Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly & Willingly

 

1 Chronicles 28:9

And you, Solomon my son, know you The God of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for The LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek Him, He will be found of you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off for ever.

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SERVE THE LORD WITH A PERFECT HEART

    Wholeheartedly. With everything that is within you. Guard your heart, keep it safe from intruders and invasions. 

    Proverbs 4:23

Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. 

    Serve Him with a steadfast heart, a heart that is stayed on Him and His purpose, His will. A heart that understands His Word and His Ways. A heart that seeks Him out to know Him better. A heart that desires to have a strong relationship with Him. 

    Deuteronomy 6:5

And you shall love The LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

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SERVE THE LORD WITH A WILLING MIND

    A willing mind knows what it wants. A willing mind is intelligent and understands consequences to the heart's actions. It reasons out the pros and the cons of any given probability. 

    The willing mind of the Christian chooses to serve The Lord. And thereby seeks Him out daily to know what is the mind of The Lord on that day, at that time that He is sought out. 

    The willing mind of the fool chooses not to serve The Lord. Never having sought out The Lord's wisdom, it has no understanding and believes nothing. 

    The willing mind of The Lord's servant meditates on The Word of The Lord. Learning The Word and becoming familiar with it in all its fullness. Taking it in one word at a time. A lifetime is not long enough, but it's a start. 

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SEEK THE LORD

    A heart that is wholly fixed on knowing God will continue to seek out His presence, His companionship. We turn to The Scriptures, poring over every nuance, every descriptive adjective or turn of phrase, wanting to see Him more clearly. We talk to Him while we do so, desiring to know exactly what is meant in the passages we are reading at that time. 

    We crave an audience with The King of Israel. Just to be near Him is reward enough. We open our Bibles, open our hearts, open our eyes. The Lord gives understanding, wisdom, and knowledge to the heart and the mind of the seeker. 

SEEKING HIM FINDS HIM

    Isaiah 55:6

Seek The LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

    Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

    Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

SEEK HIM EARLY

    Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me early shall find Me.

    Isaiah 26:9

My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

    Psalm 63:1

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

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OR LOSE HIM FOREVER

    Reread the last part of that verse we began with, "...but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off for ever." Forever is a long time to be without hope, without peace, without comfort, without water, without food, without love. It is hell and hell's destination: the lake of fire. 

    Rejection is a horrible feeling, isn't it? Who likes to be rejected by anyone for any reason or no reason at all? God doesn't like it, either. His wrath and judgment falls on anyone who rejects Him. 

    1 Samuel 15:23 likens rebellion to witchcraft, divination. It transgresses the commandments of The Lord [2 Chronicles 24:20]. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 describes all of the curses that will be put upon the rebellious nation, the nation who chooses not to have GOD as their God. 

    1 Samuel 12:15 "...the hand of The LORD will be against you..."

    Ezekiel 14:8 The Lord 'sets His face against' the one who constantly rebels against Him and that person will be cut off -- destroyed or consumed. 

    Luke 16:19-31 details the destination of the unrighteous. It is a very clear description of hell and we need no other. This is the heart's destination when it has refused God. No water to quench thirst. No comfort to relieve the aching. No love, only selfish desperation. No hope, for hope can only be found in Christ Jesus and the hardhearted soul had refused Him. 

    Now is the time to (1) Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly; (2) Serve The Lord With A Willing Mind; (3) Cling to Him with everything that is within you. 

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A Crucified Life - - Knows Rejection

 

    Romans 10:16

But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our Message?"

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 189

Message: inner (spiritual) hearing that goes with receiving faith from God; spiritual hearing (discerning God's voice)

From the Greek word 'akoé' (pronounced ak-o-ay'): instruction - the preaching of the gospel.

1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

    Not everyone will be receptive to the teachings of the gospel. The newly saved Christian needs to understand this concept just as clearly as the longer saved Christian. As has been said before, "This is not a bed of roses we walk on. This is no easy path which we have chosen to walk." 

    Many will come against us as they came against Jesus. He even tells us so. Therefore, we should not be surprised when we are rejected for what we believe. We should actually be joyful. (Acts 5:41)

    When we preach the gospel, the first thing we do is pick up our cross. The cross is heavy and awkward to carry, but it is absolutely necessary if we want to follow Christ. As He was helped to carry His cross, so He will help us. 

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

    When we bring the good news of God's saving grace to someone, we need to be prepared in our hearts, our minds and our bodies to be attacked for what we believe and are speaking. 

 1 Peter 3:14-16

    Don't be shocked, be prepared to answer every question. Arm ourselves with the Word of God by studying it, praying it and praying over it. Always be ready to give an answer. Don't worry about it trying to memorize it. What we learn is not always at the top of our thoughts, but the Spirit draws it up out of us, as a body draws water out of a well. 

    As Christ was rejected, so, too, will His followers, His Christians. We read this in the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46). First he sent his trusted servants. But they were rejected and killed. Then he sent a larger group of servants, who were also rejected and killed. Then he sent his son; but his son, too, was rejected and killed. 

    This is God sending out His prophets, whom the people rejected and killed because they refused to obey the Word which the prophets of God had brought. Then God sent His Son. But the people to whom the Son was sent, also rejected the message and killed the Son. 

    But the Son could not be kept down. He rose! He is risen! He is the living Word of God being breathed into every believer. He is our Hope of Salvation! Our Joy and Rejoicing!  He is the Light in the darkness, the shining Way to forgiveness and the redeeming grace of God the Father. 

    You think you've suffered already? Have you been rejected to the point of death? and persevered? I know I haven't. I've been ignored. I've been severed from family attachments. Friends have dropped me. I've been kicked and beaten for the Name of Christ. I'm still here. 

     However, the day is coming, and is already on the horizon, when taking a stand for the gospel of Christ will cost us our lives. Mere physical strength will not be enough to withstand the onslaught of hate coming our way.

    We need to be prayed up, filled up and studied up.  

BELIEVE THE MESSAGE 

I Know Whom I Have Believed - Redeemer Church of The Shoals

God Be Merciful to Me - Jars of Clay

In Christ Alone - Adrienne Liesching

Greater Is The Blood - Mark & Sarah Tillman

Can't Keep A Good Man Down - Newsong

Lose My Soul - TobyMac

Rise Again - Dallas Holm

Grace Wins - Matthew West

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns