Author: Pastor Tim

The 3:16 connection

Who is Jesus?

Matthew 3:16,17

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy

He is God’s son and he is one with the Father and Holy Spirit as we see in this scripture

Luke 3:16

John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

 

He will pour out a purifying fire and be the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. He makes it possible for us to have the power we need to overcome and be salt and light in the world.

John 3:16,17

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him

 

He came to take on all of our sin, he is once again, the SON of God and he came not by way of judgment but love. He shows us that god will spare nothing to show us His great love

Acts 3:16

“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes

Through faith in Jesus all manner of miracles can occur, he is our healer and all that we need.

 

1 Timothy 3:16

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory

He is the anointed of God (Christ), the son as we mentioned before who came in human form which means he is more than human. Angels worship him and obey Him. He is still alive (even though He was crucified) and is reigning from heaven

Review who is Christ according to the 3:16 connection

 

• He is God…one with the Father and Holy Spirit
• He is the purifier and the releaser of the Holy Spirit
• He is the Son of God, took on all of our sin not for judgment but for love, showing us God would spare nothing for His love for us
• He is our healer and all we need
• He is the anointed one, came in flesh, angels worship Him, He still lives

Who are we in Christ?

1 Corinthians 3:16

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you.

God at one time commanded a temple to be built to house His presence while on earth but because of Christ he no longer lives in buildings built but human hands but temples built by God, all of those who have laid down their lives, wills to Him. We are His dwelling place

2 Corinthians 3:16,17

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom

We are free…from the power of the enemy, the bondage of sin, and the control of our flesh…we are not called to bondage but if we are the temple of the indwelling God then we are free in Him

 

Galatians 3:16,17

God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise

We are the recipients of the promise through Christ, all of His promises so we don’t need to live as though we have no promise.

Review Who are we in Christ according to the 3:16 connection?

 

• the dwelling place of God’s spirit
• We are free of every bondage
• Recipients of all the promises of God

How should we act as Christians?

Ephesians 3:16,17

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong

We should be people of intense love not because of what we see, feel or otherwise experience but because we trust in Him

Colossians 3:16

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts

We should have in our hearts the message of Christ so full that we easily teach it based on the wisdom He gives us. Living lives full of music and gratitude

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all

WE should be at peace in every situation

James 3:16,17

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere

 

We should be people full of wisdom and the fruit of that wisdom is peace, gentleness, yielding to others, full of mercy and showing this wisdom through our everyday actions

1 Peter 3:16

But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to ChristWe need to be people of clear conscience, not sinning but walking from of sin so no one can accuse us of anything, which shows we truly belong to Christ

1 John 3:16

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters

We are people driven by love willing as Christ has laid down His life for us being willing to lay down our lives for one another

Philippians 3:16

But we must hold on to the progress we have already made!

We are a people who are always moving forward

Review How should we act as true followers of Christ according to the 3:16 connection?

 

• We act out of love and trust in Him
• We should have hearts full of gratitude able to teach with wisdom
• We should be at peace
• WE should be full of wisdom bearing the fruit of this through mercy, peace and gentleness and our actions reflecting this
• We should live with a clear conscience
• We are people of love laying down our lives for Christ and others
• We are always to move forward

How do we live this way?

2 Timothy 3;16

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right

The only way we can live this way is by having the living word in us. Even the Holy Spirit is limited by our submitting to the Lord and letting His Word live in us. We can not be taught, guided, know what is right apart from His word being alive in us

What should we look out for?

Revelation 3:16

But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth

Be aware of becoming lukewarm not hot and on fire nor cool and refreshing

The 3;16 connection mostly works with the exception of Mark, Romans, 1Thessalonians, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2&3 John, Jude

This is a quick and easy way to tell the Jesus story for our world and our lives.

 

 

It’s in our blood. Part 2

 

Just in review of last week

From the outside, the idea of the blood of Christ is a gory, grotesque principle. Most people become squeamish at the sight of blood. But God established a penalty and a price for sin and mankind’s sinful nature. It was the sacrificial exchange of one life for another.

Leviticus 17:11

“For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.

 

Another way to read this verse is…

God said, “I have given it to you (the creature’s life, which is in its blood) to make atonement for yourselves (covering the offense you have committed against Me).” In other words, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of sin. The last clause of Leviticus 17:11 could be read either “the blood ‘makes atonement’ at the cost of the life” (i.e., the animal’s life) or “makes atonement in the place of the life”

 

Sin has cost the human race…

 

– Real intimate relationship with God.

– It has limited our potential as human beings,

– It has brought us under the bondage and control of the author of lawlessness and sin, Satan.

– It keeps us mentally and emotionally enslaved to guilt and shame.

– It blocks us from peace with God.

 

But none of that is God’s plan for our lives. He created Adam and Eve to live perfect lives in daily relationship with Him. In the beginning He would come and hang out with them each evening just to spend time with them face to face.

The problem with the Levitcal law was it was a temporary fix. Every time there was sin another animal would need to be sacrificed. Think about that in your own life. The Levitcal sacrifice was only ceremonial, in that, it could not completely make one pure enough to stand in the presence of a Holy God.

Last week we talked about the first four points of the blood of Christ

 

• We have a relationship with the Father because of Jesus’ life
• We have been bought back from the enemy by our big brother
• We are no longer under any condemnation
• There has been a line of separation drawn between us and all of our enemies

 

This week we continue on with four more.

 

 

5. Christ’s blood provides for bold access into God’s presence.

 

Hebrews 10:19

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus”.

 

Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, spoke of a “God-shaped vacuum” in every human being that only God Himself can fill.

 

In the Lord’s presence is….

 

– “strength and gladness (joy)” – 1 Chronicles 16:27

– “rest” – Exodus 33:14

– “fullness of joy and pleasures forever more” – Psalm 16:11

– “times of refreshing” – Acts 3:19

 

6. Jesus’ blood brings justification to the guilty.

 

Romans 3:24

 

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”.

 

One of the common tactics of the enemy of man’s soul involves accusation.

 

Scripture actually refers to Satan as the accuser of God’s people (Rev. 12:10). One of his ploys begins with, “And you call yourself a Christian.” The statement hurts, and the enemy knows how to guide it into the human mind with pinpoint accuracy.

The problem with such accusations is that more often than not, they are true.

 

At this point, God’s teaching concerning forgiveness through Jesus’ blood gives a person the ability to resist the enemy’s accusations.

 

Once sin is dealt with through Christ, in a very real sense, it is as if it never happened. It is gone forever, never to be acknowledged again.

 

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” Revelation 12:11

 

7. Jesus’ blood takes care of a defiled conscience.

 

Hebrews 9:14

 

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”.

 

It is easy to pursue religious activities in order to appease God or our own conscience or to pay Him back for the wrongs we have done—or even to earn the right to enter into His holy heaven.

 

All of this is worthless in light of what the Bible says about justification. Which is are being made right in God’s eyes. Justification is only by faith, not something where we can be good enough we simply have to accept Christ sacrifice rather than thinking our goodness of work can make us right before God. We are already justified by His blood.

 

Acts 13:38,39

 

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses”.

 

8. Jesus’ blood brings peace to troubled hearts.

 

At Jesus’s birth, the heavenly host promised peace to men. In one way or another, everyone is looking for peace. The Scriptures declare that genuine and lasting peace is only available through Jesus’ blood.

 

Colossians 1:20

 

“Having made peace through the blood of His cross”.

WE have peace through the blood of Christ because…

 

-we are separated from the world and placed in real relationship with the Father

– We can live in the Father’s presence always

– Our conscience is made clear

– We have forgiveness not because of what we can do but instead what He has done for us.

 

WE have something the children of Israel never had a new covenant with God, not based on our work, goodness, or sacrifice but Christ blood

 

Hebrews 9:11-15

 

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant

 

This is what Jesus meant by His dying words on the cross: “It is finished” John 19:30. Never again would the blood of bulls and goats cleanse men from their sin.

 

Only by accepting Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross for the remission of sins, can we stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

 

Today we will celebrate communion

 

The cup of the Communion table is also a reminder of blood. Jesus said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission [forgiveness] of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

 

Share and serve Communion

 

 

 

EXTRA SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR THE APP

 

 

 

Here are the 20 Things the Blood of Christ Does

 

1.      It remits sins (Matt. 26:28).
2.      It gives life to those who consume it (John 6:53).
3.      It causes us to dwell in Christ and He in us (John 6:56).
4.      It is the means by which Jesus purchased the church (Acts 20:28).
5.      It is the means by which Jesus becomes our atonement through faith (Rom. 3:25).
6.      It justifies us and saves us from wrath (Rom. 5:9).
7.      It redeems us (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9).
8.  It draws us nearer to Christ (Ephesians 2:13)
9.      It grants us the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14).
10.    It brings peace and reconciliation to God (Col. 1:20).
11.    It has obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12).
12.    It cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).
13.    It is the means by which we enter the most holy place with boldness (Heb. 10:19).
14.    It speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24, NIV).
15.    It sanctifies us (Heb. 13:12).
16.    It makes us complete for every good work (Heb. 13:20-21, NKJV).
17.    It cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
18.    It bears witness in the earth along with the Spirit and the water (1 John 5:8, KJV).
19.    It is the means by which Jesus washes us (Rev. 1:5; 7:14).
20.    It is the means by which we overcome the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:11).

 

 

It’s in our blood!

Throughout the centuries, undoubtedly many have partaken of the Communion elements without understanding what the bread and the cup really represent. An examination of the Scriptures reveals a number of things about Jesus’ blood also…

I am hearing the phrase, “I plead the blood of Jesus” a lot more again in prayer and the way it is used I am not sure we fully understand the meaning of that phrase.

From the outside, the idea of the blood of Christ is a gory, grotesque principle. Most people become squeamish at the sight of blood. But God established a penalty and a price for sin and mankind’s sinful nature. It was the sacrificial exchange of one life for another.

Leviticus 17:11

“For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.

Another way to read this verse is…

God said, “I have given it to you (the creature’s life, which is in its blood) to make atonement for yourselves (covering the offense you have committed against Me).” In other words, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of sin. The last clause of Leviticus 17:11 could be read either “the blood ‘makes atonement’ at the cost of the life” (i.e., the animal’s life) or “makes atonement in the place of the life”

Sin has cost the human race…

– Real intimate relationship with God.

– It has limited our potential as human beings,

– It has brought us under the bondage and control of the author of lawlessness and sin, Satan.

– It keeps us mentally and emotionally enslaved to guilt and shame.

– It blocks us from peace with God.

But none of that is God’s plan for our lives. He created Adam and Eve to live perfect lives in daily relationship with Him. In the beginning He would come and hang out with them each evening just to spend time with them face to face.

The problem with the Levitcal law was it was a temporary fix. Every time there was sin another animal would need to be sacrificed. Think about that in your own life. The Levitcal sacrifice was only ceremonial, in that, it could not completely make one pure enough to stand in the presence of a Holy God.

So the blood of Jesus was necessary to do all the work that sets us free. So when we are praying and someone says, “I plead the blood of Jesus” they are simply bringing to recollection what Christ has done. Today we need to begin our journey of recognizing what Christ has done by His laying down His life for us on the cross pouring out His life in place of ours. Each of these points is worth celebrating!!!!!!!

His blood is necessary for reconciliation with God.

Ephesians 2:13

“But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ”

The Scriptures teach that Jesus’s blood is literally there to re-establish (reconcile) our relationship with God.

– we can’t stand before a Holy God or have relationship with Him in our sin…until we come to Christ we are at war with God, our flesh wants its own way and we are our own gods but when we recognize we are in need of a Savior and our sinful nature then we can because of Christ life being poured out for us, accept that and come to Him

Jesus’ blood compensates for all the wrong a person has ever done.

Ephesians 1:7

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

At first, the cross seemed a tragedy, but in the end it resulted in the ultimate good—the forgiveness of sins, redemption.

Redemption carries the idea of “buying back” humanity, as well as deliverance from enslavement to sin.

This buying back could not be accomplished with money or any other physical thing because the price was higher than anything on earth could buy. Blood was the only price, as is understood in the breaking of any blood covenant.

The “redemption” price, could only be paid by a blood relative as well; that is part of why God came in the form of a human being. We through accepting the sacrifice become family, joint heirs with Jesus.

God plays by His own rules

Jesus’ blood keeps a person free from sin.

1 John 1:7

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”

– Few things in life are as troubling as the constant reminder and condemnation resulting from sin.

– Because of Christ blood we are free of every sin, thus the enemy and our own flesh do not have the right to condemn us

– we are clean and pure not because of our strength our goodness but because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross

Jesus’ blood is for sanctification.

Hebrews 13:12

“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate”

Sanctification is a big “Christianese” word means “to be set apart,” and the application of Jesus’ blood sets a person apart as God’s very own.

– we are separate from the world

– we are separate from the devil and evil in general

– we are separate from our own flesh

We are called to be God’s own and no one else’s… making us Children of the King! Not by our work but by His love.

This is only the beginning of what Christ blood has done for us. This is what is truly meant when we “plead the blood of Jesus”

 

• We have a relationship with the Father because of Jesus’ life
• We have been bought back from the enemy by our big brother
• We are no longer under any condemnation
• There has been a line of separation drawn between us and all of our enemies

 

Please allow this to sink into you. If you are being beaten and abused by the enemy or your past sins come this morning and allow the blood of Christ to set you free.

To help you understand this let’s look at this last passage.

Ephesians 1:3-5

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 

Real strength changes the world

 

The first week we talked about loving God with all of your heart the seat of our affections, passions, and desires.

Two weeks ago week it was about the soul, to love the Lord with all your soul means to love Him in the way we live, in the choices we make and in the behavior and lifestyle we adopt reflected by those choices.

Last week the mind is the seat of reason, knowledge, imagination, it is the place of thinking and judgment it is where feelings are interpreted, it enables us to comprehend and apply perception. We are to love him with all of that as well

Placing Him first know that as we do that all of those things are fulfilled in a greater manner than we could ever imagine.

So many things demanding our attention but Hebrews says this…

Hebrews 12:1,2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God

Jesus challenged all people including each of us with this

Mark 12:28- 30

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

Loving the Lord with all of our strength what does that mean? It is loving God with all of our ability, all of our possessions, all of our skills. Loving Him with all our strength is to love with our resources, our abilities and our time.

To love the Lord with all our strength means to love him “exceedingly” “richly”, “lavishly”, with reckless abandon out of simple devotion.

In more practical terms it means we are to love Him 110%.  To go all-out. To give it your best shot. If we fall down, to pick ourselves back up and keep going forward. To love Him with all our might.

1 John 3:18,19

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God

To fully love Him with what we find our hands to do, our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our feet to go and our mouths to speak.

1. Love Him with what we find our hands to do.

 We are to serve the Lord diligently being His hands extended in our world.

We love Him by giving a cup of cold water to those in need.

Matthew 10:42

And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward

Feeding the poor. Laying hands on the sick. Lifting our hands in worship. Loving your children, loving your spouse fighting to engage them to grow in Christ.

Playing an instrument. Working with excellence. Whatever it is that you do for a living or as your daily life to produce something, do it as you are for the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going

The list can go on and on. Our hands serve a major purpose in loving God with all our strength.

Practically, it is simply believing that you are a child of God and as you dedicate your work to the Lord you honor Him and thus are loving Him with the work of your hands. Loving God with our skills, our work, our play, all that we have.

2) Love Him with our eyes and what they see.

 The eyes are the gateway to the heart/soul.

“We are to set our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”, Hebrews 12:2

Our eyes come in contact with so much during the day yet we love Him well when we see what pleases Him. We become what we behold.

It takes nothing to make quick negative judgments over all that we see but we must see the way that God sees…not simply sinners, addicts, jerks but people that God loves

It takes nothing to see things as problems but God calls us to see things through His eyes as Christians we never have any problems but through His eyes, “opportunities”. We see the way He sees there is only hope, love in the way He sees

3) Love Him with ears to hear.

 Jesus said many times, “if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Kind of a funny statement but a powerful one.

What He is saying is listen to be transformed. Listen to be changed. Listen for more than information but to gain revelation.

When we gain access to His voice we are loving Him well. He is always speaking to us we are His children.

 

John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me 

When we listen to others share their story, listen to their thoughts and hear their pain, we are using our strength to love

We need to not listen to gossip, slander, backbiting and negative discussions. These are all part of loving Him with all our strength.

4) Love Him with feet to go.

 

Where our feet take us on the journey in life says a lot about how we love the Lord.

Jesus laid it out when he said to “go and make disciples” Matthew 28:19. The great commission is all about going.

When we go and serve, go to church, go to a friend in need, go the extra mile, we are loving Him with all our strength. Be led by the Spirit and let Him lead you into amazing places and divine opportunities.

Where ever we go we are to bring with us Jesus.

 

Matthew 10 :12,13

When you enter the home, give it your peace (blessing). 13 If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your peace (blessing) stand; if it is not, take back the blessing

 

Acts 3: 3-8

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them

Wherever we go we are to bring Jesus, both the power and the fruit of the Holy Spirit changing the environment wherever we are.

5 Love Him with our mouth to speak.

 May the words we say bring glory to the Lord. When we edify, encourage, comfort, honor, support and bring life.

Proverbs 18:21

The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences

To others we create access for them to discover God’s kindness. We get to love Him by declaring praise and worship to the Lord. Also, when we boldly share our faith with others.

Ephesians 6:19

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike

We bring them into a relationship with God and when we instruct, coach and counsel others, it all counts in loving the Lord with all our strength.

 

2 Timothy 3:16

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

 

What a privilege we have to love the Lord with all our might, with a reckless abandon expressed in a sold out life.

 

I think of Psalm 84:2 where the writer lays out his hearts cry…”my heart and flesh out for the living God”.

 

My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God

 

The New Testament equivalent is found here in Mark 12:30 to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

 

How do we do it?

 

• Pray and ask the Lord to use your strength by surrendering it all to Him. “Father, I give to you all that I am and all that I do and I ask that you use me as a blessing to you and others”

 

• Remind yourself daily that all that you have and all that you are came from the Lord. You destiny will only be fulfilled as you trust the Lord with all.

 

• Determine to surrender more of your self everyday and watch how the Lord uses your strength and makes you even stronger every day

 

 

We have learned a lot in this series. You will change the world and your world if you practically apply all of this. Today there is an altar call and it is simply this. I want you to consider coming to this altar and simply saying “Father, I surrender myself completely to you heart, soul, mind, and strength again. Guide me, use me, fulfill your purpose and my destiny completely. Allow me to be a world changer and I will change my world!”