Things that are properly cultivated grow. "Sometimes it's fruit; sometimes it's root. It's always growth season for believers."
"When Growth starts, decay starts"
We grow… 1. From Strength to strength Psalm 84:7 (NIV) They go from strength to strength,
If growth is your goal, being sustained won't be a problem.
2. From Glory to glory Christianity is not simply a transformed life. It's a life of transformation.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Psalm 92:12-15 (NIV) 12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."
Cedars of Lebanon. 🇱🇧 Psalm 104:16 (NLT) The trees of the Lord are well cared for— the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 1. Majestic 2. Evergreen 3. Resistant & repellent of est. 4. Longevity 5. Useful 6. Fragrant
"We only flourish naturally if we are rooted deeply!"
3. From Knowing Jesus to Knowing Jesus . Philippians 3:8–12 (NLT) 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death…12 I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
Cultivating Roots. 1. Persistent in Christ. Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT) 6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Depth requires devotion.
1 Peter 2:2–3 (NIV) 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Word + Prayer
2. Plugged into the house Psalm 1:1–3 (NIV)1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Acts 2:42 (NLT) All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper ), and to prayer.
-They were not Just devoted to Jesus, they were devoted to one another!
