2023-07-09 Sermon

Hello- How are we all doing?

I want to talk today about something, rather a whole bunch of things.

Burning on me heart.

Focus - I would say, as is always the point with me, is knowing God and what he is saying.

Heard recently of someone disappointed when words around them had not come to pass.

Understanding, being told one thing, and not seeing it has destructive tendencies.

As always, have kids - you will understand God in a whole new way.

Constantly asking things, Parent, must provide an answer.

Sometimes that answer is yes. Heart mean not right at this moment. Kid’s heart, he means right now.

Tension.

Often we see this tension in how we approach God.

Our heart desires something, a word comes to us confirming that, so we wait patiently for 24 hours, when it doesn’t happen. Disappointment.

I know that I am guilty of that. Getting words and trying to rush them.

AS I have been pondering this, a literal flood of information came to me. So much so that I couldn’t even process it.

But I’ll sure try- Might get chaotic.

First thing. Whenever I hear of a word not bearing the fruit it is supposed to in someone’s life, I think of the parable of the sower.

IN this parable, and the explanation that follows there are three descriptions of Human Character where the “seed” can not bear fruit.

We all know the story -

People who don’t even really listen.
People who are in tribulation,
People who care too much about this world.

One type of good soil, good character.

Hear the word and receive it. Hear the word and accept it. Hear the word and delight in it.

Dechomai - look it up.

Think this through a bit. TBH - the word of the Lord is everywhere.

Bible.

Nature: In Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse

In the message: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.

Other ways:

Sermons - Like any of Fletchers, or Bill Johnsons

Individual people in our lives.

Prophecy

Most important - God’s voice directly to our ears.

The word of the Lord is all around us - No excuse not too be hearing from God.

Writing this down, I can point to instances in all these cases where God has spoken to me.

But Hearing is only one part…

In order to have good character, you must receive it.
Just before Jesus explains the parable, they ask him why He was always telling stories.

Response:

The passage here denote’s two things according to commentators.

The word mysterion paul uses later in the book to indicate that there is a super natural nature to the understanding.
The second is once one has been given that understanding - more of it will come.

From the TPT - For everyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough.

Couldn’t have said it any better myself - describes Hearing and Receiving

Capice?

Ok - so that was the touchy feely part of the message. It only goes down from here.

Can’t all be Fletcher -

While pondering all these things about words, I came to the whole book of 1 John.

Not that long - read it in one little sitting

But it has some heavy hitting things.

Written by John the disciple that Jesus Loves, but here we see he is taking the Gloves off.

Take this passage:

Lot’s to unpack - an I am going to go in reverse-

First - He who says he abides in Him ought to walk just as He walked
Man - abide. Most likely the title of this sermon.

The word abide always has a connotation of continuously.

I think that when we in the english speaking world here abide, we kind of think of it as hangin out.

Gonna go hang, grab a beer, etc.

But instead, it means to be constantly present. To not depart, not to leave.

I can not stress enough how important this concept is.

Once you are in the Family of God, your goal is to be constantly present with the Father.

And if you say you are constantly present with Him - you will walk as He walked.

How many of us can say that with certainty?

Now working backward. Verse 5.

Whoever Keeps his word, the Love of God will be perfected in Him.

Agape love. Love fest love.

If you want that love perfected in yourself. You will guard the word of the Lord. That’s what keep means. To guard.

Compare that to Matthew. Or put them together.

If you want to bear fruit in your life, you must first hear the word of the Lord, receive it with wide open arms, and then guard it from all of the things that surround you. Troubles, the worldly desires.

I began to see a picture here of how we are to walk through our lives as Christians.

Our goal in the Family of God is to be in constand relationship with Him. The creator of the universe. Our constant friend. And within that relationship he will speak to us, and those words we must receive them and guard them.

So how will we know?

1 John - it’s a pretty deep book. All sorts of things going on in there. Love, sin, the devil.

There could be a ton of Sermons leaping from these 5 pages.

But I am going to come around to this.

There is a bit of a challenge presented here isn’t there. We need to be able to test words and understand when God is speaking and when it’s not Him.

I have said before, we are moving into a season of spiritual blessing. As Kris Valotton spoke on the gram - Heavy rain is coming.

But as we move into a season of More of His presence there will be things that come against His promise in our life.

And TBH - The promises in Our life are grown out of our ability to abide in His precence.

But as we get closer, there will be things that come against our ability to do that.

It could be direct, like an unshakeable fear that we know if not of God but we can’t get rid of. That kind of thing,

OR it could be more veiled in more dangerous - something that appears to be the word of God but is not.

So how do we know?

Well thankfully John tells us exactly what to do here.

I found this part here to be kind of crazy. They speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

He who knows God hears us.

This is it. And although it’s not easy in practice, this is the formula for testing the word of the Lord.

The Lord highlighted this verse and it’s one of those moments, hit me like a flyswatter in the face.

Any time the word of the Lord comes from a worldly spirit, it is not from God. It is actually the spirit of the Anti Christ.

In practice, that is a bit ambiguos, but to be honest it’s super important.

In all the levels of the voice of the Lord, if there is a worldly spirit behind it, then you need to reject it outright.

And when you hear a word that is from God, the spirit of the living God will be behind it.

You will recognize it.

Think it.

Alright - Let’s put it all together into one big ol bible sandwich.

Picture drew Katy.

All of this points to this picture. Our purpose as redeemed people, is to abide in the spirit of the living god continuously.

And as we live and move and have our being in his life, then a whole bunch of things fall into place.

As we go deeper and deeper into this relationship, we will be able to more fully recognize the word of God, and when we do, we receive them, and guard them, and then walk them out, and then His love will be made perfect in us.

Pray -

Words.