A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Serve Faithfully

 

    2 Chronicles 19:9

He commanded them, saying, "You must Serve Faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of The LORD."

    As stated in yesterday's study, God requires wholehearted service. But He also requires of us faithfulness. Many of us long to hear those precious words someday, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21). 

    To serve faithfully is to be steadfast. 

1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Steadfast: morally fixed; firmly, securely positioned; not given to fluctuation (does not pay heed to lesser doctrines; is not doubleminded {James 1:8})

    To serve God faithfully is to serve with fidelity. His Name is Jealous and He desires to be first in our lives: in our hearts, in our thoughts, in our desires. As a husband and wife demand fidelity in the marriage, so, too does God demand it in His relationship with His people. It is faithfulness in every aspect of service to The LORD.

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith."

    When we love with the Love of The LORD, we love wholeheartedly. When we serve in the Love of The LORD, we serve faithfully. Let us then serve The LORD with every part of us that we may receive such a blessing as the servant who invested the master's wealth and doubled it. Let us bless The LORD with our talents and our gifts that He would receive the glory and honor from them. 

CALLED TO SERVE FAITHFULLY 

Faithful Now - Vertical Worship

Find Me Faithful - The Perrys

Faithful - Ryan Stevenson

Belong To You - Here Be Lions

Walk By Faith - Jeremy Camp

My God Is All I Need - CityAlight

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Serve Wholeheartedly

 

    Deuteronomy 10:12

And now, O Israel, what does The LORD your God ask of you but to fear The LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to Serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 

    As you see, we show our fear, our reverence, our awe of The LORD our God by Walking In All His Ways; by loving Him. And by Serving The LORD our God with All our hearts and with all our souls: wholehearted love and service. 

    Our hearts are focused on working for The LORD at all times. We are ready to testify on what God has done and done for us. We are prepared to speak the gospel which has changed our lives for the better. Though the roads we walk are paved with sorrow and tragedy, grief and heartache, we have joy because we have Jesus. He is our Strength. We have The Spirit of God. He is our Wisdom. And so we travel these roads together. 

    Our souls are interwoven through the unique power of God's Holy Spirit: we are one in each other and in The LORD. We are able to walk together though our hands may never meet on this side of heaven. We come together in prayer, lifting each other's requests, desires and needs to our God, Who hears us pray. 

    But before we can be knitted into the body, we must first come to the cross, fall down on our knees, repent of our wickedness against God: repent of every sin that He brings to our remembrance and stop doing that sinful thing. We must believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, that God sent Him to die on the cross in our place; that He conquered death, hell and the grave once and forever and that He walked out of the grave. 

    We must believe this good news, this gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ before we die or we will be forever lost. There is no repentance in the grave. There is no righteousness death. There is only darkness and heat. And people who died in their unbelief. Good people. Bad people. Unrepentant people. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to serve God faithfully, preaching Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen and hear and turn away from sin by turning to God's plan of salvation from sin. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to remain in His Word daily, living moment to moment in Him that The Word of God would strengthen us as we go about our days, the days God has given to us. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to be in constant communication with Him. He hears the words of my mouth and He knows the meditations of my heart when my mouth and my heart are centered on Him and His Word. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ which The Holy Spirit has written on my changed heart. The moment my heart was given to Christ is the moment God changed my selfish heart to a heart He could mold and form and write on. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to choose to Walk in all His Ways. I choose to submit to the Authority of The Word of God. I choose to surrender what was mine for what is His: my life, my heart, my soul, my mind; my time, my freedoms, my family. All that I have from God I give back to God, sometimes I have to do that everyday. 

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to turn my back on what the world sees as a priority and focus on God's priorities. God loves the people in the world but not their sinful ways. So, too, must the believer love people without embracing their wickedness.

    To serve God wholeheartedly is to take a stand on His Word, fully armed in His love and righteousness, and not back down when we are come against for our belief in The Name of The LORD Jesus Christ and everything that belief entails.

    I urge you to consider what God has done for you. I beg you, if you have not already, to surrender your hearts to God. Let The Light of God, Jesus Christ, shine into your hearts and open your eyes to see just how much God really loves you. 

     WHOLEHEARTED SERVICE - A Jesus Culture Playlist

Pursuit

Holy Spirit

Song of Solomon

I Need You More

How He Loves Us

Where You Go, I Go

Happy Day

Fill Me Up

We Stand

Surrender All 

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Serve With Gladness

 

    Psalm 100:2

Serve The LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! 

    It is impossible to serve The LORD with gladness if there is none in our hearts. We need Jesus Christ living in us and The Holy Spirit's guidance working through us to know what true gladness and joy look like. 

    Lip service is not what God is about. He makes promises that He keeps. For instance, He promised a Savior way back in Genesis 3:15 and kept it in Matthew 1, Luke 2 & John 1. 

    God promises to never leave nor forsake us: 

-Deuteronomy 31:8 "The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

-Hebrews 13:5 "Let your manner of life be without covetousness, being satisfied with the present; for He Himself has said: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

-Matthew 28:20 "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.

    God is the ultimate Promisekeeper. We can trust Him. Always. 

Trust in The LORD

Psalm 119:9-11

Proverbs 3:5

Isaiah 26:4

Psalm 62:8

Isaiah 12:2

    We can serve God with gladness and come into His presence with singing because we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We, the church, are the bride of Christ and we are anticipating His return to come and bring us back to the place He has prepared for us. 

    We can serve God with gladness and come into His presence with singing because our sins have been forgiven! Great is God's faithfulness to forgive us our sins when we repent of them. 

    We serve with gladness because the Joy of The LORD flows through us and overflows into anyone who comes near us and/or hears us rejoicing. Our cups overflow. 

Psalm 16:5

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

CALLED TO SERVE WITH GLADNESS

Honey In The Rock - Brooke Ligertwood 

I Am Not Alone (Psalm 23) - People & Songs

Trust In The Lord - Babbie Mason

Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus - Casting Crowns

Song of The Beautiful Bride - Paul Wilbur

My Portion - Isla Vista

    

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Serve God With Fear

 

    Psalm 2:11

Serve The LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 

    Psalm 119:120

My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.

    Psalm 89:7

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

Hebrews 12:28

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Fear: reverent, godly caution

    To serve The LORD with fear is to revere Him, to honor Him, to adore Him above all. Above all kingdoms, above all thrones, above all other gods which try to distract us from The One God. For there is only One LORD God. His Name commands our attention. His Word demands our reverence. His presence is holy and by it demands that we are to be holy, too. 

    Having this godly fear within us makes us aware of just how much God really loves us. Having wrapped His Word in the frailty of flesh and bone, God sent Him to (1) Be born of a virgin; (2) Minister to the people; (3) Die on the cross (conquering sin); (4) Rise from the dead (conquering death, hell and the grave). 

    How can we not serve The LORD God with fear? How can we not come into His presence with rejoicing with trembling? We are so very thankful that He loves us so much! We are filled to overflowing with gratitude, so much so, that as God's holy people, worship exudes from our souls at all times. 

    Who is The LORD that we should give such fear and trembling to? Here is but a taste of Who The LORD our God is:

    Psalm 24:8

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

    Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    Daniel 7:14

And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. 

    Revelation 19:16

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

    Come, let us worship The LORD our God. 

Serve God With Fear 

Learning To Be Loved By You - Melissa Helser/Cageless Birds

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns

LION - Elevation Worship

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

Father, Son, Spirit - Jason Upton

Gratitude - Brandon Lake

Is He Worthy? - Chris Tomlin

One Thing Remains - Jesus Culture

Heart of Worship - Michael Bethany

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Serve Christ

 

    John 12:26

If anyone Serves Me, he must follow Me: and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, The Father will honor him. 

    To serve Christ is to follow Christ. To follow Christ is to know where He began His ministry and start from there. 

    The first place He went is to be baptized in the river-Matthew 3:13-17.

    Secondly, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days, after which He was tempted by Satan three times-Matthew 4:1-10. 

    Thirdly, He evangelized, preaching the gospel of the repentance of sins and living a changed life-"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17

    Fourthly,  He encouraged people to join Him as He ministered to the people in the towns He traveled through-Matthew 4:19; John 1:35-51. He discipled men from various walks of life into the gospel of salvation-Matthew 10:4 (the disciples 12). 

    Fifthly, He ministered to the needs of the people everywhere The Father sent Him. All required forgiveness. Many required healings. Some were raised from the dead. As The Father spoke, The Son obeyed-John 5:19; 12:50. 

    Sixthly, He was arrested for treason and tried in a mockery of a trial; forced to carry His cross after being tortured, the weight of which He could not bear alone. He hung on this cross He had to carry and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

    Seventhly, He rose from the dead, having conquered death, hell and the grave. He received a new body in which He was unrecognizable to everyone who knew Him until He spoke or their eyes were opened to who was speaking with them.

    Ultimately, He ascended into the eternal presence of His heavenly Father. 

    Throughout His earthly ministry Christ retreated several times from the public eye to pray, to speak with His Father in private. To receive strength and instruction and loving devotion. Having Him thus as our example, we, too, should desire to get apart from the madding crowd and seek alone time with our heavenly Father. 

    We see that to serve Christ is to follow Christ. Come, let us serve Him together. 

CALLED TO SERVE CHRIST

I Will Wait For You - Shane & Shane

Spirit Break Out/Not By Might - Sean Feucht & Kim Walker-Smith

Belong To You - Here Be Lions

Strength of My Life - Vertical Worship

Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me - CityAlight

I Will Serve The Lord - Carman

Not My Will - Kim Walker-Smith

Where You Go, I'll Go - Jesus Culture 

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Surrender

 

    Isaiah 1:19

If you are Willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.

    Willing. Choosing to surrender my will, what I want, for God's will, what He wants. Considering all the components of obedience and disobedience, I choose to submit to His Ways, that His purpose might be fulfilled in me and through me. 

    A surrendered heart is a humbled heart. It is the art of self-discipline: forming new habits in Christ by faithfully applying The Word of God to my life. God writes His Word on my heart. The Holy Spirit applies The Word to my life. This Word is Christ, Life Immeasurable and Eternal. 

    It takes willingness to serve in God's kingdom. If a person is not willing to set aside their agenda, then that person is not ready to serve God. Sometimes it's a struggle to get there, but the more we submit to God's Authority, the less struggle there is and the more satisfaction there is. 

    We need to be willing AND obedient. It doesn't do us any good if we are willing to serve God, but remain in a disobedient lifestyle. It is impossible to please God if we insist on living in sin. A sin-filled lifestyle is in direct conflict with a holiness lifestyle. Sin must be repented of, confessed to God and turned away from in this life, before a person can be of any use in God's kingdom. 

    Are you ready to be willing and obedient? God knows your heart and what you are thinking. We need to become "less" as we develop a holy lifestyle and Jesus needs to become "more" (John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease.").

CALLED TO SURRENDER

I Surrender - Hillsong

Oceans - Hillsong United

The More I Seek You - Kari Jobe

Spirit Lead Me - Michael Ketterer

Where You Go, I Go - Jesus Culture

The Call To Come Up & The Call To Come Out - David Wilkerson (short sermon)

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Worship The Lord

 

    Psalm 96:9

O Worship The LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth.

    1 Chronicles 16:21

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.

    2 Chronicles 20:21

Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: "Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever."

    Psalm 95:6

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 

    Matthew 2:2

Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.

    Adoration. Loving devotion. Worship. God wants our worship. He tells us His Name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14) and that what He desires is for us to choose to adore Him. He commands His people to worship Him above all other gods, for the gods of this world are nothing (Exodus 20:1-6). 

    Come, let us worship The LORD our God in the beauty of His holiness. Let us clap our hands and shout! to The Lord (Psalm 47:1). Let us kneel down (Psalm 95:6). Let us raise our hands (Psalm 28:2; 1 Timothy 2:8). Let us play our musical instruments for Him (Psalm 98:5,6). 

CALLED TO WORSHIP

Come Let Us Worship & Bow Down - Steffany Gretzinger

Forever I Run - Elevation Worship

Here I Am To Worship - Israel Houghton 

Let It Rise - William Murphy

Worthy of It All - CeCe Winans

Only You Are Holy/Agnus Dei - Donnie McClurkin

LION - Elevation Worship

In The Beauty of Holiness - Robin Mark

Because of Who You Are - Vicki Yohe

Revelation Song - Chris Tomlin & Kari Jobe

Holy Is The Lamb - Oleta Adams

Adoration - Newsboys

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call To Wait & Keep

 

    Psalm 37:34

Wait on The LORD and Keep His Way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land: you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

    We know that to wait on The Lord is to come near when called and to serve Him in whatever capacity He has called us to serve. Whether we wash dishes, fix engines, build houses, mop floors, prepare lessons, drive trucks, scrub toilets, change diapers, fix leaky pipes, etc. Wherever we are, as long as our hearts are right with The Lord, we are in His service. 

    Many preachers have been called to not only serve in the pulpit but to build it, as well. The Lord builds His church and designates who does what. But sometimes the pastor does more than "just preach". He is the plumber, the electrician, the janitor, the spackler, the sweeper, the window washer. In each he waits on The Lord, he serves. 

    Many a parent multitasks throughout parenthood. This is a job that never ends. Here we wait on The Lord as parents, doing double duty: in the home we are parents; on the job we are the employer/employee. 

    No service is too mean when we are in The Lord's service. Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

    Keeping His Way is to guard, to protect, to hedge ourselves with His Word. It is to surround ourselves with The Word of God. We pray that He leads us, guides us, guards us (Psalm 23). We pray that He carries us through, and walks with us. We pray that God surrounds us with Himself, keeping our enemies at bay as we wait on His purpose to be accomplished within us and through us. 

    We surround ourselves with like-minded praying people in our lives that we may strengthen each other in The Lord. The hand washes the foot, the heart pumps the blood, the diaphragm gives voice to the mouth. This is the body of Christ in service to God. 

(1 Corinthians 12:12-26)

    If I step on a sharp object, the immediate acknowledgement of pain comes out of my mouth. The body knows when the foot is in pain. If I gaze longingly at that maple doughnut, the stomach knows the eyes have seen something good and the nose has smelled a fantastic aroma, immediately the mouth waters. The body knows what satisfies the stomach. 

    So, if we remain in His service, waiting on His commands and keeping them, we will receive our reward in due time. We are to wait and keep with joy and honor. We are people of integrity. We are people of praise. 

    We are the body of Christ: we will be broken and poured out when we humble ourselves to wait on God's timing and keep living our lives in obedience to His Word. 

CALLED TO WAIT

Wait On You - Elevation Worship & Maverick City 

Surrounded - UPPERROOM

Talking To Jesus - Elevation Worship & Maverick City

Build My Life - Pat Barrett

Jesus At The Center - TRIBL

I Will Serve The Lord - Carman

Walking Free - Micah Tyler & Matthew West

Promises - TRIBL

     

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Hope In The Lord

 

    Psalm 37:8,9

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Fret not yourself: it only leads to evil. For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who Hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 

    Hope. Some do not have any kind of hope. They struggle and fail, believing the lies of the devil, and remain in the darkness of their thoughts and hearts. Their eyes are blinded to the Light of Hope that is found in believing in the Name of Jesus Christ for their salvation. 

    Hope is for everyone, especially the Hope of Salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. God loves us so much He sent His only begotten Son to die for us. John 3:16-18. Jesus died for you and for me. We could not pay for our sins in a once and for all manner. But Jesus could and did. Hebrews 2:9-14. 

    Hope in the Lord. There is no hope outside of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our Hope. Hope in the Lord is ours by faith in the Name. How do I know this? Acts 4:12 "Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

    Hope in the Lord. That which we hope for is not yet seen by the physical eye: it is only seen by the eyes of faith. We Hope and we wait with great expectation to be united face to face with our Savior and King. Romans 8:23-25. 

    So we walk out this Hope that is birthed within us when we believe in the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. We walk it in Faith. And we wait. 

    1 John 3:2,3

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this HOPE in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

    Jeremiah declares that God is the Hope of Israel and that all who deny God will be ashamed and remembered no more (dust). 

     Jeremiah 17:13

O LORD, The Hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, The Fountain of Living Water.

   David writes in Psalm 71 that only The Lord GOD is his Hope, his confidence/trust. 

     Psalm 71:5

For You are my Hope, O Lord GOD, my Confidence from my youth.

    We, too, can have this same Hope in The Lord that the ancients of Scripture have. All we have to do is repent of our sins and believe on the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. The command is also to be baptized into Christ's Name. We pray The Lord lead you to the waters and the people to whom this command has also been issued and entrusted to follow. 

    Being briefly immersed fully in water is our public confession of faith. Acts 2:38  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

CALLED TO HOPE

All My Hope Is In Jesus - Crowder

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns

Jireh - Elevation Worship & Maverick City

How He Loves Us - David Crowder Band

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less 

Living Hope - Phil Wickham

Greater Is The Blood - Mark & Sarah Tillman

    

    

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Rest in The Lord

 

    Psalm 37:7

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. 

    In this verse-Psalm 37:7-Rest means to wait silently and be still before The Lord, wait until He speaks or moves. 

    How do we Rest in the Lord? 

Psalm 40:1        Wait Patiently for Him

Hebrews 6:19    Anchor to Him in Hope

    How do we Wait patiently?

    Waiting patiently is a virtue, a fruit of the Spirit; it is part of the evidence of being a faithful faith-filled born again Christian. 

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

    We do not get impatient for God to move. We do not make demands on Him. We wait. And while we wait, we work. There is always much work to do. 

    We read God's Word, taking It into ourselves and applying It to our lives. 

    We pray to the Living God of the Holy Bible, speaking to Him reverentially, intimately and with joy. 

    We gather together in His designated places of meeting, whether that be a church building or synagogue or temple or in the open air. Wherever God calls us to worship and to hear His Word, that is where we go. Together. 

    We work together to advance God's kingdom. We preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. We preach His Authority to be the Son of God while at the same time He was/is the Son of man. We preach His crucifixion, not just the how but the why. We preach His resurrection and ascension. 

    We work together in the Love of The Lord and the Unity of The Spirit. For it is The Spirit of God Who moves upon our hearts to do the will of God obediently and faithfully. 

    We Rest. We Wait. We Hope. We Serve. We Trust. In The Lord God and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. 

CALLED TO REST 

Love Is Kind - John Lucas

Learning To Be Loved By You - Melissa Helser/Cageless Birds

There is One Gospel - CityAlight

Face To Face - Zach Williams

Friend - Jonathan Ogden

Abide In Me - Andrew Marcus

Living Hope - Phil Wickham

Come Jesus Come - Steven McWhirter

PSALM 62:5

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.

  

       

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Commit

 

    Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

    Most of us think we know what 'commit' means. But what is God's definition of commit? 

    To make a commitment to another person is to be faithful in that relationship, whether we are friends, spouses, colleagues or coworkers. 

    To make a commitment to an employer is to make a promise to abide by company rules and regulations; to be on time and do the work for which one is hired according to the pay one is promised. 

    To make a commitment to one's country is to pledge one's self to obeying the laws of the land as long as these laws are not contrary to God's laws. 

COMMITMENT GOD's WAY

    What does it mean here when it says we are to Commit our ways to the Lord? God wants us to trust Him. And talk with Him.

>1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our anxiety on Him, which lines up with Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus tells His disciples to not worry about the necessities of life, but seek the kingdom of God and all His righteousness. 

>Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken."

>Psalm 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah.''

    God wants to meet us in prayer. Committing our way to The LORD means living our lives according to His Word and His Way. When we become born again believers, we stop being the person we were before we got saved and begin to live the life of a new creation, for we are a new person in Christ. 

    When we repent (confess our sins and turn away from them, stop doing those sins), God promises, makes a commitment to, forgive the repentant sinner. Our sins are washed away by the blood of God's Lamb, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We are clean and fresh and new. 

    Making a commitment to God is making a promise to God that we will be faithful in obeying His Word, faithful in seeking Him out, faithful in trusting Him to care for us in everything; faithful in doing the work He entrusts us to do. 

    I, like the faithful servants in the parable, also seek to hear those beautiful words from my Lord and Master, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." (Luke 19:17, 19) I do not wish to hear what He told the unfaithful servant (Luke 19:22-27). 

    Hear the Word of The Lord. Today is your day to surrender your hearts and your lives to Christ. Tomorrow is not promised. And our days are shortened and getting shorter. This, too, is promised. (Matthew 24:22)

 PEACE OF MIND COMES FROM TRUSTING THE LORD

    Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 

SUCCESS COMES FROM A COMMITMENT TO THE LORD

    Proverbs 16:3

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved. 

   A relationship without communication is an empty relationship: you're existing but not living. There are no anchor points to hold together the relationship. 

  We need God. By His Word we are formed and in His Word we are made complete. Let us commit our lives even now to loving Him, obeying Him, adoring Him. Let us live joy-filled faithful lives as we await His return to bring us home with Him. 

CALLED TO COMMIT 

Only Trust Him - Alan Jackson

Down To the River to Pray - Allison Krauss

Trading My Sorrows - 

Baptized In Fire - Ecclesia

Burn For You - Rivers & Robots

Here's My Life - Planetshakers

    

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Delight In The Lord

 

    Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

    To delight one's self in The LORD is to take great joy in The LORD's presence. It is to live in Him, to spend our time with Him. 

    This is how our soul prospers. And that is the definition of success in our Christian walk. The closer we walk with Jesus the more our hearts' desires align with The Father's heart and desire. 

    The Number One desire of The Father and ourselves is the salvation of all (John 6:40). It is to all we are sent by The Son (Mark 16:15), so into all the world we go, preaching the gospel of Good News. If this desire, this will of God, is not in our hearts, then we are not delighting ourselves in Him. 

    With salvation comes forgiveness. If we have unforgiveness in our hearts, then our hearts are not aligned with The Father's heart. Until we repent of our unforgiving hearts and let go of all bitterness, anger and hate, we cannot expect forgiveness from God. Nor can we expect God to hear and answer our prayers on behalf of anyone else. 

    In salvation is forgiveness through repentance; only then is mercy shown to us by God. For we have believed on the Name of The Only Begotten Son of God Jesus Christ. Only then is the blood applied to our hearts to wash away the stain and stench of our unrighteous behavior and wicked thoughts. 

    Through salvation comes a desire to live a holy life. For now we are walking By Faith on the Way of Holiness. We cannot see what lies ahead in life, but we can trust God to lead the way. 

    The Second desire of The Father is that all be baptized by water as a public confession of what has happened in their hearts (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19). The third desire of The Father is to receive The Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8).

    The Fourth desire of our Heavenly Father is that all be made disciples of The Word, which, simply put, means to progressively grow/mature in The Word as we learn it. And then we are to take what we have learned and share it with someone else. Like I'm doing right now.

    The Fifth desire of our Heavenly Father is that He desires our worship, for, as His Word says, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3) and "My Name is Jealous" (Exodus 34:14). Psalm 29:2 and Psalm 96:10 tell us to "Worship God in all His splendor, in the beauty of holiness". 

    We are created to spend time with God. God chose us to be His. But each of us has to make the individual choice to choose Him back. He's not going to force Himself into our hearts (Revelation 3:20). He waits for our response. 

    Is your heart aligned yet with God's? Are you receiving the desires of your heart at this point? What are you waiting for?

CALLED TO DELIGHT

You Give Life - Victory Worship

Joy - For King & Country

Shout To The Lord - Darlene Zschech

God of Wonders - Third Day

Praise The Lord - Micah Tyler

Amadeo - Ryan Stevenson

The River - Jordan Feliz

What Are We Waiting For? - For King & Country

All My Delight - The Belonging Co.

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Trust In The Lord

 

    Psalm 37:3

Trust (rely on and have confidence) in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and feed (securely) on His faithfulness.

    Trust is bold confidence. I have to ask myself, 'Am I trusting in the LORD in this way?'  Yes. Otherwise this peace that I have in every situation I find myself in would simply disappear and I would be fraught with needless worry and anxieties. 

    While I do get anxious sometimes, because I don't like to be forgotten or ignored, my trust in God is still firmly in place. My faith is anchored in the LORD and if someone forgets to pick me up or is late, I have turned it into prayer time. Or study time. 

    The LORD tells me not to worry about when my everyday needs will be met or if and how they are met. He has everything under control. I am clothed. I am fed. I am sheltered. Matthew 6:25-34. 

    The LORD reminds me that I am His now that I believe that He is God's only begotten Son; that He died on the cross for me and took back the keys of hell and death from Satan; that He rose from the grave and ascended to His Father. Even now Christ is seated at God's right hand, where He intercedes on my behalf. John 3:16-18; Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21;  Acts 2:22-36; Revelation 1:8; Hebrews 9.

    Therefore, I TRUST IN THE LORD with all of my heart. My Faith is in God and God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. Rewards for they who believe and punishments for they who do not. The unbeliever can get anxious and worrisome; I will not, for I TRUST in The LORD God. 

    A crucified life seeks the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. There is only room for Trust, a full confidence in that God's will and purpose is better than mine. The LORD calls His people to Trust in Him. If you are His people, He's calling you to Trust in Him. If you are not His people yet, He's calling you to salvation through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and to Trust Him. 

    Trust that God has a better plan for your life than you do. Trust that God's plan of salvation will save your soul and change your life in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. 

    Our money is imprinted with the phrase "In God We Trust". Are our hearts and minds imprinted with this phrase, as well? We are instructed in this verse to also "feed on His faithfulness". How has God been faithful to you? in the day? in the night? in tough times and good times? in sorrow and in joy? He is ALWAYS NEAR. 

CALLED TO TRUST

First Things First - Consumed By Fire

Gratitude - Brandon Lake

Help Is On The Way - TobyMac

Speak To The Mountains - Chris McClarney

Rise Up - CAIN

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

God Really Loves Us - Crowder, Dante Bowe

Trading My Sorrows - Darrell Evans, Integrity Music

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Obey

 

    Jeremiah 7:23

But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'

HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD

    In order to obey God's voice, we first have to hear Him speak. How does God speak to us? In His Word. We can read and study it out, praying over it and as we make our way through it. We ask God to reveal Himself and show us what His word means to us. 

    But there is a second part to this hearing His voice: Walk in all His ways. To walk in His ways is to ask the Holy Spirit to apply God's Word to our hearts and our minds, that we may live a righteous and holy life. For we desire to see God and live. 

    The third part here says 'it may be well with you'. In Psalms 1:1-3 David writes of the blessing of a prosperous soul. The soul which obeys the voice of God and lives a Spirit-filled life has crucified the fleshly desires which tried to destroy it. We have overcome the darkness in us, and, by faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ, we will continue to shine the Light of God's Love through us.

    Galatians 5:24-26

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. 

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S VOICE

    1. He will be our God

    2. We will be His people

    3. We walk with Him

    4. It is well with us

CALLED TO OBEY

Hear The Word of The Lord - The Kingsmen

When i Say Jesus - Jimmy Swaggart

Favorite Song of All - Phillips Craig and Dean

Sinner Saved By Grace - 

I Need A Ghost - Brandon Lake

I Will Serve The Lord - Carman

Trust & Obey - Big Daddy Weave