“ Coming to church but not growing or growing as you come to church “

Romans 12:9–21 (CSB)

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

“ Coming to church but not growing or growing as you come to church “

Note: You are either coming to church and not growing or you’re growing as you come to church [ No In Between ]

Note: Our secondary purpose of coming to church is [ To Grow ]

Note: Primary purpose is to Praise , Worship & Thanksgiving to God

Note: How is your growth as a [ HUSBAND — WIFE — EMPLOYEE — CHOIR — USHER — DEACON — PREACHER — MISSION — ETC… ]

Note: Even the world grows

Kindergarten — Elementary — Junior High — Senior High — College

Employee — Staff Leader — Supervisor

Note: As believers we should won’t to know if we are growing

Note: And we grow by the WORD of GOD and not by measuring ourselves to each other

GROWTH

2 Peter 3:18 CSB

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.

Hebrews 6:1 CSB

1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,

1 Peter 2:2–3 NIV

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Colossians 1:9–10 CSB

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,

#1 LOVE

Romans 12:9–10 (CSB)

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.

Love ( agape )

[ Different types of love ]

Agape — The God UNCONDITIONAL love

Eros ( exotic ) — this type of love is what a man supposed to have for a woman and a woman for man

Phileo — brotherly love, people that we deal with, like our friends

Storge — family kind of love

Note: It’s a love that’s giving and not expecting nothing back in return.

Note: This love is not predicated on how we are treated.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.

Hypocrisy — The word Hypocrisy here comes from the realm of entertainment and means “ an actor “ or “ one who wears a mask “.

Note: Don’t let your love have a MASK on [ Hypocrisy ]

Note: In those days when they had entertainment, they would put on a mask to display something or someone else, and not actually themselves.

Note: Jesus used this word a lot

Mark 7:6 NIV

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.

Honoring — Putting someone else first, putting their needs above yours..

RATE: Your Love - Hypocrisy - Honor

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#2 Hate Evil

Romans 12:9 CSB

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.

Note: This is rejecting worldliness anything that goes against God’s word

Note: Are we taking an active stand publicly or privately against EVIL.

Examples: Of Evil

Sexual Sin ( lust, pornography, immorality, same sex relationships, etc. )

Worldly behavior ( music/ Music cannot be godly, but OK,Jazz — social media, materialism , greed, etc. )

Abortion

Injustice

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#3 Service

Romans 12:11 (CSB)

11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

Romans 12:3-8 ( Spiritual gifts )

Romans 12:3–8 CSB

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:11 CSB

11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

Note: How did you serve God in 2022 and that’s if you are even serving

Diligence — The word Diligence means “ excited ( fervor ) to do something or to accomplish some end “ or “ eagerness, haste, zeal. “

Example: Ushers at different churches

Fervent — Fervent in the greek means “ to be or become emotionally inflamed, conceived of as water boiling “ or “ to be on fire “

Note: Remember EVERYTHING is UNTO the Lord

11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

Serve — serve is to become a servant in the greek

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#4 Spiritual Health

Romans 12:12 (CSB)

12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

Rejoice — to feel happiness or ( JOY )

Joy — is that inter sense of peace that God got everything in your life under control

Footnote: I personally is not good in that area

Hope — a General feeling that some desire will be fulfilled ( Job, Marriage, Relationship, Health, Children )

Hope In Christ

Persevere — in the greek is the ability to remain under an oppressive state

Note: This is something or someone got you oppress like your [ job, marriage, Pastor,] and you just feel like you're under pressure.

Persevere — is your ability to remain under that until the Lord gives you an out until the Lord is able to graduate you to a different place or level?

Note: Sometimes you have to persevere where you are. [ God didn’t design you to move but to grow ]

Devoted ( Prayer ) — to persevere in some activity, be busily engaged in something etc.

12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

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#5 Generosity

Romans 12:13 CSB

13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

Hospitality — the greek word means “ Kindness in welcoming guests or strangers “.

Example: One of my problems is I don’t like to share my food

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