{"id":831,"date":"2017-09-15T17:10:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T16:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/?p=831"},"modified":"2017-10-28T11:25:46","modified_gmt":"2017-10-28T10:25:46","slug":"never-stop-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/never-stop-growing\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Stop Growing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems to be written into nature that when something stops growing it begins to die. But can it also be true of our Christian faith? How do we ensure that years and decades from now we are still strong in faith, still growing, still learning?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus calls us to follow him 1<\/a><\/sup>. There\u2019s a journey, there\u2019s direction and there\u2019s movement. Faith is active: we walk by the spirit 2<\/a><\/sup>, straining forward, pressing on towards the goal 3<\/a><\/sup>. To be unengaged or distracted does not leave us in a neutral zone \u2014 we are either walking towards Jesus or we are drifting away, carried by the currents of this world, the enemy and our own earthly desires 4<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:12-13<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read More<\/p>

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One of the marks of true faith is that we press on until the very end. Given its importance, how do we make sure that, as Christians, we never stop growing, never stop enduring? Is it all down to us, or is our church family and our heavenly Father involved as well?<\/p>\n

We caught up with several members at Kings to see how continual growth in their lives has been worked out on a practical level. <\/p>\n

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\n\"Bosun\"<\/p>\n

I was a bit \u2018in and out\u2019 with my faith until about 2000. Before that I couldn\u2019t really say I was a Christian; I just grew up amongst Christian people. But it was about that time that I just got into university, and had a lot going on. At that time you\u2019re really getting your identity together \u2014 what you are really about. I realised that I was living the sort of life that could only end in destruction! So I sat down and thought \u201cthis is not the path for me, I need to get serious\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cit shocked me to reality, let me put it that way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Q: So you\u2019ve been a Christian since 2000. What would you say has caused you to grow in your faith between then and now?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had some ups and downs, and I think the biggest one was when I lost my mum in 2009. It was a big shock and very unexpected. I guess everyone would say this, but my mum was that very, very special person to me. Even when I wasn\u2019t such a very good boy, we could always rub minds and I would always listen to her. Her death really affected me and I was like \u201cGod, you shouldn\u2019t have let this happen\u201d. At that point in time my faith was rock bottom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: So did this ultimately spark growth in your faith?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yeah, it shocked me to reality, let me put it that way. For about two years I didn\u2019t know what I was. I had lost my identity at that point. I didn\u2019t stop believing, I still knew God, but I was really upset. I wasn\u2019t showing forth the fruit. But then I was having this conversation with my older brother who I respect so much. We were chatting about how much we missed her. I told him I didn\u2019t know what I was about anymore, and just living every day as it came. <\/span><\/p>\n

He said \u201clet me put it this way. God\u2019s made some promises about life on earth, but his main promise is about eternity. And mum hasn\u2019t lost that. But if you\u2019re not careful, you will lose that.\u201d And that spurred me on. <\/span><\/p>\n

I went home that day and prayed and asked God for forgiveness. I started living again. And there was one prayer: I asked God \u201cnever let me get to a point where I am filled. Let me always be hungry for you\u201d. Ever since then, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been all about. If you ask my wife, she\u2019ll tell you that a deeper relationship with God is what I pray for every day. With God it\u2019s never ending, you can\u2019t get to the bottom of that relationship. You can just go deeper and deeper and deeper. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLiving on earth makes you think you can actually live without God. But you realise it\u2019s just a mirage, a trick of the enemy\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Q: What do you think the key is to finishing well?<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a tricky one! There\u2019s no way you can finish well without growing. Living on earth makes you think you can actually live without God. But you realise it\u2019s just a mirage, a trick of the enemy. You have to feed on God every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n 
\n\"Maddie<\/p>\n

M: On my first Newday (aged 12) I responded to the gospel with my friends and gave my life to Jesus. But when I got back from Newday, nothing really changed. We got into a cycle: you meet Jesus for one week and it\u2019s amazing; but then you come back and nothing\u2019s changed. And that went on for a few years until last Newday, 2016, where we did a Holy Spirit night, where you invite the Holy Spirit into your life. I was filled with so much joy and love. I instantly realised what this was all about and kept seeking God after this happened. So that changed my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

B: A very similar story to Maddie\u2019s. When I was 12 I gave my life to God at Newday, but like Maddie, it didn\u2019t really change anything. At the next Newday I re-gave my life, and I think that\u2019s when my faith started to take effect. It was a gradual process of it becoming more real. I began to share my faith with my friends and have discussions, debates, and grow in my faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What have been the most important and significant things to helping you grow as a Christian?<\/em><\/p>\n

M: I would definitely say joining the ID team and being a leader. Getting involved and seeing what\u2019s going on. You talk to the kids about Jesus and I love the opportunity to share the gospel. I also loved (y)Hunger where I got to do a talk on jealousy; and doing other talks at ID have helped me want to read my Bible more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has helped you grow? A: Getting involved and seeing what\u2019s going on \u2026 I love the opportunity to share the gospel.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

B: I would say the ongoing support from the church has been a vital step in me being who I am today. We were always a bit of a pain at ID. We always caused trouble and wreaked havoc. But they never gave up, and our current leader Anne has always been there for us and a tremendous help spiritually. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always a bit of a pain at ID. We always caused trouble and wreaked havoc. But they never gave up\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n\"Dave\"<\/p>\n

Having come from a Christian background, certainly the information of Christianity was with me since childhood: who Christ was, the details of God, worship, and those kinds of things. But I can remember the actual time of making a decision \u2014\u00a0I must have been in my twenties. Then I knew that I knew that I was a born again Christian.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: Having spent fifty to sixty years following Jesus, what has helped you the most to continually grow as a Christian?<\/em><\/p>\n

The whole concept of reading the Word of God and communication with him through prayer. It seems to be rather a pat answer, but that\u2019s the truth. It\u2019s reading the word and talking to God. Those two things are the keys to my life really. <\/span><\/p>\n

My faith has always been strong because I\u2019ve had the ability of disciplining myself to get up early \u2013 6am every morning \u2013 for years and years. Again, I simply enjoy spending time with God, and very often I will keep a note of what God is saying to me. So that\u2019s been the key to having a very stable relationship. <\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What have been your greatest struggles?<\/em><\/p>\n

I think the greatest struggle is being independent. Thinking that you can do things by yourself when in reality you can\u2019t. And God has to bring you to a point where he shows you that you can\u2019t, where he says \u201cyou\u2019re utterly dependent on me\u201d. It\u2019s a hard lesson to learn because you keep repeating it!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Christ is everything to you, he is the answer to everything. But it\u2019s allowing him to be that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Q: If you could talk to yourself back in your twenties, what\u2019s the biggest life lesson you would teach yourself?<\/em><\/p>\n

I think I would have to go back to the whole thing of my dependence on him. At the end of the day the essence of the Christian life is looking to Jesus because he is your everything. When Christ is everything to you, he is the answer to everything. But it\u2019s allowing him to be that. He is the author, the perfector of your faith. Keep your eyes on Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you have questions or comments related to this article, Life Groups<\/a> are a great place to discuss the Bible and share life together. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems to be written into nature that when something stops growing it begins to die. But can it also be true of our Christian faith? How do we ensure that years and decades from now we are still strong in faith, still growing, still learning? Jesus calls us to follow him 1. There\u2019s a … Continue reading “Never Stop Growing”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions\/881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kings.church\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}