Vineyard Church of Knox County
Poured Out: Responding to God’s Extravagant Grace
Sermon Audio from Sunday, September 11, 2005 — Definition: Pour Out - "To flow rapidly in a steady stream." The Apostle Paul expressed the overwhelming blessing God bestows on His children in 1 Timothy 1:14, which reads, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."
Paul was so overwhelmed by the outpouring of God's grace to him that he created a new word! Yes, the Greek word (huperpleonazo) translated "poured out abundantly" is found only one time in the whole Bible. It is literally translated, "super abundantly," or "super overflowing," which, understandably, makes grammar teachers cringe. So, why would this highly intelligent, well-educated, gifted writer break down and call something "super abundant?" Because, to Paul, words just couldn't describe the gift of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Paul was overflowing with gratitude and it came out "super abundantly." All over the Bible, God is described as graciously pouring out blessings on people. Some people believe that God uses an eyedropper to dispense His Kingdom blessings on people, but the Bible shows differently; and people throughout history (Paul is our example) have experienced God's super-abundant poured out grace in the person of Jesus Christ. That's just who God is! God pours out His grace on us and in us resulting in us transforming into fountains of life! Jesus said, "If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within" (John 7:38, NLT). So, we become fountains of life to the world. In other words, what God pours in, we in turn pour out to the world. We must choose to live POURED OUT LIVES, that is, sacrificial lives that reflect God's generosity to us and through us. The Result of a POURED OUT LIFE is salvation, life to the world. This is what we believe God is doing in us and through us as we move into this new building. His plan is to fill us to overflowing with His presence and power so that at that location will spring up a river of life. "If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God's purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us." - Oswald Chambers The Campaign will come to a close on Sunday, October 23rd with an opportunity to give financially. But, if all we raise in the next 6 weeks is money, then we've failed miserably. Our goal is to raise up disciples, that is, people who have experienced Jesus, the poured our grace of God, and in response are committed to living poured out lives. So, for the next 40 days, we have a plan to reach our goal. It involves a few different things ...
