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FaithCC Ozark
The Path to Wholeness
Locations & Times
Faith Christian Center Ozark
853 Lakeview Rd, Ozark, AL 36360, USA
Wednesday 6:30 PM
Introduction: The Path that leads to Wholeness
Several years ago, iPhone models received an update that let the phone learn your common locations, such as home and work. This update has now been implemented in Apple Maps when using CarPlay in vehicles. Last week, I noticed that every time I got into my truck, it would automatically route my path back home. Thinking very little of this, I moved on to music or podcasts, and off I went. That was until late last week. I left Mom and Dad’s house to run an errand in town, and I noticed that Maps was trying to take me home. It almost became a game for me to see how creative the navigation would get in routing me back home. That is when this thought hit me.
No matter what direction we are heading, or destination we are traveling to, the Holy Spirit is always providing a way to Wholeness.
Ephesians 3:14-19, 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Not only does God desire us to know the love of Christ and be filled with his fullness, but He also does so in a way that we may comprehend it both individually and communally.
Several years ago, iPhone models received an update that let the phone learn your common locations, such as home and work. This update has now been implemented in Apple Maps when using CarPlay in vehicles. Last week, I noticed that every time I got into my truck, it would automatically route my path back home. Thinking very little of this, I moved on to music or podcasts, and off I went. That was until late last week. I left Mom and Dad’s house to run an errand in town, and I noticed that Maps was trying to take me home. It almost became a game for me to see how creative the navigation would get in routing me back home. That is when this thought hit me.
No matter what direction we are heading, or destination we are traveling to, the Holy Spirit is always providing a way to Wholeness.
Ephesians 3:14-19, 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Not only does God desire us to know the love of Christ and be filled with his fullness, but He also does so in a way that we may comprehend it both individually and communally.
Question: How have you experienced the fullness of God individually? Communally?
Message: The Path that leads to Wholeness
If you answered that you have yet to experience the fullness of God, you do not need another Bible Study or reading plan. Instead, I would invite you to have faith. To go beyond logic and allow God to commune with you.
Revelation 3:20,[20] Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Is Jesus referring to a physical meal? No, the time of physical meals with Jesus is awaiting his calling of the church to Heaven. (Isaiah 25:6-8 ; Revelation 19:6-9) Rather, Jesus is referring to what sharing a meal represents - Quality time spent together. This is realized through the Active work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
It is the Holy Spirit who brings understanding as we read God’s word, pray, and have conversations with others. Through these methods, God’s fullness can be realized, ultimately bringing a sense of wholeness to our lives - Shlama.
Romans 15:13, 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Jürgen Moltmann puts it like this: Crucially, the Holy Spirit embraces the whole person—feelings and body alongside soul and reason—reshaping the entire person to conform to Christ. This includes liberation of the body from fear and suppression, with the Spirit present and active in both conscious intentions and unconscious reactions. The Spirit gives life to mortal bodies (Rom 8:11), indicating that wholeness encompasses physical existence rather than merely spiritual abstraction. (Jurgen Moltmann, God in Creation, 263-264.)
How many times have we boxed the Holy Spirit up and relegated him to only portions of our lives? The Holy Spirit desires to operate in every part of our lives, beyond churchy moments. When the church wakes up to this reality, the reality that as Paul wrote that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but darkness and principalities (Epehsians 6:12), or as God spoke through the voice of Zechariah by saying that it is not by any of our might or power but by His Spirit that victory will be received (Zechariah 4:6), then the church can walk in victory, no longer held by the struggles of the world.
If you answered that you have yet to experience the fullness of God, you do not need another Bible Study or reading plan. Instead, I would invite you to have faith. To go beyond logic and allow God to commune with you.
Revelation 3:20,[20] Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Is Jesus referring to a physical meal? No, the time of physical meals with Jesus is awaiting his calling of the church to Heaven. (Isaiah 25:6-8 ; Revelation 19:6-9) Rather, Jesus is referring to what sharing a meal represents - Quality time spent together. This is realized through the Active work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
It is the Holy Spirit who brings understanding as we read God’s word, pray, and have conversations with others. Through these methods, God’s fullness can be realized, ultimately bringing a sense of wholeness to our lives - Shlama.
Romans 15:13, 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Jürgen Moltmann puts it like this: Crucially, the Holy Spirit embraces the whole person—feelings and body alongside soul and reason—reshaping the entire person to conform to Christ. This includes liberation of the body from fear and suppression, with the Spirit present and active in both conscious intentions and unconscious reactions. The Spirit gives life to mortal bodies (Rom 8:11), indicating that wholeness encompasses physical existence rather than merely spiritual abstraction. (Jurgen Moltmann, God in Creation, 263-264.)
How many times have we boxed the Holy Spirit up and relegated him to only portions of our lives? The Holy Spirit desires to operate in every part of our lives, beyond churchy moments. When the church wakes up to this reality, the reality that as Paul wrote that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but darkness and principalities (Epehsians 6:12), or as God spoke through the voice of Zechariah by saying that it is not by any of our might or power but by His Spirit that victory will be received (Zechariah 4:6), then the church can walk in victory, no longer held by the struggles of the world.
Question: What are some examples of times believers try to force or make things happen rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to work?
Closing: The path that leads to Wholeness
I bring our time to a close with this. The next time you feel or sense that you need to pray or read, don’t blow past that moment, but stop and take those few minutes to do so. It might just be the Holy Spirit doing a work inside of you, either for you or for someone else, in order to experience the Fullness of God.
I bring our time to a close with this. The next time you feel or sense that you need to pray or read, don’t blow past that moment, but stop and take those few minutes to do so. It might just be the Holy Spirit doing a work inside of you, either for you or for someone else, in order to experience the Fullness of God.