Deep and Honest Reverence II

Reverence - honest

 

Sunday 01/22/17 

Series: Doers of the Word

Message – Deep and Honest Reverence II

Click HERE for Video

 

Deep and Honest Reverence

Our take always so far are….

1. Being a DOER is Christ IN you.

a) As you obey through faith and reverence, Christ’s image is brought to greater maturity in you.

2. Grace (God’ influence) takes many forms –

a) a voice (revelation)
b) an inner direction or knowing (It seemed good to us)
c) a bias upon the emotions (Love shed abroad)
d) a power upon or acting through our flesh…etc. (Strength)
BUT ALL grace is God’s Word TO US and THAT is what we are to be doers of!

3. When we read the word or Hear God’s voice it reveals the glory of Christ in us (which is huios) – 2 Cor. 3; James 1:23-25.

19-27 – LISTEN, BELIEVE, Renouce, Receive, LIVE

James 1:21-25,
“(21) Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness (gentle strength) the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.(22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (24) for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
(25) But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

  • Continues = abide (If you abide in Me and My words in you…)
  • Not forgetful = Fears the Lord, counts His word precious. Meditate “Day and night” (bears fruit in season)
  • Not forgetful…
    • Fear the Lord
    • Count His word precious
    • Ponder it continually

Then we spent some time on the reverence and fear of the Lord, beginning with a well known example of it in Psalm 1…

“(1) How blessed is the man who does not pattern his life after the advice of the transgressors – those guilty of sin, or stand with sinners in support of their ways, or live the life of one who holds righteousness with deriding disdain and contempt! (2) Instead, his pleasure is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. (3) He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (4) The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
(5) Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.
(6) For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to utter ruin.”

So this week we are finishing the last two verses in chapter 1…

“26) If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”

“(27) Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

Here we are given a ‘Christ in you’ Lithmus test

  • If you cannot keep your tongue from evil, your devotion to Christ is an illusion.
  • Pure and clean devotion to God expresses itself in doing…
    • Caring for and reaching out to the helpless (orphans, widows…etc.)
    • Keeping yourself untarnished by the world and it’s influence.

At this point we began to look at the defiling influence the world can have and how the scriptures tell us to deal with it while still being IN but not OF the world. Our reverence towards God can be allowed no rival and still claim to be devoted to Him.

This branched into a very practical discussion about how this effects those who are married to unbelievers and what the scriptures say about marriage, divorce and remarriage. If you have questions about these issues I’d strongly encourage you to listen to this recording.

…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.

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Blessings!

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!