This will be a year of growth! That‘s what the Lord told us at the beginning of this year. Growth in Numbers as a Church, growth in Maturity and Knowledge of God, Growth in the knowledge of God’s love, growth… I’m proud of you. If you are still here then you did some growing. This has not been an easy year for any of us. It has been a good one though.  To learn to stand is part of the growing process.  Did you grow as much this year as you would like to have?

Spiritual Growth is similar to natural growth but, growth in size is not the same as MATURITY! Natural growth happens automatically if you feed the body right and get sleep etc..

BUT spiritual maturity will happen only if you cooperate. It is stagnant if you do not. You can stop growing in maturity and even start to shrink. The physical nor spiritual age of a Christian does not determine his Maturity.  Simply put “Those who live the Word of God from their hearts and are doers not hearers only are the wise ones and are on the way to maturity.”

Rom 5:1-5

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in (the midst) of our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, produces character; and character, produces hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (NIV)

• Perseverance:  KJV calls this patience. This is not a quality of only waiting till the trial or hard time has passed. BUT this is the attitude of the heart while we are going through it.  This has the meaning of being able to go through this because I count the end result worth the trial. This will determine if we go on to the next level.
• Character:  KJV says experience. Literally this word means you have determined the way you respond under pressure. “The product has been tested and found to act this way” This material has these Characteristics while they were tested. These are the limitations of this substance!
• Hope:  (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:  If you are not excited and anticipating it’s coming, then it is not Hope.
• The only thing that is not possible is to go through life without Trial! I Thess.3:2-4,

James 1:2-8

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops (same word as in Romans 5:3-4) perseverance. 4 Perseverance (PATIENCE) must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (NIV)

• Here again we see the call to consider it pure Joy when we face trials, because there is development, production, growth, and maturity! COMPLETE wanting nothing!
• v:2 means whether we fall into something or something falls on us and that there will be many different kinds of these tests. What do you call a trial that cannot defeat you? PRACTICE!
• ***I do not mean sin! Sin is not a trial it is a temporary defeat! Repent!  We can actually go through anything and come out Victorious!

Rom 8:32-39

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV) Sounds like everything is included!

• How many of you want wisdom? Well let’s see how God gives it to us.
• We ask!
• We must believe and not doubt
• Don’t be moved by the storm that is coming! (Jesus in the boat, “where is your faith?”
• If you are moved, do not persevere you will get NO WISDOM!

2 Cor 4:17-18

17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

Heb 12:1-17

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. (NIV)

·         Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees

o   Cast off everything that slows you down! Part of the Maturing process id identifying what you need and do not need!

o   Consider him. When? During the trial. Put your mind on the Lord!

o   Remind yourself of the importance of what you are learning!

·         No bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many

o   Many get caught here in bitterness blaming others for their difficulties and lose sight of where they are going.

·         *See that no one is…godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights

o   Many Charismatics, Spirit-filled people, Word of Faith people have not grown up. They do not want to get the eternal STUFF! They want quick gratification.

Prayer: Commitment to submit to God’s discipline.