Archive for the ‘Song’ Category
Becoming An Ethically Responsible Christian Disciple! Part 2 (Our Christian/ Biblical Worldview)
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Children's Ministry, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, Humor, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, Song, Spiritual Warfare, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Active Participation With Jesus, Adoption, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Colossians, Colossians 1, Colossians 2, Colossians 3: 17, Colossians 3: 23, Discipleship, father, Fruit of God's Grace, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, God's Unconditional Love, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Is God's Love Revealed, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, jesus ministry, JESUS THE CHRIST, Jesus Transforms, Jesus' Authority, Jesus' Presence, Jesus: True God True Man, Love, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Participation with Jesus Christ, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Perichoresis, presence, Purpose, Receiving God's Love, Relationship With Jesus, Relationships, Salvation, Salvation By Grace, Sharing God's Love With Others, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is to be worshiped, The Holy Spirit Of Love, The Holy Spirit's Power, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, unconditional acceptance, Unconditional Love, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Union with Jesus Christ, Wholeness in Christ, Worship, Worshipping Jesus
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Part 2A:
Part 2B:
Full Message:
Bible Verses: Colossians (various scriptures)
Introduction:
Because Jesus Himself is our Ethic (our humanity living properly among his neighbors and glorifying the Father), ethics is the free gift of God given to us in Jesus Christ. Christian ethics are not a way to earn God’s love or a way to earn salvation through human works and achievements. It is the gift of participating with Jesus in his human life by Grace! Jesus is God’s Grace to us! Ethics is what it means to participate with Jesus in living his life in this world by the Spirit!
Theological Theme:
You begin life as a child but only so you can grow up into an adult. Similarly, through your union and participation with Jesus, by the Spirit, you are in the state of growing up and becoming a little Christ who glorifies the Father.
Christ Connection:
Jesus is the One Who stands in our human place and lives life in this world with our human nature and on our behalf in a renewing way that brings and gives us revitalized human life, destroying sin completely. He Himself, then, is our Ethic. He is the way we are called to live! Jesus is our proper human response to God and our neighbor! He is the only true Learner of God, and the only human fully obedient to the Father, AND he was and is this so that we might participate with him, glorifying the Father!
Missional Application:
As members of Christ and as people in this world, Christians have a dual citizenship. We have a complex responsibility – the response-ability of Christ, by the Spirit, to be equipped for the works of Christ’s service in the spheres of the Church, the Kingdom, and the State. The goal and mandate is to prioritize our relationship with God, and then, at his direction and under his authority over all, to love everyone, pointing them, through his mission, to him that they too may be in union and participation with him.
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Once “Works FOR God”, Now “Fruit FROM God!” (And by ‘God’ we mean The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – God)
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, All Are Included In Christ, Baptism of Repentance, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, Fruit of God's Grace, Galatians, Galatians 3, Galatians 3: 27-29, Galatians 5: 16-26, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, Gospel message, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Humility of God, Humility of Jesus, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Is God's Love Revealed, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, jesus ministry, JESUS THE CHRIST, Jesus Transforms, Jesus' Presence, Led by The Spirit, Love, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Receiving God's Love, Relationship With Jesus, repentance, Resurrection of Christ, resurrection of Jesus, Salvation, Salvation By Grace, Salvation By Grace Alone, Sharing God's Love With Others, Sin, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit Of Love, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Union and Communion, Union with Jesus Christ, Wholeness in Christ, Worship, Worshipping Jesus
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verses: Galatians 3: 27-29, Galatians 5: 16-26
Introduction:
It’s possible to coerce or even force someone to do something, but for an action to be meaningful and fulfilling, it must be done because the person wanted to. This is the key difference between behavior modification and heart change, changing our actions versus changing our motivations underneath our actions. In the letter to the Galatians, especially concerning the fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5, Paul taught on GRACE, WORKS, and PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION in the light of the gospel. What we do certainly matters, but WHY we do what we do matters even more.
If you’re a Christian, you will obey because you want to obey, not because you have to. The Spirit of God living inside of us ensures it. We will bear good fruit. This doesn’t make us sinless, but it does make us sure of spiritual growth and it does make us more conscious and convicted of our sin. This Gospel-driven way of living means that we ourselves are a Gospel project, always being developed and shaped by the Gospel – Jesus! And it means that we are always acknowledging that the changes in us have not come primarily through our own efforts but through the Spirit of Christ working in us. We don’t get the glory. The Father does.
Theological Theme:
The fact that the gospel begins and ends with Jesus Christ, means that the gospel is PRIMARILY about the Father’s commitment to YOU! The Father receiving/ including YOU (our human nature) PERSONALLY into His love and life through Jesus and by the Spirit. The Father’s Faith and repentance on YOUR behalf in Christ. Secondarily it is about you being committed to Him and your faith and repentance towards Him.
Christians crucify the flesh and walk by the Spirit who, too, is God of GOD [ Father -Son and Holy Spirit]. The Spirit is the one poured out on Jesus Christ without limit, and the one who Jesus pours out on us human beings so that we might participate with Him in who He is and what He is doing. By the Spirit we participate with Jesus in His worship of The Father and in His witness to this world that His Kingdom is already in our midst, and that his rule and reign are yet coming in full!
Christ Connection:
In contrasting the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, Paul showed the Galatian church what it looks like to belong to Christ Jesus. To be crucified with Christ means to put away our fleshly passions and desires and to follow the Spirit.
Walking after Christ – with Christ, by the Spirit, means Christ leads and by the Spirit we follow Him and move in that same direction that He indicates. When we walk by The Spirit we go where He goes, we live how He lives and how He directs us to live. Walking by the Spirit can be frustrating but it doesn’t have to be that way because we have been gifted by God through Jesus and in the Spirit, to be able to see through the eyes of FAITH. If you are to walk by the Spirit you will need to spend more time with the Spirit, reading and studying and meditating on Jesus Christ through scripture by the Spirit. The Spirit mediates Jesus and Jesus will meet you in and through scripture by His grace.
“We are not to challenge and envy one another. We are to get down from our high chairs and start walking in the Spirit. The Christian life is not a balloon ascension with some great overpowering experience of soaring to the heights. Rather it is a daily walk; it is a matter of putting one foot ahead of the other, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit.” –J. Vernon McGee
Missional Application:
God calls us to follow the Spirit in humility as we develop Christian character that sets us apart from the world.
As the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control within us, we will also see that our external actions will change too. A person who is loving will act in love with others. A person who is joyful will act joyfully before others. Being leads to doing. And in this case, when we are changed to be more like God on the inside, we will live more like Him on the outside.
“It is in the midst of difficulties and hardships that we especially need the fruit of the Spirit, and it is in such times that God may especially work through us to touch other people for Christ. As we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, others will see in us ‘the family likeness of his Son’ (Rom. 8:29, Phillips) and be attracted to the Saviour.” –Billy Graham
Conclusion:
The power of our obedience and the source of our holiness is not our own efforts but the effort of the Holy Spirit applying to our lives the finished work of Jesus Christ. It’s God who works in you to will and to work for His good pleasure! Your participation with Christ in his good works were ordained beforehand. The same gospel that empowers our conversion empowers our sanctification. It is Jesus who both authors and perfects our faith. It is God alone who is faithful both to start the work in us and to complete it. Jesus Himself is our Sanctification!
Of course, it’s not that we don’t expend any energy. We have to remember that “grace is not opposed to effort, but is opposed to earning.” Instead, it is simply that the energy we use to obey from our hearts for the pleasure of God comes from God’s Spirit. Here is how Paul explained the source of righteousness in Galatians 5:22-26: “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
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It’s Time For Jesus To Renew Your Mind!
Filed under: Ascension, Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Good News Festival, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, All Are Included In Christ, Baptism of Repentance, call to repentance, Christian Life, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, Fruit of God's Grace, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, God's Unconditional Love, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Humility of God, Humility of Jesus, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus Transforms, Jesus' Presence, Love, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Pentecost, Purpose, Relationship With Jesus, renew, Renewal of Mind, repentance, Resurrection, resurrection of Jesus, Romans, Romans 12: 1-2, Salvation, Salvation By Grace, Sin, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit Of Love, The Holy Spirit's Power, Transformed by Jesus, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verse: Romans 12: 1-2
Introduction:
“There is no point in playing down the staggering significance of the incarnation and resurrection. God the Creator of the universe, transcendent over all time and space, has himself become a creature within time and space, the man Jesus Christ… within the measures and limits’ of our human historical existence, he is at work in immeasurable love defeating the forces of darkness, irrationality and evil within creaturely being where they are…entrenched. The eternal Word-and-Reason of God has become human flesh, personally penetrating into and participating in…our existence!!” – T.F. Torrance, “Space, Time and Resurrection”
It is better to think of this Christian life mainly as something that God will pull off by grace and not something that you will pull off by works. The Father, through The Son, by The Spirit, meets us in the world in which we live right now. In the middle of the mess. The Father and The Son have broken into our chaos, along with The Holy Spirit and every BREAK-IN by Jesus is a BREAK-WITH the something else that was creating the chaos and holding us hostage.
Theological Theme:
Father, Son and Spirit God IN GRACE has given HIMSELF AS GRACE to be among us and to lead us from wherever he is right now. You are the beloved child of God in Jesus Christ. The beloved child the Father always wanted. This is not possible to believe and receive part from receiving the Hoy Spirit and having Spiritual union with Jesus Christ. Our Father is not discouraged that you, personally, have not yet fully received this truth about yourself but, encouragingly, He has made provision in His Son, Jesus Christ, to receive all those things on your behalf and in your place, so that you can trust him and grow up into Him, increasingly, by His grace!
Christ Connection:
We are being called by Jesus to have our minds renewed. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. This is possible because he has gone before us and “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” – Hebrews 12:2, and he sends us the holy Spirit.
There is not a year on this earth or a political situation anywhere where Jesus is not human now and king of the universe. There is not a minute of pandemic and panic-filled life that Jesus is not the Savior of the whole world. Jesus meets us first as The Word, as The ONE who speaks to us, who lovingly comes to us and embraces us, who speaks a word of grace and love and goodness and gospel to us about Who he is and also who we are in him.
Missional Application:
We have the Person of the Holy Spirit of God. The very Spirit of the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is the way that God is. He is God’s exact characteristics being God of God himself. He shares with us the characteristics of Jesus The Son who is always giving Himself in self-sacrificing, self-giving love for the other for the sake of the Father. The Spirit is the answer to the questions: “What has Jesus done for us and done on our behalf?” “What is He doing for us now? “How will that reach us?” “How will we participate with Jesus and what He is doing to glorify His Father, to honor Him?”
The answer is: He is poured out on the human race and from Whom we are given grace and power from Jesus to receive him. All people everywhere are continually encouraged to turn from their sin, turn to Jesus and relate with him in the communion of the Holy Spirit, becoming the saved and adopted children of God.
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Toward Obedience To His Word!
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, Humor, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Carriers Of God's Presence, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Humility of God, Humility of Jesus, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, jesus ministry, Jesus' Presence, Love, Obedience, Obedience to his word, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, purpose-driven life, Relationship With Jesus, Resurrection, resurrection of Jesus, Salvation, Salvation By Grace, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, The world needs Jesus, The World Needs Love, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Unconditional Love, union, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Union with Jesus Christ, Wholeness in Christ, Worship, Worshipping Jesus, You Are A New Creation
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verse: 1 Timothy 4: 11-16 2 Timothy 4:1-8 Titus 2:11-14
Introduction:
There is an entire world crying out for an encounter with God. To know he is real. Are we willing to yield ourselves to Him? – [Father –Son and Spirit God] – and enjoy the adventure of Christ that HE has for us in THIS WORLD that RIGHT NOW NEEDS LOVE!
Theological Theme:
God [Father-Son-Holy-Spirit] has made YOU and US as carriers of His presence, His glory, His fire. This is true even if you are not called to the office of an apostle, a prophet, a pastor, a teacher or an evangelist in the church. You are a kingdom entrepreneur. God desires to use you MIGHTILY in the marketplace to bring his transforming peace.
As carriers of God’s presence:
(1) We have to remind ourselves of the importance of OBEDIENCE to God’s word in His service to His people and for His people. If we are obedient to God’s word then the fruit of The Spirit should flow from us (Being an example outwardly). What feeds our INWARD so that our OUTWARD can express HIS LOVE and JOY?
(2) If you proclaim The WORD then you are proclaiming The TRUTH!
(3) God calls us to NOT neglect His spiritual Gifts. We have been gifted in service to Jesus Christ.
(4) Continue to grow as a believer to encounter God through PRAYER, READING, FASTING, MEDITATION, FELLOWSHIP, with each other!
Christ Connection:
Christians serve God’s people by preaching The Truth even it is costly. We have been called to preach The Word passionately so others can see and know who God is, and persist in sharing The Word whether it is convenient or not. You are a NEW CREATION in JESUS CHRIST! We have been redeemed and cleansed. We can be eager to do good works in Him for Him where we are now, regardless of the circumstances because Jesus Christ has made it possible for us.
Missional Application:
As Christ’s followers, we are carriers for God’s presence. As such, obedience to God’s word by The Spirit is what sustains us in our work with Jesus, and produces the eagerness to do His work. The Spirit will produce the eagerness we need to do His work…never us. It is The Spirit that sustains us in our work with Jesus.
Conclusion:
“The question is not, nor has it ever been, whether God is willing to move in the hearts of His people; the issue is whether we are willing to surrender in full obedience to Him so that we may begin to enjoy the enormous blessings He invites us to enjoy by living in His presence.”
― Ronnie W. Floyd, The Power Of Prayer And Fasting
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Jesus Says To You, “You Know The Way Church!”
Filed under: Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Lent, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pentecost, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: 1 cor 8: 1, Acts 2: 42-47, Adoption, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, Fruit of God's Grace, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Humility of God, Humility of Jesus, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Is God's Love Revealed, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, jesus ministry, Jesus' Presence, Love, Luke 12: 8, Luke 18: 9-14, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, Relational God Revealed, Relationship With Jesus, repentance, Salvation, Salvation By Grace Alone, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Church, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Unconditional Love, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verses: 1 Cor 8: 1 Luke 18: 9-14 Luke 12: 8 Acts 2:42-47
Theological Theme:
Jesus continues to share through His earthly Body – the Church – what he said in John 14: 1“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Christ Connection:
“While there were contenders, pretenders and usurpers who had no power nor will to create or give life, Jesus has overcome, has vanquished, all enemies who refused his reign. As the incarnate agent of the Father in the power of the Spirit, this Son opposes all that opposes his good creation and God’s good purposes for all creation. The strength of his opposition to all that would maim and destroy his good creation and deviate from his glorious ends is proportional to his love for his good creation. Were he not to oppose that which would undo his creation, he would not be its loving Lord. This Jesus with his heavenly Father and Holy Spirit is implacably opposed to all evil that distorts, twists and destroys life and loving relationships in fellowship first with him and in turn with each other and creation. To bring about his original ultimate purposes, all opposition to his rule and right must submit in repentance or be undone. Evil has no future in the kingdom of God.” – Gary Deddo
Missional Application:
Oh how relevant this message of Jesus is to the people of all times and our own times. A time in which the Holy Spirit is still being poured out upon men, women and children right in the middle of a wicked and corrupt generation! And Jesus’ disciples are still encouraged to call all of his brothers and sisters to repent because of the forgiveness of their sins in Him, a call to receive the Holy Spirit! And not only a call to be saved from their sins but to be saved FOR God and also saved for love toward their neighbor! [But who will believe our report and to whom will the arm of the Lord be revealed? John 12:38] = Those who will receive the great abundance of the Lord’s forgiveness!!!
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Our Father’s Hope For All: In Relationship With The Trinity! Part 8
Filed under: Ascension, Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Evangelism, Followers of Jesus, Genesis, Genesis 6, Genesis 9, God Likes You, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, good new, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Evangelism, Followers of Jesus, God Likes You, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, good news, Gospel, Grace, Grace Communi, Christian Living, Christian Ministry, Discipleship, father, Fellowship With God, Forgiven By God, Forgiven Of Sin, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Holy Spirit, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Is Love, God Likes You, God The Father's Love, God The Holy Trinity, God the Trinity, God's Loving Relationship, God's Other-centeredness, God's Self-Giving, God's Sharing, God's Togetherness And Sharing, God's Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humanize, Humility, Humility of God, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Presence, John 14, John 14: 15-26, Love, Mediator, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participating In God's Divine Nature, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, Reconciled To God, Relationship With Jesus, Romans 12, Romans 13, Salvation, Salvation In Christ, Spiritual Maturity, Spiritual Unity, Spirituality, The Doctrine of God, The Father, The Father's Love, The Fellowship Of The Trinity, The Holy Spirit, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Triune God, Triune Relationship, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Part 8A:
Part 8B
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: John 14: 15-26 Romans 12 Romans 13
Introduction:
“The Triune God of love brought his creation into being for the sake of loving fellowship. Created in the image of God, we humans are able to exist in a fellowship of covenant love (agape) with our Creator and each other. However, through Adam and Eve (representing all humanity), the power of evil got a foothold in God’s good creation, reaching down into the roots of human nature. Foreseeing this tragedy, God began to implement his plan to rescue humanity and bring final judgment upon evil. These goals would be achieved by God working in and through the Son of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, and the subsequent ministry of the Holy Spirit in and through the church…….
We receive all that Christ has done for humanity by participating in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit. Beginning in Acts, the New Testament tells the story of the church’s participation in the Spirit’s ministry (and so the mission of God) during the time stretching from Jesus’ resurrection-ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ promised return in glory. During this “time between the times” the church is given a down payment (first fruits) of the Spirit so that during this present evil age (when evil has not yet fully passed away and the kingdom is not yet fully manifested) the church can embody signs of the coming fullness of Christ’s triumphant reign in a new heaven and new earth.
As the church waits in hope for the age to come, it grows up into Christ, sharing in his glorified humanity. During this time, the Spirit frees and enables the church to worship God, witness to Christ and his coming kingdom, and participate in his mission to take the gospel to the far corners of the earth as God, by the Spirit, draws all people to himself. As God’s ambassadors of reconciliation, the church has the privilege of sharing in God’s redemptive mission, so that all might be reconciled to God.” ―The Church and Its Ministry, by Gary Deddo
Theological Theme:
God IS Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Love is not just a generic word or concept about a fuzzy feeling or sentiment you have. Love is bound up in the fact that God-Father-Son-Holy-Spirit IS LOVE. So love is this personal relationship with the ONE God Being in Three persons and the Three Persons in ONE God Being.
“The Christian God is a fellowship, a communion. This triune God has his being by being in relationships of holy loving. Those relationships are, in particular, eternally begetting, being begotten, and proceeding — each a unique form of holy, loving exchange. Those are the key words we have in allowing us to point to the amazing reality of who God is.” -Gary Deddo
“As God is in eternal loving relationship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so also he has made us to be in loving relationship with him and one another. As the Holy Spirit unites the divinity and humanity of Christ, so the Spirit also unites us to the Son so that we are united with each other as the body of Christ.” ―Eric Wilding – Grace Communion International
Christ Connection:
In the body of Jesus Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit is united with humankind. All humanity is accepted by God and the world is reconciled to God in Him. In the body of Jesus Christ, God took on the sin of all the world and bore it 2000 years ago. There is no part of the world, no matter how lost or Godless that has not been forgiven and accepted by God in Jesus Christ – reconciled to God in Jesus Christ.
“Thus in this oneness, Jesus Christ is the Mediator, the Reconciler, between God and man. Thus He comes forward to MAN on behalf of GOD calling for and awakening faith, love and hope, and to GOD on behalf of MAN, representing man, making satisfaction and interceding. Thus He attests and guarantees to God’s free GRACE and at the same time attests and guarantees to God man’s free GRATITUDE.” ―Karl Barth, The Humanity of God
“Because Christ has taken humanity into himself, we are partakers and participants in the divine nature with him. Because we are in Christ, because he is both the Son of God and the perfect human with us and for us in our humanity, we share in his perfect relationship with the Father. In Christ, we are the beloved children of the Father, in whom he is well pleased. And because we are united with Christ in his humanity, we share in the Trinity’s grace, love and communion.” ―Eric Wilding ―Grace Communion International
Missional Application:
We share in all that Jesus gives us by the Holy Spirit. “So we can say that the Holy Spirit humanizes by making us share in the glorified humanity of Jesus Christ”
“The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to deliver to us all the benefits of the work of Christ……When the Spirit acts, he acts in unity with the Father and the Son, bringing our worship all together in the fellowship of the Trinity….
Thus, we understand that when the Spirit of Jesus comes upon us, he enables us to respond fully to the truth and reality of who God is and who we are in relationship to God with all we are and have. If there is part of us that is not yet responding, whether it be body, mind or heart, the Holy Spirit works to bring us to the point that we respond in all that we are. The Spirit does not divide us. Rather, he heals and makes us whole, giving us human integrity before our Lord and God.” ―Gary Deddo
Conclusion:
“The doctrine of the Trinity means that relationship, that fellowship, that togetherness and sharing, that self-giving and other-centeredness are not afterthoughts with God, but the deepest truth about the being of God. The Father is not consumed with Himself; He loves the Son and the Spirit. And the Son is not riddled with narcissism; he loves his Father and the Spirit. And the Spirit is not preoccupied with himself and his own glory; the Spirit loves the Father and the Son. Giving, not taking; other-centeredness, not self-centeredness; sharing, not hoarding are what fire the rockets of God and lie at the very center of Gods existence as Father, Son and Spirit.”
— C. Baxter Kruger —
Our Father’s Hope For All: In The Forgiveness Of Sin! pt.6
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Christmas, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Christian Living, Discipleship, father, Forgiveness, Forgiveness For Everyone, Forgiveness of Sin, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Is For Us, God Is With Us, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God With Us, God's Faith, God's Forgiveness, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, healing, Hope in Christ, Hope in God, Human Nature Renewed, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Idolatry, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Inclusion, Jesus, Jesus Is The Resurrection, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Presence, John 3:16, Love, Luke 24, Luke 7, Luke 7: 36-50, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, Reconciliation, Reconciliation with God, relationship with God, Relationship With Jesus, Relationships, Restored Relationship With God, Resurrection, resurrection of Jesus, Salvation, Sin, Spiritual Healing, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Holy Spirit, transformation, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Truth, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union with Christ, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Part 6A:
Part 6B:
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: Luke 24 Luke 7: 36-50
Introduction:
“Our Father’s hope for all: In The Forgiveness Of Sin” has primarily to do with relationship and how relationships work. It is not some static fact apart from actual relationship. When we say Resurrection, we mean God’s forgiveness resulted not only in the sending away of sin but RELATIONSHIP with JESUS in a RENEWED HUMAN NATURE by the Spirit. This message focuses in on the forgiveness/reconciliation that is ours because of Jesus, The Resurrection.
Theological Theme:
The Gift God gives us is The Gift of Himself. God doesn’t have anything else to give humanity but Himself, so the gift you have been given in The Gospel is God -The Father, Son and Spirit and relationship with Him. This is why Jesus personalized Resurrection saying that HE IS THE RESURRECTION – John 11:25.
Christ Connection:
The primary thing Jesus has been proclaiming is HIMSELF and Who HE IS. Because He is God the Son, the only begotten of The Father, then when He is with us, in our humanity, He is God with us, God for us, for our humanity!
What The Resurrection is proclaiming:
- Jesus is God The Father for us (since He is One with the Father).
- Jesus is The Holy Spirit in us (since the Spirit is One with He and the Father).
- Jesus is God, having done something to our human nature. Jesus is literally inside our human nature and so God is intimate with us by the Holy Spirit in our human nature.
- Jesus is God, transforming our human nature up close and personal – personalizing and humanizing us.
When we say JESUS, we are saying that in Him and because of His union with us as His creation, there is now a reconciled relationship that God has with all with creation. For Jesus to become human and to touch and heal humanity means that what God created but had fallen into sin has now been made right again, in Him, so that we can have hope now and fulfillment at Jesus’ Final Appearing! We receive in Christ the complete forgiveness of sin and at the same time the complete healing of the proper relationship between God and man, and all creation.
“The Gospel is as inclusive as Jesus’ Humanity” – Bobby Grow
Missional Application:
What sin is:
Because God is a relationship and has called us into His relationship, sin means our not believing in Him, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sin is our not trusting, or relating with Him. Sin is turning to something else other than The Father, Son and Spirit for your identity, for guidance in your life, for strength in your trials, etc. Sin is also the horrible motive of seeking to put God to death. Sin according to the scriptures is lawlessness meaning that it corrupts every part of our humanity in word and deed, and everything in between..
However, the one unchanging Truth of the universe is God and His love revealed in Jesus Christ. God is interested in us and in a restored relationship no matter that we have sinned and despite that we have done everything to mess up our relationship with Him. In His fantastic mercy and grace He has placed into the universe, and into His creation in Jesus Christ, THE FULLNESS OF THE FATHER SON AND SPIRIT IN FLESH! So Law in The New Testament is actually the Love of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit Revealed in the human nature of the Son. Since everyone has sinned, and Christ has undone our sin, every human has been forgiven of their sin and reconciled to God in Jesus Christ and, therefore, are each and all called to put their trust in Jesus and receive this forgiveness and reconciliation freely given to us!
Conclusion:
In The Resurrection Season, God The Father proclaims to you through His Son and in the Holy Spirit the forgiveness of all of your sins. Luke 24: 1-8
God wants all to participate in what Christ has done for us and to receive what is already theirs in Christ – THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. The reason your sins are forgiven in Christ is because Jesus is “THE ONE FOR THE MANY”. Knowing Christ in His Resurrection means knowing the forgiveness of ALL your sins. Hear and receive this hope and proclamation of THE COMPLETE forgiveness of your sins because of Jesus, THE Resurrection, and because of Jesus’ Resurrection, bodily, from the dead!
“….Despite man’s sin, God is with him, the One who was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world, drawing man unto Himself in merciful judgment. Man’s evil past is not merely crossed out because of its irrelevancy. Rather, it is in the good care of God. Despite man’s life in the flesh, corrupt and ephemeral, God is with him. The victor in Christ is here and now present through His Spirit, man’s strength, companion, and comfort. Despite man’s death God is with him, meeting him as redeemer and perfecter at the threshold of the future to show him the totality of existence in the true light in which the eyes of God beheld it from the beginning and will behold it evermore. In what He is for man and does for man, God ushers in the history leading to the ultimate salvation of man.” ― Karl Barth, The Humanity of God
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Lessons From The Storm!
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Calling On Jesus, Christian Living, Discipleship, Faith In Christ, father, Fiery Trials, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God the Trinity, God's Grace, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Presence, Lessons from The Storm, Life's Trials, Love, Matthew 8: 23-27, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Peace in Trials, Praying To God, Praying To Jesus, Purpose, Reading God's Word, Reading The Bible, Reading the Scriptures, Relationship With Jesus, Rest In Christ, Salvation, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, Storms Of Life, The Faith Of Christ, The Father's Love, The Holy Spirit, Trials of Life, Trials With Jesus, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: Matthew 8: 23-27
Introduction:
During the storm,
- have you allowed the Spirit to shake you out of your spiritual lethargy and comfort?
- have you dared to live a life of real faith and real hope?
- have you learned to hear the voice of a loving Lord and Savior say “Look at Me, Look at Me!”
Lessons 1:
When we’re in the storms of life we must follow Jesus. To do this, we must get to know Jesus. The disciples knew who Jesus was. Jeremiah 9: 23-24 In the middle of the storm, Jesus is able to find rest because he knows who his Father is. When we follow Jesus, we find rest.
Lesson 2:
In the storm we have to call on Jesus. Psalm 91: 14-16
Lesson 3:
In the storm we have to have faith in Jesus – Build our house of faith on the rock (Jesus) who gives us our faith. Matthew 7: 24-27
“In the storm, Jesus is giving us His faith and He is nurturing His faith within us.” ―Richard Andrews
Lesson 4:
In the storm, we have to be amazed at who Jesus is and what he can do.
Theological Theme:
We have to read the word of God-Father-Son-and-Holy Spirit to know who Jesus is. If we want to know what Jesus did, if we want to know what Jesus taught, if we want to know what Jesus proclaims, if we want to know what Jesus pointed to, we have to read the word of God. We have to listen for Him with intention. We have to reflect and meditate on what God has done and is doing in our lives.
Christ Connection:
Whatever the storm may be, we must remember it’s not about the storm, it’s about Jesus. We follow Him in the storm, we call upon His name in the storm, we have faith in Him in the storm and we should always remain in awe of Him in the storm. This is the only way we will have a relationship with Him in the storm.
Missional Application:
“Jesus is Lord of the ages and is always with his own, even when things are difficult, and will abide with us, ―through The Holy Spirit; ―that is our comfort. If tribulation and anxiety come upon us, Jesus is with us and leads us over into God’s eternal kingdom.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Marriage: Profound Mystery About Christ And The Church! pt.2
Filed under: Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: 1 Cor 6:17, Adoption, Christian Living, Discipleship, Eph5, Ephesians 5, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Jesus, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, John 14, John 14:6, Love, Marriage, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Relationship With Jesus, Salvation, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Holy Spirit, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Part 2A:
Part 2B:
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: John 14:6 I Corinthians6: 17 Ephesians 5
This Message Series:
Living Into This Challenging Christian Life With Jesus! #13
Introduction:
Our context is always Jesus Christ. We find new life in Jesus Christ.
“Jesus is the gospel. He is our salvation. We receive all the benefits of who he is as we trust in him and cast aside (repent of) all rival objects of trust. We then enjoy union and communion with Jesus as our Lord and God. Our lives are united to him and we share in his life, participating with him in all he is doing and will do in our relationship of trust (faith)”
“Grasping the truth of our relationship to Christ calls for the renewing of our minds so that we begin to think differently about what makes us who we are. In the end, we even have to approach reading Scripture differently. The challenge becomes not so much taking the Bible literally, but taking it realistically. When Paul declares that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2: 6), we have warrant, despite our Aristotelian philosophical training, to grasp this realistically. The good news is that we as Christians are united to Christ in such a way that all that is ours is his and all that is his is ours. Paul refers to this reality when he states, “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).” —Gary Deddo
Theologial Theme:
The great epiphany/revelation of God —[Father, Son and Holy Spirit] comes only when we see Jesus Christ because when Jesus came, He unveiled what life/God is really like. It is the only way that God has shown up in flesh.
Jesus Christ is the radical unveiling of God to us (John 14:6). I (GOD) am THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE but Jesus Christ is also the unveiling/revelation of man, of what it really means to be a human being shown only to you by God to know and receive. Jesus Christ is the way of a human being, the truth of a human being and the life of a human being. He is NOT the way of any one race over another. Jesus is the revelation of what it means to be a human being –who you are in Christ – and that is what’s PRIMARY about your identity. Race, color, gender etc. are secondary. Which means EACH contributes and can’t be denied and each should be brought up to the level of Jesus Christ to avoid the imbalances of thinking, because Jesus is to dominate. It is never about subordination.
Three crucial things about understanding who
God-[Father-Son-Holy Spirit] is:
- God is ONE – The Father, Son and Spirit have the same heart, mind, and characteristics. He is One in Being. He is UNITY in Trinity.
- God is THREE PERSONS – God is a relationship. God is not alone. He is Three Persons. He is TRINITY in Unity.
- God (The Father, Son and Spirit) are EQUAL – The Son and The Holy Spirit have always been ONE with The Father. There is no subordination in The Trinity, where One is lesser then the Other. Each Person is Fully God in Himself, and All are the One God.
Christ Connection:
“When we don’t see people as they are in Jesus Christ, we de-humanize them. You cannot put anyone (not even self) into a category other than a category where YOUR IDENTITY IS FIRMLY UPHELD AS A HUMAN BEING IN JESUS CHRIST. We are all unique people in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t erase the distinctions/ differences, rather it magnifies them. Jesus Christ came as a unique Man but He came as a Male not to represent males but to represent a distinction in creation. Therefore ALL DISTINCTIONS MATTER! – White, black, male, female, child, adult and every person in Jesus Christ is lifted up to a new life in Him, and called to this new life in Him, so that we no longer have the barriers that have plagued us in our sin.” – Pastor Timothy Brassell
There is a mysterious union that ALL human beings have with Jesus Christ because He took on the human nature of every person, male, female, black, white, etc. and in HIM – All have been forgiven, all have been justified in Jesus Christ – Romans 3: 22-24. Our adoption takes place by The Spirit, in Whom we actually share in The Son’s relationship with The Father when personally believe and receive Him (Ephesians 1). We read in Ephesians 2 that He put to death the hostility that was in and against man, by dying himself.
There is an attack upon the church and it must be fought and for this reason in Ephesians 6 we read “Take up the full armor of God”
Missional Application:
If you belong to God, you are called to Christian marriage in Jesus Christ by The Holy Spirit.
God has embodied Himself in humanity and He is the only one that can live like a human being so, what we are REALLY seeing in scripture is how JESUS CHRIST lives as a human being. Ephesians 4: 1-2 ”Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” We mistakenly think God starts things and we finish but it is Christ’s doing, and our participating with Christ in His doing, by the Holy Spirit.
Be imitators of God. Ephesians 5 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
The question is: Are you participating with Jesus Christ in HIS SUBMISSION to the other? Ephesians 4:9-17
“What marriage talks about is Jesus Christ giving HIMSELF for the other in and through YOU, and NOT you giving yourself for your spouse. Christ is the wisdom of God. Since there is NO subordination in The Trinity, submission in the scriptures is a Godly term, (the way Jesus lives before The Father) not first and foremost a human term. Therefore submission has to do with freedom, NOT force. Jesus submits to the Father freely out of godliness and love for His Father and His Father submits freely to the Son out of love for His Son.” —Pastor Timothy Brassell
Submission is NOT subordination of one human being over another. Submission in the scriptures is JESUS’ submission to His Father through His fellow human beings. Therefore, to understand submission, you are going to have to be in a relationship with God The Father, through Jesus and in the Holy Spirit; and if you want to grow in your marriage you will need to draw close to God—[Father-Son-Holy Spirit] so that HE MIGHT LIVE IN AND THROUGH YOU as HE is seeking to do.
“Everything we receive from God we pass on to others to contribute to God’s universe-wide purposes. This is especially true in our relationships. We receive forgiveness of sins—renewing grace to start again with hope. We receive God’s generosity, providing us all the fruit of the Spirit. We receive comfort, love, transforming power, purpose and direction in life to be a sign and witness to the grace and goodness of God. We become witnesses to the truth and holy loving character of God. All these things point to eternal life—life with God as his beloved children in holy, loving unity.” —Gary Deddo
Conclusion:
This Gospel Message explains what it means to live out and walk out this justification, this forgiveness and this adoption that is ours in Jesus Christ through The Holy Spirit, and so it is also crucial for single people for these reasons:
- It is a message about Christ. All male and female relations and not just marriage relations are in the image of God.
- Even though human marriage will end in the Kingdom, singles and all who are united to Christ will have marital union with Jesus Christ. This message teaches that marriages are pointing away from self and pointing to something that is ultimately going to happen with all of us in Christ. We are going to be one with Christ.
- God is clear about when and where sex should take place, so whatever it means to be truly human in male and female relationships, it doesn’t mean crossing boundaries that are warned by God NOT to cross. (1Cor 4:14) This is what God’s love is doing. It is warning you, but only so that you can know and share in the blessing of how you are made.
- Whenever we are talking about Christ, it is important to realize that we are all called to grow up in the qualities of Christ. (Luke 2:52) You should be growing as a wise person, growing in stature, and in favor with God and man.
“He is Lord and Savior over every aspect of human life and has a purpose for every dimension of our existence. It is all to be a channel of his blessing to us and through us to others. All of it, every relationship, is meant to lead to life and life abundantly. Even our eating and drinking is to reflect the glory of our life-giving God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Every relationship is to be a fruitful gift exchange that contributes to a fullness of life and a fullness of love.” —Gary Deddo
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Toward Faithfulness In The Gospel!
Filed under: Ascension, Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Christian Living, Discipleship, Faithful Living, Faithfulness In The Gospel, father, Galatians 2:11-21, GCI Baltimore, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, God the Trinity, God's Faith, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Power, God's Presence, Gospel, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Grace Communion International, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Isaiah 55, Jesus, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Presence, Justification, Love, Matthew 18, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Purpose, Relationship With Jesus, Romans 6: 4, Salvation, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Holy Spirit, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Union with Jesus Christ, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Audio – Part A:
Audio – Part B:
Full Message:
Scripture: Galatians 2:11-21 Romans 6: 4 Isaiah 55 Matthew 18
Introduction:
Are you living life well in Christ so that people know who Christ is by how you are living?
As a part of his ministry to the church, the apostle Paul wrote letters to churches to teach, encourage, and rebuke. In a rebuke to the Galatian churches, he shared how he confronted the apostle Peter for being two-faced, or hypocritical. Peter acted one way with one group of Christians and another way with a different group. Peter’s hypocrisy wasn’t a small problem though. When he chose to separate himself from Gentile believers, he implicitly denied the truth of the gospel by his actions. This was why Paul had to step in and challenge Peter to reflect the truth of the gospel to others through his actions. Paul’s challenge reminds us that our salvation rests in our faith in Christ alone. Christ’s death in our place, followed by His resurrection, is the basis of our salvation, not our own works.
Theological Theme:
It matters how we live this life in Christ because it matters to God —[Father, Son and Holy Spirit]. We have been called to a new life, we have been called to live a faithful life in the gospel because it is the only way to live out this challenging life. When we’re not immersed in the gospel, other things can become our truth therefore when the truth of the gospel is at stake, we must take a strong stand.
1) Faithful living in the gospel requires us to speak the truth in love to one another in line with the gospel!
Christ Connection:
When Peter chose to separate himself from Gentile believers, he implicitly denied the truth of the gospel by his actions. Paul’s challenge reminds us that Christ alone is the source of our salvation and faith is the sign of it. Christ’s death in our place is the basis of our salvation, not our own works.
2) Faithful living in the gospel means we’re justified by faith in Christ and not by any actions of our own!
“The gospel is the good news, that the privilege of getting right with God (what Justification means) was purchased when Christ died for our sins and rose again and that the only way to enjoy this privilege is to live by faith IN The Son of God who loves us and gave himself for us.” —Pastor Richard Andrews
“The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope—at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.” –Timothy Keller
Missional Application:
Worries about our image and people-pleasing can create conflict when we have to choose between pleasing ourselves or someone else instead of pleasing God. Relationships matter. Scripture teaches that. But when the truth of the gospel is at stake, we must take a strong stand.
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to stand our ground and refuse to compromise when the truth of the gospel is at stake.
“Self-image, the concept we have of ourselves, must begin not by looking in the mirror but by looking into the face of God.” –Sam Storms
Conclusion:
3) Faithful living in the gospel is only possible when we are in Christ!
Peter’s hypocrisy in withdrawing from eating with Gentile believers in Antioch probably didn’t seem to be that big of a problem, but Paul saw it for what it really was—a threat to the gospel proclaimed and lived. For this reason, Paul was quick to confront Peter and remind him of the gospel—the gospel that has brought all who trust in Christ into one family of faith.
When we reflect on Paul’s rebuke of Peter, we need to see ourselves in the shoes of each one. Has God placed us as a “Paul” to help correct and guide someone else to live out and declare the gospel faithfully? Are we willing to take a bold and firm stand for truth because of our love for God and that person? Will we act on that?
But at the same time, we need to look deeply within ourselves and see if we are living like Peter in any way. Are we asking the Holy Spirit to give us sight to see our blind spots, any prejudices or wrong views of others and any ways we are not declaring and living the gospel faithfully? Do we have people in our lives who will confront us in grace and truth when we succumb to hypocrisy, and are we listening to them?
May we be faithful Pauls and humble Peters as we strive to live holy lives in faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
