God Wants You to Grow!

Happy Sunday!

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached, "God Wants You To Grow!" He used John 15:1-2 as his reference scripture.

It is so sad and tragic for an individual to look back over their life and see no progress. God wants us to move forward, expand our horizons, and enlarge our territories. God wants us to progress in every area of our lives. We should be better spiritually, physically, emotionally, and financially.

The enemy wants us to "Normalize Abnormality".

But we must move out of our comfort zones and agree with what God says is possible in our lives. LESS is NOT the BEST! One of the names of God is, "El Shaddai". This name describes God as the Sustainer, or All Sufficient One. God is more than enough and he wants us to have more than enough. Oh, so you don't believe me? Let me prove it. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, "This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God." (Message Translation)

So how does God help us grow? So glad you asked.

1) God helps us grow by "PRIORITZING" us - John 15:1 says, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard." (Voice Translation) If we are going to grow we must realize that JESUS is the true source. Every opportunity, every blessing, every miracle, every accomplishment is because of the mercy and love of God.

2) God helps us grow by "PLANTING" us - Psalm 1 says, "Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." (New Living Translation) God plants us in families, in communities, and in work places. In John 15, God is described as the husbandman or the gardener. Sometimes plants need fertilizer. Don't be discouraged if you have to deal with a little manure or fertilizer in this life. Remember, "All things (good and bad) are working together for your good and God's Glory". Bloom where you are planted and bring forth good fruit.

3) God helps us grow by "PRUNING" us -John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Wikipedia decribes pruning like this, "Pruning includes deadwood removal, shaping (by controlling or directing growth), improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for transplanting, and both harvesting and increasing the yield or quality of flowers and fruits. The practice entails targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted tissue from crop and landscape plants." Did you get that? God wants to remove diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound and otherwise unwanted things from our lives! He wants us to bring forth high quality fruit or results in our lives. Matthew 7:16-19 says, "But you will recognize them by their fruits. You don’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, do you? You don’t find delectable figs growing in the midst of prickly thistles. People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty. And what happens to the rotten trees? They are cut down. They are used for firewood." (Voice Translation)

GOD wants YOU to grow!

Love and prayers, Cynthia