Are you growing?
by tolulope Oluokun

Growth is required in all aspects of life, without growth stagnation sets in which ultimately leads to death .As children we grew into teenagers and then youths and so on so also we have to grow spiritually. God starts everything small, like a seed, and then expects us to nurture the seed and grow up into maturity.
Our salvation is already perfected by Christ we cannot add or subtract from it. However, to see the fruits and manifestation of our salvation here on earth, we have to work them out and develop them into maturity. In Phil 2:12, we are told to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling.' This shows there is work for us to do , like a fruit seed sown in the ground that needs some basic requirements to grow in other to produce fruits , we also need some basic requirements for us to fully mature and bear fruits in due season.
We shall briefly look at some of these requirements from God's word.

1. THE WORD OF GOD
1 peter 2:2 says "as new born babes , desire he sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby " so we need a steady diet of the word daily to grow, like a baby that needs milk daily to grow. Without the word of God, we cannot stand firm and be who God wants us to be. {2 timothy 3:16-17}

2. PRAYER
Prayer is communication with God. You cannot commune with God daily and remain the same. Jude 20 reads "but ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" we are also admonished to pray without ceasing in 1 thess. 5: 17.
3. FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRISTIAN FRIENDS AND ATTENDING CHURCH
The bible says iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. [Proverbs 27:17] Attending church is vital if we must grow, we need each other to grow no one is an island. Hebrews 10:25 says, we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together

4. OBEDIENCE growth is all about change. We have to obey the word of God and the leadings of God if we want to be fruitful in our Christian walk with Him. Matt 7:24, talks about the benefit of hearing the word and doing it [obeying it and practicing it] if we are a doer of the word, we are likened to a man that builds his house on the rock. It implies that we shall be rooted in God and have a solid foundation, and nothing shall make us fall.
In James 1:22, the word says a man that hears only without doing what he hears, only deceives himself.
Not only must we obey the written word of God, we must be sensitive to the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit through our Spirit man and give ourselves to what ever the Spirit wants or desires for us to do daily.



Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com







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