Growing the Church

Colossians 1:3–14 NIV

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1. God wants us to grow

2. Obstacles to growth

Unbelief

Rebellion

Curses

Lack of Knowledge

Loss of purpose

Loss of Hope

3. The vision must drive you

The Bible says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”

It is reported that Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right”

Where there is no vision, people act wildly (perish)

God want our church to grow (that’s the vision)

4. God’s plan for growth

God said, “Be fruitful and fill the earth”

He told Noah and his family, “Be fruitful and replenish the earth”

Repentance is the way to renewal and new growth

God is in the practice of restoring, renewing, and revitalizing His people

5. God expects the church to grow

Infancy to maturity to reproduce

Seeds into plants that bear fruit with seeds

We all need to pray for growth in believers

Spiritual growth

In faith

In knowledge

In love

Growth comes through discipleship

Commitment

Putting away the sinful self

Moving on from basic teaching

Becoming mature in your thinking

Perserverance in faith

Using your gifts to help the church grow