Exposition
Today, we will discuss the Secret of Spiritual Growth, as one of the means of sustaining your spirituality. Spiritual growth is the process of inner awakening, rising of the consciousness beyond the ordinary. It is of great importance for everyone from all walks of life.
From the Scripture reading, Jesus said “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”. That is the Secret of spiritual growth; so, abide. To abide means “to stay in a given place”. For believers, it means to maintain an unbroken relationship and fellowship with God. It is regularity. It is consistency. And it results in producing lasting fruit. Another way of abiding is walking with God. As 1 John 2:6 says “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also be to walk just as He walked”.
Walking speaks of consistent motion. This means making time for the word of God and prayer every day. We thank the Lord for giving us Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Evangelists and Teachers to lead and disciple us in Him. However, if you are really going to grow spiritually and mature in the word, you must study the word diligently yourself. The Lord told Joshua, ‘Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth (Joshua 1:8).’ The revelation knowledge of God’s Word is what causes a man to stand firm in the faith and develop spiritually. Again, in order to grow spiritually, you need to fast and pray just as Christ did. Fasting and prayers cause us to bear fruit and to grow spiritually. Scripture teaches that prayer edifies. God designed prayer as a means of establishing His work on earth through the lips of faithful men. Prayer expresses the will of God in you.
The Bible clearly admonishes believers to grow, advance and develop knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18), to grow to the stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13), and to understand that all other things are not compared to the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:7-8)