The Love of God For His People

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.

The Character of God

I believe the best way I can comprehend the character of God is by describing him as multifaceted When you think of a jewel you think of cuts and imagine on each cut you see the same jewel but because the angle has changed you see a whole different arrangement of light. In the same way God has many different facets to his personality.

Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

1 Corinthians 2:9,10
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

I believe God reveals his nature through his word and he anoints this information to our emotions by revelation. Once God has our hearts, he has us.

This spoken voice of God to our hearts is what should cause us to be arranged in the body. Every person hearing from God, obeying, working in their place of calling. God is a great administrator. Sometimes we have a hard time discerning the voice of God and must make time for this.

Jesus Christ is PERFECT THEOLOGY. When you've seen the son you've seen the father.

The facet of God's Character that I sense the most when I'm in his presences is his great love for me.

He sings over me Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Isaiah 65:19
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If Christ would die for me when I was a sinner, how much more do you think he loves me now that I'm righteous because of his grace?

1 John 4:18
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.

If you think God is waiting to wack you in the head with a hammer you will have a hard time being sanctified. God is loving and expecting you to rise above personl sin, rise above disobedience, conquer fear, and become the person of God he's called you to be. I believe he will believe in you until you die.

Romans 2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

It is the kindness of God that leads to changes in thinking and changes in behavior. We must be able to experience his kindness or repentance will be elusive at best.

The T.V. Show touched by an Angel would always conclude with one or more angels manifesting themselves to the people with a message of God's great love for mankind.

John 3:16,17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God is not wanting to condemn anyone! His will is that not one person would perish but all would come to repentance. His desire means he's extending kindness to humanity at this time because God made the human heart, he knows what causes it to change. It's the revelation of God's great kindness to us.

This parable is often called the parable of the prodigal son however It more appropriately could be called the parable of the loving father.

Luke 15:11-32

• Longing
• Looking
• Running
• Hugging
• Kissing Father

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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A Tale of Two Trees

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.    

John 15:1-8

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are 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 done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

I. verses 1,2

There is a true life source and false life sources. Christ is the only true life source. The father is the developer of the person who’s abiding in Christ.

II. verses 3-5

The Word of God, when received will make one clean. (Eph. 5:25-28) This word is received through abiding in Christ or remaining in Christ. Apart from this abiding in Christ we can do nothing with any lasting importance for God.

III. If we do not remain and abide in Christ we will be unfruitful. Unfruitful branches wither because they have the wrong life source. They are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. The wood in a vine has no real value but to be burned.

• The fruit is the only reason it’s allowed to take up soil.
• Things that make a tree unfruitful (Mark 4:19)

           *Worries of this Life
           *The deceitfulness of wealth
           *Desires for other things

God does not want to make a better you. The best good you have to offer this world is to realize that Jesus can flow through you. He wants you to come into agreement with him that you must die to yourself.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

IV. If we are abiding in Christ, it opens up God’s response to our prayer life! God wants us to produce fruit and when we’re abiding in Christ our prayers are going to be all about God’s will. When God answers these prayers it brings glory to himself.

1 John 5:14,15
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

What does it mean to be Fruitful?

Fruit Production is twofold:
1. It is developing the character of Christ in oneself.
2. It’s also being a part of reproducing Christ in others.

The order is significant. A man drowning in sin should not think he has much righteous help to offer another drowning man.

Character

Galatians 5:22-24
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. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Reproducing Christ in Others

God expects us to abide in Christ and thus be an agent to multiply the kingdom of God into the hearts of others.

The Greek word translated 'bear' in 'bears no fruit' is the word phero, and the Greek word translated 'fruit' is karpos. Both are used in the Parable of the Sower found in Mark 4:1-8

'It came up, grew and produced a crop [karpos: fruit, crop, harvest] multiplying [phero: bearing] thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.' (Mark 4:8).

By using the same Greek words in both teachings, the Bible is showing that producing a crop in Mark 4 and bearing fruit in John 15, are one and the same thing.

Have you ever wondered why some are effective at reproducing Christ in others while some are not? Well, John 15 tells us that when we abide or remain in Christ we’ll bear fruit. I believe this is true but sometimes we can have things that hinder us from being "others" centered that Christ wants to deal with as we abide in him.

The wounded tree is focused on it’s own problems. It has a gaping wound that it must contend with in order to survive. The sap and water that would normally be pushed down the branches and into budding fruit is consumed on this problem.

Luke 13:6-9
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

I believe that in Christ there is healing power for the wounded soul.

I believe there is mercy and grace from the throne of God to heal our hurting emotions.

I believe this healing process takes time but can be accelerated by our pursuit of Christ.
     *Overcoming Sin
     *Prayer/Bible Meditation/Communing with Christ/Abiding

Christ Life Ministries is also a valuable tool to minister to the hurting soul of people. Please consider being a “Good Samaritan” Pouring on the oil and wine to the wounded. (Luke 10:34)

It’s God’s will that we would be whole and fruitful for him.

People that are treading water, barely keeping their head up, in this life sometimes have a difficult time getting out there and rescuing someone else.

It’s hard to fulfill the great commission when we are drowning in our own problems. Abide in Christ, receive healing, become others focused, and make disciples.

Matthew 28:18b-20
“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.”

Then we will have confidence that we are fulfilling our role as fruit bearing disciples of the Lord.
  Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music. Jubilee Family Church
45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501
(870) 793-9124
View Larger Map