Spirit empowered Hope

Sunday 10/20/19

Series: Walking the Talk

Message – Spirit empowered Hope

Podcast: Download (90.3MB)

Spirit empowered Hope

Turn with me to Rom. 5:1-5. The entirety of our teaching last week was based upon this passage and after having read it you are going to tell me, without consulting your notes, why and how it is true that our hope does not disappoint.

Rom 5:1-5, “(1) Standing then acquitted as the result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also, as the result of faith, we have obtained an introduction into that state of favour with God in which we stand, and we exult in hope of some day sharing in God’s glory. (3) And not only so: we also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering produces fortitude; (4) fortitude, ripeness of character; and ripeness of character, hope; (5) and that this hope never disappoints, because God’s love for us floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

So this week we begin with HOPE…

The Christian faith mentions several hopes:

Redemption of our bodies
Being prepared as a dwelling place for God in the Spirit

but we only have ONE GREAT hope – Rom. 8:24; Col. 1:27

Heb. 6:13-20, “(13) For when God gave the promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, (14) saying, “ASSUREDLY I WILL BLESS YOU AND BLESS YOU, I WILL INCREASE YOU AND INCREASE YOU.” (15) And so, as the result of patient waiting, our forefather obtained what God had promised. (16) For men swear by what is greater than themselves; and with them an oath in confirmation of a statement always puts an end to a dispute. (17) In the same way, since it was God’s desire to display more convincingly to the heirs of the promise how unchangeable His purpose was, (18) He added an oath, in order that, through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for Him to prove false, we may possess mighty encouragement–we who, for safety, have hastened to lay hold of the hope set before us. (19) That hope we have as an anchor of the soul–an anchor that can neither break nor drag. It passes in behind the veil, (20) where Jesus has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become, like Melchizedek, a High Priest for ever.”

Turn to Rom 15:13,

“May God, the giver of hope, fill you with continual joy and peace because you trust in Him–so that you may have abundant hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Rom. 8:1-39, “(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; (2) for the Spirit’s Law– telling of Life in Christ Jesus–has set me free from the Law that deals only with sin and death. (3) For what was impossible to the Law–powerless as it was because it acted through frail humanity–God effected. Sending His own Son in a body like that of sinful human nature and as a sacrifice for sin, He pronounced sentence upon sin in human nature; (4) in order that in our case the requirements of the Law might be fully met. For our lives are regulated not by our earthly, but by our spiritual natures.”

KJV “After” – meaning conformable to the will of the flesh or of the Spirit

“(5) For if men are controlled by their earthly natures, they give their minds to earthly things. If they are controlled by their spiritual natures, they give their minds to spiritual things. (6) Because for the mind to be given up to earthly things means death; but for it to be given up to spiritual things means Life and peace. (7) Abandonment to earthly things is a state of enmity to God. Such a mind does not submit to God’s Law, and indeed cannot do so. (8) And those whose hearts are absorbed in earthly things cannot please God. (9) You, however, are not devoted to earthly, but to spiritual things, if the Spirit of God is really dwelling in you; whereas if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, such a one does not belong to Him. (10) But if Christ is in you, though your body must die because of sin, yet your spirit has Life because of righteousness. (11) And if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead is dwelling in you, He who raised up Christ from the dead will give Life also to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who dwells in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, it is not to our lower natures that we are under obligation that we should live by their rule. (13) For if you so live, death is near; but if, through being under the sway of the spirit, you are putting your old bodily habits to death, you will live.”

God Bless!

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!

If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the 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!