Planted In Promises
In Search of the Loyal Heart • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 15 viewsWhen people are loyal to you in love, you will find great joy in leading them forward. On the contrary, when they are not loyal, you will find snags continually. Yet, where there is loyalty to Gods leader, conflict resolution is so much easier. Relationships are lubricated with affectionate allegiance.
Notes
Transcript
Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. If we have never met before, my name is Aaron. My wife Stella and I are honored to be able to serve on the Pastoral team at LFC. Today we are wrapping up this four week series called In Search of the Loyal Heart. And how many would say that these messages have impacted you in some way?
Show of hands
Now, today we are going to talk about being Planted In Promise. Because truthfully, God has promised a blessing for those who remain loyal to Him. Each week we have read this passage from 2 Chronicles, let’s read it again:
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
Now, this may seem like a strange way to end this passage. Reading verse nine alone leaves us with a massive cliff hanger. But this passage is a response to king Asa rejecting God as His deliverer. A chapter earlier we find:
1 Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,
2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
35 years later after this promise, the king of Israel has walled up Ramah so that no one could come or go. Now, Asa, king of Judah, is in a life or death situation. They can either seek deliverance from God, or join forces with the foreign nation Aram.
Now, just a few verses earlier in Chapter 5 we find that Asa has lead Judah into a covenant relationship with God.
12 They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;
But hear me out church, this is easy to do when you have experience 20 years of peace in your kingdom. We read that Asa gave much silver and gold into the temple storehouse. That is easy to do when your are living with surplus. But now- the city is walled up- no one can go anywhere, their very life is at risk. And in a moment of fear- Asa joins, himself to the wicked king of Aram by buying his army with the very silver and gold he years before tithed to the storehouse of God. But Asa had a decision to make- will he believe in the promises of God, or rely on his own strength to deliver his kingdom from certain death?
If we look at Asa’s heart, it’s not wickedness that drove him, it’s not even selfishness, or pride, things we often think of when we think of people rejecting God. We hear sermons like this and we think- I would never do that. But it was actually something so much more natural and basic. It was fear that lead Asa to reject the covenant with his God. Let’s review again the original promise between Asa and God.
2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
This sounds strikingly similar to Jeremiah 29:13
13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
When you search for me, even when you are hurt, offended, even when you are stressed out, filled with anxiety, even when you are afraid. See, the truth is, what I so often forget is that God is a promise keeping God.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
34 “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
So, what the Lord is saying in this 2 Chronicles 16:9 passage is this. My eyes are scanning the whole earth looking for the loyal ones; because it is the loyal ones that I stand with, and it is the loyal ones that I bless with the completion of my promises.
You know, I will live and die by the phrase, you get what you pay for. Now, that doesn’t mean that I always have to pay top dollar for everything; because sometimes I will buy a knock off version, something really cheap, if I know that I’m only going to use it a handful of times, or if it is going to be used for something that is not mission critical. But can we just get this out there- Temu is not the place to go for high quality mission critical purchases. Here is a list of the top 5 worst things you can buy on Temu.
FOLLOW IMAGES
Wireless Remote Lawn Mower
39x20x18ft Inflatable Event Stage
Racing Steering Wheel
Emergency Fire Blanket
Mini Excavator 30+ attachments
Loyalty is defined as:
“A noble and unswerving allegiance rooted in faith and love”
So, as we said last week, loyalty must be tested by the fires of adversity. And loyalty is always measured by what it will cost you to stay in the game. So my first thought for you today is this:
Measure Your Obedience
Measure Your Obedience
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
The writer of Hebrews is intentional to remind us, loyalty to the leaders God has placed over you is good for your life, and disloyalty is unprofitable for your life. How many of you here in this room today want to obtain Gods blessings on your life?
Hands raised
Of course you do! Now, let me remind you of what Job told us last week, of what the writer of Hebrews is telling us today- Don’t settle for the Temu blessing! This is going to cost you something! Specifically, in the context of this Hebrews 13 passage, it’s going to cost you your “ingrained individualism”, that rebellious nature, that stubbornness, that “My-Way or the Highway” attitude. There are three specific areas where obedience is attached to the promise of blessing in your life.
He says:
Hebrews 13:17 - Obey your leaders - and you will be blessed
Luke 6:38 - Give and it will be given unto you - speaking of forgiveness
Malachi 3:10 - Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse of the Lord - and I will throw open the windows of heaven over your life
We look at passages like this and are tempted to think these are conditions from God. If you do it my way I will bless you! And let me tell you, if you look at Gods Word with this lens, you will always want to rebel. If you are like me, I do not like “conditions”. But this is not what God is giving us. What God is actually doing is showing us the only path to true blessing. He is telling you; this is how the blessing is accessed. You can’t get Gods blessing on your own. You can’t work to earn Gods favor. You can’t forge it, manufacture it, or replace it.
Have you looked at the life of someone else around you and wished your life was as blessed as theres? I have. I’d look at how they had extra money, better looking cloths, nicer cars, and a boat. And I thought, if I had a better job, if I had more education, if had not made these dumb decisions. But let me share with you what I have learned through my years of struggling with this way of thinking. Let me share with you a life hack. Find out what they are doing that you are not! I guarantee you there blessing is attached to a measure of Biblical obedience.
They have released unforgiveness to God.
They practice radical generosity like God.
They have surrendered their obedience to God.
Let me read for you again, this passage we have been reading each week, 2 Chronicles 16:9, but I’m going to read it to you from the New American Standard translation.
9 “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”
Do you want Gods support in your life? Then you have to ask the question: Is your heart completely His; or is it partially His? You will find out the answer to this question only when you are faced with the challenge like Asa- Can I trust God with the most costly decision of my life?
Count The Cost
Count The Cost
Have you considered the cost of what you desire from life? Have you considered what your heart will cost you? We so often in a moment of frustration want to criticize, spread our frustration to someone who will lend an ear. In a moment of laziness, or weariness, fail to complete what we previously promised we would do, or cut corners. When we are hurt, we want hold on the unforgiveness, reel those angry thoughts in our head, daydream about what we could say to get back. But have you counted the costs of this? Have you asked the question: What will this look like later today, in a week, in a year, in future generations? Jesus told us that we should consider the cost of our decisions.
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it.
When Satan said in his heart:
14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
This decision split eternity in two. This decision to rebel against God, introduced into heaven something never seen before, the realm of darkness. Have you counted the cost of your next decision? Have you counted the cost of your loyalty or disloyalty? Have you crafted and calculated what this decision will do in your family, in your marriage, in your church, and in your future generations. Remember, when Lucifer rose up in rebellion against God a new era was born. Eve was deceived, Adam abdicated, Cane resented and murdered, Saul rebelled, David lusted, Judas betrayed, Peter denied, but Jesus gave His life!
God’s redemptive plan is being carried out in a world full of sin because of one decision. I want to ask you again; have you considered the cost. We are so quick to blame Adam and Even, yet we often forget that before creation was even breathed into existence, Lucifer rebelled. And if Lucifer had not rebelled, the Serpent would not have tempted, Eve would not have doubted, Adam would have not abdicated. There is no way for you to know what your disloyalty will induce in future hours, days, years, generations. But what we do know is this:
9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
There is not way for you to calculate what your disloyalty will take from you, and from future generations, but you can predict exactly the reward of your loyalty. I promise you today, you will always get more than what you paid. Answer these questions:
How much did it cost you last time the Peace of God replaced your anxiety?
How much did it cost you when the Holy Spirit relieved you of the weight of shame and guilt?
How much did it cost you last time God provided for you in that season of financial difficulty?
How much did it cost you to have your sins forgiven?
Salvation Response
Salvation Response
Matthew 13 tells us:
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Later, the Apostle Paul tells us:
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
God the Father counted well the price, and considered you worth the price. God the Father knew well that to redeem you from the curse of Lucifers original disloyalty would mean Jesus would have to die on the cross. But after considering the cost, and considering the reward, the decision was made and the promise was revealed.
Speaking of Rewards: Paul tells us in Romans
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, the reward of sin is death, but Gods reward of faith is new life.
Many people have told me, I don’t want to become a Christian because I can’t keep up that goodie lifestyle. But the truth is: Gods promise is to help us live this new life of faith. Yes, you can’t keep it up. But Christ has sent His Spirit to enable us to live this life for Him.
I want to pray with you right now to receive this gift. If you would say, I want God’s forgiveness, I want to accept this gift of life, I want Jesus to live in my heart, raise your hand so I know who I am praying for.
KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH - I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU
“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”
