1 Kings 8:60-61: "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. "Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.''

Many of us believe in God, or at least acknowledge His existence.

James 2:19: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!"

Just believing in God's existence is not enough, you have to have a personal relationship with Him. You have to believe in your heart that God loved you enough to send His son Jesus to die for you. This simple act of faith is what separates us from unbelievers, other religions and yes, even demons. However, your Christian walk is more than just believing for salvation, that is only the first step. God expects so much more from us, and that is the topic of today's lesson.

Many of us have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we truly believe He died and arose again. But we stop there, we go no further. We put Jesus in a little waiting room in our heart. We leave Him in there until we need Him. Then when something goes wrong, we get sick, our children get on drugs, we loose our job or anything else bad happens, then we run to the room, burst open the door and yell, "Lord, Help Me!"

The wonderful thing about God, is He loves you so much that He is always there for you. He didn't leave, He waited patiently and responded in His great love and mercy to help you! But, God desires so much more from us, than living in the waiting room of our heart. He wants a personal relationship with us, He not only wants it but demands it. Let's look at our main verse again.

1 Kings 8:60-61: "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. "Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.''

Another translation of this verse says, "let your heart be wholly devoted to God. What does that mean? When you are wholly devoted to someone, you are ardently loyal to them. You support them, you are there when they need you, you never wavier in you love and support of them.

Isn't this how God treats us? Isn't He always there for us, supporting us, loving us and never leaving us? Yes, He is and this is how were are to be to Him in return.

2 Chronicles 19:9 "And he commanded them, saying, "Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart:"

In this verse Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, was giving instructions to the leaders of Judah, on how to govern and act. But this applies in our lives so much more. The fear of the Lord, is not being afraid of Him, because He will punish you, like a fearful child. No, it is reverence and awe, because He is such an awesome powerful God! We must be loyal and faithful to God in all areas of our lives, not just in the times of crisis. There are many reasons for this, one is because God longs for our love and fellowship! This is why we were created in the first place, to walk and talk with Him, not to just run to Him when the going gets tough.

Another reason, is God longs to bless us. He longs for us to grow in trust and wisdom, to know Him intimately, to be wholly devoted to Him. This is something we choose to do. We have to make the conscious decision, that we will put God first in our lives over everything else. He has to be above you, your spouse or boy or girlfriend, your job, your children, and yes, even your problems. Many times we worry so much about our problems, that we loose our focus and forget what the true solution is! The true solution is The Lord! Get your eyes off your problem and back on the Lord!

1 Peter 5:7-9: "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

There are several important points in this verse. The first is, we are to cast our cares on God, because He cares for us. We don't have to lie awake worrying, loosing sleep, or not eating. Turn it over to God, then it becomes His problem. The second is we need to cast our cares on Him, because our adversary the devil is always around, looking for someone to devour, someone to tempt, someone to harass, someone to make sick, someone to steal money from, or take our children through drugs and sex. You cannot afford to be bogged down in one problem, for as the rest of the verse clearly states, we all go through the same type of problems. This is a real thing, it is not junk made up, the devil is real and he is attacking you, me, our families on a daily basis! We cannot afford to be lazy or complacent! This is why you have to be faithful and loyal in serving God. Then you know where your strength and force comes from and it not from you. You may think you are strong, that you can face anything, that you have been through a lot and done all right! But, I am here to tell you today, you cannot hope to succeed, to be victorious, to have complete victory and peace in your live without the Lord Jesus.

Psalms 27:1-3: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident."

You can be confident because God's Word promises you He is your strength. Once you know where your strength comes from, you know you can do all things.

Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

The important thing I want you to get in your heart is you cannot waver in your devotion or loyalty to God. This is considered being double minded. Let's see what the Word says about a double minded man.

James 1:6-8: "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Have you ever seen a bottle in the ocean? It bobs up and down, going from side to side, because of the action of the waves, this is how a double minded man is. He can't make up his mind. He can't decide what he wants or needs. This verse is talking about asking in faith and not doubting. Why is this important! Because, if you are not loyal to your relationship to God, not wholly devoted to Him, then you cannot trust Him, because you do not know Him. You don't know if His Word is good on not, because you haven't spent enough time with Him or in His Word to find out. If you don't know if His Word is good, than you can't ask Him to keep it or help you out, because you don't know that He will! Amen! The Bible calls this type of person "unstable". I do not want The Lord to consider me unstable in any form or fashion! How about you? God cannot bless an unstable man. It is not that He does not want to bless you, He can't! Because you don't know Him well enough to ask according to His Word , if you don't know His Word, then you won't know what to ask or if He will even do it. Don't rob yourself of your fellowship with the Lord. Purpose in your heart to be wholly devoted to Him and His ways, and watch the changes in you and your life as a result. Amen.

Prayer of Loyalty and Devotion:

Father God, I come to you now, asking you to forgive me for not being wholly devoted to you, not serving you with my whole heart, mind and body. Father, I ask you now, "to hide your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Give me the strength to persevere in my devotion to You and Your Word. Now Father, I purpose in my heart to be wholly devoted to you, to be loyal to you and your ways. I cast all my cares on you because I now, know that you care for me. Thank you, Lord, for carrying my burdens. I thank you that your Word in true and that changes are being manifested in my live today, even as I pray. Thank you for your Goodness and mercy. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

If you truly want to know for sure that you are a child of God, then I would like to invite you to earnestly pray this prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, "…and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Jn.6:37),

So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13).

I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, "…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Ro.10:9,10).

I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, "… with the heart one believes to righteousness…" and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),

And I am saved! Thank You, Lord! I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!

Glory to God!!!! Amen.