More Than Bread

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I closed the last episode of this series, with the words, "Our hearts follow our treasures. If we aren't surrendering our treasures to God, then we're robbing God of our hearts." Do you understand God doesn't need our money. He wants our hearts. And if we chase God with all our hearts, He promises to open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out an uncontainable blessing. If we pursue God with all our hearts, here is the promise, God says, "I will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out uncontainable blessings."

Ask yourself the question, "Is my life overflowing with God's blessings?" 

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This message was given on Father's Day as part of our summer Psalms series. And here is the heart of the message. Before we ever talk about the kind of fathers we need to be, we need to talk about the Father we long for. I really believe that in every heart, there is a father we long for. I know we come with mixed emotions on Father’s Day. But before we talk about the kind of fathers we want to be, we
should talk about the kind of Father we have. He's described in Psalm 103. 

We long for a Father, for a Father God who loves us unconditionally, unrelentingly, with His whole heart. See before I can be a good father, I need to have a good Father. And in the journey of become a good father, I need to understand where the journey starts.  It's not about trying harder, it's about looking higher.

He is the father our hearts long for...

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Malachi was a contemporary of Nehemiah and we are going to detour to some of Malachi's words in this episode. As the people make their commitment to return to God, Malachi's words seem so appropriate. Malachi tells God's people how to return to God, why they are missing God. Malachi spoke to a generation of  Israelites who, like many of us today, were chasing everything other than God. Some of us keep wondering why we never run into God, but we can't run into God while we are chasing other stuff. There are really only two directions in
life, either chasing God or running from God. 

So how do we return? It could involve many things...but let's not miss the map God gave in Malachi's day. If you want to return, stop robbing God. We would probably expect God to say, "If you want to return to me, Pray more. Dive into the Bible." Both are incredibly important! But what does God say? "Stop robbing me." Are you robbing God?

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I believe that a sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem. It keeps us from life and leads us to addiction. It ravages marriages, breaks families, and hardens hearts.  It drains joy and reaps discouragement. It causes us to care about so much that matters so little. A sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem. 

But even more importantly, or at least more personally, my sin-soaked heart is my greatest problem. But my greatest hope is that we are relentlessly pursued by 
a lavishly gracious, greatly merciful, fiercely loyal, patiently loving God. He is in pursuit of you. He's already pursued you all the way to the cross. If He went that far, He won't stop. Sometimes chasing God is as simple as stop running, and turn around. Give Him your ears. Give Him your heart. Become one of His love stories.

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Let's be honest, we don't like the concept of sin. Sin involves moral absolutes and judgement. Sin has consequences. We prefer the word mistake. A mistake is an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning. I'm not bad. I just didn't have all the information. I wasn't thinking clearly. Didn't know any better. I tried, but I'm not perfect. At worst I was careless, it's an oops, my bad, get over it. I'm sorry you were hurt, get over it.

Oops, didn't mean to hurt you. Oops, I didn't know any better. Oops I got angry, but you made me. Oops didn't mean to say that... out loud. Be honest, would you rather be a sinner or an oopster? But here's the deal. What if we're not oopsters, we're sinners. If that's the case then, I desperately need the compassionate heart of a merciful, grace giving God!

Are you an oopster?

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You wouldn't necessarily expect to find it oozing out of the Old Testament, but Nehemiah 9 gives us a fresh look at the heart of God. Listen, there has never been a moment in your life where God's love for you has dipped below the red-line. It never fails. Unfailing love. There is no one else in your life who will not fail you. But his love never fails.  You are relentlessly loved with an indiscriminate affection. That's the story he's writing. That's His voice you hear whispering, "Child come home."  His heart is for you. 

And when we know his heart.. Our only response is to return. This is the essence of repentance. This is why we look deeply at our sin. It's not to lash our hearts with shame and guilt. It's not to motivate us to work harder. It's because this is what returning looks like. So, is it time to return?

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One of the ways that my stream of Christianity likes to describe our faith is with the words, "A personal relationship with God." It's not about religion, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God. But what in the world does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? In Psalm 46:10, it starts with these words, "Be still and know that I am God."

Usually when we think of the stillness, we think of quiet; a lack of distractions and in our world today, the noise is part of our problem. I'm not saying we don't need quiet. But when God says in Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." it's a far deeper call than just "be quiet." The Hebrew word means stop striving. Literally let your arms hang down and your hands go slack. Stop fighting. Relax. Quit trying to measure up. Give up. Hands up. Let it go. And watch me be God.  That's at the heart of this message in answer to the question, "Do you know God?"

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In the last episode, I encouraged us to ask God for more. But here's the reality, too often we are satisfied to settle for something less than all God has for us. Why are we satisfied to settle for less? Are we satisfied to settle for less purity in our hearts? Are we satisfied to settle for less people following Jesus? Are we satisfied with the state of our relationships. Are we satisfied with the degree to which we know God and experience his presence in our lives?

 Or do we want more? In this episode, we'll ponder a couple of reasons why we settle for less and I will encourage you, "Don't be satisfied with less, because there is more!"

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Someone asked me years ago, "What do you picture when you keep talking about and praying for an awakening, for a revival. The question surprised me, not that it was asked but because I didn't have a quick answer. But as I've thought about it, while it is as varied as the creative work of God. If I could give it just one word, it would be the word, MORE. I just want more. More Jesus. More of His Spirit. More glory. More neighbors being loved. More holiness. More power in prayer. More people coming more alive to the glory of God and the love of Jesus. More joy. More presence.

God cannot be manipulated, but He can be asked. So would you join me and ask God for more?

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This episode is all about joy. You will hear me say that I think we have seriously underestimated two things. We have seriously underestimated our need for joy and we have seriously underestimated God's capacity for joy. Listen, God has no desire to wake us up to our sin, our failure; He has no desire to wake us up to our dark thoughts or our undone good; He has no desire to wake us up to our shame and then just leave us there. 

God wants to awaken us to the fullness of joy that comes in His presence. Every true awakening leads to an awakening to joy. And as Nehemiah told them, "The joy of the Lord is our strength!"