The Power of the Gospel XV - Living Grace Fellowship

Sunday 07/19/15

Series: The Power of the Gospel XV

Message – The Power to Bear Fruit unto Godliness XI

We’ve been talking about the Power of God.

We are to look to, anticipate and rely upon God’s power for living Godly lives. (Not having a form of godliness but denying it’s power).

The Four Hearts

Thorny:

Mat 13:22/Luke 8:14 As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who listens to the word, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries of life (Flesh) and the deceitfulness of pleasures of life (EYES) and wealth (PRIDE) so that the fruit doesn’t come to maturity and can’t produce a crop.

Review Chart –

(Click chart to enlarge)

Let’s read three separate encouragements by Paul to three separate churches which led to producing fruit that remained, but also called on them to rely upon and be in expectation of God’s Power.

Eph. 1:7-23,

(7) “ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

(8) which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

(9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

(10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

(11) In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

(What is God work of predestination in our hearts? Christ in us!)

(12) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

(13) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

(14) who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

(15) Therefore I also, after I heard of

1) your faith in the Lord Jesus and 2) your love for all the saints,

(16) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

(17) that…

the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

(18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

(19) and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

(20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, – ROMANS 6

(21) far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

(22) And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

(23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Col 1:3-29,

(3) We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

(4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;

(5) because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

(6) which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

(7) as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

(8) who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

(9) For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

(10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

(11) strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, FOR ALL PATIENCE AND LONGSUFFERING WITH JOY;

(12) giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

(13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

(14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

I will add the video later today…..

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!