PERSONAL AND CHURCH GROWTH

1
PERSONAL AND CHURCH GROWTH

• Introduction
• In the Spanish class on Sun. Mornings, weve been
  considering personal and church growth. In our
  class weve discussed how it is a natural part of
  life, both physical and spiritual. We are
  supposed to grow! In this mornings lesson we will
  examine some thoughts on the basics of growth,
  personal and church.
• DIFFERENCES - between God and man, between man
  and man.

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God and Man...

• God must be God!! Let God be God!
• Exo. 202-3 I am the LORD your God, who brought
  you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
  You shall have no other gods before me.
• Matt. 2236-38 Teacher, which is the greatest
  commandment in the Law? Jesus replied Love
  the Lord your God with all your heart and with
  all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is
  the first and greatest commandment., Eccl. 1213
  Now all has been heard here is the conclusion
  of the matter Fear God and keep his
  commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

3
God and Man...

• Isa. 61-6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I
  saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and
  exalted, and the train of his robe filled the
  temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six
  wings With two wings they covered their faces,
  with two they covered their feet, and with two
  they were flying. And they were calling to one
  another Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty
  the whole earth is full of his glory. At the
  sound of their voices the doorposts and
  thresholds shook and the temple was filled with
  smoke. Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I
  am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a
  people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the
  King, the LORD Almighty. Then one of the seraphs
  flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he
  had taken with tongs from the altar.

4
God and Man...

• Rev. 41-6 After this I looked, and there before
  me was a door standing open in heaven. And the
  voice I had first heard speaking to me like a
  trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you
  what must take place after this. At once I was
  in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne
  in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one
  who sat there had the appearance of jasper and
  carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald,
  encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were
  twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them
  were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in
  white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From
  the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings
  and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven
  lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits
  of God.

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God and Man...

• Isa. 558-9 For my thoughts are not your
  thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
  declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher
  than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
  ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
• Hab. 220 But the LORD is in his holy temple let
  all the earth be silent before him.

6
God and Man...

• Do not allow our concept of God to be lowered to
  level of man.
• Rom. 118-23 The wrath of God is being revealed
  from heaven against all the godlessness and
  wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
  wickedness, since what may be known about God is
  plain to them, because God has made it plain to
  them. For since the creation of the world Gods
  invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine
  naturehave been clearly seen, being understood
  from what has been made, so that men are without
  excuse. For although they knew God, they neither
  glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but
  their thinking became futile and their foolish
  hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be
  wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory
  of the immortal God for images made to look like
  mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

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God and Man...

• God is creator man is created!
• God is holy- man is sinful!
• God is infinite-man is finite!
• God is wisdom - man is limited!

8
God and Man...

• The basis of all relationships and
  responsibilities in the life of the Christian
  depend on and revolve around his concept of
  respect, love, reverence for, and attitude toward
  God.
• Rom. 1136 For from him and through him and to
  him are all things. To him be the glory forever!
  Amen.

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God and Man...

• 1 Cor. 85-6 5For even if there are so-called
  gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed
  there are many gods and many lords), 6yet for
  us there is but one God, the Father, from whom
  all things came and for whom we live and there
  is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all
  things came and through whom we live.

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God and Man

• Eph. 320-2 1 Now to him who is able to do
  immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
  according to his power that is at work within us,
  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
  throughout all generations, for ever and ever!
  Amen.
• Phil. 420 To our God and Father be glory for
  ever and ever. Amen.

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God and Man

• 1 Tim. 117 17Now to the King eternal, immortal,
  invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for
  ever and ever. Amen.
• 1 Pet. 511 To him be the power for ever and
  ever. Amen
• Jude 25 to the only God our Savior be glory,
  majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
  Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and
  forevermore! Amen.

12
Man and Man

• In the beginning human relations and
  differences are based on eternal principals, the
  product of creation Matt. 194-6 Havent you
  read, he replied, that at the beginning the
  Creator made them male and female,1 5and
  said, For this reason a man will leave his
  father and mother and be united to his wife, and
  the two will become one flesh. So they are no
  longer two, but one. Therefore what God has
  joined together, let man not separate.

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Man and Man

• In the beginning...
• God created Gen. 11 ff
• concepts of man...
• man - special unique creation - subject to God.
• Biological accident? - free to act as he pleases?
• the issue is not the distinction and difference
  between people but the existence of GOD AS
  CREATOR!

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Man and Man

• Psa. 902 Before the mountains were born or you
  brought forth the earth and the world, from
  everlasting to everlasting you are God.
• Psa. 1485 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
  for he commanded and they were created.
• as creator, God has the right to determine
  purpose and place, relationships and
  responsibilities, both individual and
  collectively.

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Man and Man

• Acts 1725-28 And he is not served by human
  hands, as if he needed anything, because he
  himself gives all men life and breath and
  everything else. From one man he made every
  nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole
  earth and he determined the times set for them
  and the exact places where they should live. God
  did this so that men would seek him and perhaps
  reach out for him and find him, though he is not
  far from each one of us. For in him we live and
  move and have our being. As some of your own
  poets have said, We are his offspring.

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Man and Man

• Dan. 523 Instead, you have set yourself up
  against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets
  from his temple brought to you, and you and your
  nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine
  from them. You praised the gods of silver and
  gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which
  cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not
  honor the God who holds in his hand your life and
  all your ways.

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Man and Man

• God has created man uniquely and entrusted to him
  special gifts.
• Matt. 2514-30 PARABLE OF TALENTS
• Rom. 123-8 For by the grace given me I say to
  every one of you Do not think of yourself more
  highly than you ought, but rather think of
  yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with
  the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as
  each of us has one body with many members, and
  these members do not all have the same function,
  5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and
  each member belongs to all the others.

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Man and Man

• 6We have different gifts, according to the grace
  given us. If a mans gift is prophesying, let him
  use it in proportion to his faith. 71f it is
  serving, let him serve if it is teaching, let
  him teach 8if it is encouraging, let him
  encourage if it is contributing to the needs of
  others, let him give generously if it is
  leadership, let him govern diligently if it is
  showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.,
• 1 Cor. 12

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Conclusion

• Psa. 13914-15 Man is a wonderful creature...
• Psa. 10424 God is a wonderful creator...