July 15

1 Chron 19:1-21:30 | PS 11:1-7 | Prov 19:10-12 | Rom 2:25-3:8

What are you willing to give up in order to follow God? Maybe a better way to phrase this, is, "Who do you want on the throne of your life, God or yourself?" If most were honest, most have more of an add on philosophy. They see certain things lacking in their lives, and feel that if they add a little of God in, their lives would improve. Perhaps your relationships are struggling, your children, your career, etc. You have tried some self-help books, some advice from friends, but still your life is not on the trajectory you had hoped. So, many think, why not try adding on a little God. But this is not what faith is. Faith is not adding on, but relinquishing your seat on your throne. Faith means placing our full weight and trust on God, and getting off the throne of our lives. This doesn't happen overnight for most, as our walk is just that, a walk. It takes time to move from independence to dependence upon Him. So, back to the original question, what are you willing to give up? Will you give up some time to go to church? Will you give up a little free time to set aside some time daily to spend with God in His Word, the Bible, and in prayer, as you converse with Him? Are you willing to give up some hobbies, some television or computer time, some of your kid's activities, some of your friendships, some of your unhealthy ambitions, etc.? If you are not willing to give up time and stuff, then you are not really willing to follow God. There is really no middle road with God. You either accept being His child, accept Him as your Father, or you don't.

Call it what you want: Mount Moriah, the threshing floor of Ornan, Golgotha, but it is the same place. We read in Genesis 22:1-2, "Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”" Abraham, called the man of faith, was asked by God to sacrifice his own son. Abraham faithfully went forward and was stopped by God at the last moment. But Abraham was willing to give up that which was most dear to him on earth to follow God. Abraham received God's blessings as we read in 22:17-18, "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Now one thousand years later, David falls for Satan's temptation and numbers the troops of Israel and Judah in 1 Chronicles 21:1-3, "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”" The sin was that David chose to trust in his own strength rather than God's strength. The result was a plague in which 70,000 Israelites were killed in three days. We see David's heart of repentance in 21:17, "And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.” David was unwilling to simply use the threshing floor of Ornan to sacrifice before the Lord to end the plague, he knew it had to cost him something, as we read in 21:23-27.

We now move one thousand years later to Golgotha or Calvary. Our freedom from the bondage of sin and the sting of death cost God the earthly life of His Son, Jesus, as Jesus allowed Himself to be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind. He said in John 19:30, "It is finished", as our Savior paid the ultimate price for us. Yes, we who choose to repent of our sins (change our mind and adopt God's standards over our own), and accept His sacrifice are recipients of His grace and mercy. Grace means that we are given things by God ,that which we have done nothing to deserve, while mercy is not receiving the punishment from God that we do deserve. When we consider for a moment what Abraham, David, and more importantly, Father God and Jesus were willing to give up, does it seem a small thing that we should be willing to give up something in order to follow Him? Is it really too much for God to ask for us to get up a little earlier, dedicate some time, etc. He doesn't require this, He knows that we need this, and He loves us. Our walk of faith cannot begin until we are willing to dethrone ourselves. Once we do, life makes sense, because we learn to follow God who brings clarity to a world otherwise devoid of it. Please take the time to repent, accept what Jesus offered, and enter into the most important relationship of your life. It is and always has been about a relationship, and never about religion.

Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley:

Marj Lancaster