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The Passion & Desire To See God

Darin Weiss November, 6 2019 Video & Audio
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DW
Darin Weiss November, 6 2019
It's extremely prevalent in our culture, in our society, to have spiritual blindness.

We have many passions and desires in life, and sometimes those passions and desires steal our attention away from our relationship with God. Our priorities are often misdirected.

We fear bringing God up in conversation for how people may react. We don't necessarily allocate time to discuss with others, what it's like to see God, what it's like to follow Him, to experience Him in our lives.

The pursuit of God starts with community, with fellowship. God never intended for us to be alone in our relationship with Him. God called together a people to worship Him, to be with Him, to be a new humanity; to make a difference, an impact; and to bring His Kingdom into the world.

This past Wednesday, guest pastor, Darin Weiss, dove into the topic of faith, and what it's all about!

In this highlight, he talks about the need to develop a passion and desire for God, and how we can combat the spiritual blindness of today's society.

Here's another highlight from our Wednesday service!

The sermon by Darin Weiss addresses the theological topic of spiritual sight and the human desire to see God. Weiss argues that many individuals suffer from spiritual blindness, either because they have never encountered God or they fail to recognize His presence actively at work in their lives. He emphasizes that a genuine desire to see God requires an earnest passion that often competes with other worldly desires, such as financial security or social status. Key scripture references implied in the sermon resonate with the themes of spiritual awakening and community in Christ, although specific passages are not mentioned explicitly. The practical significance lies in the call for believers to foster their desire for God and pursue Him within a communal context, highlighting that personal faith should not be isolated but engaged within the body of Christ, which reflects the Reformed emphasis on the communal nature of salvation and worship.

Key Quotes

“If any single one of us actually expect to experience God, to truly see God, then there's going to be a passion and a desire to actually see God.”

“Do I have the same passion to see God as I do to have my bank account full?”

“God never intended for us to be alone in our relationship with Him.”

“It's something that happens with other people. God always intended for us to pursue Him together.”

What does the Bible say about spiritual blindness?

The Bible discusses spiritual blindness as a condition preventing individuals from seeing God's truth and glory.

Spiritual blindness is addressed throughout Scripture, illustrating a state of being unresponsive to God's revelation. In passages like Matthew 13:14-15, Jesus highlights how people's hearts can be hardened, leading them to miss the significance of His teachings. Likewise, 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks of the god of this age blinding the minds of unbelievers, making it crucial for Christians to pray for spiritual sight, both for themselves and others. Recognizing spiritual blindness encourages believers to seek a deeper relationship with God and to engage others in discussions about His truth.

Matthew 13:14-15, 2 Corinthians 4:4

How do we know God is working in our lives?

We know God is working in our lives through a passion and desire to seek Him and experience His presence.

The evidence of God's work in an individual's life often manifests through a growing passion and desire to encounter Him. As believers engage with Scripture, prayer, and community, they begin to see the transformative effects of God's presence. Ephesians 3:20 promises that God can do immeasurably more than we ask or think, highlighting His active role in the lives of those who earnestly seek Him. This desire to see God at work becomes a driving force in one's life, influencing priorities and actions, and ultimately leading to a richer understanding of His character.

Ephesians 3:20

Why is community important in pursuing God?

Community is vital in pursuing God because it reflects God's intention for mutual encouragement and worship among His people.

The pursuit of God is inherently communal, as Scripture reveals that God has called together a people to worship and reflect His kingdom. In Hebrews 10:24-25, believers are encouraged to stir one another up to love and good works, emphasizing the necessity of gathering together. Community provides accountability, shared experiences, and collective worship, which are essential for spiritual growth. Additionally, being part of a community helps individuals see diverse perspectives on God's nature and work, fostering a richer understanding of who He is and encouraging believers to stay focused on their spiritual goals.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Sermon Transcript

Auto-generated transcript • May contain errors

100%
While it's not as prevalent nowadays
for us to maybe be walking down the street or throughout the
town and see too many people who are actually perhaps begging
and things of that nature that are physically blind, it is extremely
prevalent in our culture and our society to have spiritual
blindness. Tonight, we could come in here
and there are people that maybe you're spiritually blind. Maybe
you've never seen God. You don't even know what that
even, you don't have a clue as to what I even mean when I say
that. Or maybe you're here and you're like, man, I do know what
it's like to see spiritually, but you really can't see even
the hand in front of your face, so to speak, spiritually, what
God is capable of doing in your life. and the power that he has
to work in you and through you in a way that is beyond what
any of us even ask or the Apostle Paul says even think. If any
single one of us actually expect to experience God, to truly see
God, then there's going to be a passion and a desire. to actually
see God, to actually see Him work in our lives. And that's
challenging because I think if you were to look at any single
one of our lives, we took a real good inventory of our own lives,
we have a whole bunch of passion and desire. The question is,
what's that passion and desire for? Right? Like, do I have the
same passion to see God as I do to have my bank account full?
Do I have the same passion to see God as I do to maybe see
a new relationship in my life? Right? I mean, you can talk to
people about a whole different array of things, and man, they're
immediately into this conversation, we're gonna talk about, bring
up politics, man, shoot. Right? You're gonna get into
this deep discussion about this and that and the other thing,
you can bring up a whole bunch of sports, so on and so forth, but
you bring up God. And what happens to the conversation?
Do you have the same passion and desire? Yeah, let's talk
about how to see God. What is it like to follow God?
What is it like to experience God in my life? And so if we
actually want spiritual sight, it's going to come along with
a passion and desire for that to happen. I think any time we're
actually pursuing God, it happens in community. God never intended
for us to be alone in our relationship with Him. I know that we talk
about, well, I have a personal relationship with Him. I get
it. But really, God called together a people to worship Him, to be
with Him, to be a new humanity, actually, to make difference
and impact, to bring His kingdom into the world. And that's not
just something that's just for me. In fact, it's not even a
pursuit that happens alone. It's something that happens with
other people. God always intended for us to
pursue Him together.

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