HOW TO GROW SPIRITUALLY

We learnt through basic biology that anything that is living has a characteristic nature of growth. It is not normal for someone who claims he has a healthy Christian life to remain stunted in their Christian growth. There are many people that have been attending church for many years without clear spiritual growth.

The joy of any father is to see his kids grow as at when due. There is a time to be carried around, there is a time to crawl and there is also a time to walk around and play with friends. Whenever a child doesn’t grow when he is in the stage, it is always a matter of concern in the heart of the parent.

Similarly, our Father in heaven desires to see us grow as we follow Him. His joy is to commit some responsibilities of the kingdom to us when we mature. Only matured Christians are entrusted with responsibilities. Just like the way you can not commit your company to your under-aged son, God cannot also commit tasks to someone who refuses to grow spiritually even though He loves him so much. For every stage in the life of a child, there are expectations as regarding their growth, there are physical, mental and some other developments expected, when the expectations are not met, parents know the kid needs help. There are factors that determine spiritual growth, if they are missing in the life of a believer there can only be a stunted growth if there will be any. These factors are;

Study the word of God

How can a man who refuses to eat grow? The word of God is a meal for any human spirit, without it there won’t be any form of growth. A general symptom of sicknesses in anybody is lack of appetite, this stunts the growth of anyone in the natural, how much more in the spiritual?
In Jesus’ response to the devil’s temptation, we learnt that there are two kinds of food to eat; physical food (bread) and spiritual food (the word of God). There cannot be a strong Christian life without the word of God. Studying the word of God makes us wise and powerful, it helps us discern the deceitfulness of the devil and helps us to overcome his temptation when he comes around. Jesus was able to overcome the devil by strong knowledge of the word of God. A believer that puts little or no attention on the word of God will be manipulated by devils, false prophets and life trials.

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among them which are sanctified .” – Acts 20:32

The above scripture teaches that the word of God is given to us to build us up and make us understand the blessedness of our Christian faith. When you are conversant with the scripture, you discover that it addresses all life problems. It is advisable to start with any of the gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) or seek the guidance of your pastor or church leader for better methodical approach of study.

Pray without ceasing

“Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17); And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (Luke 18:1).”

A believer who does not pray will not grow! Prayer helps us to receive grace and divine strength. The more you pray, the more you understand that you cannot live a Christian life without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer is a priviledge we have to pour out our minds, cast away our troubles and find solace in God. Jesus taught us to ask, seek and knock. (Mathew 7:7). The Bible said if we do not pray, we faint! A fainting soldier is not fit for battle. Every believer in Christ is recruited into the army of the Lord to stand against spiritual wickedness. That is why we must be fit for battle of life. We do so by consistent prevailing prayer.

We all must decide to build our prayer life. It is not difficult to communicate with someone you claim you love. We must not see prayer as another stressful adventure, we must view it as another moment of relating with the one that is in control of our lives. It is relating with the one who loves us and is willing to make our lives beautiful. In building your prayer life, duration is good but consistency is key.

Do not be a person that pray many hours in a day and go without prayer for the next five days, the strength of your prayer life lies in the consistency. You can fix a particular time that is consecrated for prayer. This approach will build in you discipline and sacredness, fix a time away from distraction that you would always come before God boldly as a son. It is imperative to know that, we can do nothing without the Holy Spirit. Instead of plotting graphs and staying frustrated, we should learn how to go to God and receive guidance, strength and illumination. A praying believer is a growing one.

Go to Church

“…..Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrew 10:25).”

There are many believers who go against the structure of God by deciding to live their Christian life alone. Going to church is mandatory for any believer that desires growth. No matter how much you study, there are revelations, edifications and correction you can get alone in the church. In the kingdom of God, there are no self made people. God’s will is to build a community of believers who fellowship together. The idea of the local Church is for your growth.

In the local Church, you have a family that can love, advice and pray for you. Every believer that does not submit to the leadership of the Church defies the structure of God for their growth. The reason why many believers today live in error is because they have no leader watching over them.

In the natural family, every child that leaves home ends up with a terrible life. In the same vein, any believer without a stable church family will not enjoy his Christian life to the fullest. For adequate spiritual growth, make sure that you join a living church.

Build your Love-walk

“…because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us; If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”(Romans 5:5, 1John 4:20)”

Bitterness is a spiritual Cancer; it grows and retards people’s faith in the Lord. The reality of diseases is when they grow, the victim do not. The more a person walk in bitterness, the less room they give for the Holy Spirit to build Christian character in them. The sum up of the nine fruit of the spirit is called Christian character and are all governed by Love.

The scripture makes it clear that the manifestation of spiritual gifts does not mean a Christian is powerful , there are many immature Pastors and Prophets all around the world, with a principal issue; poor love-walk. It makes people hate one another, live a greedy and self-centered life.

The good news is that the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit. We do not lack love, we just need to decide to make the love in us work by seeing people the same way the Lord sees them.

Live a Holy Life

“Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Sin opens door for devil to get inroad into our lives. The more a believer sins the more he sears his own heart. It makes the heart of a Christian insensitive to God’s leading which will make him fall into error.

Believers must rely on the grace of God but make personal decisions to abstain from everything capable of defiling them. This decision will make a Christian cut off from bad influences capable of triggering past sinful lifestyle. Every new man in Christ must live in the newness of live.

The joy is that we are not alone in this, we have the Holy Spirit who is able to help us live a holy life. He is capable of making all grace abound to us. No Christian however is to tempt the Holy Spirit by taking grace for granted, no one is allowed to practice a lifestyle of sin because of the grace of God.

When a believer falls into sin, we have an advocate and propitiation for our sin, we are to go to the throne of grace to obtain mercy with the knowledge that we are children of God. If we confess and forsake our sins, God would cleanse us with the blood of Jesus.

Obey the voice of the Holy Spirit

“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

In the Kingdom of God, we are promoted by obedience, the more you obey God, the more He commits Himself to you. There is a deeper dimension of love that is not available to everyone, it is only available to believers who have placed obedience to God as a priority.

Whenever you obey His written Word (The Bible) the more you hear his rhema word. Many complain about not hearing the voice of God because, they do not obey the voice of God. Disobedience sears the heart of believers and make hardened towards God.

God speaks through His Word, His servants and many other means, it is our duty to obey Him. To every obedience, there is a reward. That is why we must pray for grace to acknowledge that obedience to God directions is for our good and not a means to frustrate us.

Share the Gospel with others

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

A Christian who studies the scriptures and learns from the church but refuses to preach to others like a man who eats so much and not pass anything out. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to ensure others get saved.

God has called us all to the ministry of reconciliation, we can fulfill the call by reading out to others that are not saved and edifying those that are saved. Don’t be a believer who is ashamed of the gospel. Use every means in your capacity to tell the world about your faith.

The more you share the gospel with people around you, your family, course mates, colleagues at work, neighbor, etc. The more you carry a sense of responsibility for the kingdom, it is then you will learn to follow up on a new convert, pray for the souls you shared the gospel with and study more for better chances to expound the Bible to many others. These things will definitely grow your Christian life and this will not happen if you have not concluded to spread the gospel.

Serve in the Church

“But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Mathew 23:11-12)”

Service is a divine plan to prune us and make us better vessels in the hands of the Lord. Service makes us accountable and prepared us for responsibility and maturity. Anyone who despises service despises growth. The more we serve God, the more we grow.

It is in service that our leaders correct us on things we don’t even know is wrong. We are reproofed, corrected and edified for the work of ministry, so that we are thoroughly furnished in order to serve God acceptably.

Spiritual maturity is very important and service is God’s design to birth a mature minister of the gospel.

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