Set Free To Follow Exodus 3:12 Proverbs 14:12 Matthew 4:19-20 Luke 9:23-25 John 8:34-36 Ephesians 5:8-10 Isaiah 43:18-19 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Matthew 28:17-20 John 8:12 1 John 2:6 03.31.21

 

SET FREE TO FOLLOW

BREAD

¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”   Exodus 3:12 (NIV)

 

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.  Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)

 

¹⁹ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.  Matthew 4:19-20 (NIV)

 

²³ Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”  Luke 9:23-25 (NIV)

 

³⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  John 8:34-36 (NIV)

 

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord.  Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

 

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.  2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

 

¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:17-20 (NIV)

 

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12 (NIV)

 

⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.  1 John 2:6 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“The light was natural, physical light. Its creation was an immediate victory because it dispelled darkness. Light and darkness in the Bible are also symbolic of good and evil. Here began God’s work which will culminate in the age to come when there will be no darkness (Rev. 22:5). Israel would know that God is Light—and that the Truth and the Way are with Him. In the darkness of Egypt (Exodus 10:21-24) they had light; and in the deliverance they followed His light (Exodus 13:21).”   The Bible Knowledge Commentary

“Most of us get up in the morning saying, ‘I am going to make something of my life, and I’ll follow Jesus too.’  But I just want you to know that we can’t have it both ways.  We have to have the formula right.  ‘Follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and as you follow Me, I will make something of your life.’”  Joseph Stowell, III

“As followers of sweet Jesus we are to relinquish the reigns of our lives to the Lord.  He is to be responsible for the governing of every aspect of our lives.  We are to be “living sacrifices” holy and pleasing to God.  Unfortunately, as living sacrifices, we so often find ourselves crawling off the altar when life gets hard.  We stand firm when we are in the center of God’s will – mature and fully assured.”  BHY

“He is the only One who is good. He doesn’t want to see us fail, but we can only succeed if we have His power—because ours is just as useless and fickle as the leek-lovers.  We are utterly dependent on Him. But don’t miss this part: there isn’t some heavenly chart that docks us every time we wish we had our friend’s house. Or our friend’s summer body. (I offer these as hypothetical examples.) He knows we cannot do this without Him. But Christ sacrificed Himself on our behalf. And in His fulfillment of the law—in our place—we become free to follow, not forced to follow. This is where we find Jesus – the One who has set us free and the One who has fulfilled the Law on our behalf.  He is our Rescuer; our good. When we forget His goodness, He is patient, kind, and compassionate.”   Angie Smith

“You shall never lack the Spirit’s guidance as you seek to follow His leading.  Do not count any sin small.”  Samuel Annesley

“We often do not know what God is doing now. And the crucial truth is, we don’t need to know what God is doing now to follow him in faith.”  Jon Bloom

“When God does things so confusing to us that they appear disorientingly inappropriate - as He did to Peter when Jesus washed his feet – His reply to us is the same as it was to Peter:  ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand’ (John 13:7).”  BHY

“I’ve been given freedom in Christ, and yet I often look back on the things I used to have, and they can seem pretty appealing.  But remember this truth when you go through seasons where you’re grumbling. You’ve been set free.  To go back would be to bind your own wrists and ankles. And trust me, you’d regret it.”  Angie Smith

“Missionary - explorer David Livingstone attended a ceremony in his honor at Glasgow University.  He told the crowd that he was determined to return to Africa. ‘But,’ he added, ‘I return without misgiving and with great gladness.  For would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was often hostile?  It was the:  ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’  On those words I staked everything, and they never failed.’”   Robert J. Morgan  

“The plain fact is, we often do not know what God is doing now. And the crucial truth is, we don’t need to know what God is doing now to follow him in faith. God has his reasons for concealing his purposes. Sometimes it has to do with his timing, as it did for Peter. And sometimes, because God’s ways and thoughts are so beyond ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), it’s simply God’s mercy toward us to withhold knowledge too heavy for us to bear.  We don’t need to understand God’s purposes now; what we need to do is trust God’s purposes now. For it is through our trust, not our own understanding, that God will direct us along our confusing paths (Proverbs 3:6).”  Jon Bloom

 

“As our Great Shepherd, He leads and directs His children in the way they should go.  This is profitable for us, though often extraordinarily difficult, yet always for our ultimate good and His Glory – never one surpassing the other.  Our lives are not our own.  We have been bought with a high price and we are to honor God with our bodies.  We are not to run ahead doing our own things, going our own ways, giving no thought to His perfect and pleasing will – which, BTW, is always for our best.  This path will always lead to ultimate ruin.  It matters greatly how we live our lives.  Nothing done in the flesh sans His power is eternal.  God will not own what mere flesh can accomplish.  It will all be burned up.  Seek to follow hard after the One who loves you with an everlasting love and rejoices over you with singing.  You will not be disappointed.”  BHY

 

“My chains fell off, my heart was free.  I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”    Charles Wesley

 

HEART SAVOR

 

·         God sets us free from the bondage of sin and self to follow hard after Him.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

·         Jesus came to give us life and life to the full – there is no want with Him.

·         When we follow the Master we will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.

 

 

 

He Disciplines Those He Loves Psalms 94:12 Proverbs 3:11-12 Proverbs 5:22-23 Proverbs 6:20-23 Proverbs 10:17 Proverbs 13:18 Proverbs 15:5 Proverbs 19:18 Proverbs 15:32 Hebrews 12:4-11 Revelation 3:19-20 03.29.21

 

HE DISCIPLINES THOSE HE LOVES

BREAD

¹² Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law.  Psalms 94:12 (NIV)

 

¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, ¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.  Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)

 

²² The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. ²³ He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.  Proverbs 5:22-23 (NIV)

 

²⁰ My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.  ¹ Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. ²² When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. ²³ For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.  Proverbs 6:20-23 (NIV)

 

¹⁷ He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.  Proverbs 10:17 (NIV)

¹⁸ He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.   Proverbs 13:18 (NIV)

 

⁵ A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.  Proverbs 15:5 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.  Proverbs 19:18 (NIV)

 

³² He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.  Proverbs 15:32 (NIV)

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶ because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”  ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Hebrews 12:4-11 (NIV)

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.   Revelation 3:19-20 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.”   Billy Graham

 

“The goal of God’s discipline is restoration – never condemnation.”   Anonymous

“Discipline and love are not antithetical; one is a function of the other.”   James Dobson

“The entertaining of any worldly lust, and indulgence of any known willful sin, is an accursed thing, by which we are deprived of the power of God, and cannot stand before our enemies.  Behold, therefore the severity of God, and be more earnest.  Make all haste to flee from the lust of the world, especially from the lust of the eye, which is the love of money.  Examine thyself closely in other things, and whatever sinful lust harbors in thy breast, be faithful to put it off, and flee from it, else you must not wonder at your being so weak in spirit.  He that does not resist the sinful motions of his heart, will very easily give a loose to his hands and tongue; but he that immediately subdues the inward corruptions, will certainly be preserved from their breaking out in any sinful actions.  O Lord, deliver me from all accursed things, and keep my heart always under thy closest inspection and discipline.  Amen.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky

 

“Never tire of doing what is right.  Live a life acutely aware of the brevity of it.  We are indeed but a mist.  And we will have all eternity to be in bliss.  Seek not to pander the flesh but to promote self-discipline, placing a priority of love on those in your spheres – especially those in your own household.  We often miss so many God given opportunities when indulging our worldly wants.  Denial of the flesh – choosing God’s will over my own - is never easy, often misunderstood but always worth it.  His way is higher, better, more beneficial and pleasing to the soul though often unutterably difficult.  In the end, it produces a life of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”  BHY

“If God has allowed you to settle in a difficult place—pray. But don’t just pray for a way of escape. Instead, pray for the Lord to work His good pleasure into your life.  If there is a need for discipline, be willing to receive it so that you will experience the blessings of God.”   Michael Youssef

“When God chastises His children, He does not punish as a judge does; but He chastens as a father.”    Charles Spurgeon

“Discipline is a proof of our sonship.”  Erwin Lutzer

“Do we honor God by placing our trust in Him?  Sometimes, God permits us no other options, no other way out, and that indeed is a great mercy if it brings us to Him.”  BHY

“We know that with God, every word He speaks is for a purpose and every moment of silence is equally purposeful.  When you pray and hear only silence from heaven, God is working in that silence. Perhaps it’s the silence of His loving rebuke—God is shaking you free from a certain stubborn sin in your life. Perhaps it is the silence of mercy—God is giving you time to reflect on His goodness. Or perhaps it is the silence of waiting. God wants you to trust Him and to rest in His promises. He has not forgotten you. In those moments, let your prayer be, ‘Lord, whatever it is that You are trying to say to me, speak to me.’” Michael Youssef

 

“Only in the hot furnace of affliction do we as Christians let go of the dross to which, in our foolishness, we ardently cling.”   David Kingdon

“In a word, whatever affliction we bear shall be for our soul’s gain.  God’s rod and love go together.”  Thomas Case

HEART SAVOR

• ·         The corrections of discipline are the way to life.
• ·         He who ignores discipline comes to shame.
• ·         No discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

  

  

He Is Both Sovereign And Merciful Isaiah 40:10-11 Isaiah 46:8-10 Daniel 4:35 Psalms 115:3 Job 23:13 Job 42:1-3 Ephesians 2:6-9 Psalms 37:3-7 Romans 8:28-32 Psalms 84:11-12 03.26.21

 

HE IS BOTH SOVEREIGN AND MERCIFUL

BREAD

¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him.  See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. ¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.   Isaiah 40:10-11 (NIV)

 

⁸ “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.  ⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.  ¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”  Isaiah 46:8-10 (NIV)

 

³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”  Daniel 4:35 (NIV)

 

³ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.  Psalms 115:3 (NIV)

 

¹³ “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?  He does whatever he pleases.”  Job 23:13 (NIV)

 

¹ Then Job replied to the LORD: ² “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.   Job 42:1-3 (NIV)

 

⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.   Ephesians 2:6-9 (NIV)

³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. ⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.   Psalms 37:3-7 (NIV)

 

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:28-32 (NIV)

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. ¹² O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.   Psalms 84:11-12 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“God knows what shall happen and the order that it will be brought upon the stage of the world.  If God is eternal, how bold and foolish it is for a mortal to question His counsels and actions.  How can we who are so weak creatures that we cannot understand yesterday, presume to measure the motions of eternity by our scanty intellects?  We are not able to foresee an unexpected accident that falls to blast a well-laid plan.  If we cannot understand the motions of the sea or the nature of light, how shall we dare to censure the actions of an eternal God that is so infinitely beyond our reach?  The counsels of a boundless being are not to be scanned by the brain of a silly worm that breathes but a few minutes in the world.  How can eternity be judged by a creature of time?  Whenever, therefore, any unworthy notion of the counsels and works of God is suggested to us by Satan or our own corrupt hearts, let us look backward to God’s eternal existence and our own short duration, and silence ourselves as did Job.”  Stephen Charnock

“God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.”  John Piper

“If the Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient God is on our side, as His child, seriously, what do we have to fear?  He, Who loves us with an everlasting love, Who ever has His eye upon us, Who never leaves us nor forsakes us, Who not only died to save us but has also given us the Grand Deposit of the precious Holy Spirit to empower us to walk in a manner worthy of our high calling all the way Home – this God, this very God is for us and not against us.  No matter what the circumstances of your life may be bellowing out.  The world shouts fear while God whispers peace.  He will never let the righteous fall and we can trust Him with our lives and with the lives of all we love and hold dear.”  BHY        

“Hard-core realists who breathe the air of skepticism will always be with us.  They will mock our faith in a crucified Jew and ridicule our trust in a God we cannot see.  They will laugh at your love for the Savior who has cleansed you of sin’s defilement and given you spiritual life by His atoning work on the cross.  Nevertheless, believe.  Have faith – not faith in faith, which is spiritual nonsense, but faith in the omnipotent, sovereign Lord Jesus whose authority and power are absolute and know no rival.”   Daniel L. Akin

“God’s ways are higher than man’s ways, and He is worthy of complete trust even in the most desperate of circumstances.”  Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible

“The way you ask God to move your mountain is to not focus on the height of your mountain but the depths of God’s mercy.”  Ann Voskamp

“God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those ‘who love God’ and ‘are called according to his purpose’ but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good.”  John Piper 

“Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.”  John Bunyan

“There is a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.”  Frederick William Faber

“Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.”   John Chrysostom

 

“God's mercy is vast and beyond our comprehension. He will never reject anyone who turns to Him for mercy. Nor will He force Himself on anyone who chooses to live without Him.”  Michael Youssef

“God’s willingness to show mercy appears by His joyfulness when sinners take hold on His mercy.  God’s goodness is that He rejoices at the salvation of sinners and is glad when His mercy is accepted.  God rejoices when a poor sinner comes in and takes hold of His mercy.  What an encouragement to believe in God!  He is a God of pardons.  Mercy pleases Him.  Nothing prejudices us but unbelief.  Unbelief stops the current of God’s mercy from running, shut God’s bowels, closes the cavity of Christ’s wounds, so no healing virtue will come out.  As far as the heavens are above the earth, so far is God’s mercy above our sins.  What will tempt us to believe, if not the mercy of God?”   Thomas Watson

 

“Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliance than justice.”   Miguel de Cervantes

 

“All God’s ways are loving even if we cannot readily discern that with our eyes of flesh.  None of us can see the entire picture yet God makes known from the beginning from ancient times what is yet to come.  His purposes will stand and He will do all that He pleases.  He is a good and loving and faithful God Who only allows what is best for every heir of mercy.  We can trust Him with our lives.”   BHY

 

“I love Him because He first loved me.  His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day.  And my assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character.  My trust is in His love for me as His own.  My serenity has as its basis an implicit, unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any given situation.  This to me is the supreme portrait of my Shepherd.  Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which even though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply – His own great heart of love.”   Phillip Keller

 

HEART SAVOR

 

• ·         Our God is totally other – both Sovereign and Merciful.
• ·         Nothing comes to His children that has not passed through His hands.  He is never taken by surprise – never.
• ·         What He allows in the lives of His heirs of mercy is always beneficial and always works together for their good.

Bear Fruit Matthew 3:7-10 Luke 3:7-9 John 15:5-8 John 15:16-17 Colossians 1:9-12 Galatians 5:22-25 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Matthew 7:24-27 2 Timothy 2:15 John 12:24-26 03.24.21

BEAR FRUIT

BREAD

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”   Matthew 3:7-10 (NIV)

 

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”  Luke 3:7-9 (NIV)

 

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸ This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  John 15:5-8 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.  John 15:16-17 (NIV)

 

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)

 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)

 

¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

 

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

 

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."  Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

 

²⁴ “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”  John 12:24-26 (NIV)

 

BREAD

 

“As the vine sends its energy through the branch to bear fruit, so Christ can send His energy through you.”   John MacArthur

“Our actions disclose what goes on within us, just as its fruit makes known a tree otherwise unknown to us.”  Thalassias the Libyan

“No man can put Jesus Christ to greater shame than by professing the gospel without showing the power of it.  There can be no more vile and sordid hypocrisy than for any to pretend unto inward, habitual sanctification, while their lives are barren in the fruits of righteousness and obedience.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky

“By continually abiding in Christ, the one who has been pruned to bring forth much fruit will bring forth much fruit.”   Elmer Towns

“A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.  When God’s warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not far distant.  God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength.  He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’.  They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their armour stained with disgrace.  Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never accept their service.  That which man doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own.  The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away; He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.  God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.”   C. H. Spurgeon  

 

“It is important to understand that fruitfulness and growth are the results of focusing on Christ and desiring to honor Him.  When growth and change are our primary goals, we tend to be preoccupied with ourselves instead of with Christ.  ‘Am I growing?  Am I getting any better? Am I more like Christ today?  What am I learning?’   This inordinate preoccupation with self-improvement parallels our culture’s self-help and personal enhancement movement in many ways.  Personal development is certainly not wrong, but it is misleading—and it can be very disappointing—to make it our preeminent goal.  If it is our goal at all, it should be secondary.  As we grasp the unconditional love, grace, and power of God, then honoring Christ will increasingly be our consuming passion…The only One worthy of our preoccupation is Christ, our sovereign Lord, who told Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness’”.   Robert McGee

 

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”     St. Basil

“Cut out that which seems good to invest in the best.  It is the law of life: Early sacrifice for later bounty.  It can be hard to prune good things that are blooming. It can be hard to remember why you are pruning.  Because there’s a counter-intuitiveness to it, this plucking off certain life activities that will yield good fruit. Some might even think it foolish to pare back, when the bloom and gifting apparent; a good harvest inevitable.  Yet it’s the pruning of seemingly good leaves that can grow a better life. To allow later seasons to yield the longed-for abundant crop.  It takes courage to crop a life back — but it’s exactly the way to have the best crop of all.  What seems like hard work that’s taking an eternity today — is exactly what may make the most difference in eternity.”    Ann Voskamp

“God has a multitude of reasons for allowing our troubling situations.  Perhaps He is working on some of the people in our lives.  Maybe He is working out His timing to reap the maximum harvest when His solution comes in the end.  Or He could be proving a point to His enemy about His glory, as He did with Job – and your reaction is the key.  Maybe He is even working on us – our character flaws, personality issues, or spiritual growth.  Unpruned trees bear less fruit, so He must shape us differently.  But we’re surprised – and angry – when His pruning hand is not as gentle as we’d like.  The question we need to settle in our hearts is whether we believe God is good.  It isn’t hard to hold such a belief when His blessings seem bountiful.  But the blessing of hardship?  We wonder where His favor has gone.  We grow distant, resentful, and bitter over the harshness of His loving hand.  Like a child who has just been spanked – or simply told ‘no’ – we pout.  God just doesn’t seem fair.”   Chris Tiegreen  

  

“Consider for a moment just how much control we have?  Rightly so, we make our plans yet we all must agree that we clearly have no idea what the day will bring forth.  All too often our plans go awry for something as mundane as a cancelation of a flight, a child throwing up or a traffic jam that delays everything.  If we cannot even control twenty-four hours or even twenty-four minutes or even twenty-four seconds (for that matter) what in the world makes us think we can control a lifetime?  The wise look up.  The wise rest in His Authority and receive their marching orders from Him seeking to abide in the center of His good and pleasing and perfect will.  We make plans, but they are not authoritative plans – He often overrides them – yet all for our good and His glory never one surpassing the other.  The important thing to learn is that He has a plan for every life and we want to walk in it.  It may seem very difficult and not of our choosing (and more often than not this is the case) but it is always for our best – always.  And in the end, it brings forth much fruit not to mention perfect peace and contentment.”   BHY

“‘The best memories are still to come.’  I doubt anyone who came to Ray’s funeral will forget those words. Every so often you get to see with your own eyes the fruit of a life lived with sacrificial faithfulness.   All the life that comes from an actual, old-fashioned dying-to-self.   It’s staggering. It pulls me back to reality.   No matter how glamorized the choices and desires of one’s individual Self and the temptation to organize your life around getting what you think you want, that’s not how God set up the universe.   It’s just as Jesus said.   The grain of wheat that falls into the ground like a dead dream becomes a field of such bounty it stretches into the horizon.  You can hardly get a seat at the funeral.  So in those moments that no one would notice but you,  when you have to die in some small way to what you’d really rather do in order to care for your children,  or your aging mother,  or when you go out of your way to strengthen someone else’s hand in God, and you think none of it matters much and you will never turn out to be anybody special,  and the ‘sacrifice’ of something you cherish appears a bit dumb by current standards,  remember my friend, Ray.  As will I.”  Paula Rinehart 

“As the flower is before the fruit, so is faith before good works.”   Richard Whately

HEART SAVOR

• ·         True faith will produce fruit.
• ·         Eternal fruit is empowered by the Spirit so that no one can boast – the One that gives the power gets the glory.
• ·         A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit.