Rev. Derrick Drover - Nearer (08/02/2026) [Live Messy Church Service]

Psalm 73 holds the question right in front of the heart: “Whom have I in heaven but you?” God is not one treasure among many treasures. God is the treasure. Knowing God comes with joy, peace, eternal hope, and love, but all those benefits teach the same thing: he himself is the point, the portion, and the joy.

The thought of heaven without God exposes the truth. If God is removed from heaven, there is no heaven. The life that walks with the Lord knows the same thing on earth, because no earthly treasure compares to his presence. Family, friendship, nature, home, meals, floors to mop, grass to cut, and chairs to nap in can all be received with thanksgiving when God is near.

The nearness of God belongs to every day and all day. God is not only for Sunday morning, praise in the barn, or Bible study, as good and strong as those gatherings are. God sustains the day and the night, and his presence belongs from the moment a person wakes up until the moment sleep comes again. The ordinary life becomes full of meaning when the heart keeps saying, “Whom have I in heaven but you?”

The phrase “but God” interrupts human weakness with divine faithfulness. Flesh fails. The heart gets tired, weak, and sad. But God is the strength of the heart and the portion forever. As the old hymn says, “as your days, your strength will be,” because God gives the strength needed for each day.

God wants the whole heart. There is not a door he cannot open, not a room he cannot enter, and not a part of life where his wisdom, guidance, and leadership do not belong. Another presence is always vying for attention, so the word says to give no place to the devil. Moment by moment, the heart is called to stay conscious of God’s nearness.

The vine and branch image shows how fruit is formed. Christ is the vine, the Father is the vinedresser, and apart from him there is no fruit. The small garden needs pruning, care, and tending, and so does the soul. God shapes, molds, prunes, and forms his people into the image of Christ.

Verse 28 gathers the life together: draw near to God, trust the Lord God, and declare all his works. The Christian life has no separation from God’s presence. God lives inside by the Holy Spirit, and the treasure calls the heart to know him more, love him deeper, and let that love shine out.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God alone is the treasure. Heaven without God would not be heaven, because his presence is not an accessory to blessing. The heart that knows him learns that joy, peace, hope, and love are all gifts, but they are not the deepest gift. The deepest gift is God himself, near and known, now and forever. [39:20]
• 2. God belongs in ordinary life. The floor to mop, the meal to cook, the grass to cut, and the chair where sleep comes can all become places of worship. Ordinary tasks do not become spiritual by looking impressive, but by being done with God’s nearness in view. The everyday life becomes full when the heart sees God everywhere and thanks him there. [42:13]
• 3. “But God” answers human weakness. Flesh fails, and the heart gets tired, weak, and sad. “But God” stands in the middle of that failure as the answer that does not run out. His strength is not abstract, because he gives what is needed for each day as that day comes. [45:13]
• 4. Nearness leaves no locked rooms. God wants the whole heart, not a few religious corners of life. No door, room, habit, task, decision, or desire is meant to be sealed off from his wisdom and presence. When another presence is vying for attention, nearness to God becomes a holy resistance. [46:30]
• 5. Fruit comes from the vine. Christ is the vine, and the Father is the vinedresser who prunes, tends, and shapes the branches. Fruit does not come from self-effort dressed up in religious language, but from abiding connection and surrendered shaping. The soul that welcomes pruning is being formed into the image of Christ.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:12] - Daily Verse from Psalm 73
• [39:20] - God Alone Is the Treasure
• [40:25] - Heaven Without God Is No Heaven
• [41:22] - No Earthly Treasure Compares
• [42:13] - Finding God in Everyday Life
• [43:00] - God Is Not Just for Gatherings
• [44:58] - “But God” Is the Strength
• [46:30] - God Wants the Whole Heart
• [47:31] - Give No Place to the Devil
• [48:27] - Bringing God Into Everything
• [51:03] - Fruit, Roots, and the Spirit
• [52:06] - The Vine and the Vinedresser
• [53:11] - Draw Near, Trust, Declare
• [55:43] - No Separation from His Presence

1. In Psalm 73:25-28, what three things are said about God in relation to the believer: what is desired, who gives strength, and where it is good to be? [53:15]
2. What ordinary parts of life were named as places where a person can be thankful to God and aware of his presence? [42:13]
3. According to John 15:1-5, who is the vine, who are the branches, and what does the Father do for branches that bear fruit? [52:39]
4. What warning is given in Ephesians 4:27, and how was that connected to another presence competing for attention? [47:31]

1. Psalm 73 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you?” and also, “there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” Does that mean earthly gifts like family, friendship, and home are bad, or does it mean they must stay under something greater? [41:44]
2. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God” puts human weakness next to divine faithfulness. How does that change the way a believer understands tiredness, sadness, or weakness? [45:13]
3. If heaven without God would not be heaven, what does that reveal about what makes salvation and eternal life truly good? [40:29]
4. Jesus says that apart from him we can do nothing. How does that challenge the idea that spiritual fruit comes mainly from trying harder or looking impressive? [52:32]

1. God is not meant to stay in a few religious moments. What part of this coming week feels the most ordinary or repetitive, and how might that become a place of nearness to God for you? [43:00]
2. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart.” Where does weakness show up most clearly for you right now—in body, emotions, motivation, or faith—and what would it look like to lean on God there instead of hiding it? [45:01]
3. God wants the whole heart, with no locked doors and no closed rooms. Is there any area of life that is usually kept separate from his wisdom and leadership—work, habits, entertainment, relationships, money, or private thought life? What makes that area harder to open to him? [46:53]
4. “Give no opportunity to the devil” is a very direct word. What tends to draw attention away from the Lord most easily in daily life, and how can that be resisted in a practical way this week? [47:41]
5. Abiding in Christ is where fruit comes from. What kind of pruning, correction, or reshaping might God be doing in this season, and how has the first response to that been? [52:52]
6. Psalm 73:28 brings together drawing near, trusting God, and declaring his works. Which of those three feels strongest right now, and which one needs more growth? [53:29]
7. If God really is the treasure, how would that show up in the first and last moments of the day? What simple change could help keep the heart awake to his presence from morning to night? [44:41]