All of Me - Part B

Your mind matters to God to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Your mind is important in Romans chapter 12 Paul says be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Hosea chapter 1 verse six the Lord says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Second Peter 318 Peter says grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to save you it is okay to think and be a Christian.

That's imperative how do you spend your time workaholic is your family calendar back what's on your mind throughout the day every day activities and thoughts reflect the deepest values of your heart.

Connect with Skip Heitzigs of today as he shares how you can experience the refreshing sense of by surrendering your heart and mind to Christ. But first we want to let you know about a unique opportunity you have to visit the ancient land of the Bible and his wife to Israel in 2022. Viking on the journey visit places like Nazareth, the Jordan River in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount in the cart and that's just a quick look at the track. Find out more about the traffic inspiration.com/Psalm 100 as we dive into the teaching with skip. Let's suppose that you was a nonemotional person are teaming up on a par three is a perfect day and you swing the club and your your blog is so straight and so far, and you see it hit the green and you watch it with one shot roll into the cup. Now you got in a hole-in-one. I have a question for you. Do you stand there and fold your arms and go how nice he'll be five or 6 feet off the ground and you be shouting and telling everybody I've seen some of you and Lobo games when our team scores. There's some emotion that goes on there there some excitement that goes on there or maybe more to the point where one of your sons or daughters of the game scores a point. You get pretty emotional about that you know why people do that for those events because those things are real to them. And when God is in your midst. If the Lord is real to you. You will engage him on some level of worship. Why is it that Christians think that enthusiasm for the most worthy thing in all of the universe must somehow be carefully contained God is not too excited about secret admirers. He likes to be told that you love him you know I to say this but some folks are going to even complain when they get to heaven. I think they will be too loud form in heaven says they sang a song so loud. Isaiah said that the doorpost of the temple shook in Revelation 5 that the song was a loud voice of praise into the Lord.

Some people will like that some people are going to complain because of the lights is in heaven were told that the heavenly Jerusalem has an iridescent shine and that the light of that of the city comes from the Lamb of God, Jesus himself and he is compared to shining so brightly. It's like the strength of the sun at the bright light, like light, and some will complain about the haze and have the vision that Isaiah saw in chapter 6 is the glorious singing shook the temple to the foundations and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke. That's the evidence of the Shekinah glory of God in that covenant worship God joyfully make a joyful shout to the Lord come before his presence with singing. That's an appropriate response. Here's a second serve God gladly serve God gladly verse to serve the Lord with gladness so we have glad singing number one number two we are glad service singing joyfully as great as the first response when you're in the presence of the king, but God wants more than fans. God wants followers.

Yes, I think we should respond to God and some level of emotion, but we should also respond with motion following up the emotion with the motion of obeying what he says, serving him as an old saying that says it's not how high you jump, it's all straight. You walk when she hit the ground. Okay, it's great to get all excited about the presence of the Lord.

But then living and serving out that lifestyle is so important. See spiritual maturity is measured by glorious singing as much as by glad serving. Serve the Lord with gladness. Have you ever seen somebody serving the Lord, but they moan when they do it.

They moan they're doing it but are complaining or griping morning source. There was somebody like this in the New Testament. Her name is Martha member Mark that what's her sister's name Mary and she comes to Jesus. This is in Luke chapter 10 and she complained in her serving Lord, how come I'm the only one doing the work and in your letting Mary sort of get away with. I'm the one that's hurting. I'm doing all the work. Mary, you remember, was at the feet of Jesus listening to his voice listening to his message worshiping him. And Jesus said to her, Martha serving one. The one doing the work she wasn't doing with gladness but with a moan.

Martha you are distracted by much serving various shows and the better part the better part which will not be taken from her what'd he say that is worshiping is a lot better than whining serve the Lord with gladness that we have an Old Testament example of somebody who serve the Lord while moaning. Can you remember his name is a prophet that's a clue. He has a book named after him, and it's a very short book. Jonah, when God called Jonah to go to Nineveh.

Did he go yes Lord joyfully will serve you. I'd love to go into what ever you want me to do and say what ever you want me to did you do that, he went in the opposite direction. He went on a Princess cruise all the way to Portugal as we wanted opposite direction. In a business where he would. That way you know why you went that way you know why he wasn't joyful. He couldn't stand the thought that God would forgive and be merciful to those he hated the most.

The Ninevites can stand that thought will eventually he went, but even go joyfully.

He went under duress. He went out of duty and he went after he was dumped on the shore by a great fish to serve the Lord at all, please do it with with gladness was sadness, not with complaining that with moaning with gladness with joy was a time in church history, always in the Middle Ages when it was thought that if you're in the clergy. If you're like me, you should wear all black all-black that is befitting what clergyman ought to wear all black and you want to be very serious and austere and not smile much for this is serious business. No wonder Paul Oliver Wendell Holmes years later said I would've entered the ministry except all the preachers I know look and act so much like undertakers.

My apology if you're an undertaker and you have a joyful life. You do not have to be sad in order to be sanctified. You do not have to be gloomy in order to be holy God wants whatever is done for him to be done with gladness and that goes for every activity, including our financial giving. Remember what Paul writes in second Corinthians 9. Let each one of you give as he purposes and is hard, not grudgingly, nor out of necessity for God loves a share forgive her the word in Greek is a whole various giver. Can it let me just append that verse a little bit. God loves a cheerful giver. God also loves a cheerful liver. I don't mean I don't mean that.

I mean, he loves a life that is lived cheerfully for him. You know that serving the Lord gladly is great advertising. There's nothing more infectious and inspiring than genuine joy sometime back newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. Found out about a woman who was a cleaning lady at an office complex and she held the job for 40 years. They were interested in in any lady doing the same boring. They said monotonous job for 40 years so they interviewed her in the they asked her point blank.

How could you do this, how could you for 40 years.

Do the same boring monotonous job of cleaning after people. Here's her answer. I don't get bored. I use cleaning materials that God made I clean objects that belong to people that God made, and I make life more comfortable for them. My mom she said is the hand of God is that for joyful service my mop is the hand of God to appropriate responses. Worship God joyfully serve God gladly is 1/3 love love God intelligently love God intelligently. What's the first word in verse three you can speak to me. I can have a little interaction or with the first work no no sinuses know that the Lord he is God is he who made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. The word no means what you think it means it means to perceive something with understanding.

In other words, in relating to God. There are certain things he wants us to know.

I believe the Christian should be great thinkers and I I I fear that some brain cells are seriously under exercised your mind matters to God, we just quoted it. Let me quote that one word again to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Your mind is important in Romans chapter 12 Paul says be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Hosea chapter 1 verse six the Lord says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Second Peter 318 Peter says grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to save you it is okay to think and be a Christian affects comparative he wants you to think I want to engage your mind. I want you to think deeply about spiritual things. There is no sign in our foyer that says please check your brains at this door you to know, sort of love God intelligently what what exactly are you to know your nose, lordship, first of all note. Notice it says know that the Lord he is God and I paraphrase at he's God and you're not. He's Lord let it be that and you're not know that the Lord he is God was the first commandment out of the 10 Commandments I am the Lord your God, you will have no other gods besides me there is only one God.

There are not two gods there are not 10 gods.

There are not 300,000 gods. You can choose from. There is only one true and living God. There's only one way to the true and living God, and that is through his son Jesus Christ. He is the Lord God and you and I need him.

I love how the eight-year-old prayed in Sunday school.

Something like this.

Lord bless our mommies, daddies, or teachers, or brothers and her sisters and please God, please take care of yourself because of anything happens to you God were sunk.

Amen.

Sweet little prayer, but so profound we totally depend on you. I know that you are the Lord, I know that you are God, and I depend sort of know his Lordship were also to know his craftsmanship for Psalm 100. It says know that the Lord he is God.

It is he who made us. You are an active creation. You're a special creation of God. I've long marveled at the human body. I studied science and the sciences for years and I just marvel at the human body that God created the first model he created out of nothing exiting Hilo completely out of nothing. I marvel that our brains have 100 billion cells in them. All performing complex activities. I marveled at the skin on her body has 2 million tiny sweat glands to regulate temperature. No matter what were. I marveled at the heart is such a good pump that it can pump to the arteries and then returned to the veins blood traveling.

I'm told 168 million miles every day to marvel created by God, by the way, the first model worked perfectly. God made man upon the earth didn't go cool. I got five identity 2.0 because 1.0 in working so well first model worked perfectly and I'm not here to get into the intricacies of evolution versus creation we've done that, and on many an occasion… Ask a simple question if evolution works.

Why do mom's still have only two hands. Think about that one, moms know exactly what I'm talking about his by now if evolution work that had like 18 hands all that they do and all that they juggle all that to say this you are not a human accident. You are a divine incident you.

You were created by God for a purpose know that know that Noah's lordship know his craftsmanship, and finally know his ownership.

He says for we are his people, where the sheep of his pasture. We are here is we are God's.

Now how is it that we are God's in two ways. One way, if you're not a believer.

Two ways. If you are you are his number one by creation he made you if he made you belong to him. You're his work.

That's number one. If you're a believer here has by another means. And that is by redemption, not just by creation.

But now, by redemption, he paid for you, he paid the hefty price for you. That's what the anthem is going to be in heaven. According to Revelation chapter 5. He says that you have redeemed us saying this to Jesus you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe kindred, we belong to him by redemption so he owns us and ownership implies care see it really helps to know this. I belong to him because tomorrow if the bottom drops out of your life, you can fall back on this. He owns me. If you lose your job, I'm his.

If a disease comes into your life. I belong to him. He owns me. Could you say like Paul in Romans eight for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He said I'm persuaded. I know that I know that this is loving God intelligently worshiping, joyfully serving gladly love them intelligently.

Here's the fourth and we close thank God consistently. The last two verses enter into his gates with thanksgiving verse four and into his courts with praise be thankful to him and bless his name for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting in his truth endures to all generations not, can you just picture whoever singing this at the temple inviting the worshipers to come on in country these gates and as you do have a thankful heart. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. There was once a little boy sitting next to his parents and church and a little boy sort of right in the middle of a service like right about now. This is toward the end. But there he was sitting there any liens to us that his dad and mom are there, but he says to his dad looked at mom would rather be home cooking dinner. You would rather be out on the golf course. I would rather be playing football. So why are we here he asked the question to ask, why are you here why are we here I suggest that we are here for all four of these responses to engage in joyful worship to serve God and his people to engage our minds and learn of him, and to say thank you Lord for your mercies and your goodness. You might not feel like doing any of these you and are called to do all the things were called to thank him and noticed the psalmist gives us three reasons to think number one he's good. Whether you had a good week or not is the Lord good. We thank you Lord, thank you because you're good at your character that your nature. We thank him because he's merciful.

His mercy is everlasting. It will never run out to be there tomorrow for you. And finally, because he is honest and his truth endures to all generations. So I think we agree that God deserves our thanks. That's why Paul in first Thessalonians 5 said in every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I know it's more fun to complain. I know it's more enjoyable.

The wine, but it is more fitting and honorable to God to give him thanks. Have you ever stopped to think about the worst time in American history. The worst generation that Americans ever experience, was the founding of this country. You think I thought it was this day and age, none of the very worst time in American history was our Pilgrim fathers settling this country because during that time, I am told and what I have read that they made about seven times more graves to bury the dead, and they built houses to house the living, the death rate was an enormous because of the deprivation and the conditions seven times more graves to bury the dead than houses to house the living and yet it was during that time they felt the necessity to take one day a year in college. Thanksgiving and positive.

Thank you Lord. We've made it this far and eventually our president the very first president, George Washington signed that in the law and both houses of Congress agreed. Isn't that a miracle probably the first time that a rep both houses of Congress agreed we had a faint God for his benefits toward us was the worst time of our history. I know some of us are things pretty bad. Now the tax rates pretty high. You know I read a story of a 92-year-old immigrant who came to this country and it 92 years of age sent a check to the president as the couple terms ago and am he expressed deep gratitude for what this country it afforded him. Here's the note dear Mr. Pres., here is a check for $35,000 as a gift to say thank you to the United States of America. Who does that. You get 35,000 extra dollars to the government here was an immigrant who knew it was like in his country is now in this country and says I never was afforded those kind of abilities to get ahead. Thank you. So let's just take ourselves and put ourselves here God.

This active service that I'm doing is to say thank you Lord.

This raised hand is to say thank you for this joyful task that I will perform is just to say thank if you had to live your life all over again what would you do differently. I hope you would say these things.

In essence, I would say all of me, Lord, take all of me when you get to the God who has everything.

He only wants you. We want all of you and he will not settle for anything less concludes his message.

Now we want to share about a special resource help you grow closer to the Lord and stay plugged into his work.

19 pandemic priorities like choices and the path forward question to my life on priorities. Don't we all want the life with a happy ending life marked by growth life marked by productivity and refreshment in God's touch blessing and prosperity and maturity.

Here's our special offer for this month. For those who support significant 2022 got me thinking you $30 to help more people come when he country to sample from skin you pursue him. When you pursue holiness, happiness tags along: 819 team to give or connectwithskip.com to in tomorrow as scriptwriting shares how you can energize your spiritual life with genuine praise, so be sure to join us. It's biblical to say that God does not want Angel worship St. worship preachers worship and he certainly doesn't want you he and he alone is the one to whom praise is correct and this is such an ongoing theme not the first presentation of connection communication