OUR FULL DEDICATION AS CHRISTIANS

Joshua 14:7–8 “7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, 8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.”

I. Full Dedication, COMPLETE SPIRITUAL DEDICATION, committed spiritual dedication, loving dedication.

I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT WE ALL KNOW THAT THE FIRST THING FOR OUR SPIRITUAL DEDICATION IS Love for our Father, for Jesus Christ. To love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

We read in the book of:

Mark 12:29–30 “29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

When we love Him as we should, we will then keep all His commandments. We will obey what He instructs us to do and then believe with faith that it is for our best!

John 14:15–16 15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

Of course we know that this “advocate” is the Holy Spirit. Anyone here this morning need the Holy Spirit? Of course we do.

Are We living each and every day, I mean complete Living for Jesus? That’s a question we rarely ask ourselves isn’t it? Why? Because we all fall short don’t we? We know when we should have passed along a kind word, we know when we should have offered a “pat” on the back or paid someone a beautiful compliment don’t we?

1. How are we looking at our daily living? Are there any “red” flags you see throughout your day?

Luke 9:22–23 22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Daily living is Taking up our cross daily! More than accepting Christ, more than just knowing who He is or His name, again I tell you church we must be living for Him every day!

2. Do we consider Denial living? What exactly is denial living? Knowing when to say no, knowing when to keep our smart mouth shut, knowing when to stay home and not go meet friends, knowing when not to develop road rage.........

Galatians 2:20–21 “20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

2. Determined living…Anyone here this morning have an issue or maybe a dream that came about last week and you drifted into that “determined” state of mind? Maybe some selfishness set in, “ I want to go on this trip or maybe I want to go buy this new .........that I saw downtown? We allow ourselves to become determined with stuff don’t we? What about becoming determined for Jesus?

We read in Daniel 1:8 “8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.” Daniel had to make a choice. then he made it! No one could choose for him or no one could change his choice. Is our faith like Daniels or maybe a little wishy washy? Are we determined for Jesus, we are or we ain’t. This determination helped him all through his life.

Acts 20:24 “24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

C. Have we dedicated our days to “determined” Learning? Are we starting our mornings with Jesus in the Bible?

Matthew 11:29 “29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

All Christians should study and learn more of God’s Word and way.

II. COMPLETE PHYSICAL DEDICATION, KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE THE OLYMPICS DOESN'T IT?

The heart, that is part of our physical makeup right?

Matthew 22:37 37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

Loving Jesus completely, there is really nothing here that is acceptable to be left out. Completely means completely!

Psalm 19:14 “14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

By using our hands to be dedicated in loving Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 “10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 24:4 “4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.”

Praying, waving, patting someone on the back, shaking hands,

C. By using our feet that we have been blessed with..

Proverbs 6:18 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,

D. Our minds—

Philippians 2:5 “5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” The mind of Christ being in us daily.

E. Our ears, this one is one of my favorites.

James 1:19 “19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.“…

Swift to hear, slow to speak.…” Never listen to gossip nor gossip yourself.

F. The eyes—

James 1:14–15 “14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. This is The sin of lust.

G. The nose—

Matthew 7:3–5 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Keep your nose out of other people’s business.

H. The mouth on our face, our big rude, know it all mouths. sorry. LOL—

Proverbs 21:23–24 “23 Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble. 24 Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance. “Keep your mouth closed and you’ll stay out of trouble” . Also, “Self-control means controlling the tongue! A quick retort, or reply can ruin everything”

III. COMPLETE MATERIAL DEDICATION, STUFF, RESOURCES, POSSESSIONS, MONEY, TIME, WISDOM…AND MORE

A. Sometimes we need to make Sacrifices don’t we? We need to save, to do without some stuff to be able to do other stuff. AMEN!

2 Samuel 24:24 “24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.”…

B. Stewards, We are God’s caretakers.

C. We are promised that we have Heavenly Security.

Matthew 6:20–21 “20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. We need to be spending our days Laying up treasures in heaven through Jesus.

D. We fall into great Sin if we are putting material things ahead or in front of Jesus.

Listen church to Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:10 “10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Having money or possessions is not wrong, but loving them more than God is sin.

E. We must Surrender us, we must surrender ourselves in all we do in order to be as Jesus wants us to.

Matthew 6:33 “33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.Christ first in all you do.”

INVITATION

BENEDICTION SONG

CLOSING SONG

CLOSING PRAYER