The last few weeks, we’ve been looking at the different curses removed from our lives and the blessings which have been put to our account. This in essence is the Gospel, or the Good News of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation.

My friends, today I am going to share with you how to apply this wondrous knowledge of salvation to every area of need whether it be physical in your body, some type of health need, or financial or emotional.

The more that we can behold Jesus, the more our needs are diminished. And if you’ve ever asked the question of why some people receive quickly and some more slowly, that is the reason, it is the speed of their beholding of Jesus Christ.

Since our last two messages have been on health and finances, we are not going to recap much of those today, if you weren’t here the last two weeks, you can view the text of the last two messages on our website.

What we are going to be looking at today is what it actually means to behold Jesus, and how to apply it to our lives, because that is where results quickly come, when we can truly rest in Christ, and we can only do that if we have really seen Him in His glory and place Him in His rightful place as head of our lives.

So, one issue that I hear a lot from our young people today is loneliness and the desire for a relationship. Some may snicker at that as just a part of growing up, but let me tell you some great tragedies have come from people who just couldn’t cope with the tremendous pressure and depression of loneliness.

My friends, I am just going to state the answer plainly; and it is that if there is a need in your life that you are trying to solve on your own without Christ than it is doomed to strife, heartache and failure. And that is not just for loneliness; that is for any desire that you may have in this life.

But let’s stay on the loneliness issue for right now. It is vitally important that we understand that we have only one thing to do for ourselves on this earth and it is found in Proverbs 4:23, and I like the New Living Translation version of the scripture as it is the most plainly stated:

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” 

You see, when we guard our hearts, God guards everything outside. But the moment we try to solve everything ourselves, the moment we try to take control and be the big boss and manage it all, then in-essence we dethrone God as LORD and everything becomes hard because we were never meant to do that.

Now here’s the really exciting news! As if that wasn’t good enough… some of you may be asking right now, “how do I guard my heart?” The Bible answers that question too, and guess what…. God even helps us guard our hearts! If we let Him…

Take a look at Philippians 4:4-7:

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 

Now the words “Be careful for nothing”, the word careful is actually anxious… “Be anxious for nothing”.

Well now I think that if most of us are honest individuals we would have t admit that we are often anxious about things aren’t we?

Notice the last line, The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And this is the key that brings this entire message together, understanding and beholding Christ.

Now that we understand why we must do this, let’s look at how to do it.

The key to this is understanding that when Christ died, He took our place and died not only for us, but as us. Every beating, bruise and insult, that He suffered was for a purpose and does something good for us.

For example, last week, we looked at Christ’s poverty which makes us rich. And the eek prior to that we saw how Christ bore in Himself every disease and sickness which gives us health.

As we mentioned today about loneliness, we should look at the specific promise in scripture about how Christ helps us with loneliness, found in Psalm 88:18:

“Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.” 

A lover and friends were put far from Jesus, so that by His suffering we would always have a lover and friends!

You may say “James, I still feel lonely!”
Stand on the scripture! Believe it! Your lover and friends will come! Guard your heart and believe, don’t try to solve it yourself, if you do, even if you find someone yourself it won’t be the right person.

The key lesson is this, keep Christ as your main focus, not whatever thing you may be chasing. If Christ is constantly your head then everything else falls into place, but if something else is your head then everything just falls flat.

Only by continuing to behold the glory of Christ and seeing how He has conquered everything for us, can we have a clear solid foundation for our faith, and then His blessings can come to us since we have given Him back his rightful place in our lives.

Remember the branch only receives nutrients when it is connected to the Vine.