Desirable Desires
Introduction
Psalm 27:4; Psalm 73:24
Paul the apostle dealt with the same “tug of war” from his desires that we deal with from ours. Speaking of the bodily appetites, Paul said, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9: 27). Paul indicated that he felt the constant pull of the desires of the flesh upon him.
However, desires can be either good or bad. While there are certainly desires that we should shun, there are also those that we should seek. In Psalm 27: 4, David spoke of his desire to worship in God’s house, and to enjoy the sweetness and grace of God’s presence there as long as he lived. Those are certainly desires that any Christian should seek. David was sought after fellowship with God. What better desire could a child of God have than that?
In Psalm 73: 24, Asaph had a great desire for God’s leadership in his life. He could think of nothing better than going to heaven at the end of his life knowing that God had led him all the way. This too should be one of our desires as Christians.
The point is folks; we need to cultivate godly desires. There are many godly desires that could be mentioned today, but I simply don’t have time to deal with them all. I’ll mention only three that I believe to be very important.
I. Reach The Lost With Redemption
A. The Lost Were The One Great Mission Of Our Lord
Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 12:46, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”
Christ was willing to give His all for a lost world.
It is said that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, “What will you give me if I release you?”
“The half of my wealth,” was his reply. “And if I release your children?” “Everything I possess.”
“And if I release your wife?” “Your Majesty, I will give myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all.
As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man!” With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on you—the one who was willing to give himself for me.”
Source Unknown
B. The Lost Have Everything To Lose
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, [8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: [9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”
Why would anyone remain lost, when they have so much to lose? Some are lost because they rebel against God and His love. Others remain lost because they look for salvation in all the wrong places.
Henry L. Miller once said, “Objects are lost because people look where they are not instead of where they are.” Salvation is found only in Christ, by faith". There is no other way.
C. The Lost Are The Objects Of God’s Great Love
John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
D. The Lost Being Saved Should Be One Of Our Passions Of Life
Romans 9:1-3, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, [2] That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. [3] For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
Romans 10:1, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
II. Realize The Reality Of Revival
A. The Church As A Whole Is Woefully Unconcerned
Revelation 3:14-17, “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; [15] I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. [16] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. [17] Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
Take a good look at the general unconcern of most Christians of our day. The attitude of the Church today seems to be much like that of Laodicea. It won’t take you long to realize how badly we need revival. James Packer has said:
Revival is the visitation of God, which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God’s near presence and holiness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart in repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow.
“Your Father Loves You” by James Packer, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, page for May 30.
B. The Church As A Whole Is Willfully Unrepentant
Psalm 81:11-12, “But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. [12] So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.”
Matthew 15:7-8, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, [8] This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."
Leonard Ravenhill once said:
We do well to ponder the fact that revival comes as a result of a cleansed section of the Church, bent and bowed in supplication and intercession. It views an age shackled with false religion and sickened at the sight of perishing millions; then they wait—perhaps days, weeks, and even months until the Spirit moves upon them, and heaven opens in revival blessing.
The enemy of multiplication is stagnation. When believers lacking births become burdened, and when soul-sterility sickens us, then we will pulsate with holy fear, and pray with holy fervor, and produce with holy fertility. At God’s counter there are no “sale days,” for the price of revival is ever the same—travail.
Leonard Ravenhill, “Why Revival Tarries,” published by Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, Minnesota; pgs. 137-138.
C. God’s Challenge For Revival Remains Unchanged
Chronicles .7:14, “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.”
III. Reside In Our Heavenly Residence
One would think that Christians would live in constant expectation of Heaven. But the fact is, often we are too wrapped up in our present existence to give it much thought.
A. Heart Set On Heaven
In his classic devotional book titled “The Saint’s Everlasting Rest,” English Puritan pastor and author Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote:
“Why are not our hearts continually set on heaven? Why dwell we not there in constant contemplation? …Bend thy soul to study eternity, busy thyself about the life to come, habituate thyself to such contemplations, and let not those thoughts be seldom and cursory, but bathe thyself in heaven’s delights.” “Our Daily Bread,” July 28, 199
B. Heaven Will Be The Saint’s Eternal Home
1 Thessalonians.4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
For the child of God, Heaven is not some fairy tale. It is our ultimate reward and destiny.
We know very little about heaven, but I once heard a theologian describe it as “an unknown region with a well-know inhabitant,” and there is not a better way to think of it than that.
Richard Baxter expresses the thought in these lines: My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim,
But it's enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with him.
To those who have learned to love and trust Jesus, the prospect of meeting him face to face and being with him forever is the hope that keeps us going, no matter what life may throw at us. James Packer, “Your Father Loves You,”
Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.
C. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Health
Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house (body) of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Oh the preciousness of the thought that in Heaven there will be no more sickness, no more death, and no more separation.
In my first film series, “Focus on the Family,” I shared a story about a 5-year-old African-American boy who will never be forgotten by those who knew him. A nurse, with whom I worked, Gracie Schaeffler, took care of this lad during the latter days of his life. He was dying of lung cancer, which is a terrifying disease in its final stages. The lungs fill with fluid, and the patient is unable to breathe. It is terribly claustrophobic, especially for a small child.
This little boy had a Christian mother who loved him and stayed by his side through the long ordeal. She cradled him on her lap and talked softly about the Lord. Instinctively, the woman was preparing her son for the final hours to come. Gracie told me that she entered his room one day as death approached, and she heard this lad talking about hearing bells. “The bells are ringing, Mommie,” he said. “I can hear them."
Gracie thought he was hallucinating because he was already slipping away. She left and returned a few minutes later and again heard him talking about hearing bells ringing. The nurse said to his mother, “I’m sure you know your baby is hearing things that aren’t there. He is hallucinating because of the sickness.”
The mother pulled her son closer to her chest, smiled and said, “No, Miss Schaeffler. He is not hallucinating. I told him when he was frightened—when he couldn’t breathe—if he would listen carefully, he could hear the bells of heaven ringing for him. That is what he’s been talking about all day.”
That precious child died on his mother’s lap later that evening, and he was still talking about the bells of heaven when the angels came to take him. What a brave little trooper he was!
“Focus on the Family,” September 1993, p. 3.
D. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Happiness
Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
The joys of Heaven defy the imagination.
A widely respected man known as “Uncle Johnson” died in Michigan at the incredible age of 120. Perhaps his advanced years could be credited in part to the cheerful outlook that characterized his life.
One day while at work in his garden, he was singing songs of praise to God. His pastor, who was passing by, looked over the fence and called, “Uncle Johnson, you seem very happy today.”
“Yes, I was just thinking,” said the old man. “Thinking about what?” questioned his pastor. “Oh, I was just thinking that if the crumbs of joy that fall from the Master’s table in this world are so good, what will the great loaf in glory be like! I tell you, sir, there will be enough for everyone and some to spare up there.”
Source Unknown.
E. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Holiness
Revelation 21:27, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”