Love Came Down, Week 2: To Make Me Clean

Theme Verse:   (John 6:51) (NLT) I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”   Title of Message:  To Make Me Clean   (Psalm 38:4)(NIV84) “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden to heavy to bear.”   (Matthew 11:28)(GW) “Come to me, all you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”   (Psalm 31:4-5)(NIV84) “Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.   (Galatians 3:1)(NLT) Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.   (Galatians 5:1) “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”   The Guilt Trap:   1. When we start to regret. (Acts 7:54-58)(NIV84) “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young Man named Saul.”   (Romans 8:1) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”   2. When we hold on to it. (2 Corinthians 5:17)(NIV84) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!   3. When we choose to pay for our own sin.   (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)(NIV84) “ʻMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.ʼ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christʼs power may rest on me. That is why, for Christʼs sake, I delight in weaknesses…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”   (Romans 11:6)(WEB) “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” Living clean will: 1. Change how you relate to God.   (Hebrews 12:2)(NIV84) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame.”   2. Change how you relate to people. (Philippians 2:1-3)(NIV84) “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” 3. Change how you are used by God.   (Psalm 18:35)(NIV84) “You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.”