Tag Archives: intimate knowlege

Denying the fruitless enticements of the flesh

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Series: In Pursuit of Relational knowledge

We ventured away from John 15 today as we studied correlating scriptures which help up develop a more broadstroked vista of our position as branches in our Vine.

Our spirits have been made alive in and to God, our souls are being converted to think, see, feel and desire as God does, but we live in a physical body which still has both sin and death in it. So while we have very real desires to honor and obey our God and Father, we also have very real enticements from our flesh to do otherwise.

This inward conflict is not simply one of external morality, but one of intrinsic inner character at war with an external hard wiring. As such, like Paul lamented, “I find myself doing the very things I hate!”

Today we learned a little more about this, so as to better understand how to live out our “branchness” and bear fruit pleasing to God.

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Jesus Vine

Jesus replaces Israel as the Vine

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Series: In Pursuit of Relational knowledge

Our ongoing study in John 15 is helping us better understand how to properly receive the message of the Kingdom in our hearts. This is so we can do things ON PURPOSE to facilitate knowing Jesus in intimate and fruitfulfulness.

This week instead of pressing forward, we examined where Jesus likely drew this analogy of a vine and branches. It has its roots in Israel from when God first delivered them from Egypt and “planted them as a choice vine” in the promised land. Israel however, never really produced mature and good fruit.

As such Jesus took this illustrative metaphor for Israel and restated it with Himself being the Vine and all who were in the Kingdom… who follow Him in devotion as branches which faithfully produce fruit.

Before returning to John 15, we read the end of John 14 which introduces the Holy Spirit at the One Who facilitates this union.

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Remain Vine Branch

Remain in Me

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Series: In Pursuit of Relational Knowledge

The good heart has attributes the others lack and that makes it a heart which will produce fruit.

• It understands the message of the kingdom.
• It sees the deep value of knowing Jesus in true intimacy and surrenders to that union within His kingdom.

Because of the value this heart places on Jesus, satan seeks to desuade this heart from it’s loyalty through persecution, temptation and being hated even by those they love.

This has a COMPLETELY NON-RELIGIOUS response. This heart, instead of growing distant and cold, draws all the closer to Jesus during times of opposition and it is due to the love and value of Him that they endure.

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Wayside heart Parable

The Wayside Heart

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Series: In Pursuit of Relational Knowledge

Parable of the Heart Soils

Today’s lesson is focused upon the first of the 4 hearts in Jesus’ parable of the heart soils and that is the Wayside Heart. This is also correctly termed the Pathway heart, the heart of ignorance and the hardened heart.

We addressed all that Jesus said about this heart from Matthew, Mark & Luke, comparing them as we took note of what was distinctive of this heart in both the parable and in Jesus’ later explanation of the parable to His disciples.

We discovered that there are at least two different types of hard hearts though they both share a common cause or root. One can be helped and the other must change first before it COULD be helped. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day often fell into the worst type of hardened heart, while even His Own disciples often fell into the other.

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Think God

Thinking on God

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Series: In Pursuit of Relational Knowledge

Last week we focused on God’s command to remember Him and the things He has done, in order to keep our hearts from growing cold and unresponsive to Him.

This week we are taking a more simple approach – thinking on God.

Sounds simple enough, but we need examples and God has supplies many.

Some of the greatest lovers and pursuers of God have left us with their thoughts as they considered God in their lives. These we take as examples of pathways along which to guide our thoughts since these are people God Himself made special note of.

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