Speak some life into someone!

Check out this video from Toby Mac...much to think about here!






So let's take a look at ourselves this morning. Are we speaking life into people or are we sucking the life right out of them? Our words are so important to others! Let's look at what the Word of God says:



John 6:63



It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.



Acts 5:20



“Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”



What are the words of life they are talking about here? Jesus! He is life.



When we speak of Jesus it covers every area of righteous living. Think about it, Jesus is our example to live by. He gave us salvation which is eternal life. He then taught us through example how to speak life and show true life to others. Humility, love, compassion, patience, grace, mercy, and forgiveness just to name a few. We can speak and show these things to others like Jesus did or we choose the worlds ways which are just the opposite: pride, arrogance, hate, unmerciful, no grace, no forgiveness which sucks the life right out of people.



Jesus is the Resurrection and the Hope of Life! Get the word out!!! Without Him their is no true life! That's why the world is in the shape it is....No true life!



You and I can change that one person at a time. Living the Jesus life is unbeatable! I tried life without Him, I ain't going back!



He truly is what He says so speak it to others!



John 14:6



6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #34

Well let's wrap up this study of following Jesus today. What does a church that is following Jesus look like? Well let's state what it is not first:



Not a building, or a program, or a bunch of activities. It is a group of devoted individuals who have surrendered their lives completely to Jesus and thus are serving Him with their lives by loving people, meeting their needs, and sharing the gospel. This is the church. All the church is involved, not just a select few. Is this your church? Is this you?



The world is full of lost sinners on their way to hell...you know who stands in the gap with the only option to save them? Me and YOU! It would be like a doctor with the cure for cancer but never sharing it with anyone....craziness! What are we doing? So where do we begin?



"GO"!!!



The bible doesn't talk about us building a place for people to come to us, it says we are to go to them? All of us are to be doing this.



Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go there and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.



The gospel is spread by followers of Christ not just a few preachers but all the church shared the gospel even though they were told time and time again not too! On a daily basis folks came to Jesus. They were abandon for the cause of Christ, it was not a choice, it was a command to obey and spread the gospel. The same applies to us!



The way we share the gospel is in everyday living. At work, at the ball field, at the coffee shop, any where we are we talk about Jesus! Think about it...we talk about everything else under the sun like the weather, your favorite ball team, the news, ect., why are we not talking about the most important man of all time...Jesus??? It don't make sense! Learn to sew into your everyday conversations!



Is there anything in our life that could be more thrilling then leading a lost soul to Jesus??? Redeeming a lost soul from hell? I mean seriously? No way! What an awesome thing to be a part of! And God lets us!



Also remember as a follower we are to be imitators of Jesus at all times. So others will want to imitate us as we imitate Christ! BE a GOOD EXAMPLE! Do not be hypocrites!





1 Thessalonians 1:5-6



5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,



1 Corinthians 11:1



Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.



So what are you going to do church as a follower of Jesus? You have the information, you have the time, and God has given you the ability to follow Jesus or to follow the world. Really there is no in between? It is your choice.



Follow Jesus, He is the answer to everything and you will never regret it!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #33

Sorry for the devotions not being presented for the last week! I had an unexpected trip to Oklahoma come up, a friend's wife had brain surgery the day after I got back, and to top it off my wife and I got a stomach virus! Fun fun! Let's get back to the Word today.



Last time we met we talked about being committed to a church and staying faithful to that body and serving as taught by the bible. What I want us to see as followers of Jesus as we serve and learn in the church we also must submit to leadership in the church as long as they are staying biblical. Look at this passage of scripture:


Hebrews 13:17

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.



When you are in a particular church, the pastor is your care giver. The pastor has a great responsibility in training, teaching, leading, and if needed disciplining the church (you and me)! As the body we can make it easier or tougher on out pastor as the verse above indicates, be a good body part for the joy of your pastor!



Let me just add a side note here: Being a pastor for many years now I have seen the stresses on pastors as they have so much on their plate that should not be there. The body expects the pastor to do all the work of the church, this is not his job. His job is to train you to get your ready to do the work along side of him. Are you doing that? Look at this verse:




Ephesians 4:11-12

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,



Now as the Pastor is the leader let me be clear that this is not a dictatorship, it is a leadership of love as the pastor leads us closer to Christ in relationship and service. A Pastor must serve as the bible teaches:




Mark 10:44

44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.



All the great pastors I have served under have been a picture of this verse....they give way more than is required! Thank God for all my godly, servant leader pastors! Give praise to God for yours!



Also remember this verse:




Hebrews 13:7

7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.



The pastors I have had have been role models, I want to follow their faith! God has placed them where they are for a reason and I have had no problem submitting to their authority as this what the bible teaches, so we are to follow the Words of God.



One last side note, in a case of a Pastor who is not staying biblical. The bible is clear one in the midst who is deceiving the congregation is to be corrected and if no change removed. Refer to false teachers passages in the bible. Now be very careful you know what your bible says and that you are being correct in your pointing out the wrongs of the Pastor. This is a very touchy place as some will always stay with a Pastor even if he is wrong! Also remember the steps God gives in trying to correct a brother....one on one talk if this does not work, you take two or three witnesses with you for another talk, and if this does not work you bring him before the whole church. I pray you never find yourself in this situation but it does happen.



So...submit to your church leadership and serve beside them! It is your responsibility!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #32

As we seen in a earlier lesson, followers of Jesus are to be committed to a fellowship of believers. For those that are committed another problem has risen amongst them. A dating mentality of the church. What I mean by this is no meaningful commitment to a church. They go hopping from one church to another based on how they feel from one Sunday to the next or if a few bumps in the road hit. This is not the picture of the church in the new testament! This is the consumer mentality we have grabbed onto all the time looking at self! looking for the best church, to meet my needs! So we end up find something wrong with every church and are constantly moving....remember church is about worship of God, growing in Christ, and loving and serving others! It is not about you!



Look at this statistic: One of the largest denominations in the USA has 16 million members but the average attendance on Sunday is 6 million. Membership doesn't mean much and commitment is lacking big time! The church in the bible is pictured as a body in 1 Corinthians:



* Read carefully to see a picture of true church and commitment:

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.



Don't miss the word "ONE" in the scripture above. We are to be a part of the church, nothing about jumping around trying to find what is best for me! You are needed where you are at, you are important for serving the church! You have important service to give to the local church. Get in there and be committed to the service of the King!



Also notice how important each member is!!!! When you are missing the whole church suffers! Be a committed member of the church. The church is the body of Christ and when you as a follower of Christ are not here when the church is gathered the body of Jesus has suffered a major hemorrhaging and we all suffer!



Do you see according to God how important you are!



The picture of a committed member of the church is very clear in the bible. Are you a committed follower and member of the church Jesus gave himself for?



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #31

As we the church (followers of Jesus not a building) are following Jesus and sharing life together there is one biblical aspect of out faith that we are neglecting in a big way. This aspect may even shock you as we look at it today because we have some how found ourselves in a place where we say we are not to judge. In spiritual matters this is not the case! So what is this aspect? Church discipline.



Now let me say this before we get in to this subject, church discipline is designed by God to be done out of love and concern for the wayward saint. The purpose is to bring the wayward saint to repentance and then to be restored back into the church. The wayward saint has the choice to obey or be banned from the church. Sounds harsh huh? The goal is to keep the saints of God on the purest walk with God as possible and when the saint is in gross sin we the church are to lovingly bring them back. Let's go to the scriptures to see what it says:



Matthew 18:15-17

15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.



1 Corinthians 5



Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.



Immorality Must Be Judged

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”



Titus 3:10



10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,



2 Thessalonians 3:6-15



6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.



1 Timothy 5:20



20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

Romans 16:17-18



17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.





Galatians 6:1



6 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.



As you can see from scripture, church discipline is biblical and needed. Why have we forsaken it today? Could it possibly be this is why the church is so ineffective today because it allows gross outright public sin to be done by its members without shame and punishment? I think the answer is obvious!



Again the discipline is to be done in love and for restoration of the wayward saint but if practiced be prepared when sin is pointed out the first reaction generally will be to lash out at the ones coming in the name of the Lord!



Church the Lord gave us His Word for instruction, we have abandon this instruction on church discipline and as a result we are reaping the results of weak churches that have lost its purity and effectiveness as the world looks at us and sees no difference than them!



Stand church....Stand in the Word of God!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #30

Acts 9:31

Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.



If I asked you where is your church, what would you say? Most would give me a physical location but that is not what the biblical definition of the church is. The biblical picture we see is this:



Church: a body of brothers and sisters in Christ who have died to themselves and are living for Jesus. We are joined together by these things: Jesus death, The Holy Spirit, the gospel, and the Word.



The church is where people share in the life of Jesus with each other daily!



We had diluted the church down to a place of a building, programs, and meetings. While these things can be good, it is not the definition of the church! Did you know in the new testament the church is not mention once as a physical building? That is something to think about!



So what is the church (God's people) pictured as in the bible? Here are some traits as described in the bible:



* care for one another

* love one another

* host one another

* receive one another

* honor one another

* serve one another

* instruct one another

* forgive one another

* motivate one another

* build up one another

* encourage one another

* comfort one another

* pray for one another

* confess sin to one another

* esteem one another

* edify one another

* teach one another

* show kindness to one another

* give to one another

* rejoice with one another

* weep with one another

* hurt with one another

* restore one another



These are what God's people do...look at the list! Don't do a percentage look where you can say I do 75% of these...strive for 100%!!!! The church is where followers of Jesus lay down their lives for one another....no place for selfishness!



The church is where we long for Jesus, we long for fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we grow together, and we work together to bring others to Jesus and into our family!



This is the church not a building but followers of Jesus....I hope you now have a true definition and that your church are doing the things of Jesus!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #29

As a follower of Jesus, have you ever wondered how the Holy Spirit fits into what we looked at yesterday, the will of God? It is pretty simple really as Jesus tells us here:


Acts 1:8

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”



So Jesus has already told us His will for us...make disciples and now He tells us He sends the Holy Spirit to give us the power to do His will! What more do we need? Nothing but to go do it!



When we have the Holy Spirit one of our main purposes it to proclaim the Word of God to accomplish God's will. The bible is full of examples of this:




2 Samuel 23:2

2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,And His word was on my tongue.




2 Chronicles 24:20

20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’”


Nehemiah 9:30

30 Yet for many years You had patience with them,And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.Yet they would not listen;Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
Ezekiel 11:5

5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.




Luke 1:41-42

41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!


Luke 1:67

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:


Acts 2:4

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.


Acts 4:8

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
Acts 4:31

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.


Acts 13:9-10

9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?



Look at the these verses and notice...when you have the Holy Spirit you speak! Guess what? If you are a follower of Jesus you have the Holy Spirit! So guess what you are suppose to be doing? SPEAK! This is God's will for all followers who are filled with the Spirit...speak about Jesus and what He has done for you and the world!



Don;t say well when the Spirit leads me I will.....you have the Spirit dwelling inside you! You are led to share gospel! Case closed!



Good stuff here today...let it sink deep in your heart and mind!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #28

Have you ever heard this question? What is God's will for my life? I would say most of us who are followers of Jesus have asked that very question of ourselves. My friends the bible has already told us God's will for every follower of Jesus! All we have to do is look at His Word! He does not leave us in the dark searching. no He has given us a clear, bright light of what His will is for us! Let's check out what God's will is for every follower!



The first thing we need to remember as a follower when determining the will of God is this verse from Paul in the bible:



Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.



Jesus lives in us! We have died to self. So to do the will of God we must remember we don't belong to our own selfish wills, we belong to Jesus to do His will! Don't forget that important point!



God's number one desire for us, His will, is for us to be that we know Him deeply and continue to go deeper in our relationship with Him. This is why He created us! This is how we do this:



*Bible study and meditation

*constant prayer

*church-to hear God's word preached, serve God and others, fellowship with other believers...all taught in the bible



Oswald Chambers said this about our walk with God:



"To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith."



Are you here in your walk of faith in Jesus?



The second desire for God's will for us and of utmost importance is to redeem men and women from every nation, tribe, language, and people for His glory and His honor. Look at theses verses:



Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.



2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.





Revelation 7:9-10

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”



Do you see the will of God for all followers here? Yes this is for me and you! Not the preachers job....you and Me!



Don't miss this point from Jesus...His first Words to the disciples:



Mark 1:17

Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”Then the last Words of Jesus to the disciples:Matthew 28:19

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,



So you see we don't have to look for the will of God. He has made it plainly clear for us. When we do these two things, a growing relationship with God, and share the gospel with the lost, we are doing the simple will of God for our lives.



Now are you in the will of God? It's your option!



Tom

We must not compromise!

As in all of church history we live in a day where so called Christians are compromising their faith. Much of the church is doing what Paul warned us not to do:


Ephesians 4:13-15

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—



When the Christian compromises on the truth of God's Word then they have nothing to stand on. Either the bible is absolute truth or it is false. For if it is false in one area then how would we know if any of it is true. When the christian compromises we end up right where we don't want to be:


Revelation 3:15-16

15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.



It makes God sick when the so called Christians stands in the middle instead of on the truth! He would rather you be completely against Him then twisting and turning the truths of His Word!



Read a few quotes from some great bible teachers:



Adrian Rogers: "It is better to be divided by the truth than to be united in error. It is better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with the multitude."



Charles Spurgeon: "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right."



"Let the separation between you and the world be final and irreversible. Say, 'Here I go for Christ and His cross, for the truth of the bible, for the laws of God, for holiness, for trust in Jesus; and never will I go back, come what may.'"



D.L. Moody: From the beginning to the end, the bible calls for whole-hearted allegiance to Him. There is to be no compromise with other gods."



Jonathan Edwards: "Resolution one: I will live for God. Resolution two: If no one else does, I still will."



Martin Luther: "I can not chose but to adhere to the Word of God, which has possession of my conscience; nor can I possibly, nor will I even make any recantation, since it is neither safe nor honest to act contrary to conscience! Here I stand; I can not do otherwise, so help me God! Amen



You see all these men see compromise taking place in their day also. They are also speaking to us today! Stand! Don't compromise even if you are all alone. The world is trying to conform the Word of God into their standards in many places such as marriage not being just between man and women, homosexuality being ok, drunkenness is ok, abortion is ok, forcing sin on businesses who do not want to compromise on their beliefs such as abortion pills, telling students they can't read their bibles or talk about Jesus and the list goes on and on and on! The church is jumping on board all of these....NOOOOOOOO!



We have two major problems the first is compromise which we have been talking about. The second is silence. Maybe you are a firm believer in the truth of God's Word but you stay silent. You see what one generation tolerates the next will celebrate! You can see this....look around. Followers of Jesus must stand and boldly proclaim the truths of God's word...even if it hurts!



Look here:




Philippians 1:21

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.



To live is to stand upon the Word of God, look at all the examples of the bible. So here is the question....are you a compromiser of the Word or are a defender of the faith?



Billy Graham said and I agree: "A true Christian is a nonconformist."



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #27

Yesterday we seen that a follower of God should desire the Word of God on a regular basis as this is how we come to know God and His ways. Today I want followers of Jesus to see we also should desire prayer daily. Prayer is our communication line with God.



One of the first things we need to learn about this communication is God is not a magic genie bottle. We often use prayer just to ask for things. Asking things is not bad in itself but it is far short of what prayer is all about! This style of prayer leads us to a point where we are happy when we get what we want but unhappy when we don't! Not what prayer is about! One thing to remember here is God knows what you need before you even ask:



Matthew 6:8

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.



So what is the purpose of prayer? Prayer is for the follower of Jesus to have intimacy with Him! It is our communication with God. Just like in any good relationship, communication is essential. It is no different with God. So let me ask right here....how much communication have you had with God today? Yesterday? Last week? Would the amount of communication you have had with God satisfy you in your relationship with your husband, wife, or best friend?



Jesus lets us know the importance of this communication with God:





Matthew 6:6

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.



Find a place, set a time, and get alone with God. It will change your life!!!



When you get alone with God on a deeply personal level, you will feel the love of God, and in return you will give deep adoration and love in return. This is what God desires from His followers!



When we get personal with God in prayer if we have any unconfessed sin in our lives it will come out and our relationship with God will go even deeper as we realize this verse in our own life:



Romans 8:1

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.





Isn't that refreshing! This should be what every follower desires! Deep communion with our God!



So we meet with our Heavenly Father often as grateful children as the Word says:



1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray without ceasing,



God loves us and desires fellowship with us and as a result he will:



Philippians 4:19

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.



Pray, pray, pray brothers and sisters. It is of utmost importance for the follower of Jesus. Next to coming to Jesus, prayer and reading the Word are the two most important aspects of our faith. Do not neglect either!



Tom

Are you following Jesus? #26

Alright back in the saddle again. So lets get back into our study and look at desiring God's Word as a follower of Jesus.



As a follower of Jesus there should be a longing for the Word of God. It is our guide book for life and without it one does not know how to walk in the faith correctly. God reveals Himself to us through scripture.



Did you ever notice before you became a follower that the bible was boring and seemed like jibberish? It sure was to me anyway. But when I gave myself to Jesus the Words on the pages jumped out at me and spoke to my heart. The Holy Spirit revealed things to me that I could not understand before I was following Jesus. It is a miracle in itself.



David in the bible says about the Word:


Psalm 19:7-11

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.10 More to be desired are they than gold,Yea, than much fine gold;Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,And in keeping them there is great reward.



Wow...did David think the Word was important? to be desired more than gold! Oh yes he did and so should we. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible and it is all about the importance of reading, learning, meditating and doing the Word of God.



Listen to what Jesus said about the Word of God:




Matthew 4:4

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”



The Word is one of our life lines to God. It is how we keep strong when we are in the cross hairs of temptation.



I will close with this from Psalms 119...take time to read psalm 119 it will reveal to you the desire we all need to have for the most important book in the world!




Psalm 119:17-24

17 Deal bountifully with Your servant,That I may live and keep Your word.18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.19 I am a stranger in the earth;Do not hide Your commandments from me.20 My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times.21 You rebuke the proud—the cursed,Who stray from Your commandments.22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,For I have kept Your testimonies.23 Princes also sit and speak against me,But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.24 Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors.



Tom