Having a Heart For God - 7-26-26 AM Service

Jul 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Drowning in God’s All-In Love

Moses confronted Israel with a choice: dip toes in religion or plunge fully into relationship. God’s love isn’t a safety net but an ocean demanding total immersion. The Shema’s call to love God with “all your heart, all your soul, all your might” rejects half-hearted faith. Like Israelites facing Canaan, real power comes not from self-sufficiency but surrendering to the current of divine love. Success begins when we stop negotiating terms and let God’s love rewrite our priorities. [48:46]

“Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NASB)

Reflection: Where have you been “doing the hokey pokey” with God—one foot in, one foot out? What practical step would “drowning in God” look like today?

Day 2: Love’s Power Broke Pharaoh’s Grip

God didn’t free Israel because they deserved it, prayed hard enough, or had potential. He acted because He loved their fathers. The same unstoppable love that shattered Egypt’s chains still dismantles our bondage. When life feels like a wilderness, remembering God’s past deliverance fuels trust in His present power. Our adequacy never qualifies us—only His affection does. [39:02]

“Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you out of Egypt by His great power.”
(Deuteronomy 4:37, NASB)

Reflection: What “Egypt” are you trying to escape through willpower instead of relying on God’s proven love? How might today change if you stopped earning and started receiving?

Day 3: When Obedience Becomes Love’s Language

Moses redefined love as action, not sentiment. Keeping commandments isn’t rule-following but responding to divine affection. Like a parent’s instructions protecting a child, God’s Word guards our flourishing. Every “you shall” is a love letter. The test comes when His ways clash with our cravings—do we negotiate terms or let love override logic? [52:24]

“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments always.”
(Deuteronomy 11:1, NASB)

Reflection: Is there a command you’ve been rationalizing away? How might obeying it—even reluctantly—become an act of love today?

Day 4: New Management Loves the Unlikely

God’s love reshapes our affections. He champions orphans, widows, and outsiders—those the world overlooks. Moses told Israel to mirror this countercultural care, proving they’d been “under new management” since Egypt. Love becomes tangible when we feed the hungry, defend the marginalized, and welcome the different. Compassion isn’t charity but identity. [57:19]

“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. Show love to the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
(Deuteronomy 10:18-19, NASB)

Reflection: Who in your circle feels like a “stranger”? What specific act could mirror God’s love to them this week?

Day 5: Love’s Daily Bread in Wilderness Moments

Moses warned against prosperity’s lie: “My power made this wealth.” Daily manna taught dependence; daily love sustains conquests. Just as Israel needed fresh bread each morning, we must continually receive God’s love rather than hoarding yesterday’s grace. Victory comes when we admit today’s battles require today’s bread. [43:19]

“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more numerous… but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers.”
(Deuteronomy 7:7-8, NASB)

Reflection: What current challenge are you facing with “stale manna” faith? How can you actively receive God’s fresh love for this specific moment?

Sermon Summary

Deuteronomy brings Moses east of the Jordan, out in the wilderness, with Israel standing on the edge of Canaan and Moses standing near the end of his life. Moses gives one last charge before Joshua takes up the work, and the heart of it is simple: God wants his people to love him. God does not want a thin relationship built out of bare rule keeping. God wants to love his people, and God wants his people to love him back.

Moses begins with the power of God’s love. Deuteronomy looks back at Egypt and says Israel came out because God “loved your fathers” and brought their descendants out “by his great power.” God did not choose Israel because Israel was big, impressive, smart, or strong. God loved them because God loved them, and that love was the power that broke Pharaoh, opened the sea, and made a slave people free. A heart for God realizes that love, reaches for it, receives it, and lets it work.

Moses warns Israel not to “pull a Nebuchadnezzar” and say, “My power and the strength of my hand have made me this wealthy.” Loving God means relying on God. Remembering God means looking up to heaven and knowing every good and perfect gift has come from the Father. The difference between success and failure in Canaan was not money, numbers, talent, or armies. The difference was whether Israel would live in the love of God.

Moses then calls Israel to love God more each day. Deuteronomy 6 gives the great word: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,” and therefore Israel must love the Lord with all the heart, soul, and might. God is not asking for a “pinky toe” in the water. God wants the whole person to jump in with both feet and drown in God. Christ later shows that God has given himself completely, and God calls for the heart in return.

Moses also makes love plain and practical. Love cares what God says. Deuteronomy does not treat love as a passing feeling but as reverence for the word of God, a trembling before his commandments, and a willingness to obey because God is loved. Finally, God’s people must love what God loves. God loves the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner, and Israel was called to look different from the nations. God’s people are “under new management,” and the world ought to see what God looks like in a neighbor, an employee, an employer, and a life.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s love must be received God’s love was not a theory sitting outside Israel’s life. God brought Israel out of Egypt by his power because he loved them, and Moses presses the people to stop questioning that love and start living in it. A heart for God does not merely know that God loves, but reaches out for that love in prayer, obedience, and trust until it begins to change the whole person. [40:09]
2. Love relies, pride forgets God The danger in Canaan was not only fear before enemies, but pride after blessings. Moses warns against saying, “My power and the strength of my hand have made me this wealthy,” because forgetfulness turns gifts into idols. A soul that remembers God receives success as mercy, not as proof of its own greatness. [42:22]
3. God wants the whole heart The Shema does not leave room for a divided life. Moses calls Israel to love God with all the heart, soul, and might, not to stick a “pinky toe” into God while keeping the rest back. The life God gives is found in being all in, where zeal is not decoration but ownership of the heart. [48:23]
4. Love cares what God says Deuteronomy ties love to obedience without turning obedience into cold rule keeping. Moses shows that love reaches the point where a person refuses sin, or embraces a hard command, simply because God is loved. Reverence for Scripture means trembling before the word rather than looking for loopholes. [54:50]
5. God’s people love God’s loves God loves the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner, and that love makes his people look different in the world. Israel was not merely given commands to avoid wrong, but a calling to show what God is like. A life “under new management” makes God visible in ordinary roles, relationships, and acts of mercy.

## [56:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:20] - Moses East of Jordan
[35:49] - God Wants Love
[37:30] - Reaching for Powerful Love
[38:37] - Egypt and the Love of God
[41:45] - Loving God Means Relying on God
[44:51] - Receiving God’s Love Daily
[47:23] - Loving God More Each Day
[48:23] - The Shema and All In Love
[51:41] - Love Cares What God Says
[55:14] - Loving What God Loves
[58:48] - Under New Management
[59:55] - A Heart for God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” [48:16]

Deuteronomy 4:37
“Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you out from Egypt by His great power,” [38:59]

Deuteronomy 7:7-8
“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” [39:30]

Deuteronomy 10:18-19
“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” [56:55]

Deuteronomy 7:17-18
“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:” [42:22]

Observation questions

In Deuteronomy 4:37 and 7:7-8, what reasons are given for why God brought Israel out of Egypt?
In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, what parts of a person are named in the command to love God, and what does that show about the kind of love God wants? [48:23]
According to Deuteronomy 10:18-19, which people does God especially care for, and what is Israel told to do in response?
What contrast is drawn between saying, “My power and the strength of my hand have made me this wealthy,” and remembering what the Lord did in Egypt? [42:22]

Interpretation questions

If God chose Israel not because they were many or impressive, but simply because He loved them, what does that reveal about the character of God and the way His people should think about themselves? [39:30]
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 calls for love with all the heart, soul, and might. What would a divided love for God look like in real life, and why is that so dangerous? [49:08]
If loving God includes caring deeply about what He says, how does that protect a person from treating obedience like empty rule keeping on the one hand, or ignoring Scripture on the other? [51:41]
God’s love for the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner is meant to shape His people. What does that suggest about the connection between devotion to God and mercy toward people who are weak, vulnerable, or out of place? [57:20]

Application questions

God’s love is not meant to stay theoretical or distant. Where is it hardest right now to actually receive God’s love and live in it: prayer, trust, obedience, or letting go of shame? [45:30]
Pride says, “My power and the strength of my hand have made me this wealthy.” Where is the temptation strongest right now to take credit for what has really been God’s gift? Work, family, finances, abilities, or something else? [42:22]
Loving God means relying on God. What is one area of life where reliance on God needs to become more than words this week? What would that change look like in practice? [44:02]
God asks for the whole heart, not a “pinky toe” commitment. What part of life is most likely to be kept back from God: time, money, private habits, plans for the future, or relationships? [48:57]
Love cares what God says. Can each person think of a time when love for God stopped a sinful choice, or moved obedience forward even when it was hard? [54:50]
God’s people are under new management. If neighbors, coworkers, friends, or family watched closely this week, what would help them clearly see that life belongs to God now? [59:08]
God loves the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner. Who is easy to overlook in everyday life right now, and what would it look like to show God’s kind of love to that person in a simple, practical way? [56:55]

Sermon Clips

36s

#ObeyFromLove

“``You ever have the love of God just stop you in your tracks? You know, if loving God is keeping his commandments? You ever said, I was about to do something, but I'm not gonna do that. And the reason I'm not gonna do it is because I love God. Or have you ever said, you know, I wasn't gonna do that. I just wasn't gonna do it. I don't know what the it is. I don't know what the circumstance was. And then say, but I'm gonna do it. And the reason is is because I love God.”

47s

#LoveTheLeast

“So God looks at them and says, do you know who I love? I love the downtrodden. I love those that are facing hard times and going through the tribulations of life. I love the fatherless, and I love the widowers, and I love those that have been displaced and have no place in this world. And he looks at Israel and he says, you're gonna do the same. Now, you've got all kinds of things that you're gonna have to do in regard to taking the land of Canaan, and God gave them a lot of commands about how that was all gonna play out. But when it was all said and done, God says, you're gonna have to to discover what I love and then you're gonna have to be me in the world.”

37s

#RespondToGodsLove

“Moses looks at the people and he says, indeed, he loves his people. Do you ever wonder if God loves you? Moses is looking out at a room full of a room full a whole wilderness full, if you will, of people. And some of them are wondering, well, has God ever really loved me? And Moses is probably a little frustrated at this point, and he says, yes. And so this morning, if you're wondering, does God love me? Has God ever loved me? The answer is absolutely, completely, and totally yes. Absolutely. Don't keep asking the question, Moses says. Instead, respond to it.”

43s

#LoveNotResources

“And so the difference between success and failure was the willingness to receive and to live in the love of God. That's what Moses says. Okay? Not money, not numbers. People worried, well, there's not enough of us. Remember the remember the 12 spies? There there just aren't enough of us to to be able to go in and take take this. Talent? Well, we're just not good enough at what we do. We don't have enough or anything else. What are you relying on right now in your life? If it's anything other than the love of God, then you need to consider changing your priorities.”

26s

#AllInForGod

“That's what Moses says. You want to stick a pinky toe in God? You know, you're gonna put your right foot in? You know, what's to do the hokey pokey song? You're do the hokey pokey song with God? No. No. You need to jump in with both feet and drown in God. That's what Moses is saying to the people, and that's what God is saying to you and I. I'm all in.”

45s

#ObeyFromHeart

“Number three, if I have a heart for God, Moses makes this point in some way over and over and it's so basic, but it is so important and we cannot overlook it. Moses says, if I'm really gonna live for God, I care what God says. It matters to me. I am gonna do what I can every day, as imperfect of a human being as I am, to obey the commandments of God. Simple as that. I'm gonna care about what God says. I'm gonna respect what he says. I'm not gonna look for the loophole to try to figure out ways to change it or more it or do any of those kinds of of things. Instead, I'm gonna honor the word of God.”

49s

#LoveIsAction

“Love is so often equated with how we feel. We think about that in our society that love is is an emotion. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses that loving God is equated to what I I do. That loving God is equated to respecting his word and keeping his commandments. That's loving him. It's not necessarily that I feel that great about doing it sometimes. There are many times when Moses didn't feel at all like doing what God asked him to do. And there were times when he did. But the great thing about Moses is most often, with some notable exceptions, one of those being why he's not going into the promised land, he did.”

56s

#RelationshipOverAbility

“When I understand and accept and realize and live in the fact that God truly does love me, and that I'm willing to receive that love, and I'm willing to respond to it and let the power of God work in my life. When these people went into the land of Canaan, that's what Moses wanted them to understand. It didn't matter how many abilities they had, it didn't matter what their numbers was, it mattered their relationship to God whether they would be successful or not. As far as material supplies went, it made no difference. And yet, so often, that's what we're we're looking at. Every spiritual problem that you or I have, every sin we can't conquer, it is because we have yet to comprehend. It is because we do not understand how deeply God loves us.”

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