Spiritual Foundations- CHRIST IN ME
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Make announcement to pick up empty cups and bottles
Make announcement to pick up empty cups and bottles
Sunday Spiritual Foundations #3 Intimacy with Christ
Have Molly And Donald Praying- Set up the table back behind
Communion teaching- The deep spiritual truths involved. What it means to be in Christ
Communion teaching- The deep spiritual truths involved. What it means to be in Christ
Take Communion together
Take Communion together
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Eph 3
Focus on intimacy- Prayer
Announcments
1. Please help us keep this place clean when you leave.
2. Mothers Day Dinner- Day before mothers day May 8th
Communion Teaching-
We are going to start out a little different this morning. We are going to be taking communion together as a body. We are going to take it a little different then we normally do. And the Bible doesn’t really give us a detailed format about what it looks like.
1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
This is a holy moment, when the preaching is turned off, the activity is quieted down… And we just remember what this is all about. That the Son of God loved us so much that He allowed his body to be crushed, his life poured out, the penalty of death was laid upon his body.
As Isaiah the Prophet said,, that the chastisement for our peace was upon him. It’s a holy moment, something that needs to be taken seriously,,,
And really the only requirements is that we first belong to the Lord. We have placed out faith where God placed our sin and are trusting Jesus, committing ourself to Jesus.
Please don’t let your kids take it if they haven’t come to faith in Christ
And lets take a few moments and examine ourself
1 Corinthians 11:27–33 ESV
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
We are going to have some worship music playing, take a few minutes and as get some things right with the Lord. And when you get ready come up. We will have people up here that you can pray with.
As you get ready come forward…
SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION- Building a Life that Matters
CHRIST IN ME
This morning I am praying that some in here would rediscover Jesus in a fresh new way. This happens as the Holy Spirit pours out fresh revelation…
Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Today I want to talk with you about what it means to be in Christ and Christ in you.
· Only when you understand the all consuming truth that Christ doesn’t want you to do anything for Him, but He wants to do something through you. Until you understand that truth you will not live with divine purpose
· It seems that most Christians today that they are striving and struggling in their faith. They are tired, they are exhausted, they just want to know that they have the real thing. Paul Prayed that the church in Ephesus would have be strengthened with power by the Holy Spirit
V 16 , 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
· Strengthened with power. Power is the Greek word Dynamis- and the word means potential for functioning in some way, capability, ability, deed of power,
· this word in other places is translated miracle!
· Paul is asking God the Father, through the Son that by the power of the Holy Spirit that the believers would be strengthened with power, with Dunamis, that only the inside where the deepestest part of your heart, where the real you is, those deep parts where what you tuly believe about life and God are located…. That there would be a quickening, an empowering, that the Holy Spirit would do a miracle
· V 17 So that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, not by faith but through faith. Faith is God’s direct connection, his hi speed railway that Gets God out of heaven and into man heart
· V17 b 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
· So that they be rooted- THE WORD IS FIRMLY ROOTED- firmly established- no longer being tossed to and fro by emotion, by circumstance, by my atheistic professor
· When I lived in Lufkin I learned something about Pine Trees and Oak Trees. You see Lufkin is only and hour and a half from here but they get more power storms because they are closer to the Coast. When a hurricane hit Houston, The power of the hurricane wnds and rains would hit Lufkin. There were a couple of times these powerful storms hit. And the next days we would go out and see trees completely uprooted. I mean big trees. Lufkin is more pinet woulds do the hard oaks that are more prevalent here. Do you know what I saw more of uprooted? You would think pines but it was actually oaks. We had a neighbor that had a big Oak completely uprooted and it had a massive root system that must have been 30 feet or more wide. So I asked because the Pines were much taller than the oaks, and what I found is that Oaks have a huge root system but its wide and shallow. You see the much taller Pine Trees were not only more flexible, but they had roots that went deep down into the earth
· Today you see that with a lot of believers they have roots that go wide but just not very deep. Paul is praying for a root system that goes down deep
· Grounded- It’s the Word for a foundation- A Foundation that is strong, and has roots that go down deep
· IN LOVE- this root system, this foundation is love. Agape- which in Greek is the purest form of love. We have one word for love, the greeks were more precise, they had three different words. This One represents God’s love
Paul is praying for a miracle, that God’s people would understand the totality of Jesus love for them, so that no matter where they are in life, no matter their circumstances that they would have a tenacious, bull dog grip on this truth… that they don’t just have a head knowledge of the Love of Jesus, but that this knowing of Jesus ges down into the deepest recess of their being, and that the would know the fullness, the breath, the length the depth and height of Christ love…… And it surpasses knowledge, and goes to the experiential….
V19 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
You see this is the much more of salvation- its not about getting you to God one day when you die…. Its about getting God into you here and now, and experiencing this God, this God filling you with the fullness
-I was invited to Soar yesterday to minister to the ministry team. And we were able to take our time and hear peoples stories… and can I tell you that the Lord showed up. Because He game me power, he gave me capability… He revealed things to me about people that I didn’t even know
V 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Jesus doesn’t want you to do anything for Him, He wants to do something through you.
· Tell your neighbor, God is doing something in me
· Tell them I’m going to get my miracle today
That you may be filled with the Fullness of God
I heard the story about a man that had never had an automobile and he bought a new Camaro. And he was so excited about that Camaro. He would often sit in that Camaro for hours, and admire the nice leather interior. He would turn the radio on, and listen to the awesome sound sytem. But after a while he began to hate the car. He grew discontented with sitting and listening. You see the problem is this guy pushed this car everywhere he . Went. He would have to leave extra early in the morning and he got home extra late. Sometimes he wouldn’t even make it home but would just push the car to the side of the road. He grew to despise the car. Then one day his neighbor Pastor CJ asked the man, why he was pushing that thing around? He said how else am I going to get it anywhere? And Pastor CJ said let me show you something… You see that Key Fob, he said yeah it unlocks the door and allows me to turn the music on…. I said yeah it does that, but you see when you get this key fob close enough to the ignition switch, you can hit that button right there and it turns the motor on. You see those petals, yeah. That is your gas and your brake… And for the first time he cranked up that big V8 Super Sp
You say that’s a silly story, yes it is…
· But what is even more ridiculous is that is how most Christians are living their lives.
· They are tired and exhausted, they feel like they have to push this thing of Chrisitanity around.
· They are tired of sitting and listening.
· Maybe just maybe God will give some dunemis this morning, maybe God will give some special revelation to you this morning, perform a miracle this morning.
· You see God has given you an engine to live out this Christian life, He has a name… holy Spirit… And Who is the holy Spirit? He is Christ in you. He is the Spirit of the Lord jesus Christ who wants to inhabit your humanity. Who wants to live in and through you.
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Let me give you a couple truth about this relationship with Jesus
Christ in you the hope of Glory
YOU SEE THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF BELIEVERS BEING IN CHRIST
· That is positionally you are in Christ….
1. ACCESS TO HEAVENS RESOURCES- That means you have access to heavens power, and resources
Ephesians 1:3 ESV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
2. Heavens CITIZENSHIP
No Condemnation-
Roman Citizenship- Citizens could not be out to death by capital punishment in
Romans 8:1 ESV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
you go from being an enemy of God to being a Friend of God.
· The sting of death and the penalty of sin is taken away in Christ
· You can never be lost or forsaken again.
· The judgment of God can never strike
CHRIST IN YOU
1. THE holy Spirit living in you, fueling your faith, empowering your life
In Christ you have access to heavens Resources, you have been adopted into the Beloved
But he doesn’t stop there. You have Christ living in you!!
Heavens Renewal-
1 Peter 1:3 ESV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
· Its not a hope so type of hope it is a living Hope, because You have the living God living inside of you
Ephesians 4:23 ESV
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Heavens Authority
Luke 10:19 ESV
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Heavens Power
John 14:12 ESV
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
· Now many people get tripped up here. They say greater works than Jesus… ha where is that at? I don’t see miracles happening like those that Jesus performed.
· I would agree though those things do happen, and they happen often with missionaries who are taking the gospel to new lands where Jesus is being preached for the first time
· This is not what Jesus meant, he did not say that you and I would perform greater miracles--- that is a different word- It’s the Word Simeion (Sim -mayon) and it is the word translated miracle or sign… God does that in special cases like un evangelized lands
· Jesus is not promising that his follwers will perform greater signs, miracles and wonders…. He says my followers will perform greater works (ergon)
· God is not interested in showing signs and wonders, he is interested in saving souls… Evangelism is part of the greater works
· When the Holy Spirit came back when Jesus when to heaven He went throughout the Earth convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment
· Now that Jesus is setting at the right hand of Power, we have an advocate before the Father, Because of the cross we have access to all of heavens authority and power… and we have power to tear down strongholds in other peoples lives. We have the power to greater works… Never did Jesus preach to the thousands and seen them turn their hearts to him
TUPPERWARE GOSPEL ILLUSTRATION
John 17
- Greater Works
Kingdom Authority
What does it mean to have Christ in me?
The Hope of Glory poassage