Love delights greatly! : By James Lantz
Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall but the wise pursue the eternal, ever increasing kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus the anointed One. Daniel sought the Lord God of heaven for wisdom and knowledge of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that his life might be spared. The secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision and Daniel thanked and praised and blessed the Lord! Daniel 2:20-22 ASV . . . Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. God wanted this great King, Daniel, and all of us to know that the greatest of men and their kingdoms were going to fade and die but there is one coming who will smite the other kingdoms and fill the whole earth. This stone that was cut from the mountain without hands is the Christ and His reign shall be forever and ever. Daniel 2:44 ASV And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Moses decreed there was a prophet who would be raised up from among their brethren who was like himself and that everyone who did not listen to this prophet would be destroyed!
In examining God’s instructions on how to connect with or receive His awesome grace we find that we only receive through faith. God did not say that we should believe that He is and that we should believe that He rewards us. God said that we mustbelieve that He is and that He rewards us when we diligently seek Him. In fact, God said that it was impossible to receive from Him without faith. Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Rom. 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. All of God’s grace is received by believing with the heart and saying with your mouth. The English word saved in the previous verse is translated from the greek word sozo which means to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, to do well or to prosper, and to be whole. To be saved includes all of God’s grace but the only part we receive is the part that we believe God for. I believe some of those tears that God is going to wipe away in heaven are the tears of sorrow as we realize what we could have accomplished on earth but failed to believe His words and the words of His servants. Don’t be like Thomas who would not believe his brethren that they had seen the Lord. Believe the love that God has extended to us and embrace all that He is and all that He has given you! 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Faith works by love and love delights greatly in the one that is loved or the things that are loved. We can not be saved with out loving God for putting our punishment on Jesus and giving us Jesus righteousness. We did not have to understand how faith works to believe from our heart and to confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord in order to be saved. Our love and desire for God and His salvation compelled us to believe and to speak, but now God wants us to believe Him for more of His grace. God accepted us when we acknowledged His salvation and He promotes us as we honor and obey His commandments. God resists the proud but gives more grace to the humble. We humble ourselves before God by believing and following His instructions. To refuse God’s plan for our life gives access to the tormenting twins of worry and fear who draw destruction to the fearful one like a magnet draws metal. Those who joyfully, by faith, give themselves to follow God’s plan for their life draw the blessing of the Lord unto themselves! Jesus said that those who embrace His words and obey them are the ones who really love Him! John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. According to Jesus’ own words, love is not a feeling nor a religious practice, love is doing what God said to do. 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Great reward comes to those who love God and love His word! God is seeking to bless those who praise Him and fear Him and take great delight in accomplishing His purposes. Ps. 112:1 NLT Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. The King James version reads, Praise ye the Lord, Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments! The Hebrew word translated delighteth in Psalm 112:1 above includes the meaning of, to incline, to bend, to be pleased with, to desire, well pleased, to have pleasure, and to will. The one who delights greatly in God’s word is not just a hearer of the word but a doer of the word. He is delighted to lay down his old life and take up the life that God has prepared for him. He is inclined to walk by faith and not by sight. He takes pleasure in walking in the Spirit and resists the lusts of the flesh. He is well pleased to prefer his brother above himself and build God’s church before his own house. He takes pleasure in bringing God tithes and offerings. His will is bent towards loving what God loves, hating what God hates, and valuing what God values and emphasizes what God emphasizes.
If God likes it, I like it, If God hates it, I hate it!
Praising the Lord, fearing God with a reverential fear, and delighting greatly in doing what God says is our part. God’s part is blessing those He delights in! The blessing of the Lord causes the seed of the upright to become mighty in the earth bringing wealth and riches into their houses and their righteousness endures. Light and direction comes to them when things look dark. They are gracious people, full of compassion, and righteous. These good people show favor and lend, guiding their affairs with discretion. They are not moved away from loving God’s word nor afraid of evil coming on them, their heart is fixed, established, trusting in the Lord.
We desire to be close to those whom we love and hear what they have to say. We plan our life so that we can spend much time with those whom we love! The young couple in love make plans to marry so they can do everything together. This commitment to marry is substantiated by expressing delight in each other and by separating from all previous girlfriend and boyfriend relationships. Our commitment to Christ is a turning away from evil and embracing the one who died and rose again for us! Col. 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: We become the temple (house) of God when we are born again and God will not tolerate idolatry in His temple. 2 Cor. 6:17 NLT Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. Idolatry is simply loving anybody or anything more than God. Now that we are a child of God we are to draw close to God. When God reveals Himself to people God expects them to come to Him. Jesus said woe unto the cities where He had done many mighty miracles because the majority of people paid no attention to him. Mt. 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. Jesus will not accept lukewarmness from his bride nor having a mistress (idols) on the side. Draw near unto God and He will draw near unto you! We draw near to God by inclining our ear to hear His word and bending our will to take pleasure in putting His things first. Thirdly, God expects us to grow up spiritually so that we become an asset to the kingdom of God. Spiritual babies are precious just like natural babies are but we are not okay with a twenty two year old rolling around on the floor sucking on a bottle and holding his blanket making gurgling sounds. They should be up and about their father’s business. Jesus knew who He was and what His mission was at the age of twelve. Mt. 21:28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. Carnal Christians are still baby Christians because they have not taken their place as a soldier in God’s army. We greatly delight in God’s word by delighting in building God’s house! God referred to David as a man after His own heart. David’s great desire was to build God’s house and it showed all through his life. As a youth David highly esteemed the God of Israel and His people as a cause worth fighting for. 1 Sam. 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David stayed true to his greatest passion of building God’s house in his latter years as well. 1 Chron. 29:2-4 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God . . . Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: We do not have to wonder why God said, this is a man after my own heart! Greatly delight in the word of the Lord!
Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
