“Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm
37:4
That verse can be taken two ways. First, if you pursue God then He will give you anything your little heart desires. Second, if you pursue God, He will make His passion, your passion. He will change your “wants” to those things that reflect His will and purposes. That is what Jesus was telling Peter through His questions to Peter in John 21. “If you love Me, then pursue those things that I pursue. Do what I say to do, even if it makes no earthly sense.”
What makes missionaries distinctive is that they place less value on earthly comforts and relationships than they do on the call of Jesus on their lives to pick up their cross, abandon the things of this world, and follow Him. To feed His sheep if you will. The thing about a shepherd, when everyone else is at home sleeping, he is standing guard over the flock. We just spent 14 months living in a travel trailer, parked next to a church, listening to the cars zoom up and down the highway and jets fly over at all hours. My point? God has called us to this place. When He calls, you must be willing to lay what is comfortable and familiar, down and go and do where He says go and do.
From time to time when I tell my wife that I love her, she will say “I love you more.” Then I say “No, I love you more.” And we go back and forth several times with that. But where is the proof of that love? The proof of love is not in our words, as affirming as they might be. These are some expressions of love. They all require sacrifice.
Husbands toward wives:
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” – Ephesians 5:25
Us toward God:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:1-2
Us toward God and Others:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40
Do you love God enough to give yourself up for Him? – your hopes, your dreams, your comfort, your secure retirement, your family holidays, the list goes on ….. The theme of the Bible is that God is supreme and deserves our total devotion … like David, we must love God with our whole heart. (1 Kings 14:8). Listen, men, you won’t love your wife that way if you first don’t love God that way. You won’t love others if you don’t love God first. And you won’t love God that way if you are unwilling to lay your life down.
I listened to a sermon yesterday where the pastor said “Religion without godly living has no value.” Going to church is not enough. Not if you leave your heart at home.
That verse can be taken two ways. First, if you pursue God then He will give you anything your little heart desires. Second, if you pursue God, He will make His passion, your passion. He will change your “wants” to those things that reflect His will and purposes. That is what Jesus was telling Peter through His questions to Peter in John 21. “If you love Me, then pursue those things that I pursue. Do what I say to do, even if it makes no earthly sense.”
What makes missionaries distinctive is that they place less value on earthly comforts and relationships than they do on the call of Jesus on their lives to pick up their cross, abandon the things of this world, and follow Him. To feed His sheep if you will. The thing about a shepherd, when everyone else is at home sleeping, he is standing guard over the flock. We just spent 14 months living in a travel trailer, parked next to a church, listening to the cars zoom up and down the highway and jets fly over at all hours. My point? God has called us to this place. When He calls, you must be willing to lay what is comfortable and familiar, down and go and do where He says go and do.
From time to time when I tell my wife that I love her, she will say “I love you more.” Then I say “No, I love you more.” And we go back and forth several times with that. But where is the proof of that love? The proof of love is not in our words, as affirming as they might be. These are some expressions of love. They all require sacrifice.
Husbands toward wives:
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” – Ephesians 5:25
Us toward God:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:1-2
Us toward God and Others:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40
Do you love God enough to give yourself up for Him? – your hopes, your dreams, your comfort, your secure retirement, your family holidays, the list goes on ….. The theme of the Bible is that God is supreme and deserves our total devotion … like David, we must love God with our whole heart. (1 Kings 14:8). Listen, men, you won’t love your wife that way if you first don’t love God that way. You won’t love others if you don’t love God first. And you won’t love God that way if you are unwilling to lay your life down.
I listened to a sermon yesterday where the pastor said “Religion without godly living has no value.” Going to church is not enough. Not if you leave your heart at home.
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