Northgate Church, Chester Authentic Living Series

Live Effective and Productive Lives 22nd January 2012

1. Introduction, value of your time and what you want to get out of these next 45 mins Last week Father God spoke to us about how He wants to break through blockages and fear. Mark B. and Jayne M. brought words about this, about walls we build of blockages that are held together with fear. The word Father Put on my heart for this today is about being Effective and Productive in our lives by building into our lives the gifts of Holy Spirit bound together with love. In building on the foundation of Christ with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we break down the walls of fear that bock our walk with Jesus, and we become effective and productive in our knowledge of Jesus. (1 John 4:18 NIV) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

2. I have worked a long time in the Chemical Industry where we use metrics to measure our performance and follow SOP's to ensure we do things consistently and correctly. The chemical industry needs to be efficient and productive to survive. I am not talking about this type of effective or productive. I am not talking about being prosperous and successful either, although I think this will be a byproduct of following the Biblical instructions we will talk about today: Joshua 1:8 I want to talk about being effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Effective & Productive Lives 2012

3. Read scripture: 2 Peter 1:2-9

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; And to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
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4. The basis for our lives is His Divine Power, verse 3. It is His divine power that has given us everything we need. He is sufficient, and He is lavish (Eph 1:8) We are justified at salvation (10th Oct 2010) We are sanctified and are being sanctified (17th Oct 2010)

5. Faith Faith is the conviction of the truth, knowing the truthfulness of God and reliance upon Christ for salvation. Each of us has an allocation of faith it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved... and this is the gift of God... Romans 12:3 ...in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,.. We have each received and deposit of faith from God which we must nurture and grow through our walk with Him, and increasingly trusting in Him. And so, according to Peter the next thing we must add to our faith to grow in Jesus, is Goodness.

And to our Faith add Goodness...

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6. Goodness: What is meant by goodness here: it is referring to virtue, moral excellence, modesty, purity. The Greek also translates as Manliness, valour, intrinsic or attributed excellence. How do we pursue goodness? Do you control the input to your life? The TV and films you watch? Do we judge the lyrics of the songs we listen to? >>> We must be discerning about the material we let into our minds and our home. Use the OFF button, use security filters, say NO, but more importantly replace the things that distract with good stuff. What about the character of the people you fellowship with? - We are to be in the world to affect those around us with the love of Jesus, not to be dragged down and into the value system of the world. - As iron sharpens iron, seek out fellowship with those who will help and support you, cause you to grow in your knowledge of Jesus. Do you feed yourself well? (Phil 4:8 NIV) Finally, brothers & sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things.

And to our Goodness add Knowledge...

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7. Knowledge This is specifically knowledge of Christ, but also includes a broader understanding of the world in which we live, and moral wisdom for right living. Paul used the expression For I do not want you to be ignorant... four times and Peter said Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. In Mat 10:16, Jesus I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. We should understand the times we live in and be able to hold conversations with friends and work colleagues about the world around us, but we should bring to that the light of the gospel and the hope of salvation. We HAVE A VOICE let it be heard. And to our Knowledge add Self Control...

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8. Self control The virtue of mastering ones desires and passions, especially sensual appetites. Father God has made a world in which we can experience pleasure, in our sexual relationships, in good food and wine, in having fun with friends and family. What the enemy has successfully done, with mankinds co-operation, is distort the world Father has made for His and our pleasure, so relationships are distorted, food and drink are taken to excess, all resulting in disease, illness and corruption. We are to claim back this ground. Through good fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ we must hold ourselves accountable. Bring our relationships under the rule of Father God. Address our excessive appetites. Through an act of will address those areas of our lives that draw us away from a healthy balance. Two verses that have helped be through my life are: (1 Cor 10:13 NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (James 4:7 NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Hide these scriptures in your heart, quote them, and find strength in them. Seek out help through your brothers and sisters in Christ make yourself accountable. And to our Self Control add Perseverance...

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9. Perseverance Steadfastness, constancy, endurance. The characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose, even under the greatest trials When you have been touched by the love of God through Jesus you are spoilt for anything else. There is no alternative that can carry you through the lowest depths life can through at you. This can be easy to say but when you have lived it, you know it is true. When your loved ones are attacked, and others die, when you are stricken with disease that would take your life, and this all happens on-top of each other, where do you turn. It is the steadfastness of God my Father and the Rock of my salvation that gives me hope. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Because we have build life on the rock, we will remain standing. Eph 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

And to our Perseverance add Godliness... Page 7 of 11

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10. Godliness Reverence and respect, piety. To be set apart for God and to grow more like Jesus to be sanctified. Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives Prof W. Grudem Systematic Theology Chapter 38 (Phil 2:12-13 NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. We are called to become more like Him, through working out our salvation; we have an active part to play.

And to our Godliness add Mutual affection...

11. Mutual affection The Greek used here is Philadelphia Philadelphia, the word appears twice. Philadelphia means brotherly love, to have affection for one another, to hold in high regard. We are asked to LIKE each others The very next word in the Greek puts this in context:

And to our Mutual affection add LOVE...

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12. Love The word used in the Greek is agape which means selfless and sacrificial love. It is the love Christ has for us, a love such that you are prepared to die for the good of the one you love. The relationship between Philadelphia and Agape can be seen in John 21:1517, when Jesus restores Peter after the crucifixion: When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love (AGAPE) me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love (PHILEO) you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love (AGAPE) me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love (PHILEO) me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love (PHILEO) you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. Jesus knew where Peter was at, and called him to a deeper relationship. Jesus did not give up on Peter because he was not there yet, but gave him a very important job to do the feed Jesus sheep, look after the church. But Jesus knew that Peter would need to grow in his relationship, to understand and gain the depth of love Jesus has for his church. That is the calling on each one of use to add to our FAITH the selfless love that Jesus has for each of us.

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13. Effective and Productive 2 Pet 1:8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Our knowledge of Jesus is to change the way we behave, it is to change way we are, it is to change the person we are, So we are more like Him, and we bring Jesus into our everyday situation In that way our knowledge of Jesus will be effective, because it affects us and it affects others In that way our knowledge of Jesus will be productive, because it will bear fruit. These qualities are the Fruits of the Spirit: (Gal 5:22-23 NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. The gifts of the Spirit are given; the fruits of the Spirit must grow and so must be nurtured and encouraged. We all are called to grow in all these areas.

14. Conclusion: Participate in the divine nature We have been given an invitation to participate in the divine nature! We have been given to power to overcome the world and conquer the corruption of this world We have been given everything we need to be effective and productive We have been given each other to help us in this.

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