A Barometer for Our Spiritual Growth

Log into the index by The town family for Wednesday, February 2 dwelling is a Christian, how can you tell today's podcast offers a barometer for your spiritual growth second theater beginning in this third chapter he's is, therefore, beloved, since you look for these things.

That is the coming of the Lord the end of the world and the destruction of the earth since you look for these things. Be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless like that. He says, until the Lord comes. Until these things take place. We should be living in such a fashion that we would be found by the Lord when he comes in peace. That is peace with ourselves pleased with him these levels spotless and blameless. That is, as best we know how walking obediently before God living a holy life. He says in regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation just as also our beloved brother Paul according the wisdom given him wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of those things that sometimes a hard understand which the untaught and unstable distort. They misuse what Paul was saying as they do. Also the rest of scriptures to their own destruction.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand that this is how they do it.

Be on your guard less being carried away by the Arab unprincipled men you fall from your own steadfastness. That's why growth is so important is a protection we understand the things of God but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and in the day of eternity. How in the world do I know what I'm going will naturally I think some of the things that I would give you would certainly be from my own experience and I can tell you that I failed enough times to be able to know at least something about when I'm moving ahead when I'm not moving ahead. In all of us have our setbacks and if we didn't, we would not understand the Christian life is all about.

It is in our failures.

We usually learn the most about God is in our failures, we learn how he operates as an FAB is that we learn what his love is all about. If you and I live an absolutely obedient life, moment by moment every day what we'd soon be doing is taking credit for but it's an FAQ. We look to him and thank God I want to thank you for your forgiveness so unworthy, so weak, so frail. Thank you for loving me in spite of me. Well, how do we know how we are growing so let me give you some of these and what I'm going to is ongoing to state them there brief and I don't have time to explain all of them because that's quite a number of them and is a sin before. This doesn't mean that all these things have to be true to say what you growing a lot but there are enough things that I know are evidences of a person's spiritual growth.

So I'm not given to you. Slowly enough so that you have time to say Lord is not true of me an email and put a check.

I asked Mark the monopoly anything down but at least in your mind. Be honest enough to say yes no sought God. If you need to several breakout right in the start of the first of the present is this and I call this a barometer for spiritual growth. This is how I can sort of see where I am number one we have a growing hunger to know God. If I am growing in my spiritual walk of the Lord I'm going to have a growing hunger to know him. I am not going to be satisfied with how much I know about him on my relationship to him.

There's an increasing growing hunger. That is, I want to know more and I want to know more and I want to know more.

Secondly, we have an ever-increasing desire to know the truth of God's word if I'm really growing in the Lord that I want to know what he says about everything.

I will know what he says about my relationships others. I want to know what he says about the church I will know what he says about my finances. I will know what he says about the love I will know what he says about anger. I want to know what God says about everything I possibly can. Number three. We are becoming increasingly aware of our sinfulness and weaknesses and the grace of God.

If I'm really growing in my relationship to him. I'm going to be increasingly aware of my sinfulness. That doesn't mean call me sinful, wicked bile, but it means. Listen, if I'm growing in my relationship and it's going take less and less for God to convict me and you see when you first became a believer there were things in your life in my life that we never even thought about being a problem and so is you and I'll learn to grow in our Christian life.

What happens as we become more and more aware of our weaknesses. A person who is not aware of their weaknesses, as is headed for danger. A person is not aware of the potential they have to sin is in danger. But while I am also aware of my sinfulness and my weaknesses. Thank God I'm also doesn't sinfulness and the weaknesses of underside the grace of God over here and this is what keeps us balanced and keeping us from condemning ourselves, and we do fail, we understand that the grace of God is there because God knows we are children learning to walk.

Learning to run learning to be stable in our walk with him next. If we are growing in the Lord.

We are responding to sin quickly involving genuine repentance. If I am not drawing in my relationship to him I will put all dealing with sin.

One of the evidences that I'm not going in my relationship with the Lord is that I will let sin go and go and go before me just a little much of a given Jesus name. No, not perfect father, please help me through this. But if I'm really and truly growing in the Lord. I'm not going to tolerate that I'm going to deal with that and if I find myself putting up with anything in my life and just letting it go. For some reason I know that I am not growing in that period of time as we said today. Watch this.

That is when God says this in your life you got to deal with when I come to that, and I sound going to deal with that.

I believe that is as far as you can growing your spiritual life you can't get around that you can get over it. You can get 100 because why is God going to enrich you more deeply give you greater understanding when you will not do what he says that he's his own castor pearl before swine. That is, for example, a body that somebody was just absolute got rejected and turned it down and make make jokes out of it. He says don't even lay it there. God is not going to keep enriching us and deepening us in the things of God when he knows that when he said this is what I want you to do. We say no I'm not going to do that. The next one. If we are growing in the Lord. We are relying more and more on the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

One of the evidences of spiritual growth is the awareness of our inadequacy and his total adequacy to see us through any and every situation in life. So what I found is if I am really and truly growing in the Lord and in the spiritual time of growth.

I will not worry about as many things I would normally wear about I will not be as concerned. I will be able to accept the trust the Lord and know that he will see me through enable me and one of the best ways to learn how God will enable us is when God throws us into something that we absolutely can't swim our way out without the Holy Spirit, you know I will never know what he will do in our life until he throws us into situations where we are helpless and so what happens is one of the evidences of our growth is that we are learning to rely more and more on the power of the Holy Spirit, and less and less on ourselves.

The next one as spiritual battles are becoming more intense, and yet we are still rejoicing.

I believe this is one of the evidences of growing spiritually that as you and I growing a life God is going to oftentimes allow the battles we face the temptations the difficulties to become more intense, because he is in the process of drawing is not how does he go FAP grows our faith by throwing us into situations, allowing situations to exist that cause us that test our capacity to believe him. And when you and I are going through these things and the battles do increase and the trials are becoming more intense in the far does get a little hotter the walls get little deeper. We know deep down inside if these things are happening, that means we are further along than where we used to be. If the battles get worse, it means that God has brought you through something less than that before and what is on his way to doing is moving us and drawing us up so it is evidence of our group. We are doing trials and temptations as opportunities for growth and I think this is a sure sign of spiritual growth. When you and I can look at the trials and temptations and say Lord here's another opportunity for you to do something in my life that you not done before. And if I'm saying the Lord this is going to be tough and this is painful but here's another opportunity. If you teach me something about yourself that I do not know is not generally learn something about you a problem.

The run in the way is another opportunity got to you to bless me in a way you couldn't bless me. Unless, in the midst of the battle got his opportunity for you to support your blessing upon me that normally would not come if I were not facing this difficult and hardship. One of the evidences of growth is. I can see these things as opportunities of growth, then we are viewing service for him as a high honor rather than a burden. If I'm growing in the Lord that I want to serve him. If I'm regrowing one away. Zelnorm really is. I'm not complaining about what I'm doing but rather on rejoicing in it.

And so when he says we say that it is a high honor rather than a burden that is an evidence of spiritual growth that we want to do more and more not because it's what we do, but God, whatever you want to do in my life and through my life.

I'm available to do it. Then of course we are doing everything that comes their way, both blessings and trials as from him. I believe this is one of the great evidences of spiritual growth that we come to the place of trust in our Lord. One of the ways of God is that God is in control of everything that touches ours and if I see from his viewpoint that I had to see it is something that he allows that he knows he's going to turn for my good.

Then our faith is growing stronger when you and growing in the Lord our faith is going to grow stronger because, listen what he does he test sequences in situations and circumstances that forced us to trust them because we don't have any other outlet, and the truth is, Paul said the just shall live by faith, we walk by faith week we make decisions.

By faith we get up in the morning by faith, our life is a life of faith. We trust the Lord.

One of the evidences regrowing is listen that we are able to trust him. Listen in more difficult situations but also trusting the bigger things. One of the evidences of our faith is that we can ask God for bigger things and believe him for them and watch him do if you still asking God for $0.15 worth. When God wants you to ask them for $10 worth and something's wrong. There faith God is honored by the size of our request, you don't forget that he is honored by the size of our request and therefore one evidences on growing his arm asking for bigger and better things. Again, our decision to obey him becomes more important. While sin is less and less attractive to us. One of the ways that I know I'm growing in the Lord is my decision. My desire to obey him, is far more attractive to me than what sin has all being obedient to him, is far more attractive in the blessings that God gives in whatever sin has to offer and I think this is a sign of spiritual growth in anyone's life that things that used to appeal to the things that used to attract your attention things that demanded grabbed your time. Those things have less and less importance in your life walking in obedience to God has more importance. Likewise, we will be regrowing our Lord. We are eager to share with others what Christ is doing in our life eager to show some as one of the signs that you're going to those can keep quiet about when someone never talks about the Lord keeps it quiet to themselves God's working in your life and you never telling about it. The something it just doesn't get there because you see if your excited about something you gonna talk about it. God answers your prayer you want to tell somebody one of the evidences of growing the Lord is we have a loving concern for the people we care about other people and Irma Jesus said by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one to another. If I get selfish and self-centered and introverted that I know that I'm not drawing the Lord, and if you get the feeling that way and feeling selfish.

The best thing to do is to find somebody you can do something for you may not even feel like it, do it and God will change your feeling. One of the evidences of our spiritual growth is listen that we becoming more more like our Lord. One evidences of our Lord is that he was always giving himself away to someone else, then we are delighted to give to the Lord's work and searching for more ways to get to one of the evidences of a person's giving is what happens to their pocketbook. If I'm growing in the Lord I'm going to keep on giving and I'm going to look for ways to give God multiply because it is an expression of my trust and an expression of my love an expression of my devotion expression of my gratitude and thanksgiving abilities done for me and I do believe if I'm growing in the Lord I'm going to be giving to him and looking for ways to give even more again when we are going with him.

We are experiencing an ever-increasing awareness of his presence in every area of our life and this is why I believe in. Paul said a watch and pray, praying always he meant exactly what he said because you see the truth is you and I should live in the awareness of his presence all the time. That's what a holy life is all about. That's what a godly life is about a godly life is one in which the person is living in the continuing awareness of the presence of God in their life so that there's no such thing as a decision without him is no such thing as is thinking in terms of life in any aspect about and with its finances, your business relationship, whatever it may be your schooling. Whatever. Every single thing. Any purchase, God, what would you have me to do and often times we do a lot of things and we having think about God being interested in God is interested in every single facet of your life. You know why because you don't belong to you.

You belong to him. We are his blood bought purchase possessions, and therefore he is genuinely interested in everything that deals with your life and mine every single one of us well also. Our private devotional life will be the priority of our life. I do believe that this is one of the evidences of a person growing in their spiritual and that is one of the evidences is that there private devotion that is their time of meditation, being quiet, that's the priority of their life. You see, that is the most important part of your day in mind is the time we spend along with him getting a sense of direction getting a sense of assurance asking the Lord to guide us moment by moment throughout the day. Every decision we gonna face the priority of our life is at time alone with him. That's the compass you see that's what sets the speed for the day. I believe when you're growing the Lord, you can regard that time. Then we becoming more content listed Balkan and more content to spend more time alone with him is the most precious time when you learn to sit and be quiet. Live before him and be quiet and just let God do the speaking and just let God guide your thoughts and what I will do. Sometimes the sinner, Lord, I don't want to say anything. I just want the Holy Spirit to guide my thinking. I want to think whatever you thinking you want me to think I want to see things from your perspective and sometimes I don't have to say anything and sometimes I will say I will express my feelings or my petitions are tried to him for whatever may be burning my heart at the time and I think when the wisest things you and I can do spend some time by ourselves with him everyday just a little time just being quiet and being alone with him and see one of the signs. I think that you not spiritually growing is the fact that we can be content. We can be satisfied and we can be happy being alone with a lot we don't have to have a TV, the radio somebody calling we can be silently along with him and be content when you and I growing the Lord will be more and more content to be alone with him and then our decisions will be sifted to the grid of God's will for our life. I'm simply saying this when you not drawing the Lord every decision.

Listen, the more and more. You and I growing in him, we gonna send every decision between the grid of God's will, God, what you will about this.

What pleases you what honors you will bring you the most glory. What would you have me to do this. You see when you not drawing that I will make decisions apart from him, or what do you want God, what would you have me to do in the situation or sometime we may not like what he said but one of the evidences of our group is that we are going to be sending everything most things they will and be an increasing number of little things that you used to make decisions on your own you spend more listen you will send more of those things that the grid of problem what your will and then we will have an increasing awareness of God's love for us.

One of the signs of our spiritual growth is our awareness of how much God loves us because here's what's happening when you not become more and more aware of God's love for us. It means it says something about the intimacy of our relationship. It says something about our understanding of him. It says something about our ability and capacity to to receive and to enjoy the love of God and then I would just say one last one that many of the things I could say when you and I growing the Lord Jesus Christ will be the primary focus of our life.

I mean he's number one.

Morning noon and night is Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus in every single aspect of our life. I want to encourage you.

Please don't take that sheet folded up sticking a drawer somewhere that will do you a better good but if you take it out. Check up on yourself, you'll find yourself growing in your relationship to Jesus Christ, amen father. We love you and thank you again for being patient with us and seeing as his children, but thank you that you see is as we are, but you also see is as we shall be and so we just asked that the Holy Spirit would take the simple truth apply under our hearts, increase our love and devotion, and then our service to you is my prayer, but we ask it in Jesus name, amen. Thank you for listening to a barometer for our spiritual growth.

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