Living Contact With God —- August 21, 2024
Last Week: Jn. 15:1-8,16
- Continual Fellowship with God empowers us to produce spiritual fruit. Jn 15:4
a) Prayer Fruit or Answered Prayer Jn 15:7 conditional : 1) abide in me (Jesus)
- words abide in you
b) Fruit of The Spirit – Spiritual fruit must grow. Gal. 5:22-23
You must sow to the Spirit Gal. 6:7-8
(eg) Give time and attention to the things of God. Col. 3:1-2
Fruit develops as you plant God’s Word in your heart + act on it in faith
( 2 Peter 1:4 )
This Week:
2 ways of Christian living:
- Living in union with God – yielding to His power &
desire to follow His plans. Phil 2:13; Jn 15:5
vs 13 NLT
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
vs 13 amp version
[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you
[energizing and creating in you the POWER and DESIRE ], both to will and to work for
His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
Phil 4:13 amp
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and
equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient
in Christ’s sufficiency].
- Living by rules (law) – law is when you do something because you are
supposed to rather than because you want to.
- Fellowship with God gives you victory over the flesh.
-Freedom from being ruled by your flesh is not automatic
Spirit is saved 2Cor. 5:17
Soul is being renewed Rom. 12:2; Eph 4:22-24; James 1:21: 1 Peter 1:9
Body senses must be trained Heb.5:12-14; I Cor. 2:27
-Our Responsibility is to put off the old and put on the new life by renewing our
minds. Eph. 4:22-24
-Spending time depositing God’s Word in our hearts (daily) is a key. Prov.4:20-27
(Josh. 1:8; Ps.1:1-3)
-Spending time in prayer is also a key. Matt: 26:41
Note: What feeds your spirit will starve your flesh (by giving God your attention, the flesh
begins to lose its control over your life)
2) The Word of God is the foundation for our contact with God
- God is a Spirit therefore we can only know Him through His Word Jn 4:24
Not by what we feel
Not by what we experience
Not by our culture
- All our dealings with God must be by faith. Heb.11:6; Rom 10:17
In order to have faith in God, you must know what He has said.
“Faith in God” is faith in His Word, doubting His Word is doubting God.
- Unless our prayer life is based upon the Word then we have no foundation.
- The key to abiding in Jesus is to let His Spirit remain in you.
a) Believe it + obey = (Act upon the Word) 1 Jn. 2:24 amp
- Put the Word in your heart in abundance Jsh.1:7-8
How do you know if the Word is abiding in you? (It begins to talk to you) Pr. 6:20-22
Also, abiding Word will come out your mouth. Mt.12; Lk.6:15
Word within gives victory over the Devil 1Jn.2:14
- Your heart is like a bank account. - No Deposit = No Return
- Word must be in your heart account in order to write faith cheques.