THE TIME IS NOW - III

Enjoy these notes from "The Time Is Now" week 3:

THE PROBLEM: CONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE TO GOD

"I'll do what you tell me to do as long as it's not inconvenient, makes me uncomfortable or I don't see what I want to see." Many times we tell God this very thing. Our obedience to God is determined by our comfort level. If what He's asking us to do does not line up with we want it to be, then our obedience is conditional and we choose not to do it.

What is God asking of you that you are putting a condition on? Forgive that person that has hurt you? Find accountability and confess that secret sin so that you can be restored?

THE CORRUPTIVE POWER OF SIN

‘If one of you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?’” The priests replied, “No.” Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?” And the priests answered, “Yes.” Then Haggai responded, “That is how it is with this people and this nation, says theLord. Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. {Haggai 2:12-14}

When your heart isn't right with God, everything you do will be wrong. Attitude matters. We do not obey God so that he will bless us. We obey God because we love him.

Look at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple. When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty. I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord. {Haggai 2:15-17}

If we're honest, we don't like what it says in verse 17. But as we continue reading we see the reason. He was not trying to punish his people. Instead He was simply trying to restore them. Sometimes God will not change your negative situation because God is trying to change your heart.

We're not saying that you deserve what is happening to you. But there are times that God may allow what is happening to catch your attention and bring your heart back to Him. If this seems unloving even for a moment, remember that if you're a parent, you would do the exact same thing as a loving parent to a rebellious child.

God is saying here, more than anything else I want you heart.

This is why corporate worship is so important. It helps us align our hearts to God's. This is why it's so important to gather in life groups. There is so much pulling our hearts away from God. Our affections are constantly challenged. We need each other to realign our hearts back to God.

The beauty of this story is that God had their hearts. Because their hearts came back to God, so did the blessings of God. Not simply because the obeyed, but because their hearts changed.

 I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.” {Haggai 2:19}

Perhaps you are obeying outwardly but are rebellious and discontented inwardly. God is after your heart today.

Swerve Church is a new church plant forming in the community of Bushwick in Brooklyn.