As parents, it’s always our goal for our kids to grow up. Our kids are cute when they are young, but we want them to grow up to be adults. If they did not grow up to be adults, it would be a tragedy and it wouldn’t be cute anymore. In the same way we want our kids to grow up, God wants His children to grow up. His will for every one of us is to grow up spiritually and emotionally and mentally in every way.
NEVER STOP GROWING
Message by Todd Lester – September 3, 2017
SIX THINGS THAT STOP YOU FROM GROWING
Ephesians 4:15 Growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of the body, the church.
1. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU STOP CHANGING
Numbers 20:8,11 You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock…Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.
Numbers 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
Proverbs 19:8 To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.
2. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU STOP TRUSTING
2 Chronicles 25:2 Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.
2 Chronicles 31:21 In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful.
2 Chronicles 26:5b …And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
3. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU STOP CARING
1 Kings 12:7-9 The older counselors replied, “If you are willing to be a servant to these people today and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.” But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers.
1 Kings 12:20 …only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David.
Proverbs 15:22 Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.
Proverbs 16:20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.
Proverbs 20:18 Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.
4. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU BECOME COMPLACENT
2 Chronicles 32:25, 31 But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the Lord’s anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem… God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.
2 Kings 18:5-7 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.
5. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU BECOME ARROGANT
2 Chronicles 26:15-16 … His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
Psalm 71:7-8 My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.
2 Corinthians 3:5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.
6. YOU STOP GROWING WHEN YOU BECOME DISTRACTED
1 Samuel 18:16,30 But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle… so David’s name became very famous.
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
1 Kings 11:4 In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.
Luke 9:62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
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