Archives for June 2021 | Overflow Church Grand Prairie, Tx | Notes
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Together: Together





“Powerful things happen when God’s people come together." 

“Following Jesus is not a prayer that we pray it’s a life that we live!”

John 17: 20-26 (NLT) "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. "I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.  Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! "O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them." 

"We fulfill the prayer of Christ when we grow in unity."
"God is glorified when we are unified."
Acts 2:42–47 (NIV) 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Answering God's prayer to unify.
1. Follow-ship 
"They devoted themself to following Jesus and the teaching from the apostles."

Following Jesus alone is not a biblical concept.
They were devoted to:
  • Worshipping together
  • Getting in the word together
  • Praying Together

Matthew 18:19–20 (NLT) 19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."

2. Fellowship
 
"Breaking and bread an fellowship."
"They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts."
Koinōnia-Sharing of life.
Colossians 3:16 (NLT)  Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives… 

3. Filling need 
"They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."

John 13:35 (NIV) "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
1.
  Material Needs.
2
. Immaterial Needs.

Encouragement
"The biblical standard of encouragement doesn't affirm sin, it confronts it."
  • Laughing together
  • Rejoicing(Celebrating) together
  • Mourning together 
Romans 12:15 (NIV) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

4. Functioning together.
"Many wonders and signs performed by the apostles."
Jesus wants us in on the miracles.

Matthew 14:13–21 (NIV) 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 
16 Jesus replied, 
"They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. 18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.


We can only be the body of we are working together!

5. 
Forward together
Luke 9:62 (NLT) Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God."
The Mission unites us

Together: Follow Jesus





“Powerful things happen when God’s people come together." 


Following Jesus 

Matthew 7:13–14 (NIV) 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The Real Jesus. (Gal 1, 2 Cor 11)

Luke 14:25–33 (NIV) 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’  
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.  
33 In the same way, 
those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Requirements to Following Jesus
Luke 9:23–26 (NIV)23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 

“Following Jesus is not a prayer that we pray it’s a life that we live!”

24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 
Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels

 The Cost of Following Jesus is the same for every person. 

1. Come to him.
“You cant follow him without Him.”
Matthew 11:27–30 (NIV) 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

2. Trust Him
Salvation begins at the point of trust.

3. Loving/Obeying Him
John 14:15(NIV) If you love me, keep my commands.
1 John 5:2–3 (NIV) 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

  • Putting the Kingdom First.
  • Extending compassion.  Caring for the needyThe that are less fortunate, putting others before yourself. 
  • Even those that are against us.
  • Putting others first
  • Walking in forgiveness.
  • Maintaining a Christ like posture.

Philippians 2:1–9 (NIV) 2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.

Together: We





Family: We follow Jesus together.

Genesis 2:15–18 (NLT) 15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.… 18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (NLT) 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

A command with benefits.
Psalm 133:1–3 (NIV)1 How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
  • -Bestow: tsavah(savah); to lay charge(upon), give charge(to), command, order.
  • -The together life is the blessed life!

Acts 2:1 (NIV) 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

"Powerful things happen when God's people come together." 
———
We are called...
Ekklesia- "a called-out assembly"

1. Called out by the Father. 
  • God doesn't call you out to punish you but to redeem you.
Luke 14:16–24 (NIV) 16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 
21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 
'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

The Father does the calling!
John 6:44 (NIV) "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…

Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV) "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

2. Called into Family
The calling out is a calling in.

Ephesians 2:19 (NIV) You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household.

We belong to one another.
Romans 12:3–5 (NIV) 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

It's a great big selfie world. 
"
There is nothing more toxic than being self-absorbed."

2 Timothy 3:1(NIV) There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves….
Self-centeredness i
s contrary to the message of Jesus. 
"Self-importance is nothing more than narcissism masquerading itself as virtuous." 

3. Called up to a new life.
Ephesians 4:1–6 (NIV) 4 I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

  • The call of Jesus is not better yourself it's die to yourself.

Romans 8:28–29 (NLT)28 We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son.

Forgiving What’s Hard to Forget





John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 13:1-5

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

John 13:12-15 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

You may want justice and vengeance, but those are God’s job. Our job to take care of our hearts.

Why is it so easy for us to receive a clean slate while we make a list of all the wrong doing of others?

1- Look at your heart
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, o God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

2-Find the root

3 Choose to forgive
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

When we remember all Jesus forgave us of we cannot go on in bitterness and not forgive. We must choose to be like Him and love fully!

4- Continue to walk out forgiveness
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

When walking out forgiveness gets hard:
-Ask God to see the person who hurt you as He does.
-Remember Jesus died for them too.

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Further reading on forgiving others:
-Matthew 6:14
-Mark 11:25
-Matthew 18:21-22
-Colossians 3:12-13