When satan starts wrecking our life, he does not stop. He will spare nothing: children, finances, health. The only thing that will spare us is the grace of God. Far too many are running from God and that protection. The bible says that even if we make our bed in hell, God will find us. How many times have we been on the wrong road, and God interviewed and changed our path? God will search until He finds us. In Luke, we read the parable of the lost sheep. How important was that lost sheep? It was important enough that the shepherd would leave the ninety-nine that are safe and search for the one in trouble. God is interested in the one. In John 4 we read that Jesus left Judaea for Samaria. The Lord went to Samaria to have the encounter with the woman the well. That one woman was so important to the Lord that the Bible says in verse four, “And He must needs go through Samaria.” He went there to meet that one woman who needed Him. Each of us was that one at one time. There are many more ones out there who desperately need to be found.

When satan starts wrecking our life, he does not stop. He will spare nothing: children, finances, health. The only thing that will spare us is the grace of God. Far too many are running from God and that protection. The bible says that even if we make our bed in hell, God will find us. How many times have we been on the wrong road, and God interviewed and changed our path? God will search until He finds us. In Luke, we read the parable of the lost sheep. How important was that lost sheep? It was important enough that the shepherd would leave the ninety-nine that are safe and search for the one in trouble. God is interested in the one. In John 4 we read that Jesus left Judaea for Samaria. The Lord went to Samaria to have the encounter with the woman the well. That one woman was so important to the Lord that the Bible says in verse four, “And He must needs go through Samaria.” He went there to meet that one woman who needed Him. Each of us was that one at one time. There are many more ones out there who desperately need to be found.

When satan starts wrecking our life, he does not stop. He will spare nothing: children, finances, health. The only thing that will spare us is the grace of God. Far too many are running from God and that protection. The bible says that even if we make our bed in hell, God will find us. How many times have we been on the wrong road, and God interviewed and changed our path? God will search until He finds us. In Luke, we read the parable of the lost sheep. How important was that lost sheep? It was important enough that the shepherd would leave the ninety-nine that are safe and search for the one in trouble. God is interested in the one. In John 4 we read that Jesus left Judaea for Samaria. The Lord went to Samaria to have the encounter with the woman the well. That one woman was so important to the Lord that the Bible says in verse four, “And He must needs go through Samaria.” He went there to meet that one woman who needed Him. Each of us was that one at one time. There are many more ones out there who desperately need to be found.

In relationships, it is important to be received. We want to be liked and to have our interest in someone to respond with a similar interest. This is true in all relationships. God is no different. He wants us to respond to His love for us with a love for Him. God will receive us just as we are, not as we will be. He loves us even in our current state. When we get ready to move towards God, we have to leave some things behind. God loves us, but He cannot abide by our sins. To truly move toward God, we have to repent of those sins and seek Him.

In relationships, it is important to be received. We want to be liked and to have our interest in someone to respond with a similar interest. This is true in all relationships. God is no different. He wants us to respond to His love for us with a love for Him. God will receive us just as we are, not as we will be. He loves us even in our current state. When we get ready to move towards God, we have to leave some things behind. God loves us, but He cannot abide by our sins. To truly move toward God, we have to repent of those sins and seek Him.

In relationships, it is important to be received. We want to be liked and to have our interest in someone to respond with a similar interest. This is true in all relationships. God is no different. He wants us to respond to His love for us with a love for Him. God will receive us just as we are, not as we will be. He loves us even in our current state. When we get ready to move towards God, we have to leave some things behind. God loves us, but He cannot abide by our sins. To truly move toward God, we have to repent of those sins and seek Him.

In our text from Matthew, Jesus’ aunt approached him to ask that her sons be given a place on either side of Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus responds by asking if they could drink the cup that He was to drink. Even after three years of His ministry, they did not understand that the Kingdom of God was not to be an earthly kingdom and that to be a true follower of Jesus was to be a servant. They said that they could drink the cup, but did not understand what it meant to drink that cup. They did not fully understand until the day of Pentecost. If we are to have a ministry in God’s kingdom, we too much drink the cup. Few of us have endured the hardships that the disciples had to endure, but all of us have to take up a cross to follow Him. We have to start by having a servant’s heart. We will never have a successful ministry without a servant’s heart. The root of the success of our ministry is the relationship we have with our spouse. If that relationship is not working our relationship with God, and thus our ministry, will not work either.

In our text from Matthew, Jesus’ aunt approached him to ask that her sons be given a place on either side of Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus responds by asking if they could drink the cup that He was to drink. Even after three years of His ministry, they did not understand that the Kingdom of God was not to be an earthly kingdom and that to be a true follower of Jesus was to be a servant. They said that they could drink the cup, but did not understand what it meant to drink that cup. They did not fully understand until the day of Pentecost. If we are to have a ministry in God’s kingdom, we too much drink the cup. Few of us have endured the hardships that the disciples had to endure, but all of us have to take up a cross to follow Him. We have to start by having a servant’s heart. We will never have a successful ministry without a servant’s heart. The root of the success of our ministry is the relationship we have with our spouse. If that relationship is not working our relationship with God, and thus our ministry, will not work either.

In our text from Matthew, Jesus’ aunt approached him to ask that her sons be given a place on either side of Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus responds by asking if they could drink the cup that He was to drink. Even after three years of His ministry, they did not understand that the Kingdom of God was not to be an earthly kingdom and that to be a true follower of Jesus was to be a servant. They said that they could drink the cup, but did not understand what it meant to drink that cup. They did not fully understand until the day of Pentecost. If we are to have a ministry in God’s kingdom, we too much drink the cup. Few of us have endured the hardships that the disciples had to endure, but all of us have to take up a cross to follow Him. We have to start by having a servant’s heart. We will never have a successful ministry without a servant’s heart. The root of the success of our ministry is the relationship we have with our spouse. If that relationship is not working our relationship with God, and thus our ministry, will not work either.

In our text, the Psalmist used an illustration of the depths of the sea to describe what God is trying to tell us. If we are to experience what God has for us, we have to launch out away from the security of the shore and seek the depths of the deep waters. Too many are responding to the deep call from the Lord with a shallow response. God is not appealing to our shallowness, but the depth of our lives. The call of his voice and the reaction of our life must be in sync. God is calling; the deep is calling, and we must find an answer that is as deep as the call. The call that we hear at GLC is for an awakening. It is not time to pull the covers over our heads, but it is time to awaken ourselves and seek what God is trying to do.