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“I AM WONDERFULLY MADE” Matthew 25:14-23
INTRODUCTION:
1.David declared in Psalm 139:14 “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
2.David also proclaimed in Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God: And the firmament shows His Handiwork. 3.On December 19,2004; during the evening assembly, I started this series of sermons entitled “I am wonderfully made.”
4.In that sermon I mentioned that the Bible portrays you and me as a 3-fold, Trichotomy being. 3-separate entities, 3-distinct parts
5.Humans were and are the only creatures of God’s creation that are made in God’s image or likeness and we are the only ones who were giving dominion over the rest. Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7
6.God is a three-fold, a trichotomy being. He is God with three parts.
I. THREE WONDERFUL PARTS
1.In I Thessalonians 5:19ff, Paul said “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. First, the body
The basic function of your body is to serve as the dwelling place of your spirit. It is the temporary house where your spirit and soul lives in on earth. Just like you live in your physical house on earth, your spirit and soul also live in your bodily house.
(a.)Your body is the temple of God on earth. It is to be a sacred temple, operating as your worship place on earth. Paul in Romans 12: urged humans to “… present their bodies as a Living Sacrifice In other scriptures the body is referred to as the temple of the HOLY SPIRIT. (I Corinthians. 3 & 6) As a sacred temple, your body must be purified from the poisons of this world that defile it.
(b.) We must avoid harmful drugs, alcohol, contaminated foods, fleshly sins such as adultery, fornication, or anything that defile our bodies.
(c.) We are to care for our body with our spirit and soul in five ways: (1.) Proper exercise-the exertion of energy (2.) Proper diet and nutrition-eating health meals (3.) Proper hygiene- daily health care (4.) Proper rest- getting enough daily sleep and rest (5.) Proper worship-daily prayer, study, and worshipping God
3. Second, the spirit
(a) One of the first things we must come to accept about your threefold being is that your spirit is the real you, not your body.
(b) In the beginning, God created humans as a copy of Himself.
(c) The word image in the original language means copy Since God is a Spirit, and humans are a copy of Him, then we are created as spirits. John 4:24 and Genesis 1:26-27
(d) Paul, Peter, John and the Hebrew writer recognized humans as spirits: 1.Romans 2:29—the real person of the heart, not outward circumcision 2.I Peter 3:4—the hidden person of the heart 3. John 3:6-8—everyone’s spirit must be reborn 4. Hebrew 12:9—“Father of spirits
(e) Thus, the spirit is the basic essence of both God and humans.
(f) Your spirit is where God, Christ and the Holy Spirit have access to your soul and body.
(g) You talk to others and yourself with your spirit. It is the source for all of our relationships while you are alive.
(h) Finally, your spirit is the life force of your entire threefold being.
(I) Its function is to keep your body alive.
4. Third, the soul
(a.) In the original language the word soul refers to the seat or essence of your whole personality.
(b.) The soul gets its meaning from a combination of two Greek words which in essence mean “soul-life” and “soul-bank”
1. soul-life is the life and power-center of your soul It is responsible for the prosperity of your soul’s life, salvation, character, and integrity. It is the seat of your soul’s existence.
2. soul-bank is the investing and processing center of your soul. Is responsible for investing and processing your soul’s words, thoughts, emotions, and deeds. It is the seat of soul’s investments.
3. These two work together to form the medium of your soul. They constitute the banking center of your threefold being. Matthew 6: 19-24—Treasures on earth verses Treasures in Heaven V.21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
II. GOD’S WONDERFUL BANKING SYSTEM
1. We are like a kingdom whose king gave talents to his servants.
2. God delivered his goods to us. Body, Spirit, Soul
3. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body, all of which function and operate as a bank.
4. Jesus often used banking terminology; terms such as buy, invest, loss, gain, interest, profit,money, talents, loss, and exchange to describe the banking concept.
5. These banking terms and concepts were very much a part of ancient society, as well as during Jesus times, he used these concepts in His own life, ministry, and biblical teaching.
6. V. 27 “So you ought to have deposited my money with the banker’s, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.”
7. Both your spirit and body need the bank of your soul as the medium to transact business in your life on a daily basis.
8. Your spirit, soul, and body operate as God’s banking system on earth.
9. Out of an act of love, God gave you the privilege of investing in the bank of your soul on a daily basis.
10. Your spirit or your body, whichever is the stronger and wiser investor, will eventually take control and own the bank of your soul on earth through eternity.
CONCLUSION: 1. Matthew 16:24-26 2. What will you give in exchange for your soul? 3. Jesus wants you to give you life, but how? 4. HEAR, BELIEVE, REPENT, CONFESS, BE BAPTIZED
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