Dampers on Spiritual Growth

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DAMPERS ON SPIRITUAL GROWTH

James 1:17–26

A damper is that which restrains or depresses. In the Christian life there are those things which depress and serve as a damper to spiritual growth. Let us consider four dampers to spiritual growth.

I. A damper to spiritual growth is filthy talk.

James 1:19 “19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Is all “filthy” talk profanity? Nope, Our wicked tongues can create all kinds of “filthy talk without using one cuss word can’t it? Mumbling under our breath is one of the most hurtful ways to lash out to someone you are ticked off at.

A. It is contrary to the Word of God for the Christian to use filthy talk:

Philippians 1:26–27 “26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. 27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.”

B. It is a true revelation of our character:

2 Peter 2:7 “7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.”

People as well as God knew that Lot had great character and integrity. Do people see those traits in you? Have you prayed to God to bring you into His righteous living?

Ephesians 2:3 “3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.”

Ephesians 4:22 “22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”

C. It is a revelation or CHANGE of the individual’s heart: We know when it happens don’t we? Maybe not right away, but the Holy Spirit blesses us with a “sense” of God in us.

Matthew 12:34–35 “34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.”

II. A damper or stumbling block as some call it have a tendency to “stunt” our spiritual growth because of the desires, lusts, selfishness, lying, prideful, arrogance, etc of the old man.

Romans 6:6–7 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”

James 1:21 “21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”

A. We as Christians should lay aside all wickedness, we should go to prayer each day and ask God to direct us in our day to NOT sin.

Jeremiah 17:9 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

In a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, listen to this:

1 Corinthians 5:1–7 1 I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. 3 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. 6 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”

B. Christians are to crucify the old man:

Galatians 2:20 “20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

III. A damper to spiritual growth is a nasty temper. What usually causes a nasty temper? I thought about this and I believe it usually comes from selfishness across the board. We want our way don’t we? When someone opposes us or disagrees with us or an idea of ours, we get a little ticked off don’t we? We want to stand our ground, we want to “back up” our ideas. When we are not open to conversation or the ideas of others, it can get ugly.

James 1:19–20 “19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

A. One of the most difficult things for the Christian to do is to control his temper but we read in scripture that we can do all things. You know, one of the easiest ways to avoid, anger, fighting, battling others is to learn to keep our mouth shut about 20 seconds before we give our reply or answer RIGHT?

Philippians 4:13 ‘13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:19 “19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

B. Our temper is a product of the fleshly life: Again, we read from Galatians:

Galatians 5:24 “24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”

IV. A damper to spiritual growth is the failure to cultivate the Christian character, our Christian character, our Christian brothers and sisters character, we are to be working on this daily

James 1:22–23 “22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

When we do listen, when we do ask God for guidance, when we do go to the Holy Spirit, this is what will happen.

Galatians 5:22–26 “22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

A. The Christian life is not cultivated where there is failure to pray:

What does Paul say abut this?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “17 Never stop praying.”

James 5:16 “16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

Did you get that church? Never stop praying, talk to God all day, I am just finishing reading the book of Psalm, many times they write, I awoke at midnight to praise God and talk to God. AMEN!!!!!!!!!

B. The Christian life is not cultivated where there is failure to study God’s Word:

John 20:30–31 “30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

D. The Christian life is not cultivated where there is failure to attend the house of God regularly: We must be in church, we must be inviting those who we love and care for, our neighbors, friends, family, co-workers if we want them to know Jesus.

Hebrews 10:25–26 “25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. 26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.

AMEN
Please stand and turn your Hymnals to page ____________ and sing “
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