KEYS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH PART 3

ATTITUDES OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH

1 Peter 3:8

1 Peter 3:8 NIV - Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

INTRO:  This is the third sermon in our series, “Keys to spiritual growth.”  The first sermon was the same title as the series, the second sermon we looked at, “Principles for spiritual growth.”  In this sermon we are going to look at, “Attitudes of spiritual growth.”

The other day I say a little girl at a store.  She was talking to her parents, as well as everyone walking by about how tall she was getting.  She was exited because she was saying, “One day, I will be as tall as Mommy and Daddy.”  As I walked by, the little girl looked at me with a rather curious look.  She said, “Sir may I ask you a question?”  I said, “Sure you can.”  She asked, “Are you still growing?”  I said, “No, why do you ask?”  Her answer took be by surprise, “Because, sir, the top of your head is coming through your hair!”

Do you remember as a child how that you would compare your height to that of your parents?  You would measure your physical growth to theirs.  Your desire was to grow, to reach the height of your parents.

Here is Peter’s first letter, he is giving some closing instructions.  As it often the case in the epistles in the closing verses Peter is I giving his readers some very practical instructions that they can live their life by.

Church, spiritual growth is not just some supernatural event where God is going to zap us and make us more mature.  It is very practical.  It should be a part of our day to day living, to grow up and mature in Christ Jesus and His teachings and ways. 

So let me ask you a question, How about your spiritual growth?  How do you measure up compared to when you first believed in Him?  How have you grown spiritually in the past year?  Today, we are going to look at attitudes of spiritual growth.  If I am growing in Him, it will be shown not only in my knowledge, and my actions, but also in my attitudes.

1.  Growing into a harmonious attitude.

v. 8a - Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another;

A.     One of the tell/tell signs of a lack of spiritual maturity is disharmony or disagreements.

B.     Show me a person that is always in disagreement with others and always causing disharmony and I will show you a person that is either truly not saved, or not spiritually mature and needs to grow up!

C.     The Church in Corinth was just a church.

1.      Oh, they all had the gifts of the Spirit, the demonstrative services, and the signs and wonders that people in our times often chance after, but Paul called them spiritually immature.

2.      It was evidenced by the strife, jealousy, divisions, disharmony, and disagreements in that body.

1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT - for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

3.      Church what we can learn from this is it is not the outward signs that make us mature, it comes from the inside out, not outside in.  We can have the greatest emotional services, sermons, and prayer times, but if we are jealous, cultivate disharmony and disagreements, we are carnal, fleshly, or controlled by the sinful nature, not the Spirit according to this verse.

D.     The Early church was one that abounded in Spiritual harmony.  A few examples from Scripture.

Acts 1:14 NIV - They all joined together constantly (in harmony) in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts 2:44 NIV - All the believers were together and had everything in common.

1.      What was the result of this harmony listed in these two verses, favor with the people and physical growth of the church.

Acts 2:47 NIV - praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

2.      They were so harmonious that when they prayed, the earth shook, they were filled with the Spirit and they endeavored to meet each others needs.

Acts 4:31-35 NIV -  31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

E.      Harmony is a definite attitude of spiritual growth and maturity.

1.      The key to such an attitude is to pray together, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

2.      The result of this will be growth in the church as well as the ability to meet each others needs.

F.      In other words, true physical growth, which is conversions, not transfer growth, may depend on personal spiritual growth of believers.

2.  Growing in my attitude of sympathy and kindness.

v. 8b - be sympathetic…

A.     The Greek word for sympathetic here means, “Tender hearted, kind.”

B.     We live in a very rude society.

1.      People think that if  you want them to be kind and tenderhearted and sympathetic toward one another, you need to pay them to do it.

C.     If we are unkind, rude, aloof and distant, it is evidence of a lack of spiritual maturity.

D.     We will never be able to reach people, and change our world for Christ if we have such an attitude.

E.      The Bible talks about mourning with those who mourn and rejoicing with those who rejoice.

1.      That is what it means to have a attitude of sympathy and kindness.

3.  Growing in my attitude of love.

v. 8c - love as brothers…

A.     We are currently in the process in building this new church building behind us.

1.      But when all the work on the physical building is done, we will be continuing to build this church together.

B.     You see that is what the attitude of love does – it builds up the church.

1.      It lets each member of that church function with the gifts and talents God has given them, not showing more importance over another.

1 Corinthians 12:12-25 NIV - 12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

C.     You see, love for each other allows one another to grow in Christ at His timing and will, not ours.

4.  Growing in an attitude of compassion.

v. 8d - be compassionate…

     A.  The word compassion in Greek means, “to suffer alone with another.”

Hebrews 4:15a AMP - For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities…

B.     Here this verse in Hebrews says that Jesus as our High Priest understands and sympathizes or has compassion of us and shares our feelings in regards to our weaknesses and infirmities.

C.     As a believer as well as being in local body of believers in Christ, we must have compassion for each other.

Romans 12:15 AMP - Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others' joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others' grief].

1 Corinthians 12:26 AMP - And if one member suffers, all the parts [share] the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members [share in] the enjoyment of it.

5.  Growing in an attitude of humility.

v. 8e – Be…humble.

A.     What does humility mean?

1.      According to Noah Webster, “In ethics, freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s worth.  In theology, humility consists of lowliness of mind; a deep sense of one’s estimate of one’s own unworthiness in the sight of God, self abasement, penitence for sin and submission to the divine will.”

B.     Even Christ Jesus had at attitude of humility.

Philippians 2:5-8 NIV -  5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

1.      By putting on human flesh, coming to live on this earth as a man and suffering the humiliating death of crucifixion, Jesus showed us the perfect attitude and actions of humility.

2.      And this humble act is the one act in history that saved us all.

C.     We should have the same attitude as Jesus.

1.      Sometimes we just need to forget our position as it were, and step out of our comfort zones and humble ourselves before others so that they might see Jesus in our attitudes and actions.

CONCL:  May the Lord help us all if we ever get so busy that we fail to respond to each other with kindness, compassion, and humility.

How are you progressing spiritually?  In what areas do you need to pray and allow God to work in you?  It isn’t going to come by me laying hands on you and God zapping you, but in your private prayer closet, seeking His face and hearing His voice through His Word.