Preparing Our Hearts: Obedience and Trust in God
Devotional
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One of the purposes of this Prepare the Way series is for us to see that Jesus really is the central character of the Bible. He really is the solution. It's important for everybody to know at Christmastime, Jesus is not like an extra chapter that they tagged on at the end. [00:01:08] (16 seconds)
God made us to use things and use maybe even power and use status for his glory, but he never made us to serve those things. He never made it so that we needed to grasp that and have it and own it and it to be ours. And yet there's something that's gone wrong in each one of our hearts, your heart and my heart, where we want things, we even want to live under the tyranny of things. [00:02:02] (22 seconds)
All Abraham did was believe God. He just said, I think you're right. What did he do? He trusted him. He became the friend of God and he trusted him. Okay, I trust that you're going to do what you say you're going to do. And God says, that's enough. I'll take that. I'll tell you what, I'm going to overlook all of your sin ever. [00:05:28] (18 seconds)
Is it possible that that thing, it can be so good, or we're hoping it's going to be so good, that it can eclipse the very God that would give it? And God said, well, that's going to put him in danger. I don't want him to be that way. And so I'm going to give him a challenge. And that's exactly what he did. Now, I need you to hear, it's not just a challenge for him. It's a challenge for us right here in this time. What are we saying? God wants to be more important than anything. [00:07:40] (28 seconds)
But when Jesus is our substitute, we know it, we're operating from a place of having favor. And it's very different. Let me give an example. In my early 20s, I worked for a lot of places where I was irrelevant, okay? Worked on construction crews, worked on the railroad, worked in factories, and in every one of those places, I worked for a lot of places where I was irrelevant, okay? One of these places, it was like, you know, dude, we can get 300 more of you. We don't care about you. You're nothing. And so just watch it. Just do it right, okay? Because we don't need you around here. And so there was a sense of, there's a little bit of fear, like, dude, don't jack it up. Don't do it wrong, or they're just going to let you go. Because you ain't nothing. In my latter half of my 20s, I worked for my father. [00:17:47] (42 seconds)
I believe it's very scriptural to say there are Christmas gifts that God wants to give every one of us, but some of them are contingents on whether or not we will obey the voice of his word. Because you've obeyed. It worked the same way in David's day. I don't know if any of you have read that. Remember that when David sinned against the Lord with Bathsheba, the Lord's rebuke includes the pronouncement, David, I've done all this for you, and I would have done much more. [00:23:37] (32 seconds)
Abraham will do what I say because it's me, not because... He's trying to get something. In fact, he might lose everything. So we've all got Isaacs. Have you got an Isaac? [00:31:51] (10 seconds)
bring it to Jesus and say, God, you can do whatever you want. Now, the thing you got to know about God, remember this, God does ask us to surrender Isaac's, but God the Father went first and it cost him more than it will ever cost any of us. He went first. He sacrificed his own son. The worst possible thing happened to the most innocent possible person. Listen, God says, I get it. I've done that. [00:32:31] (28 seconds)
So Kenzie and I, it was a few months, but we did it. We moved back. It took us a little while to get there, but we got back and we moved back there for two years. We didn't want to go, but you know, something strange happened while we were there. The things that were broken and hurting began to heal. [00:33:55] (18 seconds)
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God made us to use things and use maybe even power and use status for his glory, but he never made us to serve those things. He never made it so that we needed to grasp that and have it and own it and it to be ours. And yet there's something that's gone wrong in each one of our hearts, your heart and my heart, where we want things, we even want to live under the tyranny of things. [00:02:02] (22 seconds)
All Abraham did was believe God. He just said, I think you're right. What did he do? He trusted him. He became the friend of God and he trusted him. Okay, I trust that you're going to do what you say you're going to do. And God says, that's enough. I'll take that. I'll tell you what, I'm going to overlook all of your sin ever. [00:05:28] (18 seconds)
Is it possible that that thing, it can be so good, or we're hoping it's going to be so good, that it can eclipse the very God that would give it? And God said, well, that's going to put him in danger. I don't want him to be that way. And so I'm going to give him a challenge. And that's exactly what he did. Now, I need you to hear, it's not just a challenge for him. It's a challenge for us right here in this time. What are we saying? God wants to be more important than anything. [00:07:40] (28 seconds)
But when Jesus is our substitute, we know it, we're operating from a place of having favor. And it's very different. Let me give an example. In my early 20s, I worked for a lot of places where I was irrelevant, okay? Worked on construction crews, worked on the railroad, worked in factories, and in every one of those places, I worked for a lot of places where I was irrelevant, okay? One of these places, it was like, you know, dude, we can get 300 more of you. We don't care about you. You're nothing. And so just watch it. Just do it right, okay? Because we don't need you around here. And so there was a sense of, there's a little bit of fear, like, dude, don't jack it up. Don't do it wrong, or they're just going to let you go. Because you ain't nothing. In my latter half of my 20s, I worked for my father. [00:17:47] (42 seconds)
I believe it's very scriptural to say there are Christmas gifts that God wants to give every one of us, but some of them are contingents on whether or not we will obey the voice of his word. Because you've obeyed. It worked the same way in David's day. I don't know if any of you have read that. Remember that when David sinned against the Lord with Bathsheba, the Lord's rebuke includes the pronouncement, David, I've done all this for you, and I would have done much more. [00:23:37] (32 seconds)
Abraham will do what I say because it's me, not because... He's trying to get something. In fact, he might lose everything. So we've all got Isaacs. Have you got an Isaac? [00:31:51] (10 seconds)
bring it to Jesus and say, God, you can do whatever you want. Now, the thing you got to know about God, remember this, God does ask us to surrender Isaac's, but God the Father went first and it cost him more than it will ever cost any of us. He went first. He sacrificed his own son. The worst possible thing happened to the most innocent possible person. Listen, God says, I get it. I've done that. [00:32:31] (28 seconds)
So Kenzie and I, it was a few months, but we did it. We moved back. It took us a little while to get there, but we got back and we moved back there for two years. We didn't want to go, but you know, something strange happened while we were there. The things that were broken and hurting began to heal. [00:33:55] (18 seconds)
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