Every day pray that everyone you know will either become a Christian or influence others to become a Christian, and please share this online book with others - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEENmENsLrw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05hhZ0oFEIk
For Wednesday evening services, the Lord has lead me to do a Bible study for practical Bible verses in Matthew. Please come back to these Bible lessons in order to review them and learn them. Whenever we have learned the meaning of Bible verses and think about them throughout each day, we will be in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Not only that, but when we are in a situation in our daily lives and are tempted to sin, we can think back to what we have learned from the Bible and say to ourselves, "The Bible says to not do what I am tempted to say, think, do, and/or desire right now, so I am going to refuse to give in to this temptation." This is what Romans 12:2 means, and it says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This is also the pattern that Jesus used when the devil tempted Him to sin in Matthew 4:1-11.
Chapter 22
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Matthew 22:34-40
34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (A similar section of verses is Mark 12:30-31, and they add the word 'strength'.) 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (If a Christian tries to obey these two commandments, they will naturally be able to obey the commandents in the Old Testament.)
These verses mean that whenever the Lord isn’t leading you to try very hard to do things such as (while not doing them out of unwanted duty – explained in chapter 40 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com):
1. spend more of your money on things like evangelistic associations, charities, and things for God’s purposes instead of entertainment (Technology items can be used for God’s purposes though.) and material type things (Matthew 6:19-21), if you have money left over from providing yourself with food, clothing, and shelter, you’re willing to give to those who have needs (Luke 12:16-21) (or if it is an expensive need where a collection could be taken up, you want to ask the church that you attend or have supported financially to help meet their needs), give offerings to your church every week (1 Corinthians 16:2);
2. talk about the Lord and the Bible with people who will listen (Deuteronomy 6:7), teach people the Bible (Matthew 28:19), counsel with people who are having problems (Galatians 6:2), encourage others (Hebrews 10:25), correct believers when they sin (Galatians 6:1), tell people how to become Christians (2 Timothy 4:5) by mouth, through email or social media, and/or by handing out or dropping off Christian tracts in places like stores or restaurants where people can pick them up, say things that can help and encourage others and isn’t perverted, hateful, foul, threatening, argumentative, prideful, rude, trying to make fun of others, etc. (Ephesians 4:29), talk about a miracle you witnessed or heard of, someone who got saved, some act of kindness you saw or heard of, something amazing an athlete did because God gifted them with that ability, how beautiful the weather and scenery is because God made it that way, or what is going on in heaven, etc. (Philippians 4:8);
3. feed, clothe, and find shelter for the less fortunate, and visit people in hospitals and jails (Mark 12:30-31);
4. do acts of kindness that will make God look good in front of others (for example - cook, clean, do people’s yard work, help people shop, wash people’s cars, fix people’s appliances) (Matthew 5:16);
5. try to do whatever the Holy Spirit gives you thoughts to say and do each day no matter how challenging they may be or who or what tries to stop you (James 4:17);
6. avoid saying and doing things that you think might be sinful (Isaiah 30:21; John 16:13);
(Numbers 1-6 that were just mentioned describe - Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy strength.)
you try to -
7. let Jesus become the Lord of your life (2 Corinthians 4:3-5; Romans 10:9, Acts 2:36) by taking over every “moment” of your life from this moment on - Whatever you do during each day (eat, drink, get ready for work or school, drive, shop, play golf, watch a sporting event, or mow the lawn, etc.), you want to try to do it to please God and try to think about things such as what you’ve read in the Bible (Psalm 119:15); pray (Matthew 6:9-13); think about things such as a miracle you witnessed or heard of, someone who got saved, some act of kindness you saw or heard of, something amazing an athlete did because God gifted them with that ability, or imagine what will be going on in heaven when you get there, etc. (Philippians 4:8) while you eat, drink, get ready for work or school, drive, shop, play golf, watch a sporting event, or mow the lawn, etc. (1 Corinthians 10:31);
8. read through the Bible and do what it says to do and don’t do what it says not to do (James 1:22);
9. think about what you’ve read (Psalm 119:15);
10. think about things such as a miracle you witnessed or heard of, someone who got saved, some act of kindness you saw or heard of, something amazing an athlete did because God gifted them with that ability, or imagine what will be going on in heaven when you get there, etc. (Philippians 4:8);
11. pray how Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13 by (admiring God, asking God to forgive you when you sin and try to not do it again (For a list of sins to avoid, please see chapter 35 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com), thank God for blessings and difficult circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and ask God to help you and others);
(Numbers 7-11 that were just mentioned describe - Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind.)
and you do those things because you sincerely care about others and want to help their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or financial needs; you don’t want to sin by not saying or doing what the Holy Spirit urges and gives you thoughts to say or do (James 4:17); and you want people to think good thoughts about God (Matthew 5:16).
(This describes - Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.)
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself means if you come in contact with someone who, for example, is trying to understand something in the Bible, needs advice as to how to get through the trial they are having, is hungry, in need of shelter (However, if a stranger comes to your door and wants to move in, it would be good advice to take them to a homeless shelter.), clothing, or money (If someone needs a lot of money, you should ask the church that you support financially or a church in your area to help with the cost. The apostle Paul collected offerings from churches for expensive needs.), you should help meet those needs (Also, tell God that you are doing it for the Lord Jesus and are thankful for the opportunity. This is described in Colossians 3:17.), because you are likely blessed with knowledge and resources such as those. The Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37 gives the perfect example of this. The Samaritan in this parable did all that he could do to take care of the man that fell among thieves and was left half dead.
Also, for example, when you’re hungry, you eat; before you leave your home, you dress and put on shoes; when you need to make a call, you use your phone, etc. So, in the same way you would do these things for yourself, you should do these kind of things for others who are hungry and can’t afford to eat, for example.
(If you have asked Jesus into your heart, believed that Jesus is your Savior, or trusted Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into heaven, etc., but you have not been living these ways, please follow chapter 10 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com)
If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have not prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, please follow chapter 41 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com