The Larger Outlook
God desires for us to have a larger outlook, exchanging small, selfish love and prayers for big, spacious thoughts of His purposes and will.
John Henry Jowett emphasizes the importance of expanding our perspective and thoughts to align with God's grand purposes and will. Using Abraham as an example, he illustrates how God leads us out of our limitations to see the vastness of His plans. Jowett challenges the listeners to examine the breadth of their love and prayers, urging them to move beyond selfish confines to embrace a more extensive, inclusive approach that encompasses the world.
Text
GENESIS xv. 5-18.
"And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven!" The
tent was changed for the sky! Abraham sat moodily in his tent: God brought
him forth beneath the stars. And that is always the line of the Divine
leading. He brings us forth out of our small imprisonments and He sets our
feet in a large place. He desires for us height and breadth of view. For
"as the heavens are high above the earth" so are His thoughts higher than
our thoughts, and His ways than our ways. He wishes us, I say, to exchange
the tent for the sky, and to live and move in great, spacious thoughts of
His purposes and will.
How is it with our love? Is it a thing of the tent or of the sky? Does it
range over mighty spaces seeking benedictions for a multitude? Or does it
dwell in selfish seclusion, imprisoned in merely selfish quest? How is it
with our prayers? How big are they? Will a tent contain them, or do they
move with the scope and greatness of the heavens? Do they just contain our
own families, or is China in them, and India, and "the uttermost parts of
the earth"? "Look now towards the heavens!" Such must be our outlook if we
are the companions of God.
Sermon Outline
- The Divine Leading
- The Contrast Between Tent and Sky
- The Scope of Our Outlook
- Must be as big as the heavens
- Must contain the uttermost parts of the earth
Key Quotes
“He brings us forth out of our small imprisonments and He sets our feet in a large place.” — John Henry Jowett
“He wishes us, I say, to exchange the tent for the sky, and to live and move in great, spacious thoughts of His purposes and will.” — John Henry Jowett
“Look now towards the heavens!” — John Henry Jowett
Application Points
- Pray for the needs of others, not just your own family or friends.
- Seek to understand God's purposes for the world and how you can be a part of them.
- Let go of small, selfish desires and instead seek to live in great, spacious thoughts of God's will.