Loving God

 

You are called to love God

-- Watch the Video --

Worship: Fill Me Up - Tasha Cobbs

Agenda:

• Introduction
• Review
• To Know and Love God
• God Loves You As You Are
• God is Calling Us into a Relationship With Him
• Hunger for God
• Seeking God

Scriptures:

• 1 Corinthians 2:9
• Matthew 22:37
• Psalms 149:4
• Ephesians 1:4
• Hebrews 4:16
• Psalms 119:2
• Psalms 34:10
• James 4:8
• Jeremiah 29:13
• Proverbs 8:17

Introduction

1 Corinthians 2:9

but just as it is written: “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HUMAN HEART, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

• God has prepared things in heaven that we cannot even imagine

Is anyone ready to go to Heaven today?

What is something that we will be doing in heaven?

One of your roles in heaven will be to worship God

• What is preventing you from worshiping God today?
• Do you worship God at home regularly?
• The worship songs you sing in church… Can also be sung at home

Do you worship God more than you watch TV?

Do you worship more than you scroll on your phone?

God wants to be in relationship with us

The whole reason the universe exist is because God wanted a family

• God wanted to hang out with mankind
• God wanted fellowship… With you

God created the universe

• Just to create this galaxy
• Just to create this solar system
• Just to create this planet
• Just to create humankind
• just so that he could love us

When Eden is restored we will be back to having fellowship with God

One of your primary reasons for being on earth… Is to develop that relationship with God

God put you on earth to practice what you were going to do in heaven

• Worshipping and loving God

Review

The two greatest days in your life are:

1. the day you were born
2. the day you figure out why you were born

– – Mark twain

Purpose is the "why”

• It is the fundamental reason something exists

The Bible tells us that everything was created by God, the Designer, for a reason

Your calling is the purpose that God created you for

• A calling implies that there was a caller
• It's the destination or the end goal of your assignment on earth

Your identity

1. Who you were created to be?
2. What you were created to do

You’re calling is who you were created to be

Your purpose is what you were created to do

A calling is God‘s invitation for your participation and the reason for your creation

–Darius Daniels

Universal Callings

Christians are called to:

• Glorify God
• Make disciples
• Love others

Additionally, you are called to use your unique gifts, talents, and abilities to serve others, glorify God.

Having a purpose

• Gives you a meaningful goal
• Gives you a sense of fulfilment
• Makes suffering more bearable
• Gives you clarity in priorities and decisions

Created For a Purpose

God’s original plan was to rule the earth through Adam.

• God’s plan was to rule the earth through us

We are supposed to collaborate with God help solve the world’s problems

To Know and Love God

Matthew 22:37

And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

• Jesus said that the most important command God has ever given is … to love Him

The most important thing you can know in life is that God loves you

• The most important thing you can do in life is to love God back

–Rick Warren

The problem is that most people know everything else

• Sports scores
• Words to the chorus of their favorite song
• Who won the bachelor
• The best series on Netflix

… but they don’t know God

We Focus on Getting to Heaven

some people think that the sole purpose of their life is to get to heaven

Example: Warriors Getting to Chase Center

• Two sports fans were going to go to the Warriors game
• Discussing how to get to The Warriors game at Chase Center
• They discusses
• Can we take BART
• Caltrain
• Uber
• Drive

They loved basketball

• But every time they got together they only focused on how to get to the game

But would it surprise you if I told you that my two friends were Steph Curry and Draymond Green (players on the team)

What if I told you that every time the team meets The majority of their time together the coach focuses on is how to get to Chase Stadium

You would say that that is silly

Their transportation has already been arranged

• It’s part of the contract they made

It is important that they know how they are getting to the game

• When and where to meet

But they need to

• Learn the plays
• Practice dribbling, shooting, passing
• Stay healthy and fit

Once they find out how to get to the game they need to focus on the strategy for playing the game.

This is like Christians who only focus on getting to Heaven

• We don’t need works
• All we need is faith
• Grace, Grace, Grace

The coach doesn’t talk about how they’re gonna get to the stadium every time they get together

He may remind them at every practice, but that’s not the focus of every time they meet

Before we go to the Kingdom stadium, we need to become good athletes

Granted if they don’t get to the arena …then all the practice is in vain

• But once we know how we are getting there, we need to focus on preparation

Part of your preparation as a Christian is worshipping and loving God

God Loves You As You Are

Psalms 149:4

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will glorify the lowly with salvation.

some people think God is only smiling at them when they’re doing something “religious“

Example: Rick and his kids

Rick Warren used to sit by children’s bed and just watch them sleep

• He got pleasure watching their chest rise and fall
• Not because they were obedient
• Not because the did their chores
• Just for being themselves
• Just because he loved them

That’s how God is with you

• he’s not just smiling at you when you go to church or worship him
• he made “you“
• He’s looking at you saying “that’s my boy/girl“

God gets pleasure out of watching you sleep

Ephesians 1:4

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love

There’s nothing you can do to make God stop loving you

• God‘s love is not based on who you are
• It is based on who He is

We don’t have to earn God‘s love

Hebrews 4:16

Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.

God loves you as if you were the only person in the world, and he loves every other person the same way he loves you.

– St Augustine.

Many people who grew up Christians don’t believe that in the midst of their sin, God still loves them.

They believe that what matters is what they can accomplish for God

One of Satan‘s most effective strategies is to undermine our understanding of how much God loves us

God isn’t waiting for you to become

• More spiritual
• More celibate
• Nicer
• Serve more
• To read your Bible more
• To go to church more
• To tithe more
• Less of an alcoholic

He loves you just the way you are

Your problem isn’t that you don’t love God enough

• Your problem is that you don’t understand how much he loves you
• because if you really understood and felt how much God loves you… You can’t help but love him

God is Calling Us into a Relationship With Him

Psalms 119:2

Blessed are those who comply with His testimonies, And seek Him with all their heart.

When you spend time in the presence of God your body becomes recalibrated to hunger for what it was born for

Spending time can be

• Worship
• Prayer
• Reading the Bible

The Bible says “be still and know that I am God“

• There is a reason he tells us to be still
• our agenda for God often keeps us away from God

It’s hard to love when I have

• Fear
• worry
• Anxiety
• Worry about what other people think

how often do you sit alone and say “father I’m here to be loved by you“?

• just sit and receive God‘s love

God doesn’t want servants, He wants friends

servants do what they're told out of obligation

• Out of fear of punishment
• a servant obtains his favor by what he does

a friend obtains favor by his relationship

• the friends goal has to do with the heart of the friend (their thoughts, their impressions)
• Friends want the best for each other

Hunger for God

Psalms 34:10

The young lions do without and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.

Hunger causes people to move outside of what:

• safe
• socially acceptable
• Other people may think or say
• reprioritize everything else

Some people turn to crime because they’re hungry

Hunger Draws You Towards God (and Vice Versa)

Hunger is a sign of physical health and a sign of spiritual health

• one of the signs that a child has a problem is when they won’t eat
• When they are no longer hungry

Stay Hungry

Some of you love God but question whether anything real answers your love.  

You  believe you know, but if you’re honest you aren’t really sure.  

What you know is that there is something missing in the world, so you’re hungry for something more.  

• there’s a void in your life

What your soul knows is that:

•        there is an emptiness

•        you are not happy

•        there must be more to life than this

The important thing is that you cry out with that hunger.  

A hungry child does not stop crying if another child suggests that perhaps there is no food.  

• It keeps crying anyway
• It cries because it’s hungry…not because it believes that there is food

If the child has loving parents and it keeps crying it will eventually get fed.

The danger is not that the child doubts there is food, but instead that it lies to itself and convinces itself that it is no longer hungry.  

It can only persuade itself of this by lying, for the reality of its hunger is not a belief

• it is a certainty.  

We know that there is no fulfillment here on earth, that everything that appears to be good in this world is finite, limited, wears out, and once worn out, we’re left unsatisfied.  

As long as we don't lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that we are content then we will eventually be drawn to God

So the danger isn't doubting that God exists

• the danger is telling yourself that you're happy without God

That's why Jesus says that it's harder for a rich man to get to Heaven

• Because it's easier for him to convince himself that he's happy
• Because others looking at him assume he must be happy

When we are content with our situation in the world we are at risk of falling away from God.

That craving gives us hope

When your faith is low, your hunger will draw you back to God

A hunger for God is often what keeps you seeking Him.  

The more you seek God the more you will desire Him

we need to be hungry and full at the same time

- you need to be content but must also be in need

 

Hunger is a place of humility that causes us to be in a state of dependency.

• Hunger says I am in need

James 4:8

Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Surrender Attracts God

• if you say yes before God instructs us it attracts God

Examples: do you want to go out on Saturday?

• date who asks “what are you thinking of doing”?

• “Hmm, let me think about it”

• Vs “yes, what are you thinking?”

God wants your yes to God before you know the assignment.

Example: Prayed God’s Will

• Was in a trial - unemployed & challenging relationship
• stopped asking for what I wanted

• Gods will

• Instead of asking Him to remove the trials
• I asked Him to reveal reason for trials

Seeking God

God desires our worship:

• more than the angels

Don’t seek God in hope that He responds to you

• but as a response to His love
• the reward for seeking God … is God
• A relationship

it is not going to God asking for something

• The motive is not for personal gain or even to help others

Seeking God is

• Trying to know God
• understand God
• Spend time with God
• trying to build a relationship

Jeremiah 29:13

‘And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Proverbs 8:17

“I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

Instructor: Michael Leadon

References

And if I could only teach you one thing: why God made you with Rick Warren

Saddleback church

Rick Warren “the purpose driven life): understand and accept God‘s love

TBN

Hunger for God

Michael Leadon

Waiting for God

Simone Weil

Extra

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD appeared to him long ago, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness.

Ephesians 1:11-12

11 In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Revelation 4:11

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Hunger for God

"In the period of preparation, the soul loves in emptiness.  It does not know whether anything real answers its love.  It may believe that it knows, but to believe is not to know.  Such a belief does not help.  The soul knows for certain only that it is hungry.  The important thing is that it announces its hunger by crying.  A child does not stop crying if we suggest to it that perhaps there is no bread.  It goes on crying just the same.  The danger is not lest the soul should doubt whether there is no bread, but lest, by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry.  It can only persuade itself of this by lying, for the reality of its hunger is not a belief, it is a certainty.  We all know that there is no true good here below, that everything that appears to be good in this world is finite, limited, wears out, and once worn out, leaves necessity exposed in all its nakedness.  …But as soon as we have seen this truth, we cover it up with lies."

--Simone Weil (Waiting For God)

You’re five purposes

1. God created you for his pleasure

1. God created you to love Him

2. Learn to love others

1. God formed me for his family

3. Become spiritually mature

1. God created me to become like Christ

4. serve God by serving others

1. God made us to do good works
2. God shaped me to serve him

5. God made me for a mission

—Rick Warren