Spiritual Growth & Renewal

Jim Gossweiler   -  

If you’re anything like me and listen to The Church at Severn Run’s messages, you have heard Pastor John Smith and Bonni Mace and their recent teaching on spiritual growth in 2021. And you might wonder… how can spiritual growth apply to me?

In short, spiritual growth is the process of becoming more and more Christ-like. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins the process of making us more like Him, transforming us into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). Spiritual growth is nicely described in 2 Peter 1:3-8 which explains that through God’s power we have everything we need to live godly lives, which is among the goals of spiritual growth.

Our knowledge of Him is key to obtaining what we need spiritually to grow. Our knowledge of Him comes from the Scripture, which has been given to us for our growth and spiritual enlightenment. In connection with our spiritual growth, there are two lists in Galatians.

The first lists the “acts of the flesh.”:

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results  are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension,  division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other  sins like these.” Galatians 5:19-21a

These are the things that were part of our lives and behaviors before we came to Christ for repentance and salvation. The acts of the flesh are the activities we are to confess, repent of, and, with God’s help, overcome. As we experience spiritual growth, fewer and fewer of the “acts of the flesh” will be present in our lives.

The second list is the “fruit of the Spirit”:

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23

These are what can be present our lives now that we have experienced salvation in Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth is identified by the fruit of the Spirit becoming increasingly evident in our lives.

When the transformation of salvation occurs in us, spiritual growth begins. The Holy Spirit dwells in us (John 14:16-17). We become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old, sinful nature falls away to a new, Christ-like nature (Romans 6-7). Spiritual growth is a lifelong process that depends on careful and diligent study and application of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and our walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26).

As we look for spiritual growth, we can pray to God and ask for wisdom concerning these areas. We can pray to God to increase our knowledge of and faith in Him. God desires for us to grow spiritually, and He has given us all we need to experience spiritual growth. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can overcome sin and steadily become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.

God honors our commitment to learn more about Him, the time we find, save, allow, and schedule for our spiritual growth. Using Bonni’s example from Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Those who wait on the Lord shall… mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). The time we spend in diligent study with our Bible and our prayer list, our covenant life spent with our heavenly Father, is time spent waiting upon the Lord. Then, in God’s perfect timing, there is the mounting up, the taking flight like that eagle! We are able to soar because we’ve been with the Lord… as the lives of many scriptural heroes illustrate.

• Moses was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter and, as such, experienced kingly privilege for 40-years. But then God took him into the desert to be a shepherd, a regular person, for the next 40-years of his life (Exodus 3:1). After those 40-years of God preparing him, Moses appeared with signs, wonders, miracles, and faithful service to God (Exodus 3:14).

• John the Baptist was another of God’s regular people. For 30-years he lived in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and eating wild honey and locusts (Matthew 3:4; Luke 1:80). After those 30-years of preparation, John preached like no man ever had, preaching so powerfully that his listeners actually thought maybe he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15). John’s ministry lasted only one year and still it demanded lengthy spiritual preparation.

• Earlier in his life, Paul was a terrible person who persecuted Christians. However, one day he was dramatically converted from Christian-hater to Christian and wandered into the desert for three silent years (Galatians 1:17-18). After those three years during which God prepared him for an amazing and far-reaching ministry, Paul was renewed… preaching, teaching, and working signs and miracles.

Just like the heroes of the Bible and just like our Savior Himself, we can be prepared. When the timing is right, when the opportunity for ministry presents itself, we, too, mount up with wings like an eagle… ready to do God’s work! We are then privileged to live out the saying that success comes when preparation meets opportunity. God is responsible for presenting the opportunities… in His time, place, and manner… but we are responsible for cooperating with His efforts to prepare us.

And that preparation happens when we spend time alone with our Lord. Good comes out of that time. In fact, for good reason, solitude has been called “the school of genius.” It’s also true that “much of the world’s progress has come out of singular pursuits.” So, set aside some time to place yourself before God so He can bring about spiritual growth in you.

JG