October 9, 2016
Gospel Identity – Week 7 – Fruit to Root
Gospel Identity – Week 7 – Fruit to Root
What is the Gospel?
Jesus Did it all, is doing it all and will not stop until it is complete.
The 4 questions
Who is God?
What did He do?
Who are we?
What do we do?
Whatever God does to you, he also plans to do through you.
Q. What does it mean to be fluent in a language?
Hear, think, speak, dream
Our language shapes our world view
So we are going to give Good News before we give good advise.
We are going to talk about Jesus before we talk about you.
We are all worshipers.
God has made us to worship. We always worship something.
Romans 1 Pattern
- We worship something except God
- We exchange God’s best for something lesser
- God gives us over to that thing we worship
- We look for that to satisfy us but it can’t.
- We pervert it, try to manipulate it and control it
- God does this so we will see that it is not a good God
2 Pet 1:3-9 – Why we forget the Gospel
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 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. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
How many of you like fruit?
God has created us to bear fruit.
Here are some passages about our Fruit
Luke 6:43-45
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Matthew 7:15-20
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Philippians 1:9-11
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
We bear fruit every day…
Fruit of the Flesh – Galatians 5:19-21
Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
So how do we make sure we are bearing the right fruit?
Take the Thought captive
2 Cor 10:5
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Evaluate what are you thinking?
Phil 4:8
Finally, brothers and 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.
Ask Probing questions.
Fruit to Root Process
Who is God?
What has He Done?
Who are we?
What do we do?
I could love them if…
I would be happy if…
I would be a peace if…
I would be more patient if…
I would be more nice to them if…
I would treat them better if…
I would be more stable if…
I would kinder if…
I wouldn’t loose control if…
None of these things that we desire are bad things in themselves… but they are indicators of what/who is on the throne of our lives right now.
Think of it like this… Fever is an indicator of sickness.
These things indicate what we are worshiping
What do/am I do/doing?
What are you doing?
What is out of order?
How am I living?
Who Am I?
Right now who do you believe you are?
What should be true in your life that is not?
What is the problem?
What am I believing about myself? Jn 8:32 Truth sets free
What has God done?
What does that mean you are believing about the one you are worshiping right now?
Right now what are you believing about your relationship with god?
What else?
Who is God?
What does that tell you about the god you are worshiping right now? (Those things above are true about the god we are worshiping at that time)
Don’t Jump the Shark. Don’t shame or try and convince that that is not who God is. Reveal the God they are worshiping.
Don’t do behavior modification here either.
Don’t give advise… Give them Jesus! HE is the way the truth and the Life.
At this point the idol should be revealed…
Do you believe that about the one true living GOD?
Do you want to turn from that belief and believe in the Gospel?
Who is God?
What do you believe? (Key to repentance)
Repentance and Turn to God
Act 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
3 Kinds of repentance
Ignorance – Teach them about God – Give the Gospel
Unbelief – Remind them about God – Rehearse the Gospel
Rebellion – Ask them to turn too God – Ask them if they want to repent? Ask them if they want to want to turn to God
What do you know about His Trintarian personage, His nature, and His character?
What Did He do?
Give them Jesus
How do you that that is true about God?
How did God reveal Himself through Jesus? (Exercise: list every attribute of God’s Nature and Character – show how Christ reveals that in His work.)
Trusting the truths of Jesus is Faith
Acts 20:21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
This is the process of sanctification…. Wash, Rinse, REPEAT
Eph 5:26 cleansing her by the washing with water through the word
Who Am I?
Remind of our identity in Christ.
Pray together Confessing the truth!
What fruit are you displaying?
Fruit of the Spirit – Gal 5
What if we did this with our kids? What if we did this with our spouses? What if we did this with those who we are discipling? With those who we are dong life together?
Next week we will use another strategy to look at identifying idols in unbelievers.
For more from this series you can CLICK HERE.
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