“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.“ Psalms 63:1-3
This forms part of a series looking at us men and how our worship of our God affects all areas of our life. I have chosen to start the series with the focus of our worship – Our Lover.
Who is a lover?
A lover is one who loves another in a romantic relationship. I know this is hard for men to capture due to our masculinity but God is really in a romantic relationship with us. Romantic means characterized by the expression of love and God exhibited this by sending His only begotten son, Jesus Christ to die for us to win our love.
Why is God our Lover?
Because He is love: Yes, the very nature and person of God is love and therefore, He is the lover of those who are His. 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Because He initiated the love relationship: God created man in His own image and intimated with him the garden. When Adam fell, God began work immediately to restore the love relationship and this time, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. I like the way 1 John 4:19 puts it, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
Because we are His creation: God created man and said it was good and then He spent quality time with His creation (Adam). Genesis 5:1 says, “…. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.”
Because He desires a relationship: As we see in the parable of the prodigal son, God is always eager to receive us back into His outstretched arms, throw us a party and intimate with us. John also tells us, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
What does this for us men?
It means we must exhibit all the qualities of a romantic relationship as our response to God’s proactive and constant outpouring of love to us.
Quality Time: The sort of quality time we had with our wives during courting days and in early marriage, is the sort of quality time God desires, as our worship. We intimate with Him by spending quality time in devotion, in regular communication and in confiding in Him on all matters (big and small).
Vulnerability: Most men were vulnerable when we were hot in love, it is not a feminine thing. To worship our Lover, we must be open, real, emotional (yes, includes crying where needed), etc. We must be willing to let go of all controls and ‘enjoy the ride’ with God.
Let us be like David who said in Psalm 18:1, “I love you, O Lord, my strength.”
Commitment: In our worship of our Lover, we must express our commitment by prioritizing Him above all other relationships. We must also commit to His word, His will and His Spirit. Commitment will bring a strong passion and zeal for Him, showing Him and all around us that we are sold out to Him, our greatest lover.
Summary
David was a man after God’s heart because he spent quality time with God, was vulnerable and was sold out to God. No wonder he wrote in Psalms 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”
We pour out our love on Him not only because God is our Lover but also because we are in love with Him.
Join us to pour out your love on this great Lover of ours at our 2017 When Me Worship programme.
The date is Sunday 30th July, 2017 at the Sentinel Centre, 13a Ikorodu Road, opposite the new Maryland BRT Bus stop, Maryland, Lagos.
Register TODAY and share with other men – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/when-men-worship-2017-tickets-35973516757
For more event details, visit the Facebook page: When Men Worship or call 0810 363 4220 or email info@atthemastersfeet.org.