The Fruit of the Full Cup! 2007/4 04/15/07
If you remember, the last time that I stood in this place, the lesson was concerning the “Full Cup” and that cup was full of the love that had been poured out in our heart by the Holy Spirit. The word there used was profusely and that surely is a fruitful overflow. This lesson speaks of the fruit of that overflow and this is what I believe that God is doing at this season of time before the arrival of His Son, our Lord Jesus. So lets get hold of where we are and go from there.
I want you to turn to Ephesians 1:4 & 6 to begin with, and since I know that most of you are looking at the Amplified and other great translations, I need tell you that I am going to read this from the Hebrew New Testament. I believe it probably says it as they would have in reading this to those at that time, and Paul said:
“In the Messiah He chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in His Presence.
…so that we would bring Him praise commensurate with the glory of the grace He gave us through the Beloved One.”
Now keep what was said just before this in verse 3, because it will be the foundation of the rest of this time together, and what we need to remember, and I did this in reverse on purpose, so go back to 3;
“Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Who in the Messiah has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven.”
Just a few other statements from this letter, [to add to every], are familiar, such as ‘destined for adoption’, ‘have redemption through His blood and ‘forgiveness according to the riches of His grace’. Now, maybe we can understand just a little of the riches that were showered upon us, and this was all done before the foundation of the world.
Lets go to the letter of another Apostle, Peter, and see how the Holy Spirit dictated the heart of God to him. The letter to the Ephesians was penned in 63AD and this letter of Peter was written in 67AD, and I am quite sure that he was not in the crowd in Ephesus, when Paul’s letter was read, so God’s desire was that we hear His heart for all of us. 2 Peter 1:3-4; (the text is also read from the Hebrew New Testament)
“God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One Who called us to His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share inGod’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world.”
We have just had enough meat to meditate on for years, if we study how much He put in place for us to obtain these spiritual plateaus.
The word “Life” is from the same greek word that Jesus used in John 10:10, when He said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows”). The word here is ‘zoe’, and please listen to what it means;
“Life, as God has it, is that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself.” And we just read that Jesus proclaimed that He came that we might have that same life --- Alleluia!!!
Then, there is the word “godliness”, from the greek word, eusebeia, and it means; “devoutness characterized by a Godward attitude, an attitude which is always in an alignment that is pleasing to Him.”
The word ‘godliness’ was the key that the Holy Spirit used to get me to title the lesson, “The Fruit of the Full Cup”, because godliness accompanies love, and that is what we, as vessels (cups), are full of by the Holy Spirit, but there is more that we need to be and know, in order to carry out this character and that’s the road we are going to travel today.
I will read this from a commentary on growing in Godliness; Godly living is characterized by a life lived to please God. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have already found favor in God’s sight, therefore, we are to live a life that reflects that favor. Like Jesus, our work is to flow from faith and love, honoring God in all that we do and are. We are to behave so that when unbelievers see our lives they will recognize and honor God, Who is our source of godliness. Love, honor, prayer, and the full expression of the Holy Spirit are but a few of the things that Paul exhorts us to do. [From his letter to the Thessalonians.]
We have been blessed far more than we imagine, but, we were nevertheless, and will continue to be, and I read from 1 Cor 1:4-9;
“I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
[So] in Him in every respect you were enriched, in full power and readiness of speech [to speak of your faith] and complete knowledge and illumination [to give you full insight into its meaning].
In our way [our] witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you
That you are not [consciously] falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment or Christian grace [the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit], while you wait and watch [constantly living in hope] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and [His] being made visible to all.
And He will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him your were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
This is all of what He has done and will do in and for each of us, however there are other guidelines that we need to walk in, to stay in touch with godliness.
I need to go back for a moment to the Old Testament and find one thing that is as important to us now as it was to them in that age. Look at Ps. 103:7 and Ps. 106:12-13;
“He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel”.
“Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them];they sang His praise.
But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for his plans [to develop] regarding them” .
We need to pay particular attention to the statement; “they did not wait for His plans to develop regarding them”. Those plans are the ways of God that they had not learned. God’s ways are the precepts of the kingdom and God put those plans in place for our benefit. Listen to Psalm 95:10-11;
“Forty years long was I grieved and disgusted with that generation, and I said, it is a people that do err in their hearts, and they do not approve, acknowledge, or regard My ways.”
Wherefore I swore in my wrath that they would not enter My rest [in the land of promise].”
God designed His plan for our good and out of His love, and Jesus said that His burden was light and His yoke was easy. We are to live in the dimension of godliness, which displays His character to all those around us in our everyday lives. There are guidelines for growth in Godliness, and some are as follows; His way is rest.
Understand or gain a knowing, that successful living (godliness) involves ‘work that is initiated and motivated by faith; [the faith that works by love] – labor that flows from love – patiently endure, to display a living hope, and an excited expectation. Through every adversity and storm, maintain a consistency in all the above.
Be alert to all God’s dealings in the earth, and He is, at this time, hastening the elements of our growth and maturing process. God, in His plan for each of us, designed a moment for us when His plan would come to life.
God is bumping up His schedule. Time is a succession of moments, with a succession of progressive growth events. We have to learn to wait for our ‘kairos’ moment. That is the moment that was fixed, to us before the foundation of the world. Each of us have a very distinctive place in His plan. It makes no difference how large or important it may seem to us, it is His plan, and He makes no mistakes. We may all still be in training for our final destiny. [we learn to grow in the waiting or ripening time]
When we began today, I read you a long dissertation from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church and we found in that letter that God is faithful to fulfill His plan in you, and not only that, He blessed and endowed you with everything needed to be that plan in that chosen moment. We read that beginning this lesson, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven. The other facet of the plans of God is that we are to come into the kingdom that is already within us, but we are not yet living our lives to display that kingdom and the nature of the King, and that is our next stop. Turn to Acts 14:22;
“…establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and [telling them] that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom.”
Why? The tribulation mentioned, is the reason that I switched to this level, and I want to go to Paul in Romans and start a list of characteristics that will display godliness, and this is the first place, among several. Romans 5:3-4; Note: Paul has just told that we have been given access by faith into grace, and then…
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
and perseverance, character, and character hope.”
Note: When Christian character is tempered by tribulation, it strengthens hope, the hope of sharing in a full share of the promises of God. The very next verse tells us that the love of God has been poured in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We studied this in the last chapter, and where we must stay if we are to progress in the godliness. God is Love and godliness displays all He is.
Let’s go to 2 Peter 1:5-7, and I will only read the character traits displayed and then add the punch line at the end. He said that we are to use diligence (steadiness in application) and add to our faith; [that works by love]
Virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly love, and [Agape] love. Now add verses 8 through 11
“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When you read Peter, and understand the times that he lived in, you will also understand that he, and those with him had been in hard straits and difficult times, many tribulations, and this letter was written just shortly before he was martyred, just before 68AD, and thus you read in verse 14, where he says; ‘shortly I must put off my tent’. Peter knew the value of the trials and hardships for growth.
These are all characteristics of godliness, but note that in both cases, Love is the pool at the end, to soak in. I think I must note, that love is not a fruit that just falls off a tree, it must be cultivated. We need to take care of what God has planted into our hearts, tend it so that it will grow. Peter tells us, in the last portion of this letter that we should grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Most of our learning to love is to grow in the knowledge of the One Who is Love.
Growing in love, as is growing in grace, takes time and study and patience, working out our salvation, as Paul wrote to the Philippians. God will never force us to grow in love, so we have to persevere and be diligent while it grows.
Kenneth Hagin was one of our first mentors, all on cassette, but it worked and we loved him, so that what I ran across the other day truly blessed me. The last major campmeeting that he taught was in 2003, just two months before he was royally welcomed into the kingdom, and he taught a lesson that he titled, “What have you done with His love?”
You see, even though God’s love is in your heart by the Holy Spirit, you’re still living in your body, with a very fleshy soul, and it wants to still do things just like it always did before. We need to feed the love in our hearts on the Word, and exercise it; love will grow, but, as long as we continue to allow our flesh to dominate us, we do not grow in love nor grace. We have to buffet our body and crucify our flesh, and then watch the blossoms of love bloom out into a flower whose fragrance fills the air and draws others.
I have heard myself say to myself, when dealing with my own flesh, that flesh is a tough customer, stubborn and does not want to give ground to love, soulish, selfish; lets turn to James 1:21, and read what is written; (paraphrased)
“So deal with the ravages of the flesh with all its base wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.”
Brother Hagin once said that the only real way we sin, is by getting out of love. As a Christian you can never say that you don’t have love, because, as we read in Romans 5:5, the bible says that His love has been shed abroad [profusely] in our hearts. The love of God is in us, but we must activate and act it out. Keep in mind that our flesh does not want to, it wants to rant and rave around and get its own way, but we must keep our body and our soul under subjection to our born again spirit, for that is where the fruit has been planted and grows and it is always there, waiting to be released in any circumstance.
We have not left the subject of life and godliness, and they are both, Love in action. I often think on the biblical guidelines in Romans 12:9-21, and its long, but listen and meditate.
“Let your love be sincere, hate what is evil and cling to what is good;
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
not lagging in diligence, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set you mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably
with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him
If he is thirsty, give him to drink
For in so doing you will heap coals
of fire on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (love)
The good that we overcome with, is love. We are getting close to the end of this time together, but we can’t close without hearing brother Peter’s heart one more time. Turn to 1 Peter 3:8;
“Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble).
and on to 1 Peter 4:8
“Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins[forgives and disregards the offenses of others.”
Do you know what we have done, we have just solved the question of how Jesus meant for us to keep the commandment that He gave the disciples in John 13:34-35; He said to love one another JUST AS I have loved you.