Most recent Sermons on Sermon Cloud All Time
Sermons about Spiritual Maturity
Order By:
Recent | Downloads | Amens
Raising Saints
Ronnie continues with Paul's admonition of the "fighting" that was occurring in the early church in Corinth. In this section he talks about spiritual maturity. "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it." Spiritual maturity comes when you accept relational and functional responsibility in your church. It also comes when we know what areas in our life need work and when we are willing to work on them. He asks us to pray regularly for the church and attach high value to every person in the church and to accept personal responsibility for the health of this church.
TOPIC: Spiritual Maturity in the Local Church (1 Corinthians 2:14 - 3:7) 05-15-2011
1. A CONTRAST: the Spiritual Discernment of Believers vs Unbelievers. 2. SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY: worldliness, jealousy, quarreling, overly focusing on the messengers rather than the message. 3. SPIRITUAL MATURITY: focused on God who gives the increase.
USING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH AND UNTO THE GLORY OF GOD (1Cor 12:1-13 Message ● #3/6)
INTRODUCTION. 1. Some Highlights of Spiritual Gifts. 2. Problems with the Church in Corinth: ● in General (1Cor 1:10-17; 5:1ff; 11:17ff): Their problems included spiritual pride, sexual immorality, and selfish/self-centered living. *The church was largely divided between the haves and the have nots. Some were seeking to live faithfully in Christ, but many of those in leadership or influential positions (i.e. hosts of the house churches) were driven more by the selfish-ambition & worldly wisdom of their Corinthian culture, then they were living for Christ and embracing the humility, shame, wisdom and power of God found in the cross. (*1 Corinthians, by David E. Garland, pp.1-21). ● with Spiritual Gifts (1Cor 12:1 – 14:40ff): “Some Corinthian Christians seem to have been creating divisions over spiritual gifts. Paul's use of the body analogy in 12:12–27 implies that they have placed so much emphasis on one gift that those without that gift feel that they are not part of the body (12:16–17). Considering its prominence in the discussion, that one gift is probably speaking in tongues” (*ESV Study Bible; notes on 1Cor 12:1ff). UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 1. Be United in Christ’s Lordship: thru which we have the Holy Spirit (vs1-3; 12-13). 2. Appreciate the Variety of Gifts: which reflect the Triune God (vs4-6). 3. Recognize the Distribution of Gifts: given by the Holy Spirit as He wills (vs7-11). USING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 1. How do I know what my Gifts are? 2. How and why should we use our Gifts? ● 1 Peter 4:10-11 (see also: Ephesians 4:1-16). ● Romans 12:1-8 (see also: 1Cor 12:14 – 14:38).
Trials: the means for spiritual maturity
Everyone experiences times of suffering in their lives. However, how we handle these sufferings and trials in our life will indicate our spiritual maturity. As Christians, we must realize that God intentionally ordains trials (testing) in our lives so that we might ultimately become spiritually mature. And if a believer is in doubt as to how they should respond/react to these trials, then they should ask God believing that He will give them the wisdom necessary to endure through their trials.
Joyful Mourning (Matthew 5:4)
The world defines blessedness, happiness, contentment, in the things of this world. However, it is it not the things of this world that account for true blessedness, but having the assurance of grace, forgiveness, joy, satisfaction, and a relationship with God in the next. That is true blessedness and it is that which the Lord addresses in the Sermon on the Mount. The blessedness that the Lord speaks of runs counter to the thinking and philosophies of men, because it is the blessedness that is God-centered. The promises of those in the Kingdom are rich, but before they can be had there needs to be an inner transformation; there must be a humbling of yourself before God; there must be genuine repentance. The introduced the first element of this genuine repentance with the stunning statement: “blessed are the poor in spirit;”
The Fruit of Loving God's Word (Psalm 119:97-104)
It seems that too often we know so much more about God's Word than what we obey and experience the fruit of. The psalmist teaches us that wisdom and fruitfulness come when we love, meditate on, and obey God’s Word. Each of these elements is important for genuine spiritual growth and reflected in the life of the psalmist.
Will You Come Home?
"We are doing this series because we want to make sure we don’t become a people who love the church and like Jesus. Through this series it’s my hope that you’ll fall in love with Jesus like never before..." "There’s this myth floating around in Christianland about what spiritual maturity is. Some people seem to think ‘really being fed’ is about someone rooting out the most obscure observations from the bible. They think that’s what mature believers do, they master the obscurities. I don’t see Jesus teaching that way. Jesus was the master of taking the complex and making it simple." (Mark Connelly, Lead Pastor)
Guard Against Greed
"We are doing this series because we want to make sure we don’t become a people who love the church and like Jesus. Through this series it’s my hope that you’ll fall in love with Jesus like never before..." "There’s this myth floating around in Christianland about what spiritual maturity is. Some people seem to think ‘really being fed’ is about someone rooting out the most obscure observations from the bible. They think that’s what mature believers do, they master the obscurities. I don’t see Jesus teaching that way. Jesus was the master of taking the complex and making it simple." (Mark Connelly, Lead Pastor)
