Laying aside Weights & Sins...a discussion

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Sunday 08/02/20

Series: Do we REALLY believe?

MESSAGE: Laying aside Weights & Sins

(Part 6 of Thinking through Suffering …a Dialogue)

Download – THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS

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Laying aside Weights & Sins:

Well we are winding things up on our list of questions we’ve been thinking through. Again the goal was and is to better understand the purpose of this life after salvation. What are God’s goals for you and how do life’s trials, temptations, tests, persecutions and such fit into that plan. Obviously God is not the author much of this, but all of it has to pass through His hands in one way or another before coming to you.

Two scriptural truths which illustrate this are that God does not tempt anyone as James tells us and Paul tells us in Corinthians that God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able and along with the temptation – provides a way for us to bear up under it in victory.

So today we are going to wrap up the list, review it quickly and then go to a few scriptures which illustrate what we have learned which, if I have dont my job well and you have been truly entering in during our times of discussion, these verses should resonate with a new clarity and open up better understanding than they have in times past.

We ended with question 24…

24. What does faith have to do with the salvation of our souls?

It is the necessary avenue by which God does His perfecting work in you. We must Trust that His ways are best and so desire the full conformity of our thoughts and lives to it. We must NOT BE DECEIVED – but TRUST that every good and perfect gift is from Him. We must Trust in God’s power to complete our maturing work into Christ’s image against all evidence to the contrary. We must seek His active work in us and desire it MORE than we desire satisfying our earthly cravings. We must trust Him to cause us to will and do after His good pleasure.

This is a much overlooked, yet foundational doctrine of Christ. Those who are His, overcome the world and the faith that makes them His and the faith which overcome the world are one and the same.

1 John 5:1-5, “(1) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (4) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (5) Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

What are you believing? That He is reconciling my heart to His. Conforming my thoughts and desires to be like His. Convincing and convicting my heart until it yields in loving trust and surrender.

Why are you believing it? For my own good and His pleasure.

The scriptures tell us that we are to lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily thwart our progress in Christ.

Describe the difference between a weight and a sin.

Weights are hindrances. Things which occupy too many of our thoughts, emotions and focus so as to distract us from the only real thing that matters.

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!