Growth Spiritually
Psalm 27:4
Introduction
- Setting: A small West Texas town
- Event: High school play with a miscast actor
- Problem: Actor lacks the ability to perform his role convincingly
Plot Development
- Critical Scene: Actor’s proposal interrupted by a shotgun shot
- Coach’s Solution: Uses an air rifle to prompt the actor's reaction
- Outcome: Actor convincingly delivers his line
Application to Audience
- Audience’s Situation: Compared to the actor in the play
- Encouragement: Speaker appreciates audience’s responsiveness to the Word of God
- Intercessory Prayer: Request for mutual prayer support
Christian Life and Spiritual Growth
- Definition: Christian life as the life of Christ reproduced in the believer
- Desire for Spiritual Growth: Importance of wanting to be a spiritual Christian
- Concern for Spiritual Apathy: Especially among older Christians
Examples of Spiritual Desire
- David: A man after God's own heart (Psalm 27:4)
- Psalm 42:1-2: Desire for God likened to a deer panting for water
Personal Testimony and Call to Action
- Speaker’s Prayer: Desire for a heart for God
- Seminary Context: Easy to lose a heart for God even in theological study
Encounter with the Word of God
- John 4: Worship in spirit and truth
- Joshua 1:8: Importance of meditating on the Book of the Law
- 1 Peter 2:2: Craving spiritual milk of the Word
- Psalm 119: Delight in God's law
Practical Steps for Spiritual Growth (00:18:23 – 00:29:13)
- Regular Prayer and Bible Study: Maintaining consistent spiritual disciplines
- Personal Bible Study: Testimonies of people benefiting from personal engagement with the Word
Use of Spiritual Gifts
- 1 Peter 4:10-11: Using gifts to serve others
- Example: CPA discovering his teaching gift
- Encouragement: Laypeople and professionals to use their gifts
Faith and Trust in God
- Mark 4:35-41: Jesus calming the storm and the disciples' lack of faith
- Hebrews 13:7: Imitate the faith of spiritual leaders
- Personal Testimony: Speaker’s father's late conversion to Christianity
Conclusion and Prayer
- Final Encouragement: Developing a hunger and thirst for righteousness
- Prayer: For God’s Word to transform lives and conform believers to the image of Christ
*The above summary is AI-generated, so discrepancies may exist. Please refer to the audio or video file to verify accuracy.
About the Contributors
Howard G. Hendricks
Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, known simply as “Prof,” directly or indirectly touched millions of lives in the evangelical community and beyond. For more than sixty years Prof served on the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), where he taught more than ten thousand students. He served as the chairman of the Center for Christian Leadership for over twenty years. He also ministered in person in more than eighty countries. Through speaking engagements, radio, tapes, films, the sixteen books he authored and coauthored, countless journal and popular-market articles, his service on numerous boards, and his work as a chaplain to the Dallas Cowboys (1976–1984), his reach was and is worldwide.
His legacy, in partnership with Jeanne, his wife of more than sixty-five years, includes four children and six grandchildren. Holding large audiences enthralled at venues such as Billy Graham’s conference center or Promise Keepers’ stadium rallies, Prof would confide, “It’s wonderful to be here with you, but I have a group of delicious students waiting for me back at the seminary.”
Contributors
