Please open your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. We'll start reading at verse 14. And our text will be verse 18. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless. And consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of things in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. And this is our text. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that you would open up your word to us this night, and Father, that It would do our souls much good, Lord, and it would draw us closer to you, Lord, and give us greater communion with you. And most of all, Lord, that it would cause us to walk in a way on this earth that is pleasing to you. Father, we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. prior to this, he just warns them of the day of the Lord and the promise of a new heavens and a new earth that's going to come. And then in 2 Peter 3, 18, as he gets down to the end of the chapter, he tells us, but to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever. And what this basically says in the Greek is to be But you need to keep growing in grace and knowledge from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ That this verse speaks of continuance It speaks of an ongoing process that you are growing in grace and knowledge and that you're becoming more and more like Christ in Character and in knowledge and as you absorb and you digest more of the divine favor that's in your life more of the divine gifts and and the divine truth that God gives us then you will grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and And when you talk about growth, our Lord Jesus Christ is the only source and fountain of grace and knowledge. And we have to remember when we talk about subjects like this, that without Him, we can do nothing. So all we that profess to belong to Christ, when we talk about growing in grace and knowledge, we have to ask ourselves a question. How much have I grown in the Lord Jesus Christ? over the years or over the weeks or however long you've been saved? Have I made progress or am I progressing in spiritual things? Am I truly changing in my life? You have to ask yourself the question and you have to look at your life and ask yourself, am I more settled and stable as a Christian? Can I see growth in my character? Can I see it in my actions? Do I hear the growth of the Lord Jesus Christ in my speech and what about my mind or where are my affections as I walk on up the road with the Lord? You have to ask yourself the question, have I built my house on the rock or the sand? Now to many who profess to know Christ, this subject I'm sure is of no importance to them because the average Sunday morning, I call it the Sunday morning get it over with quick Christian could care less about growing in the Lord. They could care less about growing in sanctification. They have no hunger or thirst after righteousness. And to the once a week religious man or woman, all this is foolishness to them because they can't discern spiritual things and what God's will is for our life. But you have to ask the question, why is this matter of spiritual growth so important? And I think it's so important because when you talk about spiritual growth, you're speaking of the sanctification process. Because if we're not changing, or being changed more and more daily into conformity to the image of Christ, then we're not being sanctified. Because to be sanctified, you have to grow. And the true saints of God, they are growing in grace and knowledge of Christ, and it's simultaneously with the sanctification process. More and more, little by little, they sound different, they look different, they act different, they think different, their interests are changing. God is making his people fit for heaven. And while we're on this earth, we're being renewed in our minds. And a lot of times while we're here, brethren, we don't realize the work that's being done, but you're growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes you have to look back over the years of your life and see how you used to respond and how you used to react to situations in your life or what you thought about other things. But you should be able to look down the road and see that things are still changing in your life and will continue to change from glory to glory to glory. Now, the Word of God at times will rebuke a lack of growth or progress in the Christian life. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 5. Sometimes we can be rebuked for that. Hebrews chapter 5. I'm sure you know this passage of scripture. But the writer here, he rebukes him. He says in verse 11, when he talks about 9 and 10 he talks about the priest according to the order of Melchizedek and then he says of whom in verse 11 of whom we have much to say and things that are hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing and then he tells them for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both evil and good. There's a lot you could say about this passage, but I mainly want to show you that he told them He says for though by this time you ought to be teachers He said you need somebody to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and you need milk and not solid food And what he's telling them he said you've been Christians for a long time and you ought to be teachers of other people He said you have dropped back so far that you need someone again to teach you the ABCs of what God has said to you And he tells them here, he said, you are babes who need miracle and you have not yet advanced to solid food. Then the context, he had just spoke to them about Melchizedek and how Christ was a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. And in verse 11, he told them, he said, I have much more to say to you about him, but he told them it would be hard to explain to them because they were dull of hearing. And what it was is their lack of maturity in the faith had made it hard for him to discuss this subject with them. His problem here was that he had to figure out how to reduce God's sayings about Melchizedek, which really are solid food. He had to reduce this down to milk in order that these brethren could understand it because they had reverted back to babyhood. So they basically are rebuked for not growing in knowledge of Christ. And as you know here, he's talking about talking to Palestinian Jews who knew the Old Testament and things like that, and he's just rebuking them because they had not grown into faith. They weren't growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Now turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians 4. And I'm sure sometimes we could be guilty of that. Because of our lack of growth, we cannot explain things to people that we ought to be able to explain. Y'all with me? Because of our lack of growth, because we've been dull of hearing, and we haven't grown especially in knowledge. But Ephesians chapter 4, and this has been taught on many times, just to remind you of it again, In verse 11, he said he gave some for apostles, some for prophets, some for evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And his reason was, is that we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. and for this reason that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting but speaking the truth in love that we may grow up in all things into him who is the head and he talks about the Lord Jesus Christ So God has set the ministry in place to see to it that the people of God grow up and that we grow up with respect to him in regard to everything who is the head and that is Jesus Christ. Now God is a God of means and God will use his ministers to equip the saints for the work of their ministry to build up the saints and to edify them and the whole body of Christ and he's going to build them up that we would no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Brethren, we are to be growing into a stable people, settled and established in the faith. We shouldn't run to every whim of doctrine that comes through, every movement that goes through, but we should be settled, and the more we grow in Christ, the more stable and settled that we should be. In Colossians 2, verse 6-7, he says here that we should be rooted and built up in him, we should be established in the faith. Sometimes we hear complaints that you don't hear enough of this or you don't hear enough of that, or you hear too much of this and you hear too much of that. Sometimes what your problem with hearing is, is that you haven't matured as a Christian. Because maturity has a lot to do with how you hear the Word of God. Because what we're doing here in the ministry, as best I know, is we're striving for the unity of the faith to the knowledge of the Son of God. And we're trying to feed you a full plate of food. And brethren, mature people, in 2 Timothy 4, 1-4, mature people endure sound doctrine. Mature people like to eat solid food, and they don't get bored when you're feeding them. And when you start to, you know, Paul talks about the day will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they'll start, they'll have itching ears, and then when you start getting those itching ears, you are about to turn to fable. But the way you get preached to here, we preach to you here as if you're hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We teach to you here and preach to you as if you're maturing and growing up. And if you refuse to grow, then you're going to be very aggravated sitting here. I was listening to Pastor James going through Romans. I said, man, I've got to really catch on, latch on with my ear to what he's preaching. And when Pastor James went through Ephesians and all through the Old Testament and all these things that we get here, we're very well fed here. And we got to endure sound doctrines. And you say, well, man, all this stuff in the Old Testament is just good. It's old and boring. Now it will mature you into faith. And God's trying to build you up into the perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that you will be solid in the faith. Mature Christians will mature from the whole counsel of God and not just your pet doctrines or your favorite scriptures. A lot of people like certain things that we hear. There have been times in my Christian life that I ran into the Jesus freaks. They don't want you to preach anything but Jesus. I said, but what about what Jesus said? What about the things that Jesus did? What about the examples and the patterns that Jesus set for us to follow Him in His life? He said a whole lot in the Word of God. There's nothing wrong with being a Jesus freak, but you need to be balanced. You need to know His person. You need to know all about Him. You need to know the things He said, and you need to glorify Him in your life. We're figuring here that you're desiring the sincere miracle of the Word, and we need the Word of God to be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. So you will mature here, and I know sometimes the subjects may seem like they're boring, but you just need to be mature and endure sound doctrine. You need to listen with your ears. You have to develop mature ears as you grow as a Christian. And a lot of times people will amen their pet doctrines, but they don't amen the ones that's best for them. Are y'all with me? Yeah. You know, and that's the truth. But you got to, you know, you amen everything that God says, because everything that God says is good for you. And everything that God says is nourishing for your soul. So as you grow and mature as a Christian, you learn these things. And I'll tell you, most Christians that I know in the world, they wouldn't even last a week in this church because of the doctrines that we study sometimes. They couldn't stand it because it's too heavy. The food, they couldn't digest it. You know, they need some miracle. And I mean, they need some pavilion miracle. I'm talking about that real thin stuff. They can't go past solid food. I mean, solid food. But it comes a time that we ought to grow up. It comes a time that we should be able to teach others the Word of God. It comes a time where we should be able to give a reason for the hope that is within us. We should be able to explain the Gospel. And sometimes it's to our shame that we don't know the things that we should know. Now, the first thing tonight is the Word of God does teach growth for the believer. And I want to tell you what growing in grace does not mean. When they talk about growing in grace, you can never be any more justified than you are right now. You can never be any more forgiven, any more saved, any more at peace with God than you are when you first believe. Once you were justified, and Pastor James preached a lot on this, it's perfect, it's complete, it's a finished work for every believer, whether you're strong or whether you're weak in the faith. Colossians 2 verse 10, every believer is complete in Christ. Your redemption is complete and is filled for all eternity. But when we talk about growing in grace, we're talking about all the graces that the Spirit of God implants in our heart at salvation. All these graces you will increase in, in degree and in strength and in vigor and in power. These things will increase in your life. Galatians 5.22, he talks about the fruits of the Spirit. Just to name some of them, love, joy, peace. long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. You get stronger and you get more persistent in these graces in your life. In fact, the graces that God implants in your life when you are saved, they become more natural in your life. You begin to walk more natural in these graces. That's what you call growing in grace and knowledge of Christ. Matthew chapter 13 verse 23. He says, he that receives seed on the good ground. Number one, he hears the word of God. Number two, he understands it. Number three, he bears fruit. He said he produces some a hundred fold, some 60 and some 30 fold. I just wanted to show you that because there are different degrees of fruit bearing. But the thing is, is proves that right here is there's different degrees of growth also amongst the people of God. Your growth has nothing to do with how long you've been saved. It's the other things that it has to do about growing in grace. Because there are some people that have been saved for many, many years, but they have not grown any in grace. And one of the reasons why some people haven't grown in grace is because they don't hear enough of the Word of God and they're not challenged enough in their life to even grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I didn't say that they weren't saved, but it has nothing to do with how long you've been saved. You can get a person that is barely saved, and they jump into the Word of God, and they jump on their knees and start praying, and they make a constant, consistent habit of this, and they walk with God, and they meditate on the Word of God. They're going to grow faster than somebody who does not do that. Are y'all with me? They will grow. And I'm not saying they're growing overnight, but over a period of time, if they're consistent in their walk with God, and they're consistent in their devotional life with God, then they're going to grow faster than somebody who's been saved longer. But when you grow in grace, your sense of sin becomes deeper. You're more aware of your sin. Your faith gets stronger. You have a brighter hope of the future. As Pastor Jim told us about this morning, and your love for God and your love for your brethren grows greater. Another thing, you have a stronger distaste for this world and the things of this world, and you have a greater interest in Christ and his word. Just to give you some examples from scripture about growth and increase, 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 3, the apostle says, Your faith groweth exceedingly and your love abound toward each other. He talks about your faith growing. He talks about your love abounding more and more toward each other. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 10, he says that you increase more and more. just give you some scriptures Colossians 110 he talks about increasing in the knowledge of God and then first Thessalonians 312 he said the Lord make you increase and abound in love that's something that we need to continue to do is to increase and abound in our love for God and for our fellow man and definitely for the brethren 1st Peter 2 to as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word of God that you may grow thereby that is a vital aspect of our growth So we should be able to look at our own lives and we should be able to even look at the lives of our brethren and compare them to when we first got converted. And now that we're down the road a bit, we should see a difference in the degree of our faith and a different degree of our knowledge. And we should see some even radical changes that have taken place in our lives since we were first saved, just depending on how long you've been saved. So, you know, you should be able to look at your life and see some progress. That we're a long way from the end of it, but we should see some progress and to know that the Lord is doing a work in our lives. You say, why is it so important to grow in grace? It's important to grow in grace because it's evident of good spiritual health and prosperity of the soul. And brethren, if something is not growing, something is wrong. And you say, where would be the problem? Well, if something's not growing and it doesn't grow for a long time, then you start looking to see if there's life there. Because you got to have life before it's going to grow. So growing souls are increasingly progressing in the Lord, some more than others, but it's a good sign of good spiritual health. Some Christians look like they're dead, but they have life. They just are not spiritually healthy. I mean, some Christians just say there's no way they're Christian. But what has happened is is that their growth has temporarily stopped, and they're not increasing in the Lord. And the Lord will not leave them in that state too long, because everybody who truly will make it to heaven, they will be sanctified in the end. And they're going to be sanctified, only a death of Christ's return will stop this process. And we'll talk about it later, but the Lord will step in and see to it that the work gets done. And I'm going to tell you something. It's easier to use the means than to let Him have to make you use the means. Y'all with me? Because that can happen too. But if you're God's, he will see to it that the work will get done. And we don't like to hear that, but God will do that. And some of the things he does sometimes is not very pleasant to get you to do the things that he's called you to do. Growing in grace is important also, and this is a good one, because it makes us happy as we walk with God. You shouldn't walk with God looking like you're drinking vinegar every day. And people do that sometimes because they're not progressing in grace. Because when you're progressing in holiness and the fruits of the Spirit, the reason why you're happy is because you know that you please God. And the main thing that should make us happy on this earth is the fact that we know that we please our Heavenly Father. And there's other things that make us happy before this fact, but that's the fact that should make you happy because joy and peace in believing belongs to the Christian who is progressing in the faith. And it's a happy thing when you know that you're, you're pleasing your heavenly father. And a lot of people say, well, you know, I'm struggling with this and I'm struggling with that. You can be struggling with a lot of things and still be pleasing to God. You know, just because you're struggling doesn't mean that you're sinning. A lot of people think that because they're in a struggle with nine battles and things like that, that they're sinning. Now, as long as you're fighting and you're overcoming these things, you're pleasing to God. It's when we whimper down and we start giving in, we don't even try and we don't pray and do things like that. That's when we're not pleasing to our heavenly father. Number three, growth is important because of our witness to a lost world. Matthew 5, 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Our influence on other people for the good of their souls a lot of times will depend on what they see in us. And the Christian who is always at a standstill, never progressing in holiness, has the same faults and weaknesses and besetting sins, you become useless to this world. you know, Christians that are controlled by their passions and, you know, like Christians that cannot control their tempers. They fly off the handle of Christians that are worry warts and unstable. I mean, this is not a good witness to the world. I work around men sometimes and they claim to be Christians. They get mad. They curse. I mean, they do everything. And all people ever say is, that's what they're all like. They're just hypocrites. And they love to say it. And you know, it's not a good witness to the world. And I'm not saying whether they're saved or not. But what I'm saying is, if you're not progressing in holiness and righteousness, and the world doesn't see changes in your life, then you're not a good witness to this world. Because the growing, changing Christian is a true testimony to the marvelous, amazing grace of God. Your friends and your family should see you progressing into conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I used to say this, but I shouldn't say this, but you haven't even done anything till they call you a fanatic. And that's the first thing they did when we first got saved. You don't even have to be progressing in grace just to get saved and you're a fanatic. And when you start changing and you start making choices and decisions in your life and you start growing closer to the Lord and start being conformed to the image of Christ, they will call it religious fanaticism, but the Bible calls it sanctification. And that's why we need to have a good witness and testimony to the world. Well, you have to do that by growing in grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus. Another reason why it's important is because we said it pleases God for us to bear more and more fruit. We're happy because we please God, but growing in grace is also important because it pleases God for us to bear more and more fruit. It's amazing that anything done by sinful, unworthy creatures can bring pleasure to the most holy God. It's amazing. First Thessalonians chapter four, verse one, the apostle says, we read this a while ago. Finally, then brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ that you should abound more and more just as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God. And then John 15, eight, Jesus said by this, my father's glorified that you bear more, much fruit. So you will be my disciples. So it does. It's important because of the fact that we do please God. And the last thing on this subject, we are accountable to God that we grow. For the believer to neglect to grow, he grieves the Spirit of God and you rob yourself of the privileges that he's given to you. But God will see to it, like I said earlier, that through means and circumstances, that if you are truly His, sanctification will get done and you will be made fit for the kingdom of God. A lot of problems that we have in our Christian lives, brethren, is because we don't use the means God has given us to get to places. We sit back and, I was going to say this later, but I'll say it now. Sometimes we think that we're the extraordinary one. Like, yeah, they do need to use the means of grace. Yeah, they need to pray because they really need it. But I don't need that. You know, I'm not that weak. You know, I mean, yeah, they got some major problems. That brother, he really needs to pray. No, you really need to pray. You know, they need to hear the word of God. Now you need to hear the word of God. You know, well, I can just miss church and I want to, but it's not going to hurt me that much. It does hurt you that much. But you think you're this extraordinary creature. He can get by the way that God said is the way to the kingdom of God. Well, I said that God will see to it that it gets done. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 8. Turn to Hebrews chapter 12. Y'all with me today? This thing about growth is very important. We're not growing to prove nothing to anybody. We're just growing because it pleases God. It's God's way of making us fit for the kingdom of God. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 8. You know this one by heart. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and you are not sons. And then verse 10, he talks about our fathers who corrected us after flesh. He said, for indeed, for a few days, they chastened us as seen best to them. But the Lord does it for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness. No chastening seems to be joyous for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." So he says, if you're without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then he says you're illegitimate, and you're not one of God's sons. But what he says is that God will chasten us, and the reason why he does this is to make sure that we will be holy and fit. for heaven or for the kingdom of God. And sometimes we neglect the means of grace that are designed to make us grow. And so God, like I said earlier, will personally step in and help you and I alone to get back on the path of sanctification, because without holiness, no man will see the Lord. God will spank you to get you back on your knees and in his word and in his house. Are y'all with me? He can do that. And he does do it. And there's been times, you know, that we think we don't need prayer. Those things can happen to make you go to your knees. I've seen heathen go to their knees because of things that happened in their life. They weren't saved, but they start calling upon the Lord. You know, and some of them, you would hope that they would get saved because they don't have a changed heart. As soon as it's over with, they go right back to their sin. But the Christian, when God chases you and He's sending you a message, then you need to know, number one, that it's God that has set this up and is trying to get you to look back toward Him and His Word and to get back on your knees and to pray. That's what Christian growth is all about. God will see to it that the work gets done. So it's very important, brethren, that we, you know, you don't have to sit around and look in the mirror every day and say, am I growing? Am I growing? No, you just need to use the means God has said to be healthy as a Christian, and he will see to it that you grow because God is the one that gives the increase. But we have to use the means that he's given us. Well, let's give some evidences of Christian growth. How do I know that I'm growing? Well, number one, you have more of a hatred for sin. More of a hatred for sin. Hatred. You hate sin more. In other words, you're more sensitive to sin. When you're growing in grace, you see more sin in yourself than ever before. And I'll tell you, there's times you seem like you're getting worse and not better. There's times that you cry out like the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7, verse 24, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? People growing in grace get disgusted with themselves because of their sins and they see sin in themselves more than ever and it just troubles them and bothers them. When you're growing you don't take sin lightly, you grieve over sin and you repent quickly and you begin to watch and pray. Sin will make you abhor yourself, abhor yourself just like Job did when he saw the Lord. And what sin will do I mean, what growing in grace will do, it will make you criticize yourself and not others. When you're growing Christian, you turn all your criticism in on yourself. And when you're growing Christian, you become even more aware of sin. And also more things become sin for you now than they were before, because you see more things. God has opened your eyes to more things that are sin. And brethren, if you could do things now that you wouldn't dare do when you first got saved, If it's not because you were in some kind of particular legalism, then my question would be, why were you convicted over then but not now? Has God changed his mind about sin? If you were calling something sin years ago, but you don't call it now, and you changed it, then why can you do it now? It could be because you was in legalism, but we have to be careful that we don't confuse Christian liberty with backsliding. Because, you know, some people are doing things, I say, people that I know as Christians, they go back to doing things and say, you wouldn't never dare do that. They do it now. Could be backsliding. And when you backslide, you start losing your conviction over things and you're going backwards and not forwards. And you start to go back into your old sins and foolishness and you're not pressing on in sanctification. But when you're growing in grace, sin will bother you more and you're more sensitive to sin. Now, you don't have to get under condemnation and think every time you blink your eye, you've sinned. But sin will bother you more. You're more aware of sin. And as you look at the world the way it is today, more things become sin to you because there's a lot of hidden motives behind a lot of the things that are going on in this world. Second thing, but this should be first, when you grow in grace, you have increased faith and love for Christ. The number one evidence that you're growing in grace is that you love Christ more. He excites your affections. You love him more and more every day and year of your life. When you sing about Christ or you talk about him, or when you read about Christ, it brings absolute joy and healing to your soul. When you're growing in grace, only Christ can brighten up your day. I mean, there's times I've been going through things and I can think about him and his work at Calvary and all that God has done for me, and my day is just completely brightened up. Because there's times that there's nothing that can soothe your soul, but thinking about your savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you growing in grace, all his offices as intercessors, substitute priest, advocate, physician, and shepherd, these things unfold themselves in your lives in a manner like never before. They're not just titles, but they become real to you in your life because you know more of the Lord Jesus Christ, your hope and your peace fully rest in him alone. And you look to Christ more and more as you grow in grace. Pastor James has been teaching Romans to not depend upon your words that you know, no man can boast and everything The more you grow in grace the more you see your need of Christ And the more you see that there is no way in the world that you can take your works before God and please him I mean you see yourself. I mean even when you first get saved you see yourself as a helpless sinner, right and You also see it as you mature and grow in grace, that you're still a helpless sinner. And except by the grace of God, you won't make it into the kingdom of God. That He has to sustain you. He has to keep you up in your integrity. He has the one that has to give you power to walk a holy life in a sinful world. It's all to the glory of God. And so you start to look to Christ more and more because you know that this world is hopeless without the Lord Jesus Christ. Another thing about you can witness is growing in grace is that you have holiness of life and conversation And when you start growing you become more careful about your thoughts about your words about your speech and about your actions I just want to take one of these tonight When you grow in grace you get better control of your mouth Y'all with me And if I had to guess, and I'm talking to myself tonight, most of the evil in the lives of believers proceed from the tongue. Now, you've got to remember what comes through the mouth comes from the heart. In James chapter 3, verse 2, this is what James says. James said, we stumble in many things. We all stumble in many things. But he says, if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man. He's mature. He's a complete man. He's able to bridle the whole body. Now, when you can go, one of the greatest signs of growth is that you have control of this poisonous tongue that we have to control all the time. And when you murmur, complain, and backbite, whisper, lie, deceive, or curse, or speak in any kind of evil, you're not growing as a Christian. Are y'all with me? And the easiest thing to do is to open your mouth when it's completely unnecessary. Well, that's the truth. I was going to say say amen, but that's the truth. Because it is the truth. And one of the sins that we'll fight till we go to our grave is criticism, murmuring, backbiting, all these things from the tongue. But a growing Christian, James says, a perfect man, a mature man or woman, they're able to bridle the tongue. James chapter 1 verse 26, he says, our religion is useless and we deceive our own hearts if we don't bridle our tongue. When you grow in grace, you will use your tongue to bless and praise God and to build up and edify the brethren. You ever hear somebody say, well, somebody needs to say something, but don't let it be you. I need to say something about this. It's hard not to say something about things I know about the tongue and everything else. But I'm telling you, brethren, if you can get that in control, you're in pretty good shape in the kingdom of God. If you can keep from criticizing, backbiting, and all the things that Satan will bring to try to get you to do with the tongue. Many, many churches have been overthrown because of the tongue. Backbiting and all these kind of things, critical talking, evil speaking, and things like that. Or another side of it, if you're still crying about everything and your condition in life, you still need to bring your tongue under the control of the Spirit of God, and you need to grow up. Because step one in growing up is we need to learn how to bridle our tongues. Another way we grow in grace, and this is what happens, is you will increase in humility as you grow in grace. The more you grow in grace, you feel more unworthy and undeserving especially when you contemplate God's mercy on your life. When you draw near to God, you become much more sensitive, like I said, to sins and imperfections. But we realize, like the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul says, I am the chief of sinners. He said, I am less than the least of the saints. And this is always going along in your mind. God have mercy upon me, a sinner. You will think less and less and less highly of yourself. And when you grow in grace, you'll think more highly of your brethren. You won't dare criticize your brothers and sisters because you know your own putrid condition. You know the own plague of your own heart. And you know your own dreadful state before God. That's why you can't criticize others. And brethren, when a brother or sister is having a hard time or they fall, this is what you do when you get mature and when you're growing in grace. You say, except by the grace of God, there go I. And I've said this before, and you mourn over their sin, you know, their fall. You're not happy over it, you mourn over it. But I've said this before, you say, you never say, I would never do that. Yes, you could. Yes, you could. But the reason why you haven't is because of the grace of God. And that's the only thing that's keeping any of us in this room. That's why we call sinners to Christ, because it's by the grace of God that you can be totally delivered from all your sins and kept for all eternity. But mature Christians, concerning humility, they will not flaunt their knowledge and their wisdom, but they use it for the glory of God and for the deliverance of their fellow man. That's what they will do with wisdom. They know when they live life, they know what it's all about, the grace of God. Their lives are totally void of all boasting. Well, my last thing tonight is, what do I need to do to make sure that I'm progressing and growing as a Christian. How do I become more and more Christ-like? Well, one thing for sure is this, sitting around and confessing and believing that you're growing and progressing won't get the job done. Letting go and letting God does not get the job done. Passivity will not do it. And don't get me wrong, God does all the work. But as I said earlier, we must use the means that he's given us or it won't happen. And God works through certain means. And a lot of people in their faith are at a standstill because they are disobedient and they're not faithful to use the means that God has given us. And like I said, you're nobody special. You have to use the means. And don't exempt yourself from the means that God has given us because those means take us to the intended results that he has for us. God uses means to sanctify and to grow and to conform his people into the image of Christ. He does not take a magic wand and wave it over you and the work is done. That would be easy, but God makes us walk through things and He gives us the means. It's a lifelong work of the Spirit of God in our lives through the means which He gives us to cause us to grow in grace. Now, first thing is you must use the means of grace to grow. If you're going to mature into faith, you're going to have to use the means that God gives us. We have oversights here to oversee your souls and to make sure that you stay diligent in the means of grace. But the main reason why we have oversights is this, is to make sure that you are a healthy and a happy Christian. And brethren, we're not trying to meddle with you or try to say take a hammer and hit you upside the head even though maybe sometime you could use one. But we want you to use the means of grace because it will deliver your soul. It will keep you growing as a Christian. It will help you in the sanctification process. It will make you a healthy Christian. Proverbs 13, 4 says, the soul of the lazy man desires and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. So you and I, we cannot grow as a Christian if we don't take pains and we're not diligent to use the means of grace because it takes effort and it takes intense effort sometimes to get it done. And when I say the means of grace, I'm talking about the public and the private means of grace because you cannot press on with God without either one. And concerning the private means of grace, you've got to be still with your soul. You've got to commune with your own heart and meditate and concentrate on spiritual things. And people who refuse to do this, they always have some worldly, selfish excuse why it doesn't get done and you're deceiving your own heart. Because our excuses for why we can't get God's work done are all purely selfish excuses. Y'all with me? Prayer, Bible reading, meditation, self-examination, and this is one we really don't like, fasting. That's a good exercise to practice. Every now and then you need to do that. Many times all these things require self-denial and forsaking of worldly fun and pleasures to get it done. And I promise you, you will not progress in the faith without it. You may think that you're progressing, but you're deceived. You're not progressing without using the means of grace. And I know, brethren, I mean, it's something that you have to do. I mean, it's very important that you have to do it as a Christian, because if you don't, you're going to get stagnant as a Christian. You're going to be weak. You're going to be unstable. And pretty soon when you don't use them, you're going to be unsure about your salvation. You'll be questioning this and that and the other. And if you don't use the means of grace and if you don't put this guard up around your mind and around your soul, the devil will have a heyday with you. Are y'all with me? That's why a lot of Christians are spiritually insane, because they don't want to use the means of grace. They don't have this protected barrier around the man that the Lord gives you when you read the Word of God and you shore up yourselves by using the means of grace, by praying and seeking the Lord and communing with the Lord. And the Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. But one way you resist him is you use the means of grace. And you store up the Word of God in your heart. The public means of grace are very important. You know that the Lord's Day worship, the praise and the prayer and the Word of God preached, the Lord's Supper, All this unites us together as the people of God and is vital to Christian growth. 1 Corinthians 12 says, God has so structured the body that we need each other. And brethren, if you isolate yourselves from the meetings, you rob yourself from great blessings from God. Because God is always here. We told you this before over and over. God's always here in a special way, especially on the Lord's day. And you rob yourself from blessings for your soul. You need to be around the people of God. And even though people may aggravate you, you remember this, iron sharpens iron. Y'all with me? God sent me here to aggravate some of you, but you need to be here. You know, I know that I can be aggravating at times, other people can aggravate me, but it helps you to grow in grace because there's a lot of growth that takes place when we fellowship with each other. And this one thing is for sure, it's impossible to have fervent love for the brethren if you're seldom around them. to forsake the assembling of yourselves with the people of God and avoiding the means of grace, you're robbing your soul of a lot of great blessings that God has for you. Being a member of a church will expose you and prove you for what you really are. And as we're going over in the studies that we're doing, it's unbiblical not to be a member of the church. It's blessings. I mean, you get your soul fed, you get your soul washed over, you'll get disciplined by the church. But by us being around each other all the time, God uses this to work the fruits of the Spirit in our lives. And he teaches us how to love one another. And I'll tell you, it's easier to get off in a corner so nobody can find you out. Because people are going to ask you questions. They're going to see how you act. You've got bad habits when you eat and stuff like that. All this stuff will be exposed when you get around people. And people will try to hide things. But don't despise the public means of grace because God uses these things to sanctify us and to grow us up in Christ. So we're saying that you have to use the means of grace if you're going to grow as a Christian. And a lot of your growth will take place around your brethren. And that's the growth that you need to grow up into Christ. Number two, and you know, this was your turn to James chapter one. God definitely uses trials and tribulations to grow us in grace. Definitely. You know this scripture by heart, I'm just reminding you of a few little things tonight. James chapter 1 verse 2. He says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but that patience hath its perfect work, that you may be perfect, complete, and lacking nothing. So, he says, count it all joy when you fall into these various trials. And he says, the testing of your faith works patience. And then he says, the end of patience is that you may be perfect, that you may be complete, that you may lack nothing. Now, this word patience means constancy and perseverance. It means to remain under, to prove that your faith is genuine. And the purpose of the testing of your faith is to make sure that there are no weak spots in your faith. And it's to make sure that we do not remain incomplete and immature. So when God sends trials your way, he's working patience in your life. And what he's doing when he sends these trials is to complete and to mature us in the faith. And this is one of the major ways we know that God grows us. But I just want to tell you that tonight, when you go through a trial, God is doing a work in you, but it's a good work that he's doing in you. He's working patience in your life. He's working perseverance and making, working constancy in your life to make sure that there's no weak spots within your faith. And as you walk through these trials, you grow and grow in the faith. You grow as a Christian in the faith. And the last thing tonight in order to grow in grace, We need to be faithful in all the little matters in our lives. I want to give you a quote from one man. He says, he that despises little things shall fall little by little. We are called to take up our cross daily and follow Christ every minute and every hour of the day. And if we're not vigilant in the little things, then our soul will not prosper. You have to remember one thing that God is a precise God. He knows every hair that's on our head. He watched the sparrow that falls from the ground. God is precise about everything. And just to give you a few things that you need to really be on the watch for, husband and wife confrontations. And it's just a little snapping at each other, revengeful, hateful attitudes within the house, or even revengeful or hateful attitudes amongst the brethren. These are little things that we count as insignificant. But brethren, if we don't have these things together, we will fall little by little by little. These things are significant with God. We've had a lot of teachings on these things, but still we look at them as insignificant. And if we let little things go, like our thought lives, like our work ethic at work, all of the kind of things that you can think of tonight, then you won't be spiritually healthy, and you won't prosper, and you won't grow as a Christian. A lot of things that we push off as insignificant are very, very important in the sight of God. So if we're going to grow as a Christian, we're going to have to grow in little things, because if you don't grow in little things, Christian maturity is absolutely impossible. And it's the little foxes, as I said before, that spoil the vines. It's when we're at home and we let things get on our nerves and things like that, and we snap, and we get angry, and we go into these moods and things like that. These are the things that spoil the vine as a Christian. We're not going to do it in front of anybody else, but we will do these things at home. So it's the little things that keep us from growing. Well, as we close down, bottom line, what is Christian growth? John chapter 3 verse 30, John the Baptist is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was coming on the scene with his public ministry. John says this, he says, he must increase and I must decrease. And to me, that's Christian growth in a nutshell, more of him and less of me. Because when we grow, we become more and more like our savior. You may say tonight, well, I feel like nothing has happened in my life at all. I mean, I don't think I've grown an inch in the last 10 years. And sometimes you feel that way. You say, well, how would I know that I'm growing? And you know, how do I deal with all this? What do I need to do? Well, I told you what you need to do to grow and how God does grow us. But let me read you a quote from Thomas Watson. I thought this was good. He says, Christians may be growing when they may be growing, when they think that they are not growing. And he says, Proverbs 13, seven says, there is one who makes himself poor, yet he has great riches. The site that Christians have of their defects in grace and their thirst after greater measures of grace makes them think that they do not grow. And what he says here, he says, souls may be rich in grace and not know it or perceive it. And if you're busy about God's business, don't worry about it. You're growing. You hear what I'm saying? You're growing. And don't look for it in yourselves, because other people can see your growth, and God knows that you're growing. But a lot of times, when you're dealing with these things, you think that nothing is happening in your life. But it's because you see your sin, it's because of the great goal that's set before you, that you can't see these things, and you think nothing is happening. But God is doing the work with you, if you are doing the things that we said tonight. And just for the unconverted, before we close down, your problem tonight is not growth, but your problem is life. You cannot bear any fruit pleasing to God until you become united to Christ. John chapter 15 verse 6, Jesus says, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and they throw them into the fire and they are burned. And this is the point being tonight. Pure and simple that you either bear fruit or you will burn. And there's other messages in the word of God that says this. Number one, you cannot bear fruit pleasing to God outside of Christ. And you cannot bear fruit unless you have life. And if you leave this earth without bearing fruit, the Bible says you will burn. And when it talks about burning, it's talking about hellfire. So it's only through him that you can bear fruit because he's the way and the truth and the life. And I just want to leave this with you tonight. The only true fruit that will be acceptable by God on the Day of Judgment, it will become because you have been united to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He is the only one. He's the way to heaven. But brethren, we need to make sure that we're growing in the Lord. Growth is important because it speaks of the sanctification process. And the reason why it's important is mainly because it pleases God. It's the way He tells us to do it. But we'll be a better witness to this world. We'll be a much stronger church. We'll press on in the things of God. I believe a lot more doors and avenues will open to us if we will use the means of grace, if we continue to press on into the kingdom of God and do it the way God told us to do it. May we all grow into grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you tonight that you've had great mercy in our lives. And Father, you've brought us a long way from where we were before we were saved. And Father, we know that your hand of mercy has been upon us. And Lord, there's times that we've been at a standstill and we haven't grown like we should. But Father, give us a greater hunger and desire after righteousness. Give us a greater hunger and desire to know more about Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we pray once again tonight, Lord, that this church will be a witness to a dying world. and that you will open doors up that we can take this gospel to this world, and we will bear fruit also by taking this gospel to a lost and dying world. Father, we ask it all in the blessed name of your Son, the Lord Jesus. For it is in his name we pray. Amen.