Sunday VT – 02/22/2015

Click here to listen to the service or Download as MP3 (right click & save as):

Speakers:

Steve Atherton
Charles Hocker

Scriptures used:

John 15:1-6
Matthew 18:1-3

Subject:

Learning what it means to love: The love that comes from the vine is agape love.
Agape love comes from Jesus. The world doesn’t understand agape love, only phelios love.
Agape love can’t be about me if I give agape love. It doesn’t matter how it is received. We need to learn to stand in agape love and put others in front of ourselves. Jesus put the needs of others in front of Himself.
The contrast with phelios love, feeling love, people call that good.
We all have different skills, and it is a blessing that we are. We get stupid ideas, instead of appreciating one another, which is love, we measure ourselves one against another.
You see branches that are good and healthy and bear much fruit. This process is us yielding to Jesus. Jesus won’t make you yield unto Him. People try to merge or join their life to Christ. There is no merger. Jesus did not die on the cross to merge with us! He wanted to save us from our sins, we can have our life or His life. We don’t get both.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you: this is an important verse because – do we feel clean? That is the thing that you don’t see in yourself. You don’t see in yourself that you are clean. Will you believe it? The clean He is talking about is not the clean that you can see. The part we can see is the old life we are to die unto and give up. He did not die for that old man.
The part that got washed clean is your soul. Your soul got washed clean so you can take your place in Him. Abide in me and I in you: He is not going to abide in your old carnal cursed man. He asked us to abide in Him. It is us doing something, not Him.
We get off course because we’re waiting for Him to do something and He’s saying believe Me, I have already done it! You are welcome! You don’t have to do anything else, I have done it for you! If you will receive it, it makes you clean! (worthy to dwell in Me!)
All you have to do is believe Him! You choose what you believe. If you will dare to choose to believe God He will move! He will manifest Himself as God above all things, bigger than any situation you can imagine as impossible.
People don’t want to have to do that, that is too hard for them. It’s because it means they have to deny themselves. God is not like you or me. Because He’s not like you or me, to believe Him is contrary to what we are, so we don’t want to do it and stand back in that phelios affection and wait for Him to do something.
There are people who chose to believe the Gospel and mighty things happened: healings, deliverances.
I heard the Gospel and believed it, and ask the Lord to become Lord and Savior. Instead of what I have done before, to chose to believe what He said. The Lord has changed me, changed my life, and there are many out here that are fruits of that change.
We need to make this choice. There is not a magic formula. It is a simple choice. It all changes when you make that choice. Then pride and knowledge all become vanity. It becomes a great blessing when you reject those things and choose His life.
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Conversion: going one way and when converted you go completely in the opposite direction, the two don’t even touch.
When you become as little children. Little children don’t know how to do anything in this world. When you are converted, and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, you come in recognizing that you have no idea how to operate in the kingdom of God. You need to be taught everything from the get-go. And you don’t begrudge it. You found a new way of living. You ask the Lord to teach you. He will teach you and little by little you begin to learn. We don’t like the things we have to learn. But they are good for us. If you don’t like it, get out, go to a church where they will justify you against God, and make you feel good.
Who wants to enter into the kingdom of Heaven? I do! Let’s get there, all of us who want to enter in.