{"id":4962,"date":"2014-03-15T20:19:26","date_gmt":"2014-03-16T02:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/?p=4962"},"modified":"2014-03-16T15:25:42","modified_gmt":"2014-03-16T21:25:42","slug":"session-7-recap-anyabwile-contentment-through-communion-with-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/session-7-recap-anyabwile-contentment-through-communion-with-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Session 7 Recap: Anyabwile, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Contentment Through Communion With Christ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Clint M. is the Missions Pastor at\u00c2\u00a0Desert Springs Church<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0in Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0This post is a summary of Thabiti Anyabwile\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s message from Saturday evening at Clarus<\/a>, March 15, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Contentment Through Communion With Christ,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from 1 John 2:28-3:3.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n

This evening Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile gave a short devotion from 1 John 2:28-3:3.\u00c2\u00a0 He shared from the text three reflections on the contentment we find from our communion with God in Christ.<\/p>\n

1) The Basis of Our Communion With God: Our Status as Adopted Children.<\/b><\/p>\n

First, from 1 John 2:28, we learn that our communion is based on our adoption as children of God. \u00c2\u00a0It would be remarkable enough that God call us his children, but that is what we actually are. As human fathers ought to love and adore their children, God loves and adores us as His.\u00c2\u00a0 Our being in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family, though a miracle, is no fairy tale; it is not make believe.\u00c2\u00a0 It is the reality of our new identity because of rebirth by God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grace and Spirit.\u00c2\u00a0 And therefore, we do not come to God as a servant, but as his children. \u00c2\u00a0Because of our new identity as a child of God, we ought to live this identity, or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153abide in him,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d staying close to him, trusting Him, relying upon Him, and knowing Him, and all of this in and through Christ.<\/p>\n

2) The Result of Abiding in Him: Confidence<\/b><\/p>\n

Second, John says that we abide in him \u00e2\u20ac\u0153so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1John 2:28b).\u00c2\u00a0 We abide in Christ through understanding our identity and obeying him as a child of God.\u00c2\u00a0 If we do not, we cannot approach God in confidence.\u00c2\u00a0 Like a child who has disobeyed their parent, we have shame and fear when we do not abide in Christ.\u00c2\u00a0 But when we abide in Him, we have confidence because of His work and promise.\u00c2\u00a0 And where fear once was, hope and joy replace it, so that we confidently await the return of Christ.<\/p>\n

3) The Fruit of Communion With God: Right Living<\/b><\/p>\n

Finally, 1 John 2:29 tells us that if God is our father, we ought to have a spiritual family resemblance.\u00c2\u00a0 Proof of our rebirth is our increasingly rightous living in obedience to God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word.\u00c2\u00a0 Though always imperfect, our righteousness is a kind of rebirth certificate in Christ, a faternity test, an affirmation of our new identity.\u00c2\u00a0 And in 3:1, John helps us understand that this is not the love of food, or stuff, or animals that we may know, but rather a deep familial love that is to be discovered and marveled at only by the children of God.\u00c2\u00a0 This love is none other than the love given to those who deserve wrath instead.\u00c2\u00a0 A love that meant the agonizing, fellowship-breaking, wrath-absorbing, body-breaking crucifixion of Christ on our behalf.\u00c2\u00a0 And the love that couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave Him there, but instead raised Him from the dead, defeating death for us, and raising us in Him forever.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the kind of love we want and the kind of communion we want.\u00c2\u00a0 And this is the kind of love that leads to true contentment in any and all circumstances. We are called to know this love, to enjoy this love, and to be changed by it.<\/p>\n

We come to know this love by the means of grace of taking in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word both individually and corporately as a church.\u00c2\u00a0 And we are reminded of it regularly through the observing of the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Supper together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0Clint M. is the Missions Pastor at\u00c2\u00a0Desert Springs Church\u00c2\u00a0in Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0This post is a summary of Thabiti… Continue Reading ›<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[64],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4962"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4962"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4998,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4962\/revisions\/4998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}