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The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
During May we are working our way through a series titled The Living Christ and Family Living, it is designed to strengthen and enrich family living.
Today we are talking about Christ Lives In My Heart.
Prayer
Heavenly father, we bow our hearts before You today to acknowledge You as our sovereign Creator, Lord, Redeemer.
We come acknowledging You as the giver of every good and perfect gift.
We thank You for life, for love, and for hope.
We thank You for the privilege of worshipping You with our material substance.
Accept it as an expression of the gratitude of our hearts.
Bless it so that others can experience Your love.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Scripture Reading
Colossians 1:24-27 NKJV
Sacrificial Service for Christ
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Introduction
Christianity is wonderful news about a Christ who came and died for our sins.
He then rose from the dead, triumphant over death and the grave, and brought to light the reality of eternal life and the gift of immortality. (2 Timothy 1:8-10)
The living Christ came during His earthly life to the Jewish people.
Many of them rejected Him.
But to those who did receive Him, He gave the privilege of becoming children of God.
He came to live in the hearts and lives of those who received Him by faith.
The presence of the indwelling Christ is the basis for our hope of experiencing God’s full plan for our lives.
Belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ was based on the solid evidence of His repeated appearances to His apostles and the other followers during the days after His resurrection and before His ascension.
He appeared to Mary Magdalene and to the other woman with her.
He walked with two of his followers on the road to Emmaus.
He appears to the apostle Peter.
He appeared in the upper room when Thomas’s absent.
A week later He appeared again when Thomas was present.
He appeared and talked with seven of the disciples by the sea.
He appeared to eleven disciples on the mount in Galilee and spoke out the Great Commission.
He appeared to over five hundred people at another time.
He appeared to James.
As the glorified living Christ, He appeared on the road to Damascus when Saul was converted.
The very existence of the church can be ascribed to the unwavering faith of eleven men who marched throughout their world affirming that Jesus Christ was alive.
Millions of people today can join us saying, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.”
- The living Christ, by His Spirit, is in the world seeking to save people from sin.
Acts 8:26-40 NKJV
Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
Acts 13:1-4 NKJV
Paul and Barnabas Are Sent to the Gentiles
13 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Preaching in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
2. The living Christ comes to live in every believer.
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Ephesians 3:17 NKJV
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Colossians 1:27 NKJV
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The living Christ enters the heart of believers through faith.
It is through faith that the living Christ lives in us.
3. The living Christ lives in our hearts today.
He lives within us as the forgiver of sin.
He lives within us as the giver of life.
He lives within us as the disturber and rebuker of evil.
He lives within us as a trustworthy leader.
He lives within us as an adequate and the ultimate source of energy.
He lives within us as a conqueror of death.
It is impossible to seperate the living Christ from the indwelling Holy Spirit.
What Christ came to accomplish, the Holy Spirit works continuously to achieve.
4. The living Christ wants to live in your heart.
The living Christ can bring to you the peace of knowing that your sins have been forgiven.
The living Christ gives you the joy of being alive with an eternal life.
The living Christ wants to live within you to assure you that divine help will be available when it is needed.
Conclusion.
Jesus Christ must not be thought of as limited to the time of His physical and visible manifestation a long time ago.
In His ascension out Lord stepped behind a curtain where He is no longer visible to us in physical form.
But in the Holy Spirit He comes to be everywhere, present at all times.
The living Christ want to forgive your sin today and bestow upon you the gift of eternal life.
He will become real to you today if by faith you will invite Him to come in and f you mean it with all your heart.
Revelation 3:20 NKJV
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2022 IS A YEAR OF REPENTANCE AND BLESSINGS
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