OBC-WHS SYLLABUS

OBC-WHS-4

Lesson 4 – Growth Essential 

            We are now advancing into more areas of how to achieve whole hearted service to our Lord.  Obviously, our spiritual growth is a main ingredient on this journey into achieving our goal of whole hearted service.  In this lesson we will be concentrating on how to grow spiritually. 

            We need to take advantage of every opportunity we have to grow in the Lord.  We need to think on how many times a week do I have to attend services in the church; with the emphasis being on *want to* and not *have to* attend.  This holds in it another question that being how many services can I deliberately, willfully miss before “forsaking the assembling of yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) comes into play.  Another thing to consider is that worship is “fellowshipping with God and Christ” (I John 1:3-7) so why would we want to miss when we don’t have to.  Of course there are also many other areas of growth we can discuss, such as study, teaching, desire to do all we can to serve and so on.

Let us now begin to look at how to grow in the Lord so that we might become a person of whole hearted service. 

STUDY:

  1. I Peter 2:2 – “As newborn babes, _______ the ________ milk of the ______, that ye ______ ________ thereby.”

 

  1. II Timothy 2:15 – “_________ to _____ thyself __________ unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, _________ _________ the ______ of _______.”

 

  1. II Peter 3:18 – “But ______ in _______, and in the _________ of our ______ _______ ________.  To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

 

  1. Acts 17:11 – “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they _________ the _____ with all __________ of _______, and ________ the ___________ ________, whether those things were so.”

 

  1. James 1:21 – “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and _________ with ________ the _________ ______, which is ______ to _______ your _______.”

 

  1. II Timothy 3:16 – “All __________ is given by ___________ of _____, and is _____________ for _________, for _______, for ___________, for ___________ in ______________.”

 

APPLY:

 

From all the above scriptures and more if you care to research them we find how important it is to study the Word of God to grow spiritually.  One cannot expect a garden to grow if it is not nurtured and our nourishment comes from the study of His holy Word and learning and understanding His commands for us.  We can also learn growth through the applying of the Christian Graces that are taught us in II Peter 1:5-8:

 

7.  “And beside this, giving all __________, add to your _______ _______; and to your virtue ___________;

And to your knowledge ____________; and to temperance __________; and to patience ____________;

And to godliness __________ __________. And to brotherly kindness ________.

For ___ these _______ ___ ____ ____, and _________, they make you that ye shall neither be _________ _____ ____________ in the __________of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

            It should be easy for us to see after the study of these scriptures that the adding of all these graces to our daily lives would definitely cause growth to us spiritually.  Anything that we give all diligence to influences us and causes us to act accordingly.  Thus we are led to whole hearted service to the Lord.

 

GIVE OURSELVES:

 

            Of course we should realize that we must give ourselves first and foremost to the Lord to be able to grow in Him. 

 

  1.  II Corinthians 8:5 –“And this they did, not as we hoped, but _______ ______ ______ _____ _______ to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

 

We also know that our faith is in continual growth stage because with each passing day we should learn more and thus have more faith that is stedfast and sure because of our growing spirituality in Him.

 

  1. I Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, ___ ___ _________, ___________, _______ __________ in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your _______ is ____ in _____ in the Lord.”

 

  1. I Peter 5:8-9 –“Be ______, be ________; because your _________ the devil, as a _______ ______, ________ about, ________ whom he may devour:

Whom ______ ________ in the _____, _________ that the same ____________ are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

 

            Now that we have looked at ways to grow spiritually we need to apply all that we have learned.  Just studying the Word is not enough we have to apply it as well so that we may grow into the whole hearted service that we should desire in Him.

 

Beverly Rainwater

RainwaterB3@aol.com