"Pure Worship + Typology (Pt. 3)"
TEXT: 2 Cor. 11:2; Jeremiah 3-5, 23; Mal. 2:7
TRUTHS:
1. The Bible often compares important truths to shocking or easily understood actions (so that we don’t overlook the important truth that is being addressed). An example of this can be found when the prophet Jeremiah mentions that God’s people were involving themselves in “orgies on mountains.” Such a phrase should grab our attention and pique our curiosity. So, what is God teaching His children in Jeremiah 3? God’s people were “mixing” the worship of God with other belief systems and ideologies. They were seeking the benefits that pagan ideologies promised to deliver, while simultaneously assuming and claiming they were pure-hearted worshipers of Jehovah God. Mixing the worship of God with other belief systems is something that we must absolutely and completely refrain from doing.
2. We have been called to love God for who He is (His character and nature). But this can prove to be difficult given the sinful desires associated with our humanity. The motivation fueling our worship can become corrupted, selfish, and idolatrous. Meaning, instead of serving Christ because of who He is, we are motivated to obey Jesus because we wrongly believe that by doing so, we will be given the comfortable and exact life our flesh desires.
3. In the context of a relationship with our Heavenly Father, what does it mean to be a “stupid kid?” We act foolishly as God’s children when we neglect to pray and ask the Lord to transform our inward motivations and general attitudes. Why would a failure to pray illicit such a strong rebuke from our Heavenly Father? He understands the limitations of our humanity. And He is keenly aware that it is impossible for us to wholly transform our internal motivations through human power, determination, and ingenuity. Our inner attitudes and motivations must be earnestly and consistently prayed about. God lines up the hearts of His children with His Word if we seek and ask Him to.
4. Every child of God should earnestly desire to accomplish and participate in the will of God. If we focus our prayers and actions on accomplishing the will of God, our Heavenly Father will take care of the rest. And the will of God is that every child of His would experience His presence and hear His voice. And remember, there are ideologies, actions, and attitudes that we cannot mix with if we desire to hear our Good Shepherd. This issue requires intentional and careful thought. The sinful nature of humanity ‘bends’ our hearts and minds towards receiving and affirming deceptive truth claims.
5. The biblical phrase “eat up your sons and daughters” was mentioned this past Lord’s Day. Such a statement should cause us to ponder what the Lord is seeking to warn us about. It should also help the following motivation form in our hearts and souls: there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that is claiming and deceiving my offspring. Our goal and focus as the people of God, as Christian family units, as a local church, should be the passing on of our faith to the generations below us. And the Lord warns His people that there are ideologies and motivations that you cannot mix with if you desire your offspring and the coming generations to joyfully commit themselves to Christ and His Kingdom.
6. Believers have been called to live a life of contentment. The Lord expects us to be content in and throughout all seasons of life (whether they are comfortable or difficult). We can have this assurance: the Lord will complete the work that He has started in and through us.
TALK TO EACH OTHER:
1. Considering our modern context, identify some common heretical teachings that the Church of Jesus Christ (especially Charismatics) are being consistently tempted to mix with. Additionally, can you spot any commonalities between the various teachings you came up with?
2. How can a believer discern if they have a healthy motivation in pursuing the Kingdom of God? How does one logically determine if they are seeking Christ for who He is or for what He can give them?
3. In what ways does our sinful humanity "bend" us towards being deceived? How does the human proclivity to be deceived show up in our hearts, minds, motivations, and lives?
4. Do you have a personal testimony concerning how the Lord transformed your heart to line up with His Word (Truth 5)? Looking back, what stands out to you about the season of life in which this work of the Spirit occurred?
5. Define what biblical contentment looks like? What truths are important to remind ourselves of as we seek to be content before the Lord?
TALK TO GOD:
Pray into the following areas:
Pure hearts and pure worship
To experience the blessing of being 'content in the Lord'
To be rightly motivated as we seek the Kingdom of God
Repentance about the mixing of true worship with false ideologies and false truth claims