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(In the verse below — circle each occurrence of the word “all” and underline what we are to love God with) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 “If you knew that all you had was a relationship with Him, would you be totally and completely satisfied? Many people would say, ‘Well, I would like to have that relationship, but I sure would like to do something’ or ‘I sure would like for Him to give me a ministry or give me something to do.’ We are a ‘doing’ people. We feel worthless or useless if we are not busy doing something. The Scripture leads us to understand that God is saying, ‘I want you to love me above everything else. When you are in a relationship of love with Me, you have everything there is.’ To be loved by God is the highest relationship, the highest achievement, and the highest position in life. That does not mean you will never do anything as an expression of your love for Him. God will call you to obey Him and do whatever He asks of you. However, you do not need to be doing something to feel fulfilled. You are fulfilled completely in a relationship with God.” (Blackaby & King, Experiencing God) Look up the following verses and fill in the blanks Isaiah 64:8 Ezekiel 34:11-12 Matthew 25:21 1 John 3:1 John 15:13-15 Isaiah 54:5 We are the ______________ God is the _________________ We are the ______________ God is the _________________ We are the ______________ God is the _________________ We are the ______________ God is the _________________ We God’s ______________ We are the ______________ God is the _________________ • What are the characteristics of the relationship at each level? • What does it take to gets us from one level to another? • What would hinder us from moving deeper in these levels of intimacy with God? • Which level do you think would best describe your relationship with God right now? Why? It is an enormous source of human frustration that our need for intimacy far outstrips its capacity to be met by other people. Primarily what keeps us separate is our sin, but there is another factor, and that is that in each one of us the holiest and neediest and most sensitive place of all has been made and is reserved for God alone, so that only He can enter there. No one else can love us as He does, and no one can be the sort of Friend that He is.” (Mike Mason, The Mystery of Marriage) God wants me to accept profoundly the concept that for Him sin is synonymous with betrayal, and not with omissions of the law, weakness, possible mistakes, bad taste, or immaturity.” Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 List the “other lovers” that these verses mention. 1. 2. 3. 4. Remember, God wants us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He is a jealous God, and does not want to “share” our love with any other lovers. Since the ultimate example of intimacy that God uses to describe his love for us is a marriage relationship, when we chase after other lovers it is equivalent to adultery in His eyes. (Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes) Taking a deeper look through the Book of Hosea: (Hosea 4:1-2, 7-12) Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed…The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not increase, because they have deserted the LORD to give themselves to prostitution, to old wine and new, which take away the understanding of my people. They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.” • • Who is God speaking to in these verses? Underline some of the words and phrases used to describe the sin of the Israelites? How does this description compare with what you see in American culture today? • • (Hosea 3:1) The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” What does this verse tell us about God’s love for us? (Hosea 6:1-3) “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” • What are the actions that God’s love require of us? What are the promises that God makes to us if we turn away from our sin? • Give yourself the “love test” below. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how much you show God you love Him. _____ – “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.” (Psalm 40:5, 9-10) How often do you tell God you love Him? How often do you speak to others about your love for God? Are you words bringing glory to God? _____ – “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” (John 14:21a) Are there areas of sin in your life that you have not fully surrendered to God? Are you compromising with any hidden (or outright) sins? Do your words say one thing to God and your actions say another? Are you rationalizing your sin rather than repenting and renouncing it? _____ _____ – “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25:40) Are you seeking out people that you can serve? Do you only serve those who are comfortable to be around and who are grateful for your help? Are you allowing God to use you for the dirty ‘foot-washing’ jobs? Is your service motivated by a desire to be recognized by men, or a desire to please God? ! Have you given God any gifts lately – a tithe of your money, a special love poem, an evening of prayer, a song, or some other special thing? How tightly do you hold to your material possessions, your time, and your talents? Are you showing your gratefulness to God by being generous to others with the blessings He has poured into your life? – “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.” (Deut 16:17) ” _____ Do you take time to be alone with God? How high is this on your daily priority list? Do you set aside adequate and consistent time to sit with God in prayer, Bible reading, reflection, journalling, and worship? Remember…you make time for the things that are most important to you. – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mk 1:35) _____ – “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Mat 15:8-9) Do you actively worship God by acknowledging His greatness, by singing of His goodness, by kneeling in adoration in His presence? Do you seek out opportunities to worship God? Is worship part of your regular experience in your times alone with God? Is your worship merely tradition and lip service? It is impossible to worship God from a distance; when you truly enter into the Presence of God, your response will always be one of worship. Which of these areas are you strongest in? Which areas are you weakest in? Personal Application: Heart for God “I believe that if we are to be and to do for others what God means us to be and to do, we must not let Adoration and Worship slip into the second place, ‘For it is the central service asked by God of human souls; and its neglect is responsible for much lack of spiritual depth and power.’ Perhaps we may find here the reason why we so often run dry. We do not give time enough to what makes for depth, and so we are shallow; a wind, quite a little wind, can ruffle our surface; a little hot sun and all the moisture in us evaporates. It should not be so. This has been our God’s word to me afresh this morning and so I pass it on. Is it not worthwhile to earnestly set ourselves toward this? Today, if you hear His voice, today, this morning, if we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (Ps 95:7, James 4:8). In the hush of that nearness we shall not seek anything for ourselves, not even help, or light, or comfort; we shall forget ourselves, ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’. ‘Let us draw near hither unto God’ (1 Sam 14:36). ‘Let us press on to acknowledge the Lord. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear’ (Hosea 6:3). The morning never disappoints us by not coming , neither does our loving God.” Amy Carmichhael, Edges of His Ways Personal Evaluation… Am I hungry for the Presence of God? Do I believe God will show up? Am I so caught up in my religious acts that I miss God when He does shows up? What are the idols in my life that I am ‘prostituting’ myself to? Where do I go for security, for provision, for emotional support, for comfort, for diversion, for satisfaction, for fulfillment, for pleasure, for sympathy, for companionship, for entertainment? Do I get these needs met by abiding/dwelling in God’s Love or do I run to other ‘loves’? Am I giving enough time to the ‘things that make for depth’? Am I allowing God to take me deep into intimacy with Him? Deeper intimacy requires greater sacrifice, greater vulnerability, greater dependence. In light of what God is speaking to me about my love relationship with Him these are the practical action steps I need to take to pursue a deeper passion for Him?