” He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” -1 Peter 2:24-25
“The more we grow in understanding of the cross of Christ, the more we will grow in appreciation for the love of Christ.” -Pastor Steve Wainright (excerpt from 04/03/2022 Sunday Evening Sermon “Contemplating the Cross” from 1 Peter 2:24-25)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -James 1:2-4
The more you are tested, if your faith is genuine, the more your trust in the Lord grows. -Pastor Steve Wainright (excerpt from Sunday Morning Sermon “Sovereignty in Trials” from James 1:1-5)
“And ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” -Malachi 4:2
Yes, when the sun shines, the sick quit their chambers and walk abroad to breathe the fresh air. When the sun brings spring and summer, the cattle quit their stalls and seek pasture on the higher Alps. Even thus, when we have conscious fellowship with our Lord, we leave the stall of despondency and walk abroad in the fields of holy confidence. We ascend to the mountains of joy and feed on sweet pasturage which grows nearer heaven than the provender of carnal men.
To “go forth” and to “grow up” is a double promise. O my soul, be thou eager to enjoy both blessings! Why shouldst thou be a prisoner? Arise, and walk at liberty. Jesus saith that His sheep shall go in and out and find pasture; go forth, then, and feed in the rich meadows of boundless love.
Why remain a babe in grace? Grow up. Young calves grow fast, especially if they are stall fed; and thou hast the choice care of thy Redeemer. Grow, then, in grace and in knowledge of thy Lord and Savior. Be neither straitened nor stunted. The Sun of Righteousness has risen upon thee. Answer to His beams as the buds to the natural sun. Open thine heart; expand and grow up into Him in all things.
[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon]
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” -Colossians 3:1
When you trust in Christ and grow in His grace and knowledge, your priorities shift from that which is temporal to that which is eternal. [from Sunday Morning Sermon, 9/20/2020 – Hebrews 10:32-39
The Need for Endurance]
“Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” -Isaiah 50:10-11
Those of greatest devotion may experience some of the deepest darkness. It is often in the dark times of our life that our own faith grows the most.
-Bro. Josh Wilson (excerpts from Sunday Evening Sermon from Isaiah 50:3-4, 10-11 – Walking in Darkness)
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” -Psalm 92:12
These trees are not trained and pruned by man: palms and cedars are “trees of the Lord,” and it is by His care that they flourish. Even so it is with the saints of the Lord: they are His own care. These trees are evergreen and are beautiful objects at all seasons of the year. Believers are not sometimes holy and sometimes ungodly: they stand in the beauty of the Lord under all weathers. Everywhere these trees are noteworthy: no one can gaze upon a landscape in which there are either palms or cedars without his attention being fixed upon these royal growths. The followers of Jesus are the observed of all observers: like a city set on a hill, they cannot be hid.
The child of God flourishes like a palm tree, which pushes all its strength upward in one erect column without a single branch. It is a pillar with a glorious capital. It has no growth to the right or to the left but sends all its force heavenward and bears its fruit as near the sky as possible. Lord, fulfill this type in me.
The cedar braves all storms and grows near the eternal snows, the Lord Himself filling it with a sap which keeps its heart warm and its bough strong. Lord, so let it be with me, I pray Thee. Amen.
[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon]
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” -Malachi 4:2
Yes, when the sun shines, the sick quit their chambers and walk abroad to breathe the fresh air. When the sun brings spring and summer, the cattle quit their stalls and seek pasture on the higher Alps. Even thus, when we have conscious fellowship with our Lord, we leave the stall of despondency and walk abroad in the fields of holy confidence. We ascend to the mountains of joy and feed on sweet pasturage which grows nearer heaven than the provender of carnal men.
To “go forth” and to “grow up” is a double promise. O my soul, be thou eager to enjoy both blessings! Why shouldst thou be a prisoner? Arise, and walk at liberty. Jesus saith that His sheep shall go in and out and find pasture; go forth, then, and feed in the rich meadows of boundless love.
Why remain a babe in grace? Grow up. Young calves grow fast, especially if they are stall fed; and thou hast the choice care of thy Redeemer. Grow, then, in grace and in knowledge of thy Lord and Savior, Be neither straitened nor stunted. The Sun of Righteousness has risen upon thee Answer to His beams as the buds to the natural sun. Open thine heart; expand and grow up into Him in all things.
[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon]
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—” -1 Peter 2:2
“We own more Bibles than we’ll ever use, but we’re slowly starving to death because we’ve lost our appetite for Scripture.” -Krish Kandiah via a retweet by TGC_IO on Twitter
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” -Philippians 1:6
The gospel celebrates God’s grip on us, not our grip on God. We grow, therefore, when we focus on Christ’s work for us not our work for him! –Tullian Tchividjian
New Life Baptist Church 