The Power of Yes #3-Yes to Growth (Part A) 8-30-09
The Power of Yes #3
Yes to Growth!!! (Part A)
8-30-09
Power of Yes #2 Was done by Jake while I was on vacation.
Regroup Yes Points from Part #1
Those who follow Christ are YES people
· People who have a Huge YES ringing in their hearts
· Part of our DNA—
· We are a people of YES!!
Positive Attitude—SECULAR version
· BILICAL YES
Yes—means ‘so be it’
In the Bible
· Word of Response
· God required response
Biblically
· Commands something to be—‘Amen’—So Be IT!!
· In Bible come into AGREEMENT with God—Word of FAITH
Things Can CHANGE in the moment of YES
· Covenants happen—Marriage example
· Armed services—sworn in
SALVATION—Romans 10:9 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.[1]
· Believers people of Yes—Amen
· Christianity—faith—YES
Interactive Nature of God’s Promises/Word—
· He extends—we say YES
Yes to GROWTH
· Firm believer we are to grow in EACH season
· Ps 1—bears fruit in season—leaf doesn’t wither
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
‘Come Grow With Us’
· Invitation of Jesus
Growth is an OVERFLOW of the YES Position!!!!!!!!!!
· AS say YES to God in certain areas of life
· GROWTH is Bi-Product
o Yes is a Catalyst for growth
§ Doctor friend—chemical catalyst illustration
o Holy Spirit causes CONVERGENCE
o I Corinthians 3:6
6 /I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. [2] /
o NEW chemical is formed
§ When we take a YES position in our walk
§ Catalyzes GROWTH!!
For many believers
· Many say—in order to grow—gotta LEARN/knowledge
o Just because you LEARN more – doesn’t mean Grow
§ Head knowledge vs heart knowledge
§ Head knowledge good/impt—needs to manifest in CLASSROOM OF LIFE!
· Growth is CLASS you take—let’s ‘mature’
· Reality—not taking notes
o ON the journey—as you FOLLOW—change happens
o Caught not taught—are you following?
Growth happens AS you follow (Yes to following –yes to the journey)
Matt 4:19— Matt 4:19 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men[3]
19 And He said to them, Come iafter Me [as disciples—letting Me be your Guide], follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!
· “Make You”
4160 ποιέω [poieo /poy·eh·o/] v. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; TDNT 6:458; TDNTA 895; GK 4472; 579 occurrences; AV translates as “do” 357 times, “make” 113 times, “bring forth” 14 times, “commit” nine times, “cause” nine times, “work” eight times, “show” five times, “bear” four times, “keep” four times, “fulfil” three times, “deal” twice, “perform” twice, not translated three times, translated miscellaneously 43 times, and “vr do” three times. 1 to make. 1a with the names of things made, to produce, construct, form, fashion, etc. 1b to be the authors of, the cause. 1c to make ready, to prepare. 1d to produce, bear, shoot forth. 1e to
· On the journey—as you FOLLOW—Growth happens—TRANSFORMATION happens
o Something happens as we Watch the Lord—follow
o Watch Father
· Saying YES, I will follow you around the next bend—to the unknown
· Found myself doing/going places I never would have planned
o Buckley—had a different idea—this was God’s
o Aberdeen—wasn’t on the Doppler radar—but it was on God’s
· I Cor 2:9 9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”a—
· When we say yes to GROWTH it opens door for Amazing blessing
What I want to talk about today are places in our lives where we say yes to growth
As you say ‘YES’ to Remaining/Abiding in Jesus
· John 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesa so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear
When you say YES to sticking with Jesus
· GROWTH happens—when you STICK WITH Jesus
· Yes in ALL seasons
o Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (DEVELOP)
· To be PLANTED—bringing fruit—Ps 1
o If you want to grow: GET PLANTED!!
· Planted person says YES to consistency
Yes, I’m going to plant my life near the things of God
· I’m gonna SINK my roots In—staying near Him
· I’m gonna plant myself in a CHURCH
How does that help?
· Gonna open my heart to Lord
· I’m going to open my heart to other—relationship
· I’m going to serve—
o Not just on BLEACHERS
o Part of the GAME
· As you ALIGN
o Membership—Identification
o Roots go down
o Set in
o Draw LIFE from
§ Keep leaning in—no matter WHAT
§ Polly Fields Testimony—life journey
§ Growth overflow
As you say YES to being Teachable
· All seasons of life—Ps 1
· David on journey—teachable
· Apostle Paul—later in journey
o Pray for me—I may be bold
o Still GROWING
I want to be an old man who is learning NEW things
· We say yes
As you say YES to making room for MORE—Increase Capacity
· Is 54 spread out—lengthen “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.
· “Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! 3 For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities.
Kingdom principle
· As we increase capacity—I will make MORE room for YOU!
· He will fill LIFE!
· II Kings 4:3—Elisha/Widow
o When capacity EXPANDED—
o HE fills!
o Feel like that’s what the Lord is asking us to do
· Double services
· Word for River
o Been bumping 80% for some time
· Pruned—making room for new gifts to rise up
· Clear boulders make place
· Participating in God’s HEART for Harvest
o Not send message no room—new opportunities
As you say YES to Giving/Serving
· Matt 10:8 “Freely you have received—freely Give”
· Luke 6:38 Give and it shall be given to you
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” [4]
38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.*”[5]
·
· Serve—make room for more
· Two Services
o Come to one—serve the other!
o So many exciting things happening as overflow
o Discipleship class; special needs; leadership expansion
· How many grew because you served?
o How many gave OUT—and God Gave Back?
As you say YES to CONNECTING to other believers
· Something about walking on journey together that makes you go FURTHER
o Ropes Course—VERTICAL Playpen!!
o One a thousand—2 ten thousand
o Two or more in my name
Heb 10:25 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another[6]
o
· Team together in journey
o It’s fun—rewarding
o Healthy
o Momentum!!
· Acts 2:44 44 And all the believers met together in one place
o Lord added DAILY
o Why? They Stayed CONNECTED
o They said YES to Connection!
We do BETTER in team!
How are we going to be doing this at the River??
· Small Groups
o 16+ Different Kinds of Small Groups . . . .
Follow: 1205 δεῦτε [deute /dyoo·teh/] adv. From 1204 and an imperative form of eimi (to go); GK 1307; 13 occurrences; AV translates as “come” 12 times, and “follow + 3694” once. 1 come hither, come here, come. 2 interjection, come!, come now!.
[7]
4160 ποιέω [poieo /poy·eh·o/] v. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; TDNT 6:458; TDNTA 895; GK 4472; 579 occurrences; AV translates as “do” 357 times, “make” 113 times, “bring forth” 14 times, “commit” nine times, “cause” nine times, “work” eight times, “show” five times, “bear” four times, “keep” four times, “fulfil” three times, “deal” twice, “perform” twice, not translated three times, translated miscellaneously 43 times, and “vr do” three times. 1 to make. 1a with the names of things made, to produce, construct, form, fashion, etc. 1b to be the authors of, the cause. 1c to make ready, to prepare. 1d to produce, bear, shoot forth. 1e to acquire, to provide a thing for one’s self. 1f to make a thing out of something. 1g to (make i.e.) render one anything. 1g1 to (make i.e.) constitute or appoint one anything, to appoint or ordain one that. 1g2 to (make i.e.) declare one anything. 1h to put one forth, to lead him out. 1i to make one do something. 1i1 cause one to. 1j to be the authors of a thing (to cause, bring about). 2 to do. 2a to act rightly, do well. 2a1 to carry out, to execute. 2b to do a thing unto one. 2b1 to do to one. 2c with designation of time: to pass, spend. 2d to celebrate, keep. 2d1 to make ready, and so at the same time to institute, the celebration of the passover. 2e to perform: to a promise. Additional Information: For synonyms see entry 4238, prasso.See entry 5871 for comparison of synonyms.
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[1]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Ro 10:8-10). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (1 Co 3:6-7). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mt 4:18-19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
i Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
v v: verb
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TDNTA Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
a Isaiah 64:4
a The Greek for prunes also means cleans.
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Lk 6:38). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
* Or The measure you give will be the measure you get back.
[5]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Lk 6:38). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Heb 10:25). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
adv adv: adverb
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
[7]Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G1205). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.
v v: verb
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TDNTA Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version