We Grow Intentionally

I am excited to get back to our series simply called, “Solid Ground.”

This series is designed to help us reinforce or reestablish “house habits” that work to strengthen or maintained a solid spiritual foundation.

As believers, our life is to be founded on the Word of God. Jesus made this clear in Matthew 7.

We must be hearers or receivers of the Word.

We must be doers of the the Word.

Our spiritual foundation will be unbreakable if we do these two very important things. We CANNOT do one without the other and expect our foundation to be strong.

Now… why is it that we build foundations? What is the foundation there for? Is the foundation the end of the building project, or the beginning?

In Kensington, there were two foundations built in different parts of town that sat there for quite some time.

The hole had been dug, the earth had been moved, the block had been laid, and the foundations looked like they were ready to go… but for a long time, nothing else happened.

This confused me and I found myself asking, “Why would anyone build a foundation… and then not build anything on top of it?

Well, several weeks later, two houses were moved in and set upon the foundations! One day, no house, the next day… two houses!

The foundations were put to good use!

My point is, we don’t stop building at the foundation.

The foundation is the most important part of the build… and it serves to bring strength to whatever is built upon it. The foundation will dictate how big the build will be, how strong the build will be, and how long the build will last. What I want us to understand is… The foundation is not the end… it is only the beginning!

When it comes to our faith… there is a house... or a life to build. And it starts with a firm foundation of hearing and doing the Word.

That foundation… should lead to spiritual… GROWTH. And… the stronger that foundation is, the larger the growth will be.

What I mean is… the more I learn about God, His love, His truth, His ways, etc.... the more I want to learn about Him!

The more of God we take in, the more we grow in the Lord. The more we grow, the more we take in. It is a life-cycle, that if cared for properly, will cause and create spiritual growth in our walk with the Lord every day.

Here’s what I want us to understand: Healthy, living things… grow.

Our relationship with God… is alive. Or at least it should be! Our relationship with God helps us to come alive! THERE IS LIFE IN OUR WALK WITH THE LORD!

The Spirit of God brings life to us… just as it brought life to Jesus when He walked out of the grave.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that now dwells in the hearts of all believers! THAT SPIRIT BRINGS LIFE!!!

Romans 8:11 NIV

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Secondly, our relationship with God… should be healthy. What does that mean? It means we prioritize it, we take care of it, we spend time with Him.

Healthy relationships… will cost us something.

If it doesn’t that relationship is one-sided and will not last. But if the investment is there, that relationship will be long lasting and beneficial.

Listen, Christ has already shown He is willing to go the distance for us! He laid down His life that we might come to know Him. What are you willing to give to know the Lord? I pray it is nothing less than giving all.

IF life and health are present in our relationship with the Lord, then we will experience growth in the Lord.

Growth does NOT happen on accident. Growth is intentional.

We are surrounded by farm ground at HWC. We know the processes required in order to see crops grow. Do any of these fields just… happen? Absolutely not!

We must till the ground, plant the seeds, give it nutrients, protect from pests and weeds, and pray for rain!

Growth REQUIRES intentional investment. This is true in nature… and it’s true in our walk with the Lord.

So tonight, the house habit to be considered is We Grow Intentionally. We do not leave our spiritual growth to happenstance, we intentionally do what is necessary to grow in the Lord.

I want us to look at a familiar passage that talks about intentional investment in our walk with the Lord. And as we study this passage, I want us to reflect on our building strategies. Ask yourself:

Am I intentionally building on the foundation God has given me through hearing and living His Word?

Am I hoping growth will just happen on the foundation God has given me through hearing and living His Word?

Listen… I have NEVER witnesses a house that built itself. Someone had to bring in the materials, the workers, the experience, and the time to make it happen.

Your spiritual growth in the Lord is worth the investment! Let’s look at a few key elements of this house habit as we aim to grow intentionally in the Lord. And before we dice into our first point, let’s read our main text from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 NIV

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Now someone might be asking, “Pastor, what does running a race have to do with spiritual growth?”

Paul lays down some incredible truth regarding growth using the illustration of a race. And it starts with this:

Have a Goal in Mind.

How far do you want to go? How much growth do you want to experience? The goal you have in mind is the desired outcome you will work for.

When a farmer plants a field, I don’t believe they hope for just half the field to grow or three quarters of the field to grow… I believe they hope for EVERY SEED to produce fruit.

In the passage from 1 Corinthians, Paul makes clear what the goal in mind is.

There is a prize to be awarded.

Only one runner will receive the prize (they didn’t have participation trophies in Paul’s day)

So if only one prize is winnable and only the winner will be eligible for the prize… then run in such a way as to get the prize.

The goal Paul sets is to win the race!

When it comes to our growth in the Lord, we don’t settle for okay, or pretty good… I hope our goal is to experience all that God has for us!

When we slip into settling, we are not running in such a way as to get the prize. When we settle for anything less than winning, our overall investment in the race will begin to fail.

So I want to ask you this evening… how much do you truly want to grow in your walk with the Lord?

What is your goal… what is your desired outcome. For me, that desired outcome comes from the words of Jesus.

I do NOT want to be the servant that was turned away as a doer of evil. My prayer is that I will hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” I pray that, like Paul, I will have the assurance that I fought the fight, finished the race God set before me, and kept the faith.

AND… this desire is not based off a “prize” I hope to achieve… I just want to please my Lord and Savior! He gave ALL for me… I hope to give all to Him!

Now… how many know that a simple goal will not automatically cause growth to happen?

The goal helps to establish the finish line, but there is a lot of track to cover in the race! Knowing what and where that finish line is is a good thing, but getting to that finish line is the key.

If growth stops at good intentions… then growth will never happen.

There’s an old saying out there that might seem a bit harsh at first but here me out… the saying simply says, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” How many have heard this before?

This idiom means that people often intend to do good things but in fact do not, often because they are lazy or weak. In other words, the road to failure is made easier by good intentions.

Church listen to me: with intention MUST COME ACTION.

If you want to finish the race, you must learn to run the track.

If you want to best crop possible, you must care for the field after the seed is planted.

Faith helps us see the goal… but as James 1 makes very clear… ACTION MUST BE PLACED TO THAT FAITH.

So… Paul tells us that once the goal is set…

Do the Work to Reach the Goal.

Paul said in verse 25 that those who compete go into strict training. They don’t hope to be first in the race, they work to be first in the race.

When it comes to growth, we must choose to be actively involved in spiritual activities that promote spiritual growth.

Those activities include:

Prayer

Worship

Reading the Word

Serving in ministry

Living our faith

Attending worship services and special events.

Theses are very specific actions that growing believers need to make time for in their daily lives.

These spiritual disciplines help to do two very important things in our walk with the Lord.

One, they help us to build up our strengths.

If you are good at prayer, praying more will only make you better at prayer.

If you are good at witnessing or living your faith, doing it more will only make you better at witnessing or living your faith.

Your strengths… will become STRONGER.

Two, they help us know and deal with our weaknesses.

When I have a physically active day, my body will tell me at the end of the day where its weaknesses lie.

Some of those weaknesses… are areas in my body that need to be strengthened!

Some of those weaknesses… are areas in my body that need to be… done away with!

Done away with? What does that mean? Like if I want to feel better as I lean over the front fender of a car to work on the engine, maybe I should loose the spare tire that is trying to creep up on me in the stomach area!

Our spiritual disciplines will help us to grow strength… and they will also help identify things that are holding us down, spiritually.

Jesus, in John 15, speaks of an important process regarding growth that we cannot ignore. That process… is known as pruning. I want to look at two Scriptures from this teaching.

John 15:1–2 NIV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:5 NIV

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Our spiritual disciplines help us to see the areas in our life that are not bearing fruit for the Lord. Those dead branches will only hold us back. We need to ask God to come in and help us get rid of the areas that are stunting our growth.

Secondly, our spiritual disciplines help make our strong areas, stronger. Pruning areas that bear fruit… only make them more fruitful.

The bottom line is… these spiritual disciplines are the needed actions to help get us to the desired goal.

No level of intention without any level of action… will ever achieve a measurable result. Such will only make a person “feel” better as they grow further from the Lord.

If you want to grow… it is going to cost you something. But church… the cost is certainly worth the growth!

It can sometimes be painful in the journey… but the destination is worth every step. And… God is with us in the growth!

Lastly, there is one more point Paul brings out that I want you to see tonight:

Keep Your Focus on God.

Pastor, this seems kind of obvious. We are talking about growing in God. We are talking about spiritual disciplines regarding our walk with God. How can we possibly lose our focus on God in this intentional growth process?

Look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

1 Corinthians 9:26–27 NIV

26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Paul has the goal in mind. Paul is doing the work necessary. But then look at what he says in verse 27… he does these things “so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Huh… that’s interesting. How can a guy that is preaching to others be disqualified for the prize? Simple. The guy preaching to others has lost focus of why he is preaching to others. Is it for his personal gain… or the glory of God?

I don’t want to grow to gain personally, although there is much to gain in knowing God more deeply. I want to grow to glorify His name more profoundly!

We need to be careful when setting goals for growth… are we doing this for personal gain or for God’s glory? It is in this area that we can lose sight or lose focus of God.

Take the church, for example.

If all we do as a church is accomplished to make a name for ourselves, then we are way off mission. But… if all we do is accomplished to glorify the name that is above all names, then I believe God will bless our ministry and fill it with His presence!

Paul recognized a danger here. You can do the work… and miss the point. You can look and sound like a religious person, but be out of the will of God.

This is the entire premise of the warning given by Jesus in Matthew 7. If we grow out of our will and for our glory, then we are growing for the wrong reasons. BUT… if we grow for His will and His glory, then expect God to do great things!

God’s will is for His church and His people to grow!

God will be glorified in those who are growing in Him!

This is how it should be.

But if we preach for our glory, if we build for our pride, if we worship for our attention, if we pray with fancy words for our ego, then we are not growing in God… we are growing in self.

We must continually keep our focus on the Lord.

He is worthy of our intentional pursuit and growth. He is why we set the goal. He is why we do the work. It is ALL about God the Father.

So… let’s aim to grow!

Let’s choose to get in His Word!

Let’s choose to pray and worship daily!

Let’s choose to prioritize attending church!

RightNow Media is a fantastic resource for Spiritual growth! (QR Code on Screen)

I want to close with a question I presented a moment ago… what is the spiritual growth goal you have for your life and family?

He went the distance for you… how much are you willing to give for Him? Intentional growth is going to cost you something… but the return is far worth the effort!