ASSIGNMENTS

1. At least once a day read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day.

3. Think of times when you have really lived for Jesus.

4. Write down the ways you have lived for Jesus.

5. Plan to tell the class how you or someone else has lived for Jesus, or tell how you have, in a specific situation, failed to live for Jesus.

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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot

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The Christian faith is meant to be lived moment by moment. It isn't some broad, general outline--it's a long walk with a real Person. Details count: passing thoughts, small sacrifices, a few encouraging words, little acts of kindness, brief victories over nagging sins. - Joni Eareckson Tada

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If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? - D. Livingstone

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DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS

MONDAY - VERSES: Romans 12:1-5 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you make your life a living sacrifice for Him.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Philippians 2:13-17 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you joyfully sacrifice to serve others.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Hebrews 10:5-10; 1 Peter 2:21-25 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for Jesus' sacrifice and vow to live for the one who died for you.

THURSDAY - VERSES: John 6:51-58; Acts 17:28 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for giving you life and ask Him to accept that life lived to His honor and glory.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Romans 14:7-9; Philippians 1:20-22 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you remember that your life is not your own, but His and to remember to live each day for Him.

SATURDAY - VERSES: Galatians 2:17-21 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you to be dead to the world and alive to Him.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 54

LIVING FOR JESUS - 8-4-13 TO 8-10-13

SCRIPTURE - 2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

COMMENT - The purpose for Jesus' death on our behalf was twofold: first, that we no longer live our lives selfishly to fulfill our own desires, second, that we instead live our lives for Jesus since he died for us.

SONG - LIVING FOR JESUS

1. Living for Jesus a life that is true, Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.

2. Living for Jesus who died in my place, Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace; Such love constrains me to answer His call, Follow His leading and give Him my all.

3. Living for Jesus through earth's little while, My dearest treasure, the light of His smile; Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem, Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

REFRAIN: O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, hence forth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

THOUGHTS

A chicken and a pig both lived on a farm. One day the farmer strode into the barnyard and told the animals the family desired ham and eggs for breakfast, and were there any volunteers? The chicken nudged the pig and said, "C'mon, let's volunteer." The pig declined, saying, "That's easy for you to suggest. From you they want a little contribution. For me it's total commitment!" Commitment to Christ does require more than a "little contribution." It requires a sacrificial surrender of our lives to His will.

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He is a Christian who tries to be the kind of neighbor Christ would be, and the kind of citizen Christ would be, and who asks himself in all the alternatives of his business life, and his social life, and his personal life, 'What would the Master do in this case?' The best Christian is he who most reminds the people with whom he lives of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who never reminds anybody of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a Christian at all. George Hodges

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Cheap Grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price, to buy which, the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

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Fred Craddock, in a address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consecration. "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others...to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom-I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. "We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table-'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.' "But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give up a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. "Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it's harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul." -Darryl Bell Maple Grove, Minnesota. Leadership-Vol. 5, #4.

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Yellowstone National Park's most featured attraction is a geyser named, Old Faithful. Millions of visitors come to view the geyser that earned its name by consistently erupting like clockwork. Three hotels are located in clear viewing of Old Faithful and those who can't get reservations to stay there fill up the huge parking lot in anticipation of witnessing this natural phenomenon. Ironically, Old Faithful is losing its faithfulness. In the 1960s it erupted an average of every 64 minutes. Now it kicks up the steam every 80 minutes or so and often waits a full 90 minutes. It's name hasn't changed but its behavior has. Christians and churches can do the same thing. The term faithfulness may more clearly define what we used to be rather than what we are now. Like the manna of old, we cannot live on yesterday's supply. Faithfulness is a name we keep by demonstrating it every day.

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LIVING FOR JESUS

INTRODUCTION - WHY DID CHRIST DIE? - 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:24; Titus 2:14; Romans 14:9

I. LIVE NO LONGER FOR SELF - 2 Corinthians 5:15; Luke 6:46; Luke 15:11-13; Romans 7:23-25; James 1:12-15; James 4:1-4; Matthew 19:23; Luke 12:15-21

II. LIVE FOR JESUS - 2 Corinthians 5:15; Luke 18:29-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 1 Peter 2:11; Philippians 3:8; 1 Peter 4:1-3; Titus 2:11-12; Romans 13:13-14

CONCLUSION - 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10
LIVING FOR JESUS

INTRODUCTION - WHY DID CHRIST DIE?

SCRIPTURE - 2 Cor 5:14-17 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; {15} and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. {16} Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. {17} Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

A. Christ died that we might live for Him. (2 Cor 5:15) and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

B. Christ died to bring us near to God. - (1 Peter 3:18) "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit"

C. Christ died that we might live unto righteousness. - (1 Peter 2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed".

D. Christ died to purify us so that we would be zealous to do good works. - (Titus 2:14) "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works".

E. Christ died so that we would serve Him as Lord. - (Romans 14:9) "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living".

I. LIVE NO LONGER FOR SELF - (2 Cor 5:15) and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

A. GOD COUNTED CROSSES

I counted dollars while God counted crosses,

I counted gains while He counted losses,

I counted my worth by the things gained in store

But He sized me up by the scars that I bore.

I coveted honors and sought for degrees,

He wept as He counted the hours on my knees;

I never knew until one day by the grave

How vain are the things that we spend life to save;

I did not yet know until my loved one went above

That richest is he who is rich in God's love.

B. THE BIG "I." - (Luke 6:46) "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?

C. THE GIVE ME PHILOSOPHY - THE PRODIGAL SON - (Luke 15:11-13) Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. {12} "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. {13} "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

D. GIVING IN TO FLESHLY DESIRES - (Rom 7:23-25) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. {24} O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? {25} I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

E. GIVING IN TO DESIRES - (James 1:12-15) Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. {13} Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. {14} But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. {15} Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

F. FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD - (James 4:1-4) Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? {2} You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. {3} You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. {4} Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

G. BEWARE OF RICHES " (Mat 19:23) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

1. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS - Luke 12:15-21 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." {16} Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. {17} "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' {18} "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. {19} 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' {20} "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' {21} "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

2. THE RICH FOOL - (Luke 12:16-21) Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. {17} "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' {18} "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. {19} 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' {20} "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' {21} "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

II. LIVE FOR JESUS - (2 Cor 5:15) and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

A. Must be willing to give all one has to follow Christ. - (Luke 18:29-30) So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, {30} "who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

B. To abstain from all appearance of evil. - (1 Th 5:22) Abstain from every form of evil.

C. To abstain from fleshly lusts - (1 Pet 2:11) Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

D. To count all things loss for Christ. - (Phil 3:8) Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

E. To deny oneself even as Christ did. - (1 Pet 4:1-3) Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, {2} that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. {3} For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles; when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

F. To deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. - (Titus 2:11-12) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, {12} teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

G. To make no provision for the flesh. - (Rom 13:13-14) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. {14} But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

CONCLUSION

A. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new -2 Cor. 5:17

B. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephes. 4:24).

C. "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10).

D. Jim Elliot, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for

them and rose again.