What On Earth Am I Here For? Part 4: Grow Spiritually

By Pastor Greg Byman
St Joe Community Church
​May 13, 2018

What on earth are you here for? What person are you to marry? Children to raise? Vocation to occupy? Mission to join? Whatever God may have in store for you, that calling will fall within the parameters that his word provides for all believers in Christ.
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This week, Pastor Greg Byman takes a look at Philippians 1:6 and 2 Peter 1:3-11 to consider our mandate to grow in one of the most neglected areas of life – the spiritual. Pastor Byman delivered “What On Earth Am I Here For? Part 4: Grow Spiritually” on May 13, 2018 at St. Joe Community Church. 

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​We're not to go very far because God came to us we don't have to go to him. He came down from heaven to be with us we don't have to climb some mountain to try to figure out how to get over or as Martin Luther as he was in a tower trying his best to grovel his way into the presence of God to be good enough to find God's favor and as he was climbing this mount this steps he would climb this staircase up and up and up and up and he was counting all of his sins and he was trying to do everything he could to be as clean and as wholesome and as pure as possible in front of Almighty God. And when he realized in the middle of his system of religious thought that it was impossible to be good enough to be acceptable in God's sight. And something sparked in him which he never would have imagined at that moment but it became an earth shattering religious political spiritual movement in our world. When what we now call the Reformation took place. Now I want to just backtrack and say that even while Luther was having his struggle with a Works salvation theology that was false and unbiblical. There were people all over the world that in that Christianity was thriving beyond what was going on in Martin Luther's life and in other parts of Germany and really the Christian movement was continuing on maybe more underground that it was in the surface or in the political popular arena. But indeed the protest and movement began the Reformation began and then the Protestant new it was in the history of the world we realized suddenly became out of an age where people thought they had to work their way in and now suddenly there was an awakening to understand that we cannot come to a relationship with God on our own merits it's by faith alone in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and so two weeks ago we talked about that our. Primary purpose is to worship him to put him number one because anything else in place of God is not good enough to worship anybody else any place else anywhere else that we go to try to find God or try to find a god or try to find purpose and meaning it is incomplete we have to go to Almighty God our Creator and begin a relationship with him. And then he just doesn't leave us in this state of being born again into his family alone their second purpose is that we're to have fellowship with one another we're to be a part of a body of other believers growing and going together. We don't just worship God out in the midst of the trees because quite frankly the trees can't minister to us and we really can't minister to trees the way we can minister to people so I say well I have my podcasts and I have my my my favorite radio preachers and then around to radio anymore it's more online now internet and IMO If I told you last week I probably did say this last week that you're always you're going to find all kinds of people that are better at the some of your podcast and right now you get to live your pieces you know pastors not getting that today. I'm going to and listen I'm a little David Jeremiah you know give me a little Charles Stanley and their reality is they are probably better than I am but they probably are going to be here to minister to you. They're not the ones that are going to be there encouraging and building the body of Christ the flock of Jesus Christ right here in Fort Wayne and so they you can't be a member of a radio preachers church that's not what fellowship is fellas to visit when we're together and say why don't I white people well let me got news for you people probably don't like you and you need to get over that and they need to get over that and you know you get over that is you get together you figure it out as well they're like sandpaper they rough me up launch a little smoothie out. You see God formed us for a family. And a Christian without a church families an orphan you need a place to belong and today that worship of God we find out where Ultimate Truth comes from Ultimate knowledge ultimate authority we put ourselves under that authority we listen to the truth of God's word instead of the all kinds of things that are out there that purport to be truth. And then we say I'm going to come within a group of people to get this figured out well now we've got to grow God called us to be like Jesus Christ I was created to become like Jesus so many people. You start thinking about different people in your life and he goes and then I'll I don't know how I could ever live up to I don't think you can ever not fail I just fail all the time how could I ever not fail and then even in saying that I was kind of thinking this out was I was saying this week as I was going to say how was going to say this I said it exactly that way I don't know how to not fail I do that a lot says wait a minute how about saying I don't know how to. Succeed. Even in thinking about how to tell you about how my own feelings about growth I was even being negative in that I could even say I don't even know what it's like I'm working on that in my life you're working on that in your life you know it's kind of scary to actually somebody on the radio. I was talking Christian radio. And she was talking to a client to a person she was ministering to somebody and that person was calling in and they said she asked her friend who was going to counseling over and over and over again and she was trying to get well from her from her depression and from or suicidal tendencies says What would you ever do if. If you ever got well. And her client froze with this face of well I would be able to go back to my counselor I don't I don't know what it's like to be well I don't even know what do you mean well. Assuming that she would have to be in this continual cycle of healing that she would never get well from where she was now some people it takes a short amount of time some people it takes a long time and sometimes yes there's outliers it takes a lifetime and to their grave they struggle with with issues of depression and struggles it's just I'd love to say that's not true but sometimes that is true but generally speaking we sabotage ourselves because we actually don't believe we'll ever get well from wherever we are spiritually that we have and we really don't think we can grow up to be like and in you right now you might have a Christian hero in your life someone in your life that you think is really I mean they are they've got it all together I mean boy do they have it they've got a prayer life they know the Bible better than I've ever known I mean they they they run circles around me when it comes to serving God and they just seem to know what to say and the right moment you may have someone like that in your mind you think Who is that and so I can never be like that yes you can. And by the way you don't need to be like that person just be like Jesus and Jesus figure out what you look like when you're just living out what God wants you to be you can grow you can become and by the way if you are already here and you're growing in you're one step into Christ you're already leading somebody behind you who thinks you are really moving forward spiritually you are somebody is watching you. Mom's you know this. You know this really well when you mess up dads and moms we know this really well when we say things we shouldn't say out loud and then they get repeated. We go oh we're that come from all came from me and. I taught him that and if you're if your spouse isn't there your mom taught you that in the. That's wrong that's wrong don't ever do that. Own up to it. The reality is growing spiritually is something that we can do and God intended for us to do. And it is something that when you do it it encourages other people in your life around you to grow as well I want to look at two passages this morning that talk about the fact that we were created to become like Christ the Libyans chapter one we were already there and second Peter chapter three If you're just go to your bible get to both of them first flip in chapter one put your finger there and go to flip in a second Peter chapter one. Three three eleven. When we talk about those you see God has bigger plans for you than you could ever imagine he really does and if and if you don't have a dose of optimism about your future. I don't even know you some of you. And yet I would want to tell you that God has something planned for you bigger than you could have ever imagined this isn't some godly guru positive thinking conversation I'm just saying based on God's Word if you step into the ways of God and you put your life in his hands he has a plan and a purpose for you that's bigger than you could ever imagine. And if you just give up with your own ideas of what you think is grandiose and say God how about if I let you decide what is grandiose hang on as John said to his Bible study put your seatbelt on you're going to be in for a big ride. God's got something so much planned for you you just can't even imagine it. And Flip in Chapter one Verse six God's word says to us I am sure of this that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus God has started something in every believer but he's finishing. He's working in your life he's moving in you but I want to temper that with first Peter chapter one verse three. And following. And we're going to go back to clippings and explain that. Let me read this Requip plea. For his divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness by these he has given us great very great and precious promises so that through them you may share in the divine nature escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires for this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness goodness with knowledge knowledge with self-control self-control within Durance in durance with Godliness godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love for it these qualities are yours are and are increasing they will keep you from being useless or on fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ the person who lacks these things is blind and short sighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins therefore brothers make every effort to confirm your calling and election because if you do these things you will never stumble for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you so let's go to flip Ian's Chapter one Verse six. It says here began a good work in you will be favorably completed till the day of Christ Jesus one of my favorite verses it's a promise that God has given you. This promise says that God finishes what he starts he finishes what he starts. He is doing a work in you. As I tell people he gives you want to. I want to that you didn't have before you put your faith in him as one old preacher said. Och can't get away with nothing he could hear everything he did wrong he had to go back to God and talk to him about it you ever done something wrong as a kid and you knew you could escape for a while you could hide for a while but eventually you had to go and face your dad or your mom or your grandma or grandpa you had to face him. You knew you could run forever you had to come back. You know how you know that your want to God's children because you care when you offend him it bothers you. It actually messes you up. And your life is incomplete and unsettled until you do business with God about whatever it is you did you did wrong. Now if you don't have that feeling in your mind or heart and you can stand all you want you can do all kinds of things that are outside of the bounds of God's word and it doesn't affect you at all then be very afraid this morning you may not be a follower of Christ because God's children care about what they do in light of God and what he thinks about them I'm not talking about trying to impress God or trying to be good enough to get in with God's favor I'm saying you're already in God's favor and you know you've disappointed him. You've you've let him down with the way you've lived and you don't want to live that way anymore and you know that he has something better for you than than you intended for that and during that action that you committed or that thought or that way in which you treated somebody. And you know ultimately that you've got to deal with God about that you see God finished when he starts and he's working in your life he's moving in your life to cause you to want to do you see you will grow spiritually it's going to happen you know as we sent our first one off to college and now we're going to send one off this fall and and we've got two more in the house and I've got five six years before and we're empty nesters and we're trying to figure but the reality is you can't put a brick on your kid's head and hope they don't grow anymore. They do grow up and they move on. Be kind of deformed if they put the brick on their head all the time that would work. It just happens and Disney one of the most fascinating I know Disney ought to be all about the rides and everything and they I love the rise and I love roller coasters and I love experiences like that but one of those unique things that I just keep remembering is that in one of the cafe's or one of the areas of the Epcot Center I think it was we were at. And. They had made pumpkins. To look like making mouse. They made pumpkins that were square they made pumpkins that were all these different forms other than what a pumpkin is supposed to look like it was odd. But they had taken glass or they'd taken frames and they had put these little pumpkins inside those frames and then they just filled out to be looking like that frame. They conformed to the environment that they were in. And they looked like whatever it is they wanted to look like it was they were freaks of nature they were cool but were to be conformed into the image of Christ and we've got to have structure around our lives so that we can become as Christ intended for us to become to look like Jesus. And so we need to go to first second Peter chapter one verse three to look at what that form there's so many places in the Bible but I want to go here today. To not only reemphasized in this first part for his divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness all of the ingredients are there for you to grow spiritually when you become a follower of Jesus Christ it's all in you it's all there they D.N.A. of us the spiritual D.N.A. of a Christian is to grow and to become like Christ. So I don't have to do anything right. Now this is where. We start. Acting on that which God has given us to work with and it goes on to say that we are to use what he gave us God expects us to use what he gave us he expects us to move forward in the way in which he instructs us to move forward. The D.N.A. of us is to continue to grow physically but we have to have the right environment for us to stay healthy and fit and to grow up to be whatever normal is HUMAN BEING we're supposed to be. And it's true spiritually. And there are things that we need to be a part of and there are things that we need to do in order to grow spiritually using the spiritual D.N.A. that God has put inside of us and so Peter that preacher at the first church that ever started baptized three thousand people Peter the one to deny Jesus three times and then Jesus said to me three times back and say Yes you know I love you Peter the one that was one of those rough neck fishermen the and learned men they would have probably called he was the roughneck blue collar not even a scholarly kind of guy and yet he rose to be one of the greatest leaders of the church as it first began. Well most creators leaders of the Christian movement as it began after Jesus ascension into heaven this Peter who tradition says was crucified because he was a believer in Jesus Christ and refused to denounce renounce his faith in Jesus and he said I'm not worthy to be crucified like Jesus was and asked for his executers to crucify him upside down. We think that's true we don't that's not an absolute positive but we believe that history tells us that that's true of his life this courageous man of God said there are some things we must do and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit He gave us some words to think about he said you've got your faith that's great you've got your faith but you need to add to your faith let's add to your faith goodness and virtue in other words moral power and energy that I'm actually move forward in the way that is good and right and moral. And moral qualities to your life continue to do the things you say well what is that well God's word is full of that and by the way God's word is not don't use God's words or as a rule book although there are rules in there but use it as a book of principle a book of added to it a book of character a book of the way of living not so much the do's and don'ts although there are do's and don'ts like I say. The din Commandments Yes do's and don'ts but if you look at the Ten Commandments more as an as an attitude or a way of life rather than a rule book. It changes how you apply the Ten Commandments to your life and so Peter says add to your faith goodness is and not just that but add to it knowledge and by the way when people move off center morally knowledge begins to wane in their life and they look very foolish in their decisions that they make in their life. You see these kind of go hand in hand when I'm not wanting to do good. When I'm really focused because oftentimes immorality is focused on what makes me feel good what's good for me not anybody else then I starts to cloud my thinking and I start making poor decisions. And so then we get we look very very foolish in our life when we start to make those decisions and then it says to add to that self-control temperance holding oneself it's the opposite of being a heretic self-control I'm not going to do that I don't want to do that God You know I don't want to do that I keep asking forgiveness Oh God I'm going to put people in my life I'm going to start getting around your word more I'm going to start being around God's people more I'm going to get away from the people that are causing me to do the things that I shouldn't do and I'm a star being around the people that help me do things I want to do that I know that God wants me to do. Goodness knowledge self control and then in durance. You see you and I know and this is true and we can know this and psychology I studied this at Ball State. That habits are simply behaviors that we have practiced over time that then they become a habit and then it takes two to three weeks for us to continue a habit or to Kenya to new a behavior before it becomes a habit. And God says we need to have goodness in our life start aiming for morality moral ways of living our life we need to start adding knowledge to our life start putting God's word in our life more and more and then we need to start practicing self-control when we say we see something we shouldn't do stop doing it but we've got to do it over time we've got to sustain the success of our self control and input of knowledge and aiming for virtue so that we can start becoming as a habit this is like muscle memory now now in my day the guy that I thought of I couldn't even imagine. Doing what he did was Larry Bird. Larry Bird Ike I should've looked I should have Googled it and right now you're going to try to google it don't know how many in a row free throw shots could he shoot at least one hundred. Without missing. Without missing a single shot he made one hundred free throw shots one hundred. How many here in the room have you for thought you could shoot the ball from a comfortable range and hit the ball fifty times without shooting without missing anybody here. Thank you Greg I see that hand twenty five times how many here of shot the ball twenty five times you basketball people come on some of you guys are new here twenty five times fifteen times and they are Alex of yeah OK OK Chris man's got fifteen Gina oh I thank you ladies. Happy Mother's Day. I mean he just and what many athletes will tell you. And trainers will say there is something called muscle memory you know where you are on the court and you know that your body has to be a certain way and your muscles and your movement and your action and it all has to happen and you just you you do it so many times that your body just knows what to do. As baseball starts we know it's been started been going on for a while they know that there is a routine of when the ball goes that way I know that my body and my whole action of what I'm going to do as a defender on the field is going to go and do a certain thing and I'm going to throw the ball to a certain place as depending on the runners on the base and we've practiced it so many times that it's just routine when the ball is hit a certain way that's exactly what I'm going to do spiritually speaking when somebody throws me a curve ball and they start chewing me out my muscle memory my spiritual muscle memory is to beat the snot out of them. All No that's not what I meant. My my muscle memory my spiritual muscle memory. Is to step back how myself listen for the kernel of truth. Respond. Without reacting. Maybe being quiet because he who argues with a fool and there with a fool the person behind them and might think they're a fool you know that you have to have self-control in certain stances. You know that you have to have knowledge to boost knowing why I'm doing what I'm doing. And the whole goal is that I'm going to be virtuous I'm going to I'm going to be good I'm going to do the right thing. Even when others around me are not. And I practice that over and over and over again. And if you fall down. Pick something up learn from it. A loss can be a lesson. And failure isn't final a less you simply quit. Get up and go again. And then it's getting to that next word godliness living up to the way of being a fully devoted worshipper of God not just being moral and being good but I want to be like Christ I want to be like Christ I want to look like Christ I want people to say that looks like Jesus when you walked in the room I want to have the way of Christ Wow it's like Christ was working through that person to infuse and encourage my life godliness but I'm moving towards the way that God would have me to live that people would see Jesus in me. And brotherly kindness this is care for the family. Affection for one another in Jesus' name but the body of Christ really matters to me that I care that I hurt when you hurt but I rejoice when you rejoice but I celebrate when you celebrate and I cry when you cry. When things are going tough. I try to rock with you and we bear one another's burdens the Bible talks about so many verses about the being with one another the with Factor last week was fellowship the only way that you can practice brotherly kindness Christian kindness is among other Christians. And so we've got to practice that and add to all these other things the practical steps of living out these things in a body of people with others around us encouraging us and we're encouraging them. And then finally he says Add to that love and that is generally we're saying love it OK not just the people you like but even the people you don't like. We need to practice loving people that are on lovely. People that we might not normally love what did Jesus say pray for your enemies do good to those that harm you I want to do in those who harm me. But when we are practicing growing up in our faith the way God intends for us to grow up using the D.N.A. that he put on us spiritually to be the person that God meant for us to be formed to be to be formed into the likeness of Jesus Christ not just in heaven but even as we get there moving more towards being Christ like even on this earth we've got to practice love even when we don't feel like it practices a Love is an action a way of saying that I'm going to care about somebody. Even not expecting them to love me back or to do anything for me in the reception of that love from me. I am going to choose love period love might be firm in some circumstances I love you too much to give you what you are asking me for because I know that if I give that to you it will be harmful I had a friend that he was in and out of drug rehabilitation and and I would help them out with food would help them out with material goods I think I even paid a few bills for him or the Church had and I had been a part of that rig redeeming and encouraging and ministering to him. I've had to talk to him through a glass window with a phone because he was in jail for what he had done and I just kept encouraging him and saying God loves you God has a purpose and a plan for your life and and he would go for a while and there were times he come to church and he'd say he'd say in this way back. There are some things I can't do for you because I love you too much to do it I can't give you cash anymore I'm just not going to do that that's just not going to be helpful. I'll always get you some food I'll always help you always take you and put you in a spot where you're safe and and give you a pathway out and I'll always be your cheerleader for what you're doing in your life to move towards what God intends for you in your life but I love you too much to to just do anything for you but I'll do whatever God asked me to do for you because I love you and I care about there are people that I've met before and you know I don't know that I know anybody that doesn't like me but I'm sure there are a few people I don't know I'm kind of annoying. It's true it's true don't know sugarcoat it it's true and and I mean and they may treat me like dirt that's their problem not mine. Not worried about them. I mean I don't care that they don't maybe like me but I can't change that low many way. Do good to those that I mean hold a door for me anyway don't you know slam in their face be nice to him it's just the right thing to do. And according to the Bible when we practice love. It builds us up to grow to become like Christ. Because how many people did he love that hated him most of the world. Had one or two at the cross that were crying at his death the rest were running for life through fear and multitudes Ruggieri. As he died. The agonizing death that paid for our sins and he expressed love. We need to add our faith goodness knowledge self control and Durrance darling this brotherly kindness and love you see the dangers of not growing is that we forget our purpose for living that's the danger the danger is that we forget our purpose it's almost like somebody gets what they call fire insurance get out of hell free in Jesus name yeah they get saved they become a follower of Christ they get forgiven of their sins Yeah a but they don't do anything to grow they don't do anything that's going to help them become the way Jesus intended for the come and they told me forget. What purpose God had for their life you know you practice Christian principles in your business and generally speaking not always true generally speaking you get more successful honest people. Are people that other people like to do business with. But your purpose isn't to be successful in business your purpose is to live for God and through the success of your business you're to be a blessing to others and to be an honor to God and to use your influence in your and your affluence and whatever it is that you have been given your in your workplace. Whether you're a factory worker business owner a business worker salesman somebody that works for the government your job is not to be the best worker you can be to be the best Christian that God wants you to be in the name of Jesus and through the power of Jesus in the way that he has called us to live and that through the platform of your occupation you can bring glory and honor to him so if we don't grow spiritually we forget why God saved us in the first place. And we forget what Jesus saves us from. We forget that the things that he forgave us from he actually rescued us from continuing that we might live a life that is purposeful meaningful and successful spiritually we're here to break generational cycles of sin. Where here to break generational curses things that went on in our families in the past that no longer does it have to because Jesus entered into our families and said well I'm just a product of what I became what I saw. And I've had several people say just like your mama that's how you're going to be you're just like your daddy that's all that's hogwash there's nowhere in the Bible that says because your parents were a certain way you're going to be a certain way it influences you yes does it have a detrimental effect and absolutely I'm not saying it doesn't but don't be like a Hollywood star that blames their parents on everything they were never they never were write a book about it make everybody else depressed along with them so I'm going to write a different book and it's a book God intended for me to write God intended for my parents to write God intended for their parents to write but somehow it just never took and so I want to I want God to take and I want to become something that is glorious and honorable to God. It's reading a story about a man that had trashed his relationships with this wife and then with another wife and. Basically his shenanigans led to him being a strange from all three of his children and he has figured that there was no hope of ever having a relationship with any three of them at all. And as he was talking to this. Person counselors sites don't think that's ever going to happen in the person counselor so what have you tried. To at least reach out to them to let him know that God changing you and turned you into a different kind of man than you were when you raised him and so why have really done that so I want to try I love to tell you that all three of them are close buddies with their dad now but one out of three but still are struggling to figure out to do with them I don't know what the story is now but back when this story was being told. But one of the guys one of the sons said Dad I forgave you a long time ago and I'm so glad you called me and I would talk to each other every week one out of three is a whole lot better than not trying at all. You never know Grandpa you never know dad with adult children you never know mom with adult children you never know what kind of influence that you can be now even if you weren't the influence at a time when you felt knew that you should have been you see God is working in your life now and you can be a difference maker in your family but you got to start growing spiritually to find that out you've got to start growing up in the Lord Jesus Christ you know one of my. Own i like chicken so maybe this is why one of my more favorite stories is Colonel Sanders. I mean how old was he when the famous recipe became famous. Secret recipe when was that he was sixty sixty seven and he was he was a young guy yeah he was in his sixty's before he hit success now that's that's a that's a business story. But heavens I mean you know he's got his face everywhere and then some weirdo on T.V. trying to act like him I don't know. It's kind of creepy actually. It's a man if that guy showed up at K.F.C. I would leave. Don't know about that guy did he sell insurance on another commercial Anyway I. Too much of a commercial junkie sorry how would you like to think that at whatever age you start growing up spiritually that when people think of Jesus they think of you worldwide. As they think of chicken they think of Colonel Sanders worldwide some parts of the world that you're that influential it's never too late to start. Growing up and become an influence for God So this morning I just want to challenge us as we close. Let's commit to growing spiritually let's let this purpose resonate in our life as we live within the Body of Christ as we worship God. Let's get it right let's trust God that He knows what he's doing and that he what he promised. Will actually come true do you believe that do you believe that God is going to grow you he said he began a good work in you a favor of the complete until the day of Christ Jesus he said that do you believe that or not. Yes that means you want to worship God instead of what any other naysayer in your life is saying. Whoever is in the mirror this talking back to you that says you can't do this. Is a liar. I love that song that's out there on the radio on Christian radio fear is a liar. It keeps telling you things that aren't true it keeps rolling you up about things that will never happen and they keep beating you down in ways that you. Can't even begin to start being who God intended for you to become. God is true. And God wants to do something in you that you could never imagine for yourself. And if you your first step is you've got to trust God that he really does want to do that in your life you've got to start worshipping Him instead of what pop culture says you need to start worship start worshipping and paying more attention to him than social media and comparing yourself to all the different people on social media and how much more better they are I've discovered that that my new way of feeling bad is Linked In I mean there's all kinds of successful people on there and how wonderful they are and how well they can articulate how successful things can be in life and I go wow and I think he's half my age dang he's he's successful What have I done with my life you've got to start listen to what God says instead of what the world says and stop comparing yourself to other people and start comparing yourself to what God intends or wants for your life. Trust God's promise to grow you and trust God not your circumstances and then invest in the fellowship that God gave you invest in this place right here the Body of Christ because fill a ship gives us a family to grow up in. It's where we come and we've said there's a handful of things I added one more because I have said this since we started our church and I've watched this in the lives of believers in our church that these things that we do on a regular basis in order to practice the faith that God's given us and to practice the way of living that God intended us to live these practices help us weekly worship. Just coming around other believers on a regular consistent basis not to compare notes to say how much better somebody is than somebody else but to spur one another on for good works the Bible says do not for saying to Gather yourselves because that's a common way of encouraging and helping one another on a regular basis weekly worship and then what we call small groups we call connection groups that we have a time in which we're not just in rows listening to somebody and singing and just sort of passively receiving but we're actually actively participating in each other's lives in a circle of people where we can actually grow and be build relationships going to a Bible study is not just about studying the Bible it's about hanging out with one another and growing and becoming There are some times that a small group in our church called a connection group is most successful when they don't just read the Bible but they actually just live with each other and hang out with each other and talk with each other and help one another through whatever is going on in the group to build friendships with so you can't I can't promise you that you'll find a friend in a small group but I can promise you that you probably won't find a friend in this church if you don't go to a connection group because that's where you form real relationships with people. And then service I got to give myself away to somebody somewhere somehow I've got to do things that that uses the gifts that God's given me to serve other people to put into practice my love for the Body of Christ to put into practice my love to people outside the Body of Christ. I must serve and finally I added this I'm starting to add this give. Generosity is a part of how it tests us to trust God in our spiritual growth you say really giving Yeah because. When I start taking the resources that God gave me and sacrificing myself in such a way that I'm benefiting somebody else without planning to benefit myself back in that process I am showing God I'm demonstrating to God and I'm practicing a habit that will cause me to trust God and not the thing that I'm giving away a word we're too worried about how much money we're going to make and we are about how much of a blessing we're going to be we're so worried about whether we're going to get enough hours in the week at our work place. Instead of focusing on the hours that I have there how can I be an influence for Christ sake if God doesn't want you to be an influence this week he might make you sick for a while make you sick but he may let you miss work for a while so why is that I don't know why I don't like that either I don't like unemployment I can't stand it I can't stand it when we went through that little economic downturn and we had a lot of people out of work here and it was scary it was it wasn't fun to watch you guys losing your jobs and being on the sidelines for a while and not filling your purpose in the way in which you are wired to do things in your workplace that's scary because you know alternately the successes in this room are not the people that were all so worried and bundled up in nerves and although there was concern there were those that said you know what God still has a plan he has a purpose and and the plan and the things that I can do I will do today will serve him in a way that's honorable to him I can't spend as much over here but I can do this over here. And I saw people start to grow spiritually through the process of loss. Because not about your job it's not how much money you make that's going to make you happy. It's about whether you're fulfilling your purposes that God has for your life. Are you growing spiritually.