DeanSweetman.com » Spirit Nature http://deansweetman.com Sermons, Podcasts and Teachings to Live Your Best Life Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:55:43 +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 » Spirit Nature http://audio.thec3church.com/podcasticon.jpg http://deansweetman.com/category/spirit-nature/ 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 Euphrates http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/30/the-four-rivers-the-euphrates/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/30/the-four-rivers-the-euphrates/#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:12:02 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=591 The Euphrates River–the final river in the Four Rivers series–is the river that means to “break forth into fruitfulness.” It is the simplest of the rivers to grasp: God wants us to be fruitful. That is it! So simple! God loves simple things. Humans make things too complicated; God makes it simple. He wants you to be fruitful, and the way to fruitfulness is obedience. Obey God. See? Simple.

Matthew 25 tells the tale of three servants entrusted with their master’s money while he is away on a long journey. It is an accepted fact that the man on the journey is Jesus. He is leaving for a time, and He entrusts His servants with His property. Jesus came to earth to save us and to establish the Kingdom. He got the work started through His death and resurrection. Then, He said, “The rest is up to you.” He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us in our charge to change the world. He trusted us with His resources (money,abilities, etc…) like the man in the parable entrusted his servants.

What happens next is the real gem. The man gives to his servants according to their abilities. Wait a second. That’s not very fair. Why don’t all the servants get an equal share? That’s because “fairness” is no Biblical. God wants us to have more then other people. He wants us to prosper and be fruitful. There is no ceiling or cap to that. It is ongoing. Those who cry over how unfair it is are the ones trapped in the small-mindedness of the world. Very simple. Two servants prospered because they used their resources; one did not. When the master returned, he rewarded those who increased and cursed the one who did not.

So use what God has given you! Sow it! Invest it! And watch the blessing of increase come into your world.

Verses Used:
*Matthew 25: 14-30
*Psalms 1

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/10/30/the-four-rivers-the-euphrates/feed/ 0 The Euphrates River--the final river in the Four Rivers series--is the river that means to "break forth into fruitfulness." It is the simplest of the rivers to grasp: God wants us to be fruitful. That is it! So simple! God loves simple things. The Euphrates River--the final river in the Four Rivers series--is the river that means to "break forth into fruitfulness." It is the simplest of the rivers to grasp: God wants us to be fruitful. That is it! So simple! God loves simple things. Humans make things too complicated; God makes it simple. He wants you to be fruitful, and the way to fruitfulness is obedience. Obey God. See? Simple. Matthew 25 tells the tale of three servants entrusted with their master's money while he is away on a long journey. It is an accepted fact that the man on the journey is Jesus. He is leaving for a time, and He entrusts His servants with His property. Jesus came to earth to save us and to establish the Kingdom. He got the work started through His death and resurrection. Then, He said, "The rest is up to you." He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us in our charge to change the world. He trusted us with His resources (money,abilities, etc...) like the man in the parable entrusted his servants. What happens next is the real gem. The man gives to his servants according to their abilities. Wait a second. That's not very fair. Why don't all the servants get an equal share? That's because "fairness" is no Biblical. God wants us to have more then other people. He wants us to prosper and be fruitful. There is no ceiling or cap to that. It is ongoing. Those who cry over how unfair it is are the ones trapped in the small-mindedness of the world. Very simple. Two servants prospered because they used their resources; one did not. When the master returned, he rewarded those who increased and cursed the one who did not. So use what God has given you! Sow it! Invest it! And watch the blessing of increase come into your world. Verses Used: *Matthew 25: 14-30 *Psalms 1 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 33:41 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 – River of Increase http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:49:04 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=560 In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and out of the garden, then dividing into four branches. Those four rivers were named Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

While we believe that Eden was a real place, it is also representative of the human heart. Each of us has the responsibility to tend the garden of our heart – the garden of who we are. The four rivers represent principles that God has given to help us cultivate good fruit in the garden of our lives. The first river, Pishon, represents increase and expansion, a principal that Jesus taught repeatedly. To experience increase in our own lives we must believe that God is our source of all things, learn how to get into God’s flow, and avoid the things that cause us to get out of the flow.

Today we live in a society filled with self-help gurus. As a result, we often think we can will ourselves to success if we just find the right book to read. But the river comes from God and we can’t will or self-help ourselves into the life He brings. If we try to make it in our own strength, there will come a point when our human strength will fail us. When difficulties come, when we can’t take one more step, we must look to the God of the River of Increase to be the source of whatever it is we need. Whether it’s strength, peace, joy, forgiveness, grace, patience, wisdom….whatever it is you think you’re out of, God has it and wants to give it to you. We only need to plant our lives by His river and let Him be our source.

We all know that water is an incredibly powerful thing. Rowing against a strong current will quickly tire you out and make it virtually impossible to reach your destination. But, as humans, we often seem bent on rowing against God’s flow – trying to get to our destiny under our own power. The Holy Spirit is God’s river. He flows into our hearts and wants to branch out into every area of our lives and spill over onto others. But we have to get into the flow.

You don’t need to look hard to find examples of people who have fought their way to the top but have not found happiness. Rowing against the river of God will never get you to a place of contentment. We each must decide to turn our boat and stop fighting God’s flow. The river may take us to places we don’t understand, but we will find ourselves in a place of unending increase that will spill over and grow the Kingdom of God. So come on and jump in, the water’s fine.

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/feed/ 1 In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and o... In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and out of the garden, then dividing into four branches. Those four rivers were named Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. While we believe that Eden was a real place, it is also representative of the human heart. Each of us has the responsibility to tend the garden of our heart – the garden of who we are. The four rivers represent principles that God has given to help us cultivate good fruit in the garden of our lives. The first river, Pishon, represents increase and expansion, a principal that Jesus taught repeatedly. To experience increase in our own lives we must believe that God is our source of all things, learn how to get into God’s flow, and avoid the things that cause us to get out of the flow. Today we live in a society filled with self-help gurus. As a result, we often think we can will ourselves to success if we just find the right book to read. But the river comes from God and we can’t will or self-help ourselves into the life He brings. If we try to make it in our own strength, there will come a point when our human strength will fail us. When difficulties come, when we can’t take one more step, we must look to the God of the River of Increase to be the source of whatever it is we need. Whether it’s strength, peace, joy, forgiveness, grace, patience, wisdom….whatever it is you think you’re out of, God has it and wants to give it to you. We only need to plant our lives by His river and let Him be our source. We all know that water is an incredibly powerful thing. Rowing against a strong current will quickly tire you out and make it virtually impossible to reach your destination. But, as humans, we often seem bent on rowing against God’s flow – trying to get to our destiny under our own power. The Holy Spirit is God’s river. He flows into our hearts and wants to branch out into every area of our lives and spill over onto others. But we have to get into the flow. You don’t need to look hard to find examples of people who have fought their way to the top but have not found happiness. Rowing against the river of God will never get you to a place of contentment. We each must decide to turn our boat and stop fighting God’s flow. The river may take us to places we don’t understand, but we will find ourselves in a place of unending increase that will spill over and grow the Kingdom of God. So come on and jump in, the water’s fine. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 35:48 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 My Cup – The Cup of Covenant 1st http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-1st/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-1st/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:11:42 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=548 In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. “Take this wine and share it among yourselves,” He said as He gave thanks to God. Connectedness was what God was working out in that moment, the unique quality of the Church. God is trying to fit us together so we can help one another. Connection is greater than individuality – as Americans, we tend to be proud of our independence, which is the opposite trait to what God wants in His churches. He wants us joined, fit and connected together in a local body as part of the worldwide Body of Christ. This is a very New Testament concept! Drinking together from the same cup meant that those people doing so feel like family & didn’t have any barriers. That’s how the church needs to be, willing to come together in times of joy or suffering, pain or victory and act like family. Jesus then took bread, broke it, gave thanks and shared it with His friends. Fellowship and blessing were the prime focus at the meal.

After dinner, however, the mood shifts. Jesus took another cup, symbolic of the new covenant they were about to enter into between God and man. “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you…I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom comes to earth.” Last week we learned the depth of what those words meant, now we know that 50 days later at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God came to earth in the form of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had told his followers, “There is one coming after me…who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” In the upper room of Acts 2, 120 faithful followers were filled with the Spirit of Jesus and begin to proclaim in other tongues the glory of God’s kingdom. Thus, the Kingdom is within us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are building His kingdom here on earth! It is now within our grasp, as we pray His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

In Luke 5, we read these words of Christ: “You don’t put wine in old wineskins; you get new wineskins for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.” A wineskin was the scraped-out hide of a sheep or goat. The reason new wine needed to go into new skins was that the fermentation process was so strong, the skins had to be able to expand to hold it all in. New skins were pliable, soft, like our hearts need to be. We can always stretch out some more when we are being filled anew every day with the Holy Spirit! The symbolism of the Cup of the Covenant is a fresh touch from Jesus on our lives and hearts, the fermenting of our dreams & visions swirling around and being made reality. “I have to go so my Spirit can come live in you”, He said to those who begged Him to stay. We are the vessels that the wine is being poured into. It’s so easy to get stuck in the “once upon a time” experience. Old wineskins could be made pliable again by being immersed in oil – God doesn’t want the vessel (us) to burst or break from His new; wine of dreams & visions for our lives! Make it a priority to empty ourselves of what the Lord has given us so we can be filled with the next new thing He has for us. Be ready to live new experiences; God is going to challenge our mindsets and wants to change us to become bigger in all areas of our lives. Being filled with the Spirit means getting fresh vision, dreams that bring us joy, and not allowing our hearts to harden for any reason. When we keep our vessel full of the new wine of what the Spirit is calling us onward to do, we will find our dreams fulfilled, as Christ’s were after he drank from the Cup of the Covenant and did what His Father had called Him to do for the coming of the Kingdom. Come unafraid to the altar for a fresh touch, fresh oil and new wine!

Verses Used:
*Luke 22:17-20
*Matthew 3:11
*Acts 2:1-41
*Luke 5:33-39
*John 14:16-17

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-1st/feed/ 0 In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. "Take this wine and share it among yourselves," He said as He gave thanks to God. In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. "Take this wine and share it among yourselves," He said as He gave thanks to God. Connectedness was what God was working out in that moment, the unique quality of the Church. God is trying to fit us together so we can help one another. Connection is greater than individuality - as Americans, we tend to be proud of our independence, which is the opposite trait to what God wants in His churches. He wants us joined, fit and connected together in a local body as part of the worldwide Body of Christ. This is a very New Testament concept! Drinking together from the same cup meant that those people doing so feel like family & didn't have any barriers. That's how the church needs to be, willing to come together in times of joy or suffering, pain or victory and act like family. Jesus then took bread, broke it, gave thanks and shared it with His friends. Fellowship and blessing were the prime focus at the meal. After dinner, however, the mood shifts. Jesus took another cup, symbolic of the new covenant they were about to enter into between God and man. "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you...I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom comes to earth." Last week we learned the depth of what those words meant, now we know that 50 days later at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God came to earth in the form of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had told his followers, "There is one coming after me...who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." In the upper room of Acts 2, 120 faithful followers were filled with the Spirit of Jesus and begin to proclaim in other tongues the glory of God's kingdom. Thus, the Kingdom is within us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are building His kingdom here on earth! It is now within our grasp, as we pray His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. In Luke 5, we read these words of Christ: "You don't put wine in old wineskins; you get new wineskins for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine." A wineskin was the scraped-out hide of a sheep or goat. The reason new wine needed to go into new skins was that the fermentation process was so strong, the skins had to be able to expand to hold it all in. New skins were pliable, soft, like our hearts need to be. We can always stretch out some more when we are being filled anew every day with the Holy Spirit! The symbolism of the Cup of the Covenant is a fresh touch from Jesus on our lives and hearts, the fermenting of our dreams & visions swirling around and being made reality. "I have to go so my Spirit can come live in you", He said to those who begged Him to stay. We are the vessels that the wine is being poured into. It's so easy to get stuck in the "once upon a time" experience. Old wineskins could be made pliable again by being immersed in oil - God doesn't want the vessel (us) to burst or break from His new; wine of dreams & visions for our lives! Make it a priority to empty ourselves of what the Lord has given us so we can be filled with the next new thing He has for us. Be ready to live new experiences; God is going to challenge our mindsets and wants to change us to become bigger in all areas of our lives. Being filled with the Spirit means getting fresh vision, dreams that bring us joy, and not allowing our hearts to harden for any reason. When we keep our vessel full of the new wine of what the Spirit is calling us onward to do, we will find our dreams fulfilled, as Christ's were after he drank from the Cup of the Covenant and did what His Father had called Him to do for the coming of the Kingdom. Come unafraid to the altar for a fresh touch, fresh oil and new wine! Verses Used: *Luke 22:17-20 *Matthew 3:11 *Acts 2:1-41 *Luke 5:33-39 *John 14:16-17 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 26:15 My Cup – The Cup of Covenant 2nd http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-2nd/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-2nd/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:10:52 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=546 In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. “Take this wine and share it among yourselves,” He said as He gave thanks to God. Connectedness was what God was working out in that moment, the unique quality of the Church. God is trying to fit us together so we can help one another. Connection is greater than individuality – as Americans, we tend to be proud of our independence, which is the opposite trait to what God wants in His churches. He wants us joined, fit and connected together in a local body as part of the worldwide Body of Christ. This is a very New Testament concept! Drinking together from the same cup meant that those people doing so feel like family & didn’t have any barriers. That’s how the church needs to be, willing to come together in times of joy or suffering, pain or victory and act like family. Jesus then took bread, broke it, gave thanks and shared it with His friends. Fellowship and blessing were the prime focus at the meal.

After dinner, however, the mood shifts. Jesus took another cup, symbolic of the new covenant they were about to enter into between God and man. “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you…I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom comes to earth.” Last week we learned the depth of what those words meant, now we know that 50 days later at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God came to earth in the form of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had told his followers, “There is one coming after me…who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” In the upper room of Acts 2, 120 faithful followers were filled with the Spirit of Jesus and begin to proclaim in other tongues the glory of God’s kingdom. Thus, the Kingdom is within us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are building His kingdom here on earth! It is now within our grasp, as we pray His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

In Luke 5, we read these words of Christ: “You don’t put wine in old wineskins; you get new wineskins for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.” A wineskin was the scraped-out hide of a sheep or goat. The reason new wine needed to go into new skins was that the fermentation process was so strong, the skins had to be able to expand to hold it all in. New skins were pliable, soft, like our hearts need to be. We can always stretch out some more when we are being filled anew every day with the Holy Spirit! The symbolism of the Cup of the Covenant is a fresh touch from Jesus on our lives and hearts, the fermenting of our dreams & visions swirling around and being made reality. “I have to go so my Spirit can come live in you”, He said to those who begged Him to stay. We are the vessels that the wine is being poured into. It’s so easy to get stuck in the “once upon a time” experience. Old wineskins could be made pliable again by being immersed in oil – God doesn’t want the vessel (us) to burst or break from His new; wine of dreams & visions for our lives! Make it a priority to empty ourselves of what the Lord has given us so we can be filled with the next new thing He has for us. Be ready to live new experiences; God is going to challenge our mindsets and wants to change us to become bigger in all areas of our lives. Being filled with the Spirit means getting fresh vision, dreams that bring us joy, and not allowing our hearts to harden for any reason. When we keep our vessel full of the new wine of what the Spirit is calling us onward to do, we will find our dreams fulfilled, as Christ’s were after he drank from the Cup of the Covenant and did what His Father had called Him to do for the coming of the Kingdom. Come unafraid to the altar for a fresh touch, fresh oil and new wine!

Verses Used:
*Luke 22:17-20
*Matthew 3:11
*Acts 2:1-41
*Luke 5:33-39
*John 14:16-17

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/04/the-cup-the-cup-of-covenant-2nd/feed/ 0 In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. "Take this wine and share it among yourselves," He said as He gave thanks to God. In Luke 22, Jesus & His disciples are eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus passes around the first cup of the night- the cup of fellowship. "Take this wine and share it among yourselves," He said as He gave thanks to God. Connectedness was what God was working out in that moment, the unique quality of the Church. God is trying to fit us together so we can help one another. Connection is greater than individuality - as Americans, we tend to be proud of our independence, which is the opposite trait to what God wants in His churches. He wants us joined, fit and connected together in a local body as part of the worldwide Body of Christ. This is a very New Testament concept! Drinking together from the same cup meant that those people doing so feel like family & didn't have any barriers. That's how the church needs to be, willing to come together in times of joy or suffering, pain or victory and act like family. Jesus then took bread, broke it, gave thanks and shared it with His friends. Fellowship and blessing were the prime focus at the meal. After dinner, however, the mood shifts. Jesus took another cup, symbolic of the new covenant they were about to enter into between God and man. "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you...I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom comes to earth." Last week we learned the depth of what those words meant, now we know that 50 days later at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God came to earth in the form of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had told his followers, "There is one coming after me...who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." In the upper room of Acts 2, 120 faithful followers were filled with the Spirit of Jesus and begin to proclaim in other tongues the glory of God's kingdom. Thus, the Kingdom is within us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are building His kingdom here on earth! It is now within our grasp, as we pray His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. In Luke 5, we read these words of Christ: "You don't put wine in old wineskins; you get new wineskins for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine." A wineskin was the scraped-out hide of a sheep or goat. The reason new wine needed to go into new skins was that the fermentation process was so strong, the skins had to be able to expand to hold it all in. New skins were pliable, soft, like our hearts need to be. We can always stretch out some more when we are being filled anew every day with the Holy Spirit! The symbolism of the Cup of the Covenant is a fresh touch from Jesus on our lives and hearts, the fermenting of our dreams & visions swirling around and being made reality. "I have to go so my Spirit can come live in you", He said to those who begged Him to stay. We are the vessels that the wine is being poured into. It's so easy to get stuck in the "once upon a time" experience. Old wineskins could be made pliable again by being immersed in oil - God doesn't want the vessel (us) to burst or break from His new; wine of dreams & visions for our lives! Make it a priority to empty ourselves of what the Lord has given us so we can be filled with the next new thing He has for us. Be ready to live new experiences; God is going to challenge our mindsets and wants to change us to become bigger in all areas of our lives. Being filled with the Spirit means getting fresh vision, dreams that bring us joy, and not allowing our hearts to harden for any reason. When we keep our vessel full of the new wine of what the Spirit is calling us onward to do, we will find our dreams fulfilled, as Christ's were after he drank from the Cup of the Covenant and did what His Father had called Him to do for the coming of the Kingdom. Come unafraid to the altar for a fresh touch, fresh oil and new wine! Verses Used: *Luke 22:17-20 *Matthew 3:11 *Acts 2:1-41 *Luke 5:33-39 *John 14:16-17 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 32:40 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