A Strong Life

Welcome to the intensified catheter Friday, September 9. You've probably heard stories of famous people who started strong, and destroying their lives avoid making similar mistakes with biblical principles for living a strong life you can have a strong body and have a weak life you have a strong life have a weak body or you can have a strong life, strong body. All of the snow would constitute a strong body. But what constitutes a strong life. What is a strong life.

So we turned to a very familiar passage that just perfectly describes what we talked about.

That's a seven chapter of Matthew in the sermon on the Mount, and in the beginning of the 24th verse and so I want us to look at this and life of a strong life. And so Jesus said in verse 24 therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house, yet it did not fall for it built and founded on the rock everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain spell. The floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell.

And great was its fall, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, but he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. When I look in the Scriptures, and I think about all the verses in the Bible that talk about life and so forth. Here's a perfect picture of a weak life and a strong life and remember this every one of us is still building our life for the year 1676 you still building your life and what we are on the inside makes all the difference in the world and I think many people at first made foodie about the lifestyle they look like, but then when the storms hit him when reality breaks in. When this difficulty, pain and suffering, death, loss all kinds of hardship comes their way. The people who have built their life on the foundation have a strong life. If they built it on the right foundation, people who look like they can do the same thing, but when those storms come they don't have the same results so you can't look and see and tell of how strong a person is or how weak they may be what happens to them when the storms of life come and they're coming to all of us, all kinds of difficulty, hardship and pain and loss and bereavement income so all of us in the issue is how to be respond so I want to do. This message is simply this. Describe a strong life. We know what a week. Life is for what's a strong life about and how does your life become strong. This not a question of whether you will face trials and storms are not.

They are coming and they will reveal who we are and what we like and what our foundation is built on so want to listen carefully. I want you to think when I mention each one of these. Where does it fit in my life. So let's begin the first reason for this and that is a strong life has placed their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal savior. That is a strong life begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their life. That's first and foremost, you can put that in the other place except on the bottom. That's the foundation you trust in Jesus and that that is you can look back in your life and no at a certain time. You remember that you gave your life to Christ and that you know that you say is foundation evidence that you have a strong life. Secondly, that's this that you are guided by the Holy Spirit. A person has a strong life is guided by the Holy Spirit. Jesus saved you. He sent the Holy Spirit into your life to indwell the ascending to the simple reason that you and he knew could not live adequately apart from him. This is why said to his disciples. Before you launch uncle to the great commission you not ready yet you not ready until the Holy Spirit builds you an enabled unit empowers you to do what I called you to do. The truth is every strong life is a life that has the indwelling Holy Spirit, and has him. Therefore, God's purpose that is to guide us and delete us.

We can't look around and read the paper. Watch the television and ponder how to make decisions we find how to make decisions by coming to God asking him and the Holy Spirit who lives within every single believer will guide you. He will enable you he will show you the path you should take and decisions you have to make in life he will show you which ones are the wisest decision. A wise person will listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life. Thirdly, a strong life has this priority in their life and that is spending time alone and pray with God. Spending time alone with God in prayer is that you listen this is the connecting point you have with God you look all around you. You can read this at no and so forth. But your connection point with him is the time you spend with him in prayer and people say would you know what I just found myself too busy to pray no. It's a misalignment of what's important in your life. The most important thing in your life is your relationship to have your connection to Almighty God. He's the one you talk to.

He's the one you bring your needs to strong person has a strong prayer life is not a single one of us who is to visit the pray that you tell God you too busy to pray hears what he may do, even just lay you out with something that put you in the hospital about two weeks, flat on your back and then all you got to do is pray and for some time we bring things on our sales will load out just what if I if I had time he will give you time. The truth is you have time and the time you have is the time he's given you.

It's a matter of your choosing. How you spend your time.

Listen, you can invest your time in any way that stronger makes you stronger than praying and talking to him as a daily is and it's not just the habit. It is a daily discipline in your life.

He is first above everything else very important for strong life. Then of course a strong light is built upon the teachings of the word of God and listen and the application of its one thing to hear it, but applying it is something else. So when you come on Sunday morning you take notes.

For example, what do you do with them, its application, and I think about him and the people go to church week after week and month after years and years and years.

They never carry a Bible that never taken note. They could tell you anything the pastor said and years and years and years later they came tell you anything. Why because they heard it, but they didn't apply. We have to plug. Think of all the sounds that you get in any given day, with its television, radio traffic and people talking, whatever it might be the sound of the word of God and the sound of the voice of God is the most important sound and you and I cannot do anything anymore important than reading up on the word of God. That's for example, you shall be a strong life and I'll tell you somebody if you keep talking about the bring up some Scripture that God's light on their heart and all of us who have been through difficult in trial.

We've got scriptures scriptures that God placed upon her heart to take us through difficult times and a strong life is a life that is built on obeying the truth of the word of God.

And so it's very important that you and I have the word of God in our life and have it there very very consistently bringing us to obedience and of course one of the areas of a strong life is that we see the Lord Jesus Christ is the strength of our life. Think about this for moment policy that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me is in jail, beaten chain lock that you name it. You know what his foundation was so solid that no matter what they did, they never discouraged him. They never made him quit.

They try their best to stop him from attempted assassinations and everything else they did what because he was strong he was strong in the word of God. He was strong in his relationship to God.

He was strong in his obedience to God and he knew in his heart that the strength of his life was not in his body but was in his relationship to Jesus Christ. That's where our strength lies in relationship and all these other things are part of that relationship. So ask yourself the question, how strong is your life how much of your life.

For example, you get if the money is there one to do this at the other. How often do you get to say father I want to thank you that you my strength today. And if you have a job that's very difficult year for say to him, Lord, I need your strength of their get this done. I even know how I'm going to be of the do what I'm supposed to do your my strength and what you've done as you have invited the Lord God in the your life, so to speak through his Holy Spirit to enable you and strengthen you and encourage you and does not let you quit because with him you can accomplish anything. God is set before you. To accomplish, then of course quick to forgive a strong person is quick to forgive.

You want to hinder yourself you hold a grudge you be unforgiving and you say will what's that got to do the strong life I'll tell you what apps did a person who has an unforgiving spirit. It will affect you. Ultimately, it will affect your very physical body. If you have an unforgiving spirit. You hold grudges and yours have a sense of hate those attitudes attitudes that affect the price because usually whatever affects your emotions affect your body because you can't separate spirit and emotions and physical but it all goes together. I can remember the time when in my life. I dealt with at once and for all, and knew how to deal with something it happened to me that there hurt me and so I was a seldom saying will Lord the you know you know that stuff you tell him even listen to and so is like the Lord said to me, remember the cross.

Yes, how many times are forgiven you.

Yes. Have I held anything against you know what right do you have to hold anything against anyone when I have forgiven you of everything you have ever done. And I have it. Even beforehand forgiven you all you ever do that cured me, it should cure everybody. If you have those kind of feelings toward somebody else does. Look at the cross. His outstretched arms in his shed blood took care of all of our sin.

All of her mistakes all their heart rates in all of our burdens strong. Life is very, very forgiving, quick to forgive. And then of course there's inner peace person is a strong lesson I have inner peace. What relationship with God is right relationship with others is right difficult is hardship.

Pain comes to their into your life. What happens in spite of all that there is a piece and I can remember this in the something you can really forget.

I can remember when I heard the worst news I could ever hear as a pastor worst and I got the phone call and when I finish up with the phone down. I had this overwhelming sense of awesome and I remember saying God, you carried me through all these other storms. You'll take me through this because because he will keep his word. No medical we do and it's all of these things and build strength into a life that so when the torrential storms come we don't waiver we don't give up. We don't quit and then of course, listen to this belonging to a Bible teaching church. If you can live a Christian life. You need to know the Christian life is all about. If you live a godly life and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

You need to be taught.

Listen God's continued teaching me. I study all week long. I'm not looking for sermons on Lincoln asking God to speak to my heart. Teach me something new work in my life. Why go spend an hour in the church and the word of God is ignored. That's what church is all about churches, about worshiping him had a binder whom worshiping with from the word of God. Very important that you belong to a church where the teach the word of God so that you can grow in your life and you can be strong and you can be fruitful for the kingdom of God. This is an attempt to worship him. What helps me worship him is knowing the truth about him when I learned that I learned from reading myself and also learning from those who've gone before me who also teach me the truth that they learned very important. You will be a strong person that you have a source from which you strengthen continuously and then the big goal oriented. That is, if goals in life. Somebody said to me one time how can you trust God and still have goals Jesus had healed. He says I must needs go through Samaria and the he knew that his ultimate goal was the cross and so God has goals for all of us know was if there is a purpose for your living there goals and that purpose things that he wants you to accomplish and often times a person won't they won't set a goal in their life because they think the left too high.

God would never do that to me. So they get down here know this is God week.

No, God's great he's powerful he's omniscient, we should set godly goals, godly goals for a life that look like it's something we can't do, but God will help you reach it.

If you're willing to walk the pathway of obedience painted an optimistic spirit trusting him in everything you do.

Then of course to be confident to be confident, doesn't mean to be cocky as me to be proud and egotistical.

It means listen that you have a self-insurance that is based on your relationship to God that whatever he called you to do. You can do it wherever he called you to go you can go where I think about how many missionaries have gone to many many countries in the world laid down their lives preaching and teaching the gospel confident that God had sent them. Therefore they could weather the storms, whatever it might be why wouldn't you be a confident person.

Why would you be assured God as your heavenly father Jesus as your saving the Holy Spirit is your motivation.

He's your Energizer and there was why should we be confident, strong person is, then I would mention to the last things. One of them is to be fruitful. If you strong person you going to be fruitful. Your life is going to be fruitful.

It is going to be just love, joy, peace, goodness, and self-control. It's going to be your life, you gonna multiply your life is going to see you and think you know what that's kind of person I want to be. That's what I want in my life and all of us have met people like that and I can remember of the two pastors. The first one I ever met that I never heard in preaching, like a freeze and I wasn't in Texas when I heard. I remember sitting there thinking God.

I knew somebody could preach like that in tonight hearing it absolutely transformed me, gave me all sorts of confidence and assurance and and wanting to be fruitful in my life. The other man. This first time I ever heard him I thought here's the second man is stirred me. I watched the spirit of God working him out. The Lord, thank you thank you thank you have heard the second man motivated me to want to give my best no matter what study the word of God be true.

The word of God. So if you think about it, you gonna bear good fruit. A battery you know what you somebody sizzle who determines that nobody but us with it. Once you determine that and so a strong life is fruit bearing and character conduct and conversation to be strong.

The last thing I would say is simply this, that is this, life we're talking about will impact the lives of others you can have an influence in other people of strong life always impacts other people so I would encourage you to take this list in your essay will is all this apply to me while I fainted and set up everyone I'm applied to me. I want every single one of those things in my life when offered example will remember something when I went to accomplish certain things I write them down. I put them beside my bed. I put them on my study, there was.

I go over men over men over because I don't want to lose him if you just put this you put this in your browser or motive is really close in my balance on the Ada's get off the paper and get in your heart and your life if you mean business. If you keep it somewhere close that you can keep reading him and really me and thank God what's missing in my life. The Lord shows you look first of all, you not being obedient to me. First of all you not spending time in prayer. There was, if you want a strong life and if I should ask you how many of you, one a week. Life nobody is normal week line and I did share with you the things that make for a strong ally and I pray God will entrench them into your heart and the your daily activities of your life. Amen. Thank you for listening to a strong life. If you'd like to know more about child family and has many faith in text at LIC podcast of the presentation and intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia