Sunday Re Cap (28th Oct 2012)

On That Day (Part 2) 

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Matt 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 

I. Who  Practiced Lawlessness?

1. In the context, it was the Pharisees.  
2. Many believe in Christ, come to church, attend and serve for years but have never professed Him as Lord or profess Him to be one of the many Gods; those who are following Jesus and serving Him out of tradition and not out of a personal relationship with Him. Then there are those who find it difficult to let go of their old habits, ways of thinking and traditions even after professing Christ to be Lord and Savior.  
3. Can we be Christians and practice lawlessness? Some clues in kingdom scriptures. Matt 5: 17ff.

II. What Does It Mean?

In the kingdom, lawlessness is of the heart rather than of outward actions or even words. Matt 5: 17; Heb 8: 10; Mark 12:29. What really matters is “how do we keep ourselves from a lawless heart?”

III. How Do We Keep Ourselves From A Lawless Heart?

John 15: 5. When we truly abide in the vine (Jesus) and allow Him to abide in us...meaning when the lawgiver Himself lives in us, it is impossible to be lawless! However, sometimes the heart is way to hardened. 1 Tim 4:4. How do we know that we are abiding in Him? Jesus says that it is through the fruit that we produce. What is the fruit? It is the fruit of the spirit.

IV. WALKING IN THE SPIRIT (Gal 5:16-25)

The most primary way of walking in the spirit is walking in reliance of the Holy Spirit which is to be dominated and controlled by the Holy Spirit! We practice lawlessness when we fail to give room to the Holy Spirit to move in our lives.

Sometimes we are even well meaning and try to put to death the deeds of our flesh (lawlessness). We try to “self prune”. The key to fruitfulness is not trying to get rid of the darkness; it is by allowing the Holy Spirit to work! Rom 8: 13

We then produce the fruit of the Spirit which is really Christ-likeness. One day when we stand face to face with Him we shall be like Him. 1 John 3: 2; Rom 8:29.

AS WE WALK IN THE SPIRIT, THE LAWGIVER IN US KEEPS US FROM A LAWLESS HEART.

John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Sunday Recap (14th Oct 2012)

ON THAT DAY

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Matt 7:21-22:

1.  A Day is coming, “On That Day”. Who will enter the kingdom of heaven? Jesus says that it is those who do the will of the Father. What is The Will Of The Father? The best person to answer that would be JESUS!
2. John 6:40 (AMP) See: To see Jesus in everything; meaning to see His power, wisdom, peace, strength, deliverance not ours BUT HIS!; Believes everything that the Son says about us; Trust Him, not ourselves (Prov3:5-6); Rely on Him not on ourselves…God will raise such AT THE LAST DAY!
3. WHAT DOES THIS SOUND LIKE? RELATIONSHIP! Abiding! John 15:1-8. Our abiding will produce fruit. The Father is glorified by the fruit.
• So what does it mean to ABIDE? The context is important.
• It was a very dark hour and not just because it was night. Jesus was saying all kinds of things to them. “I am going away…it is good for you…I’m going to send someone…I’m coming back…” There was fear in the disciples, confusion, bewilderment, helplessness, a sense of abandonment…have we been there? When nothing makes sense?
• In this situation, Jesus is telling them ABIDE in ME. “Hold steady guys; don’t look at your situation…keep your eyes on me…
• Fruit was the last thing on their minds but Jesus saw beyond the cross; beyond their trails, circumstances, testings that they were going to face.
• Maybe there those of us who are going through a storm at this time or even sometime in the past. Jesus is saying to you just like He told the bewildered disciples “Hold on to me, Abide in me… …I will work in your life…but it’s not going to end there…then as you have learn a little from me…I will bring people or even take you to those who are going through the same storm that you went through or are going through. You will minister to them through the little fruit that I have produced through you. Then as you do that, I will prune you a little and remove those things that are not of me and then you will understand more and produce more fruit and ultimately you will produce much fruit and in this My Father will be glorified! John 15:8; 2 Cor 1: 3-4 
4. What is the FRUIT that Jesus is talking about? 
• If we continue to abide in Him, He will continue to prune us and form Christ in us. Every trial, storm that we go through, forms a little bit more Christ in us. This is what Jesus was teaching the disciples. Let ME form ME in you. What will be produced is the fruit of the spirit which is really becoming like CHRIST!
• With Christ forming in us, how can we NOT minister to the lost i.e. the poor, the needy, and the downtrodden? How can we keep the message of the cross to ourselves? This is the work that truly validates our faith and glorifies the Father. On that day, The Father says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”  Matt 25:23

 

Sunday Re Cap (7th Oct 2012)

Call to Action by J. Daniel

 

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1. Christian life must be built on a solid foundation

• God’s love for us is unconditional
• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ
• God will never leave us nor forsake us
• And many more…

2. We as believers/ the church need to live lives that are starkly different from the world

• We need to first know Gods standards
• We have to stand by our convictions and values that are derived from the Word of God.

3. Faith without  action is dead (James  2: 14-24)

• James asks us how do we know we have faith?
• He says the proof of faith is the actions of our lives
• The natural manifestation of faith is God directed actions
• If the actions don’t match the faith we profess then we need to ask questions of ourselves.

4. There is a difference between faith and belief

• Belief is forming an opinion
• Faith is investing one’s life

5. Taking James 2:14-24 alone without the whole counsel of God's Word can make us go off on a tangent. It needs to be balanced with John 15:1-8

• Jesus is the Vine we are the branches.
• When the branches are connected to the Vine, fruits are a natural result.
• The fruitfulness in our life is an indicator of how well we are consistently connected to the Source of Life, Jesus
• The fruits come from being connected to Jesus but we have a responsibility to stay connected. We have a part to play.

6. John15:8 states ‘ When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine’

• The fruits glorify God
• The fruits are a confirmation of being a true disciples of Jesus