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Come Up Higher

Posted on 31 Aug 2020, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: Come Up Higher

Text: 1 Pet. 2:1-3, Jude 20

[1Pe 2:1] Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

[1Pe 2:2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

[1Pe 2:3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

[Jud 1:20] But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Introduction

You are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul.
Physically we must grow. If we are not growing, it is abnormal. The cells in our bodies replicates to cause the growth to happen.
In our soul, we grow by the amount of information we absorb. The older we become, the wiser we are supposed to become, because of the wealth of knowledge we have acquired over time.
If the body and soul are growing, your spirit must grow as well.
If you are a Christian and you are not growing, it is spiritually abnormal.
No matter where you are in your Christian race, you can always go higher. Therefore, all of us must continue to grow until God calls us home or Jesus returns
My mother, who has been in the church before I was born is still discovering some revelations in the Word. She will get excited and call me, it could be 5am or 5pm or when I’m in the middle of a meeting, mummy wants to talk.
Only the dead cannot grow. You are not dead, and you shall not die before your time.
There are several dangers of not growing that we will talk about later.
[Php 3:14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
- We too must press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
You must create the time necessary for your spiritual growth
- We cannot be too busy to ignore your spiritual growth. It is dangerous.
You must be determined to pursue spiritual growth
It does not matter how old you are, you must grow spiritually
It does not matter where you are in your spiritual walk, you must grow spiritually
Moses parted the red sea after he clocked 80. What is our excuse?

Main Topic

Let us use Peter as a case study.

Peter Went back Fishing

[Joh 21:3] Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, Peter went back to fishing, and the disciples followed him. He caught nothing that night. Fishing for fish was no longer his destiny, he was meant to be fishing for men. He was also meant to be the leader of the disciples.

The Day of Pentecost

[Act 2:1] And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
[Act 2:2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
[Act 2:3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
[Act 2:4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
When the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the disciples in the upper room, everything changed.
The desire to fish for fish disappeared. The desire to fish for men came upon him.
The boldness to stand in front of a crowd to speak about Jesus came upon him. Remember, he could not speak about Jesus to the slave girl prior.
He preached to the crowd that had gathered to witness the commotion. 3000 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. His second message brought 5000 people into following after Jesus Christ.

Lame man healed

Peter continued to grow.
[Act 3:6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
He went from preaching the gospel to healing the lame man by the beautiful gate of the temple.

Peter and John were arrested

Peter and John were thrown into prison, but it was too late. The fire of the Holy Ghost had engulfed Peter. No prison could remove that fire.
[Act 4:8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
[Act 4:13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
The council concluded that Peter and John had been with Jesus. That must be our testimony. We must grow to the point that the world would testify that we had been with Jesus. Not that we have been to Redeem.
The Holy Spirit has a very vital role to play in our spiritual walk. Without the Holy Spirit, the growth will just be based on information acquired into the soul. While that is good, it is better to have the Holy Spirit enhance that information in our spirit to aid our spiritual journey.

Ananias and Sapphira

Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter that they sold their land for so much money, when in actual fact they held back some of the money.
[Act 5:3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Ananias and Sapphira thought they were lying to Peter. They did not realize they were lying to the Holy Ghost.
Why? Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost.
This case is similar to that of believers that pay 5% tithe or don’t pay at all. You cannot deceive God. He knows the truth.

Healing Continued

[Act 5:15] Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
[Act 5:16] There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Peter continued to grow, so much that his shadow was healing the sick.

Rescued from prison

Peter was rescued twice from prison by angels.
[Act 5:19] But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
[Act 12:7] And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

Peter raised the dead

He did not stop at healing the sick. He raised Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead back to life
[Act 9:40] But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Peter went from going fishing and catching nothing, to preaching, to healing, to raising the dead.

Peter did not stop growing.

Brethren, we must grow, not just for ourselves, but to do exploit for the Kingdom of God.

Dangers of not growing

If one is not growing, one is not only stagnant, but one is actually regressing.
Regressing leads to backsliding
Backsliding is the state of losing one’s salvation
As a result, such person would not make heaven
Remember Judas Iscariot? He was with Jesus, he heard the same teachings from Christ, but unfortunately, he was not growing.
Remember Demas?
- [Col 4:14] Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
- [2Ti 4:10] For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;…
- What could cause Demas to love the present world and forsake the gospel? He was not growing spiritually.
We must grow.
Making heaven is highly dependent on your spiritual growth
Don’t settle for where you are today.
You must come up higher.

Three Keys to spiritual growth

When you are hungry, you look for food. Similarly, we must be hungry spiritually.
- The first key is to have a hunger for spiritual growth.
- When hunger sets in, you eat.
The second key is to eat the Word of God. The Word of God is food for the soul.
- [1Pe 2:2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
The third key is you must drink water.
- [Joh 4:14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
  - Jesus was speaking of the Holy Ghost
- [Jud 1:20] But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
- The Holy Spirit is the water that we drink. We drink the water by praying in the Holy Ghost on a daily basis.
- I cannot stress it enough that you must pray in the Holy Ghost daily.
Without food and water, one cannot grow physically.
Without the Word of God and the Holy Ghost, one cannot grow spiritually.

Conclusion

If your body is growing by the food you eat,
If your soul is growing by what you read, what you listen to, and what you watch,
Your spirit must grow by the Word of God and the Water of Jesus Christ, which is the Holy Ghost.

Sermon

Come Up Higher