May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

If you see that scripture it says spirit, soul, and body. Many times we read it, glance over it, and think that is the same exact thing, but if you look at the greek language it says soma, psuche, and pnuema. Soma is for body, psuche for soul, and pnuema for spirit. They are three different components that lie within each one of us. Obviously, the body is the stuff we can taste, touch, smell, hear, and see with. We operate in this world thru our five senses and it is easily seen. If you start talking about the soul though, it is much harder to describe. Many describe it as their personality which is somewhat true. There are three components to the soul. We have emotions, we have intellect, and free will or our ability to choose. Our identity is in our soul it is God breathed into mans nostril in Genesis 2. The last component is the spirit and there are three things as well within our spirit. The first component of the spirit is our communion with Him, our spirit is connected to the Holy spirit and that is how we are one with the Lord. The second is our conscience, it is how we know whether things are right or wrong. And lastly, an intuition, and that is where we sense the leading of the Lord. And it is vital that we understand how these components operate within us.

When you talk about the soul, the body, and the spirit, two of them are hard to conceptualize. The best way to think about it is in the terms of electricity. This is a light bulb. You can touch it, see it, you know at the end of the day though this isn’t all it does, you have to hook it up to something else to get the light bulb to work–basically a wire and a switch. Yet, isnt that true in our lives as well, as we connect to God it is more than just the body and it is amazing how God gives us this free will. We can think of our free will like the light switch, it is our choice to come closer to Christ or away from Christ. Or say from the spirits standpoint, it is not seen, right, but think about your house, there are wires all thru it and you don’t see the wires, but without them the lights would not work. Just like in our body we will not shine brightly if we are not connected to the source. It is about how we connect to the Lord so that we can shine brightly for Him.

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:25

Before we know Christ, it is like all the connections are not there. It is all there it is just not hooked up. What happens is that our spirit and soul divide and our spirit gets hooked up to the Holy Spirit. It is one with the Holy Spirit, and that is why people say that Jesus Christ lives in me. And it doesn’t matter what you are doing or where you are it is all about as we grow in Christ we are to allow the source emanate from us.

How do we get our lives to shine brightly for Christ. If we know we are connected to Christ, and we have a relationship with Him, but many times we do not feel like that. We are not sure what is going on and things feel vague, but Christ doesn’t want that for us. He wants us to continue to pursue Him, and love others with no strings attached. It is so cool when we tap into the power source of the Holy Spirit to our spirit and what happens is our soul changes, and our body changes. Over the next couple of weeks we will talk about how we connect to that source so that we can be centered on Christ.

Scripture 1: John 15:13, 14—“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

Segment 1:
Love was the beginning. Love was the beginning of it all. Love existed in the beginning and was the reason for all of this. We are supposed to glorify Him because of the way He loves us and because of His true nature. If we are to truly love Him, then we are to lay down our lives and thus have created for us a new face and a new heart by which we are to live. We are to be set apart by His love. We are to be sanctified and holy. We are to live as foreigners of this world while living in it.

If we can just take Him at His word that He is all we need and will ever truly want, then all is well and we can finally rest. But that just doesn’t seem to be the case. We always seem to want more. His promises become obsolete and our wants become the focus. Why all this deception? Why all the lies? All we really want is the truth right? Or is it?

Scripture 2: Genesis 3:1-7 “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’ ‘Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’’ ‘You won’t die!’ the serpent replied to the woman. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.’ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her and he ate it too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

Segment 2
If we take a look back at the beginning, we can see the deception in the Garden of Eden. Think about it for a moment, it’s the most perfect place that the world has ever known. Everything is there at their disposal, and still she wanted more. God told them that they could eat of any tree, and completely provided for them exactly what they would need to survive and then some. Then along comes the serpent, a crafty devil in the form of a friend. If they were scared of him then, they would have run, but they weren’t. They were quite comfortable talking to the serpent just as it were any other creature. The serpent then convinces Eve that it’s not what God has provided her with that she needs, it’s what He hasn’t given her that will truly make her see the truth. He entices her with the truth that she would be like God, because the following text supports this as God says that they are like Him and know good and evil. But she had to go about the transaction of acquiring this knowledge in a way that goes completely against God’s command.

The serpent here, tells Eve the greatest lie of all, in telling her that she needs something outside of what God wants for her.

Scripture 3: Romans 8:17-23 “And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.”

Segment 3:
Now in saying that the lie was great, I don’t only mean that it was clever deception, but also that the lie was huge in its implications on the rest of human history. It is the basis for the way in which we operate today in our fallen society. We are a fallen broken world and a fallen broken people groaning and inwardly screaming out to God for redemption. In fact, the Apostle Paul writes here that not only is it we who are groaning, but all of creation groans together.

Why are we groaning? Well it’s because we were created to glorify God. We were created for Him. So, the more time we spend in our flesh and away from His glory, the more we feel that separation when we aren’t with Him. The closest we can be to God while we are here is when we are glorifying Him and bringing honor to Him with the way that we live.

We are to live our lives as a lifestyle of worship to Him. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. And what does this really mean to present our bodies as a living sacrifice?

Well, before we are in Christ the Bible teaches that we are dead in our sin, but once in Christ, we are alive in Him. So, when we live, we must be all His. Every part of us must be His. So that when we do the things we do, and go about our day, we must be doing His will guided by the Holy Spirit. This is being a living sacrifice with all that we have available which is our mind body and spirit.

But see, this doesn’t happen if we are only out to suit ourselves and go after the things that we want outwardly. That’s where the great lie plays out in our lives; it plays out when we begin to think that the inward groaning of the Spirit to be with God gets thought of and interpreted as a need for something worldly. We can get tricked into thinking that we really need something inwardly, but it is truly a work of the flesh if it doesn’t jive with what the Bible calls us to. This is why we have to test all that we do by measuring it up to the pages of scripture.

Scripture 4: Romans 9:1-3 “With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed-cut off from Christ!-if that would save them.”

Segment 4:
This is true love. The more I read through this specific piece of scripture, the more I call into question my love for God. Do I love Him so much that I am willing to not only die, but to also be accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers? The truth is, I don’t think so. But, this is where I want to be. I want to be in a place where I would do anything for others to come to Christ, even if I meant sacrifice on a whole other level. And truthfully speaking of course, God would never let that happen. It just is a true display of love in one’s own heart. And only Christ could be anyone’s substitute and savior and He definitely won’t be in Hell.

But as Paul says here, he has unceasing anguish in his heart for others. He isn’t at all concerned with his own desires, but with the desires of God. This is a clear cut example of the great lie not having it’s hold on someone. When one’s heart is in the place where true worship takes place and one is willing to be a sacrifice for another in that display of true love as our Lord commands, this is where sin has no bearing on one’s life. And remember, if God is for us, then who can be against us? This is where the lies stop and the life begins.

Segment 1:

Why do you do the things that you do? Is it all for your own glory, or for His glory?

When I do something for myself, it is very clear that I am self-seeking and after my own desires, but when I am patient and prayerful, I am listening to God, and doing it all for His glory. After all, who am I doing these nice things for? Whoever that is, is who your heart worships.

I know, I know. Some of you are probably saying, “what, that doesn’t make sense? I don’t worship my boyfriend, or brother, I just want to do something nice for them because I love them.” Ok, then I ask, “where does that love come from?” Because if that love comes from a place where you are doing something for someone else because of the way it makes you feel, or because it will help you to get out of a rut that you’re in, or if you do things for people and seek any kind of satisfaction from it that suits your own desires, then it is coming from selfish motives. But if you are doing these things for people when nobody else will find out about them, or see them, and it is a result of the ultimate love that you share with God, then it is coming from the right place and your true worship is for God. It is only through this worship of God, that we can ever truly give others the love that they really deserve from us and that love is the love of Christ.

Scripture 1: Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”

Segment 2:
You see, the source of that love should always be God Himself. If we do things for people because we love them, then we aren’t any different than anybody else. But if it is because of the love that comes from God and because that love fills us up and pours out onto the people around us, then this love is true love and is everlasting! This love has the power to last forever. Loving others is not about serving ourselves, but is about the love that lies underneath our love. Because I’m not saying that people don’t have the ability to show and receive love, I’m just saying that it’s not ordinary love that we’re talking about here, no, what I’m talking about is the love of Jesus that comes through Him being glorified with it.

Scripture 2: Romans 5:1-11 “Therefore, since we have been justified be faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Segment 3:

The love of God loves even the ungodly. When you do things for people, is it only when they love you back, or only for people who you want to gain favor with like a boss or someone who you’re dating? God loved us so much, that while we stood here in our sin, while we stood here doing all sorts of things that are not ok with Him, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us. He loves those who are detestable, those who are dirty and broken. He loves those who spit in His face and call Him names. He loves those who question Him, and those who turn their backs on Him.

God’s love is that kind of love. God’s love is the perfect love. It is the type of love that seems unattainable. It just seems so far off from the way that we love people sometimes, that we can get stuck in ruts when we say, it’s not possible, so whatever! I’m not good enough, I can’t do it like Him, so what’s the point?

But, that’s just it; we aren’t good enough, because the Bible teaches that one must be pure, or righteous to be in the presence of God. But, He did it anyway. He knew how much we would struggle with Him and how much we would question and fall. Again, the Bible says that while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. It doesn’t say that as soon as we got it right, or as soon as we did what we were supposed to do, He died, it says that while we were still weak and dead in our sin, He died for us.

Now I know this can be tough to hear. Someone sitting here telling you that you aren’t good enough is pretty tough, but remember that it’s not me telling you from my opinion, its just me relating what scripture already says. It is this knowledge that puts us in a spot to be in need of a savior. After all, who needs saving that is perfect?

Scripture 3: Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death not life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Segment 4:

This is why we are to glorify God with everything that we have. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with everything that we have. Every fiber of our being should be dedicated to the One who sent His own Son to die for us so that we would be saved from eternal death.

Through this we are counted as more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Nothing can touch us when we are in Christ. We must remember and take in that it is God who loves us. God! This is the creator of the universe who loves us. Do you see those stars in the sky well He made them! You see that moon in the sky? Well He made it. You see that sun in the sky, which you cant even bare to look at, well He made it and His light is brighter, and it existed before the Sun was created.

This is the same God who sat high and lifted up in the throne room when in Isaiah 6, the robe of the Lord fills the temple and the Seraphim are calling out one to another “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God almighty.” It says that the foundations of the thresholds shook and trembled at this cry and the room filled up with smoke. Can you imagine that perfect type of worship, where your voice and cry out to the Lord has the ability to shake the ground that you stand on! Wow! And by the way, the word Seraph means burning one, an angelic incendiary, burning with the blaze of God. That’s what it’s really like to be on fire for the Lord.

Yes, this is the same God that loves you. This is the same God who deserves all the glory for everything that we do in our lives. Once we begin taking credit for the things we do, then God has been passed by. We can’t let this happen. We must take responsibility for the way that we treat our relationship with the Lord. We must feed our relationship with the Lord and take Him up on all of the promises that He offers to us once we have taken up residence in Him. Nothing that has ever been created can ever separate us from the love of our Lord. Nothing.

He says that you are more than a conqueror over all powers that will work against you.

So this is my question: Are you still acting like or playing the part of the victim?

Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the promise of triumph over our enemies. If He is truly the Lord of you life, your owner, who bought you at a price, are you following His commands and living a free life which He promises, or are you chained to yourself and your own desires and seeking only your own glory? Who’s kingdom are you building?

Because, let me tell you something, you were expensive. It cost our Lord the blood of His Son to buy your soul. There’s no more time to go back into the past and relive the old life and be chained to the image of darkness. We must press on to the future hope that we have in being with Jesus, and we can’t pass the time any better than relishing in the momentary opportunity to honor and glorify our Father in heaven with every part of our being.

So, believe Him, glorify Him, and live!