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Week number nine in our series entitled Spiritual
Growth. Let's jump right in. 1 Corinthians 2
.14 says this, The natural man... does not receive
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. Let's move to
chapter 3 in 1 Corinthians. And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as spiritual people, but
as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you
with milk and not with solid food, for until
now you were not able to receive it. And even
now you are still not able. For you are still
carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and
divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving
like mere men? We could use that word from chapter
2 and say natural. Men. So here we find that
there are three types of people in the world
today. Everybody say three types. The reason
why I get you to repeat stuff is I keep you engaged
because it's easy to wander off mentally. Think
about something later today or be distracted
by somebody scratching their ear in front of
you or something like that. There are three types
of people. First type of person is a natural
person. Everybody say natural. A natural person
is a person who is not born again. They're unrenewed.
And the only thing they have to live their life
by is their sensual nature or their soulish nature,
we could put it that way, their flesh. So a person
without Christ, they just can live by what feels
good or what seems right in their own eyes. Then
we have a carnal person. Paul was talking to
the believers in Corinth. Everybody say believers.
He was talking to believers. But there were believers
in Corinth who were living according to their
flesh. They were carnal. You could see that by
the fruit of their lives. There was envy and
strife and division. Those are all results of
carnality. Now this is an immature Christian
who lives on a childhood level spiritually because
they're not feeding on the Word of God. They're
not growing. There's no spiritual growth taking
place. And then we find the third type of person.
That's a spiritual person. Everybody say spiritual.
A spiritual person is a Christian who is led
by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.
This is a growing... Christian, who regularly
receives the Word of God and walks in the Holy
Spirit. They walk with God. Now, let's get this
straight. A spiritual person has not arrived.
For you to say that you are a spiritual person,
it does not mean that you have arrived. I mean,
I've got it all down. I've got it all. No, none
of us have arrived. None of us will arrive. But
we all need to be growing spiritually. We all
need to be progressing. We all need to be moving
forward. The only people who think that they've
arrived are spiritual teenagers. Do you remember
being a teenager? All of a sudden you got to
a point where you thought you knew everything
and your parents didn't know a whole lot. Anybody
go through that phase? Okay, so some Christians,
and it doesn't mean that you're in your teens
as a Christian, but some Christians get to the
point where they think they've arrived. They
know everything they need to know. They have
no more room for growth because they are completely
mature. Well, that just tells you that they're
a spiritual teenager. And if they'll keep moving,
if they'll keep progressing, they'll find out.
That they didn't know near as much as they thought
they knew. But we're all in a process. We're
all in a process. We're not all on the same spot
of the spiritual gauge. But we all need to be
on it. And we all need to be progressing. If
we're going to be spiritual people, that's where
we are. So where does spiritual growth occur?
Where does it take place? How does that happen
in us? How do we grow spiritually? 1 Thessalonians
5 .23 is one verse that we pointed out. In the
first few weeks, we pointed out more verses than
this, but this one is clear enough for all of
us to take hold of it. 1 Thessalonians 5 .23,
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every
way. Everybody say set apart. That's what it
means to be holy. It means that we're set apart
for God. Now may the God of peace make you holy
in every way and may your whole spirit and soul
and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus
Christ comes again. So, we realize by reading
this verse and others that Individually, we are
a three -part being. We are a spirit. Everybody
say, I am a spirit. I have a soul. And I live
in a body. The scripture separates the three
right here. Your whole spirit and soul and body.
So that's what we're made up of. We are spirits.
We are spirit beings. When the Bible says that
we are made in the image of God, it's telling
us that we are a spirit being because God is
a spirit being. When we come into a relationship
with Christ, it's our spirit that is born again.
Our spirit comes alive unto God at salvation.
And at that point, at the point of salvation,
your spirit is united with Christ. You were immersed
in sin before then, and when you come to Christ,
now you are immersed in Christ. Somebody smile
or something. When we are immersed in Christ,
we're united with him, and we put on the righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus at that point. You are
right with God. Listen, no one can be right with
God based on their ability to keep the rules
or their ability to perform. No one can. A lot
of people try, but no one can. We're made right
with God because of what Jesus did on the cross.
That's what makes us right. And our righteousness,
the Bible says in the Old Testament, is like
filthy rags. But when we step into the kingdom
of God, we put on the righteous robe of Christ.
And guess what? You cannot grow in righteousness.
If you could grow in righteousness, you would
not need Christ. You can't grow in righteousness.
Because when God looks at us, when we're in Christ,
he sees us clothed in Christ. and it doesn't
get any more righteous than that. We are complete,
the Bible says. Our spirit is complete. Everything
that belongs to God belongs to us. We are heirs,
joint heirs with Christ. Our spirit is complete.
We have everything we need at salvation. You
are a spirit. You have a soul. Here's where the
problem comes in. Our soul is comprised of our
mind, which is our thought life, our will, which
is our desires, and our emotions, or we could
call them feelings. That's what our soul is.
And how many of you know when you came to Christ,
All of those things didn't just automatically
become holy. Some of you are looking at me like
yours did. Did your thought life just completely
become holy? The day that you accepted Christ?
Does anyone still struggle with their thought
life a little bit? Or a lot? What about your
will? Was your will transformed the day you became
a Christian? You no longer had any desires that
originated in the flesh? Just all those desires
just left? No? What about emotions and feelings?
Did anyone, you've never had anything but a holy
emotion since you came to Christ? This is where
spiritual growth takes place. It takes place
in the soul. It takes place in our thought life.
It takes place in the transformation of our desires.
It takes place in the transformation of our emotions.
That's where spiritual growth takes place. And
it takes place because now our spirit is alive
unto God. Our spirit is in Perfect communication
with the Holy Spirit, and it takes place when
we start living as a spirit being instead of
just living as a fleshly being or a soulish being.
That's where spiritual growth starts happening.
The difference between a carnal and spiritual
person is the spiritual growth or the lack thereof
of the soul. And here's what we need to know.
Spiritual maturity is not measured by how long
you've been a Christian. I've been a Christian
over 51 years. But that doesn't make me spiritual.
I know people who have been Christians longer
than me, and by the fruit of their life, by the
envy and jealousy and the division and the fighting,
people have been Christians longer than me. Are
very carnal. Has anyone ran into some carnal
Christians before? Has anybody grown up in church?
Spent any time in church? Have you ever met any
carnal Christians? Some of the meanest people
you'll meet go to church every Sunday. I'm just
telling it like it is. I've met a lot of them.
Because I'm a preacher's kid. I've met a lot
of mean Christians. I was on the road for 20
years, went to over 800 churches. I've met a
lot of mean Christians. I'm glad none of them
come to Elation Church. They haven't showed up
yet, but we'll run them off when they get here.
Spiritual maturity is not measured by how long
you've been a Christian. It's not measured by
how often you attend worship services. I mean,
some people think, well, if I go to church on
a regular basis, which in today's idea, that
means that you go to church one and a half times
a month, now you're regular. Regular used to
be Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday
night, you could consider yourself regular. Going
three times a week, you could consider yourself
regular. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?
But in our culture today, it's like, well, if
I go one and a half times a month, I'm regular.
I don't know how you can go half a time in a
month. I guess I need to say three times over
two months. How often you attend a worship service
does not mean that you're spiritually mature.
If you come every week, if you're here 52 weeks
a year, That doesn't automatically mean that
you're spiritual. It doesn't even matter how
much scripture you can quote. I grew up doing
Bible drills where you memorize scripture and
find them real quick and stand out and you know,
you got medals and all kind of stuff like that.
Anybody know what I'm talking about? But just
memorizing scripture does not make you spiritually
mature. Now don't get me wrong. It's good to
be a Christian. You're not going to be spiritual
without being a Christian. I'm not sure that
you could say that you were spiritual and you
neglected getting together with other believers.
It's important to worship together with other
believers. That's important. It's actually obedience
to God. It's great to be able to quote Scripture.
Hello? I'm not against any of these things. But
just because you do these three things doesn't
mean that you're spiritual. Because spiritual
growth takes place in the soul. Luke 6, 43 and
44. Listen, for a good tree, this is Jesus talking,
a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does
a bad tree bear good fruit, for every tree is
known by its own fruit. So here's where we find
spiritual maturity. Spiritual growth is measured
by spiritual fruit. By spiritual fruit constantly
increasing in our lives. By spiritual fruit being
evidenced in our lives. That's when we become
spiritual. That's when spiritual growth takes
place. Now, this whole series has been about
self -examination. As you listen to the Word
of God today, I don't want you to start thinking
about somebody that you wish was here. Because
they really need to hear this. You know? My brother
-in -law really needs to hear this. I wish he
was here today. My uncle really, man, he really
needs this. No. Here's the deal. God knew that
your brother -in -law and your uncle, He knew
that they were not going to be here today. He
knew that you were going to be here today. So,
just go ahead and say, this is for me. This is
for me. God knew I was going to be here. And
this is what I needed to hear. God laid on the
preacher's heart what I needed to hear today.
Self -examination. We're all a work in progress.
Galatians 5, 22 and 23 gives us the fruit of
the spirit or spiritual fruit, but the fruit
of the spirit is love. You might have to go back
and listen to the other eight weeks, but what's
the measure of you walking in the agape love
of Christ? Not just the people that are easy
to love, but even with the people who aren't
so easy to love. What does your love life look
like? What is the measure of joy in your life?
What's the measure of joy? It's a fruit of the
Spirit. Are you experiencing the joy of the Lord?
Is it your strength? Are you living in the peace
of God that surpasses understanding? Does it
guard your heart and guard your mind in Christ
Jesus? What's the level of your peace? Not just
when everything is perfect. What's the level
of your peace? and joy when it looks like on
the outside, like everything's falling apart.
What's the level of your joy and peace? If your
joy and peace leaves quickly when things don't
go your way, that means you're just living with
natural joy and natural peace like the world
gives. Because the joy and the peace of God is
a lot different. And the joy and the peace that
the world gives. What's your patience look like?
This one's easier for us to see than all the
rest of them. I mean, all you have to do is drive
down 27 or I -4 and you can discover your level
of patience. And you might say, well, you know,
you're talking about spiritual things, so you're
talking about patience that I have at church.
No. I'm talking about love, joy, peace, and patience
and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and
gentleness that happens Monday afternoon, Friday
evening, Thursday at lunch. That's where you're
going to see if you're spiritually growing or
not. That's where it's got to be evidence. That's
where it has to be growing. And then today is
your lucky day. Because today, the last spiritual
fruit listed in Galatians 5, 22 and 23 is self
-control. The fruit of self -control. Somebody
smile. Look at the person beside you and say,
I'm really glad I came today. Because I needed
to hear this. Self -control. Here's the Greek
word. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek.
And here's the Greek word. I'm going to try to
pronounce it. I may slaughter it. That's okay.
See? It's hard to get the accent on the right
syllable, you know? Or syllable. That's just
putting it on the wrong. Thank you for getting
that. And kratia. Is that okay? Now, it's a compound
word. It starts with in, and it means in the
sphere of. In the sphere of. And then kratos
is dominion and mastery. So when you put those
two words together, make one word, here's what
it means. It means dominion within. Self -control.
And the sphere of your dominion within would
be in your thoughts, in your feelings, and in
your actions. Y 'all quit smiling. Self -control.
Strong's definition gives us three words. Temperance,
self -control, and continence. Temperance, self
-control, and continence. I had to look up those
words. Temperance, here's what it means. Temperance
means keeping your appetites, passions, and want
-tos in check. Should I say that again? That's
okay, you don't want to hear it again. I'm going
to tell you anyway. Self -control is keeping
your appetites, passions, and want -tos in check.
Because if you're not careful, your appetites,
passions, and want -tos can take over your life.
I'm glad some of you are agreeing with me. Because
there's a fight there, right? Continents. I mean,
I'm not having to wear the pin, but that's the
only time I've ever heard that word before. Continence
means to hold back. Why are you laughing? I heard
that word on TV. That's how I knew what that
word meant. If you're having incontinence issues.
It means you're having trouble holding back.
You're having trouble holding it all in. Why
are you so red -faced? I'm just saying what the
word means, right? To hold back, to have self
-restraint, to hold it all in. And we're not
just talking about depends here. We're talking
about life. We're talking about... Because if
you don't hold back, if you don't have any self
-restraint, sometimes we just need to hold it
all in instead of exploding. Has anyone ever
exploded before? Anybody think you need to hold
back every once in a while to have some self
-restraint? Self -control. It's the fruit of
the Spirit. And then self -control, I looked
that up too. It means self -mastery. It means
not being controlled by your flesh. Not being
controlled by your flesh. To have self -control,
we can say it like this. I control my body. What
I do. I control my mind. I control the thoughts
in my mind. I've said this a lot over recent
months, but listen, you're in charge of your
thought life. You may think that you're not.
Well, the only time that you're not in charge
of your thought life is when you just let it
run wild, when you have no self -control over
your thoughts. We've got this little picture.
I mean, we can't control. How many birds fly
over our head? But we can control how many birds
make a nest in our hair. You don't have to dwell
on and set your mind on every thought that comes
through your mind. You can take charge of your
thoughts. I control my mind. A self -controlled
person controls their body, what they do. They
control their mind, how they think. And they
control their actions, how they do what they
do. Now listen, just before Paul lists the fruit
of the Spirit, I don't know if you've backtracked
any in Galatians chapter 5, but just before he
lists this wonderful spiritual fruit that's going
to lead us to spiritual maturity, He gives us
a description of what it looks like when people
are out of control. Look at the person beside
you and say, don't get offended. He's just reading
the Bible. Galatians 5, 19 through 21. People's
desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy
thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols.
They practice witchcraft. They hate other people.
Isn't it interesting how God puts hate right
there in line with worshiping idols and practicing
witchcraft? They hate other people. They're just
hard to get along with. I mean, you know, chances
are nobody's worshiping idols and practicing
witchcraft, but... How easy are you to get along
with? People become jealous, angry, and selfish.
They not only argue and cause trouble, but they
are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild
parties, and do other evil things as well. I'm
looking at your faces. I'm just reading the Bible.
Look at the person beside you and say, he's just
reading the Bible. He's just reading the Bible.
Tell him, if you've got a problem with this,
take it up with God because he said this. The
preacher's just reading it. I told you before,
and I'm telling you again, no one who does these
things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom.
Listen. Carnal people will not experience the
blessings of God's kingdom the way, in the same
way or in the same level that a spiritual person
can. Who wants to experience the blessings of
God? Well, then we need to grow spiritually.
The more we grow, the more we're going to experience.
Proverbs 25, 28. Look at the person beside you
and say, listen fast. Y 'all got to listen faster.
A person without self -control is like a city
with broken down walls. So if we don't have self
-control, we're like a city that has no borders.
It has no... walls around it. Now, in ancient
times, walls protected cities from enemies. And
when there wasn't a wall, anything could enter.
Anybody could enter. Wild animals could enter.
Enemy armies could enter. And the Bible tells
us without self -control, we're unprotected.
Anything can come in. and try to destroy us.
Anything. If we don't have self -control. See,
many believers live spiritually exposed lives
because they lack self -control. Every emotion
winds up controlling them. Every temptation winds
up pulling them down. Every impulse directs them.
Self -control creates stability. We need stability.
When are we going to get tired of our lives being
like a roller coaster? When are we going to say,
no more, that's it? I'm going to grow spiritually
and become stable. Where I'm not tossed back
and forth and thrown with every little thing
that hits my mind and comes to me. It doesn't
spin me. In a relentless loop, just like, what
am I going to do? What am I going to do? Stability.
And it's available to everybody in the room.
Spiritual stability is available. Titus 2, 11
and 12. For the grace of God. The grace of God
means the kindness, the goodness, and the favor
of God. It's the activity of God showing us and
displaying to us His kindness and goodness and
favor. The grace of God has appeared that offers
salvation to all people. Listen. It teaches us
to say no. Somebody say no. Say it like you mean
it. No. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness
and worldly passions. And to live. Self -control.
Now, most of the time, when we look at self -control,
we think that self -control just has to do with
staying away from the negative stuff or staying
away from the bad stuff. But it's bigger than
that. It's not just about abstaining from access.
It also involves the positive mastery and direction
of one's energies and desires towards godly purposes.
Because it takes self -control for your desires
to change, for your actions to change towards
godly purposes. It takes self -control for that.
Just as much as it takes self -control to say
no to temptations. The same way that it's to
cast down imaginations that try to... some kind
of imagination that's presenting itself as more
important and more true than what God says. 2
Peter 1, 3 -8. Look at the person beside you
and say, this is good. By His divine power, God
has given us everything we need. Does it say
He will give us everything we need? Is that what
it says? No, it says He has. By His divine power,
God has given us, He's already given us everything
we need for living a godly life. And we received
all of this by coming to know Him. The One who
called us to Himself by means of His marvelous
glory and excellence. And because of his glory
and excellence, he has given us great and precious
promises. Thousands of promises in the scriptures.
Thousands. Because of his glory and excellence,
he has given us great and precious promises.
These are the promises. Listen. These are the
promises that enable you to share His divine
nature. Everybody say spiritual. To become spiritual.
These are the promises that enable you to share
His divine nature and escape this world's corruption.
It's caused by human desires. Natural desires.
Flesh desires. Soulish desires. In view of all
this, in view of everything He's given to us,
in view of all of His promises, make every effort
to respond to God's promises. See, we have to
respond to receive, just like salvation. We have
to respond to receive. And sometimes we think
that that's it, but... Everything we receive
from God, we receive it just like we receive
salvation. It's His grace gift and His grace
promise, but we're saved by grace through something,
and that is through faith. So we connect to these
promises. We respond to these promises with faith.
It just continues. Supplement that faith. supplement
your faith with a generous provision of moral
excellence and moral excellence with knowledge
and knowledge with self -control. Everybody say
self -control. And self -control with patient
endurance and patient endurance with godliness
and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly
affection with love for everyone. Listen, the
more you grow like this, the more productive
and useful you will be in your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Supplement your faith with
a generous provision of self -control. Everybody
say self -control. And that will make you more
productive and useful in the kingdom of God.
I know it lists a lot of other things, but we're
focusing on that one thing today. If you want
to be productive and useful in the kingdom of
God, you need to supplement your faith with self
-control. 1 Corinthians 9, 24 -27. Listen, don't
you realize that in a race everyone runs, but
only one person gets the prize? So run to win.
Look at the person beside you and tell them,
run to win. Run to win. Don't run just to be
at the back of the pack and not get swept. Has
anybody ever been in a... I'm glad they didn't
sweep the 5K that I did. That's about as far
as I've got. But if you go above a 5K, guess
what? There are people in the back. And if they
pass you, you're out. And some people just do
it just for fun and they don't care. And then
they get swept. No, we need to run to win. This
life, this spiritual life is like a marathon.
We need to be running to win. We don't need to
be running like... We don't need to strive for
a D -. We just don't care as long as we make
it. Run to win. Don't you realize that in a race,
everyone runs, but only one person gets a prize?
So run to win. Listen, all athletes are disciplined.
Guess what? That's the exact same Greek word
as self -control. Exact same word, just translated
differently in English. All athletes exercise
self -control. in their training. We're not just
talking about running a race. We're talking about
spiritual things. See, they do it to win a prize
that will fade away. But we do it for an eternal
prize. So I run. I live my life with purpose
in every step. I'm not just shadow boxing. I
discipline my body like an athlete, training
it to do what it should. Listen, this is a picture
of your spirit being in control of your soul
and your flesh. Self -control is essential to
live with purpose and to live in victory. I'll
say that again. Self -control is essential to
live with purpose and to live in victory. So
many people think that the solution to their
problems is for everybody around me to change.
Boy, if everybody around me would change. If
my situation would change. Boy, my life would
be amazing if it wasn't for all those people
and wasn't for all these situations that I'm
facing. Everything would just be amazing. Everything
can be amazing. No matter if anyone around you
changes. No matter if your situation changes,
everything around you can be amazing. See, we
can't control everything or everyone around us.
We can control ourselves. We can control our
thoughts. We can control our feelings. We can
control our actions. Listen, when we look at
Paul, Everything wasn't always peachy king. That
probably won't translate into Spanish or French.
When we look at Paul, everything wasn't a bed
of roses. He's in prison and he's writing about
the joy of the Lord. He was not defeated even
when he was shipwrecked. Even when he was beaten.
Even when he was in prison. Even when a group
of people said they're not even going to eat
until they kill him. He was still living an amazing
life. I'm not asking you to sign up for those
things. But I'm telling you, if you'll have self
-control over your thoughts, and over your emotions,
and over your flesh, if you'll have self -control
over those things, you can rise up no matter
where you are. No matter what you're surrounded
with, you can rise up. I love this in the HELPS
Word Studies, looking up this word self -control.
Listen, self -control comes from within yourself,
but it's not just by yourself. Somebody say,
I'm not alone. I'm not alone. I'm not telling
you today that you just need to pull yourself
up by your bootstraps and work harder. That's
not what I'm telling you. Self -control is a
fruit of the Spirit. It does come from within
yourself, but you're just not by yourself. Spiritual
fruit naturally grows. Where a healthy connection
exists. Jesus said this in John. He says, I'm
the vine. You're the branches. If you'll abide
in me. Everybody say abide. That means live.
If you don't just come visit me every once in
a while. But if you abide. I'm not sure we'll
ever get everything God has for us just by coming
to visit Him on Sunday morning. If we abide in
Him, His Word abides in us, what's going to happen?
He's the vine, you're the branch. What's going
to happen on the branch? Fruit's going to start
coming out. Because you're connected. You're
abiding. And fruit is going to grow. The branch
doesn't go. The fruit flows through the connection.
True mastery from within can only be accomplished
by the power of the Lord. God's going to help
us. But we have to cooperate. We have to set
our sights on this spiritual fruit. And then
we have to yield. We have to cooperate. We can't
just say a prayer on Sunday morning. And not
acknowledge God until, I don't know, what is
that, one and a half times a month. You can't
wait three weeks later to acknowledge God again
and expect any spiritual fruit to grow. Self
-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit, listen, here's... We've shared verses
in the series. As you know, it's time for me
to be quiet, but listen. The Holy Spirit is God
taking hold of the things that God has for us.
All those promises, all those things, the inheritance.
The Holy Spirit takes hold of those things and
declares them, intensifies them, makes them known
to us. He is the connector. He's the connector.
That's why self -control is called the fruit
of the Spirit. He is the connector. Self -control
is a vital part of the Spirit -filled life because
our actions and our thoughts begin to align with
what God wants instead of just what we want.
Starts aligning with God's will. Starts aligning
with God's word. Self -control is cooperating
with the Spirit of God to change the way you
think. To change the way you live. And he does
this through the word of God in such a way that
we start becoming led by the Holy Spirit. We
become spiritual people. Instead of being led
by our flesh all the time and being a carnal
Christian. So how are we going to grow spiritually?
This has been our end every week. It's not by
self -effort, self -determination. Because all
of us have tried that before. Has anybody tried
that before? Just try to do it in your own strength.
I've got to have self -control. Come on. Why
do I not have self -control? I really want to.
I've got to do it. I've got to be better and
do better and do better. It's not about self
-determination. Because spiritual growth is going
to flow. Through abiding in Christ. It's going
to flow when we start acknowledging the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit. We have to acknowledge
Him. And walk in the Spirit. There shouldn't
be any area of our life that God is not involved
in. That the Spirit of God is not involved in.
We should yield to his leading. Listen. The Bible
says those who are led by God are the sons of
God, daughters of God. We need to live our lives
led by the Holy Spirit. The level of our self
-control. Self -control of our soul, our mind,
our will and emotions, our body and our actions,
our flesh is a good measure of our spiritual
maturity. I want to leave you with this picture
one more time. Did anyone grow up having a doorpost
in a room where at different ages your parents
would like stand you up at the doorpost and maybe
mark a mark on the doorpost? And write your age.
And if you had other brothers and sisters, they
might even put your name and your age. And then
you'd come back next year and stand at that same
place and put another mark. And then you could
see how much you've grown in between last year
and this year. I mean, look how much I've grown.
I've grown like three inches this year. Well.
The fruit of the Spirit. I want you to picture
it that way. As your love walk grows, you're
growing. As your joy grows, and peace, and patience,
and kindness, and gentleness, goodness, as those
things increase, You're growing spiritually.
Self -control. Is that increasing? Is your self
-control increasing? That's a mark of spiritual
growth. That's a mark of spiritual maturity.
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