His Love Grows 4 29 12 I GROWING

His Love Grows 4 -29 -12

I. GROWING THE OAK Isaiah 61: 1 -3 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

I. GROWING THE OAK A. Worship Genesis 13: 18 18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.

I. GROWING THE OAK B. Pruning Isaiah 6: 13 If even a tenth—a remnant—survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.

I. GROWING THE OAK B. Pruning John 15: 1 -3 1“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

I. GROWING THE OAK C. Producing Fruit John 15: 4 -5, 8 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

I. GROWING THE OAK C. Producing Fruit Psalm 1: 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW Deuteronomy 12: 8 -10 a 8“Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, 9 because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. 10 But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

1. II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW A. Enjoy God’s Displays of Joshua 3: 14 -17 14 So the people Power left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. 15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, 16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry.

1. II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW A. Enjoy God’s Displays of Joshua 3: 14 -17 Power Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho. 17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

1. II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW A. Enjoy God’s Displays of Ezekiel 47: 8 b-9, 12 Power …The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW B. Respect the Boundaries Isaiah 33: 21 The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon.

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW B. Respect the Boundaries Deuteronomy 11: 8 -12 8“Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. 9 If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! 10 For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden.

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW B. Respect the Boundaries Deuteronomy 11: 8 -12 11 Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW C. Isaiah 43: 18 -20 18“But Get Refreshed by the River forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. 20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed.

II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW C. Psalm 46: 4 Get Refreshed by the River A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.

His Love Grows I. GROWING THE OAK A. B. C. Worship Pruning Producing Fruit 1. II. LETTING THE RIVER FLOW A. B. C. Enjoy God’s Displays of Power Respect the Boundaries Get Refreshed by the River