The Believer's Heart as Christ's Home

I would like you to turn your Bibles to a passage that has colored my thinking this morning.

! And it is preparation for the text that we'll study together.

So turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Corinthians 2, where the apostle, I'm going to pick up there if I could in verse 12, says,

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there.

So I took leave of them and went to Macedonia.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

To one, a fragrance of death to death.

To the other, a fragrance of life to life.

Who is sufficient for these things?

I want you to turn now to Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

There are many truths in the scripture which drive me to the point of wondering about my sufficiency.

In fact, the truth of the matter is, is I don't know when I open the book that I'm not struck by,

who is sufficient for these things?

But I feel a little bit like the boy who's cried wolf so many times that people don't believe him.

You know, if I were to say to you this morning, this is probably one of the best passages in the Bible,

he'd probably just snicker.

Because you've heard it so many times.

I have to confess that I took small comfort.

I remember when I was reading John Boyce and he said that actually, he said,

a pastor should probably feel that way every Sunday.

Because the word is priceless, every word of it.

But having said that, this is one of the best passages.

And I don't say it lightly.

You'll hear me say that again next month and I'll probably say the same thing.

But I tell you, this text is sweet, beyond imagination.

And I would appeal to you, I would plead with you here at the very outset,

I want you to say to yourself, just quietly,

I think I might work at memorizing that.

Would you do that?

Just say it to you.

That is not really binding.

That's not a contractual statement.

But it kind of gets you moving.

It gets you a little bit of motivation.

I think I might work at memorizing that.

Say it to yourself.

Don't let your wife know or your friend know.

But go ahead and just, I think I might memorize it.

Say it.

Say it.

Go ahead.

Just quietly to yourself.

Before the service is over, I'm not going to lead you in saying it publicly

and have the deacons jot down the names of all of you

and say it's a four-week performance bond here.

But this is a wonderful text, and it is at the heart of the rich blessings

that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I can't help but go back and remind myself that so many of the things that I pray for,

and I would imagine that you pray for,

are not of the same quality of the things that Paul is praying for here.

Hey, it's okay to pray for sickness and job and all those kind of things,

but here's Paul in prison in great affliction, and he says,

for this cause, this is why I bow my knee to the Father,

that you would be strengthened with his Spirit in the inner man,

that Christ may dwell in you,

that you might be rooted and grounded,

and that you might be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and height and width and depth of the love of Christ,

that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

So we are in the midst of this prayer

where the apostle is praying for people that he dearly, dearly loves,

and he is praying for the most essential thing that they need.

It's the power of the Spirit in their life,

working in a believer that they might have Christ dwell in them.

So we have some questions that we want to ask ourselves

as we work our way through this passage,

and first of all, we need to recognize what this passage is not talking about.

You look at that statement there in verse 17, it says,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And we have to ask ourselves, well, what does that mean?

And we understand the Bible truth that we have been taught

and should have fairly established in our heart

that from the moment of salvation, the believer has what?

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

And so I want to remind you of what we find over in Romans,

and let's turn there just for a moment

to remind ourselves of the truth

that genuine conversion transforms the believer

from being a child of Satan to being a child of God,

and along with that transformation comes the reality

that the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and by Christ.

Look there, if you will, at Romans 8, verse 9 and 10.

Romans 8:9

You may want to underline it.

You may want to study it later on your leisure,

but look at what it says there.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.

If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you,

anybody who does not have the Spirit of Christ

does not belong to Him.

You've ever bumped into people who say,

well, actually, the Spirit comes in subsequently.

Later time, there's a second work of grace.

There's a time where you have this spiritual kick,

and as a result, you have some dramatic outflow,

and, well, that's proof of the fact that you have the Spirit.

No, here's the truth.

From the moment of our conversion,

the Spirit of God comes and dwells in the believer,

and that is one of the distinct, undeniable blessings of salvation.

Verse 10,

But if Christ is in you,

although the body is dead because of sin,

the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

And so we recognize that this Scripture makes it quite clear

that salvation brings Christ into our life as our Lord and Master.

And that's one of the reasons that we can expect genuine conversion

to result in change.

Our lives begin to change because there's a new life in us,

and there's a new person in control and working in our heart.

And as a result of that, over time,

we begin to see more and more of that change.

I have to tell you, I wish that it all took place instantaneously.

How many would join in saying,

I wish the moment I came to faith,

the whole matter of transformation was settled,

and I had no more problems with my anger or my lust or my covetousness,

my selfishness, my arrogance, whatever.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was all cured immediately?

But it's not.

But oh, what a privilege to know that we who have Christ in us

have the power of the Spirit of God working in us.

And since Christ is in the genuine believer,

we can say that He dwells in every Christian.

So what is Paul talking about here?

Look back, if you will, go to Ephesians again,

and it says,

so that Christ may dwell.

Well, hold it.

I thought He was there already.

He is.

But this is something that Paul wants us to think about carefully,

and he nuances or he kind of uses a word that helps us understand this.

What does dwelling mean?

I want you to recognize there's a difference between a guest and a homeowner.

The Greek word that is used here is a word that is actually talking about

the distinction between the two.

A guest is someone who is welcomed at the door and greeted and told that

you want them to feel as comfortable in your home as possible,

and we will spare no expense or effort to make you feel comfortable.

But let me tell you something.

The guest ought not to be in the fridge drinking milk from the jug.

When my children were growing up,

and I can tell this story safely because the individual's not present,

we often had some of the young people over to the house.

They were involved in various things,

and I'll never forget,

he is now a surgeon practicing somewhere within the 500-mile radius,

so you don't want to think too much about it.

But I remember Judith came to me and said,

what is he doing drinking out of the jug?

What?

I went in and said,

hey, listen, we're glad you're here, but stop.

You know, a guest is treated with courtesy.

But when they're sitting at the dinner table,

it's not their place to suggest the next menu.

Am I right?

I mean, they ought to limit themselves to saying,

man, this is the best meal I've had in a long time

and really appreciate you cooking, blah, blah, blah.

But don't bring up what you'd like to have for breakfast.

And top it all off when the guest needs a toothbrush.

Don't go in my bathroom, run hot water on mine,

and go ahead and use it.

You see, there really is a difference between a guest

and the owner of the home.

And the difference lies to a large degree

on the fact that the owner is the one

who has control and has authority.

And when Paul speaks of Christ dwelling in the believer's life,

he's speaking of Christ having practical control of our life

and being the center of it.

So I want you to think about that with me.

Christ being the one who has control

and directing our life rather than being someone who we...

Well, it's a good thing you're here,

and we're glad you're here, but no.

This word that says that Christ would dwell in your heart

means we consciously and deliberately confess his lordship

and his daily control in all that's taking place.

Let me have you turn to another passage

to maybe add a little bit of understanding,

insight to this matter.

Turn back to Romans 6, verse 11.

Romans 6:11

Romans 6, verse 11, it says,

Romans 6:11

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin

and alive to God in Jesus Christ.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body

to make you obey its passions.

Paul is talking to the believer,

and he is challenging the believer to live a life

that is no longer under the terrible mastery of sin.

How do we go about doing that?

Not by a mere fact of self-will,

and there's not a one of us here

that on one occasion or another

has not said,

All right, all right, I'm going to stop that.

It's done.

And what happens to our well-intentioned efforts

on our own to deal with sin problems?

How many of you discovered that when you go about

launching on your own just kind of arbitrarily,

I'm going to do that,

we end up often just actually having more problems

than we ever anticipated.

It's not just a matter of self-will.

There's more at work,

or should be more at work,

in the life of the believer

in dealing with indwelling sin.

And so, you see,

what Paul is drawing our attention to

here in this passage

is that sin no longer has authority

in the believer's life.

Prior to conversion,

follow me,

you couldn't help

but sin.

You were a slave

and under the mastery of sin,

and it was just as natural

for you to sin

as it is for a cat

to pounce on a mouse.

It was just hardwired.

Conversion delivered you

from that slavery

and has made it

an ability for you

to say no.

And we find in this passage

that Paul says,

you have to consciously

consider yourself dead to sin.

Now, what does that mean?

To reckon or to count the fact

that sin no longer has the right

to control you,

and you have the liberty of saying,

I'm not going to do that

because I am not under your domination

or your dominion.

The term that we find here,

the term consider,

is a legal or an accounting term,

and it's talking about

reckoning or accounting something

to be true

and then acting accordingly.

And so,

in the passage in Romans,

Paul is saying,

listen,

you have to recognize

the fact that you're no longer

in control of sin

or you're no longer controlled by sin,

and you have the right of saying no,

and so live accordingly.

By the same token,

what we have here

in the Ephesians passage,

and you go back there,

if you will,

with me,

to Ephesians 3,

Ephesians 3:17

verse 17,

Paul is telling us

that we have to live

according to the fact

of Christ being the one

who is in control of our life.

And the point that he is making

is this,

is that we are to live

as though Christ is most important

and the one whose interests

are in control of our life.

Now, think about that with me

just for a moment.

When we say,

when Paul is praying,

I want you to have the power

of the Spirit of God inside

so that Christ may dwell in your heart,

he is saying,

you need the Spirit's enabling

that Christ might be the one

who actually is supremely important

and the one whose interests

are actually in charge of your life.

It's understandable

why Paul would pray that way,

isn't it?

When you stop and think

about your own life,

you need the Holy Spirit's help.

You need the Holy Spirit's power

so that Christ would dwell within

and so that we might sense him

as being more than an invited guest

in a formal part of our domain.

Let me speak here in practical terms

of what this looks like

a little bit for us.

For one,

when Christ dwells within,

we're persuaded of his personal presence

and his supremacy.

We are persuaded of his personal presence

and his supremacy.

It's amazing how often

we find ourselves living

with kind of an absent sense

of the presence

and the significance of Christ

in our life,

and we all go through that.

We make decisions often,

and we don't think much about,

well, how does this affect Christ?

What does he think about it?

I use a comparison here.

One of the things

that I greatly appreciate

about a husband-wife relationship

is that that oneness means

that when a husband considers something,

guess what else he is considering?

How is this going to affect,

hello, my wife?

I know of one couple

where,

whether it is the husband

or is the wife,

when I have been involved

in asking a question,

would you think about doing such and so?

The first thing out of either of those,

that couple's mouth,

is this,

well, let me talk with my husband,

let me talk with my wife.

Perfect expression of oneness

where, hey,

we're together

and we ought to weigh this

and think about it carefully

in relationship

to how does it affect us.

And so if Christ is dwelling within,

there should be a sense

of his presence

and a sensitivity

to his presence

and a recognition of,

hey, you're here

and I don't want to do that.

Turn over in your Bible

just for a moment

to a classic illustration of that.

1 Corinthians 6,

1 Corinthians 6:19

verse 19.

Paul is writing

to the church at Corinth

and he is addressing

in this particular case

the matter of sexual immorality.

And now let me tell you something.

In the city of Corinth,

sexual immorality

was about as rampant

as it is here in our day.

Well, you think it couldn't get

any worse than it is today.

But it was no worse,

no better.

You didn't have the internet

where every time you fired up the thing

to look at MSN or CNN

or whatever else,

you have over on the side

the immediate temptations

that one click

can put you in spiritual trouble.

Am I right or wrong?

One click.

Well, in those days,

prostitution was formalized

as a religious issue.

Now, can you imagine

the culture that gets to the point

that you do spiritual good

by engaging with immorality

with a prostitute?

That's what Corinth was like.

And Paul writes to the church

and he says,

hey, listen,

you back up and think about this.

And so his argument

plays out in these verses,

but it comes to a head here

in verse 19.

Or do you not know

that your body is a temple

of the Holy Spirit within you

whom you have from God?

You're not your own.

Guess who is inside you?

Who?

The Spirit of God.

Christ dwells within me.

And the thought

that Paul is bringing

to the table here is,

what are you thinking about?

How do you think

the Spirit of God feels

when you engage

in looking at that pornography?

I know some individuals

who have said,

well, what I'm going to do

is I'm going to put my computer

in the family room.

That's probably not a bad idea

because in the family room,

you have a higher probability

of somebody walking in

and seeing something

if you're on the wrong place.

But let me tell you something.

There's someone more important

than your children

or your wife

who is always on sight.

Who is that?

It is Christ.

And He's within us.

And when it says,

let Christ dwell within,

it is saying, listen,

recognize that He

who is your Lord and Savior

abides within.

He's there to control.

I want you to recognize also

that when we think about

this matter of Christ within

and His presence

and the sensitivity

of His presence,

I want you to look

at another passage

in which we see this play out.

Turn over in your Bible

to probably one of the more commonly

lifted passages

out of context.

Now, I don't think

it does great harm

in its lifting,

but let me have you look

at Revelation 3, verse 20.

Revelation 3:20

By the way,

who was Revelation written to?

And the answer is

to churches.

Verse 20 says,

Behold, I stand at the door

and knock.

If any man hears my voice

and opens the door,

I will come in to him

and eat with him

and he with me.

I don't think

there's a problem

using it to encourage people

to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ,

but the predominant focus

of this passage

is written to believers

and saying,

hey, listen,

don't push Christ out.

Don't put Him

on the periphery,

on the margin.

What had happened

in the church there

is that they had

distanced themselves

from Christ

in their carnality

and there Christ

was appealing to them

that the intimacy

of their communion

would not be hindered

and He appeals to them,

hey, open the door,

let me in.

There are some of you

here this morning

that the truth

of the matter is

is you haven't sat down

with Jesus

and had sweet communion

for weeks and months

at a time.

Do you understand

what I'm saying?

The last time

you had devotions

that really meant anything

other than grabbing

a daily bread

and maybe taking a millisecond

to read one of the verses

and then I've done my part,

months have passed.

And Christ is saying,

listen,

we have this relationship.

What's happened?

I'm your Lord and Savior

and here you've pushed me out

and well,

I know I'm too busy, right?

Oh, try that with your wife

and see how long

your relationship endures

with that kind of abuse.

For Christ to dwell within

really means that you are living

with an intimate awareness

of His presence

and His supremacy.

Can I stress that again?

To have Christ dwell within

means that you are living

with an intimate awareness

of His presence

and His supremacy.

There's another thing

that goes with

Christ dwelling within

and that is that we are genuinely

affected by His Word.

We're genuinely affected

by His Word.

His Word is not just a set

of ramblings

of some ancient itinerant

guest lecturer in Palestine.

His Word is our life.

His Word is what we rely upon

for wisdom and counsel.

His Word is what corrects

the carnality of our flesh.

His Word is what brings

His encouragement in adversity.

His Word is what lifts us up

when our heart is struggling.

Oh, does our mind go

to places it shouldn't go?

And the answer is yes,

all the time.

I like the song we were singing.

Prone to wonder,

Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love.

Take my heart,

oh, take and seal it.

Do you know how He seals it?

Thy Word is a lamp

into my feet

and a light always.

Beloved,

if we are going to have

Christ dwell within,

there has to be something

happening with His Word

in our heart

that makes His Word

of more significance

than something peripheral

that we look at

on a very occasional basis.

turn over in your Bible,

if you would,

to Colossians.

We're in Philippians.

Well, we went to Revelation,

but just go to Colossians 3,

Colossians 3:16

verse 16.

Colossians 3, verse 16,

Colossians 3:16

it says this,

let the Word of Christ

dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing

one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs

with thankfulness

in your hearts to God.

Let me have you think with me

just for a moment

about that little statement there.

Let the Word of Christ

dwell in you richly.

That's saying that

Christ's Word

is the occupying force

in your life.

and that Christ's Word

is the thing that dominates

and affects your thinking.

It governs where you look.

It governs how you respond

when you're put out.

It deals with the attitudes

of your heart

within the inner man.

How many of you realize

that Shakespeare had it right,

that one may smile and smile

and still be a villain?

And we are all fairly good

at smiling and smiling

and being pretty villainous

sometimes in our own thought life.

Am I right or wrong?

But beloved,

when Christ's Word

dwells within with richness,

it ends up dealing

with those errant,

aberrant thoughts quickly.

I like that.

I desperately need it.

Do you understand that?

my mind will go left of center

quicker than I can imagine.

But as I grow in the Lord

and as more and more

Scripture begins

to possess my heart,

then the Word of God

dwells in me richly

and begins to capture

those imaginations

and bring them into captivity

to the supremacy of Christ.

Do you understand that?

Paul says,

this is my prayer.

This is the thing

I'm praying to the Father for,

that the Spirit would

strengthen you

in the inner man,

that Christ may dwell

in your heart

by faith.

There's another piece in this

that I want you to think about.

when Christ is dwelling

in our heart,

it ends up

that we grow in our love.

That we grow in our love.

We, by nature,

are fairly adept.

We're good at loving one person.

Guess who that is?

Who is it?

I saw him in the mirror

this morning.

He recognized

that his hair

was in trouble

and so he actually

stooped to using spray

to hold it.

There are fewer and fewer

pieces to keep in place

and spray as more

and more desperate.

I looked at him.

I said,

dude,

what happened

to all that stuff?

That's who I love normally.

But when the Spirit of God

is at work in my heart,

there's something

that begins to happen

in terms of my relationship

with Christ

and with others.

Look over,

if you would,

to John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

Oh, by the way,

let me throw this out.

This is a sidebar.

Do you know what a sidebar is?

It's a little discussion

on the side.

I am praying

about preaching on John.

I've started reading

through John

again and again

and that's usually a hint

that's where I'm going.

I'm thinking about it.

But, oh,

what a book.

I think it would be

my magnum opus.

By the way,

I didn't write it,

so if you're wondering

what I mean,

I have to go

to Charlotte's Web.

Here we go.

I'm sorry.

John 17,

John 17:23

verse 23,

here we are.

I in them

and they in me,

that they may become

perfectly one

so that the world

may know

that you sent me

and love them

even as you love me.

That the world

may know

that you sent me

and love them

even as you love me.

may be one,

may be with me

where I am

to see my glory

that you have given me

because you love me

before the foundation

of the world.

Then in verse 26,

it says,

I made known to them

your name

and I will continue

to make it known

that the love

with which you have loved me

may be in them

and I in them.

can I tell you something

about longevity

and ministry?

One of the undeniable

things you learn

when you stay around

for a while

is that

people

require

loving.

And

one of the things

I've learned

is that

at the end of the day

you're better served

to love those

who God has

in front of you

rather than wishing

that God would bring

someone else.

because when someone

leaves,

guess what?

The someone else

who shows up

is still just as much

of a person to love

as the person who left.

So it's best to love

the ones God gives you

and stay with it

and work at it.

And can I tell you

a little secret?

If marriage is

two sinners in a canoe,

then church is

lots of sinners

in a bigger canoe.

And the more

we get to know

each other,

which is God's plan

in relationship,

I want you to understand

that,

the more conscious

and intentional

must our

commitment

to love

become.

It's easier

just to kind of

walk in,

sit somewhere

towards the back,

kind of listen

to the music,

walk out.

That doesn't take

much love.

For anybody.

But buddy,

when you anchor in

and you become

invested

and you become

involved

and you become

spent for the

testimony of Christ

and ministry,

you're going to find

that the people

you're working with

are just downright

squirrely.

And you need

the grace of God.

They think that of you

too, by the way,

just in case you're

wondering.

And you're going to

need to have

Christ dwelling in you

or it's not going

to work.

Can I say that again?

You're going to need

Christ dwelling in you

or it's not going

to work.

And when you decide

you're going to

pack off and move

to another place,

the same kind of

people live there

as lived here.

I'll never forget

moving from

a small rural

church in

northeastern Ohio.

Ohio.

And I remember

actually moving

from Columbus.

I was a member

here at Maranatha

and I remember

going up there

to northeastern Ohio

and thinking,

you know,

this is a little

rural community

and I'm going

to imagine that

sin is not on

steroids out here

in the middle

of nowhere.

I'd been there

about three or four

months and one

dear lady decided

that she'd had

enough of her

husband's pornography

and she snuck up

behind him and

blew his brains

out with a revolver.

I could just go

on and tell you

one thing after

another and I

thought,

whoa.

And then I came

to Columbus and

guess what?

Nobody's here

shot anybody so

I'm going to have

the real thing

for that.

And don't think

I'm suggesting it.

But you know

what?

People are people.

How many of you

figured that one

out?

And we need

the ministry of

the Spirit of God

within us

that we would

love each other

the way Christ

wants us to

love each other.

It takes His

work in us.

And finally,

what part do we

have to play in

all of this?

I want you to

think.

Is Christ

really, and

this is a

profoundly

significant

question,

to you who

are believers

it ought to be

one that you

engage in

considering

periodically.

has your love

gone cold?

Can it do that?

And what's the

answer?

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

But how

significant

is Christ

to you

in a

personal

and very

real

sense?

Oh, I'm not

talking about the

fact you show up.

I'm not

talking about the

fact that you

may participate.

I'm talking about

the fact that

within the

inner man,

how

significant

is the

sweetness of

your relationship

with Christ?

So what do you

do?

Number one,

you pray.

here's Paul

in Ephesians

Ephesians 3:14

chapter 3

verse 14,

for this

cause I

bow

the knee.

And if

Paul prayed

for the

power of

the Spirit

of God

to work

in the

inner man

so that

Christ could

dwell in

the hearts

of believers

that he

loved,

it makes

sense for

you and

me to be

conscious

and deliberate

and persistent

in praying

about that

thing taking

place in our

life and

if you ask

yourself the

question this

morning,

so how am I

in love with

Jesus and is

my heart

affected by

his glory and

am I interested

in his person

and do I sense

his presence and

the answer comes

back,

I'm a little

cold,

then I would

plead with you

to get down on

your knee and

say Christ,

it's not to be

this way.

And I want you

to do,

here's the catch,

are you listening?

I want you to

do whatever you

think is best.

but get me

back to where

I need to

be.

Secondly,

I would

encourage you

to have

something to

do with

the right

perspective

and let

me just

recite a

passage in

Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

just reference

it very

quickly here,

but in

Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

it says,

if then you

be risen

with Christ,

can anybody

finish it

off for

me?

Set your

affections on

things which

are above.

love.

I am

struck by

an unbelieving

world.

Judith and I

are, my

honey is

actually going

to run a

5K.

I'm going to

be in a

deacon's

meeting,

so I

understand

that.

But she

says she's

going to

walk some

and run

some.

But we're

going all

around these

different parks,

and I've got to

tell you,

I am struck

by how

addicted our

culture is to

athletics.

I see

believers who

are at the

altar too.

Beloved,

set your

affections on

things that

are above

where Christ

dwells.

Third,

persistence.

Persistence.

Prayer,

perspective,

and persistence.

Can I tell you

something?

Something that is

really important

to you, you

will ask for

again and

again and

again and

again and

again.

Isn't that

right?

If it's

important, we

will ask until

we wear out

the ear of

God.

Christ will

not dwell

comfortably in

the heart of

the believer that

can't find time

for communion and

prayer.

Christ will

not have much

influence in the

life that is

consumed by the

world and the

affections of this

world and things

that distract the

heart from the

things of God.

You ask yourself,

when was the last

time that I

honestly found

pleasure?

I'm talking about

pleasure in your

quiet time with the

Lord.

That's an indicator of

where your heart

really is at.

Do you understand

that?

I've said it so

many times that I

know it's redundant

but I get up way

before my wife does,

daughter does.

My wife, I have a

wonderful time with

the Lord but I also

like Judith and I

have all kinds of

little ways to make

her want to get out

of bed.

Do you know why I do

those things?

I like her.

I want her around.

And I don't mind

jacking up the

thermometer and

temperature to kind

of make the heater

go off and she's

sitting in there

sweating in bed and

she thinks, well,

okay, it's the hint.

And I drop the

blinds, you know,

because suddenly

light, that's the

thing I like about

the summertime,

you know, that it

gets lighter earlier.

It's harder to sleep

in.

You know, she,

make the room dark.

I said, no, the

room is light, you

know.

But it's because,

so, beloved, where's

your relationship

with Christ?

When was the last

time?

When was the last

time that you found

satisfaction in your

time with the living

God and Savior of

your life?

He does not deserve

to be treated with

just kind of some

functional duty that

you obligate yourself

to accomplish and

then move quickly on

because there are

other important

things to do.

persist in

pleading,

persist in

reading,

persist in

pursuing.

And you know

what?

Christ will dwell

in you,

in the inner man,

and satisfy you

far more than

any other

thing or

person in

this life.

Let's pray.

Without

anybody looking

around this

morning, I want

to ask you a

quiet question that

you think about in

your own heart.

where is your

love for Christ?

Is he of

preeminence?

Does he dwell as

the supreme and

significant one in

your heart and life?

Or is your heart and

the ambitions of your

soul consumed with

every other thing?

I would plead with

you this morning if

the Spirit of God is

convicting you that

you quietly attend to

that where you sit.

And if it would be of

help to you, I would

encourage you to raise

your hand and say,

Pastor, that's me.

I need to rededicate my

heart to pursuing

Christ and having him

dwell within.

And I put myself on

notice, yes, this

morning, yes, yes.

I want Christ to have

first place.

Yes.

Anybody else?

Anybody else?

If you're here this

morning and you do not

know Christ as your

personal Savior, yes,

yes.

I would plead with you

that this morning is the

day to repent of your

sins and trust in the

living God who sent his

son, Jesus Christ, to be

your Savior.

And if that's the need

of your heart, you need

salvation this morning,

would you slip your hand

up where you are and

just say, I need Jesus

as my Savior and put your

hand back down.

Father, you know our

hearts.

You know our needs.

Do not let our arrogance

and our pride interfere

this morning with the

sweet blessing that comes

with humility.

rekindle our affections

for Christ.

We ask it in your

precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.