Chapter 5: Consecration.
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Hello and welcome to
Steps to Christ in Song.
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Today we're going to be
looking at Consecration.
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Consecration is
one of those words
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we don't use very
often. It really means to
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surrender your
life to Jesus Christ,
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to be totally
committed and devoted to him.
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Luke chapter 14:33
Jesus speaks to us and says
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unless you are
willing to give up all
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you cannot be my disciple
and that's a big question,
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why would we give
up all only because
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he has something
much better to give us
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in exchange. My eldest
daughter once asked me a
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me a question about a
lady who she saw in church
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and she said to me
daddy, don't you think that
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that lady is half a
Christian and I was kind
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of I didn't know
what to say and so I said
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to her how come you
say that she is half
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a Christian? She said
well she goes to church,
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but I've heard her use bad words
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she is actually used
Jesus name as a swear word
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and she uses it
quite often that way.
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And I had to admit
you know it does sound
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like she is trying
to be half a Christian,
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but Jesus says unless we give up
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all we cannot be his disciple.
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That's where Consecration is,
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it's total
surrender, we are not wholly
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surrendered to Christ
unless we give him our
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whole heart. Before
we go further with this
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topic of
Consecration, I'm going to ask
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Rochelle to lead us
in a word of prayer.
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Let's bow our heads.
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Our precious
Savior, we need your spirit
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to help us
understand what consecration
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and real surrender means.
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Teach us and make
this experience real in
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our lives, in your
name we pray. Amen. Amen.
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Our human nature has
been so altered by sin
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that we must undergo a complete
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transformation in
order for us to be in
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harmony with God and his laws.
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This means that we
must personally choose
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to make an entire surrender
of ourselves to Christ.
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Jesus said in Luke
14:33 no one can become
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my disciple without
giving up everything for me.
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Jesus isn't
interested in forcing us to make
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this decision. He
wants us to do it because
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we love him and we
know that our happiness
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is dependent on
our unity with him.
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I'd rather have
Jesus than silver or gold,
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I'd rather be His
than have riches untold;
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I'd rather have
Jesus than houses or lands,
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I'd rather be led by
his nail-pierced hands.
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Than to be the
king of a vast domain
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Or be held in sin's dread sway
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I'd rather have
Jesus than anything
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This world affords today.
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He's fairer than
lilies of rarest bloom;
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He's sweeter than
honey from out of the comb;
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He's all that my
hungering spirit needs,
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I'd rather have
Jesus and let Him lead.
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Than to be the
king of a vast domain
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Or be held in sin's dread sway
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I'd rather have
Jesus than anything
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This world affords today.
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More than anything,
This world affords today.
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You know living for
those things Johnny is
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quite natural to us, to
live for men's applause for
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worldwide fame and
yet total dedication
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to God is asking us
to give up those things
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for God you know and
to give everything to
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him to
consecrate our lives to him.
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But when we think
of how people dedicate
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themselves to those
things it's kind of an
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object lesson of
how we can be completely
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consecrated to God.
It really reminds me of
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sports you know
right now last year we had
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the Olympics and
we had Michael Phelps.
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Here's a man who
won eight gold medals.
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Amazing. Broke world records and
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Olympic records, his
life is just dedicated
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to swimming and the way he eats,
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the way he exercise,
who he hangs out with,
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it's all just
dedicated to this one goal.
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Yeah, yeah, so
everything in his life
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is wholly
consecrated to swimming.
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Exactly. Dedicated, loyalty.
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Now in that consecration
to something like that,
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we can see a
spiritual application like
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Paul says okay,
here in the Olympics,
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you run to win, in
the coming second no one
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is going to
remember. So you really want to
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win so every aspect of your life
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is consecrated to
God. In your spiritual
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experience have
you had an experience
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you can say oh I
had to give up something
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so that I could live for God.
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There was one time I
was on a mission trip
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to Africa with a
group of young people
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and I remember it was a Sunday
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and we were all
planning on going
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to the lake and
we were going to go
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swimming and
sailing and just really have
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a great time, but
before we left one of the
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missionary said,
the mission post that
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we are at invited me
to come to a funeral,
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to a lady that
lived in the next village,
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she had died and
they needed some people
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to come and help
support the family
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and I really didn't want
to go, I wanted to go swimming
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with my friends, but he invited
me to go and I had to think
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about it, I really
had to pray about it
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and I decided that about the
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only lasting, lasting
evidence that would be
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from going
swimming would be a sunburn.
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Right. But going to
the funeral would have
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a much longer
lasting. Impression.
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Impression upon their
lives and I could actually
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help somebody spiritually. Yeah.
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And I decided that
that would be a better
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idea than to go do
something selfishly
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something that I
wanted to do and give that
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up to go help
support this family.
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Yeah, you know in
Steps to Christ it talks
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about the warfare,
actually calls it a warfare;
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a warfare against
self is the hardest battle,
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the toughest battle
that we will ever fight
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and you're battling
against self. You think to
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yourself a funeral or
a day at the beach right.
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Yeah. Most people
would choose a day
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at the beach right, but
you going there to support
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people struggling
with self and giving up
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everything, Kevin
in your music you play
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the violin. Have
you had that struggle?
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Yes, definitely,
I've been struggling
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all along but a while
ago I was, I felt like
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I wasn't close to
God and I didn't know
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why and so I was
praying about it and
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thinking about it and
I was listening to some
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Christian youth
meetings and as I was
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listening I was
convicted that it was my music
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that I was
playing music that was
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bringing glory
to myself not to God
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and it wasn't
necessarily the music's fault
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but it was, I was
trying to get glory for myself
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So, I was thinking
about it and finally
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I decided to give it to
him, give the music to him
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what I would play, I would
let him be in charge, and when
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I did that I really
had peace in my heart
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and it was a
really wonderful feeling.
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So giving up your
music to God means
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you don't play
the violin anymore.
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No, definitely
not. It just means that
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I play it for him.
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You play it for him.
So it's sort like the rich
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young ruler, God
says you know Jesus says
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to him give up all your riches.
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He was dependent
upon those riches,
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that was his identity.
How can he give that up
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and he walked
away, he was very sad.
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But God had
something much more for him
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something better
than he could ever imagine
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and when he comes to
us and he says I have
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something better for
you often we turn away
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and we're very sad
because we don't see
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that we actually
need to surrender all
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to him to actually
find true joy in our lives.
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It may sound like
an incredible sacrifice
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to give everything
to God, but Jesus makes
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this very clear
in Matthew chapter 16
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verses 24 to 26,
where he says if any of you
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want to be me my
follower you must deny
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your selfishness
and take up your cross
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and follow me. If you
try to hang on to your life,
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you will surely
really lose it, but if you
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give up your life for
my sake you will save it
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and what do you
benefit if you gain the whole
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world but lose your own soul,
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is there anything
worth more than your soul.
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This my friends is
a question we have to
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answer for
ourselves. Jesus was confronted
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with this question on
our behalf. Is my soul,
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is your soul
worth his sacrifice.
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Thank God his answer was yes.
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The pilgrims throng
thro' the City Gates
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while the night is falling fast
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They go to watch
on Calvary's hill
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Ere the twilight hours are past,
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Though dark be the
way, with the eyes of faith,
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They gaze at his cross
above, And, low from each heart,
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The shadows depart, As they
list through his words of love
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As they list
through his words of love.
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Rest, rest to the weary,
peace, Peace to the soul.
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Tho life may be
dreary, Earth is not thy goal,
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O lay down my
burden, O come unto Me,
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I will not forsake
thee, I will not forsake thee,
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I will not forsake thee,
Tho' all else should flee. "
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Far, far, away, o'er the dream
of years They hear the voice
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of the king, Where
O Grave is thy victory
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and where O death is thy
sting? Captive He leads them for
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evermore; While
weary pilgrims rejoice;
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For looking on high
to the Cross He bore,
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The faithful
shall hear His voice,
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The faithful
shall hear his voice.
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Rest, rest to the weary,
peace, peace to the soul,
00:15:10.49\00:15:23.41
Tho' life may be
dreary, Earth is not thy goal,
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O lay down thy
burden, O come unto Me,
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I will not forsake
thee, I will not forsake thee,
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I will not forsake thee,
Tho' all else should flee. "
00:15:58.35\00:16:10.55
Tho' all else should flee. "
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Christ paid all for
us. His infinite sacrifice
00:16:32.59\00:16:36.11
was so he could
take our filthy rags
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and offer us life and
a reconnection with him.
00:16:37.98\00:16:40.76
Yet it's a gift and so
few decide to accept it.
00:16:40.79\00:16:44.74
You know Carmen
there are many who want
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that gift and want
to accept it, but they
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give up in despair.
They look at themselves
00:16:51.88\00:16:56.03
and they realize
wait a minute, I made a
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mistake here and I
made a mistake there
00:16:58.46\00:17:00.16
and I made this
promise and I just can't do it
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and you know how
do I get it right?
00:17:03.29\00:17:07.08
How do I make that connection?
00:17:07.12\00:17:09.89
You know when I
was younger I use to
00:17:09.92\00:17:13.27
make promises to God
that I wouldn't fight
00:17:13.31\00:17:14.94
with my sister I
wouldn't tease her,
00:17:14.97\00:17:16.56
argue with her or
anything and the very next day
00:17:16.60\00:17:21.06
I would find
myself arguing or having a
00:17:21.09\00:17:23.29
disagreement with
her and I would feel so
00:17:23.32\00:17:24.89
bad because I had
let God down and I had
00:17:24.93\00:17:27.69
promised this and
I couldn't keep my
00:17:27.73\00:17:30.09
promises and I felt
that he would not want
00:17:30.12\00:17:32.19
anything to do
with me anymore because
00:17:32.22\00:17:33.88
I couldn't keep
my promises to him.
00:17:33.92\00:17:35.37
So that
connection that keeping your
00:17:35.41\00:17:40.91
promises you know
in steps to Christ
00:17:40.94\00:17:42.63
it says that we feel
like our promises and
00:17:42.66\00:17:45.09
resolutions are like
ropes of sand which is
00:17:45.32\00:17:47.34
really not stable at
all, but it says you need
00:17:47.38\00:17:52.35
to understand the
true force of the will,
00:17:52.39\00:17:53.92
that power of
decision to choose,
00:17:53.95\00:17:57.78
to surrender
your life to Christ.
00:17:57.81\00:17:59.82
Alley, how did you
find that work in your life?
00:17:59.85\00:18:02.70
Well, when I was
about 13, I wasn't having
00:18:02.74\00:18:07.47
my own personal
devotions like in the
00:18:07.51\00:18:09.04
morning and my mom was really
00:18:09.07\00:18:10.98
encouraging me
to do that because
00:18:11.02\00:18:12.18
I fell like I was
really spiritually struggling
00:18:12.21\00:18:13.95
and lots of the
times in the evenings
00:18:13.98\00:18:17.36
I would go and talk
to her and she would
00:18:17.39\00:18:18.66
like uplift me and
encourage me to make
00:18:18.70\00:18:20.72
that commitment to
have my devotions and
00:18:20.76\00:18:23.73
I was having a
really hard time doing
00:18:23.76\00:18:27.34
because I would feel
really like energized
00:18:27.37\00:18:29.51
and pumped up about
doing it in the evenings
00:18:29.55\00:18:31.52
when I talk to her
and then the next morning
00:18:31.56\00:18:32.60
I would be so tired,
so I don't wanna do this.
00:18:32.64\00:18:35.23
Yeah. And so then
finally I told her one night,
00:18:35.27\00:18:38.93
I was like mom I just don't feel
00:18:38.96\00:18:40.62
like having my
devotions and she told me
00:18:40.65\00:18:43.32
she said Alley whether
you feel like it or not
00:18:43.36\00:18:45.34
just try it,
try it for one month
00:18:45.38\00:18:46.68
and so I decided
to make that decision
00:18:46.72\00:18:51.06
and I, the next
morning I got up I did not
00:18:51.10\00:18:53.99
feel like have my
devotions. I was just like
00:18:54.03\00:18:56.33
no I don't want to
do this, but I made that
00:18:56.37\00:18:59.75
decision I made
that commitment, I said
00:18:59.78\00:19:01.27
okay I'm going to
do this and God really
00:19:01.31\00:19:02.80
helped me and day by
day he worked on my heart
00:19:02.84\00:19:06.22
and I was able, well
he was able like I can't
00:19:06.25\00:19:11.13
even explain with
words how it happened,
00:19:11.17\00:19:13.06
but I don't even
remember when that
00:19:13.09\00:19:15.52
month ended I
just kind of kept going
00:19:15.56\00:19:17.71
and now
devotions aren't a problem.
00:19:17.75\00:19:19.58
And you still have
devotions now. Um Hmm.
00:19:19.61\00:19:20.93
And that's a
struggle and I know that
00:19:20.97\00:19:24.39
struggle, it's like
you're fighting against
00:19:24.42\00:19:26.54
yourself. The Apostle
Paul talks about it as
00:19:26.58\00:19:30.27
dying daily and it
sets a real serious struggle
00:19:30.30\00:19:34.19
and he talks to
Timothy and he says fight the
00:19:34.23\00:19:38.16
good fight, you know
when I go to my office
00:19:38.20\00:19:41.20
and I pray really
you know like what
00:19:41.24\00:19:44.62
I'm doing here I'm
not doing anything,
00:19:44.66\00:19:46.23
I've got to do
something you know
00:19:46.26\00:19:47.83
but I'm actually
praying, I'm asking God to do
00:19:47.86\00:19:50.24
that work in and through me.
00:19:50.28\00:19:52.18
Did you realize that God only
asks us to give up those things
00:19:53.60\00:19:57.79
that will in the end harm us
and make our lives miserable?
00:19:57.83\00:20:00.81
You see, Jesus died to
give us the freedom to choose
00:20:00.84\00:20:05.04
those things that
are in our best interest.
00:20:05.07\00:20:07.14
When we exercise our will
to do right, we are simply
00:20:07.18\00:20:10.63
experiencing the freedom
that comes from being sons and
00:20:10.66\00:20:14.08
daughters of God.
00:20:14.12\00:20:15.20
The Apostle Paul
puts it this way Roman 6,
00:20:15.23\00:20:18.57
verses 6 and 7. Our
old sinful selves were
00:20:18.61\00:20:21.67
crucified with
Christ. So that sin might lose
00:20:21.71\00:20:24.73
its power in our
lives. We are no longer
00:20:24.77\00:20:27.41
slaves to sin for
when we died with Christ
00:20:27.45\00:20:29.86
we were set free
from the power of sin.
00:20:29.89\00:20:32.27
Will you be set free?
00:20:32.30\00:20:34.11
Like the woman at
the well I was seeking
00:21:06.25\00:21:12.64
For things that
could not satisfy;
00:21:12.68\00:21:19.12
And then I heard
my Savior speaking:
00:21:19.15\00:21:25.53
"Draw from my well
that never shall run dry. "
00:21:25.56\00:21:32.07
Fill my cup Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
00:21:32.11\00:21:38.57
Come and quench this
thirsting of my soul;
00:21:38.60\00:21:45.85
Bread of heaven, Feed
me till I want no more
00:21:45.88\00:21:53.24
Fill my cup, fill it
up and make me whole!
00:21:53.27\00:22:00.56
So, my children, if the
things this world gave you
00:22:00.59\00:22:07.97
Leave hungers
that won't pass away,
00:22:08.01\00:22:14.16
My blessed Lord
will come and save you,
00:22:14.20\00:22:20.59
If you kneel to
Him and humbly pray:
00:22:20.63\00:22:26.89
Fill my cup Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
00:22:26.93\00:22:33.12
Come and quench this
thirsting of my soul;
00:22:33.16\00:22:40.31
Bread of heaven, Feed
me till I want no more
00:22:40.34\00:22:47.42
Fill my cup, fill it
up and make me whole!
00:22:47.46\00:22:54.93
Bread of heaven, Feed
me till I want no more
00:22:54.97\00:23:04.96
Fill my cup, fill it
up and make me whole!
00:23:04.99\00:23:14.94
The woman at the well had
been searching for fulfillment
00:23:19.66\00:23:21.93
in all the wrong places,
maybe she thought that was her
00:23:21.97\00:23:25.31
only option. Jesus showed
her she was empty, totally dry
00:23:25.34\00:23:28.64
He didn't leave her
that way though, He gave her
00:23:28.68\00:23:31.33
living water.
Jesus is the same today,
00:23:31.36\00:23:33.82
He still has that living water,
and He desperately wants to
00:23:33.86\00:23:36.71
wants to fill us up.
00:23:36.75\00:23:37.78
The paradox that we find
in the scriptures is that
00:23:37.81\00:23:40.72
in order for us to be
filled with that living water,
00:23:40.75\00:23:43.77
we need to be emptied of self.
00:23:43.80\00:23:45.83
And that emptying requires
a total surrender of your will
00:23:45.87\00:23:50.22
to God. In Steps to Christ
it talks about not being able to
00:23:50.25\00:23:54.56
control your thoughts
your impulses, your affections
00:23:54.60\00:23:57.73
and all of those
memories cause you to wonder
00:23:57.77\00:24:01.19
you know, can I do
this? And what she says
00:24:01.23\00:24:04.58
is you need to understand
the true force of the will,
00:24:04.62\00:24:07.35
the power of choice.
00:24:07.38\00:24:09.10
You know that struggle
of wanting to do to follow
00:24:09.13\00:24:13.96
God and not being able to
is something all of us deal
00:24:14.00\00:24:17.71
with and yet it seems
that the only suggestion we
00:24:17.75\00:24:21.43
find in steps to
Christ is to try harder.
00:24:21.46\00:24:23.70
Yeah and yes and no, to
try harder; to try harder,
00:24:23.74\00:24:29.15
to exercise your will
in the right direction,
00:24:29.18\00:24:33.28
to choose to surrender
your will to God instead
00:24:33.31\00:24:37.34
of trying to fix your
heart. We can't fix our hearts,
00:24:37.37\00:24:40.20
our hearts are desperately
evil the Bible says and we
00:24:40.24\00:24:43.04
cannot change them
and changing our hearts is
00:24:43.07\00:24:46.60
what God does and so
when we submit our will
00:24:46.64\00:24:50.10
to him we choose him to
come in and change our hearts.
00:24:50.13\00:24:53.60
In your life Andrew,
have you had an experience or
00:24:53.63\00:24:57.46
experiences where
you've had thoughts or tendency
00:24:57.49\00:25:01.06
or even fears that you
couldn't control and you
00:25:01.10\00:25:04.64
turned to God and
he gave you a victory
00:25:04.67\00:25:07.42
over those things?
Yeah. When I was 10
00:25:07.45\00:25:10.13
years old my family and
I had just move to their
00:25:10.17\00:25:13.11
country of Rwanda and
Rwanda is best known in
00:25:13.15\00:25:16.03
most people's mind as
the place where the genocide
00:25:16.06\00:25:19.54
happened in 1994 and
when we arrived there,
00:25:19.58\00:25:22.82
we visited some of
the places where these
00:25:22.86\00:25:26.04
killings had taken
place and honestly in 8 years
00:25:26.07\00:25:28.68
not much had changed.
I mean they were still
00:25:28.71\00:25:31.88
you know bones and
old bloody clothing from
00:25:31.92\00:25:34.39
people who had been
killed there and this
00:25:34.43\00:25:36.83
deeply affected me,
because I was only a small boy.
00:25:36.87\00:25:39.61
You saw this
evidence of death and killing.
00:25:39.64\00:25:43.79
Yeah. And it really
affected me and I began
00:25:43.82\00:25:47.90
to have nightmares at
night, I was really scared
00:25:47.93\00:25:50.93
because here I'm in this
place in for all I know the
00:25:50.96\00:25:53.93
people I'm meeting
and getting to know could
00:25:53.96\00:25:56.41
have been the people who
are involved in this and if
00:25:56.44\00:25:58.66
it happen in the past
you know what's to say it
00:25:58.69\00:26:01.80
won't happen while I'm
there and I was just very
00:26:01.83\00:26:04.70
scared and I began to
pray that God would take
00:26:04.73\00:26:07.23
this fear away from me,
take away these nightmares
00:26:07.27\00:26:10.29
and I remember one
night I had a dream, it was so
00:26:10.32\00:26:13.62
simple but I can honestly
say I believe God gave it
00:26:13.66\00:26:17.72
to me and in this dream
I was standing in the road
00:26:17.75\00:26:21.44
and a war was happening
you know like I imagined
00:26:21.48\00:26:25.08
what the genocide must
have been like and I was so
00:26:25.11\00:26:28.67
scared, I didn't know
where my family was and
00:26:28.71\00:26:30.66
all of a sudden I saw
Jesus walking down the
00:26:30.69\00:26:34.19
road and he took my
hand in his and walked down,
00:26:34.22\00:26:37.12
we walked down the road
together and I just felt
00:26:37.15\00:26:40.21
such peace, it was a
very simple dream but after
00:26:40.25\00:26:43.24
I had that I was not scared
anymore, I didn't have the
00:26:43.28\00:26:46.90
nightmares because
I knew that whatever
00:26:46.93\00:26:49.28
happened to me God
would take care of me.
00:26:49.31\00:26:52.31
So, you surrendered
your will to God and you
00:26:52.35\00:26:55.11
asked him to change
something you couldn't
00:26:55.15\00:26:58.22
change in yourself and
he gave you a dream and
00:26:58.25\00:27:01.29
through that you
had peace within.
00:27:01.32\00:27:02.85
Yeah. That's God's work
and that's what it talks
00:27:02.89\00:27:05.52
about when it says
surrender the will to him.
00:27:05.56\00:27:08.16
There is a
well-known phrase that goes
00:27:08.20\00:27:11.53
something like this, the
road to hell is paved with
00:27:11.57\00:27:14.77
good intentions, that
means that there are many
00:27:14.81\00:27:18.20
who have desires to
chose God, they hope to serve
00:27:18.24\00:27:21.36
him, but they actually
do not choose to become
00:27:21.39\00:27:24.45
Christians, they
don't fully consecrate their
00:27:24.48\00:27:27.47
lives to Jesus Christ.
Let's turn to him right now and
00:27:27.51\00:27:31.28
ask him to give us
fully surrendered hearts.
00:27:31.31\00:27:35.02
Heavenly Father, we
thank you Lord for the
00:27:35.05\00:27:38.69
images we find in the
scriptures of Jesus and his
00:27:38.72\00:27:43.18
life of total dedication
to us, to dying for our sins.
00:27:43.22\00:27:48.21
We thank you for his
life and we choose to give our
00:27:48.25\00:27:53.21
lives to you right
now. Thank you for this
00:27:53.24\00:27:57.15
great gift in Jesus name, amen.
00:27:57.19\00:28:00.00
Steps to Christ in Song
is a 13 part series from
00:28:03.87\00:28:07.78
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designed to be an
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00:28:11.97\00:28:14.34
with friends,
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Order your copies now by calling
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