From the sermon this Sunday at Vineyard Church in KC, which I will now be attending because they have a Sat. evening service and I'll be working Sundays. Ah work.....lol
The law is perfect. It was given to show us that we are imperfect, that we fall way short. It was a light guiding us to a Savior, to Jesus.
There was an issue in the early church when the Gentiles were getting saved. They thought they had to become full fledged Jews, like by getting circumcised etc. This is what the whole book of Galatians is about. Paul is telling them no, they are saved by faith, not by works. So stop thinking that you need to do works to be saved! If you are saved, God already loves you, no matter what. You are his child. You already belong to Him. We follow Him not to become saved but simply because we are called to live out what is already true of us. We are called to reflect as best we can our Heavenly Father who is perfect. :) He says to us, "Be holy as I am holy." As in, be different. Stand out. Be something the world has never seen before. :)
Many Christians today still get hung up on the law. We are to follow the Spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. Jesus simplified it in saying Love God and Love others. As long as you are doing that, you should be ok. :)
Under the new covenant the Spirit convicts us and guides us into the truth and right living. He is always a still small voice in the back of our heads steering us to where we need to go. I know he steers me all the time. He is always talking to me, telling me things, what to do etc, how to love others better.
The Jews in the O.T. did not have this kind of sixth sense lol. :) So they needed the law. But we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, guiding us, empowering us, and helping to perfect us.
The law is not now void, but it is not how we are saved. We are saved because we are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ the moment we have faith that His death is sufficient for us, to cover all our sins.
The law was meant to be a teacher, a guide, a guardian. God gave his people, the Jews, the law to enable them to live the best lives possible. They were rules He gave to his children because He loved them, just like we would tell our kids to not touch a hot stove. God wanted what was best for His people, so the law provided a picture of how to have the best, most healthy and happy life on this earth possible. The law was a good thing. It was Him showing how much He loved his people and how much He wanted them to be happy. He knew they would be most happy by following His law as best as they could. He told them to take care of their bodies by having a Sabbath. Respect others. All of the commandments really could be summed up in respect others, yourself and God.
But in the new covenant we are now set free from duty bound religion. This is what Jesus was illustrating when he said you cannot sew a new patch on an old piece of cloth. If you try to think both old and new covenant at the same time you will be royally confused. Jesus made all things new. He set up a completely different system when He came. And His death ushered in a totally new era. The curtian of the temple was torn in two, showing that man could now have a direct relationship with God, for the first time! Jesus brought on a religious revolution that rocked the world!
That is why the Pharisees hated Him. That was why they wanted Him dead. :( They loved the old way. They loved getting to control people with the law. They loved the pride they gained from living up to any aspect of the law. But Jesus revealed that their hearts were completely black. He shone light on their pride and arrogance and sin.
Jesus freed us to walk in love with God. In the old covenant man lived in fear of God. Now we are called SONS of God! How awesome is that! :) "For you did receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but your received a spirit of adoption and by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' " Abba means Daddy. The dynamic of the relationship of man with God was completely flipped 180 when Jesus came! Now when God looks at us, He sees Christ. He does not see us AT ALL. We are covered in the blood of Jesus. Love has taken over in the new covenant. Before people lived in fear of God, now we can "approach the throne of God with boldness and confidence." Why? Because we are covered by Jesus' blood. :)
Many Christians still approach religion as a duty to be completed. Their hearts are cold. Jesus said, "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." Many do their "quiet time" but their hearts are still very far from God all the while. They never really connect. They pray, but it doesn't have much meaning. They are just doing the duty. God wants us to pour out our hearts to Him! He wants us to cry on his shoulder and tell him all our fears and doubts and worries. He wants to be our Daddy. :) He wants to be our best friend. Is God your best friend or your Daddy? I hope so. :)
The pastor also talked about how we manage our time. Are we taking time to rest? God rested on the 7th day as an example to us that we NEED to rest. It is pride to say that we never need rest. It is pride to work 7 days a week and think that we are providing for ourselves. God says, "Trust me. I will provide for you. Take a day off to spend just with me and I will reward you!" Ever since my church Rock Harbor did a series on how important the Sabbath is, I have always taken at least one day to just have fun and do nothing strenuous etc. To just have a day with just me and God. :) To be still and listen to His still small voice. :) I think this has greatly benefitted my life. It has enabled me to have so much more peace and joy than most people I know. It has helped me be more sensitive to his voice the other 6 days of the week. It has helped me to KNOW my heavenly Father, completely and fully. You can't really know someone if you don't spend time with them, REAL time. How much REAL TIME do you spend with God? Think about it.
We need to learn to slow down as a culture. We are always running on hyper drive wanting to accomplish more and more. Ever since the Industrial Age humans have been thinking that we can do so much and we burn ourselves out. Archiband Heart has written many great books on the topic of anxiety. He says that we are a highly adrenalized culture. This is the reason for the epidemic in America of probably 80% of our population having anxiety or depression or both. We go and go and go and burn out! Our body's chemicals kick in telling us, "You NEED to slow down! If you don't, I will MAKE you." Thus, depression. Then we don't get as much done as we used to so we develop anxiety over what we are not getting done. :) So most turn to caffeine or prescription pills to rev themselves up to accomplish more but eventually the car of your body is going to break down.:( It's only a matter of time. Like in Gladiator when he runs his horse until it finally collapses, we do that with our own bodies and minds all the time! This is why God says, "BE STILL and know that I am God." Because we cannot really see and know God until we slow down, until we are still before him, until we are silent to listen to His voice. And we cannot have true peace until we slow down either. Many wonder why they never hear God's voice and have no idea what God's direction for their life is while God is pleading with them, "Slow down and I will tell you." :) So slow down. :)
The stress disease is killing our culture! More young people today than ever before struggle with anxiety, depression and obesity. In a school district here in Kansas City there were 84 suicide attempts over the course of a year. This should make us think twice and wake up to the problem in our culture. I think the main issue in our American society is TV and all the junk that Satan feeds people's minds with via the television, but that is just my opinion lol :) My entire life I have hardly ever watched TV and I am so glad I have not let it pollute my mind more.
We need to learn how to cope in our over stressed world. We need to learn to slow down, relax and replenish ourselves, without watching TV lol. Try reading. :) Reading is always very relaxing to me. :)
When I was in college I had a bit of an anxiety issue. I would get head aches and throw up from the stress of it all. The stress of wanting to please my professors and fit in etc. We live in a very hectic world with lots of pressure on us don't we. :( We need to relax more. Go sit in a jocose for Jesus today! lol Or take a nap. When was the last time you took a nap? I'm serious. Kids aren't the only ones that need naps, adults very much do too! Learn to relax. Learn to let God be God and stop trying to take the reins of your life! Let go and let God. :)
In closing he asked the question, "What energizes you and brings you joy? What are you most passionate about? What do you LOVE to do?" This is my passion, writing. I absolutely love to write. I always have, since I was 12. I've written tons in journals. My passion is also helping people so I hope my blog helps whoever you are that is reading it lol. I hope God is blessing you through me. I am just a vessel and I pray He uses me as much as He can. :)
It is so exciting when we finally come alive and see our gifts and see how they can plug into God's kingdom work that He wants us to do! It's so exciting to see where you fit into the body of Christ! What part of the body are you? I have always known I am the mouth lol. Because I love to share my story, testimony, in front of large groups. I have done so about 10 times or so. It gives me the biggest thrill! lol. And I love writing this blog. My best friend is like the eyes in that she sees the spiritual warfare all the time that goes on all around us that most are oblivious to. My mom is like the ears in that she is an amazing listener. She is also kind of the mind in that she has tons of wisdom. I have always greatly admired how wise my mom is. :) It helps that she has been exposed to Scripture and great Christian fellowship her whole life. And that she is naturally very intelligent. And that she has read almost every Christan inspirational or psychology book out there! lol I have always looked up to her SO much. I hope I can be a mom like she was someday. :)
But we are all a part in the body. What part are you? Find out. Pray about it, think about it, write about it. My grandma always told me, for the last 14 years, "You are special and God has something for you to do THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DO." So what does God have for you to do that no one else can do? Ask Him. :) I'm sure He'd love to tell you.
On web bot Calvary Christian radio the other day, which I highly recommend that you listen to when you're in your car :), the speaker said the number one question of atheists is, "What is my purpose in life?" This is why the book The Purpose Driven Life sold the most copies of any book ever written! Everyone is hungry to know why they exist, why they are here, what are they supposed to do with their lives? As Christian we KNOW our purpose is to do the will of God. We know we are to bring glory and honor to Him and to save as many that are lost as we can. May we all accomplish this and figure out the tools God has given us to carry out this vision, this calling! May we find meaning for our lives!
We are all called to be ministers, missionaries, pastors, counselors, friends, etc. Are you ministering to someone? Go find someone to minister to! lol :) And thank God for giving purpose and meaning to your life. Amen? Amen.
May God bless you! Grace and peace be with you all! :)
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