New Year Resolution: Pour My Love On Christ
God’s Way Bible Study
New Year Resolution: Pour My Love On Christ
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Rev. Nikkie Adams
Most NEW YEAR RESOLUTION Lists for 2024 may look like this…...
Eat Healthy
Exercise more
Get a better Job.
Prepare for Retirement
Buy a house.
Deeper and closer Relationship with My Savior (Most Important)
POUR MY LOVE ON HIM
Why should we pour our love on Christ?
The Word tells us that He first loved us and that is why we love Him.
He loved us so much He gave his most priced gift, Jesus… John 3:16
After such love , our only response should be … to pour out all our love on him too.
So the question is???
How can we Pour our Love on God who has love me so much. How can I best express my Love for God.
Let ‘s see an example of someone who did just that…Poured her Love on Jesus
Remember a few months ago, we had a teaching …. Imperfect Models .
Rev. Adams taught us that
We are to learn from these Models in the bible, not worship them. And we know that learn from them because
Scripture:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
[16] All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. [17] God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
John 12:1-9
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate[a] with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar[b] of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages.[c] It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
9 When all the people[d] heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them[e] and believed in Jesus.
Luke 10:38-41
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What can we learn from the two sisters?
Both sisters loved Christ
Both sisters served Christ
Martha’s focus was on physical food (she cooked, fed, cleaned etc.)
Mary’s focus was on the spiritual food – the Word of God.
Both kinds of food are necessary, but spiritual food (word of God) will go way longer than physical food. When you feed your spirit, it leads to peace, joy, a life of righteousness, a godly life.
Spiritual food has eternal value and rewards, physical food has some importance but is less important when compared to the values (godly life, deeper connection with God etc.) life gained from the spiritual food. (1 Tim 4:8, Gal. 6: 8)
Martha's kind of Love- Loved and served by meeting physical needs
We thank God for the Marthas, because what they provide is very, very important and needed for the body of Christ.
These are Christians who love the Lord, and they show their love by
Serving in different areas in the church, as ushers, cleaners, organizers for different events, members of the hospitality committees.
Be the first to volunteer when there's a call.
Generously give their resources, always there when there are needs.
Always in the Church
Mary's kind of Love (3 Ss)- Loved and served by meeting the Spiritual needs
Mary showed her love in a more passionate manner.
Mary studied Jesus
Mary surrendered ALL, gave Jesus her …ALL.
Mary spent time with Jesus.
Luke 10:39 Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.”
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening attentively.
Mary learned from Jesus.
She was front and center of where Jesus was.
Jesus was the subject of Mary’s study.
She also studied the ways of Jesus. Mary studied how to be Christlike.
She observed how he treated the people, how he attended to their needs by healing the sick, feeding the people, praying over the people.
To be CHRISTLIKE is simple, (as instructed - Last Bible Study)
“Do what He tells us to do, when He tells us to do it, how He tells us to do it and without hesitation.”
Christ did the same with the Father.
John 14:31 (AMP)
30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of the world (Satan) is coming. And he has no claim on Me [no power over Me nor anything that he can use against Me]; 31 but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.
John 5:19 (NIV) Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Mary learned of Jesus and learned from Jesus.
Matthew 11:28-30 KJV
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Mary understood that loving Christ means Obeying Christ. For Christ told us, if you love me, you will obey my commandments.
Mary surrendered ALL to Jesus.
Mary seemed to love being at the feet of Jesus. This is a sign and posture of humility, a sign of TOTAL Surrender …. Saying “Lord, I am at your mercy.”
The bible does not tell us that Martha was at any time at the feet of Jesus.
John 11:21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:32 “ When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
One sounded – Like an accusation, entitlement.
The other sounded like “Lord, help me understand”
Mary gave Jesus her ALL.
John 12:3 Mary anointed Jesus’ feet and honored Jesus. She poured a year's worth of expensive perfume on Jesus's feet and wiped his feet with her hair.
She did not mind the cost.
She was not a people-pleaser.
Mary spent time with Jesus.
Luke 10:38-42
…. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
When you love someone – You spend a lot of time with them, you spend quality time . You take advantage of every opportunity to be with them.
Mary prioritized spending time with the savior as more important than anything else. And Jesus said, “Mary got it right.”
An excerpt from C. H Spurgeon’s message:
THE ONE THING
But one thing is needful."- Luke 10:42
We have no difficulty whatsoever in deciding what the one thing is. We are not allowed to say that it is the Savior, for he is not a thing; and we are not permitted to say that it is attention to our own salvation, for although that would be true, it is not mentioned in the context. The one thing needful evidently is that which Mary chose-that good part which should not be taken away from her. Very clearly this was to sit at Jesus' feet and hear his word. This and nothing less, this and nothing more.
The mere posture of sitting down and listening to the Savior’s word was nothing in itself: it was that which it indicated. It indicated, in Mary's case, a readiness to believe what the Savior taught, to accept and to obey-nay to delight in, the precepts which fell from his lips. And this is the one thing needful-absolutely needful; for no rebel can enter the kingdom of heaven with the weapons of rebellion in his hands. We cannot know Christ while we resist Christ: we must be reconciled to his gentle sway, and confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
To sit at Jesus' feet implies faith as well as submission. Mary believed in what Jesus said, and, therefore, sat there to be taught by him. It is absolutely necessary that we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his power as God and man, in his death as being expiatory, in his crucifixion as being a sacrifice for our sins. We must trust him for time and eternity, in all his relationships as Prophet, Priest, and King. We must rely on him; he must be our hope, our salvation, our all in all. This one thing is absolutely necessary: without it we are undone. A believing submission, and a submissive faith in Jesus we must have, or perish.
But sitting at Jesus' feet implies, also, that having submitted and believed, we now desire to be his disciples. Discipleship is too often forgotten; it is as needful as faith. We are to go into all the world and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost. A man cannot be saved unless he has become a learner in the school of Christ, and a learner, too, in a practical sense, being willing to practice what he learns. Only he who does the Master's will knows his doctrines. We are, if we have chosen the good part, sitters at the feet of Jesus, just as Saul of Tarsus sat at the feet of Gamaliel; Christ is to us our great Instructor, and we take the law from his lips. The believer's position is that of a pupil, and the Lord Jesus is his teacher.
How do we pour our love on Him?
Spending time with Him and learning from and of Him… studying Him Joshua 1:8
Serve Him with time, resources with our worship & praise. Hebrews 10:24 -25
By our OBEDIENCE John 14:21
What happens when we pour our love on Him?
We get to know Him more (he reveals more to us, we receive fresh revelation)
We love Him even more (deeper and closer connection is developed)
Our focus is shifted from self.
We become better intercessors. (God can trust us to stand in the gap for His people, His Church etc.)
We become a channel of God’s peace; we shine brighter as His Light (because we have His peace)
