Quote<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. – Chinese Proverb<\/p>\n
\u2022 A group of tourists asked an old man if any great men were born in this small town. \u201cNo. Only babies.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Man, March\/April 1997, p. 18<\/p>\n
Christian Growth<\/b><\/p>\n
I met a young man not long ago who dives for exotic fish for aquariums. He told me that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet.<\/p>\n
That is like what happens to some Christians. I have seen some of the cutest little six-inch Christians who swim around in a little puddle. You can look at them and comment on how fine they are. But if you were to put them out into a larger arena\u2014into the broad view of a whole creation\u2014they might become great.<\/p>\n
God help us not to be confined to a little puddle out of insecurity, but instead to see that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. He made us, and if we will both have internal integrity and relate ourselves to the larger structures in the ways he has ordained, we will be able to serve him according to a holistic vision of his purpose on the earth.<\/p>\n
Pastoral Renewal, February 1985, p. 111<\/p>\n
Making Progress<\/b><\/p>\n
When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reported threw him a question: \u201cMr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?\u201d And Mr. Casals answered, \u201cBecause I think I\u2019m making progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Your goal is to make progress every day of your life.<\/p>\n
Dr. Maxwell Maltz, quoted in Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, p. 12<\/p>\n
Class Reunion<\/b><\/p>\n
A close friend of mine was asked back to his forty-year high school reunion. For months he saved to take his wife back to the place and the people he\u2019d left four decades before. The closer the time came for the reunion, the more excited he became, thinking of all the wonderful stories he would hear about the changes and the accomplishments these old friends would tell him.<\/p>\n
One night before he left he even pulled out his old yearbooks, read the silly statements and the good wishes for the future that students write to each other. He wondered what ol\u2019 Number 86 from his football team had done. He wondered if any others had encountered this Christ who had changed him so profoundly. He even tried to guess what some of his friends would look like, and what kind of jobs and families some of these special friends had.<\/p>\n
The day came to leave and I drove them to the airport. Their energy was almost contagious. \u201cI\u2019ll pick you up on Sunday evening, and you can tell me all about it,\u201d I said. \u201cHave a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday evening arrived. As I watched them get off the plane, my friend seemed almost despondent. I almost didn\u2019t want to ask, but finally I said, \u201cWell, how was the reunion?\u201d \u201cTim,\u201d the man said, \u201cit was one of the saddest experiences of my life.\u201d \u201cGood grief,\u201d I said, more than a little surprised. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d \u201cIt wasn\u2019t what happened but what didn\u2019t happen. It has been forty years, forty years\u2014and they haven\u2019t changed. They had simply gained weight, changed clothes, gotten jobs\u2026but they hadn\u2019t really changed. And what I experienced was maybe one of the most tragic things I could ever imagine about life. For reasons I can\u2019t fully understand, it seems as though some people choose not to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a long silence as we walked back to the car. On the drive home, he turned to me and said, \u201cI never, never want that to be said of me, Tim. Life is too precious, too sacred, too important. If you ever see me go stagnant like that, I hope you give me a quick, swift kick where I need it\u2014for Christ\u2019s sake. I hope you\u2019ll love me enough to challenge me to keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel, 1987, Word Books Publisher, pp. 54-55<\/p>\n
Good Timber<\/b><\/p>\n
The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, That stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing.<\/p>\n
The man who never had to toil To heaven from the common soil, Who never had to win his share Of sun and sky and light and air, Never became a manly man, But lived and died as he began.<\/p>\n
Good timber does not grow in ease; The stronger wind, the tougher trees; The farther sky, the greater length; The more the storm, the more the strength; By sun and cold, by rain and snows, In tree or man, good timber grows.<\/p>\n
Where thickest stands the forest growth We find the patriarchs of them both; And they hold converse with the stars Whose broken branches show the scars Of many winds and of much strife \u2014 This is the common law of life.<\/p>\n
Douglas Malloch, Quoted in Resource, Sept.\/Oct., 1992, p. 7<\/p>\n
Albert Einstein<\/b><\/p>\n
In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein\u2019s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, \u201cWhat are you actually by profession?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI devote myself to the study of physics,\u201d Einstein replied.<\/p>\n
The girl looked at him in astonishment. \u201cYou mean to say you study physics at your age?\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cI finished mine a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today in the Word, September 25, 1992<\/p>\n
Seven Rules for Growth<\/b><\/p>\n
A person who is \u201cborn again\u201d starts a new life similar to that of a newborn infant. Seven rules that promote good health in babiescan be adapted and applied to a Christian\u2019s spiritual growth.<\/p>\n
1. Daily Food. Take in the \u201cpure milk of the word\u201d through study and meditation.<\/p>\n
2. Fresh Air. Pray often or you will faint. Prayer is the oxygen of the soul.<\/p>\n
3. Regular Exercise. Put into practice what you learn in God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n
4. Adequate Rest. Rely on God at all times in simple faith.<\/p>\n
5. Clean Surroundings. Avoid evil company and whatever will weaken you spiritually.<\/p>\n
6. Loving Care. Be part of a church where you will benefit from a pastor\u2019s teaching and Christian fellowship.<\/p>\n
7. Periodic Checkups. Regularly examine your spiritual health.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Well Established<\/b><\/p>\n
An old farmer frequently described his Christian experience by saying, \u201cWell, I\u2019m not making much progress, but I\u2019m established!\u201d One spring when he was hauling some logs, his wagon wheels sank down to the axles in mud. Try as he would, he couldn\u2019t get the wagon out. Defeated, he sat atop the logs, viewing the dismal situation. Soon a neighbor who had always felt uncomfortable with the farmer\u2019s worn out testimony came along and greeted him, \u201cWell, brother Jones, I see you\u2019re not making much progress, but you must be content because you\u2019re well-established!\u201d<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Sharks<\/b><\/p>\n
I met a young man not long ago who dives for exotic fish for aquariums. He said one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet.<\/p>\n
That also happens to some Christians. I\u2019ve seen some of the cutest little six-inch Christians who swim around in a little puddle. But if you put them into a larger arena\u2014into the whole creation\u2014only then can they become great.<\/p>\n
– Charles Simpson<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Experience<\/b><\/p>\n
A man, after 25 years with one company, was still doing the same old job and drawing the same salary. Finally he went to his boss and told him he felt he had been neglected. \u201cAfter all,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ve had a quarter of a century of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dear fellow,\u201d sighed the boss, \u201cyou haven\u2019t had a quarter of a century of experience, you\u2019ve had one experience for a quarter of a century.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Quote \u2022 The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. – Chinese Proverb \u2022 A group of tourists asked an old man if any great men were born in this small town. \u201cNo. Only babies.\u201d New Man, March\/April 1997, p. 18 Christian Growth I met a young man not long ago … Continue reading “Growth, cf. progress, maturity”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}