Hard Hearts And Hope In Christ

If the desire to be like the world goes unchecked, you will have rejected God’s kingship over you.   ~~~ A desire to be like the world hardens your heart to God’s word. 1 Samuel 8:19 “but the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel.” Fathers, what is your desire? Some of you are here are you not? You want what the world offers. And when you chase that bait, you abandon the mission of God, you blind your eyes to the misery and costs that comes with being like the world, and you harden your heart towards God. If the desire to be like the world goes unchecked, you will have rejected God’s kingship over you. You see, our human nature refuses God’s words, minimizes it. Our human nature steers us away from God, calling on us to reject his authority, and leads us to desire another authority, namely ourselves. And we are in great need of a God, a redeemer, who can overcome the sinful and natural tendencies of our human hearts. We need a hero who can woo us and win us, who can give us a new heart, with new desires. And this is exactly what God offers to us in Christ. When a person puts their hope and confidence and trust and reliance in Jesus, His life, his death and resurrection, then the Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Why is it necessary that we be in Christ? Because Jesus completely fought off the desire to be like the world. When Jesus began his ministry on earth, Satan came to him, and tempted and tried to lure him to bow down to him by offering him all the kingdoms of the world. He tempted Jesus to put on his power in a worldly way. He tempted Jesus to slide down that slippery slope of minimizing God’s word. And Jesus refused. He refused in the barren land of the wilderness. He even refused temptation while hanging on the limbs of a rugged cross when the religious leaders mocked him by saying, “You saved others, why can’t you save yourself. You say you are the king of Israel, why don’t you come down from the cross, and then we will believe you. You say you trust in God. Why doesn’t God deliver you if he loves you so much.” Every step of Jesus’ life, people were trying to get him to abandon the mission God the Father had given him. But Jesus would not abandon the mission, because He would not abandon the Father’s words. Where the Israelites and ourselves refused to obey God’s word, Jesus refused to disobey God’s word. And now, instead of like in 1 Samuel, where God says to Samuel, “Obey their voice” so that they might learn discipline, God says to us about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son. Obey Him,” so that we might have joy!