january 5 2014 stumbling blocks to love
TRANSCRIPT
Lichen- a perfect picture of Christ’s design for the Church
Intimate merger where two living organisms have a mutually dependent and a mutually productive relationship, creating something together that is more dynamic than either of them alone could achieve
ECCLESIA: a governmental body of the called-out ones
Jesus himself established the ecclesia and He is the head
The gates of hell cannot prevail against it
Contains the keys to the Kingdom- gives them power to lock and unlock things on earth
Christ fills the ecclesia with the fullness of who He is
Matt 16:18-19; Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:17-19
KOINONIA
The expression of intimacy, communion, and covenant that a group of people share with Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit AND each other
Displayed through LOVE- Horizontal as well as Vertical
Jesus’ only command was that we love God and each other- Matt 22:36-40; John 14:20-24; John 15:12, 17; 1 Cor 13, Gal 5; Colossians; 1 Thes
KOINONIA (cont’d)
John 13:34-35 ““I am giving you a new command: that you keep on loving each other. In the same way that I have loved you, you are also to keep on loving each other.”
Bob Jones word from Nov 2013
God is looking for:
A governmental structure that is life giving and encourages diversity and uniqueness in individuals
A governmental structure that doesn’t devour the individual
Individuals who are life giving to others and to the community
Individuals that are just as committed to maintaining unity and loving each other well as they are to loving God well
Judgments
To Judge: to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; to conclude about; to assess; to decide upon critically
It’s a matter of the heart. 1 Cor 2:14-16 There’s a huge difference between
operating in the spirit- thinking with the mind of Christ, asking Holy Spirit for discernment, and speaking with the heart of God- and operating in the flesh with a carnal mind and heart
Matthew 7: 1-5
Luke 6: 36-37
When we judge, we are then taking the role of God
We devalue the person in the sight of God and are elevating ourselves to a superior or more valuable place in the sight of God
When we make a judgment, we accuse them before God, whether or not we actually say the words or just think them in our hearts
Judgment generally starts when we are offended by an individual or situation
Get offended most easily by those we are in relationship with
We then experience a negative emotion when we think about a person or situation- anger, resentment, hate, accusation, critical or negative attitude, blame shifting, retaliation, sarcasm, contempt.
Unforgiveness leading to bitterness often at the root of the judgment
Types of Judgments
Judging God Misinterpret negative events as
instigated or allowed by God
Judging Ourselves We view ourselves by our mistakes and
failures
Judging Others Occurs when the sin done to us or to
someone else becomes an offense
CONSEQUENCES OF JUDGMENTS
We condemn ourselves
We become what we judge in others
We reap destruction and things do not go well with us
We defile others
We reap disease
INNER VOWS
Vows are powerful commitments or oaths
Large number of vows are made in childhood
Unforgiveness—offense—judgment—vow
May be spoken or thought
Vows can direct our behaviors and our paths and this often leads us into direct conflict with the Lordship of Christ
Vows tie to our past by our inner vows and this hinders us from moving forward in our growth and maturity.
Vows can lead to repetitive thoughts connected to that false belief and can “program” us to certain behaviors
When the false belief and vow are replaced by God’s truth, healing of the soul occurs and growth and maturity can resume!