Study

What Do You Want

August 30, 2017 by in Study

Text:

Psalm 37:4:

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Matthew 6:33:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

Theme:

What Do You Want?

 

Introduction:

Psalms

Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

  • The Psalms from which the text is taken is believed to be the prayer and praise book developed by David, the King of Israel anointed by God. These hymns are hallowed cries of God’s servant, David, as he struggled to serve God in spite of his shortcomings.

Matthew

Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

  • The Gospel according to St. Matthew, the first book of the New Testament and of the Gospels of Jesus, the Christ, is the book that contains this scripture.
  • Matthew, the disciple of Christ, wrote in more detail the life of Christ and His ministry that any other Gospel writer even though the book was written over 5-10 years later than the rest of the Gospels.
  • The Old and New Testament combine to provide completion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
    • OT – provides Law …. NT – fulfills Law
    • OT – gives what we can’t do …. NT – gives what we can do
    • OT – gives Prophecy …. NT – gives Clarity
    • OT – liberates a race …. NT – liberates with Grace
    • OT – teaches with truth …. NT – saves with The Truth

 

Body:

  • Psalms — Old Testament — Dealing with Desires:
    • We need to WANT GOD! – “Delight thyself also in the LORD”
      • Divine aspiration – DELIGHT
        • Delight, desire, cherish, being in God. Don’t be indifferent.
          • If you don’t delight in something, you won’t be committed to it.
          • It has to give you something for you to delight in it or desire it…personal BENEFIT!
        • Desire God in your life and find goodness when you get Him
          • Psalms 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.”
      • Human realization – ALSO
      • God knows that we have other desires in our lives
      • God just wants us to TRY HIM
      • Connect with God and God’s presence will manage other “connections” in your life
    • We have DESIRES of the heart! – “he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”
      • Desires of the head – What you want
        • Desires of the HEART – What you feel (in your heart) that you need
        • Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
          • a Father will get His child whatever the child needs that is within His ability
        • Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
          • As Christians, our heart, the contents of our soul, the “piece” of our Father in us, knows what we need as is constructed by our Father’s upbringing

Matthew — New Testament — Dealing with Priorities:

  • Put God FIRST! – “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness”
    • Seek = Desire
    • Kingdom of God…NOT the Kingdom of Heaven!
      • Kingdom of God is the community of His believers. Those who are willing to:
        • Admit – I am a sinner
        • Submit – I submit all my sinful self to God
        • Commit – I commit my life to His Will for me
        • Transmit – Tell someone else of what God has done for me
    • Kingdom of Heaven is granted to those who are members of the Kingdom of God as heirs
      • Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
    • Relationship with God – Basis of being a member of the Kingdom of God
      • You have to share common perspectives – “and His righteousness”
      • You will share dominant traits – “and His righteousness”
  • Other THINGS can come later – “all these things shall be added unto you”
    • What are “things”
      • Needs that God accepts but that are not on God’s agenda for us right now
        • Provided specifically – “that bill that is due”
      • Wants that are strongly perceived as needs by our mind and affecting our heart.
        • Mind—flesh…heart—of God…together can cause confusion
          • This combination causes much chaos:
            • IN the church
            • IN the Christian life
            • IN Christian service
          • We should “seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” and not let our mind, which is of the flesh, cloud our thinking.
            • Proverb 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
        • Provided abstractly – “People of Israel begging for a King and got Saul”
          • As Grandmama used to say, “Be careful what you ask for because you might just get it” J
          • Examples of getting things that can end up being bad for us or just trouble for us
            • car, job, money, friend

 

Conclusion:

  • We are defined by our desires spiritually.

Desires motivate and inspire our thinking, actions and perceptions

  • Sigmund Freud explained human beings as being a “bundle of desires”
    • Desire was expressed as the German word LUST which is translated as “lust” in English.
    • It is how we manage our desires that determine how we succeed in society
  • Our Biblical text gives the same implication:
    • Psalms – “also” –- we have other desires
    • Matthew – “first” – we have other desires
    • Both define how we manage these desires as what places us in God’s Will or not
  • Let’s use a more common expression….Desire = Goal —  Desires/Goals are important:Goals set direction
  1. Direction influences standards
  2. Standards baseline character
  3. Character founds decisions
  4. Decisions erect reputations with others
  • What are your goals?
    1. People have goals pertaining to money, status, occupations…”THINGS”
    2. I want to do, to be and to have what makes me an example of the Kingdom of God :
        1. Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
        2. Matthew 22:37, “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
        3. Matthew 22:39, “…Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
  • Thank God for His grace that allows me to maintain this desire or goal in spite of my sin!!

“Amazing Grace shall always be my song of praise”

 

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