...by My Spirit Pt. V

Sunday 07/10/16

Series: Living in the Kingdom Pt. 41

Message – …by My Spirit V

We are sorry to report that our normal recorder was down, so the quality is rather poor this week.

Living in the Kingdom…by My Spirit says the Lord

…but by My Spirit

Last week we looked at those who are placed in the body to equip us as living witnesses and the relationship we have with them. This week we are looking at what it mean to BE a living witness.

1Cor. 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, THAT WE MIGHT KNOW the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

What are some of these things?

Growth in Christian character –
1. Rom. 8:14 “For as many as are habitually led by the Spirit of God, these are mature sons of God.”

Dominance over sin –
1. Rom. 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Living Witnesses – Every Christian is called to be a Living Witness or a Testimony. This WAS and IS the great commission. Like SO MANY things, we have taken the Gospel and personal instructions of our Lord and turned them into a mechanical work, rather than a life springing our of intimate union with Him.

Jesus charged the Body of Christ with a stewardship before He left. That stewardship is encapsulated in these words commemorated by Luke,

“and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth.”

How are we Living Witnesses???

Acts 10:38-44,

“(38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

(39) And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. (40) Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, (41) not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

(42) And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

(43) To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

(44) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.”

Acts 22:12-16,

“(12) Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, (13) came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him.

(14) Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. (15) For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. (16) And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

1Jn 1:1-3,

“(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— (2) the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

(3) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

1Cor. 1:1-9,

“(1) Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, (2) To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (3) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(4) I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, (5) that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, (6) even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

(7) so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

God’s Purposes in making us Living Witnesses

He has appointed Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastor-Teachers…etc. to establish us as living testimonies.
We ARE His “letters” – written by the Holy Spirit!
Jesus IS our message.
We are partnered with the Holy Spirit in His work of giving testimony to Christ.
A witness is something you ARE by nature and experience – NOT something you do!
You Testimony serves three purposes…
- It strengthens your brothers in Christ
- It is a testimony to the world
- It will be used as a testimony against Satan when he is judged!

We will be spending more time looking at Living Witnesses next week….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. Neither money nor attendance at our church will be mentioned.

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!