you love others, you are living as Christ would have you to live. This also must grow. If you are kind to others, be kinder.
The result is maturity in Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:6
We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
Philippians 3:14-16
I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
James 1:2-4
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Hebrews 5:12-14
Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature–for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Never stop growing, reading or learning. Don’t become satisfied with where you are. Seek more knowledge and wisdom from the Holy Spirit and grow.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 