The Deep End pt3. ~ Pastor Micah Pelkey

Matthew 5:6 - Great blessings belong to those who want to do right more than anything else.  God will fully satisfy them.

• Passion 

• Priorities 

1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Hebrews 4:12 - God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword and cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep to the place where the soul and the spirit are joined. God’s word cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. It judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.

1 Thessalonians 1:5a - because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction....

Ezekiel 47

1 The man led me....

2 The man brought me....

3 He measured about a third of a mile. Then he led me....

4 The man measured about a third of a mile again. Then he led me through water that came up to my knees. Then he measured about a third of a mile again. And he led me through water up to my waist. 

5 The man measured about a third of a mile again. But it was now a river that I could not cross. The water had risen too high. It was deep enough for swimming....

• Process 

It's not the "elapsed time" I've put in, but rather, the "depth" to which I've been willing to dive. 

Religion will often have us outwardly "measure up", whereas a relationship with Jesus will have us measure downward inside. 

• Practice 

Luke 6

47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.

48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 

49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”