To Know Jesus is to Love Him, Part 2

Wise words to help you identify obstacles to loving Jesus deeply and intimately from Dr. Michael you send first. It's an inability to accept correction and secondly it is the unwillingness to train and growing crimes. And thirdly, it is using the journey for some time to go welcome to leaving the right with Dr. Michael you sent to Michael and his subtitles, and obstacles in your love for Christ. This message is part of a series called to know Jesus is to love him to listen with me now to Dr. Michael you sent the boy was leaving his little sister when I mountain truck when they reached her Steve Hill. The climbers become difficult and hard because of the rocks along the way. The little girl become exhausted and from climbing in and from an exasperated release rocks and so she yelled at her brother.

This is not a good path at all.

It is rocky and bumpy.

Her brother said sure, but these are the rocks and the bumps that you step on to climb higher. If you are growing in intimacy with Jesus. If you're growing in your love for Jesus, you will encounter obstacles and difficulties along the way that your mind but you will you will face barriers and derailments along the way, you will you will meet distractions and sidetracks all the time.

But the question is this. Do these obstacles detracted from our love for Jesus and growing in intimacy with him, or do we see them as stepping stones for climbing higher and growing deeper with Christ most often when we see these rocks and bumps along the way we let them cool our love for Jesus. We allow them to freeze the level of our intimacy with Jesus now these distractions a different everyone of us.

What distracts me does not distract you and vice versa. Everyone of us have different kinds of distractions but you know them and I know them.

The problem is that when these distractions come we become used to them in our life. They become part of life. Sometimes not all cases but sometimes blessings prosperity, success can be one of these diversions for intimacy with Jesus, but most often they are the illnesses that the difficulties are the problems in the unanswered prayers. Why, because we have too many competing diversions in our love for Jesus.

There are too many things that are competing for our passion. There are too many things that beckoning our attention from focusing enough love for Jesus, but thank God is answering the word of God. The Bible repeatedly again and again these are the answers for you to remember where you have fallen and go back there for repentance and for confession and then get back on the road of loving Jesus.

There are basically three obstacles to loving Jesus deeply and intimately. First, it's an inability to accept correction and secondly it is the unwillingness to change and grow in Christ. And thirdly, it is a temptation of confusing the journey for the destination. Let's unpack them together first. What is that inability to accept correction, solve your problems.

I will, Michael.

What has this got to do with my growing love for Jesus. My inability to accept somebody's correction or correcting me. What's this got to do with it. There are very few people who see themselves as they really are.

Did you know that we all like to think of ourselves as smarter than other people more knowledgeable than other people more discerning than other people or even better looking than other people read my lips. It's a fantasy if you will all like to imagine ourselves the way we want to be led the way we are. I will have that self pride and that wrecks havoc with our lives.

Few of us have the discernment to recognize our own prideful nature and so when a good and godly wise person come along the way to point to some of the blind spots in our lives, how we react how to react because you see our reaction to that is there an indication of the level of your love for Jesus how to react to that reaction is very important.

Why because we cannot love Jesus intimately and deeply in isolation. In fact, there are three epistles of John. There were dedicated in teaching us that the love Jesus is to love his people that our indication of our love for Jesus is the way we express love to others, and that's why our willingness to accept correction from a loving Christian brother or sister is one of the greatest indication that we are growing in our love for Jesus validly come clean with you. I do not cherish correction anymore than you do must do our natural reaction is. She never likes me anyway she doesn't know what I'm going through. Who does he think he is. This is a huge obstacle to intimately loving Jesus, since already concluding Mars will continue okay.

I'm aware of the fact that you are to the professional critics in life you don't talk about these people consume with the critical spirit I they just love to criticize everything everyone all the best, not what I'm talking these people like the Pharisees and the time of Jesus. They can sizing on every turn and he heals what he did in the seventh.

That's what he did in the wrong way they were criticizing one every two no matter what he does is criticized like that art critic who was renowned for all seasons lingered in a painting in one day of looking at this frame connection with the artist and he looked at it and he looked at it and then he said to the artist. He said this is one of your most stupid and silly abstract paintings. The artist looked at him six or this is America like someone said don't be hard criticizing your wife's judgment. Look who she married. There are some people who really end up discerning to criticize themselves.

They listen and they repeat what other people say we just repeatedly don't know why but because of a guest preacher was in the church preaching a sermon and then at the end he was standing there with the pastor the end of the church is to have enough particular tradition and this man walked up and he says to the guest preacher said this is the worst woman I've ever heard in the battle shaken up the books of the pastor said this man over there. He told me the source sermon is ever heard. He settled on taken notice of him. He just repeats what everybody else said. I'm not talk about these folks I am talking about real genuine, honest, loving, affirming correction. Why is that so important.

Why is that so important that we have such people in our lives. Why is it so important.

Listen to me because that kind of correction drives us to self-examination and self-examination always always always going to lead you into deep and intimate love for Jesus. Amen those real, genuine, honest, I keep repeating this.

I hope you getting it loving corrections. There were build us up in our love for Jesus. Did you know that the cross is both a correction and affirming for every one of us who believe in the Lord Jesus did you know that it's both. It is affirming us but is also correcting us when the Lord Jesus Christ stretched his arms on the tree.

He was saying I love you I love you enough to hang beer to pay the wages of your sin. On the other hand, it's a correction for all of us forbear here saying it is your sin double hung will not cross. It is your rebellious spirit that is your stubbornness behind me on this cross and so the cross affirms and corrects all of the same time. Sometimes those loving, caring, wise, genuine folks when they do corrector sometimes they break us down, but the only doing that so that we can maybe build up they really do.

You might feel that they're wounding here but is only to heal you, just like a surgeon when he threw up its order to remove the cancerous tumor on loving criticism can destroy people, but loving, caring, correction builds people up and so the inability to accept godly correction can hamper and stomp your growing love for Jesus. Secondly, to love the Lord Jesus with all your heart more intimately. You have to be willing to grow and change. Here is the word that some of you don't like change. I know that not all changes good all the time and that all changes battle, but the Christian life is like a seed that is planted on the inside of us and of that seed is planted. Imagine that happens in real life in the land. Somebody puts the scene but then months later the plant is only few inches long, never ripen into the harvest you sell something wrong, something she talked to the growth and in the Christian life. It works the same way to grow in your love for Jesus to grow in Jesus to grow in Christ likeness.

You must let go of the past. Don't how long the past. It will pull you back every time. I know there are some people who did this change. I know there are some people who are afraid of change. I know there are some people who want to cling to the past but listen to me. Our middle name. As believers ought to be change our middle name ought to be growth for that is the nature of sanctification is a big word theologians used, but sanctification is just all means growing into Christ likeness receipt growth is our middle name growing in Christ every day in the Christian life.

There's no such thing as standing still really going up or falling back into you grow up or you fall back is no such thing as standing still, there's no such thing. I pray to God that the Holy Spirit will process on your heart to my heart at this very moment. For some reason you stop growing in the love for Jesus, not reason, only known to you, can only be known to you in other some people who did their spiritual heals and then they dig them and then start singing. I shall not be moved. I'm challenging you today on Challenger is a challenge myself every time to ask yourself the question have ICs to grow in my love for Christ. Beloved, I have not only seen individual Christians who refuse to change refuse to grow their own spiritual detriments, but I have seen congregations who refuse to grow refused to change and water tragedy that is who they love than the ritual don't change it below the little tradition the little creek.

Love the little chieftain Dr. keep on singing. We shall not be moved as tragic.

Not long ago I read before Columbus discovered America.

Spain was known as end of the world only he knew this amount.

In fact, Paul says that when he was writing to the Romans and he thought, you know why go to Spain. That's it. I literally cover girl gone to the end of the world believe the sea end of the world and on their coins. They had this printed net plus altar means nothing more beyond and then Columbus discovered America so the change that model on the coinage and and it says plus altar more beyond more beyond my beloved please listen to what I'm going to tell you because in your loving Jesus more intimately every day you have to realize that whatever height you have attained is more whatever level you have reached there is more whatever debts that you have plummeted will have experiences more whatever links that you have gone to that is a whole lot more as a whole is more the day you stop changing the day you stop growing as a day of immense spiritual danger. In fact, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians as much God use somebody for something in your life as it is a model of drug use somebody to plant the seed of faith the seed of the gospel in our lives than God use some other people who came in fertilize them and help the seed to grow but only God is the one who gives her growth and increase in that only come from intimacy and growing intimacy with Jesus. The inability to accept correction will hamper your growth in loving Jesus your unwillingness to change and grow, will hamper your intimate love for Jesus.

But then the third obstacles to loving Jesus more intimately every day is confusing the journey for the destination. What many Christians forget that when Jesus saved you. He did not just save you for the here and now he 70 fraternity and in other words, Jesus came down to our world to thank us out of our I know many of us have our feet squarely dog into this world.

Many of us have their feet cemented into this world. I know that we are prone to swim in this world's water.

We are prone to heat of this world's food. We are prone to drink of this world's wine and I know that but beloved. This is one of the great hindrances to loving Christ. Every day they participate in more intimately.

What exactly. Listen carefully you either see yourself as a citizen of this world with a passing interest in heaven. All you see yourself as truly passing through this strange land and all my Lord is becoming stranger and stranger every day on your way to your final destination. You either see yourself as a traveler or a settler you either see yourself as a renter or a landlord.

That's the temptation of confusing the journey for the destination and we have these temptations forever beckoning us. But listen to me. It does not mean that you put on white robes had for the mountains and wait for the spaceship. No no no no no no this in loving Jesus intimately means that you are keeping your eyes and your destination but serving them here while you're waiting with all of your heart, with all of your life and with all of your mind. That's what it means is absolute truth. When I wake up every morning and I gaze into heaven as the Lord is a today it is to get you going to call me home. I have my bags packed and ready to go and I don't mean physical bags.

I will need those but I keep short accounts with the Lord. I keep short accounts with others. I keep short accounts on packed and ready to go whenever he calls me, but if you going to spend one more day. Lord I want to give you my all I want to serve you with all my heart. I want to love you with all my strength. I want to love others and serve them.

What is it mean to love Jesus deeply and intimately while you're living in this world.

Listen carefully. It means loving what Jesus loves loving what Jesus loves in this world.

What Jesus love in this world. Gold and silver that he scattered around the earth when he made all the wet lemon Jesus love those whom he redeemed in this world. Jesus loves those whom he reconciled with his father in this world. Jesus loves his lost sheep that are yet to be found in this world. He loves to lift his people up out of the mud of this work is what Jesus loves us what it means for you to love what Jesus loves.

I know there are some Christians and some believers in the different stages in their Christian walk who really want Jesus to love what they love. They want Jesus to love what they love. That is why the apostle Paul told the Romans do not conform but be what transformed you ask Jesus to love what you love, but you love what Jesus loves replete with you. Do not confuse the journey for the destination and end up in regret, beloved friends. Don't wait for crisis for you to realize that your love for Jesus is going. Don't wait until it's too late to realize lukewarmness is not what Jesus seeks Satan today.

Lord help me to accept correction.

Lord help me to accept pros and development and change in my life, Lord, help me not to confuse the journey for the destination. I promise you on the authority of the word of God, he will answer them. The prayer of the entire team leading the way is that your life is transformed through listening. Learn more about leading the way with Dr. Michael you set when you visit LTW.org you can also call us speak with the ministry representative, 866-626-4356 866-626-4356. Learn the key to spiritual endurance overcome spiritual burnout and train up the next generation to stand firm on biblical truth, Dr. Yusuf's new book, never give up his life in prison. The apostle Paul urged his young disciple Timothy never give up on prayer. Never give up on biblical truth. Never give up the once for all entrusted to the saints in his brand-new book, never give up.

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