“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” (1 Sam. 12:24 ESV)

Serve God and hold fast to Him

“You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.” (Deut. 13:4 ESV)

Serve as to the Lord and not to men

“Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man…” (Eph. 6:7 ESV)

The greatest among you

“The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt. 23:11 ESV)

Therefore…

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” (Rom. 12:11 ESV)

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23-24 ESV)

“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” (Heb. 6:10 ESV)

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV)

God daily renews your inner self

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor. 4:16 ESV)

God daily bears your burdens

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19 NIV)

God daily loads you with benefits

“Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! (Psalm 68:19 NKJV)

Therefore…

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV)

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14 ESV)

“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.”  (Rev. 19:6 ESV)

Hallelujah: Hebrew hallĕlūyāh praise (ye) the Lord ; to express praise, joy, or thanks; a shout or song of praise or thanksgiving; glory (or glory be), ha (or hah), hey, hooray (also hurrah), hot dog, huzzah, wahoo [chiefly West], whee, whoopee, yahoo, yippee.

Hallelujah – praise &worship to God

“Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” (Rev. 19:3-4 ESV)

A great multitude in heaven, crying out, “hallelujah!”

“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God…” (Rev. 19:1 ESV)

Therefore…

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117:1-2 ESV)

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (Lam. 3:25 ESV)

Wait for the Lord and be strong

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 127:14 ESV)

Blessed are those who wait for Him

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isa. 30:18 ESV)

Be patient until the coming of the Lord

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:7-8 ESV)

The Lord is not slow

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Therefore…

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7 ESV)

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11 ESV)

“You bless all who depend on you for their strength.” (Psalm 84:5 CEV)

His grace is sufficient

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor. 12:9 ESV)

He gives power to the faint

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa. 40:28-31 ESV)

Therefore…

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 RSV)

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10 ESV)

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa. 40:31 ESV)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Eph. 6:10 ESV)

“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.” (Col. 3:16 ESV)

The Word of God is alive

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 NIV)

The Word of God is flawless

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30 NIV)

The Word of God helps you live

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:4 NIV)

The Word of God is a lamp for your feet

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

The Word of God keeps you on the path to purity

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9 NIV)

Therefore…

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24 NIV)

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28 NIV)

“And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” (2 Cor. 1:10 NLT)

God will seek out His sheep and rescue them

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ez. 34:11-12 ESV)

Cry to the Lord

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” (Psalm 107:28 ESV)

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” (Psalm 91:14 ESV)

Therefore…

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.” (Psalm 37:39 ESV)

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18 ESV)

“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph. 4:26-27 NIV)

Anger happens, but control it!

Jesus got angry when He saw the money lenders in the temple, therefore, not all anger is bad. But, anger must be controlled and not allowed to get out of hand. The above passage says, “do not let”, which means you do have the ability to control your anger. The verse also gives the command, “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”. And a warning, “do not give the devil a foothold”, which you will be doing with uncontrolled anger.

Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Eph. 4:31 ESV)

Watch out!

“Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” (Prov. 22:24-25 ESV)

Therefore…

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Prov. 29:11 ESV)

“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.” (Eccles. 7:9 ESV)

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:18-20 ESV)

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Prov. 19:11 ESV)

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Prov. 16:32 ESV)

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5 ESV)

Three wrong beliefs that hold Christians back from having total victory

• Wrong Belief #1: “I know that God is forgiving but what I have done is too much.”

The Bible says…

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14 NLT)

“… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 NIV)

• Wrong Belief #2: “I must punish myself to be forgiven.”

The Bible says

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” (Eph. 2:8 ESV)

In other words, we can’t do anything to add to what Jesus did on the cross to cover our sins. He did more than enough to cover all sins, It’s called “grace”, which is God’s unmerited favor.

“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Rom. 11:6 ESV)

• Wrong Belief #3: “I know that God has forgiven me, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t forgive myself.”

The Bible says…

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20 NIV)

“…so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1)

Renew your mind with God’s Word (swap your thoughts with His thoughts)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Rom. 12:2

“With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.” (Psalm 108:13 ESV)

Quote:

“The feeling of being, or not being, forgiven and loved, is not what matters. One must come down to brass tacks. If there is a particular sin on our conscience, repent and confess it. If there isn’t, tell the despondent devil not to be silly”.  - CS Lewis