Christmas War

Psalms 143:4-5 - The Key to Connection
* God created us in relationship for relationship.
* Relationship with

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* Relationship with

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* This is what makes us strong.
* Matthew 18:20 - “Where two or more are gathered…”
* Matthew 16:18 - “And the gates of hell will not prevail…”
* The key is to make sure we stay

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* David gives us the key to connection:
* Vs 4 - “So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.”
* Have you ever been here?
* Vs 5 - “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.”
* When David’s spirit grew faint he “remembered” the days of long ago.
* To remember is to “re-member!”
* Remembering is all about connection.
* Relationships are built on connection.
* When David grew weak, he thought back to God’s awesome deeds of the past.
* Question - what makes your spirit weak?
* Pay attention to your energy levels.
* Laziness and Busyness drain the physical body - the same is true mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
* God is a God of REST.
* Remembering God’s power in the past helps you in two ways:
* 1) Encourages you in the

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* Encourage means “make courageous.”
* 2) Gives you hope for the

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* Hope projects power into the future.
* Fear is about a past or present threat.
* Anxiety is about a future threat (loss of control).
* Remembering God’s power in the past projects power into your future.

1 John 5:3 - Defining Love
* When we are born again we are born from love and for love.
*

love - God’s passion for us as His kids.
*

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love - to love God and others.
* True love includes compassion with standards.
* Compassion = to

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together.
* Standards = the

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of relationship.
* You cannot have one without the other.
* Vs 1-2 - “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.”
* Vs 3a - “In fact, this IS LOVE FOR GOD: to keep His commands…”
* God is love - our obedience is what that love looks like.
* Vs 3b - “…And His commands are not burdensome.”
* Rabbi in Jerusalem - “You Christians are so funny. You think of tôrâ as law. We Jews think of tôrâ as our way of expressing our love for God.”
* The law keeps the bad out and the good in.
* Boundaries bring blessing and freedom.
* The way we say, “I love you” to God is to do what He says.