I want to speak a message this morning that I believe is going to touch the heart of many in this place, "His heart is set on you". Job 7:17 says, "What is man that you should exalt him, that you should set your heart on him?"
Father, this morning we thank you that you have set your heart on us. We thank you for your love for us and your goodness and mercy. Spirit of God, I pray that this word would get so deep into the heart of your people that never again would discouragement touch us, that never again would we think that you're not near. Holy Spirit, I pray that we would decrease and that you would increase, in Jesus name. Amen.
What is man that you should exalt him, that you should set your heart on him? I wonder if anyone in this room has ever gotten your heart set on something before? All you can do is think about it, you want it and you have to have it. You're focused on that thing and you're going to go after it until you get it. Your heart is focused on it and it has your attention until the desire is fulfilled and even after you have it, it doesn't let go. You long to possess it and draw it near. Today I think the words, love and desire, are used loosely. I've had my kids want stuff and when they finally get it they play with it for a day then forget about it.
Some people are fickle. They may marry someone or date someone then all of a sudden they become disinterested. But I want you to know it's not so with God. God's desire is for us and his desire hasn't changed since he made you and me. His desire hasn't changed since he started creating mankind. The Bible tells us that God loves us and his desire is for us. Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The Lord has appeared of old saying to me, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you". Today, we simply associate love with kindness or a niceness and compassion, but love has desire. True love has passion and it will get a hold of the heart of a man. Do you remember when you first saw your spouse? You desired that person and wanted to spend every minute with them and you couldn't wait to be there with them. Those who have been married 50 years or for a significant amount of time, I pray that the desire never wains, that you still want to be with them.
When mankind became separated from God, he did everything in his power to get us back. He did everything he could to make sure that we were near to him. He said, "Therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you to me". I remember one time when we were at Busch Gardens we lost Brittany. How many have ever been at an amusement park and lost your kid? All I remember is that we turned around and she was gone. In the midst of the crowd my heart sank because she had been right near me. We did everything, Dawn went one way and I went another and pretty soon we found her. My heart was sick and I remember when we finally found her, we wrapped our arms around her and it was awesome. God is that way for us. If a parent will seek to find their kid when they lose them, God will make sure he finds every one of us. He loves us that much. It didn't matter what was going on that day, everything stopped until we could make sure she was back with us. That's what God did for you and me. As soon as mankind got out of line with his will and he couldn't have us anymore, everything stopped until he could get us back.
There are still some today that feel separated from God. They still feel unloved and need a fresh revelation that God loves them this morning. Maybe you feel far from God but I want to remind you that his heart is still set on you. He hasn't forgotten you and hasn't let you go, He cares for you so passionately. We have to remember that God cares for people so desperately that that should be our passion as well. It was amazing in that park, as soon as I said my daughter was lost, everyone around us started looking for her. God cares for us and He desires to be close.
Maybe you feel like David did, "Who am I that God would even want to be near me? Who am I that God would love me? Who am I that God would use me and give his life for me? Why would God care and what value would God place on my life because of all the things that I've done and what could I possibly ever give to God?" David felt that way. In Psalms he said, "When I consider your heavens and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him"? Sometimes this thought comes to people who are unsaved but more likely this thought comes to people who already know the Lord. They get to thinking about God and realize where they are in their life and say, "God, why in the world would you even care? You are so awesome, you did everything, why would you care for me?" David said, "When I look at all you've created and all that you've made, who am I? Then the realization hit David, I am part of God's creation and God's great desire. That means that God, because he made us, would do anything to keep us. The truth is once we realize the place of creation that God put man, we begin to realize how special we are to him.
Psalms 8:5-9 says, "For you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands and you have put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. Oh Lord, Our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth'. David realized that when God made man he put us in a unique place in all creation. Animals communicate but they can't talk. They're intelligent but they can't create. Where God put us is just a little lower than the angels so that he could have relationship with us. That realization turned David's insecurity into glorious praise. David began to worship God from the depth of his heart. When he was in depression and discouraged, wondering why in the world God would pay attention to him, all of a sudden he came back to the understanding why God had made him and where in creation God had put him and he began to worship the Lord.
You may have come into this place this morning wondering why in the world God would pay attention to you. There may be some people that you look at and turn your nose up thinking why would God care about them? But they are special to God. Paul began to take his praise a step further. For every person who questions God's love and loyalty we need to realize the love and commitment in the light of the work that Jesus did for us. You may be going through your days and they may be hard. You may be going through a time in your life where you wind up with your back against the wall and you wonder if God cares and if He's on your side but we need to remember everything that he did through Jesus Christ.
You may not be going through that hard time now but you will in some point in your life. How many know we live in a time when Jesus is coming back? One day I walked into a store to get some extra propane for my tank. The lady at the counter said to me, "I heard there was a third earthquake this week, 6.6 in Thailand, I wonder what in the world is happening? I looked at her and said we don't have to wonder what in the world is happening, we know what's happening. In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus said there will be signs in various parts of the earth, earthquakes and things, and these are just the beginning of birth pangs. She said, "Oh" and I said, "Good morning to you". She thought she was going to have a day that's all gloom and doom. None of this has caught us by surprise; none of this has been an accident. He has already set things in motion and he has his heart set on us.
Hebrews 2:9-16 says, "But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying "I will declare your name to my brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you". And again: I will put my trust in Him". And again: Here am I and the children whom God has given Me". In as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham".
There are things that Jesus did for you and me that He's done for nothing else in all creation, not the animals, not the angels, not this earth. The one that Jesus did this for was the seed of Abraham, and that's you and me. This is how much God loves people. His heart is so set on us that he went to this extent. If He would go to that extent to give his life and to come and be made like us then He's going to continue to help us and keep us. Just because your life gets hard, just because you decided to walk away, doesn't mean that He's given up on you. Just because things aren't like you hoped they'd be doesn't mean that God isn't still interested in everyone that He loves. His heart is set on you. We need to understand this in light of the day and age that we live in, His heart is still set on us.
Many people look at the world and see it's wickedness and wonder why God hasn't fulfilled His promise of judgement yet. The truth is that our world today is far worse than it ever was in Noah's time and God sent a flood. God's heart is still set on you. Some are wondering why God doesn't do something right now. Many Christians become alarmists and look around the world and are scared about the future. Some people even question God's love for them because he hasn't returned. There is no record in scripture that God has given up on this world. He hasn't given up on you and he hasn't given up on me, His heart is still set on us. This God who loves you and me has set his heart on many others and God is still at work in this world pouring out His spirit. God's heart is still set on saving this lost world. That's why this Palm Sunday we're going to reach out, leave this building and spend money to rent an ampitheatre. Are we doing it so we can just do something different and meet somewhere else? Not a chance, we're doing it to win souls to Christ. How many know that God's heart is set on people and so should ours.
Haggai 2:7 says, "And I will shake all nations and they shall come to the desire of all nations and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of Hosts". The reason why we see shaking going on today is because God is shaking the nations. He wants every nation, every tribe, every tongue, to know who he is. There are Christians who need to be reminded who God is, he is all powerful, almighty, all loving and His heart is still set on us. Maybe you came to church this morning just to get a word and kind of sleep a little bit but the passion of God never goes away. He never sleeps or slumbers, his heart is on the nations, he loves and cares for them and he cares for us. God's desire for all nations and the glory that God has planned is more awesome than you or I could ever imagine.
The revival that we're going to experience will be different than any other in history. The world is going to be shaken. There will be times of shouting and there will be times when we gather in this sanctuary and see the glory of God. But I believe that the revival that we see isn't just a revival of excitement but a revival of souls being changed for the glory of God. It is people's hearts being saved and lives being healed. It will be the nations in the midst of economic, political and social turmoil coming to Jesus because there is only one answer for this world.
Someone asked, "If God wants to be with us why hasn't he kept his promise and why haven't we been raptured out of this place?" Here's the answer, 2nd Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness but is long suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentence". How many are thankful that God hasn't disowned anybody or given up on anybody in this world yet? People have been believing that Jesus is going to come back anytime now. He is and we are closer today than we have ever been before at any other time in the history of this world. Why hasn't he come back? Because he is willing that none should perish. The truth is this, how deep is that kind of love? How wonderful is that kind of passion? As much as God loves the lost, he'll do everything he can until he comes. As much as God loves the lost, he loves His church. How many are thankful that God loves you this morning? We need a fresh revelation of that today. Our focus is on so many things in this world that we forget the care that God has for his people. We know that Israel is the apple of his eye but so is the body of Christ.
Some today are going through hardships and difficulties and they wonder if God has abandoned them and if this is what it means to be a Christian. Not only is his heart set on you, his eyes are set on you. It's one thing to have your heart set on someone but it's another thing to have your eyes set on somebody.
1st Peter 3:12 says, "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers". Do you believe that? Do you grasp that? Hold on tight. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers. You are the righteousness of God in Christ. One of the things that the enemy has sown into the church in this last day and age is that God isn't looking at his people and doesn't care for his people anymore. But I want you to know that is a lie and couldn't be farther from the truth. His eye is set on you. When you pray He hears you and He watches you everyday. When that truth begins to get into the heart of the believer, the way we live changes.
Some say there is a fearfulness that the eyes of God are on you because they always think they're going to get caught. It's not a matter of getting caught because He's been looking at you the whole time, He's been right there. Somehow after we become Christians we think He doesn't look at us anymore. I want you to hear me, He does and we need to grasp that. Do you realize that as we sit here this morning in this church, the eyes of the Lord are on each of us? He's here with us this morning and His heart is set on you. His focus is there and when we're going through things, all we need to do is cry out to the Lord and He'll hear your voice. When your heart is on someone you're with them. When you want something you're already there in spirit. My wife and I were talking about our vacation this summer because if we don't, our cabin gets taken. As we were planning to go to Tennessee, she says, "I'm so there already". When your heart is on something, you're already there. That's our God, He sees us, He hears us and He is there for us.
I was reading a letter from some missionary's about a week ago. I thought what they said was really awesome. They were children's pastor's in the church, they had been there for 18 years and they loved it. They just thought they would be there forever and God came and spoke to their hearts and said, "Now it's time for you to go. I've got a ministry for you, it's time to go on the mission field". They said, "We realize what God said that that was our season of here". Now God has given them a promise to go there. But right now they were in a season of between here and there. They said, "This is what we know, although we're done with that season of here and God is still taking us there, God is still right where we are". Between here and there may describe where some of us are but I have a word for some of you this morning. Some of you may be between here and there but we serve a God whose name is "Jehovah Shama" which means "God is there". How many know that wherever you are, He is? Sometimes our mind can't comprehend either being here or there, we don't like this in between stuff. Some of you may be in that stage of being in between things and you may wonder where God is. God says, "I am with you, I will never leave you and I will never forsake you".
When God sets his heart on you, you will be tried and you will be disciplined. How many of you love your kids? How many of you have your heart set on them? The kids that I would do anything for are the same kids that I discipline. Job 7:17-18 says, "What is man that you should exalt him, that you should set your heart on him, that you should visit him every morning and test him every moment?" Some of you feel that way today. "God, if your heart is so set on me, why am I being tested? why am I being tried? Why am I going through these things?" Because God has his heart set on you. Just like a parent has their heart set on their child, God has his heart set on you. He has his heart set on your best and while he's got you, he's going to train you, equip and prepare you, whatever it takes so that you can be whole and healthy in a right relationship with Him.
Hebrews 12:6 says this, "For whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son who he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there that the father does not chasten. But if you are without chastening from which all of us have become partakers then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful, nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it?"
How many know the Bible says to train up a child? God will train us up. Some of you right now are being trained, God has his heart set on you. You go through seasons of training. I've noticed my kids go through seasons and do good and then they go through a season where they're trained again. His heart is set on us. Discipline is not just rebuke and correction but seasoning and maturing and growing. How many know we have entered into a year of growth for our church? We're growing and you can see what God is doing. There's a passion in our hearts and a maturity that's taking place and souls that are coming to the Lord. Every Sunday and Wednesday there are new people that are coming to this church, it's wonderful. Part of that growth is the discipline that God puts in us like a father who perfects his children. His heart is on us to be the best that we can be and he believes that we are worth the time and the effort. Some of you are going through times of testing and training; His heart is set on you.
How many have ever been disciplined by your parents before and wondered if they really loved you? Some of us question God, why am I going through this? "Because this is a season and I have set my heart on you. There are things that I have planned for your life that I want to equip you for. There are things that you want for your life that you're trusting me for and I am in the process of making sure that all that stuff is in you so that you can have what you've been trusting me for, so that you can handle it".
The more that God has set his heart on you, the more you will know his love and care. The enemy may come against you but God is there to stand against him. How many of you have ever been picked on as a kid and ran home to dad? I remember one time I was going through some things in the church and I ran up to dad and he came out and just stood with me. He used to be a golden gloves boxer and they all backed down. Sometimes the enemy comes out like a roaring lion and we get panicked but all we have to do is stand by God, He's right there. He's bigger than the enemy ever is and stronger than the enemy has ever been. As a matter of fact, the enemy is just like a speck, it doesn't matter. His heart is set on you.
Christian, His heart is set on you. he loves you so much that he gave his all and he's not going to stop. You may be in a season but his heart is still set on you. He hasn't left you and he hasn't forgotten you. He's not going to just leave you until you go over the waterfall, His hand is on you. If you're going through the training and the testing, I challenge you to submit to Him and just let Him have his way. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll be strengthened and tried. Some of you today aren't even going through the testing, it just feels like it. Not all of life is a test, some of life is just life but His heart is set on you. Life is hard, that's why Jesus came and gave His life. That's why he gave His all. Sometimes we forget how much He loves us. There's a song that is sung, "He gave His life, how much more could he give? Oh how He loves you and me".
