This past Sunday we had a great day @GFchurch. I love our team and all that He is doing in us, to us, and through us. Scott Finch did a great job leading us in worship. If you were unable to attend service this past Sunday you can watch it here on GatewayTV. We looked at our Fellowship/ Identity in Christ, here is the basic outline of the message::
* When you abandon an identity that you receive from God, you are forced to create one on your own ~JR Vassar
* Rest in the identity that He has given you
* Often times our Identity is exchanged for Imagery (something we have done, trying to save yourself)
Christians are often hampered from moving forward spiritually because they lack an understanding of who they really are in Christ.
Often times our faith becomes checking off religious boxes and checklists instead of living the reality of who God has declared us to be!
Our enemy seeks to distort our understanding of who we are.
..... He cannot rob us of our identity~ our identity is secure, but he can mess with our view of our identity.
........For example, many people struggle with seeing God as a Father and seeing themselves as His child because of a bad earthly father.
The Great Commission: “Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’””
Matthew 28:19-20
* Baptism is a public declaration of one’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
* Baptism is a perfect illustration of what Christ has done for all sinners through His death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4)
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
* Baptism is also a personal identification with Christ and with His Church (Galatians 3:27).
27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Baptism not only signifies our identification with Jesus Christ but also our desire to live a life of obedience to Him
When a person becomes a disciple of Jesus, he relates in a new way to the entire Godhead. The Father becomes our heavenly Father, the Son our Lord, the Spirit our indwelling enabler. And in the act of baptism we submit ourselves to all three, and we pledge allegiance to all three.
We have fellowship with Him and the local church.
Paul’s words to the church in Corinth::
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, brothers,1 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6
Fellowship is the evidence of waking in the light::
~ 1 John 1:5-7
Loving people is an evidence of that walk::
~1 John 2:9-11
Fellowship with people is an exercise of love bringing us toward spiritual maturity:: 1 John 4:7-21
The Challenge::
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:1-2
.......out of the Message::
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
In Christ you are…
• God’s beloved child (Jn 1:12: Eph 1:5)
• Christ’s dear friend (Jn 15:5)
• Declared perfectly righteous (“justified”) (Rom 5:1)
• Free from condemnation (Rom 8:1; Col 2:14-16)
• United with Christ, “one spirit” with Christ (I Cor 6:17; Eph 5:31)
• A member of Christ’s body (I Cor 6:15/ 12:27)
• The Temple of God (I Cor 6:19)
• Filled with the “fullness of God” (Eph 3:19)
• A “holy one” [saint] (Eph 1:1)
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3)
• Holy and blameless (Eph 1:4)
• Bought with an infinite price and forgiven (I Cor 6: 20; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14)
• Bathed with wisdom and understanding (Eph 1:8)
• The recipient of an eternal, infinitely rich, inheritance (Eph 1:11, 18)
• Possessed with the mind of Christ (I Cor 2:16)
• Inseparable form God’s love (Rom 8:35-39)
• One who will NEVER be abandoned (Mt 28:20)
• The beautiful bride of Christ who “ravishes” the heart of God (Song of Songs, 4:1ff; 6:4ff).
• One over whom the Lord rejoices, sings and claps his hands(Zeph 3:17)
• One for whom the Lord throws a party (Zeph 3:17; Lk 15:7-10)
• A recipient of God’s own peace (Jn 14:27)
• Filled with the peace and joy of God (Rom 14:17)
• One in whom Christ’s joy is fulfilled (Jn 15:11)
• Given direct access to the Father by the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18)
• Seated with Christ in heavenly realms (Eph 2:6)
• Seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” with Christ (Eph 1:21).
• Hid in Christ in heavenly realms (Col 3:1-5)
• Crucified, Buried and Raised with Christ (Rom 6:1-11)
• Made perfect forever (Heb 10:14)
• Made complete in Christ (Col 2:10)
• Indwelled by a fearless Spirit (2 Tim 1:7)
• One of God’s precious works of art (Eph 2:10)
• Indwelt by a spirit of power, love and stability (2 Tim 1:7)
• A citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20)
• Predestined to look like Jesus and see him in his glory (Rom 8:29; I Jn 3:1-5)
• One in whom God is working to bring good out of evil (Rom 8:28)
• Salt of the earth (Mt 5:13)
• A branch chosen to bear fruit (Jn 15:16)
• A co-worker with God (I Cor 3:9)
• An ambassador of Christ and minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-20)
• A priest of the most high God ( I Pet 2:5-9)
• More than a conqueror in all things (Rom 8:37)
• One who knows the truth and is set free (Jn 8:32).
• One who can do all things in Christ (Phil 4:13)
* When you abandon an identity that you receive from God, you are forced to create one on your own~ JR Vassar
* Rest in the identity that He has given you
* Often times our Identity is exchanged for Imagery (something we have done, trying to save yourself)
We have some big events coming up in the life of our church. We are now in the preparation stages of putting our neighborhood block parties together. We will also be pushing out some information regarding a Gateway Community Day, as well as many other opportunities to embrace the community around us. One of the big things we need your help with is gathering candy for the Royse City "Trick or Treat on Main Street" community event that will be held on Wednesday, October 27th.
......Don't forget about our discussion about Spiritual Disciplines. We hope you decide to pick one (or more) of these to begin training this week......
~Worship
~Meditation on Scripture
~Prayer
~Fasting
~Making war against sin
~Others before self
~Submission
~Service
Mark Your Calendars::
~October 23, 2010 Men's Breakfast
~October 27, 2010 Trick or Treat on Main Street
ConnectGroup Schedule::
TuesNite @ 7pm @ The Snow's
WedNite @ 7pm @ The Brown's
SunMorn @ 915am @ GFchurch (Youth)
I love our church
I love our people
I love our team
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing to us
I love what He is doing through us
No comments:
Post a Comment