Wednesday, October 23, 2013

A Deep Yearning

October 20, 2013
"A Deep Yearning"
Habakkuk 3:1-4
Scott Howard

"A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on shigionoth (musical term).  Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Oh Lord.  Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.  God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran.  His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.  His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden."  Habakkuk 3:1-4

There is a huge difference between being captivated BY someone and being captivated by what someone can DO.

As believers in Christ, the call is to do both: To be captivated by what our God can DO, but also to be captivated by WHO our God is.

Horizontal Theology - what God does: the blessings given to us, the people and relationships around us.

Vertical Theology - who God is: the very nature of God and why He chooses to bless us.

  • Yearning is birthed out of two places:
  1. The things God has spoken
  2. Getting caught up in the Goodness of God
The Church today is good at acknowledging the things God does, but not as good at marveling at Who He is.

Two bothersome things:
  1. Biblical illiteracy  (if we don't know His Word, how will we know His character?)
  2. This type of yearning for Jesus is just such a rare thing.  (When we see someone with this all-consuming yearning for Jesus, we almost label them "weird".)
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."  Proverbs 14:12

Why this lack of longing? Why this lack of desire? Why this lack of zeal?
Two primary reasons:

1.  Gospel-assaulting lies
  • We believe we're not good enough and can't come to Him.  But the truth is, we aren't good enough, but we can come to Him!
  • We believe we don't need Jesus.   The truth is, whether we have not yet come to Him, or we have, everyone needs Jesus.
2.  We don't understand the Cross fully
  • we just don't know what we're missing
Even if we've grown up in church and know the talk and know the game and can go through the motions, we may know about God and not know who He is. 

Do we really desire to have a deeper understanding of the all powerful, loving and merciful God who saved us?  Most of the time we know more about celebrities, movies, hunting, sports, crafts, etc. than we do about God.  It takes time to learn about things that interest us.  Truthfully, if we don't know much about God, it is because we just don't want to take the time to learn.  God wants us to want a relationship with Him.  May we start yearning, longing, desiring to learn more about God and to grow deeper in our relationship with Him.

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