What God Really Wants

What does God really want from you? Does He want your money, your acts of service? 

Do you believe you can be right with God by playing Church for a couple of hours a week?

I think that God really desires a personal relationship with His people. Why else would He

provide a way for us to become part of His family. The Bible says that God loves us so much that 

He was willing to sacrifice His own Son Jesus to prove it. (Read - John 3:16). 

What God desires from us has more to do with relationship than with work. Remember we can’t earn our salvation. We can’t make God love us anymore than He already does. God’s love for us is not based on how good we are or how much we can do for His kingdom. If that were so, our lives would hang in the balance on how well our accomplishments tipped that balance in favor of our good works. Since no one is 
righteous due to our sin nature, we have to see life for God with a whole new set of eyes.  Remember, God does not love anyone more than anyone else for the amount of time, service or money they give to the Church. God really desires our worship, our praise, our moments of contemplation, our prayers, our hopes and our dreams. 

The Bible also tells us that Worship to God is important and needs  to be in spirit and in truth. God desires that our lives reflect that kind Worship by us living according to His Word. God tells us that love is the most important aspect of life and that we are to love in accordance with the depth of love and grace He has shown us. We should never forget to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor with the same weight we love ourselves. (Read - Mark 12:29-31) 

This kind love is what God seeks in His children. No matter how successful you are according to the world's idea of success, success in God’s eyes has more to do with great faith by those who walk with Him according to His ways. Just look at the lives of Noah, Abraham and David to name a few. What is said about these men has more to do with their faith and relationship with God than with their works.  

An example from the Bible that highlights this idea of Relationship VS Works is this passage from Luke which describes how Mary and Martha chose to spend their time while Jesus came for a visit.

Luke 10:38-42 NIV :

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"   "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

What can we learn From Martha an Mary:

• We need to get our priorities in order. (We need to put God first in our lives)

 Matthew 6:33    (Develop a need for God and daily walk in accordance to His Word)

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV    (Live a God centered life, maintain an eternal perspective)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 1:35 NIV    (Pray continuously)

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (This is an example of Jesus withdrawing from ministry to spend time with God)

Psalm 119:2 NIV  (Be obedient to God, retain the spirit of His Word and principles, be sure to place them firmly in your heart) Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.

Luke 11:9 NIV  (Petition God, seek His will in all areas of your life)
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 

• We should not worry about things we can’t control.

 Matthew 6:25   (God is our real provider)

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

 Matthew 6:34   (Cast your worries and fears into the hands of God)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV   (God is our true peace)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• We should not get caught up in “worldly things” which distract us from spending time with God.   (If we don’t spend time with God how will we know what He wants us to do. We may get      caught up in our own vision for our lives and even ministry and ignore God’s will if we get too distracted with what we want to do.)

Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV    (Discern the will of God in order to live wisely)

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Romans 12:2 NIV  (Develop an eternal perspective through a daily emphasis on spiritual disciplines) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

• Most of all we need to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. 

      (There are benefits to having a daily devotion time with God )

        What a real relationship with Jesus should be comprised of:

John 4:23-24 NIV   (Developing a life of worship)

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are  the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

John 6:35 NIV  (More of Jesus – He will fill that ultimate desire to be fulfilled)

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 7:37-38 NIV  (Needing God and living by faith – Those who believe receive The Holy Spirit )

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 8:31-32 NIV  (Learning God’s Word - God’s truth - which teaches us about real freedom)

 Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 10:27-28 NIV   (Devotion –  to a Savior - who protects and provides for His followers)

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

John 14:23 NIV  (Obedience - to God – who loves those who walk in accordance to His teaching)

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 15:5 NIV  (Remaining in Christ – doing all things for His Glory, bearing fruit for His kingdom) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

So Let’s not forget to spend time with God. Let’s put our focus on our relationship with Him

in order to live abundantly.

Gifts believers have received from God through our saving relationship with Him:

• Peace with God:   
  
  Because we are  no longer enemies of God, our peace with God is                                         permanent and cannot be undone. God made this promise to believers.

• Access to God:   
  
  Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are now in a right relationship with Him.                   
  We can stand before Him and will listen to our prayers and requests

• Hope which is certain: 
  Our salvation is guaranteed

• Salvation (Present): 
  deliverance from bondage to sin and condemnation.

• Glorification (Future):   
  
  When our salvation is complete the state of our bodies change from perishable                         
  to imperishable, from mortal to immortal. (Death has been swallowed up in victory)                                            

• Rejoicing in our suffering:  
  
   Suffering has a purpose, is constructive and develops Christ like                                                         character in us.

• The Holy Spirit:   
  Our deposit and guarantee that we are saved. It is God’s seal of ownership.

As followers of Jesus we have already gotten some great gifts. And we must remember that

they are gifts and we did not earn them. And this is what is so amazing about God’s love
and God’s grace.

Romans 5:8 NIV  (God’s unbelievable love)

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So what does God want?  Lets start by sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Just Sayin…………………Dave