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Sleepless Nights Can
Open Our Ears To God
It was one of those sleepless nights. Having gone to bed at my regular time I wake up at 12:15 AM. After tossing and turning, fighting to go back to sleep for over an hour, I gave up and got up. My mind was in turmoil. Groping for my Bible I decided to read for a while, confident the devil would let me go back to sleep. But God had something else in mind.
Opening the Scriptures I began to read. To be honest I was so tired, and frustrated over my inability to go back to sleep, I thought that I was reading from Psalms. As I neared the end of the chapter I discovered I was actually in Isaiah 65. The Scripture almost leaped off the page. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food” (v 24-25).
Noting the cross reference I turned to Psalm 91. “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and let him behold My salvation” (v 14-16).
Suddenly all the frustration was gone. His presence was profound. I softly cried out to the Lord saying, “What is it that You want from us?” What I sensed was God saying;
“I want a pure heart.”
“I want you to have passion.”
“I want you to be a people of compassion.”
God wants a people with a pure heart
To have a pure heart we must get rid of the clutter. It is amazing how our lives accumulate junk. The pressures and responsibilities of life can pollute our hearts and minds. Consumed with endless activities results in us not having time, or knowing how to sit quietly and wait on God. No wonder He has to wake us up in the middle of the night.
As a pastor you can see it on the faces of people. Their body is in the service Sunday morning, but their mind is a million miles away. They are thinking about last night, where they are going for dinner, about the ball game, and what needs to be done next week. No wonder we have a hard time hearing God.
A pure heart is one that is free from “secret sin.” I have a screen saver for our computer with inspirational pictures and quotes. I love the one that says, “Character is who you are when no one but God is watching.”
We can hide nothing from God. And according to Jesus (Matt. 5:8) we have to have a pure heart if we want to see God. In other words, you can’t pretend to be holy on Sunday and go back to living in sin on Monday. And you can’t live in sin on Monday without it affecting your worship on Sunday.
God wants a people of passion
The opposite of love is not hate; it is apathy. One dictionary defines apathy as indifference, the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. I can think of a number of people the definition fits pretty well. God spoke judgment on the Church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:15-16) because of their apathy. The problem was not one of in-activity. They were doing a lot. God said, I know your deeds ..... the problem is you!
We need a passion for Jesus. It is not to be based on what He can do for us, but a passion that desires to know Him for who He is. We need a passion for His Word. He is the living Word that sets us free (John 8:31-32). His Word releases His light and life in our lives. We need a passion for the Kingdom of God. That means for worship and for seeing the purposes of God come to pass.
Our worship must be passionate, not passive. Worship is expressing love to God. Therefore the ultimate rejection is not disobedience or the failure to express our love for God, but offering worship in an apathetic manner.
Jesus put it this way, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8). God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.” No wonder they were often described as a “stiff necked”
people. The question each of us must answer today is, “Are we a people consumed with a passionate zeal for God and the purposes of His Kingdom?”
God wants a people of compassion
God by His very nature is compassionate (Jonah 4:2). We need compassion for people not a critical, judgmental spirit. We are not to be spiritual cynics.
I liked what Dennis Peacocke wrote (The Bottom Line, March 1997), “Cynics can’t respond emotionally anymore and have no faith in anything but their own witty critiques of life and people.” The cynic has lost the compassion of the Father. That must never describe us as believers.
We need to walk in love and compassion with one another. We need
compassion for our enemies and a burden for the lost. Luke 6:35 commands us to
“love our enemies” because God Himself “is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” Colossians 3:12,
calls every believer to “put on a heart of compassion.” Finally, we need to be people
of mercy, who walk in the mercy of God expressing His compassion and kindness (Titus
3:4-5). When we extend “lovingkindness and mercy” to people, both inside as well as
outside the Eden Worship Center
Last updated 1/20/03gc
P.O. Box 518
Topeka, IN 46571