- Our best relationships develop through INTIMATE AWARENESS and SPECIAL ATTACHMENT.
Romans 8:9, You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you . . .
1 Timothy 6:17-18, 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 13:11
Why Belonging Brings Blessings Believing Alone Can’t
- OUR NEW BIRTH requires BELONGING.
Romans 8:9, You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Acts 27:31
John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Luke 12:8-9, 8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18, 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view . . . 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ . . .
- Belonging to God means I have a SPECIAL ATTACHMENT.
Ephesians 5; Romans 8:26, 28, 31
2. OUR BLESSINGS require BELONGING.
Romans 8:10, But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
James 4:2-3, 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Galatians 4:22-23, 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman (Hagar) was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman (Sarah) was born as the result of a divine promise.
John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
- Belonging to God means I have SPECIAL ABILITY.
John 8:29
3. OUR BATTLES require BELONGING.
Romans 8:11, And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
- Belonging to God means I have a SPECIAL ADVANTAGE.
Isaiah 8:18, Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty . . .