During the Sunday sermon we made the case that
idolatry is at the heart of all sin. One of the passages of the Bible we did
not mention, yet also serves as a marker we are heading the right direction is
Deuteronomy 28:47: “Because you did not serve the LORD
your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all
things.” Here we find out that just before entering the Promised Land Moses
warns Israel against turning away from God with the result they would end up
being the recipients of his curses rather than his blessings. The man of God
explains in this verse one of the reasons that will stand behind such sin, if
it were to happen, is a lack of joy and gladness of heart toward God.
Here we find great wisdom out of the Old Testament,
namely the affections and desires of our heart will determine the emphases and
great themes of our life. If we lack the delight in God he deserves, most
likely we will “love evil more than good” (Psalm 52:3), “take pleasure in doing wrong,
and…enjoy the twisted ways of evil” (Proverbs 2:14, NLT),
rather than loving God, his Word, and his ways (Deuteronomy 6:5; Psalm 1:2;
119:72).
Since we will not love God if we
don’t trust in him (cf. Psalm 91:14; 1 John 5:1-5), we must fight the good
fight to trust in him (1 Timothy 6:12) and so grow our love for God. This and
only this will lead us to put to death sin that has at its core those things
that function as our gods in the place of the true God (Colossians 3:5).
So, may we grow in the knowledge of
and love for our great God and Savior!
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