Savoring God’s Things: Raising Laborers for the Harvest

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s Will Feels Like a Death Sentence

Jesus’ declaration of His crucifixion wasn’t a negotiation. Peter’s visceral rejection reveals how even those who confess Christ can resist divine plans that disrupt comfort. God’s will often demands surrender beyond intellectual assent—a call to release safety, success, and control. The tension lies not in misunderstanding God’s direction but in our refusal to let His priorities override ours. Every “must” in Scripture invites us to crucify lesser loves. Resistance often masquerades as protection, but true discipleship requires trusting the One who holds resurrection. [03:57]

“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’” (Matthew 16:21–22, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you subtly rebuked God’s will in your life? What comfort or control are you clinging to more tightly than obedience?

Day 2: Tracing the Source of Your Resistance

Peter’s rebuke didn’t originate in love but in Satan’s agenda. Jesus exposed the spiritual warfare behind human reasoning that opposes divine purpose. Our objections to God’s will—whether fear, convenience, or worldly wisdom—often carry the enemy’s fingerprints. Discerning motives requires asking: Does this thought align with Christ’s cross-shaped mission or protect self-interest? Every delay in obedience gives ground to the father of lies. [13:27]

“But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” (Matthew 16:23, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring thought or excuse have you not yet tested against the “source test”? How might Satan be hijacking your good intentions?

Day 3: Savoring Chocolate, Savoring Crosses

Just as connoisseurs savor chocolate’s nuances, believers train their palates to relish God’s priorities. Peter’s error wasn’t merely wrong thinking—it was malnourished craving. What we consume (media, relationships, habits) shapes what we crave. A diet of worldly safety breeds distaste for sacrificial obedience. Missions decline when saints lose their appetite for eternal things. [18:20]

“For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23, ESV)

Reflection: What have you been “tasting” regularly that dulls your hunger for God’s work? What one change would recalibrate your cravings toward eternal things?

Day 4: Acquiring a Taste for Awkward Obedience

Dark chocolate’s bitterness becomes desirable through repeated exposure. Similarly, surrender to God’s will grows not from dramatic moments but daily nibbling at discomfort—hard conversations, resisted temptations, quiet service. Missionary calls aren’t sudden lightning strikes but cultivated tastes. What we feed grows. [20:00]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What “acquired taste” obedience have you avoided? How could small, consistent steps reshape your appetite for God’s mission?

Day 5: Losing Life to Gain the Unloseable

Jesus’ paradox—losing life to find it—exposes the math of eternity. Clutching safety, careers, or reputations drains the soul. But crosses carried in faith compound eternally. The martyred Moldovan believers’ stories (23:56) aren’t tragedies but testimonies: they calculated the cost and found Christ worth more. Rewards await not those who achieve but those who relinquish. [23:02]

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” (Matthew 16:24–25, ESV)

Reflection: What version of “your life” are you still trying to save? What would it look like to lose it today—and discover His?

Sermon Summary

Matthew 16 puts Peter right in front of the church as both a warning and an encouragement. Peter had just given the right answer, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus had said that flesh and blood did not reveal that to him. Then Jesus plainly states God’s will: he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again the third day. God’s will was not hidden there. It was clear. It was black on white.

Peter, though, grabs Jesus and begins to rebuke him. Peter does not sound like a rebel in the usual sense. Peter sounds like someone who wants safety, comfort, security, and success, but those good-sounding desires stand directly against what God has said. Jesus answers him sharply: “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Jesus is not playing around with words that block obedience. Peter’s thought had the wrong source, and anything not from light is darkness.

The word “savor” becomes the heart of the matter. Jesus says Peter is not savoring the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Savoring is not a quick taste, like a kid swallowing chocolate in two seconds. Savoring is the whole mind and heart being engaged, turning something over, feeding on it, developing a taste for it. The things filling the mind through entertainment, Internet, music, news, and habits shape what the heart hungers for. A person does not usually desire ministry, missions, or costly obedience when the soul has been trained to crave the world.

Jesus then gives the conditions plainly: deny self, take up the cross, and follow him. The cross is not pointless discomfort or spiritual showmanship. The cross is the willingness to lose whatever must be lost in order to do the will of God. Romans 12 says the same thing in another way: present the body as a living sacrifice, stop being conformed to the world, and let the mind be renewed so the will of God can be proved.

The Son of man also promises reward. God sees what no one else sees. The reward is not a cheap little toy from a cereal box. The reward is real, eternal, desirable, and thorough. God wants the whole person, totally surrendered, ready to take the next step that is already known to be his will.

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Key Takeaways

1. God’s will is not hidden
God’s will is often clearer than the heart wants to admit. Scripture gives plain commands about salvation, baptism, truth, family, holiness, and obedience, and the real question is not usually whether God has spoken. The real question is whether the believer will submit when God’s will cuts across comfort, plans, or reputation. [04:43]
2. Good motives can still resist God
Peter did not appear to hate Jesus when he rebuked him. Peter appeared to want safety, security, and success, but those desires became a stumbling block to the cross. A tender-sounding concern can still come from the wrong source when it tries to keep Christ, or Christ’s servant, from obeying the Father. [09:39]
3. The soul acquires its taste
The word “savor” shows that desire is trained by what the mind keeps chewing on. Entertainment, conversations, habits, and private thoughts do not stay neutral; they teach the heart what to hunger for. A lack of desire for ministry, missions, prayer, or sacrifice may reveal not a lack of calling, but a long diet of the wrong food. [19:40]
4. The cross means willing loss
Jesus does not call for empty misery or religious theatrics. Jesus calls for self-denial, cross-bearing, and following him, which means giving up whatever must be surrendered in order to do God’s will. The loss is real, but so is the fellowship with Christ and the joy of walking in the Father’s purpose. [23:02]
5. God rewards hidden obedience
The Son of man will reward every person according to his works. God sees the unseen sacrifices, the quiet obedience, the private refusals of sin, and the faithful steps no one applauds. The reward is not temporary or cheap; it is eternal, desirable, and worth far more than the safety the world promises.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - Praying for More Laborers
[02:02] - Why People Are Not Desiring
[03:29] - Peter’s Right Confession
[03:57] - God’s Will Is Clearly Stated
[05:53] - God’s Will for Salvation
[07:39] - Finding God’s Will in Scripture
[08:07] - Peter Rejects God’s Will
[09:39] - Safety, Comfort, and Security
[12:37] - Get Thee Behind Me, Satan
[15:28] - The Rock Quarry of Offenses
[16:23] - Learning to Savor God’s Things
[20:00] - Desire Comes from What Is Fed
[23:02] - Deny Self and Take Up the Cross
[27:19] - Eternal Rewards for Faithful Obedience

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 16:21-27
“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’” [03:57]

Romans 12:1-2
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” [25:30]

Ephesians 5:17
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” [07:25]

Observation questions

In Matthew 16:21, what specific things does Jesus say must happen to him in Jerusalem? [03:57]
In Matthew 16:22-23, what does Peter do and say, and how does Jesus respond to him?
According to Matthew 16:24, what three commands does Jesus give to anyone who wants to come after him? [22:38]
In Romans 12:1-2, what are believers told to do with their bodies and their minds, and how is that connected to knowing the will of God? [25:30]

Interpretation questions

Peter had just spoken truth about who Jesus is, and then he quickly resisted what Jesus plainly said must happen. What does that show about how easily a believer can recognize truth in one moment and resist God’s will in the next? [09:00]
Peter’s words sounded caring, but they opposed the cross. How can desires like safety, comfort, and success become a real hindrance to obedience, even when they sound reasonable? [09:39]
Jesus says Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God but on the things of man. What does it mean to “savor” the things of God, and how does that help explain why some believers have little desire for costly obedience? [18:18]
Jesus calls people to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, and Romans 12 speaks of being a living sacrifice. How do these two passages help define what cross-bearing really is, and what it is not? [24:57]

Application questions

God’s will is often clearer than people want to admit. What is one step of obedience already made plain in Scripture that has been hard to take because it would cost comfort, reputation, or control? [05:07]
Safety, comfort, and success can quietly become ruling desires. Where does that pressure show up most right now: work, family decisions, finances, relationships, or willingness to serve? [09:52]
What has been shaping the heart’s appetite lately? When the week is honest measured, what has been most often savored through screens, music, conversations, and private thoughts? [18:44]
A person usually develops a taste for what is fed regularly. What are one or two habits that may be training the soul to hunger more for the world than for the things of God? [19:40]
Cross-bearing includes being willing to lose what must be lost in order to obey Christ. Is there anything being held onto right now that would need to be surrendered if obedience became costly? [23:37]
Hidden obedience is seen by God and will be rewarded by Christ. How might remembering that future reward strengthen faithfulness in areas where no one else notices? [27:19]
God wants the whole person surrendered, ready for the next step already known to be his will. What seems to be that next step right now, and what makes it difficult to take it by faith? [28:24]

Sermon Clips

42s

“``I did not grow up liking dark chocolate. This stuff's bitter. Why would I want that? I love dark chocolate And I don't think it's because my taste buds changed. It's because I started eating it. Did you know we grow a taste? We acquire a taste for what we feed ourselves. You can really, honestly, probably learn to like just about anything. What we feed ourselves on a regular basis will affect what we're hung we're hungry for.”

60s

“So how did God's will being declared go over with Peter? Not very well. He takes him. Okay. Now listen. This word don't don't don't skip over this. He grabs him, and he pulls Jesus off to the side. He says, no. You are not what are you talking about? You're not gonna no. You can't just die and and and suffer. No. He rejected God's will. One moment, I can end up saying what is true and honoring and correct in God's eyes. And then if I'm not careful, the next moment heart can be rejecting what I know is God's will. Have you ever experienced that yourself too? This is why it is so important for us to be yielded, submitted, totally submitted to God moment by moment throughout the day because we can do God's will one moment and then fail to do it the next.”

62s

“I know there's gonna be people that are gonna watch our documentary and go, that was boring. Because they're used to the action films, the whatever, Avengers. I've heard of these other things that are out there. What are we having a taste for? I love hearing testimonies. I love hearing how God has worked in people's lives. But if we're bored by those things, I think we've been chewing on the wrong food. We have to have a taste for the things that belong to God. Examine your longings, your habits, your time, your relationships, your entertainment, your music, your friends. Do they reflect a savoring of God's things? We look at your time. We look at how many times you're talking to others about the Lord. I can ask your kids, your coworkers what you savor because all I gotta do is ask, what do you talk about? These are things worth considering.”

42s

“Jesus here makes very clear the conditions that are given. We're supposed to deny ourself, take up our cross, and follow him. We have to deny ourself. This is so counterculture. To deny yourself? People would be saying, god forbid. This is not something that they would want, to deny ourselves. Once again, the comforts, the safety, the success. Oh, can't do that. Take up your cross, the discomfort, the pain, the suffering, the heartache, the death that comes from doing God's will.”

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Open Door Baptist Church, Cincinnati This sermon · AI assistant

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