DeanSweetman.com » Light to the World http://deansweetman.com Sermons, Podcasts and Teachings to Live Your Best Life Sun, 20 May 2012 18:48:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Dean Sweetman is Sr Pastor of the C3 Church with a campus in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He also serves as Executive Regional Overseer for C3 Americas. The Sweetmans moved to the USA in 1996 for the sole purpose of planting the Lawrenceville church. C3 Church currently serves the Atlanta community in a unique way through itís technology and charity work. Last year, Dean and Jill planted the C3 Church in Studio City, California. As Sr Pastors of both churches, they split their time between Atlanta and Studio City and have homes in both cities. Dean is a sought-after speaker in both church and business settings and an emerging author. His passionate and uncompromising preaching will inspire the most on-fire believer as challenge those who lack the fervor required to serve God. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA webmaster@christiancitychurch.com webmaster@christiancitychurch.com (C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA) C3 Atlanta Online with Dean Sweetman DeanSweetman.com » Light to the World http://audio.thec3church.com/podcasticon.jpg http://deansweetman.com/category/light-to-the-world/ Mature Christian http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:40:40 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=703 One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. The hard part is in becoming mature Christians. There is the ”standard of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) for us to measure up to. We start off as children easily “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching”. In fact, this was one of the common struggles throughout the first 100 years of the Church leading Paul to constantly write letters to correct and guide the early Christians.

Christ gave the church “gifts” mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 including “the apostles, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers” to equip God’s people to build up the Church, the body of Christ. Apostles are culture changers; people involved in governmental oversight, overseeing new works and new territory. Prophets are given to the Church to provide insight. All of these gifts work together in subjection to order to cause growth in God’s people. Pastors are the gateway into the Church. Pastors have a heart for God’s people and are there to take you on your Christian journey. However, pastors can’t do all the work to facilitate your growth. Growth is facilitated by commitment to the Bible and prayer. Merely coming to church is equivalent to barely making it in your Christian walk.

What does maturity mean? The road to maturity begins with service. There is a point in your Christian walk where you should go from taking to giving; from consuming to creating. Be mature and start to serve in God’s house. Don’t let the little things that trip you up this year, trip you up next year. As in marriage, working through issues now prevents encountering the same problems later.

When you are a baby, someone feeds you. Most Christians stay in the “feed me” stage and don’t experience the growth and journey God wants to take them on. Growth is painful and difficult; it stresses our faith. When you ride on the coattails of someone else’s faith you won’t have what you need on the inside of you when your storm comes. Our faith in what God says is the only thing that can get us through.

Ephesians 4:16 says “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.” Not only are there functional body parts, there are joints and ligaments that are essential for perfect health. Joints supply movement; ligaments supply the connection between bones. Ligaments are the real-deal relationships that hold the body together. Our goal is to build a local body that will work; that can reach our community; that can make a difference. The power of the local body is that in one’s weakness the other is strengthened.

Many think “I don’t know where I fit” and use that as a reason to not commit or grow in the body of Christ. The appendix is a useless part of the body. It only gets infected and causes you pain. There is no such thing as an appendix in the body of Christ. Some folks live to be that pain by lashing out when hurting and God can remove that as one has an appendix removed. When an infected appendix is not removed, it infects the whole body ultimately causing death. You can decide to be a part of the functioning body of Christ. When you make that decision you move from immaturity to maturity.

Verses Used:
*Ephesians 4:11-16
*Colossians 2:19

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/feed/ 0 One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. The hard part is in becoming mature Christians. There is the ”standard of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) for us to measure up to. We start off as children easily “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching”. In fact, this was one of the common struggles throughout the first 100 years of the Church leading Paul to constantly write letters to correct and guide the early Christians. Christ gave the church “gifts” mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 including “the apostles, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers” to equip God’s people to build up the Church, the body of Christ. Apostles are culture changers; people involved in governmental oversight, overseeing new works and new territory. Prophets are given to the Church to provide insight. All of these gifts work together in subjection to order to cause growth in God’s people. Pastors are the gateway into the Church. Pastors have a heart for God’s people and are there to take you on your Christian journey. However, pastors can’t do all the work to facilitate your growth. Growth is facilitated by commitment to the Bible and prayer. Merely coming to church is equivalent to barely making it in your Christian walk. What does maturity mean? The road to maturity begins with service. There is a point in your Christian walk where you should go from taking to giving; from consuming to creating. Be mature and start to serve in God’s house. Don’t let the little things that trip you up this year, trip you up next year. As in marriage, working through issues now prevents encountering the same problems later. When you are a baby, someone feeds you. Most Christians stay in the “feed me” stage and don’t experience the growth and journey God wants to take them on. Growth is painful and difficult; it stresses our faith. When you ride on the coattails of someone else’s faith you won’t have what you need on the inside of you when your storm comes. Our faith in what God says is the only thing that can get us through. Ephesians 4:16 says “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.” Not only are there functional body parts, there are joints and ligaments that are essential for perfect health. Joints supply movement; ligaments supply the connection between bones. Ligaments are the real-deal relationships that hold the body together. Our goal is to build a local body that will work; that can reach our community; that can make a difference. The power of the local body is that in one’s weakness the other is strengthened. Many think “I don’t know where I fit” and use that as a reason to not commit or grow in the body of Christ. The appendix is a useless part of the body. It only gets infected and causes you pain. There is no such thing as an appendix in the body of Christ. Some folks live to be that pain by lashing out when hurting and God can remove that as one has an appendix removed. When an infected appendix is not removed, it infects the whole body ultimately causing death. You can decide to be a part of the functioning body of Christ. When you make that decision you move from immaturity to maturity. Verses Used: *Ephesians 4:11-16 *Colossians 2:19 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 40:00 Making Disciples http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/01/making-disciples-2/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/01/making-disciples-2/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:28:12 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=691 Next to John 3:16, one of the most familiar verses to a believer is what we know as The Great Commission. In Mark 16, Jesus tells the disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.” This moment is also recorded in Matthew 28, which says “Go and make disciples of all the nations….” Why did He give us this charge? Why do we plant churches? Why do we build gyms? Why don’t we just collect more people into our own sanctuary and be a happy group?

First we must truly understand what Jesus is asking us to do. Obviously, we want to lead people to Christ, but making disciples requires more. Christians are born (again), but disciples are made. Disciples want to move forward in their walk with God, continuing to allow the Spirit to change them into the image of the One who saved them. Discipleship is a passion that makes things happen. Disciples produce abundant fruit for the Kingdom. Being born again doesn’t guarantee that we will become disciples. Far too many people sit too long, not using their God-given gift, content to be fed by the Pastor. When this happens, the gift will die. Church is not a place to just sit and be fed. If the gift dies, you dry up and find yourself living life by going through the motions. Our vision should be to have people challenged to use their gift in order that they be encouraged and produce fruit.

Jesus charges the disciples to go, but many who heard Him speak never left the borders of their own communities. To “go” simply means to move within your borders. We should never think that because we haven’t been called to sell everything we have and move to another country, we haven’t been called to “Go.”

When Jesus said, “Go into all the world…,” He used the Greek word cosmos. We translate it “world,” but in the original language it means to go into all the cultures of the world and bring the Kingdom culture. Historically, we know that when Greeks armies went into a territory to conquer it, they didn’t just go with soldiers. They went with artists, merchants, architects, and business people and would literally transform the culture into Greek culture by introducing Greek ideas and practices. Similarly, Jesus asks us to go into the cultures of the world and bring the transformation of Kingdom culture. We are to overlay the world’s system with a Kingdom system. That’s what the Great Commission is all about and each of us is called to undertake it.

Because the Kingdom is bigger than any one gift or ministry – it transcends those who carry it. The Kingdom spreads and replicates itself. Once the Kingdom is released by those who are sent (Apostles) it keeps going in the lives of those who are transformed by its coming. The Kingdom is not ours to keep. The Great Commission tells us that there are things that distinguish one who carries the Kingdom (vs. 17-18). These are things God wants to develop in each of us.

Those who carry the Kingdom will dominate demonic activity in the world – whether by casting out actual demons or by the act of bringing light into dark places. Satan works through deception and division, both of which leave people in darkness. We are called to bring the Light of the World into the darkness and bring people back into Truth.

Jesus also said that those who carry the Kingdom will speak in new tongues. 25 times in the New Testament the gift of speaking in tongues is mentioned as both prophetic language and prayer language. When believers run out of words, they can pray in their prayer language – a language not understood by man, but understood by the Spirit that transcends the human mind and human thinking. Praying in the Spirit connects us to God spirit-to-Spirit. Only through that spirit-to-Spirit relationship can we bring the Kingdom to others.

Then Jesus mentions two signs that have been greatly misinterpreted. First, He said those who bring the Kingdom will be able to “handle snakes with safety.” Who was the original serpent? Satan. If we are going to bring the Kingdom, we will need to use the spiritual gift of discernment to dismantle the deception of the serpent who has put scales over the eyes of those who do not yet believe.

Jesus also says those who bring the Kingdom will not be harmed by poisons, meaning that the poisonous deceptions of the world will not affect the true believer. The poison that sits in the heart of man will be challenged and extinguished by the power of God. Millions daily drink the poison of the deceive and the only answer for that poison is the Love of God expressed through those who will are willing to allow that love to flow in them and through them.

Finally, Jesus says that those who carry the Kingdom will “place their hands on the sick and heal them.” Today the world is full of people in need of not only physical, but also spiritual, mental, and emotional healing. As God sent others to meet us in our place of need, so are we to meet others in their place of need and trust that God can and will use us in their lives.

The call of the Great Commission is a great privilege. Answering it will not only insure that we each find our own best life, but that we naturally help others find theirs as well.

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/01/making-disciples-2/feed/ 0 Next to John 3:16, one of the most familiar verses to a believer is what we know as The Great Commission. In Mark 16, Jesus tells the disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Next to John 3:16, one of the most familiar verses to a believer is what we know as The Great Commission. In Mark 16, Jesus tells the disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.” This moment is also recorded ... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 28:02 Faith & Vision http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:57:37 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=640 Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! We look to the New Testament church for examples of how to work together, how to mature in Christ, how to be a “marketplace apostle”. One of the first men to rise up to a new level was Barnabas, a tradesman who, during a time of famine, sold a field he owned and gave all the proceeds to the apostles in Jerusalem to help other believers. Others followed his lead, and the whole church banded together, sharing and selling so that no one would go without. What they owned was not their own. The people made sacrifices for each other, and this was the first example of charity in any culture of that day. Let’s be sure our things aren’t getting in the way of where God wants to take us.

After the famine in Acts 4, a very zealous Jew named Saul was at the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, a man killed for speaking the truth about the Resurrected Christ. The Christians went into hiding because of the persecution now upon the Church, and in Acts 9 Saul goes to Damascus to kill Christians there who are sharing the Gospel. He actually thinks he is doing God’s will! On the way, the Lord blinds him and he comes to faith in Jesus himself, not eating or drinking for three days afterward. A Christian in the area named Ananias is asked by God to go to Saul, lay hands on him, and let God heal him – however, Ananias has heard Saul will arrest any Christians in the area! After arguing with God, he summons up his courage, lays hands on Saul, and goes so far as to call him “Brother” as he obeys the Big Ask that God had given him. Saul becomes Paul, the greatest apostle to ever live, the one who wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and from whose life we can learn so much about perservering and following the leading of the Holy Spirit! The thing is, he was not even accepted by the local church and the apostles who had been with Jesus until Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement, befriended Paul and vouched for him to the church leaders in Jerusalem. You can’t fulfill your destiny until someone believes in you. It took the courage of Ananias & Barnabas to bring the killer of Christians into the family of the church. People then and now are looking for someone to care for them. We need lots of people to reach out to new folks at C3 this year, and our leadership classes are going to help us get confident as we step out and mature even more.

When God asks us to do something big, something scary, something well and truly out of our comfort zone like He asked of Ananias, we know that by prayer and fasting we can accomplish anything that God has laid before us! He is going to ask us this year to do what we have never done before, therefore it makes sense to prepare ourselves for this year of challenge. You don’t have to be a pastor to bring love and care to people in your world. We have to come out of our immaturity and the mindset that says, “Oh, that’s someone else’s job” and begin to really grow in our faith. This means that the people around us who need help will have someone there to encourage, to mentor, to pray for them – you! When the religious Jews threw Peter in jail for healing a crippled man on the Sabbath in Acts 12, the church was praying for him fervently, but when an angel opened up the jail and got Peter to safety, no one praying at the house believed it was really him knocking on the door! These people had seen the house shake with the power of prayer, but had forgotten that God really does work miracles! Don’t pass your miracle off as coincidence, believe that God meant for your prayers to be answered.

We are all currently afraid of something God is asking us to do, some challenge we’ve come up against. God will give us the means to conquer the fear and win the challenge, but we have to step out in 2012 and do what frightens us. This church will go to another place in Christ if we all step out, fast, pray and believe that God wants to do miracles in us, for us and through us. We’re not going to waste 2012, even when unseen tests come at us from left field, like the pain I have been having in my neck all last year. We do not give up, we find a way to make it through the maze of life because God believes in us!

Verses Used:
* Acts 4:31-37
* Acts 9
* Acts 12

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/feed/ 0 Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! We look to the New Testament church for examples of how to work together, how to mature in Christ, how to be a "marketplace apostle". One of the first men to rise up to a new level was Barnabas, a tradesman who, during a time of famine, sold a field he owned and gave all the proceeds to the apostles in Jerusalem to help other believers. Others followed his lead, and the whole church banded together, sharing and selling so that no one would go without. What they owned was not their own. The people made sacrifices for each other, and this was the first example of charity in any culture of that day. Let's be sure our things aren't getting in the way of where God wants to take us. After the famine in Acts 4, a very zealous Jew named Saul was at the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, a man killed for speaking the truth about the Resurrected Christ. The Christians went into hiding because of the persecution now upon the Church, and in Acts 9 Saul goes to Damascus to kill Christians there who are sharing the Gospel. He actually thinks he is doing God's will! On the way, the Lord blinds him and he comes to faith in Jesus himself, not eating or drinking for three days afterward. A Christian in the area named Ananias is asked by God to go to Saul, lay hands on him, and let God heal him - however, Ananias has heard Saul will arrest any Christians in the area! After arguing with God, he summons up his courage, lays hands on Saul, and goes so far as to call him "Brother" as he obeys the Big Ask that God had given him. Saul becomes Paul, the greatest apostle to ever live, the one who wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and from whose life we can learn so much about perservering and following the leading of the Holy Spirit! The thing is, he was not even accepted by the local church and the apostles who had been with Jesus until Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement, befriended Paul and vouched for him to the church leaders in Jerusalem. You can't fulfill your destiny until someone believes in you. It took the courage of Ananias & Barnabas to bring the killer of Christians into the family of the church. People then and now are looking for someone to care for them. We need lots of people to reach out to new folks at C3 this year, and our leadership classes are going to help us get confident as we step out and mature even more. When God asks us to do something big, something scary, something well and truly out of our comfort zone like He asked of Ananias, we know that by prayer and fasting we can accomplish anything that God has laid before us! He is going to ask us this year to do what we have never done before, therefore it makes sense to prepare ourselves for this year of challenge. You don't have to be a pastor to bring love and care to people in your world. We have to come out of our immaturity and the mindset that says, "Oh, that's someone else's job" and begin to really grow in our faith. This means that the people around us who need help will have someone there to encourage, to mentor, to pray for them - you! When the religious Jews threw Peter in jail for healing a crippled man on the Sabbath in Acts 12, the church was praying for him fervently, but when an angel opened up the jail and got Peter to safety, no one praying at the house believed it was really him knocking on the door! These people had seen the house shake with the power of prayer, but had forgotten that God really does work miracles! Don't pass your miracle off as coincidence, believe that God meant for your prayers to be answered. We are all currently afraid of something God is asking us to do, some challenge we've come up against. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 27:48 The Many names of Jesus http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/18/sunday-dec-18-2011/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/18/sunday-dec-18-2011/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:38:58 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=624 We want to connect people to Christ and then connect them to their destiny. We want to connect people to what is next; we believe there is always another next. There is so much potential. Potential is useless unless you use it. If you don’t listen to those placed in your life, if you are not coachable, then that potential will fail you and you will live life full of regret and misery. There is unlimited potential when you are obedient to Christ.

The prophesy of the Messiah found in Isaiah 9 was made hundreds of years before Jesus was born. God: Father , Son, and Holy Spirit and angels were deciding what to do to get man back, how to redeem humanity. God longed for that fellowship with us. Who would have that that God would change the world with the birth of a baby? When God is getting ready to do things in our life, we have to remember that it will not always be in the way we expect.

Isaiah says Jesus will be called four things. ‘Wonderful Counselor’ speaks to us of the wisdom of Christ. You can’t look to other sources for the answers we need in our human lives. All the answers come from Jesus. You will be baffled by things, and you may look everywhere else for answers instead of the words in red. There is only one source that will get you through 2012 better than 2011. You should not try to live your life by other any other direction, than by the wisdom of Christ. Get closer to Jesus in 2012. The closer you get to someone, the more you get from them, the better communication flows. The wisdom of Christ is going to come by the people He puts in your life sometimes, and is going to come by revelation through His Word. You will read the Bible, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit will take the words on that page and give you just what you need.

Jesus is called ‘Mighty God.’ He is God in the flesh. Why? So when you read about Jesus, you can relate to Him. He came to earth to show His character. He came to help people. He was all God and all man. Jesus was the perfect visual image of God. People put their faith into things that are here today and gone tomorrow. We lose every time, unless we listen to Jesus. Jesus has the answers we need.

Jesus is called ‘Eternal Father.’ He is the son, but he has father-like qualities. He comes into our life like a friend sometimes. But, He also brings security, provision, authority, vision and discipline like a father. Fathers are involved on the lives of their children. Fathers are concerned with how their children are going to turn out. A father can bring guidance and vision to their children. Jesus will bring vision into your lives this year.

Jesus is called Prince of peace. He wants to be lord of your emotional life. Jesus is the One who will settle your soul. 2012 is going to be about dreams and visions in your life that you have asked God to help you with for years. Some of these things are going to come to pass in your life this year.

Verses Used:
*Isaiah 9:6-7

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/18/sunday-dec-18-2011/feed/ 0 We want to connect people to Christ and then connect them to their destiny. We want to connect people to what is next; we believe there is always another next. There is so much potential. Potential is useless unless you use it. We want to connect people to Christ and then connect them to their destiny. We want to connect people to what is next; we believe there is always another next. There is so much potential. Potential is useless unless you use it. If you don’t listen to those placed in your life, if you are not coachable, then that potential will fail you and you will live life full of regret and misery. There is unlimited potential when you are obedient to Christ. The prophesy of the Messiah found in Isaiah 9 was made hundreds of years before Jesus was born. God: Father , Son, and Holy Spirit and angels were deciding what to do to get man back, how to redeem humanity. God longed for that fellowship with us. Who would have that that God would change the world with the birth of a baby? When God is getting ready to do things in our life, we have to remember that it will not always be in the way we expect. Isaiah says Jesus will be called four things. ‘Wonderful Counselor’ speaks to us of the wisdom of Christ. You can’t look to other sources for the answers we need in our human lives. All the answers come from Jesus. You will be baffled by things, and you may look everywhere else for answers instead of the words in red. There is only one source that will get you through 2012 better than 2011. You should not try to live your life by other any other direction, than by the wisdom of Christ. Get closer to Jesus in 2012. The closer you get to someone, the more you get from them, the better communication flows. The wisdom of Christ is going to come by the people He puts in your life sometimes, and is going to come by revelation through His Word. You will read the Bible, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit will take the words on that page and give you just what you need. Jesus is called ‘Mighty God.’ He is God in the flesh. Why? So when you read about Jesus, you can relate to Him. He came to earth to show His character. He came to help people. He was all God and all man. Jesus was the perfect visual image of God. People put their faith into things that are here today and gone tomorrow. We lose every time, unless we listen to Jesus. Jesus has the answers we need. Jesus is called ‘Eternal Father.’ He is the son, but he has father-like qualities. He comes into our life like a friend sometimes. But, He also brings security, provision, authority, vision and discipline like a father. Fathers are involved on the lives of their children. Fathers are concerned with how their children are going to turn out. A father can bring guidance and vision to their children. Jesus will bring vision into your lives this year. Jesus is called Prince of peace. He wants to be lord of your emotional life. Jesus is the One who will settle your soul. 2012 is going to be about dreams and visions in your life that you have asked God to help you with for years. Some of these things are going to come to pass in your life this year. Verses Used: *Isaiah 9:6-7 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 25:53 The Vine – Final http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/04/the-vine-final-2/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/04/the-vine-final-2/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:41:38 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=611 As we conclude the series on the Vine, it is important to remember that Jesus was using this as His last opportunity to speak to his friends, the 11 disciples that came with Him in the midnight hour up to the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethsemane there. What would you say to your children or close friends if you knew you were going away and would never see them again? The weight of these words is enormous, these are Jesus’s final instructions to those He called his closest friends. They are meant for us today, offering grace, hope, love and the way to JOY on the earth – ABIDE IN ME and let My Words abide in you, and you can ask for ANYTHING, because of the love God has for us and we for Him. I have told you these things that your JOY may be the fullest possible joy. (vs. 7 & 11) There is grace if we are away from God, knowing that if we just ask, He will graft us back into the Vine – allow us back into the family of God if we just ask and submit ourselves to Him again. “You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you.” (vs 3)

Branches that disconnect from the vine change color and become lifeless. (vs 6) Living as if we don’t need Jesus is futile, as EVERY other “life source” we attempt to follow to find peace of mind will have to bow before Christ at the end of time. When we choose to abide, remain and stay in Christ and His Word, God then desires to give us the things that we want, need, hope for. This is a relationship where we love Him, He loves us, and we do awesome things for one another – ours is to obey, His is giving us great joy and an abundant life here on earth. All that Jesus received from the Father He passed down to us. (vs 10-11) God is as interested in our carnal lives as much as our spiritual lives. We don’t need to do “goofy things” to feel spiritual, which is why we don’t prophesy over the cashier at Walmart, but when we become so connected to God that everday life becomes extraordinary, we become one with Him. Normal, joyful, blessed – we have every answer to every problem when we’re connected to the Vine.

This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Lay down your lives for your friends. We are no longer called servants, God wants to call us friends! (vs 12-15) Jesus is declaring His love for His disciples, explaining that He is more than their teacher, He is their friend and loves them like a brother. It is an emotional moment, He wants them to see that everything they have comes by obeying His Father. Anything that doesn’t come from Christ is nothing in our lives as well. The family you want, the children you desire, these only come through Christ. If you will discipline your children at a young age, they won’t be big trouble as teenagers – you take care of what needs to be done, don’t bring them to me in 10 years and ask me to fix your teens if you didn’t follow through on our childcare worker’s helpful advice to deal with temper tantrums at age 5! You don’t want to become the branches that are cut off and burned, and neither do they – there are choices involved all through our lives that keep us connected.

You did not choose me; I chose you…go and produce fruit that will last. (vs 16-17). Everyone has a God-purpose – He chose you and needs you to help those who are in your world. Stay in Christ, produce good fruit, remain in His love, His teaching, His word. Every pain, every disappointment, every temptation Jesus knew and carried to the cross to be taken away. Even going to His death, He spoke positive, encouraging, life-giving words so that we could have joy in this life on earth. Through horrific times, joy comes by being connected to Jesus and staying in His Word, allowing the Father, the Master Gardener, to prune us which actually gives us more strength to keep bearing great fruit. These words gave Steven the ability in Acts to be martyred for his faith and helped the early church in the first 40 years overcome extreme persecution by the Romans. When we stay connected to the Father’s House and keep that a priority, we will find all the help we need to have an abundant, joyful life in the Vine!

Verses Used:
*John 15:1-17

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/12/04/the-vine-final-2/feed/ 0 As we conclude the series on the Vine, it is important to remember that Jesus was using this as His last opportunity to speak to his friends, the 11 disciples that came with Him in the midnight hour up to the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethseman... As we conclude the series on the Vine, it is important to remember that Jesus was using this as His last opportunity to speak to his friends, the 11 disciples that came with Him in the midnight hour up to the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethseman... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 21:47 The Four Rivers – The River of Anointing part 2 http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/02/the-four-rivers-%e2%80%93-the-river-of-anointing-part-2/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/02/the-four-rivers-%e2%80%93-the-river-of-anointing-part-2/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:01:35 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=568 The concept of the Rivers and the Garden continues to unfold the further we go into this series. The garden of the heart is filled with seeds that grow and produce fruit, providing even more seed. But what do we do with this new seed? Do we store it in barns, afraid that we won’t have enough seed in the future? Or do we give the seed to God and let Him scatter it? God can do more with the little seed that we have then we could ever hope to dream of if we keep it stored away. God has promised time and again that whatever we give to Him, He will give back to us. And He has also shown that whatever we hold in our hands, refusing to let go for fear of loss, will be lost through the decay of time and death. No man on his death bed is happy that he clung to all his riches. No, he wishes more than anything that he had done something with that which he had obtained.

The River Gihon, as stated last week, is the River of the Anointing. It means “to burst forth.” When something bursts up, it flows out. God began with the River Pishon (increase) and the moved on to Gihon (anointing or flow). You first receive increase and then you let it go somewhere. There is no use having seed if it is not going to go anywhere. You can have it all–fame, fortune, the praise and accord of others–but it means nothing without the anointing that flows out into the world.

John 9 tells the tale of Jesus healing a blind man by placing mud on his eyes and telling him to “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” Siloam means “sent.” Siloam is also the spring of the River Gihon. Jesus sent the blind man on a mission to receive his healing. The blind man had to grope about, asking for help to find the spring of the sent. And it was there that he was healed. Gihon and Siloam are the River of the sent: those who are sent out on missions; those who are a part of other people’s miracles. Do you want to be a apart of someone’s miracle? Then GO! You don’t have to (and we strongly advise against this) put mud in people’s eyes. But speak well of them. Tell those in authority that their employees are the best! Help with your words and actions! And through that, people will receive their miracle.

Verses Used:
*Genesis 2: 13
*John 9:6 & 7
*I Kings 1: 32-35

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/02/the-four-rivers-%e2%80%93-the-river-of-anointing-part-2/feed/ 0 The concept of the Rivers and the Garden continues to unfold the further we go into this series. The garden of the heart is filled with seeds that grow and produce fruit, providing even more seed. But what do we do with this new seed? The concept of the Rivers and the Garden continues to unfold the further we go into this series. The garden of the heart is filled with seeds that grow and produce fruit, providing even more seed. But what do we do with this new seed? Do we store it in barns, afraid that we won't have enough seed in the future? Or do we give the seed to God and let Him scatter it? God can do more with the little seed that we have then we could ever hope to dream of if we keep it stored away. God has promised time and again that whatever we give to Him, He will give back to us. And He has also shown that whatever we hold in our hands, refusing to let go for fear of loss, will be lost through the decay of time and death. No man on his death bed is happy that he clung to all his riches. No, he wishes more than anything that he had done something with that which he had obtained. The River Gihon, as stated last week, is the River of the Anointing. It means "to burst forth." When something bursts up, it flows out. God began with the River Pishon (increase) and the moved on to Gihon (anointing or flow). You first receive increase and then you let it go somewhere. There is no use having seed if it is not going to go anywhere. You can have it all--fame, fortune, the praise and accord of others--but it means nothing without the anointing that flows out into the world. John 9 tells the tale of Jesus healing a blind man by placing mud on his eyes and telling him to “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” Siloam means "sent." Siloam is also the spring of the River Gihon. Jesus sent the blind man on a mission to receive his healing. The blind man had to grope about, asking for help to find the spring of the sent. And it was there that he was healed. Gihon and Siloam are the River of the sent: those who are sent out on missions; those who are a part of other people's miracles. Do you want to be a apart of someone's miracle? Then GO! You don't have to (and we strongly advise against this) put mud in people's eyes. But speak well of them. Tell those in authority that their employees are the best! Help with your words and actions! And through that, people will receive their miracle. Verses Used: *Genesis 2: 13 *John 9:6 & 7 *I Kings 1: 32-35 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 29:21 The Four Rivers – The River of Anointing http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/25/the-four-rivers-the-river-of-anointing/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/25/the-four-rivers-the-river-of-anointing/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:34:25 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=564 The second river is the River Gihon–the river of anointing. The River Gihon branches off the River Pshon – favor and blessing stay within God’s anointing and presence. King David’s son, Solomon, was anointed king at the river Gihon with oil, to symbolize the presence of God in his reign. Since Solomon did not ask for riches, but wisdom, God chose to bless Solomon – gifts come from blessing and His presence. Each of us has an anointing to be something or have something that God can use- the ministry gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher or the gifts of faith, prophecy, miracles, etc. God anoints us to do His work as we stay in His presence, which can be found as we seek God in our private times, and more importantly, in the House of God as we come together in corporate worship, connecting ourselves to God. The anointing carries us onward and we need the presence of God to do what He is calling us to do, to handle the pressure of that call at times, and to anoint the ideas He gives us so they come to pass. The C3 church is not just a cool place to come worship & learn about God, the presence and anointing of the Lord have to be here or it would all come tumbling down like a house of cards. We need the anointing to fulfill the visions we receive while in His presence!

Isaiah 66 says the oil of joy replaces mourning,that praise relieves heaviness. Peace comes out of His presence, it changes our hearts and minds as the Holy Spirit goes to work, making us different. Joshua gave us the greatest example of how going into the Temple, into the presence of God, set him apart from the rest of Israel, who stood outside their tent doors and watched the one man brave enough and wise enough to get literally into the presence of God. Because of Christ’s anointing to die on the Cross, we can now freely go into the House – the Presence – of the Lord, worship, serve and fulfill His call that is unique to each one of us. We don’t naturally know how to get into God’s presence, we have to choose like Joshua to get ourselves to church and connect in worship and the Word.

In Revelation 22:1-5 the apostle John writes about what he saw there in Heaven. He speaks of an angel showing him a pure, clear river running thru the main street, which had trees growing on either side. These trees were for the healing of the nations, and bore a different fruit once a month every twelve months. There is so much here – the river begins at the Throne of God, runs where everyone has access to it, and the fruit of it’s trees is not for us, it is for others, since God wants everyone to come into His Kingdom! He is a river without limit or end, He does not want us to segment off our lives into “Sunday I go to church, Monday through Saturday I live my life”, He truly wants to give us unlimited blessings – a different one every month if we are ready for it! Jesus follows up that thought when he said, “He who believes in Me, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) Meaning that LIFE comes from knowing and believing in all the blessing, favor, anointing and presence that God is freely offering us. Why would we not want to follow Him to the ends of the earth – He has everything we need to LIVE! His blessings are unlimited, His presence pulls us in and brings change to our lives. We can come out of that dry, dusty riverbed we have been living in and experience the full-on wetness of journeying with the Lord in the Four Rivers. Changes are instant and imminent – are you ready to move forward?
Verses Used:
*Genesis 2:13
*Exodus 33
*Isaiah 66
*John 7:38

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/25/the-four-rivers-the-river-of-anointing/feed/ 0 The second river is the River Gihon--the river of anointing. The River Gihon branches off the River Pshon - favor and blessing stay within God's anointing and presence. King David's son, Solomon, was anointed king at the river Gihon with oil, The second river is the River Gihon--the river of anointing. The River Gihon branches off the River Pshon - favor and blessing stay within God's anointing and presence. King David's son, Solomon, was anointed king at the river Gihon with oil, to symbolize the presence of God in his reign. Since Solomon did not ask for riches, but wisdom, God chose to bless Solomon - gifts come from blessing and His presence. Each of us has an anointing to be something or have something that God can use- the ministry gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher or the gifts of faith, prophecy, miracles, etc. God anoints us to do His work as we stay in His presence, which can be found as we seek God in our private times, and more importantly, in the House of God as we come together in corporate worship, connecting ourselves to God. The anointing carries us onward and we need the presence of God to do what He is calling us to do, to handle the pressure of that call at times, and to anoint the ideas He gives us so they come to pass. The C3 church is not just a cool place to come worship & learn about God, the presence and anointing of the Lord have to be here or it would all come tumbling down like a house of cards. We need the anointing to fulfill the visions we receive while in His presence! Isaiah 66 says the oil of joy replaces mourning,that praise relieves heaviness. Peace comes out of His presence, it changes our hearts and minds as the Holy Spirit goes to work, making us different. Joshua gave us the greatest example of how going into the Temple, into the presence of God, set him apart from the rest of Israel, who stood outside their tent doors and watched the one man brave enough and wise enough to get literally into the presence of God. Because of Christ's anointing to die on the Cross, we can now freely go into the House - the Presence - of the Lord, worship, serve and fulfill His call that is unique to each one of us. We don't naturally know how to get into God's presence, we have to choose like Joshua to get ourselves to church and connect in worship and the Word. In Revelation 22:1-5 the apostle John writes about what he saw there in Heaven. He speaks of an angel showing him a pure, clear river running thru the main street, which had trees growing on either side. These trees were for the healing of the nations, and bore a different fruit once a month every twelve months. There is so much here - the river begins at the Throne of God, runs where everyone has access to it, and the fruit of it's trees is not for us, it is for others, since God wants everyone to come into His Kingdom! He is a river without limit or end, He does not want us to segment off our lives into "Sunday I go to church, Monday through Saturday I live my life", He truly wants to give us unlimited blessings - a different one every month if we are ready for it! Jesus follows up that thought when he said, "He who believes in Me, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38) Meaning that LIFE comes from knowing and believing in all the blessing, favor, anointing and presence that God is freely offering us. Why would we not want to follow Him to the ends of the earth - He has everything we need to LIVE! His blessings are unlimited, His presence pulls us in and brings change to our lives. We can come out of that dry, dusty riverbed we have been living in and experience the full-on wetness of journeying with the Lord in the Four Rivers. Changes are instant and imminent - are you ready to move forward? Verses Used: *Genesis 2:13 *Exodus 33 *Isaiah 66 *John 7:38 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 34:49 My Cup – The Cup of Sorrows 2nd http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/21/my-cup-the-cup-of-sorrows-2nd/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/21/my-cup-the-cup-of-sorrows-2nd/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:16:25 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=535 James & John’s mother comes to Jesus asking if her sons can sit at His right & left hand when He entered His kingdom. She was a prominent woman in their small town, and her husband & sons were well-known fishermen, so she felt she could ask this of Jesus. However, none of them had any idea of what The Kingdom was about or how it operates! God was about changing the human condition, to think spiritually, not carnally. Jesus asked James & John, “Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?” They thought they could, but Jesus told them only God could decide who had the honor of sitting on His right and left when Jesus took the throne. Everyone was indignant for various reasons, but no one understood the magnitude of what Jesus was about to do: suffer, die and carry every sin of every person who had ever or would ever live on the Earth! The cup was a metaphor of Jesus pouring His blood out so that EVERYONE’s sins would be forgiven and mankind could have one to one fellowship with God Almighty. The cup was the burden of sins of the world, and as such, its contents were completely vile, foul, disgusting – and then two robbers were crucified with Jesus to show the world whom He was dying for. These are the two who were on Christ’s right and left hand when He entered the Kingdom! Picture the outpouring of all the sins of all mankind onto Christ as he died slowly on that cross. His blood drained out, his body shut down as the cup of bitterness and sorrow was poured out from His blood – literally.

Everything abhorrent to God that drove Him apart from man, was in that cup. Jesus knew He had to drink it, empty it so that mankind could be one with God their Creator. Jesus asked His friends in Matt. 26 to wait with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane – the Man of Sorrows needed support, His human side. The cup of suffering was the burden of the sins of the world, and it’s difficult for us to understand how someone would willingly pour that on Himself for us to live with God. His fleshly side felt the pressure of what He had to do in the spiritual realm, that’s why He asked God to take the cup from Him – “Nevertheless, YOUR WILL BE DONE, O GOD”. His humanity chose to let the spiritual override all. He knew the Father had to turn away from the Son as all those sins washed thru His blood and drained out of His body on the cross. Untold evil had entered the world, had built and increased the depravity of the human mind – there is no end to the darkness into which men can fall. Jesus taking on ALL the sins of the world was like pouring vinegar or rubbing salt into His wounds – excruciating, but cleansed mankind. We could never drink from the Cup of Sorrows, that was just for Jesus to accomplish.

Picture the outpouring of all this sin as He is dying slowly on that Cross. They broke His legs, slit His side, blood drained thru His body and spilled on the ground – what killed Christ was when the Father had to turn away and Jesus spirit left Him to get the keys to Hell & death from the enemy. Jerusalem turned dark from noon to 3pm, the veil was torn from TOP to BOTTOM in the Temple, the earth shook with the powerful display of what was happening in the heavenly Kingdom. Then, the centurion recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, salvation became real, and hope began! Isaiah 51:11 says, “Those ransomed by the Lord will return and enter Jerusalem with joy. Their happiness will last forever. They will have joy and gladness, and all sadness and sorrow will be gone far away.” Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many! When we want to get depressed and our lot in life causes us to behave self-centeredly and not allow others to help us, remember that Jesus has taken ALL our sorrows and our reward is gladness and everlasting joy from the Holy Ghost in our lives.
I hear a complaint in the spirit of people, thinking that what they have isn’t good enough! We’ve been filled with something precious – receive the benefit and blessing that comes from the cup Jesus drank from on our behalf.

This month is about serving God and Him moving more in our lives. The only way to keep our cup full of joy and gladness is to give away what God has given to us individually. Jesus has already drunk the Cup of Sorrows, we don’t have to wallow in our selfishness. We choose to allow sin into our lives and we choose to do God’s will. Jesus didn’t WANT to die on the cross, and feelings do not take us into victory – our specific acts of will do. Begin NOT living small lives; it’s not what we want, but what God wants that brings us joy when we fill our cups with gladness daily from His overflowing fountain.

Verses Used:
Matthew 20:20
Jeremiah 31

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/21/my-cup-the-cup-of-sorrows-2nd/feed/ 0 James & John's mother comes to Jesus asking if her sons can sit at His right & left hand when He entered His kingdom. She was a prominent woman in their small town, and her husband & sons were well-known fishermen, James & John's mother comes to Jesus asking if her sons can sit at His right & left hand when He entered His kingdom. She was a prominent woman in their small town, and her husband & sons were well-known fishermen, so she felt she could ask this of Je... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 27:33 My Cup – The Cup of Greed 1st http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/14/my-cup-the-cup-of-greed-1st/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/14/my-cup-the-cup-of-greed-1st/#comments Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:40:37 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=527 Luke 11 introduces us to the next cup in the series: The Cup of Greed. This cup is introduced when Jesus is invited to dine with a Pharisee. The Pharisee gets edgy when Jesus does not wash his hands before the meal. You see, hand washing was one of the possible 1500 additions the Pharisees added to the law. It was a ritual meant for show, and Jesus knew this. The Pharisees meant well by adding to the law. Doesn’t that sound familiar? I meant well in adding all these additional rules and regulations to my worship and service to God. I really did! And yet, Jesus scolds them for adding to what was already perfect. You can’t make what God said better.

What is so wrong with washing your hands? Nothing, but that is not what made Jesus so angry. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for being so careful to clean the outside of the cup, while the inside was full of wickedness. God made the outside and the inside of the cup. He told them not to try to be holier than God. How can someone desiring to be so right, be so filled with wickedness? The Pharisees’ cup was full of greed. The cup of greed feeds itself with self-centered wickedness. Wanting to add to the law comes from figuring that it can’t be this easy to be righteous. There are man-made traditions that disguise themselves as part of the Light. Jesus is talking about religious deception. Religion hates freedom. The spirit of religion is exclusive, and Jesus called it wicked. God set out to destroy religious hierarchy. He replaced the law with a better covenant, the original covenant with God.

The cup of greed contrasts greatly to the cup of life. God wants to fill our lives. Our senses are a gateway to our inner self or to our cup. Jesus says the eye allows light into body. When you are filling the eye with good, then you are filling your cup with good. In John, Jesus says He is the light. When our vision is clear and good, the vision from the world tries to darken it. What we think on, touch, or see, fills our cup. As we allow little things, small deceptions, to creep into our consciousness and thinking, it can begin to fill us with the wrong stuff. When your principles are good, you are full of light. The problem with allowing non-biblical principles into our lives is that they are easy to justify. As soon as we justify our ungodly behavior, we are filling our cup with the wrong stuff.

In John 17, Jesus is praying to His Father, knowing that He is about to leave. He knows He will no longer be visible to the world. He is leaving Himself in us and sending us into the world in His place. If He didn’t send us, He couldn’t get into the world. As the Father is in Him, He is in us. Jesus did not come for the ones that already knew Him but for the ones that don’t have a clue. In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables. One is about the lost sheep, one is about the lost coin, and one is about the prodigal son. You can be lost in the world like the sheep; you can be lost in the house like the coin; you can leave the House and become entangled in the world liked the prodigal; or you can stay in the House with a religious attitude like the brother. How do we go into the world and not succumb to the world? When we have the choice to judge others, default to love. There is only one qualification for living a life full of God. The only way to distinguish us is by our fruit, and the fruit is love.

Our cup can be full of religious mess. We wall ourselves up with religion to protect ourselves from the world. Religion blinds us to the needs around us, in the same way the men walked by the beaten man in the parable of the Samaritan. The Pharisees could not distinguish between following rules and serving God. Our cups have to be filled with something. If we don’t allow God to fill our vessels, we are choosing to fill them with the world. Allowing other things to fill our vessels will not allow us to lead others to God. The only way to get the life of God into our vessels is to walk with Jesus and do what He says. We want to fill our cup, repent, and put everything else aside. Every other relationship is secondary to our connection to God. God wants to get that old stuff out and fill us with Him.

Verses Used:
Luke 11:33-39
John 17:11
Matthew 7:20
John 14:6

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/14/my-cup-the-cup-of-greed-1st/feed/ 0 Luke 11 introduces us to the next cup in the series: The Cup of Greed. This cup is introduced when Jesus is invited to dine with a Pharisee. The Pharisee gets edgy when Jesus does not wash his hands before the meal. You see, Luke 11 introduces us to the next cup in the series: The Cup of Greed. This cup is introduced when Jesus is invited to dine with a Pharisee. The Pharisee gets edgy when Jesus does not wash his hands before the meal. You see, hand washing was one of the... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 32:02 My Cup – The Water 1st http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/09/the-cup-the-water-1st/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/09/the-cup-the-water-1st/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:11:32 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=515 We are beginning a new series today on “The Cup.” A cup is something that was built to carry something else. A cup’s purpose is always to be emptied so to be filled again. Jesus said in the New Testament that we cannot get that which He wants to give us until we lose what we have, or, for turn of phrase, we empty our cup. That means we get rid of all the lies and tricks and influences of this world on our lives.

There are four instances in the Bible where “The Cup” is discussed:

1) The Cup of Water which represents Compassion
2) The Cup of Greed and Selfishness
3) The Cup of Sorrow and Suffering
4) The Cup of the Covenant

Each will be discussed in turn throughout the course of this series. Today, we will be looking at the Cup of Water. The Cup of Water is the manifestation of our faith. All too often, people come to church to get the experience without ever moving forward into a deeper relationship with God. The concept of the Cup of Water is where the challenge arises. Will you go beyond yourself to offer the water to others?

The Water is all that God has done in your life. You know what happens to water when it sits in a cup? It goes stale and grows mold and is undrinkable. Cups of Water are meant to be poured out. How do you pour out the water? You help others. Luke 10 paints a beautiful picture of how to give the Cup of Water. Luke 10 is the story of the Good Samaritan, and we all know the story. Poor man gets beaten up; twice he is passed by BY A PRIEST AND A PRIEST’S ASSISTENT!!! Yet, a man who is considered the enemy, stops and helps the beaten man. He sacrifices his time and resources to aid a man in need. That is giving the Cup of Water.

Now, you may be thinking, “I don’t have those kinds of resources!” You have something, right? You may not be living your best life, but you are living. And the life you are living is desperately needed by those who are dying around you. Reach out. Help out! Pour out. Give your Cup, great or small, and watch as God’s water changes lives.

Verses Used:
Matthew 10
Luke 10

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/08/09/the-cup-the-water-1st/feed/ 0 We are beginning a new series today on “The Cup.” A cup is something that was built to carry something else. A cup’s purpose is always to be emptied so to be filled again. Jesus said in the New Testament that we cannot get that which He wants to ... We are beginning a new series today on “The Cup.” A cup is something that was built to carry something else. A cup’s purpose is always to be emptied so to be filled again. Jesus said in the New Testament that we cannot get that which He wants to give us until we lose what we have, or, for turn of phrase, we empty our cup. That means we get rid of all the lies and tricks and influences of this world on our lives. There are four instances in the Bible where “The Cup” is discussed: 1) The Cup of Water which represents Compassion 2) The Cup of Greed and Selfishness 3) The Cup of Sorrow and Suffering 4) The Cup of the Covenant Each will be discussed in turn throughout the course of this series. Today, we will be looking at the Cup of Water. The Cup of Water is the manifestation of our faith. All too often, people come to church to get the experience without ever moving forward into a deeper relationship with God. The concept of the Cup of Water is where the challenge arises. Will you go beyond yourself to offer the water to others? The Water is all that God has done in your life. You know what happens to water when it sits in a cup? It goes stale and grows mold and is undrinkable. Cups of Water are meant to be poured out. How do you pour out the water? You help others. Luke 10 paints a beautiful picture of how to give the Cup of Water. Luke 10 is the story of the Good Samaritan, and we all know the story. Poor man gets beaten up; twice he is passed by BY A PRIEST AND A PRIEST’S ASSISTENT!!! Yet, a man who is considered the enemy, stops and helps the beaten man. He sacrifices his time and resources to aid a man in need. That is giving the Cup of Water. Now, you may be thinking, “I don’t have those kinds of resources!” You have something, right? You may not be living your best life, but you are living. And the life you are living is desperately needed by those who are dying around you. Reach out. Help out! Pour out. Give your Cup, great or small, and watch as God’s water changes lives. Verses Used: Matthew 10 Luke 10 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 34:58