Mike Connell Ministries

The church in the West, on the most, is in a state of spiritual slumber - unaware of the powers at work in the nation, to destroy the legacy that's been built over years. God is speaking to us, to 'wake up' out of that spiritual slumber. Jezebel was a woman in the Old Testament, and also a woman in the New Testament, but I want to get your eyes off 'woman'. I want you to get your eyes on 'spiritual power' - entering and oppressing a nation.

The Bible is very clear: there is an invisible spirit world, in which spiritual powers operate (Eph 6:12). The nation of Israel got into an alliance with another nation, the Sidonians, by marriage. He married Jezebel, and immediately opened his life to the influence of the spirit power behind her. Her father was a priest of Baal, and so she introduced the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth.

Love is incredibly practical. We've looked at spiritual dimensions of it, the need to experience God, to hear his voice - that's the fuel for the fire; but encounters with God are always to lead us to mission. Love always has an outworking, or a practical expression. Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Loving yourself is not the same as being self-centred, it's not about being selfish. It has to do with placing the appropriate value upon your life that God has placed. It's coming into agreement with Him, so our relationships with others are not affected by the way we see ourself. You are valuable, you are a special person, you are important to Him.

God's calling the church, every person, to serve. Love always serves others; but if you're unhappy about who you are, you'll use the serving as a way of fulfilling an unmet need inside. God wants us to place value on ourselves. I want to focus on 'as you love yourself.' What do you believe about yourself? When you look in the mirror and you look there, you look at that person there, what do you think?

Jude 20: Keep yourself in the love of God. Why do I have to guard, or protect, or watch over this area of encountering, experiencing, and walking in the love of God? There's an enemy that wants to keep me from it. The devil brings spiritual pressure around us. You've got to guard against isolation and loneliness.

Christian life is a response to God's love, a continuing response. We love Him because He first loved us. Meetings aren't enough. I must meet with God. I must feel His presence, encounter His presence and I must learn how to respond. If you love Me, you'll trust that what I say will work out good for you, and you'll do it. Many Christians want to come into an experience someone else creates, rather than a lifestyle where they walk and enjoy God. The measure of your maturity, is not your experiences, it's what do you do with people

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: love your neighbour as yourself. Love God passionately, love people fervently - including yourself.