SHOPPING AT JESUS’ STORE
Here are some products that you can take home
from Jesus’ store, they have all been paid in full by Him.
Happiness, Peace, Love, Recognition, Trust, Respect,
Wisdom, Rest, Relaxation, Contentment, Meaning,
Purpose, Direction. What do these words mean to you?
Pastoring folks like you for many years has taught me that they are the things that people seek most.
Each of these has been irrevocably given to us through the works and righteousness of Jesus. They are not earned, they are received by the use of the free and complete gift of faith, given to us by Jesus when we make Him our King.
Faith is the substance formed by living in this present moment (NOW) with JOYFUL EXPECTATION of the UNSEEN gifts promised and given us by Jesus.
(Hebrews 11:1)
All of these feelings are products of a healthy state of mind. We need to give these to others in order to experience them in our own lives, even though Jesus has already given them to us. Sharing these gifts with others helps us receive them in our own lives, through faith.
But as my first AA sponsor, Dal Korn taught, “You Can’t Give Away What You Don’t Have!!!”
How do we gain these treasures? Make a decision moment by moment to trust JESUS! Our King gave us all
of these precious gifts by purchasing them for us with His blood. We don’t get them by our performance. We can’t earn them.
Our King Jesus knows that it is quite impossible for us to commit to a glorious, obedient, loving life for the rest of our lives.
That is one of the many reasons that He commanded us to live in this present moment. We can not commit to not eat potato chips for the rest of our lives, but we can commit not to open that bag for one moment; then, the next moment and the next until we have accomplished the goal to never eat potato chips.
I recently read an excellent teaching article by Dr. Ronnie Floyd, the President of the Southern Baptist Association.
The title of the article is “5 emotional disorders that eat our happiness.”
Ingratitude was the first. A lack of gratitude to Jesus for the things that we have been given, leads to many negative and highly destructive states of mind. According to Dr. Floyd, it directs us to a state of Entitlement.
While Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance; and they raised their voices and called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were [miraculously] healed and made clean.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back glorifying and praising and honoring God with a loud voice; and he lay face downward at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him [over and over]. He was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten [of you] cleansed? Where are the [other] nine? Was there no one found to return and to give thanks and praise to God, except this foreigner?” Jesus said to him, “Get up and go [on your way]. Your faith [your personal trust in Me and your confidence in God’s power] has restored you to health.”
(Luke 17:11-19)
Note that Jesus desires thankfulness and gratitude. He was obviously hurt and disappointed that the ones He was sent to first (the Jews) never even thought about thanking Him. It was a gentile from another land, who knew nothing about scripture or the Messiah, who used his personal flesh faith to thank Our King. Jesus was stunned.
Are we different from the nine? Don’t we take the blessings and gifts of Jesus for granted? Be honest.
This is not a judgment, rather a lesson on high value.
Entitlement is an ingrained paradigm, that we are owed. Honestly, in the presence of Jesus, I report a truth. At this point in writing this message, I went to a meeting. On the way, I sat next to a car in traffic. The car was a brand new Porsche. The vanity tag it was wearing read, “UOME”
This spirit of entitlement is fueled by many factors; not the least of which is a state of dependence on among others the government, parents, family, and employers. The sooner we learn that no one owes us anything the healthier and happier we will be.
The opposite of entitlement is a giving spirit. There is nothing that produces more love, peace, joy, happiness
or contentment, than Giving.
Giving to others produces deeper joy than anything known to man. Giving, whether it is time, talent, love, concern, a smile, money or anything else is the greatest evidence that we are employing our free gift of His faith.
It is in fact, WE who owe. We owe others what we want for ourselves, WE owe Jesus our complete undying and eternal love, belief, and gratitude for all that He has given us.
One day a man asked me this question: “Pastor Allen, what is your favorite giving scripture?”
I told him this one:
“So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.”
(Matthew 7:12)
I am a cheerful giver because I love to make others happy and I wish the same from them.
Entitlement leads to a state of Discontentedness. Contentedness is a direct by-product of choosing to learn, know and believe the great and precious promises given us by the crucifixion of the only one who has ever led a sinless life. Contentedness means to be at peace and rest.
The Holy Spirit ordered our teacher Paul to instruct us to make every effort to enter into His rest.
“Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late.”
For indeed we have had the good news [The Gospel of Jesus] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard.
For we who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God, enter that rest, just as He has said,
“As I swore [an oath] in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,”
[this He said] although His works were completed from the foundation of the world [waiting for all who would believe].For somewhere [in Scripture] He has said this about the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this, “They shall not enter My rest.”
Therefore, since the promise remains for some to enter His rest, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to [grasp it and did not] enter because of [their unbelief evidenced by] disobedience, He again sets a definite day, [a new] “Today,” [providing another opportunity to enter that rest by] saying through David after so long a time, just as has been said before [in the words already quoted],
PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORD…TODAY!!! The Holy Spirit instructed David to write that word. Our new day of rest is this day. We are to live one day at a time. Jesus also taught us to “TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR TOMORROW! It is one of His most important commandments and it is the first 1/3 of the components of Faith.
“Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
[This mention of a rest was not a reference to their entering into Canaan.] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak about another day [of opportunity] after that. So there remains a [full and complete] Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Jesus declared that He is the King of the Sabbath.
Jesus is the King of Rest. We enter into real, deep, spiritual rest; only through our personal relationship, knowledge of and trust in Him.
Jesus also meant; that for us now, every day is the Sabbath day. Not Sunday. The Sabbath Day was a day commanded by God to be set aside and to remember all of the ten miracles that He did to liberate His people from the bondage of slavery to works in Egypt.
It never was meant for non-Jews. We are to contemplate the salvation and sacrifices and miracles and promises of Jesus, Every Day. By the way, the Sabbath is celebrated from Friday at sundown until Saturday. It has nothing to do with Sunday.)
“I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
(Matthew 12:6-8)
For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience as those who died in the wilderness.
(Hebrews 4:4-11)
So here is the wrap: If you want to know: love, peace, happiness, rest, contentment, and joy; TRUST JESUS AND RECEIVE THEM BY FAITH! They have already been given to you. Receive them by faith and give them to others.
Jesus and I are beaming love to you all!
This message was dictated by the Holy Spirit and was presented to you by Pastor Allen Fleming who is the leader of Throne of Grace Ministries KnowJesusKnowGrace.Com
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