To Love God Is to Trust Him
The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting God and letting Him be God in our lives, rather than trying to do things for Him.
David Wilkerson emphasizes that to truly love God is to trust Him and allow His presence to work through us. He explains that love for God is not merely about our actions like worship or holiness, but about letting God be God in our lives. Many believers struggle with understanding how to love God, often viewing it as a one-sided effort, but Wilkerson encourages us to recognize that God desires to love us and empower us. By embracing God's promises and drawing on His strength, we can experience a victorious life free from burdens and despair. Ultimately, love for God is about entering into a relationship where we rely on His power and grace.
Text
"One of [the Pharisees], a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:35-40).
Jesus was telling him, "All I will ever ask of you stems from the doing of these two things." If absolute love for God is so important, he must show us how to love him. Many true believers have cried, "I really don't know how to love him."
Too often we think our love for God is something we do for him, such as praising or worshiping or going into the secret closet to talk to him. Or we think that loving him means being holy, kind, witnessing to the unsaved. But, no, loving God is letting him be God in us and through us -- it is something he does for us. We shy away from this concept as if it were selfish, but it is not. We love him most and best when we permit him to flow through us, doing and being all he says he is.
Christians cry out to him, fasting and praying with big tears. "Lord, I love you! I love you!" But love does not merely address God as some isolated, untouchable Being in need of nothing but praise. God needs to love us! He needs his children to draw on his power and use his resources.
Lay hold of the precious promises of God and put them to work in your everyday life. It is not love to ignore all he has promised to be and do through you. It is not love to go through life harried, lonely, depressed, carrying your own burdens. So enter into God's life of victorious, overcoming rest. Jesus has already defeated the devil at the cross!
Sermon Outline
- I. The Great Commandment
- A. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
- B. Love your neighbor as yourself
- II. What it means to love God
- A. Letting Him be God in us and through us
- B. Permitting Him to flow through us
- III. The Importance of Trusting God
- A. God needs to love us
- B. We need to draw on His power and use His resources
Key Quotes
“Loving God is letting him be God in us and through us -- it is something he does for us.” — David Wilkerson
“God needs to love us! He needs his children to draw on his power and use his resources.” — David Wilkerson
“Jesus has already defeated the devil at the cross!” — David Wilkerson
Application Points
- Lay hold of God's precious promises and put them to work in your everyday life.
- Permit God to flow through you and use His resources to overcome challenges.
- Enter into God's life of victorious, overcoming rest by trusting in His power and provision.