For Personal and Spiritual Growth

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Welcome
Good Evening

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GROWING SPIRITUALLY
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?

3. Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

4. Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing? 4
Understanding Spirituality
The Journey of Spiritual Growth
Developing Self- control
God’s definition of a productive life
3 tools to grow
WE WANT TO BE FRUITFUL …

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Understanding Spirituality
• Jesus’ Story of the Four Soils
•Spirituality is a journey,
……. not a destination

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The Journey of Spiritual Growth
Ava¨vwZ¥Kfv‡e †e‡o DVvi hvÎvq
Avgvi ü`‡qi gvwU †Kgb...
• Smooth(flat/plane)soil mgZj gvwU
• Shallow soil (slight, slim- no great depth) AMfxi gvwU
• Thorny soil(Sharp, prickly)cv_y‡i ev k³gvwU
• Good Soil fvj gvwU
•Growing Spiritually…. First step is…
Growing Spiritually….

7. FIRST STEP: DEVELOPING SELF- CONTROL
 Many of our problems are caused by a lack of self-control. AvZ¥`gbGi
Afve
 The result may be that you feel: overwhelmed (weighed down); (
AwZwi³/ PZz©w`K†_‡KPvc,cÖwZ‡iv‡aAÿg-defenseless; vulnerable(weak);
scared/fearful or uncertain (doubtful)m‡›`nev AwbðqZvAbyfeKiv|
 Self-control is essential ( Acwinvh©)to leading effective
and productive (fruitful) lives (djcÖ` Ges dješÍRxe‡bi Rb¨).
 In order to develop self control, try the following:
 Identify your problem and admit to it.
 Put your past behind you. ‡Zvgvi AZxZ‡K †Zvgvi wcQ‡b ivL
 Challenge your feelings. Zvgvi Abyf‚wZ¸‡jvi †gvKv‡ejv Ki|
 Believe you can change. wek¦vm Ki †hZzwg cwieZ©Y Ki‡Zcvi‡e|
 Avoid temptation.
 Trust in God’s power.Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing? 7

8. GROWING SPIRITUALLY. ARE YOU GROWING?
0ur lesson is…. Growing Spiritually.
Growing means bearing fruit (fruit of
the Spirit)/productive life.
 What is God’s definition of a productive
life?
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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9. ARE YOU PRODUCTIVE/FRUITFUL?
 These days we are very conditioned to be productive.
eZ©gv‡b djcÖ` ev dješÍRxeb MV‡b Avgv‡`iAb‡K kZ©...ZeyI ,,,
 We work hard to become more productive.(AvgivKwVb
cwikÖg KiwQ G dješÍ/mdj e¨w³ n‡Z)
 Too often though, we are working to be productive at
the wrong things. hw`I Avgiv fzjwelq ev wRwbm wb‡q dješÍ/mdj e¨w³
n‡ZPvB)
 Suppose you received your own personal
“productivity report” every day, week, month,
quarter, year…How would you measure up?
 What is God’s definition of a productive life?
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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10. A FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN * (SPIRITUAL FRUIT)
 The word “fruit” occurs 56-67 times in the New Testament
(depending on which version used).
 The use of the word “fruit” varies from meaning food to
spiritual fruit.
 From the study about Growing Spiritually, and learned that
in part, growing means bearing fruit (fruit of the
Spirit).
 God wants to see this kind of fruit in our
lives.
 This is His definition of a productive life.Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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11. GOD USES 3 TOOLS (TO ORIGIN/SOURCE US) TO GROW:
 His Word (2 Tim 3:16-17)
 Through scripture, God teaches us how to live
 If you are going to grow spiritually, you have got to
get into the Bible (Rom 10:17)
 His Spirit
 When we become a Christian, God gives us His
Spirit as a free gift (Acts 2:38-39)
 His Spirit lives in us and will become as much a part
of your life as you allow (Zvui AvZ¥v Avgv‡`i g‡a¨ evm K‡ib
, Ges Avg‡`i Rxe‡bi Askx`vin‡Z Pvb; Avgiv hZUv AbygwZ †`B|)
 The circumstances/Situation of our life
 Circumstances happen; our lives are filled with
events
 Some are good, some are not so good, and some
are very hard
 God allows these circumstances to occur in our lives
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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12. JOHN 15
 vs 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear
much fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
 The proof that you are His disciple is that you bear
fruit.
 vs 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit
that will last.
God wants us to bear fruit, muchGrowing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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13. Growing Spiritually Lesson 13 - Are You
Growing?
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GOD WANTS US TO BEAR FRUITS … SO
ELIMINATE(REDUCE) THE WEEDS
CULTIVATE ROOTS
COOPERATE WITH GOD

14. WE WANT TO BE FRUITFUL …CULTIVATE ROOTS
 Jer 17:7-8 – 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the
water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when
heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year
of drought (lack) and never fails to bear fruit.”
 If we want to be fruitful, we need to
cultivate roots.
 How do you handle the “dry spells” Rxe‡bi
ﮋZv wKfv‡e wbqš¿bKi‡e(irritation) in life?
 Col 2:6-7 – 6 So then, just as you received Christ
Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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15. HOW DO YOU CULTIVATE ROOTS?
 Ps 1:2-3 – 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like
a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit
in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he
does prospers.
 Roots are developed by reading and
meditating on God’s Word.
 It is if we are a tree planted by a stream of
water that never runs dry.
 As a consequence, you are able to bear fruit and
never wither/dry up.
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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16. LUKE 8:11-15
 11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the
devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts,
lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on
the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word
with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and
in time of temptation fall away.
 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who,
when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares,
riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who,
having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it
and bear fruit with patience.
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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17. ELIMINATE(REDUCE) THE WEEDS
 If you want to bear fruit, cultivate roots and eliminate
the weeds.
 What are the weeds in your life?
 Jesus mentions 3 in Luke 8:14:
 “ Mind/Cares” (worries) are a preoccupation with
everyday concerns.
 “Riches” (materialism) refers to the fixation on
making money to buy more things.
 “Pleasures” (entertainment) are the things apart
from God that we pursue to bring joy in our lives.
 These things distract you from Christ.
 They take our time, energy, money and ultimately they
can interfere with us producing fruit.
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?17
Busyness
?

18. COOPERATE WITH GOD
 John 15:1 "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.
 We will get “whacked”(tired) on whether we
produce fruit or not.
 Do not be confused by this and cooperate with God.
 He “cuts off” the branches that bear no fruit.
 He “prunes” (cut) the branches that do bear fruit so
that they will bear more fruit.
 We are to cooperate with God as He tends his
garden. Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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19. DO THESE THINGS
 What are the “things” Peter is referring to?
 These are the qualities listed in vs 5-7. (fruit of
the Spirit)
 If we do them, we will never fall. (vs 10)
 If we do them, we will receive a rich welcome
into Heaven. (vs 11)
 We are to be reminded of them continuously,
even if we already do them. (vs 12)
 It is “right” to remind each other of them (vs 13)
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
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Tools for Growth
• First, do whatever work is necessary
•Second, make use of the resources God
provides
1. A Safe Place
2. A Fertile Environment
3. A Redemptive(Salvation) Miracle
Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?

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 If you are growing, then you should be producing
spiritual fruit.
 In order to sustain our growth: e„w×i Rb¨
`iKvi..
 Cultivate roots /origin/ Source -- g~‡ji
hZœ,
 Eliminate the weeds -- AvMvQv (cwi¯‹vi K‡i)
Kgv‡bv,
 Cooperate with God -- Ck¦‡ii mv‡_
mn‡hvwMZv
If we have these qualities:
We will never fall.Growing Spiritually - Are You Growing?
 I am the
vine; you
are the
branches. If a
man remains
in me and I in
him, he will
bear much
fruit; apart
from me you
can do
nothing.
SUMMARY: hw` Zzwg †e‡o IV; Z‡eAvwZ¥K
dj Drcv`b Ki‡Z cv‡i‡e|

22. MEMORY VERSE: LUKE 8:15
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who,
having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and
bear fruit with patience.

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FAITH
LOVE
Thank You
HOPE