The Power of the Gospel XVIII - Living Grace Fellowship

Sunday 08/09/15

Series: The Power of the Gospel XVIII

Message – The Power to Bear Fruit unto Godliness XIV

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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).

Say this 2xs…

“Blessed am I because my eyes do see and my ears do hear,

I anticipate God’s revelation in my life!”

The Four Hearts

Good:

Mat 13:23/Luke 8:15 “But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and holds onto it with a good and honest heart, comes to understand it, and produces a crop by means of endurance such that yields a harvest of hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was initially sown.”

This is a heart that CAN glorify God – Jn. 15:8, 16
This heart produces MATURE FRUIT.
The fruit remains until harvest
They received the seed of the word as they walk through the way – An ongoing inner dialogue between themselves and the word. – (seed & water)

READ – Prov. 7:1-4,

“My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin, That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.”

“How I love Your teaching! It is my meditation all day long.” ~ Psa 119:97

“My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.” ~ Psa 49:3-4

The earth (heart) has IN IT all that is necessary to produce anything that is planted in it.

This is why we are told to be careful what we look at, what we listen to and to guard our hearts!

Prov. 4:20-23,

“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;

For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

Looking at the verse

Honest – Agreeable, conferring honor, genuine

Good – Agreeable, honorable & useful

Keep it – Hold it firmly, take possession of it

Example: If you are house shopping, you visit homes, inspect it but from a scrutinizing frame of mind. How does that differ from taking possession of a house?

What then should be the mental frame of mind to have a Good Heart?

This means that the good heart has an appreciation for the Word and value it.

Understands it – Spiritually minded – 1 Cor. 2:14-15 AMP

“But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].” ~ 1Cor 2:14-15

Consider….

2Thess 2:9-10,

“The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels–for so Satan works–and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.”

Endurance (perseverance) – Let’s read Hebrews 10:35-39 to illustrate.

We will end by familiarizing ourselves with Next week’s beginning passage,

James 1:21-27,

21 “Ridding yourselves, therefore, of all that is vile and of the evil influences which prevail around you, welcome in a humble spirit the Message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

22 But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves.

23 For if any one listens but does not obey, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own face in a mirror.

24 Although he has looked carefully at himself, he goes away, and has immediately forgotten the sort of man he is.

25 But he who looks closely into the perfect Law–the Law of freedom–and continues looking, he, being not a hearer who forgets, but an obedient doer, will as the result of his obedience be blessed.

26 If a man thinks that he is scrupulously religious, although he is not curbing his tongue but is deceiving himself, his religious service is worthless.

27 The religious service which is pure and stainless in the sight of our God and Father is to visit fatherless children and widowed women in their time of trouble, and to keep one’s own self unspotted from the world.”

Blessings!

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!