Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM210012S
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00:09 Who was Jesus?
00:12 He had compassion for the weak and the hurting. 00:15 He loved every person He met 00:17 and taught them how to love. 00:20 His great heart helped all those who came near Him 00:24 but most of all He was a friend. 00:27 That was who He was. 00:29 Now find out who He is. 00:38 Hello friends and welcome back to 3ABN Camp Meeting. 00:41 If you've been following you know that the Lord has 00:44 prepared for you message after message, 00:47 presentation after presentation, whether by music or by the word, 00:50 with "Who is Jesus? " as the question. 00:53 And I pray that all that has been done has answered 00:56 that question in a beautiful way. 00:58 Tonight, thank you that you've joined us on this beautiful 01:01 Sabbath evening, we are expect- ing the Lord to bless once again 01:04 as Jill Morikone is our speaker for tonight. 01:08 Her message is Christ in our Hearts. 01:12 Friends, when you think about where Christ should abide 01:14 that is the best place. 01:15 Now before I go any further I want you to know that 01:18 we have following this the Q&A. 01:21 Pastor Kenny Shelton and Jill Morikone are going to be 01:24 answering YOUR questions. If you'd like to send them in 01:27 you can text your questions to: 01:32 or you can e-mail them to: 01:37 That's for the Q&A following 01:38 but also register at: 01:48 Jill is the vice-president of 3ABN 01:51 but more than all of that she is a student of the Word, 01:54 a woman of the Word, and a godly woman I believe. 01:58 And I know God is going to bless, so please stay with us 02:01 as Jill comes forth to prepare the message and to present 02:04 the message Christ in your Hearts. 02:10 Thank you so much Pastor John. 02:12 We're not starting with music this time because 02:15 we're going to have that as the appeal at the end. 02:17 So stay tuned... you will have that. 02:19 I love the theme for this entire Camp Meeting: 02:22 "Who is Jesus? " 02:23 Who is Jesus to you? 02:25 He is our eternal God and His government is love. 02:29 He's the covenant Son; He's our substitute and surety. 02:32 He is our Redeemer. 02:34 And as we just heard from Pastor Kenny 02:36 He is also our risen Lord and our High Priest. 02:42 Tonight's message is Christ in our Hearts. 02:46 We can know about Him but we never met Him. 02:49 We can proclaim the doctrines and truths in His Word 02:52 but have never been changed in our own character 02:55 or attitude or behavior. 02:59 We can even teach who Jesus is 03:02 and yet we never talked with Him or walked with Him 03:05 or experienced His love and grace for ourselves. 03:10 Tonight is really practical Christianity. 03:13 It's how to walk with Him. 03:15 It is Christ in us... the hope of glory. 03:19 Before we open in prayer I want to read our key scripture. 03:22 We're going to talk about this not only at the beginning 03:25 but all the way through this message. 03:27 So open up your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3. 03:30 We're going to spend a lot of time in the book of Ephesians. 03:33 Ephesians chapter 3. This would be one of Paul's 03:37 prison epistles... meaning he's already in prison. 03:41 He's already facing the end of his life 03:44 and he's penning these epistles, reaching out in this case 03:49 to the brethren around Ephesus 03:51 down the stream of time to you and I. 03:54 There's an incredible prayer in Ephesians chapter 1 03:57 but we're not going there. 03:58 We're going to Ephesians ch. 3. This is the second prayer 04:02 that Paul prays for the believers. 04:04 This is in Ephesians 3. We pick it up in verse 14. 04:08 "For this reason... " What reason? 04:11 The verse before tells us. 04:13 They were worried; they were discouraged 04:16 because Paul was in prison. 04:19 So because the believers were worried about him 04:22 and they were discouraged he prayed. He said: 04:25 "I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 04:28 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth 04:31 is named that He would grant you 04:34 according to the riches of His glory 04:37 to be strengthened with might. " 04:39 That word might is dunamis in the Greek. 04:41 It's miracle-working power. 04:44 Power that comes from God above. 04:47 "We would be strengthened with might... " How? 04:50 "through His Spirit in the inner man. 04:53 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith 04:56 that you - being rooted and grounded in love - 04:59 may be able to comprehend with all the saints 05:02 what is the width and length and depth and height 05:04 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge 05:08 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. " 05:11 Let's pray. 05:13 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus. 05:17 I need You just now. 05:19 I ask for the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. 05:23 I pray, Father, that Your Word which is already anointed 05:27 would come alive. 05:28 That Jesus would be lifted up and seen. 05:31 And Father, that we could be encouraged and strengthened. 05:35 That You can change us and You can transform 05:40 even me into the image of Jesus. 05:44 And we thank you in Jesus' name, Amen. 05:48 I was 13 years old 05:52 just at the cusp of adolescence. 05:55 And I remember very distinctly 05:58 I made a decision. I wrote it actually in my journal 06:03 and I said: "God, I don't want anything to do with You. " 06:08 "God, I'm done with Christianity. " 06:11 "I have read in the Word of God where Jesus walked on water. 06:17 I read that He raised the dead. 06:20 I read where the lame walked and the blind could see 06:25 but, God, I haven't seen that. 06:27 I haven't seen anyone raised from the dead. 06:29 I haven't seen any miracle that You have performed today. 06:32 Not only that, You say in II Corinthians 5 06:36 that if anyone's in Christ they're a new creature. 06:38 Old things have passed away and all things have become new. 06:41 But God, I have never even seen a transformed life. 06:46 When I look around me, all I see are hypocritical Christians. 06:51 I want nothing to do with You. " 06:55 And so I made a deliberate choice 06:57 and I walked away from God. 07:00 Six months of my life went by like that 07:02 and I don't know, it could have been many more years 07:05 like that but something happened. 07:08 My mom changed. 07:10 My mom is a great mom and she was a good mom, but 07:13 she did not know Jesus. 07:14 But when I reached 13 and I was in this wilderness 07:18 time of walking away from God 07:21 my mom began to change because she met Jesus. 07:25 And the change in her life was so dramatic 07:28 that I thought maybe there's something to Christianity. 07:30 Maybe what I read in the Word of God actually is true. 07:34 Maybe Jesus can change peoples' hearts and lives. 07:38 And so I read Psalm 34:8. 07:40 You know that Psalm. It says: "Taste and see 07:42 that the Lord is good. Blessed is everyone 07:45 who trusts in Him. " 07:47 And I read that and I said: "OK, God, I will give You 07:50 two weeks to show Yourself to me. " 07:53 And in those two weeks I began to experience 07:56 His grace and His goodness and His power 08:01 that I wanted to give my heart and life to Him. 08:04 And over the years I have definitely experienced 08:07 those times and moments when I walked with Him 08:10 and experienced Him and knew Him as my Savior. 08:15 And yet... I wish I could tell you this was a long time ago... 08:18 this was only last Friday. 08:22 Last Friday a situation arose at work 08:24 and I responded out of frustration and anger. 08:29 In fact, someone walked in the office and I said: "I am 08:31 so frustrated right now! " 08:33 And I sent a text to someone else saying 08:35 "I'm really frustrated. " 08:37 And you know what bothered me the most 08:40 is that I was not walking with Jesus as I should. 08:46 That there were still rough edges in my own character. 08:51 Have you ever experienced that? 08:53 You could say: "I'm a Christian; I shouldn't feel this, 08:56 I shouldn't do that. 08:58 I shouldn't act in this way. " 09:00 Have you ever gone from preaching to a pity party? 09:03 I think about Elijah on Mount Carmel. 09:06 What did he do? He defied the prophets of Baal. 09:09 He stood for the one true God. 09:12 He said: "If the Lord is God, follow Him... 09:14 but if Baal, then follow him. " 09:16 And then just that very night 09:19 after he made this proclamation 09:22 of allegiance to the one true God 09:24 he ran from a woman and hid in the wilderness. 09:28 And what happened? He said: "God, I'm the only one left 09:32 here. " And God said: "No, that's not right. 09:33 There's 7,000 other people 09:35 who have not bowed the knee to Baal. " 09:38 I think about Moses interceding for God's people 09:41 when God said: "I'm going to blot out this people! " 09:44 And Moses said: "Please God! 09:47 Don't blot out this people. Blot me out instead. 09:50 God, remember You are merciful. " 09:53 And then just a short while later 09:55 he strikes the rock in anger. 10:00 Have you ever thought: "I'm a good enough Christian. 10:02 I've accepted Jesus as my Savior 10:04 I pay tithe. I've never murdered anyone or stole from anyone. 10:09 I'm faithful to my spouse. 10:11 I honor the Sabbath Day. " 10:14 That reminds me of the parable in Luke chapter 18:11. 10:18 We call it the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector 10:21 or the Publican. And the Bible says 10:24 the Pharisee stood and prayed "thus with himself. " 10:27 You notice it's with himself 10:29 'cause I'm not even sure that prayer's goin' up to God. 10:31 He stood and prayed "thus with himself. " 10:34 "God, I thank you that I am not like other men. " 10:39 Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? 10:42 Do you have Christ in your heart? 10:44 Are you Christ-like? 10:46 Have you ever held onto a grudge or nursed bitterness 10:49 against someone else? 10:51 Have you ever gossiped about someone else? 10:54 Have you ever lashed out in anger or frustration? 10:57 Have you ever wished for something that wasn't yours? 11:00 Have you ever fostered an impure thought? 11:04 Have you ever reacted with a critical judgmental spirit? 11:08 Have you ever indulged feelings of your own self-importance? 11:13 If I'm being transparent with you 11:15 I've done all of those things. 11:17 On the converse side, do we love others? 11:22 Do we walk in peace with others? 11:25 Do we freely forgive? Do we react in kindness? 11:28 Do we seek to encourage? Do we stand for principle 11:32 no matter what? 11:34 In short: is Christ residing in our hearts? 11:39 I've divided the message up to- night into 3 different sections. 11:43 We're going to spend the balance of our time 11:45 on the first two sections. 11:46 The first section is purpose. This is the why. 11:50 It's more the theological underpinning for the message. 11:53 The middle section is process. 11:55 This is the how. It's practical. 11:58 And the final section is promise. This is the hope 12:03 that we have as Christians. 12:05 So the purpose. This is why. What's the purpose? 12:08 When Christ dwells in our hearts what does that accomplish? 12:12 Then the process: how. 12:15 How does Christ dwell in our hearts? 12:19 And finally the promise. This is the promises 12:21 we have in the Word of God... 12:24 the hope that we have as Christians. 12:26 So let's look at the purpose. 12:27 This is the theological underpinning. 12:30 This is the what. What is the purpose 12:32 for Christ to dwell in your heart and in mine? 12:35 What does it accomplish? 12:36 We're going back to Ephesians. 12:38 I told you we're going to spend a lot of time here. 12:40 Ephesians 3 verse 14. 12:43 "For this reason... " We already read this. 12:44 "For this reason... " We know this reason. 12:46 Because Paul is in prison and because the believers 12:50 are worried about him. 12:52 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord 12:56 Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth 12:59 is named, that He would grant you according to the 13:03 riches of His glory to be strengthened with might... " 13:05 that's dunamis, miracle-working power, 13:08 "through His Spirit in the inner man 13:10 that Christ Jesus may dwell in your hearts by faith. " 13:13 Let's stop right there. That word dwell 13:15 comes from two Greek words. 13:17 It's a combination or a synthesis of both words. 13:19 koto and oikeo. 13:22 Now we see the word oikeo often in the Greek 13:25 and it means to reside. Like you're going to take 13:27 up residence... you're going to live somewhere. 13:29 But in this case oikeo: 13:32 it's the combination of koto and oikeo 13:35 and it means to house permanently. 13:38 Literally: to settle down as a permanent residence... 13:43 to reside. 13:45 So Christ doesn't want to just move in and then He moves 13:48 out somewhere else. He doesn't want to 13:50 be a passing guest and He stays for a night or two 13:54 or ten or twenty or even a year. 13:57 He wants to live in our hearts permanently 14:01 by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith. 14:04 "That you, being rooted and grounded in love, 14:07 may be able to comprehend with all the saints 14:09 what is the width and length and depth and height 14:14 and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge 14:17 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. " 14:21 What happens when Christ dwells in our hearts 14:25 through faith? 14:26 Spurgeon compares it to Jacob's ladder 14:29 meaning each rung is a growth in grace. 14:34 What happens when He dwells in our hearts through faith? 14:36 Number one: it roots and grounds us in love. 14:39 Number two: it enables us to speak to each other in love. 14:44 Number three: it enables us to understand 14:46 the surpassing love of Christ. 14:49 And number four: it enables us to be filled 14:51 with all the fullness of God. 14:53 So let's go back & unpack that. 14:55 When Christ resides in our hearts through faith - 14:58 when He takes up permanent residence - what happens? 15:01 It roots and grounds us in love. 15:04 We just read that in Ephesians 3:17. 15:07 "That Christ may dwell... " or take up permanent residence... 15:11 "in your hearts through faith 15:13 that you be rooted and grounded in love. " 15:16 Now you notice there's two metaphors that Paul uses here. 15:20 The first is rooted, which would be an agricultural metaphor. 15:23 The second is grounded, which would be probably 15:25 an architectural metaphor. 15:28 That we would be "rooted. " That word means 15:31 in Greek to become stable. 15:33 To firmly establish. That would be rooted. 15:37 This is the agricultural analogy. 15:39 A tree is a living, growing organism. 15:43 The Christian life - our life as Christians - 15:46 is a living, growing relationship with Christ. 15:51 You know, in Galatians chapter 5 we learn about 15:53 the fruit of the Spirit. And the 1st fruit is what? 15:56 "The fruit of the Spirit is love. " 15:58 You see, if you walk in the Spirit 16:01 love will be manifest in the life. 16:04 But conversely on the other side 16:08 if we don't demonstrate love toward God and others, 16:11 we're not walking in the Spirit. 16:13 At best we're just a babe in Christ 16:17 and He hasn't yet really fully taken up residence 16:20 in our heart. At worst, we're not a Christian at all. 16:25 What about the grounded analogy? 16:27 We have the agricultural one: being rooted in love. 16:31 But we're also to be grounded in love. 16:34 That word means to lay the foundation of or to settle. 16:37 So it's talking about like building a foundation. 16:40 We're to be grounded in knowledge... yes! 16:42 But we're also to be grounded in grace and in love. 16:47 It reminds me of II Peter 3 verse 18. 16:50 Peter tells the believers: "But grow in grace 16:54 and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. " 16:59 Grow in the grace AND knowledge of our Lord and Savior 17:04 Jesus Christ. Grace? It leads to growth. 17:07 But what type of growth? We are to grow in grace, 17:11 in love, and in knowledge. 17:14 I don't know if you've ever met Christians 17:16 who... they only grow in love. Have you noticed that? 17:19 They say: "It's all about grace. 17:20 I don't have to worry about anything and I clearly 17:24 don't need to keep any of the Commandments 17:26 'cause everything was done for me at the cross 17:28 and I can just relax and it's all about grace. " 17:31 It is about love AND it is about grace 17:34 'cause we are saved by grace through faith. 17:37 At the same time, we're not just to grow in grace. 17:40 We're not just to grow in love. 17:42 We are to grow in knowledge. 17:46 But then on this side there are some Christians 17:49 they only grow in knowledge. 17:50 All they do is study. 17:52 All they do is say: "I'm going to learn something 17:55 in the Word of God so I can beat you over the head 17:57 with it. " They become educated 18:01 but they're educated infidels. 18:03 In other words they know things intellectually 18:06 but they never met Jesus. 18:08 They're not growing in grace and in love. 18:11 So that combination of being rooted and grounded 18:14 in love and growing in grace AND knowledge 18:18 combined together. 18:20 We're to be rooted; we're to be grounded in love. 18:24 Now whose love is that? 18:26 Clearly it's Christ's love. 18:27 You think about Romans 5:8. 18:29 God... He demonstrated His own love for us 18:32 in that while we were yet sinners... 18:35 That word in Greek yet means still, yet, even now. 18:39 While we were still in sin. While we wallowed 18:43 in our own "junk, " Christ... He died for us. 18:48 But it's not just Christ's love 18:50 that we are rooted and grounded in. 18:52 It's also our love for others. 18:56 John 13:35 says: "By this 18:59 all will know that you are My disciples: 19:02 if you have love for one another. " 19:06 So the first purpose of Christ abiding in our hearts 19:11 is that it roots and grounds us in love. 19:13 And what happens? What is the outgrowth of that? 19:16 Turn over one chapter to Ephesians chapter 4. 19:19 Ephesians 4. We'll pick it up in verse 14 & 15. 19:23 "That we... " you and I... "should no longer be children 19:26 tossed to and fro and carried about 19:29 with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men. " 19:33 So let's stop a minute. Did you notice they sound 19:35 grounded? They sound rooted, do they not? 19:39 They're no longer tossed to and fro 19:41 but they are grounded. Why's that? 19:45 Because I believe that the experience in Ephesians 3 19:48 has already taken place in the believer's heart 19:51 by the time we get to Ephesians 4. 19:52 That Christ dwells in their hearts through faith 19:56 and then they are rooted and grounded in love. 19:59 The outgrowing of being rooted and grounded in love 20:02 is what? That we're not going to be tossed about 20:05 by every wind of doctrine... by the trickery of men 20:08 and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. 20:11 But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things 20:17 into Him who is the head... even Christ. 20:21 So when you and I are rooted and grounded in love 20:24 what happens? We're not tossed about by 20:26 every wind of doctrine. But also we learn to speak the truth 20:30 in love. I received an e-mail... 20:34 Actually I did not. The e-mail came in to 3ABN 20:38 and it was actually to someone else at 3ABN... 20:43 one of our managers. And they sent me a text 20:45 and they said: "Jill, I just got this e-mail 20:48 and it's actually directed for you and it's meant for you 20:51 but I'm not sure I should send it to you. " 20:55 And I said: "Well, what do you mean? " 20:57 And they said: "Well, it's a little strong, Jill. " 21:01 And I said: "It's OK... " be- cause everything that comes in - 21:05 the correspondence, the e-mails, the letters - 21:08 is important because we want to respond to 21:11 because our 3ABN family is important. 21:13 And so she said: "OK, it's coming your way but 21:17 I just want to apologize ahead of time. " 21:19 And I thought: "Oh, this must be kind of strong. " 21:21 Because we pass e-mails all the time and say: "Would you answer 21:24 this? " Would you handle this? " We don't even think about that. 21:27 And so this e-mail begins this way. I'm going to read you 21:30 the first two sentences. 21:32 "What a disappointment that Jill or should I say Jezebel is. 21:38 I can't stand to hear God's Word coming out 21:41 of her Jezebel face. " 21:44 And I read that and I said: 21:48 "Ooh! I wish I hadn't read that! " 21:53 And then I went to God 21:56 and He reminded me 21:59 that we don't control what other people say to us. 22:01 We don't control what other people say about us 22:05 but I can control how I respond to other people. 22:11 You see, we are called to speak the truth in love. 22:16 Yes, sometimes we need to share something that could be 22:19 strong but it needs to be always spoken in love. 22:24 And God said: "Jill, I want you as My daughter 22:27 to make sure you are always kind 22:30 in the words you use with other people. " 22:33 So what is the purpose of Christ dwelling in our hearts 22:37 through faith? What happens? We are rooted and grounded 22:42 in love. We learn to be kind. 22:45 We learn to speak the truth in love with our brothers 22:49 and sisters. Number three: it enables us 22:53 to lay hold of the surpassing love of Christ. 22:58 Let's read verses 18 and 19 of Ephesians chapter 3. 23:02 "That we may be able to compre- held with all the saints... " 23:06 There's two words I want you to watch in this passage. 23:08 We're looking at comprehend and all... those two words. 23:11 "That you may be able to comprehend 23:13 with all the saints what is the width and length 23:16 and depth and height. To know the love of Christ 23:19 which passes knowledge. " 23:21 That word comprehend in Greek doesn't mean understand. 23:24 It means to lay hold of or to seize. 23:29 You and I need to lay hold of - 23:30 reach out and seize - a proper understanding 23:35 of the love of Christ. 23:37 You know, it takes love to understand love. 23:40 We can only catch a glimpse of His love 23:43 if we experience His love. 23:45 He needs to dwell in our hearts by faith 23:47 in order for that to happen. 23:49 We need to experience His love to be rooted and grounded 23:52 in love for us to even be able to reach out 23:55 and lay hold and grasp and comprehend 23:58 the incredible love of God. 24:01 You know, when I was in college I remember 24:04 a girlfriend and I we heard a lot of sermons 24:06 on the justice of God and we heard a lot of sermons 24:09 on the law of God. And this is incredible and it's powerful. 24:13 But I remember missing sermons on the love of God. 24:18 And my girlfriend was a little braver than I 24:21 and she went up to one of the deans at school and said: 24:24 "Ah, do you think we could hear a sermon on the love of God? 24:27 We would really like to hear that. " 24:29 And the person said: "Oh, honey, we're past that now. 24:33 That's the milk of the Word; 24:34 we're on to the meat of the Word. " 24:37 I want to tell you tonight that you and I will NEVER 24:40 fully be able to comprehend, to lay hold of, 24:43 to seize, to understand 24:45 the depth of our Father's love. 24:48 This is a subject that we can dwell on for all eternity 24:52 and never fully understand 24:54 and never fully grasp and never fully comprehend. 24:58 Remember that passage I said there were two words 25:00 we're going to look at? The first is comprehend 25:02 meaning we're supposed to actively reach out, 25:05 lay hold of, and grasp an understanding 25:09 of the love of God. 25:11 The second was the word all. 25:13 We may be able to comprehend with "all the saints. " 25:16 Why didn't he just say that we need to understand? 25:19 It's important. We individually need to understand 25:22 the love of God. Why did he say we need to understand 25:26 with all the saints? Because I believe that comprehending 25:29 Christ's love... it happens in community. 25:33 We understand Christ's love more 25:36 when it's demonstrated to us. 25:39 Was there ever a time in your life when you deserved justice 25:42 and yet someone extended to you grace? 25:46 Was there ever a time when you deserved condemnation 25:49 and yet someone extended to you forgiveness? 25:53 Was there ever a time when you needed to vent 25:56 or just share something difficult that you were 25:58 going through and someone else listened and cared? 26:02 Comprehending - understanding the love of God - 26:05 takes place best in community. 26:09 'Cause when you extend grace when I deserve justice 26:13 that shows me just a picture of the love of our God. 26:19 Now in that passage we read it said we reach out, 26:22 we actively lay hold of and seize and comprehend 26:25 God's love in community with all the saints. 26:29 But remember the direction that the love's supposed to go? 26:33 It was the width and the length 26:35 and the depth and the height. 26:39 The width: God's love is for every people: 26:42 of every nation, tongue, tribe, and people. 26:44 It's to extend the length from eternity past 26:47 through eternity future forever and ever. 26:50 It reaches down from heaven to you and I 26:54 caught in the slave market of sin and pulls us up. 26:59 And in fact, it pulls us up from where we are now 27:02 to be seated with Christ - there's the height - 27:05 in heavenly places. 27:07 Number four: what is the purpose? 27:11 When Christ dwells in our hearts through faith what happens? 27:14 Number four: it enables us to be filled with all the fullness 27:18 of God. That's in Ephesians 3:19. 27:21 The word fullness in Greek actually means completion. 27:23 It's the same word in Romans 13:10 27:26 where Paul tells the believers "love is the fulfilling 27:30 of the law... " meaning love is the completion 27:33 of the law. It's the same word in Galatians 4 verse 4 27:37 where Paul says again: "when the fullness or completion 27:42 of time had come God sent forth His Son 27:45 born of a woman, born under the law. " 27:47 Jesus came when it was the right time. 27:49 He came on schedule; He came when the time was completed. 27:53 So if you and I are to be filled with the fullness 27:56 or the completion of God 27:59 as our capacity to receive Him, to understand Him, 28:02 to know Him, to love Him grows 28:04 we are filled again and again 28:07 to capacity... up to completion. 28:11 What happens when Christ dwells in our hearts through 28:13 faith? It roots and grounds us in love. 28:16 It enables us to speak the truth in love. 28:19 It enables us to reach out and grasp and understand 28:23 and comprehend the surpassing love of Christ. 28:25 It enables us to be filled with all the fullness of God. 28:29 Let's look at the second part of our message tonight. 28:32 This is the process. We looked at the purpose. 28:35 Now let's look at the process. This is the practical aspect. 28:37 How? You might say: "Well that's all well and good 28:40 but I have no idea how is Christ to dwell in my heart. " 28:43 How is this achieved in the life of a Christian? 28:50 "That God would grant us 28:52 according to the riches of His glory 28:54 to be strengthened with might... " 28:56 that's the dunamis... miracle working power... 28:58 "through His Spirit in the inner man. " 29:01 "That Christ may dwell... " permanent residence... 29:04 "in our hearts through faith. " 29:06 So how does Christ dwell in our hearts? 29:09 So I would submit to you there are five keys 29:12 for Christ dwelling in our hearts. 29:14 We'll give them and then we'll go back and unpack them. 29:15 Key number one: acknowledge our inability 29:19 to change ourselves. Acknowledge your inability 29:22 to change yourself. Number two: choose your Master. 29:26 Number three: accept Him by faith. 29:30 Number four: ask for the Holy Spirit. 29:34 And finally number five: allow Him access into your heart. 29:40 Let's look at number one: acknowledge your inability 29:43 to change yourself. 29:47 "All our righteousness is as filthy rags. " 29:52 I remember my nephew when he was two 29:55 throwing one of those temper tantrums. You've seen kids 29:58 in the grocery aisle, you know, when mom and dad are 30:01 checking out at the supermarket 30:02 and there's all the candy and what do they say? 30:04 "I want this" and "give me this" 30:06 and "I want this. " And if mom and dad say "no" 30:08 sometimes they can have a melt- down in the middle of the store. 30:10 I know I've seen some. 30:12 And so I remember my nephew having this meltdown: 30:15 arms and legs flailing and face red from crying, 30:19 tear running down his face. 30:20 And yet in the midst of all this 30:23 him crying out: "Jesus, help me be good. " 30:26 "Jesus, help me be good. " 30:29 Why is that? Because even a child 30:32 understands that our righteousness is filthy rags. 30:37 There's nothing we can do in and of ourselves 30:41 in order to merit favor, in order to become a better person, 30:46 in order to be a godly person that somehow can be 30:50 accepted by God. No! 30:52 Our righteousness is as filthy rags. 30:55 The Ethiopian surely can't change the color of his skin 30:58 and the leopard surely cannot change his spotted coat 31:01 coat into something different. 31:02 The Bible says: "Then may you also do good 31:05 who are accustomed to doing evil. " 31:08 So the first key is just to acknowledge that 31:10 you can't fix yourself. 31:11 Second key: choose your Master. 31:14 Turn with me to the book of Romans. 31:15 I love the book of Romans. Romans chapter 6 31:18 is this entire chapter on death to the old life of sin 31:23 and it's this analogy of baptism. 31:26 The burial in the watery grave: this is that death to the old 31:29 man or woman - the old life of sin - 31:32 and then the resurrection to newness of life... 31:36 to life with Jesus. 31:38 So in Romans 6:16 Paul says: 31:41 "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves 31:44 slaves to obey you are that one's slave 31:48 whom you obey? 31:49 Whether of sin leading to death 31:52 or of obedience leading to righteousness. " 31:56 Do you get that? There's a fork in the road. 31:59 Not just one fork and we're good for life. 32:02 There's a fork every day. And if I'm being honest with you 32:05 I've got forks... I was going to say every hour 32:09 but it happens more often than that... 32:10 probably every minute, every 5 minutes there's a fork. 32:13 Right? And we make a choice who we're going to serve. 32:18 Now you may say: "Oh, I'm choosing Jesus this morning. " 32:21 But every day we need to make a conscious decision 32:24 and choice when we wake up: "Yes, God, 32:26 I'm Yours today. " "Yes, God, I want to give You my life. " 32:30 "Yes, God, I want to serve You today. " 32:33 Choose your Master; choose who will rule over you. 32:37 Number three: accept Him by faith. 32:41 Remember? In our verse in Ephesians 3:17 it says what? 32:44 "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. " 32:48 How does He dwell? How does He take up residence 32:51 in our hearts? It's through faith. 32:55 When you can't feel God with your feelings 32:59 you feel Him with your faith. 33:03 We're not saved by how we feel. 33:05 We're saved by the blood of Jesus. 33:07 We're not forgiven by how we feel. 33:09 We are forgiven by the Word of God. 33:12 He doesn't dwell in our hearts by feeling 33:14 or if we think He's residing there. 33:16 He dwells in our hearts by faith. 33:19 You know, I John 1:9 says what? 33:23 "If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just 33:25 to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 33:29 So we're not forgiven if we FEEL forgiven. 33:32 We're not forgiven based on what WE think. 33:35 We're forgiven because God's Word says 33:38 if you ask He forgives. 33:40 He cleanses and He will sanctify. 33:43 Romans 3:24 talks about us being justified by faith. 33:48 We're not justified because we think we're justified 33:51 or if we FEEL justified. 33:53 It's because God's Word says that we are justified 33:56 by the blood of Jesus. 33:59 "By grace you have been saved 34:01 through faith... " We're not saved by how we feel. 34:04 We are saved because God's Word says it's true 34:07 and we reach out and claim that by faith. 34:11 You see, God stands back of every promise He has made. 34:14 Number four: We ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 34:19 Back to Ephesians 3:16. " That He... " that's God... 34:22 "would grant you according to the riches of His glory 34:26 to be strengthened with might... " How? 34:28 "through His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell 34:33 in your hearts through faith. " Did you notice the whole Godhead 34:35 is present? "That God... " That's how it begins. 34:37 And then we're strengthened through the Spirit 34:42 and then Christ dwells in our hearts. 34:46 Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 34:48 You know the battle in Romans chapter 7? 34:50 If you've ever read Romans 7 it's a paradox. 34:53 Paul says what? "The things I want to do 34:56 I don't do. And the things I hate 34:59 those are things I do. " 35:01 It's like waking up in the morning and saying 35:03 "Oh but I really... I'm going to resist this temptation. 35:05 I'm not goin to do that today. " 35:07 And then you give in to that. This is the life of me and you. 35:12 This is the life of us trying in our own strength. 35:17 In fact, in Romans 7:24 it says: 35:20 "O wretched man that I am! 35:21 Who can deliver me from this body of death? " 35:24 I'm so thankful that the Word of God does not end in Romans 7. 35:27 I'm so thankful that there's hope. 35:30 We get to the next chapter: Romans chapter 8 verse 1. 35:35 Enter the Holy Spirit. 35:37 "There is therefore now no condemnation 35:41 to those who are in Christ Jesus. " 35:43 Now some people stop there and they say: "OK, 35:44 I'm in Christ... there's no condemnation. " 35:46 But the verse doesn't stop there. 35:47 "There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus 35:50 who do not walk according to the flesh 35:54 but according to the Spirit. " 35:56 You see what the difference is? 35:58 The difference is the Holy Spirit in the life 36:01 of the believer. 36:03 The Holy Spirit is what makes the difference. 36:06 We go from Romans 7 saying "Oh wretched man or woman that I am! 36:10 Who can deliver me from this body of death? " 36:12 "God, I want to serve You but I'm not serving You 36:15 and the things I'm doing I know I shouldn't be doing. " 36:18 That's a mess! But we get to Romans 8 verse 1: 36:22 "There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus 36:25 who walk not according to the flesh 36:28 but according to the Spirit. " 36:30 Jump down to verse 11... Romans 8 verse 11. 36:32 "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead 36:35 dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead 36:38 will also give life to your mortal bodies 36:41 through His Spirit which dwells in you. " 36:45 You see, it's the Spirit that gives life. 36:47 It's the Spirit that gives victory. 36:50 Luke 11 verse 9 says: "So I say to you 'Ask... ' " 36:53 In the Greek it means ask and keep on asking. 36:55 "I say to you: seek and keep on seeking. 36:58 I say to you: knock and keep on knocking. " 37:02 And what are we asking for? What are we seeking for? 37:04 Who are we knocking for? 37:06 Verse 13 tells us: 37:09 "If you then being evil know how to give good gifts 37:11 to your children, how much more 37:14 will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit 37:17 to those who simply ask. " 37:20 Key number 5: The final key is to allow Him 37:23 access into your heart. 37:28 I don't know about you 37:31 but sometimes I hold the places of my heart from God. 37:35 I say: "Yes, I want You to reside. " 37:37 "Yes, I want you to live inside but 37:39 there's certain places I don't want You to have access to. " 37:42 "There's certain things I want to hide from You. " 37:45 "There's certain things I don't want to give up. " 37:49 You see surrender is simply two things I believe: 37:53 first we say yes to Jesus. 37:56 Second we crucify the flesh. 37:59 You know, every time we face a fork in the road, 38:01 every time we're faced with a decision 38:03 we can say: "Yes, Jesus, I want to do it Your way" 38:06 or "No, I'm goin' my own way. " 38:07 And when we do it His way 38:09 often there comes this crucifying of the flesh 38:13 combined with that. Romans 8:13 says: 38:16 "If you live according to the flesh you're gonna die 38:18 but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body 38:22 you will live. " You know Galatians 5 talks about this 38:26 tug-of-war: this battle between the flesh 38:29 and the Spirit. Galatians 5:17 says: 38:32 "The flesh... it lusts against the Spirit 38:34 and the Spirit... it lusts against the flesh. 38:37 and these are contrary to one another 38:40 so that you do not do the things that you wish. " 38:44 This sounds like Romans 7 all over again. 38:47 You know, I have a little rope here. When I was... 38:50 my first year out of college student teaching, just brand new 38:53 and we had a field day with the kids. 38:56 And this one time we played a tug-of-war. 38:58 And I don't know if you've ever been involved in tug-of-war... 39:00 There was a big guy on campus. He was tall; 39:04 he was broad; he was large. 39:07 And he got at the end of the rope and he wrapped it 39:11 around his waist like so, and he was the "anchor" they called him 39:15 at the end of the one side of the tug-of-war. 39:17 Now unfortunately I did not choose the right side. 39:20 I chose the other side. 39:22 So I was over here and I still remember... 39:24 You know how you do tug-of-war? You pull back; you pull this way 39:28 you pull back. And I still remember being dragged 39:31 in the mud across the line this way 39:33 because the guy had the anchor around his waist 39:37 and we didn't stand any match for him... 39:38 we just went on that side. 39:40 This reminds me of this tug-of-war: the flesh 39:44 that lusts against the Spirit 39:45 and the Spirit lusts against the flesh. 39:49 We see just a bit later in Galatians 5 the gift of 39:53 the fruit of the Spirit. And then we see in Galatians 5:24 39:57 these words: "Those who are Christ's 40:00 have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. " 40:05 Did you catch that? See surrender is saying "Yes" 40:08 to Jesus. It is... but it also involves 40:11 crucifying the flesh. You know, when I think about 40:14 Christ in our hearts it reminds me of a sign in the 40:17 entryway to an English castle and it reads like this: 40:20 It is the duty of the host to make the guest feel at home. 40:24 It is the duty of the guest to remember that they are not. 40:28 You know the first part it's the duty of the host 40:32 to make the guest feel at home. 40:34 That applies to us. 40:36 We need to make Christ feel at home in our hearts. 40:41 But the second part, the part about the guest 40:43 remembering that they're not at home 40:46 that doesn't apply to Christ at all because He is not a guest. 40:49 He is the rightful owner of my heart 40:53 because He's purchased me with His blood. 40:56 I love this little book. It's a tiny book but it has 40:58 a powerful message in it. 41:00 It's called My Heart - Christ's Home. 41:02 It's written by Robert Boyd Munger. 41:04 And he quotes in the very beginning 41:06 from Ephesians chapter 3 verse 17. 41:09 "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. " 41:11 But he quotes it from the Weymouth translation. 41:14 I'm not sure I pronounced that correctly. 41:15 It says: "That Christ may settle down 41:18 and be at home in your hearts through faith. " 41:24 The book compares the rooms that you and I would have in our home 41:27 dining room, bedroom, living room, study - 41:32 all the regular rooms we have in our home 41:34 and compares them to areas of our life 41:38 that Christ wants to have access to if He's going to 41:42 settle down and take up residence in our hearts. 41:46 He starts with the library. 41:48 I don't know if Christ has ever entered the library of your 41:51 heart? This would be the study of the mind. 41:54 But I know in my life maybe there are some books, 41:57 maybe there are some movies, maybe there are some magazines 42:00 that you wish He wasn't looking at. 42:02 You wish Jesus didn't know that you had in your home. 42:05 And yet He says: "I can replace that. 42:09 I want to put My Word in the study hall of your mind 42:13 and I want to hang a picture of Jesus right there 42:17 front and center. " II Corinthians 3:18 says: 42:19 "We all with open face 42:21 beholding as in a glass the glory of our Lord 42:24 are changed... " How? "into the same image 42:26 from glory to glory. " We are changed by beholding. 42:30 What you look at, what you study 42:33 that changes you into that image. 42:35 So hang a picture of Christ front and center in the mind. 42:39 The next room is the dining room: 42:41 the room of appetites and desires. 42:44 Many times we serve up money; we serve up academic degrees; 42:47 we serve up fame; we serve up stocks; 42:50 we serve up pride and ego. 42:52 And yet Jesus said when He walked this earth 42:54 "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me. " 42:58 The living room is set apart of course for that time 43:01 in the morning when Jesus wants to meet with me. 43:04 And yet some mornings I rush out the door 43:06 'cause I'm in a hurry and I say: "I don't have time 43:08 to meet with You" and yet He's still sitting there. 43:10 The fire is burning; He says: "I'm ready... 43:13 waiting for our time together. " 43:16 We can go to the work room or the restroom or the bedroom 43:19 and they all have their analogies and meanings. 43:21 But my favorite part about this little book 43:24 is the hall closet. 43:26 You see, one day Jesus got home and I had asked Him 43:29 into my heart and I had given Him access 43:32 to all these different rooms. 43:33 And I said: "Yes, I want You to reside. " 43:36 "Yes, I want You to live in my heart. " 43:38 And yet in my hall closet there were some things 43:40 I didn't want Jesus to know about 43:42 and I kept them from Him. 43:46 And one day Jesus walked in the door 43:48 and He said: "There's a bad smell in here. " 43:50 And I said: "Oh, no, please, don't go to the hall closet. 43:53 Please... I don't want... " "Something's dead... 43:56 I can smell it. " He said: "Please, 44:00 give Me access to the hall closet. I will clean it. " 44:06 And I said: "No. " 44:07 I don't know if you've ever experienced walking with Jesus 44:12 and what it's like to turn your back on Him? 44:14 What it's like to turn around and say: "OK, God, 44:17 I don't want You in my heart. I don't need you in my heart; 44:19 I'm gonna do things my own way. " 44:21 It's a horrible experience. 44:23 And so I said: "God, I want to give You access 44:26 into the hall closet but I cannot even take it out 44:30 'cause it's too strong and it's rooted in there too deeply 44:34 and God, I can't get rid of it. " 44:35 And He said: "It's OK. " Says: "Give Me the key 44:39 and I will clean it out for you. " 44:41 And He cleaned it out. 44:43 What a feeling of freedom and relief! 44:47 And then I discovered that I was too busy. 44:49 I would clean in the dining room and then the living room 44:51 would get dirty. And I would dust there and then the bedroom 44:53 needed vacuuming and I could not keep up 44:56 and yet Jesus was still the guest. 44:57 And I said: "Why don't You do with the entire house - 45:01 with my entire life - what You did with the hall closet? " 45:04 "Lord, You've been the guest and I was always the host. 45:07 From now on You're the owner 45:09 AND the Master and I... I will simply be the servant. " 45:14 How does Christ dwell in our hearts? 45:16 We acknowledge our inability to change ourselves. 45:19 We choose who our Master is. 45:22 We accept Him by faith. 45:24 We ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 45:27 We allow Him access to your heart. 45:32 Our final section is the promise. 45:35 Christ promises in His Word... 45:38 What does He promise to you? 45:39 When you read the Word of God 45:42 what promises has He extended to you? 45:46 Who is Jesus to you? 45:48 When I read the Word of God this is what I discover: 45:52 "I will love you forever. " 45:55 This is God talking to us. 45:57 "I will draw you in repentance. " 46:01 "I will forgive your sins and remember them no more. " 46:04 "I will redeem you by My blood. " 46:07 "I will redeem you from the curse of the law. " 46:09 "I will redeem you from the penalty of your sins. " 46:13 "I will redeem you from the power of the grave. " 46:15 "I will destroy the works of the devil. " 46:18 "I will destroy your fear of death. " 46:21 "I will bring you out of the kingdom of darkness 46:23 into the kingdom of God's dear Son. " 46:26 "I will justify you by My blood. " 46:28 "I will establish My covenant with you. " 46:31 "I will give you eternal life. " 46:34 "I will anoint you with My Spirit. " 46:35 "I will be your Father. " 46:37 "I will be your Advocate. " 46:39 "I will be your Mediator; I will be your Intercessor. " 46:42 "I will be your Light. " "I will be your Shepherd. " 46:45 "I will give you a new heart... a heart of flesh. " 46:48 "I will write My law in your heart. " 46:51 "I will bestow on you My grace. " 46:53 "I will give you My victory; I will sanctify you completely. " 46:57 "I will make you righteous and holy. " 46:59 "I will give you an abundant life. " 47:02 "I will enable you to walk in love. " 47:04 "I will grant you My peace. " 47:06 "I will BE your peace. " 47:08 "I will remove your fear. " 47:10 "I will fill you with My joy. " 47:13 "I will give you grace when you need it most. " 47:15 "I will hear and answer your prayers. " 47:18 "I will give you an inheritance. " 47:21 "I will come again and bring you home with Me. " 47:24 "I will give you something to talk about. " 47:27 "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. " 47:30 "I will dwell in your hearts through faith. " 47:35 Do you love God like that? 47:37 Could you trust a God like that? 47:40 Could you give Him access to those places in your heart 47:43 that you always hold back 47:45 that you never want anybody else to see? 47:48 That you don't want anybody else to know about? 47:51 "I pray that from His glorious unlimited resources... " 47:56 This is the New Living trans- lation of Ephesians 3:16-17: 48:01 ' I pray from His glorious unlimited resources 48:05 He will empower you with inner strength 48:09 through His Holy Spirit. 48:10 Then Christ will make His home in your hearts 48:14 as you trust in Him. 48:16 Your roots will go down deep into God's love. 48:21 and keep you strong. " 48:23 Every time my sister has a new baby 48:26 I always go to her house in North Carolina for a visit. 48:30 Now it's been years since she had a new baby 48:32 'cause she's got 4 sons and they're growing very well. 48:34 But I remember when she had the littlest one. 48:37 He was just a newborn, and I flew to North Carolina 48:40 and said: "Let's spend some time together. " 48:42 And I watched the three older boys. At this time 48:45 they were 2, 4, and 6. 48:48 So I would watch them so she'd have some rest 48:51 with the little baby. 48:54 Their favorite game at that time was hide and seek. 48:57 And I used to love hide and seek & I would count in the kitchen. 49:01 And you know how you play hide and seek? 49:02 One, two, three... and I could hear the little stockinged feet 49:06 as they scampered away to go hide. 49:08 Four, five, six... 49:10 The baby cried. I could hear my sister 49:13 in the room as she soothed him and tried to quiet him. 49:17 Seven, eight, nine... 49:19 And all of a sudden I'd hear a little voice 49:20 from somewhere in the house: "Ca-wab here. " 49:24 You see, Caleb was only two. 49:26 He did not know that the object of hide and seek 49:30 is to remain hidden and he would call out 49:34 from wherever he was supposedly hiding. 49:37 Now I would always ignore him 49:39 and I would go to the living room. "Maybe Caleb's 49:42 behind the chair? " 49:44 No Caleb. "Maybe Caleb's over here behind the door? " 49:48 No Caleb. 49:50 Then I would hear again: "Ca-wab here. " 49:53 And I would ignore him and go in the bathroom. 49:57 "Maybe Caleb's hiding in the shower? " 50:00 And you'd pull back the shower curtain. No Caleb. 50:03 "Maybe Caleb's by the washing machine? " 50:06 No Caleb. 50:07 Then I'd go in the bedroom and there he was: 50:10 head underneath the bed 50:12 arms and torso and legs sprawled out in plain view 50:18 in the middle of the room. 50:20 And I would ignore him again. "Maybe Caleb's in the closet? " 50:24 And then I could hear giggles from underneath the bed 50:27 'cause he was so proud of his hiding place... 50:29 so proud of the fact that Auntie Jill 50:32 she couldn't find him. 50:33 And then I exhausted all the places I could look 50:36 and I pounced on him under the bed. 50:37 "There's Caleb! He's here right underneath the bed! " 50:41 And he would come out all happy that it had taken 50:44 such a long time for me to find him. 50:46 And as he toddled off I sat back and I thought 50:51 how often I surrendered my all to Jesus 50:54 little realizing that the greater part of my heart 50:58 was still unconverted. Full of undiscovered sins 51:02 sticking out in the middle of the room. 51:06 And yet Jesus had never scolded me - not once, not ever. 51:11 He'd never said: "There's a whole mess of you 51:13 lying out here in full view. 51:14 Don't you think you can realize that and grow up? " 51:17 Instead He showed me my heart 51:19 as I made a choice: "Yes, Jesus, I want You as 51:22 my Master. Yes, Jesus, I want to follow You. " 51:26 He showed me every day another piece. 51:29 There was jealousy and I didn't even know it was there. 51:33 There was fear... and I didn't want that. 51:36 There was pride and it had taken root and was reseeding 51:41 itself with amazing rapidity. 51:43 And I said: "God, would You take it? " 51:46 There was bitterness that lurked just beneath the surface 51:50 and I dug myself thinking I could get rid of it 51:53 and yet I couldn't... I was powerless to control it. 51:57 And in desperation I turned to Him 52:00 and said: "Please, God, would You take the key 52:03 and would You take this from me? " 52:06 You see, the freedom that we have 52:10 as sons and daughters of God - 52:13 the freedom from sin's fetters - 52:15 the freedom from addiction, the freedom from the sins that 52:19 so easily beset us. 52:22 "No more in chains of sin I repine... 52:26 Jesus, the glorious emancipator 52:29 now and forever He shall be mine! " 52:34 Listen as they sing. 52:43 Once I was bound by 52:47 sin's galling fetters. 52:50 Chained like a slave, I 52:53 struggled in vain. 52:56 But I received 52:59 a glorious freedom 53:04 when Jesus broke 53:06 my fetters in twain. 53:10 Glorious freedom! 53:14 Wonderful freedom! 53:17 No more in chains of sin I repine! 53:24 Jesus, the glorious 53:27 emancipator 53:31 now and forever 53:34 He shall be mine! 53:43 Freedom from fear with 53:46 all of its torments; 53:50 freedom from care with 53:53 all of its pain. 53:56 Freedom in Christ, my 54:00 blessed Redeemer 54:03 He who has rent my 54:06 fetters in twain! 54:10 Glorious freedom! 54:13 Wonderful freedom! 54:17 No more in chains of sin I repine. 54:23 Jesus, the glorious 54:27 emancipator 54:30 now and forever 54:33 He shall be mine! 54:37 Glorious freedom! 54:40 Wonderful freedom! 54:44 No more in chains of sin I repine! 54:50 Jesus, the glorious 54:54 emancipator 54:57 now and forever... 55:00 now and forever... 55:04 now and forever 55:07 He shall 55:12 be mine! 55:19 Amen! Thank you so much Pastor Ryan and Tim. 55:22 Aren't you grateful that now and forever 55:26 we belong to Him? 55:28 I don't know where you are in your walk with God 55:32 but if you've never opened up your heart to Him 55:34 now's the time to do so. 55:36 He says: "Today if you will hear My voice 55:39 do not harden your hearts 55:41 but make a choice and say 'Yes, God, would You come in? ' " 55:44 "Yes, God, would You abide? " 55:47 Maybe you've walked with Jesus for years 55:49 and you experienced like I experienced just last week 55:53 that there's something going on in your heart... 55:57 something that He wants to dig out. 55:59 Something that He wants to take. 56:02 Something that He wants to free you from. 56:06 Open up your heart and say: "Yes, God, 56:09 I want You to clean me. 56:12 I want You to change me 56:15 by the power of Your Spirit, 56:18 by the power of the indwelling Christ 56:22 in our hearts. 56:25 Let's do that just now. 56:27 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus. 56:29 We are so grateful that You want to dwell in our hearts. 56:33 Grateful that Jesus saves us by His blood 56:37 but that You don't leave us there. 56:38 That You want to transform us 56:42 by the power of Your Spirit and the indwelling Savior. 56:47 And I ask that You would take us just now. 56:50 Make us Your children 56:52 transformed into the image of God's dear Son. 56:57 And I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, 57:01 Amen. 57:04 His body was broken 57:07 so that we could live, giving us the gift of eternal life. 57:13 He pursues us relentlessly with an everlasting love. 57:18 Regardless of our failures and mistakes 57:22 the One who loves us like no other: 57:26 this is who Jesus IS. |
Revised 2021-12-22