Yan Hadley, our guest speaker, spoke on ‘the priority of a godly passion’ tonight, basing his sermon on Ps 37:4 which tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and then He will give us the desires of our hearts. This verse reminds us of 3 key things:
- Relationship is at the heart of everything; we are called to delight in God. Our relationship is not based on duty, obligation or a sense of responsibility; it is based on a thirst for God (Ps 42:1) and gladness (Ps 122:1). Joy and fellowship are key aspects of this relationship with God.
- Responsibiity is involved, for we are told to ‘delight yourself.‘ No one else can do this for us; there is a DIY element to this! We may not always feel like attending church meetings or taking time to pray and read the Bible, but feelings are not the determiners here. We are required to take responsibility for our spiritual walk (Ps 16:8-9), doing what we know to be right, whatever our feelings say (Ps 34:1). We can’t rely on others, but must cultivate a wholehearted desire to please God if we are to grow spiritually.
- Reassurance is the response God gives us. Ps 37:4 reminds us that He will give you the desires of your heart. God’s desire is to bless us and He is immensely generous. God cannot lie (Num 23:19), so we need to grasp something of the generosity and benevolence of God towards us and believe His promises. When we call, He answers! (Jer 33:3). There is so much more of God to experience (1 Cor 2:9-10).
God has good plans for us as individuals and as a church, but we need to hunger and thirst for righteousness and to seek God’s kingdom first if we are to see the breakthrough for which we long.
