Living Water Community Church

Living Water Community Church

We are a spiritual hospice for redeemed sinners. We seek the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ through the balm of His word applied to our broken hearts. Join us as we drink deeply of the Living Water of Jesus Christ.

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Episode 129: Ephesians 3:1-13 The Church God’s plan through the ages for His glory!

Episode 129: Ephesians 3:1-13 The Church God’s plan through the ages for His glory!

We worked through the beginning section of chapter 3. It is a section where Paul takes a short excursion into his role as the apostle sent to the gentiles. He does this immediately after highlighting the new great mystery of how the Jews and gentiles are now one new body of Christ because of Jesus work on the cross. Paul is a minister of the gospel to the gentiles. The church is now the physical manifestation of God’s people on earth. It is through the church that the wisdom of God is being made known not just to men but to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This is all part of God’s eternal purpose realized through the person and work of Jesus. Since Paul sees all of this including his imprisonment as part of God’s plan, he calls on the people he is writing to not lose heart over it. Paul affirms how part of the reason he is in prison is because of their faith. But rather then looking at the situation and losing heart because of it, they should look at how they were counted as being so effecting as followers of Jesus, Paul had to be imprisoned because of them. Instead of losing heart they should see Paul’s imprisonment as their glory. It was a testimony to their effectiveness in promoting the gospel. But the sad truth is the people in Ephesus and the surrounding areas were losing heart and it is probably connected to the problem laid out in the letter to the Ephesians in Revelation. There John writing on behalf of Christ says they had lost their first love for Jesus. Here in Ephesians Paul is encouraging them to look to Jesus and the work He is doing and not be discouraged. Again the calling for christians today is the same as it was to those who received this letter first. We are called to be the witnesses of Jesus in a world which is lost in darkness.

Episodes

Episode 129: Ephesians 3:1-13 The Church God’s plan through the ages for His glory!

Episode 129: Ephesians 3:1-13 The Church God’s plan through the ages for His glory!

We worked through the beginning section of chapter 3. It is a section where Paul takes a short excursion into his role as the apostle sent to the gentiles. He does this immediately after highlighting the new great mystery of how the Jews and gentiles are now one new body of Christ because of Jesus work on the cross. Paul is a minister of the gospel to the gentiles. The church is now the physical manifestation of God’s people on earth. It is through the church that the wisdom of God is being made known not just to men but to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This is all part of God’s eternal purpose realized through the person and work of Jesus. Since Paul sees all of this including his imprisonment as part of God’s plan, he calls on the people he is writing to not lose heart over it. Paul affirms how part of the reason he is in prison is because of their faith. But rather then looking at the situation and losing heart because of it, they should look at how they were counted as being so effecting as followers of Jesus, Paul had to be imprisoned because of them. Instead of losing heart they should see Paul’s imprisonment as their glory. It was a testimony to their effectiveness in promoting the gospel. But the sad truth is the people in Ephesus and the surrounding areas were losing heart and it is probably connected to the problem laid out in the letter to the Ephesians in Revelation. There John writing on behalf of Christ says they had lost their first love for Jesus. Here in Ephesians Paul is encouraging them to look to Jesus and the work He is doing and not be discouraged. Again the calling for christians today is the same as it was to those who received this letter first. We are called to be the witnesses of Jesus in a world which is lost in darkness.

Episode 127: Ephesians 2:8-10 All of God for the sake of His Glory

Episode 127: Ephesians 2:8-10 All of God for the sake of His Glory

We wrapped up the majestic ten verse declaration of why we need salvation, how that salvation is brought to us through grace and how that grace alone is what saves us and protects us from having anything we could potentially boast about. The ten verses start by showing us we are completely corrupt and children of wrath. Because of God being rich in mercy and having great love for us He has made us alive together with Jesus through His substitutionary death on the cross. We have been saved by grace through faith, and this is not our own doing but a gift from God and not a result of works so that no one may boast. This is the God’s means of safeguarding us from potential pride for all of eternity because we will always know our salvation and hope for eternity is all from Him and through Him and draws us back to Him. Even the works we accomplish are from God and for His glory. This again draws us to rest in what He has accomplished for us and is accomplishing through us. He has done and is doing the work of bringing us to heavenly glory and to glorying in Him. This should cause us to be brought to worship of our Lord Jesus in great adoration and praise for all He has done and is doing.

Episode 128: Ephesians 2:11-22 Humanity redefined in Christ!

Episode 128: Ephesians 2:11-22 Humanity redefined in Christ!

We worked through the end of chapter 2 and looked at how the world has really been changed by the person and work of Jesus. After Jesus became our substitutional sacrifice He caused a radical change in the world. The people of God were no longer simply identified as the Jews. Now the people of God were identified by faith in Jesus. The idea of national identity in God’s economy is done away with. Identity is now are you a follower of God through faith in Jesus or are you following a man centered worldly system. One of the things this does is call the church to be intentionally welcoming to people of all nationalities. We should be the most racially integrated meeting place in the world. If someone is in Jesus we should see them as our family. Jesus Himself when told about His mother and brothers wanting to talk to Him He replied that those He was with were His mother and brothers and sisters. The church should be the one place everyone who is a Christian feels welcomed and embraced. As members of the church body universal our own individual focus should be our identity as members of the body of Christ. This should be our primary identity. Anything else which defines us should pale in comparison to this one primary defining relationship, which is ours in Jesus. This idea of the new humanity which was brought about by Jesus work on the cross was the focus of the end of chapter 2.

Episode 126: Ephesians 2:4-7 But God...Rescued Us To Know Him

Episode 126: Ephesians 2:4-7 But God...Rescued Us To Know Him

We worked through verses 4-7 as we dealt with the magnificent work of God done on our behalf to save us from the state of corruption we were in. We began by looking at the rich mercy and love of God for us. A love which was poured out on us even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. He made us alive together with Christ. He saved us by His grace and seated us with God in the heavenly places in Christ. The reason for this is to show us the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Jesus. Verses 1-3 show us our state and verse 4-7 show us the great reversal God has brought about on our behalf.

Episode 125: Ephesians 2:1-3 The True State and Nature of Man

Episode 125: Ephesians 2:1-3 The True State and Nature of Man

We worked through the beginning of chapter 2. These first 10 verses are really a continuous flow of thought culminating in verse 10. We are taking the verses in 3 sections. The first section dealt with the radical corruption which plagues mankind because of the fall. This corruption is rooted in the fall of Adam. In Adam we became dead in our trespasses and sins. Our spiritual death makes all men pursuers of the passions of the flesh. This complete corruption means we will not desire God but only follow the desires of the flesh.

Episode 124: Ephesians 1:15-23 The Almighty Unlimited Power of God in Christ

Episode 124: Ephesians 1:15-23 The Almighty Unlimited Power of God in Christ

We worked our way through the end of chapter 1. The 8 verses which wrap up the end of the chapter really highlight the unlimited almighty power of God which is in Christ and because the Holy Spirit indwells us it is also in us. Its existence in us is for the glory of Jesus. He blesses us and He sustains us in the midst of difficulties. It is there to help us come to know God better. This happens as we trust Him and He sustains us. It is primarily relational and it comes through faith in Jesus. As we live this life of faith our actions will be characterized by love. This happens because we are trusting in the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead. Which means as we experience weakness and attacks from those who hate Jesus we are able to trust God to be our strength and shield. Will we always do this perfectly? Of course not! But the truth is as we cultivate a life of totally trusting God in all situation we will find our hearts more inclined to leaning on Him and finding our strength in Him. Today we begin our journey through chapter 2. This is one of the great high points in the book of Ephesians because it gives us one of the greatest explanations of salvation in the Bible.

Episode 123: Ephesians 1:11-14 God’s Inheritance and Sealing

Episode 123: Ephesians 1:11-14 God’s Inheritance and Sealing

We finished working our way through the longest sentence in the Bible. It runs from Ephesians 1:3-14. It centers on the magnificent power or God as it is displayed in the work of Jesus. It is a very heart stirring God exulting section. Paul was very familiar with the church in Ephesus and had been very involved there, not only for 3 years in establishing it, but in supporting them through Timothy and his ministry. The soul stirring call to worship invoked by these verses may be because Paul knew they were struggling with getting their hearts engaged in loving God. This is certainly cited as a problem of this church in the book of Revelation. Paul calls on his readers both in Ephesus and all who pick up this letter to engage their hearts in what is essentially a call to worship and adoration of God.

Episode 122: Ephesians 1:6-10 The Lavish Riches of Redemption

Episode 122: Ephesians 1:6-10 The Lavish Riches of Redemption

We continued to explore the greatness of God’s work as Paul exults in it. We are in the middle of this massively long sentence which is lavishly filled with the vastness of the glory of God. The part we explored last time started with redemption and ended with how in the fullness of time all things will be united in Jesus. In the middle Paul talks about how God poured out his redemption on us and forgave our trespasses with all wisdom and understanding. The wisdom and understanding here speaks of God’s wisdom and understanding and ties back to the redemption which is poured out on us. This means God did this not ignoring our sin but in full understanding of what He was doing in Jesus. This really brings out the greatness of His grace because it was not blind to our sin but rather God wisely took care of the penalty for our sin and brought us forgiveness. Again emphasizing the majesty of the redemption which God has brought to bear on us. God’s will is described as being the uniting of all things in Jesus. All things in heaven and on earth.

Episode 121: Ephesians 1:1-6 God: The Starting Point

Episode 121: Ephesians 1:1-6 God: The Starting Point

We began our verse by verse study of Ephesians. We began by looking at how the church in Ephesus is addressed by the Lord in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. What we see in Revelation gives us a little window into the church in Ephesus. Honestly, the church in Ephesus sounds like a pretty solid church theologically. As a matter of fact based solely on how the church here is described most churches today would love to be described like they are. Yet the truly shocking thing about Ephesus is how in spite of their refuting of false teachers and their zeal for God’s word they are reprimanded for losing their first love. If this is the core problem in the church in Ephesus then we might have a really good clue about what God is doing through Paul here as he pens this letter to the Ephesian Christians and really all Christians throughout all time. This letter opens with a magnificent heart stirring exultation of God. If the church is struggling with a heart felt love for God then this is certainly a call to enflame the heart with passion for God.

Episode 120: Ephesians: Overview of the Book

Episode 120: Ephesians: Overview of the Book

We worked through an overview of the book of Ephesians. We laid out the people and context of the area it was written to. We explored the ideas of the book in a broad overview. And we looked at the unique aspects of the letter. How Paul wrote in a general sense and this makes the letter very relevant for Christians of all times and ages. It was probably written this way with the idea it would be circulated among the churches.

Episode 119: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Mary

Episode 119: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Mary

We are going to consider Mary and how her role as the one chosen to bear Jesus points us to His greatness. In the Biblical picture we are betrothed to Jesus. That means the commitment to marriage has been made and we are for all intents and purposes married but not yet united. This is part of the reason scripture speaks with anticipation of the great marriage supper of the Lamb. Jesus has committed Himself to His bride and has paid the price for her with His own shed blood. This is a serious commitment of God to His people. In addition this is why a relationship with God is a serious matter and not a light and casual thing. This is the type of relationship Mary had entered into with Joseph. Mary is not chosen because she was a remarkable person. Mary is a remarkable person because she is chosen. God made Mary to be the person He needed her to be. Mary was chosen because she was the right woman betrothed to the right man at the moment in time in which God planned to bring Jesus into the world. This is not to say Mary was not a God honoring woman. Her life and actions demonstrate a profound trust in God. But we must remember Mary was a sinner in need of a Savior just like you and I.

Episode 118: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Bathsheba

Episode 118: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Bathsheba

In particular the highlighted person was Bathsheba. But in this instance she is not mentioned by name. She is referred to as the wife of Uriah. She is the mother of Solomon by David. What this does for us as readers is it highlights David as a sinful man. David is and was almost always thought of as the greatest king of Israel. As we looked at last time in Jeremiah 30 the people are prophesied to one day serve the Lord their God and David their king. This points out how highly the people thought of David. Because this verse is clearly the referencing the future king who is descended from David. What Matthew is doing is drawing our attention to the fact that while David was a great king he was also a sinner and could not be the greater and better king we all needed. That king is the one Matthew is writing about. The other thing we saw as we looked into the situation with David and Bathsheba is the prophecy Nathan made of how the child Bathsheba carried would die because of David’s sin. It is easy to read past that quickly but the truth of the matter is this child’s death was due to sin and one day David’s greater and better Son Jesus would have to die because of David’s sin and all of our sin. This child Matthew is writing about was born to die. Jesus came to take away the sin which separates us from God.

Episode 117: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Ruth

Episode 117: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Ruth

The story of Ruth continues to show the idea that the women talked about in this passage were pagans and mainly gentiles. Yet God chooses these women to be the women in the line of Christ. Ruth was a Moabite woman who ends up coming to Israel because she had married an Israelite man. Boaz shows favor to Ruth because of what he's heard Ruth has done for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth proposes that Boaz should redeem the inheritance of Elimelech. Boaz figures this out and ends up being the redeemer of Ruth and takes Ruth as his wife. Ruth, a Moabite, is brought into Israel and made part of the line of Christ.

Episode 116: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Rahab

Episode 116: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Rahab

The story of Rahab continues to show the idea that the women talked about in this passage were mainly pagans and gentiles. Yet God chooses these women to be the women in the line of Christ. Which is particularly striking since Matthew was written to Jews. This is very important because grace to gentiles is poured forth in even the line of Christ. Rahab was a prostitute who probably also had a house for prostitution. Why did the spies go to Jericho? Because God had a Canaanite women in Jericho that He was going to save from the destruction that He was bringing upon Jericho. It's almost like Rahab was participating in the passover that the Israelites were just starting to share in, for the first time, in the promised land.

Episode 115: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Tamar

Episode 115: Matthew 1:1-17 -- Tamar

The story of Tamar continues to show the idea that the women talked about in this passage were pagans and mainly gentiles. Yet God chooses these women to be the women in the line of Christ. Tamar loses her first two husbands because of their wickedness before the Lord. Tamar appears to be 'tainted goods' and Judah doesn't want to give his youngest son over to Tamar even though he's come of age. The picture of Jesus and Adam are also seen in this passage in the bearing of the twins by Tamar.

Episode 114: 2 Kings 24:7-25:30: The exile of Judah

Episode 114: 2 Kings 24:7-25:30: The exile of Judah

Today we looked at how Babylon came and conquered Jerusalem. How Zedekiah was made ruler and how he rebelled against the King of Babylon. Destruction followed this rebellion as Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed Jerusalem and carried into exile a great many of the people. The remaining people left in Judah, flee to Egypt after Gedaliah the governor is murdered. The promises of God are seen to be fulfilled in bringing judgement upon Judah for there sin and rebellion against God.

Episode 113: 2 Kings 23:31-24:6

Episode 113: 2 Kings 23:31-24:6

We worked through the section of Kings which describes how Judah came to be under the authority and rulership of Pharaoh Neco the king of Egypt. The people of Judah had made Jehoahaz king when his father died even though he was not the oldest son of Josiah. We don’t know why this was and there is no good explanation given. He only reigned 3 months and the immediately returned to the evil which had marked the reign of the kings which came before his father Josiah. After 3 months Pharaoh Neco came and captured him and carried him off to Egypt where he lived out his days and died. He made his older brother Eliakim king and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He also placed a tribute on Judah of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Jehoiakim complied with this and extracted even more from the people. He used the extra to build himself a royal palace and he too did evil in the eyes of the Lord. For 3 years he became servant to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He rebelled against Babylon after 3 years at the same time Babylon was going against Egypt. During this time God sent all the surrounding nations against Judah to destroy it for the evil which they had done. After Jehoiakim’s death Jehoiachin his son came to reign in his place and we are now entering into a new era as Babylon has come to dominate the world of this time.

Episode 112: 2 Kings 23:1-30 Obedience Driven by Love for God

Episode 112: 2 Kings 23:1-30 Obedience Driven by Love for God

We worked our way through the reforms brought about under the reign of Josiah. He was a righteous king which had been prophesied about at the beginning of the separation of the Judah and Israel. He brought reforms with real passion for turning the people back to God. No other king before him or after him had been as passionate for the exultation of God before the people. He sought to wipe out all idolatry including the worship of household gods. He wiped out the shrines which had even been built by Solomon on what is now known as the mount of olives. He even went into the territory which had formerly been occupied by Israel and tore down all their idols and altars to false gods. He did all of this knowing that after his death Judah was going to be taken captive for her consistent idolatry for hundreds of years. This reveals how Josiah was not being driven by a hope of God relenting or with the hope of establishing a legacy but simply by a passionate love for God.

Episode 111: 2 Kings 22:1-20 The Broken and Contrite Heart

Episode 111: 2 Kings 22:1-20 The Broken and Contrite Heart

We worked our way through the beginning of the story of Josiah. He is a remarkably good God honoring king over Judah from a very young age. He begins to reign at 8 years old. He fulfills a prophecy given to Jeroboam at the very beginning of his reign over the newly separated 10 tribes of Israel. A prophet told Jeroboam that a king named Josiah would cast down false places of worship and call people to return to Yahweh. Josiah began with having work done on the temple to repair it. During the repair work they found the book of the law. This book was taken to the king and read. The response of the king was to tear his clothes because he knew based simply on the book how the people had done evil in the sight of God. Josiah sent a delegation of his advisors to Huldah the prophetess to inquire about the things which had been read. She pronounced the coming wrath of God against Judah because of the way she had turned her back on Him. God promised however this would not happen in Josiah’s lifetime because he had torn his clothes and wept in repentance before God. God promised Josiah he would die in peace and not see the disaster God would bring on Judah.

Episode 110: 2 Kings 21:1-26 In the Midst of Darkness God is There

Episode 110: 2 Kings 21:1-26 In the Midst of Darkness God is There

We worked our way through the story of Manasseh. In typical fashion the writer of Kings is most concerned with the broader brush strokes of the story. We don’t hear in Kings about Manasseh becoming repentant when he is taken captive or the fact of his attempt to make things right after his return from captivity. While these were important personally they didn’t make a huge difference for the people of Judah because his son which became king after him continued to carry out the evil which Manasseh had initially begun. The writer of kings though does record how God continued to send prophets to Manasseh and Judah during this really long time of spiritual apostasy. One of the questions which naturally comes up when we look at a passage which essentially covers for the most part 57 years of hardened refusal to repent is, “Why did God allow this to continue?” Certainly, God was patient with bringing Manasseh to repentance. But the bigger point and the one which most likely comforted the people in exile is how God was there and active in spite of the wickedness which multiplied during this dark period. Even though evil may appear to be growing God is still in control and He is still calling His people to repent and return to Him.