DeanSweetman.com » Relationship with God 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 » Relationship with God http://audio.thec3church.com/podcasticon.jpg http://deansweetman.com/category/relationship-with-god/ 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 Easter 2012 http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/08/easter-2012/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/08/easter-2012/#comments Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:39:45 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=695 Today, as we are celebrating and reflecting on the resurrection; we’re going to go back 2,000 years before the resurrection. Genesis 22 tells us about Abraham’s test of faith. At this time the world was Godless and broken. In all this, God found Abraham. God saw his heart and faith. God knew Abraham and knew he was a man of faith and put him to the ultimate test; the sacrifice of Abrahams only son Isaac. Abraham’s supreme obedience brought the provision of God at the last minute. As he held the knife in his hand that would sacrifice his son an Angel of the Lord came to him. The Angel ordered him to put down the knife. God had seen that Abraham feared God so much he had not spared even his son. Because of this supreme act of obedience and faith God gave him a promise he gave no one else. “I will do something through you which I have not done with anyone else. Abraham became the “father of many nations.” God’s plan to redeem humanity was already in the works.

I can’t help but see many parallels between Jesus’s death and resurrection and Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Just as Jesus carried his own cross at his death; Isaac obediently carried the wood that was meant for his own death. Just as Jesus obeyed His father in the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity; Isaac obeyed his father even as the sword was over him. The place where Isaac was sacrificed, Mount Moriah, became the site of the Temple of Solomon. It is believed that the crucifixion was at the summit of Mount Moriah.

Abraham’s dream for years was a son. As his “dream” and heart were tested on Mount Moriah God proved faithful and provided true to his promise. Like Abraham, God puts dreams in our hearts. Our dreams can be tested. This testing can be painful at the time but through this testing comes endurance. Through endurance comes God’s provision. God will always provide! All Abraham had was belief and a promise. His only response to God telling him to sacrifice Isaac was “we will go to worship and we will return!”. Church, this should be our response when we go through our own trials and testing! We will worship and we will believe! This is all God requires. Today, Easter Sunday, represents a moment of remembrance of when God took the keys of Hell and rose to conquer death! All he requires for us to have access to this love is to “just believe”!

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/08/easter-2012/feed/ 0 Today, as we are celebrating and reflecting on the resurrection; we’re going to go back 2,000 years before the resurrection. Genesis 22 tells us about Abraham’s test of faith. At this time the world was Godless and broken. In all this, Today, as we are celebrating and reflecting on the resurrection; we’re going to go back 2,000 years before the resurrection. Genesis 22 tells us about Abraham’s test of faith. At this time the world was Godless and broken. In all this, God found Abraham. God saw his heart and faith. God knew Abraham and knew he was a man of faith and put him to the ultimate test; the sacrifice of Abrahams only son Isaac. Abraham’s supreme obedience brought the provision of God at the last minute. As he held the knife in his hand that would sacrifice his son an Angel of the Lord came to him. The Angel ordered him to put down the knife. God had seen that Abraham feared God so much he had not spared even his son. Because of this supreme act of obedience and faith God gave him a promise he gave no one else. “I will do something through you which I have not done with anyone else. Abraham became the “father of many nations.” God’s plan to redeem humanity was already in the works. I can’t help but see many parallels between Jesus’s death and resurrection and Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Just as Jesus carried his own cross at his death; Isaac obediently carried the wood that was meant for his own death. Just as Jesus obeyed His father in the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity; Isaac obeyed his father even as the sword was over him. The place where Isaac was sacrificed, Mount Moriah, became the site of the Temple of Solomon. It is believed that the crucifixion was at the summit of Mount Moriah. Abraham’s dream for years was a son. As his “dream” and heart were tested on Mount Moriah God proved faithful and provided true to his promise. Like Abraham, God puts dreams in our hearts. Our dreams can be tested. This testing can be painful at the time but through this testing comes endurance. Through endurance comes God’s provision. God will always provide! All Abraham had was belief and a promise. His only response to God telling him to sacrifice Isaac was “we will go to worship and we will return!”. Church, this should be our response when we go through our own trials and testing! We will worship and we will believe! This is all God requires. Today, Easter Sunday, represents a moment of remembrance of when God took the keys of Hell and rose to conquer death! All he requires for us to have access to this love is to “just believe”! C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 27:24 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 Rise and Build, Next Generation http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/26/rise-and-build-next-generation/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/26/rise-and-build-next-generation/#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:59:16 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=666 What is the difference between a Son of the House and a Servant of the House? That is an excellent question. The answer is spread throughout the Bible. One of the main answers is, in a sense, another question. Are you a Son? Well, how is your fruit? I.e: what do your actions say about you?

2 Kings 4:1-7 contains a story of a woman who was a Daughter of the House. Her husband (called a “son” of Elijah in the story) had just passed away, leaving her and her two sons in deep debt. This Daughter of the House ran straight to the answer: God. She sought out Elijah, her husband’s spiritual father, for advice; she accepted his advice, and, what is more, she obeyed it. That is the first and most prominent fruit of a son or daughter; they obey the Father. And when they obey the Father, His blessing falls upon them.

The house of God thrives on the obedience of the Sons and Daughters. Without Sons and Daughters, the House grows old and stagnant and stale. Nothing new happens; there is no fresh outpouring of the Spirit, for the House is old and set in its ways. Sons and Daughters bring fresh life and energy to the House; they bring faith in their obedience. And who is it they are obeying? The Fathers of the House.

Paul writes in I Corinthians that there are plenty of teachers in the House but not enough Fathers. People flock from teacher to teacher; they listen as long as the teacher says things they like. If the teacher starts getting too deep or too personal they leave in search of a new teacher. People do not want to sit under a Father. Fathers bring correction. Fathers bring discipline. Fathers do not say what the people want to hear. But it is fathers that build the sons and daughters.

Think about that for a moment. Who is speaking into your world? Are they the type of person you want to be in five, ten, even twenty years? Then they are your father or mother. Sit. Listen. And learn from them (and take the bumps and bruises of the ego that come with it). God is speaking through these people. He, first and foremost, speaks through His Word. Then, He speaks through His Spirit. And, finally and most often, He speaks through the people He has places around us. The longer we sit and listen, the more of their spirit we catch and the more of God we hear.

So, as we gear up towards a new Rise and Build campaign, take a moment to think. What is God saying to you? Are you listening to the Fathers and Mothers in your world? Are you ready to obey what it is they are saying? If the answer is yes, then you are a Son and/or Daughter of the House.

Verses Used:
*II Kings 4:1-7
* I Corinthians 4:15-16
*II Corinthians 3:1-4

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/26/rise-and-build-next-generation/feed/ 0 What is the difference between a Son of the House and a Servant of the House? That is an excellent question. The answer is spread throughout the Bible. One of the main answers is, in a sense, another question. Are you a Son? Well, how is your fruit? I. What is the difference between a Son of the House and a Servant of the House? That is an excellent question. The answer is spread throughout the Bible. One of the main answers is, in a sense, another question. Are you a Son? Well, how is your fruit? I.e: what do your actions say about you? 2 Kings 4:1-7 contains a story of a woman who was a Daughter of the House. Her husband (called a "son" of Elijah in the story) had just passed away, leaving her and her two sons in deep debt. This Daughter of the House ran straight to the answer: God. She sought out Elijah, her husband's spiritual father, for advice; she accepted his advice, and, what is more, she obeyed it. That is the first and most prominent fruit of a son or daughter; they obey the Father. And when they obey the Father, His blessing falls upon them. The house of God thrives on the obedience of the Sons and Daughters. Without Sons and Daughters, the House grows old and stagnant and stale. Nothing new happens; there is no fresh outpouring of the Spirit, for the House is old and set in its ways. Sons and Daughters bring fresh life and energy to the House; they bring faith in their obedience. And who is it they are obeying? The Fathers of the House. Paul writes in I Corinthians that there are plenty of teachers in the House but not enough Fathers. People flock from teacher to teacher; they listen as long as the teacher says things they like. If the teacher starts getting too deep or too personal they leave in search of a new teacher. People do not want to sit under a Father. Fathers bring correction. Fathers bring discipline. Fathers do not say what the people want to hear. But it is fathers that build the sons and daughters. Think about that for a moment. Who is speaking into your world? Are they the type of person you want to be in five, ten, even twenty years? Then they are your father or mother. Sit. Listen. And learn from them (and take the bumps and bruises of the ego that come with it). God is speaking through these people. He, first and foremost, speaks through His Word. Then, He speaks through His Spirit. And, finally and most often, He speaks through the people He has places around us. The longer we sit and listen, the more of their spirit we catch and the more of God we hear. So, as we gear up towards a new Rise and Build campaign, take a moment to think. What is God saying to you? Are you listening to the Fathers and Mothers in your world? Are you ready to obey what it is they are saying? If the answer is yes, then you are a Son and/or Daughter of the House. Verses Used: *II Kings 4:1-7 * I Corinthians 4:15-16 *II Corinthians 3:1-4 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 31:09 The Tithe (part 2) http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/12/the-tithe-part-2/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/12/the-tithe-part-2/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:06:56 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=658 The tithe is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and we see the Old Covenant bringing forth the New Covenant with relation to the tithe. In Genesis 14, Abram mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household to go to war. Victorious, Abram then goes into “the King’s valley” to meet the king of Sodom. Melchizedek “king of Salem (Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High” meets Abram there and brings him bread and wine and blesses him. Out of this communion Abram is moved to give 1/10 of all his spoils to Melchizedek, in the time before Moses and the Law (5000-6000 years before Christ). I believe that Melchizedek is Jesus appearing to Abram in a theophany (a manifestation of God to man), and out of Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek his response was to give him 1/10 of his spoils.

We again see Melchizedek in Psalm 110, still hundreds of years before Christ, and he is also referenced in the New Testament as Hebrews 6:20 refers to Jesus as “our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek”. The link between Jesus and Melchizedek is made with special note to his lack of lineage (important in Biblical times) as he remains “a priest forever” in Hebrews 7. Under the Old Covenant, the priest was the mediator between the people and God. The old system was abolished through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we bring our tithe, we are we are not tithing to the power bill or the water bill – we are trusting Jesus Christ, our high priest.

Tithing and giving is as much about discipleship as it is about anything, and this is a growth moment for us. In Matthew 16, Jesus says “I will build my church” and in Matthew 28, he tells us to “go and make disciples”. Believers are born into the kingdom; disciples are made. Being a disciple includes: absorbing teaching, living that teaching, and living to see the fruits from obedience. Paul is called a “master builder” not for building structures but for building people. We are called to disciple others – this isn’t the Dean and Jill show – there are people for you to disciple! When we come into alignment with the Word of God, blessing flows.

Abram was so self-assured about the abilities of his 318 men that he saw himself as a king, enabling him to be victorious and go to “the King’s valley”. These men were “born” into his household similar to the way we are born into this house. Being born into this house doesn’t only include people who got saved here; it is any of us, as we are all adopted into the family of God by which we can cry “Abba Father”. Abram could do more with these men born into his house than he could with thousands of hirelings. When you are a hireling, you are not invested and secure – when the heat is turned up, you run and the first storm you see wipes you out. When you are on the periphery you are an easy target; wolves look to pick off the sheep from the herd by choosing the ones on the edges. This is why relationships are so important at C3. Relationships undergird the structure we have here and when you make this your house, you have connection, you have fellowship, and you have protection. The Word of God transforms your thinking. It’s not hard to get blessed when you do what the Bible says – put God back in the center of your life. Tithe and see what God will do.

Verses Used:
*Genesis 14:14-20
*Psalm 110:1-4
*Hebrews 7:1-6

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/12/the-tithe-part-2/feed/ 0 The tithe is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and we see the Old Covenant bringing forth the New Covenant with relation to the tithe. In Genesis 14, Abram mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household to go to war. The tithe is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and we see the Old Covenant bringing forth the New Covenant with relation to the tithe. In Genesis 14, Abram mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household to go to war. Victorious, Abram then goes into “the King’s valley” to meet the king of Sodom. Melchizedek “king of Salem (Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High” meets Abram there and brings him bread and wine and blesses him. Out of this communion Abram is moved to give 1/10 of all his spoils to Melchizedek, in the time before Moses and the Law (5000-6000 years before Christ). I believe that Melchizedek is Jesus appearing to Abram in a theophany (a manifestation of God to man), and out of Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek his response was to give him 1/10 of his spoils. We again see Melchizedek in Psalm 110, still hundreds of years before Christ, and he is also referenced in the New Testament as Hebrews 6:20 refers to Jesus as “our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek”. The link between Jesus and Melchizedek is made with special note to his lack of lineage (important in Biblical times) as he remains “a priest forever” in Hebrews 7. Under the Old Covenant, the priest was the mediator between the people and God. The old system was abolished through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we bring our tithe, we are we are not tithing to the power bill or the water bill - we are trusting Jesus Christ, our high priest. Tithing and giving is as much about discipleship as it is about anything, and this is a growth moment for us. In Matthew 16, Jesus says “I will build my church” and in Matthew 28, he tells us to “go and make disciples”. Believers are born into the kingdom; disciples are made. Being a disciple includes: absorbing teaching, living that teaching, and living to see the fruits from obedience. Paul is called a “master builder” not for building structures but for building people. We are called to disciple others - this isn’t the Dean and Jill show - there are people for you to disciple! When we come into alignment with the Word of God, blessing flows. Abram was so self-assured about the abilities of his 318 men that he saw himself as a king, enabling him to be victorious and go to “the King’s valley”. These men were “born” into his household similar to the way we are born into this house. Being born into this house doesn’t only include people who got saved here; it is any of us, as we are all adopted into the family of God by which we can cry “Abba Father”. Abram could do more with these men born into his house than he could with thousands of hirelings. When you are a hireling, you are not invested and secure - when the heat is turned up, you run and the first storm you see wipes you out. When you are on the periphery you are an easy target; wolves look to pick off the sheep from the herd by choosing the ones on the edges. This is why relationships are so important at C3. Relationships undergird the structure we have here and when you make this your house, you have connection, you have fellowship, and you have protection. The Word of God transforms your thinking. It’s not hard to get blessed when you do what the Bible says - put God back in the center of your life. Tithe and see what God will do. Verses Used: *Genesis 14:14-20 *Psalm 110:1-4 *Hebrews 7:1-6 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 32:38 The Tithe (part 1) http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:38:33 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=653 The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly into the storehouse, a literal building that could hold food and seed in case of famine. In modern times, we pay our tithes to the local church – not a TV ministry, not a parachurch organization, but to the (store) House of God. If we have not learned yet that tithing is not an option for us as Christians, how can the church be “chief upon the mountains” as the bible declares? Tithing brings honor to God, brings blessing into our lives, and causes God to throw open the Windows of Heaven – it is the only time we are allowed to test God! He is saying to us, “Try it! Put Me to the test, I want to blow you away with My generosity as you learn to be generous!”

We are called to respect the altar of God – back in the days when priests offered sacrifices for the people, there was an increase of bribery as folks wanted to get rid of their lame, crippled and diseased cattle or sheep, and paid the priests to offer those on the altar, as if God were blind! Malachi was a prophet to the priests who had a lot to say about honoring and respecting the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, as you can read in the verses noted above. God’s principles don’t change, He will always bless you if you put Him first. If we have all our bills in front of us and wait til they are paid up to pay our tithes, we will never manage the 10% because the bills always seem so insurmountable. But if we line them up and put the tithe at the head of the line, we will find that supernaturally, the money is there to pay the rest! The priests (pastors) are responsible to tell the people that God is righteous and deserves the firstfruits of our labor, as Malachi aptly points out. We will miss out on a huge life blessing if we allow that 10% of our paycheck, disability or unemployment check (whatever we are getting as income, as opposed to monetary gifts from others) to go unpaid to the local church, the storehouse of blessing.

Tithing is probably the scariest thing we will ever do as Christians! It is easy to get saved, but it sure it hard to trust God with our money. Only 6% of the church in America tithes, according to Barna Research Group. This proved true several years ago, when Ps. Phil asked me what I had given in an offering. We discovered we’d given the same amount, and in a group of over 100 people, each of us had contributed 1/3 of the total offering taken that day. The 6% had prevailed, sadly. We are promised a return on our tithes and offerings, thirty, sixty or even a hundred times over what was given. No bank has ever given me that much of a return! What God can get through our hands and into others, He will get to us so we can do it again. If we are on food stamps, share some with others – there are always areas where we can give to people.

We have to learn that God sees our heart, He knows how much we make, and He is asking us to repay Him for the blessing of being able to work, or being able to draw a check due to disability, unemployment, etc. We want everyone in this church to thrive, and tithing is foundational to making that happen. We must look at our hearts, decide to give the Lord the honor and respect He deserves, lay our tithes on the altar, and watch the miracles unfold! I can’t wait to share more about this and tell you great stories of many who have tithed and received new jobs, raises, bonuses – all because we took a chance and risked loving God with our whole hearts.

Verses Used:
*Numbers 18:26
*Malachi 1:6-8
*Malachi 3:8-10

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/feed/ 0 The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly ... The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly into the storehouse, a literal building that could hold food and seed in case of famine. In modern times, we pay our tithes to the local church - not a TV ministry, not a parachurch organization, but to the (store) House of God. If we have not learned yet that tithing is not an option for us as Christians, how can the church be "chief upon the mountains" as the bible declares? Tithing brings honor to God, brings blessing into our lives, and causes God to throw open the Windows of Heaven - it is the only time we are allowed to test God! He is saying to us, "Try it! Put Me to the test, I want to blow you away with My generosity as you learn to be generous!" We are called to respect the altar of God - back in the days when priests offered sacrifices for the people, there was an increase of bribery as folks wanted to get rid of their lame, crippled and diseased cattle or sheep, and paid the priests to offer those on the altar, as if God were blind! Malachi was a prophet to the priests who had a lot to say about honoring and respecting the Lord of Heaven's Armies, as you can read in the verses noted above. God's principles don't change, He will always bless you if you put Him first. If we have all our bills in front of us and wait til they are paid up to pay our tithes, we will never manage the 10% because the bills always seem so insurmountable. But if we line them up and put the tithe at the head of the line, we will find that supernaturally, the money is there to pay the rest! The priests (pastors) are responsible to tell the people that God is righteous and deserves the firstfruits of our labor, as Malachi aptly points out. We will miss out on a huge life blessing if we allow that 10% of our paycheck, disability or unemployment check (whatever we are getting as income, as opposed to monetary gifts from others) to go unpaid to the local church, the storehouse of blessing. Tithing is probably the scariest thing we will ever do as Christians! It is easy to get saved, but it sure it hard to trust God with our money. Only 6% of the church in America tithes, according to Barna Research Group. This proved true several years ago, when Ps. Phil asked me what I had given in an offering. We discovered we'd given the same amount, and in a group of over 100 people, each of us had contributed 1/3 of the total offering taken that day. The 6% had prevailed, sadly. We are promised a return on our tithes and offerings, thirty, sixty or even a hundred times over what was given. No bank has ever given me that much of a return! What God can get through our hands and into others, He will get to us so we can do it again. If we are on food stamps, share some with others - there are always areas where we can give to people. We have to learn that God sees our heart, He knows how much we make, and He is asking us to repay Him for the blessing of being able to work, or being able to draw a check due to disability, unemployment, etc. We want everyone in this church to thrive, and tithing is foundational to making that happen. We must look at our hearts, decide to give the Lord the honor and respect He deserves, lay our tithes on the altar, and watch the miracles unfold! I can't wait to share more about this and tell you great stories of many who have tithed and received new jobs, raises, bonuses - all because we took a chance and risked loving God with our whole hearts. Verses Used: *Numbers 18:26 *Malachi 1:6-8 *Malachi 3:8-10 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 22:16 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 Vine – Part 1 http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:47:47 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=595 Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard, He explains to them the vital importance of staying close to Him and in God’s Word as people that will bear great fruit for His coming Kingdom. This is not a parable or a passage for the unsaved, but for His disciples, 11 chosen ones who must now endure great testing and hardship in the days ahead. He begins by saying “I am the true vine, and My Father is the grafter of branches.” This would indicate to the Jewish disciples that Israel as a nation is no longer the vine (they had a golden vine on the Temple doors and understood their relationship to God was unlike any other) because their leaders chose to reject the Messiah whom God had sent. The vine was not spoken into existence in the Garden of Eden, God planted it, and waters it, and now Christ has taken on that role. Jesus is the Vine, so as nutrients come from the ground thru the main vine and the branches are fed only thru the vine; we are fed thru the Word of Christ and living with Him day by day. (see vs. 4)

There is only a 1/2 inch difference between cutting off a useless branch that is producing nothing, and pruning back a healthy, fruit-laden branch that just needs to bear more fruit next season. When things are removed from our life it hurts but there is greater good to come! God will prune us to teach us to grow even larger in our capacity, giftings, and fruitfulness. This makes us turn to the nurtrients of Jesus to grow, multiply, become stronger & healthier! When we make poor choices continually, sometimes we get cut off – however, unlike the churches who want to frighten us by saying “that’s it, once you are cut off you are gonna burn!”, the Father who grafts seemingly useless branches will carefully cut into Christ, the Vine, and attach us to the main, life-giving artery. This is when God gets us to where we must trust in Jesus, when we are grafted in and bound to the vine – literally, the vinedresser tapes the branches so they stay put. We don’t have to give up, God will graciously make a way to reconnect us to Him! Choose to contribute to your church, to get involved when you don’t feel like it, that is called “trying again”. God’s NOT trying to kill us!!

God wants fruitfulness and He will do whatever it takes to get fruit from the ones He owns – “You are Mine, I bought you with a price and I require something of you!” There is a calling on our lives to produce something good for God! He will always pick us up and graft us back in – choose to stay in Jesus and in the Word “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (vs 5) It may seem unjust to the fruitful but God is always going to prune us to cause an area of our life to grow. It’s the only way to get to the next level! The branch (us) grows again and bears even more fruit – and it’s not hard because He has prepared us for the next season. When the harvest comes and the grapes are put into the winepress – which is the Church – that new wine is the Holy Spirit, pouring out the wine of revival into all the people. The move of the Spirit in the last days will come from the fruit of the saints who are willing to be cut back in order to grow the church. This new wine means miracles, power, outpouring, and a flowing of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ.! “I have poured out My Spirit upon you”, Jesus said. We have to allow ourselves to be pruned and grafted or else the church will die. Look to Europe as an example, all the beautiful cathedrals and churches built hundreds of years ago are boarded up or have only elderly people attending – no fruit. In England, some Arab nations are buying up old churches and turning them into mosques, which then can only be used for that purpose according to Islamic laws and can never revert back to what they were intended to be – places where GOD shows up! This has happened because the church there decided to lay on the ground, wither and die. In Cambodia, they killed all pastors and Christians in the Khmer Rouge regime of the 70’s and now that nation is in desperate poverty. Even here in America, where we believe nothing bad can happen to us, we need to see that we are content to be a rich nation and have to open our eyes to the truth – we have to stay in Christ to survive!

Don’t run when you feel God’s hand pruning, we must ABIDE in Christ no matter what, that is the key. If we allow bitterness to fester in our minds during the times when we don’t understand what the Gardener is doing, it will wither us and we will die – but it will have been our choice. Instead, rejoice when you feel God is pruning you, cutting off something that you probably don’t need anyway, wanting to take you to the next level of joy and revelation He has for you! He is always getting the wine out of His fruitful ones, then asking us to grow more good grapes. Everything from Jesus feeds us and fuels us to start again. When things are really going terribly, you are probably getting cut – so get off the ground. Your attitude determines whether God regrafts you or not. Do not give in to the temptation to lay there, moan and groan about how sorry your life is and how mean God is – He always wants to give you a second, third, tenth, hundredth chance! He is patient with us and will always take us back again as we choose to put aside our pride and allow Him to heal us, to bind us to Christ and intertwine again with the other branches. Let the healthy ones around you help you grow.

Disciples, it’s time to GROW! Be fruitful, God wants your fruit to press out new wine for the church to stay alive and strong. Our focus now is on the 2020 mission to go into ALL the world and make disciples. A strong church keeps the Spirit moving and life flowing.

Verses Used:
*John 15: 1-6

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/feed/ 0 Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard, Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard,... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 32:30 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 Garden http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/11/the-four-rivers-the-first-river/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/11/the-four-rivers-the-first-river/#comments Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:35:50 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=555 Every single piece of wisdom and truth in the Bible starts with a seed. Think about that for a second. A seed–everything important about the Kingdom begins with the seed. Jesus said in Matthew 13 that if you don’t understand this parable, you will not understand the rest. The principle of the seed is the gateway to all the others!

Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing the four rivers that flowed from the heart of the Garden of Eden. But before we can, we must understand the importance of the Garden. We need to go back to the beginning. Genesis tells the story– “In the Beginning…” In the beginning, God planted a garden. He didn’t make the garden magically appear; He planted! He put seed in the soil! Soil is a second part of this already mind altering concept! God created soil to be worked. Let that sink in. God purposefully designed soil to be worked so that it could produce. Growth requires work. Soil must be prepared; seed must be planted; work must be put into it; and then there is growth! God set everything up from the beginning. He planted the seeds to grow the Garden in rich, worked soil, producing Paradise. Eden is the image of what the earth was supposed to be and can be again.

Referencing back to Matthew 13, the human heart is the soil where all seeds are planted. The human heart is designed to have things planted within. It craves seed. It does not care which seed is planted as long as something is planted and something grows. The heart is the battlefield; you are responsible for the outcome. You are responsible for the condition of the soil; you are responsible for what goes in; you are responsible for what grows. You and you alone are responsible for the garden of your heart.

And whatever you let into your heart flows out of your life. Jeremiah 17 talks about what happens when a person allows the knowledge of the world to be planted in their hearts. They become a shrub. That is what it says: shrub. The very word is unpleasant. Have you ever met a person who is a shrub? I have. You can see it all over their lives. They are dry and barren and salty. They are a shrub barely scraping by in the desert of their life. However, in contrast, Jeremiah calls those who place their hope and trust in God and who willingly submit to His covering tree planted by the river.

So choose now:]Will you allow your heart to get dry and shrub-like? Or will you work to till the soil of your heart, allowing God to work along side you in breaking up the hard ground of attitude and bitterness and pain to create a soft field that yields to the seed and produces good fruit? What will it be?

Verses Used:
Genesis 2:4-14
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Matthew 13: 11-17

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/11/the-four-rivers-the-first-river/feed/ 0 Every single piece of wisdom and truth in the Bible starts with a seed. Think about that for a second. A seed--everything important about the Kingdom begins with the seed. Jesus said in Matthew 13 that if you don't understand this parable, Every single piece of wisdom and truth in the Bible starts with a seed. Think about that for a second. A seed--everything important about the Kingdom begins with the seed. Jesus said in Matthew 13 that if you don't understand this parable, you will not understand the rest. The principle of the seed is the gateway to all the others! Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing the four rivers that flowed from the heart of the Garden of Eden. But before we can, we must understand the importance of the Garden. We need to go back to the beginning. Genesis tells the story-- "In the Beginning..." In the beginning, God planted a garden. He didn't make the garden magically appear; He planted! He put seed in the soil! Soil is a second part of this already mind altering concept! God created soil to be worked. Let that sink in. God purposefully designed soil to be worked so that it could produce. Growth requires work. Soil must be prepared; seed must be planted; work must be put into it; and then there is growth! God set everything up from the beginning. He planted the seeds to grow the Garden in rich, worked soil, producing Paradise. Eden is the image of what the earth was supposed to be and can be again. Referencing back to Matthew 13, the human heart is the soil where all seeds are planted. The human heart is designed to have things planted within. It craves seed. It does not care which seed is planted as long as something is planted and something grows. The heart is the battlefield; you are responsible for the outcome. You are responsible for the condition of the soil; you are responsible for what goes in; you are responsible for what grows. You and you alone are responsible for the garden of your heart. And whatever you let into your heart flows out of your life. Jeremiah 17 talks about what happens when a person allows the knowledge of the world to be planted in their hearts. They become a shrub. That is what it says: shrub. The very word is unpleasant. Have you ever met a person who is a shrub? I have. You can see it all over their lives. They are dry and barren and salty. They are a shrub barely scraping by in the desert of their life. However, in contrast, Jeremiah calls those who place their hope and trust in God and who willingly submit to His covering tree planted by the river. So choose now:]Will you allow your heart to get dry and shrub-like? Or will you work to till the soil of your heart, allowing God to work along side you in breaking up the hard ground of attitude and bitterness and pain to create a soft field that yields to the seed and produces good fruit? What will it be? Verses Used: Genesis 2:4-14 Jeremiah 17:5-10 Matthew 13: 11-17 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 37:04