SOME PEOPLE ACT FOR GOD WITHOUT A HEART FOR GOD.
WHEN YOU ARE TOO BUSY TO PURSUE GOD, IT IS NOT TIME, IT IS THAT YOU JUST DONT HAVE A HEART FOR GOD
YOU CAN’T HAVE A HEART FOR GOD AND STRUGGLE TO HAVE TIME FOR HIM.
-Pastor David Oyedepo at CHoP
*Only those who are sold out to God’s commandment end up being raised as commander.
*God is more interested in your heart than your act.
*You don’t have time, but you know everything happening in every part of this country at the same time.
Our Father, this morning, we have come to give glory and to give praise unto Your name. We celebrate You for your faithfulness and goodness towards us. Thank You for the mighty acts of Your mighty hand in our midst. The testimony we have heard, they are your doings and they are marvelous in our eyes and for it, we give You all the praise. For the answers to our prayers, we say thank You and now this morning, our eyes are upon You. Lord, by Your Word today, let everyone of us be transformed. We give You the praise and the glory. In Jesus precious name we have prayed.
The Word of God admonishes us to make the use of our time because the days are evil – Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5
This implies there is a battle over our time. Every one of us has equal time, that is 24 hours every day: some invest it, others squander it.
Psalm 90:12
It means you and I must understand what it takes to make the most of our time.
That is why this week, we are going to be looking at this line of exhortation captioned:
ONE CANNOT HAVE A HEART FOR GOD AND NOT HAVE TIME FOR HIM
Proverbs 23:26
What God demands of us is simply are our hearts. When your heart goes towards God, your time effortlessly goes towards God, because according to God’s Word, wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart will be – Matthew 6:21
According to God, if time is treasured, then our hearts will also be directed at giving that treasure to what is most valuable to us. The value of our hearts for God determines how much of our time we invest in God.
This morning we are going to look at the example of a man, that is the man, Abraham
Abraham was what we describe as a Business Emperor, a man of unusual resources, a blessed man.
Genesis 13:1-2, Genesis 24:1
“Blessed in all things” – in every department of life
We are talking about a man that was operating in unusual dimension of blessing, we are talking about a man who had an army of 318 soldiers who were ready for war and able to defeat the adversary. That is why we call Abraham a business emperor. What was the population of the whole world at that time, that one man would have 318 soldiers assigned to him? He was a business emperor, but we discover that Abraham was a man that would effortlessly suspend his schedule in order to obey God.
Genesis 12:1-4. He would suspend everything to obey God, he would bang every schedule to obey God. Church Gist. He was a man completely and totally given towards obedience.
Genesis 17:10 – the Bible tells us that Abraham circumcised himself at the age of 99. Obeying God at all cost.
Genesis 18: 1-10. When the Lord came down, Abraham suspended everything to dive after God.
Genesis 22:1-5. The Bible says Abraham arose early in the morning and took his son, with 2 servants went and began looking for the place that God had spoken of. It was not a casual search; it took 3 days to see the mountain afar off.
He would suspend everything in order to pursue after God’s commandment.
I will like you to understand that until the commandment of God costs you something, it cannot make you a commander in life. Church Gist. It is those who are sold out to God’s commandment that end up being raised as commanders. Your commitment to God’s commandment in terms of time investment ultimately determines how much of the blessing of God that you and I are able to experience.
Genesis 18:17-29
We see Abraham interceding on the behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, standing in the place of prayers, trying to see to the deliverance of that land. Everything for God, at every point in time. You won’t struggle with giving your time to God if your heart is truly after God. The truth is that the issue is not the unavailability of time, the issue is lack of engagement of the heart. When the heart is engaged, your time is naturally invested.
-I pray that for each one of us, this morning, the grace to continue to have our hearts invested in the pursuit of God, may that grace come upon each one in the name of Jesus.
Let’s take note of this, that we need a heart for God to make the most of our lives.
Matthew 6:32-33
How much of a priority the Kingdom of God is to you, is a pointer to how much of your heart is invested in the pursuit of God. We must understand that we must make it first and we make it first by investing our hearts in it and when that is the case, we will not struggle in giving our time to it.
Therefore, let’s take note of this:
That one cannot have a heart for God without making great marks upon the earth.
Back to the example of Abraham. We see concerning Abraham in Genesis chapter 22, after the Lord had seen the heart of Abraham
Genesis 22:15-18
“In blessing I will bless you”: I (God) have come to the point of swearing a blessing upon you because you have obeyed My voice.
That is the outcome of one whose heart is completely invested in God. I want you to understand that God is interested in your heart, that is his interest point. Church Gist. He is more interested in your heart than your act.
Why? Those who have a heart for God will not struggle to act for God, but there are those who act for God without a heart for God.
Jeremiah 17:10
You must understand that God is interested in your heart. When your heart is invested, you can’t struggle to act on the behalf of God. You will keep driving in pursuit of what matters to God when your heart is in pursuit of God. That is why you and I must at every point in time ensure that our hearts are always in pursuit of God. Keep your heart fervent for God. Keep your heart on fire for God, make sure God is a priority in your heart. When that is the case, you will always find time for Him.
Somebody says, “I don’t have time to pray”: it is not that you don’t have time to pray, you don’t have a heart for God.
“Oh, I don’t have time to go soul winning”: it is not that you don’t have time to go soul winning, it’s just that you don’t have a heart for God.
“Oh, I don’t have time to follow up my converts”: it is not that you don’t have time, you don’t have a heart for God.
Every man has time. All that we discover is the hearts of men are not in the pursuit of God because where your heart is, your treasure will be.
You say, “you don’t have time”, but you are eating. Where did you find time to eat?
You say, “you don’t have time”, but you are sleeping. Where did you find time to sleep?
The truth is that time is adequate for every individual. All that you and I must understand is that it is what matters to us that takes up our time.
“Oh, I don’t have time; I don’t have time” but you know everything happening in every part of this country at the same time. How did you find it out? Because you had time to investigate it. There is always time for whatever matters to you.
What is your treasure? If God is your treasure, your heart will be Him and if your heart is with Him, your time will be with Him – Matthew 6:21
What is your treasure? 2 Corinthians 4:6-7
When God is your treasure, your heart will always be with Him.
-I pray for each one of us, from this day forward, our hearts will continuously be after God and as a result of that, our time will be generously given unto Him.
Prayers: Lord, I receive grace to keep my heart in pursuit of you all the time. To have you as the treasure of my heart, I receive grace. To maintain you as the treasure of my heart, I receive grace. To keep in pursuit of you, at every point in time. My Father, I receive that grace this morning, I take that grace this morning
What that means is simple, any time it looks like there is no time, just check where your heart is. It is a matter of the heart, it is not a matter of time. Church Gist. There is sufficient time to pursue after God. It is whether you have sufficiency of your heart in pursuit of Him. It is a heart matter.
-May each one of us receive the grace of heaven to continue to invest the entirety of our heart in God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAK TO THE DAY
Another day is here, another opportunity. Speak to the day, the beginning of another working week, the beginning of a brand-new day. Speak to it right now. You shall decree a thing and what you decree shall be established. What you declare shall be established. Speak to the day right now. What you speak is what you pick. Church Gist. Make declarations in faith and in confidence. Make your declarations right now. Father, thank You, blessed be Your holy name, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
-This day is declared blessed.
-It is the beginning of a new working week. All things will keep working for you this week in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
-May the hand of God rest upon you all through this week.
-With all the encounters we received yesterday, all of your own ‘Enough is Enough’ testimonies begin dropping today in the name of the Lord Jesus.
-I declare for you that this week shall be your week of testimonies.
-It shall be your week of open doors.
-It shall be your week of favour.
-It shall be your week of encounters.
-It shall be a week of speed in the name of Jesus Christ.
So shall it be in Jesus precious name. It is done, in Jesus precious name.
#PastorDavidOyedepoJr
#CHoP20Sept21
#ChurchGist
CHoP is an acronym for Covenant Hour of Prayer
