Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I heard an interesting story many years ago about a man and his new young wife who could always be seen sitting right beside him in the front seat of their car. Whenever she got into the vehicle, she would slide all the way over until she was right next to him, sometimes even holding onto his arm as they drove around town on various errands. For the first few years of marriage, she sat loyally at his side, and never budged an inch. But as the years slowly passed by, she began moving further away from him, until many years later, she was on the complete opposite side of the vehicle. One night as they were driving home from the store, she asked her husband why they were not as close as they used to be, to which he replied, I’m in the same spot I’ve always been, it’s you who have moved.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
An Earthly marriage is symbolic of the relationship that we have with God. The loving and faithful submission that a wife shows to her own husband, is the same quality that we need to show to our Lord Jesus. But some people who begin the Christian Life, will slowly fall away from God. The burning love and devotion that they once had for Him will begin to flicker like an oil lamp that is running out of fuel. Like a faithful husband, God has never moved, it is people who have departed from Him, moving further and further away, like a wife departing her husband.
“Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 3:20
When we become baptized into the name of Christ Jesus, it is very much like entering into a marriage. We are starting a new relationship with God, just as a bride begins a brand new life with her husband.
“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
In any marriage there are going to be good years and tough years. There will be times that you have to suffer, just like in the Christian Life. But whatever things we might have to endure, we must always remain faithfully by our husband’s side, endeavoring to love and serve the Lord Jesus with all of our heart.
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.” Psalms 123:2
All other love is secondary, in comparison to loving obedience to the will of God.
Matthew 22 ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
Just like a wife who drifts further and further away from her husband, many people are going to do the same thing by completely forgetting about God. The consequences for that type of behavior will be severe.
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalms 9:17
“Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” Psalms 50:22
Some people will rebel against their own creator and Redeemer.
“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” Isaiah 1:4
The warmth that once filled their hearts will grow cold and become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Matthew 24 ¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Like an unfaithful wife, some people are going to distance themselves from their relationship with God. Rather than serving Him with loving obedience, they will cater to their own desires instead.
1 John 2 ¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
David warned Solomon not to turn away from God, otherwise God would forsake Him.
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9
People would travel for miles just to find out where Jesus was at. In order to find the Lord, you need to diligently seek the Lord.
“I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” Proverbs 8:17
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
“But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
In order to maintain a loving and seeking heart towards God, it requires humility before Him.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
James 4 ⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We must always keep close to God and abide faithfully by His side, just like a loyal wife, who continues to sit right next to her husband, up in…..
……The Front Seat
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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