Thursday, February 17, 2011

Loving Christ Above All Else

THE PATHWAY TO HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY – Loving Christ Above All Else - Communion Service

We are called to order our lives around nothing else but the love of Christ – the love of Christ must come before all else!
This must be our ‘rule of life’.. Loving God above all else.  Does everyone know what a trellis is?  Those of you who garden or plant flowers know that a trellis allows a plant / vine to get off the ground and grow upward.  Our trellis/ is this rule of life.. it is the intentional, conscious choice and plan to make God the center of everything we do .. everything we are.  Very few people have a conscious plan for developing their spiritual lives. Most of us are not intentional, rather, we seem to be ‘functional’.. kind of like being on autopilot. We do the church thing once a week maybe.. maybe we read the Bible once in awhile, talk to God daily – maybe.. maybe we even go the extra mile and join a small group, support group or bible study.  As we participate in these spiritual activities, are we really conscious about a goal we have for our life – actually, the goal that God has for our life? 

(My Story - Audio)
Do we really understand our need to make Jesus Christ our ‘Lord’ – give Him rightful place or.. are we still looking to Him as just being our ‘Savior’.  What does it mean to make someone the Lord of your life?  What does it mean to be a ‘fully devoted’ follower of Jesus…  It means that we are ‘loving Christ above all else’.  He is the center of our lives.. His love and our love for Him are the energy, the motivating factor for everything!   Everything!  Our work, where we live, how we parent, how we interact in our marriages and friendships, even WHO our friends and spouses are, how we conduct ourselves – how we speak, choices we make…etc…etc…  If we are going to call Him Lord, if we are going to love Christ above all else – there should be evidence of that…   yes… we are all in process.. but we should be seeing some changes.. if not, then we have allowed our love to grow cold and it needs to be reignited. 

That is what this table is about tonight/ communion.  It is an opportunity that Jesus Himself instituted for His followers.. so they might remember… remember His love, His sacrifice, His forgiveness..  His rightful place of Lordship in our lives.  “Greater love has no man than this, that He would lay down his life for his friends”…   Someone willing to die for us, is someone worthy to follow, someone we can blindly trust with every area of our lives as we make Him Lord, Manager & Healer or our lives.

In order for us to experience growth and make Him the center of our lives, we have to have a trellis.. we need a plan.. we need some guides to help us move .. help us grow upward.
If you want to study a Biblical example of this – study the life of Daniel.  Daniel was amongst the most pagan people in the world and yet he grew in His love and Lordship of God despite his surroundings and pressures on his time and life.  Daniel had a trellis – a rule of life – Loving God above all else was the goal.  How did he get there?  The same way you and I must – And.. these are the things we have to be intentional about .. we can’t be haphazard about our relationship with God / our spiritual growth and development.   

Don’t allow yourself to settle for less.. Saints --Don’t be on autopilot in your spiritual life.  We need:
Prayer – that includes: God’s word, Silence & Solitude, Daily times set aside to connect with God, Study
Rest – the Sabbath, Simplicity, Play & Recreation
Work/Activity – Service & Mission, Care for our Physical body
Relationships – Emotional Health, Family, Community – companions for the journey

Tonight we are going to take some of these elements and invite you to participate so you are a step closer to Lordship and Loving Christ Above all Else..
Prayer, Scripture, Silence, Simplicity, Community

Listen to this Song – contemplate the words prayerfully, allow God to connect with you through them… I will pray for us then there will be a few moments of silence as you allow the Lord the opportunity to speak to you before we take the elements together.


GOD'S WORD TO YOU......
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock . . .”
It is true. I stand at the door of you heart, day and night. Even when you are not listening, even when you doubt it could be Me, I am there.
And I want you to know that whenever you invite Me, I do come- always, without fail. Silent and unseen I come, but with infinite power and love. I come with My mercy, with My desire to forgive and heal you, and with a love for you beyond your comprehension. I come longing to console you and give you strength, to lift you up and bind all your wounds. I bring you My light, to dispel your darkness and all your doubts. I come with My power, that I might carry you and all of your burdens; I come with My grace, to touch your heart and transform your life: and My peace I give to still your soul.

I know you through and through- I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me. I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you - even in your wanderings. I know every one of your problems. I know your needs and your worries. And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you - not for what you have or haven’t done - I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity My Father gave you by creating you in His own image. It is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by sin. But I love you as you are, and I have shed My Blood to win you back. If you only ask Me with faith, My grace will touch all that needs changing in your life; and I will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and all its destructive power.

I know what is in your heart - I know your loneliness and all your hurts - the rejections, the judgments, the humiliations. I carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory. I especially know your need for love - how you are thirsting to be loved and cherished. But how often have you thirsted in vain, by seeking that love selfishly, striving to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasure - with the even greater emptiness of sin. Do you thirst for love? “Come to Me all you who thirst. I will satisfy you and fill you. Do you thirst to be cherished? I cherish you more than you can imagine - to the point of dying on a cross for you.
I Thirst For You. I thirst to love you and to be loved by you - that is how precious you are to Me. I Thirst For You. Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in all your trials. never doubt My mercy, My acceptance of you, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you. For Me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you. I Thirst For You. Come to Me, thirst for Me, give Me your life - and I will prove to you how important you are to My Heart.

Sin can never satisfy you, or bring the peace you seek. All that you have sought outside of Me has only left you more empty, so do not cling to the things of this life. Above all, do not run from Me when you fall. Come to Me without delay. When you give Me your sins, you give Me the joy of being your Savior. There is nothing I cannot forgive and heal: so come now, and unburden your soul. I am seeking you every moment of the day - standing at the door of your heart, and knocking. Do you find this hard to believe? Then look at the cross, look at My Heart that was pierced for you. Open your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before.

THE PATHWAY TO HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY – Loving Christ Above All Else
GROUP WORK
1.       Share your experience of communion this evening. Was there something specific God spoke to you that you would like to share?
2.       What does it mean to make Jesus the Lord, Manager and Healer of your life?  Is there an area He is prompting you to give over to His Lordship?
3.       As you consider being ‘intentional’ rather than being on autopilot about your spiritual life, what elements mentioned tonight do you need to pay greater attention to?


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