Sermon No. 12
FIRST AND FOREMOST
By: Atty. Numeriano P. Galgo, Jr.
October 27, 2019
Tagum City, Philippines
attyborgegalgo@gmail.com
Part I.
A. Greetings
B. Overview of the message
The message this morning is about the ultimate object and source of our delight. Where does our joy, satisfaction, comfort and pleasure come from? The world offers a lot of irresistible choices. We are preoccupied with our needs, problems, work and earthly ambitions. Oftentimes, there is no peace and contentment in our lives. No matter how hard we work, something is still missing. Could it be that we delight more in the world and not in God?
Our main verse is found in Psalm 37:4 which says:
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
C. Prayer
Part II. Discussion
This bible verse is one of my favorites. I can still remember my parents telling and helping me to memorize this verse when I was a little child. It must be very important. So, I memorized it by heart. As I grew up, I realized that it is really important. Every time I think and say it, it makes me teary-eyed. It touches the core of my being. Do you have a special Bible verse also?
As I earnestly asked God what message he wanted me to share with you this morning, there were some ideas that came along but this one was dominant. He led me to this verse: Delight yourself in Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. I wondered why because it seems that we all know about this verse already. I need not tell you about this. While I was pondering in my heart the reason why the Lord wanted me to share this with you, the devil doubled up his efforts to distract and confuse me. It happens every time that I would share God’s message. But the Lord is always victorious! The devil failed to bring me down. Can you relate with that?
This verse is true and I can testify to it. God wants to remind us through this verse that he must be FIRST and FOREMOST in our lives not just the center. I could be wrong but I could not find a verse in the Bible instructing us to put God in the center of our lives. The command is to put him first in our lives all the time. Is there a difference between first and center? Yes, “first” is always first wherever you put it but “center” may not be the first thing.
This verse is related to Matthew 6:33 which says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” and the first and greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37 which says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
A. Meaning of “delight yourself in the Lord”
Delight means great pleasure, joy, satisfaction or comfort. When King David said “delight yourself in the Lord” it means that we are going to find our greatest and real pleasure, joy, satisfaction or comfort in the Lord and nothing else. In the Hebrew word, delight means delicate, soft, pliable or sensitive. It indicates a life that is dependent on God.
King David did not say “delight yourself in the world.” The world also offers great pleasure, joy, satisfaction and comfort but only fleeting and not enough. That is why we always want more. Our earthly possessions, power, influence, riches and physical attributes do not last. Oftentimes, they cause us trouble, distractions and restlessness, worry and dislike for the things of the Lord.
To delight in the Lord is a command. It is not a request or suggestion. When King David wrote this command, he was already old. He wrote from experience. Psalm 37, if you read it from the beginning, deals with the question of “Why is it that the wicked people seem to be more prosperous and happy than the Christians?” This feeling or reaction is very common among us. But King David advised us not to worry or be envious of them because they will soon pass away. Instead, he told us of a better way to live based on his experiences, and that is to trust and delight in the Lord. Wicked people and Christians pass away but they go to different destinations. The wicked to hell and true Christians to heaven!
We have experienced delight in our lives. At one time, we have delighted in someone, pet or something. We are excited, right? We love to spend time with that person, pet or thing because we feel joy and pleasure. We give our best to love, care and protect them. We put them first and foremost. We look forward and cherish them in our hearts. They are the first thing on our minds. We experienced sweet moments. When they are taken from us, we get angry, sad and lonely.
Delight in the Lord is a personal experience and journey. It is a personal task. We cannot delegate it to others. It is between us and God. There is uniqueness in how we delight in the Lord. We cannot just copy what others do because they have their own way and we cannot impose our own way upon others. Our pastors or loved ones may teach us some ways on how to delight in the Lord but it is us who finally decide how we could love and put God first place in our lives. No pressure here. Whether it is right and worthy, only God can tell.
Importantly, delight must be “in” and not “for” the Lord. It means that the Lord must be the very reason for our joy, pleasure and contentment and not other things. Sometimes we think that if we are happy with whatever we are doing or having, God is also happy. This is not right because God wants to be the source of our joys and pleasures. Yes, he gives us good health, material things and blessings and we are happy with them. However, we should not worship them because they are not the source. They are just by-products of our true delight in the Lord. The problem with us is that we love more the gifts than the giver. In fact, we have our own version of the verse: “Delight yourself in the desires of your heart that the Lord gave.” That is not right. Our delights must be purely in the Lord. We should not find it outside of the Lord.
Part III. Lessons
A. First, the Lord is both the object of and the reward of our delight in Him. The ultimate source or reason of our greatest pleasure, joy, contentment, dependence, peace and comfort is the Lord. We know that already. What we often forget is the fact that he is also a reward. We always think that the reward refers to material things. We get frustrated that we still do not have the material desires of our hearts no matter how we have delighted in the him. We are envious of other people because we do not have the latest gadget, modern house, brand new car, designer bags or dream vacation that we have been praying and longing for the longest time.
We forget to realize that we already have Jesus in our lives. When we have him, we have everything. He is more than enough. He holds us in the palm of his hands. This is more, more important than material possessions and power. It is funny because the more we delight in the Lord, the more we see that peace, simplicity, joy, good health, family, time with him and contentment are more important. We desire more for such things over the material things in this world. When we reach that point, God gives more and more because he can trust us that no matter how abundantly blessed we are with material things, our love and focus in him will not change.
If these material things are taken away, we would not be bothered because we still have the Lord. No one can take him away. He will not leave us or forsake us (Hebrew 13:5). Job is our best example here. No wonder why some people get depressed and commit suicide when they lost their earthly possessions because they delight in them. God gives and takes away.
B. Second, there is no stated time when to delight in the Lord and receive his rewards. Our verse does not say when we should delight in the Lord. This means that we must do it every time, daily. Through thick and thin; better or worse we must find joy, pleasure, thanksgiving and contentment in the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16:23-25 says, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.” Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
There is also no set time when the Lord will give the desires of our hearts. This is the annoying part. This is a test of patience and purpose. Most of us, we tend to delight in the Lord only when we have a problem or need. After it is answered, we are gone from his sight. Is our delight in the Lord real or fake? Do we really hunger and long for his presence or just the gifts? It takes time so that there is enough room for us to change our hearts’ desires in line with the will of God. Only those desires that are truly coordinated with his will for us will be granted. He will not grant our desires that will not benefit us although they look good.
C. Third, we are products of the people who delighted or who delight in the Lord. Delight in the Lord is contagious. It benefits generations of people. The granting of some of our hearts’ desires may not be experienced during our lifetime. Our children’s children can be the recipients of the rewards. We are saved because our grandparents, parents, loved ones, friends, missionaries and pastors delighted in the Lord and prayed for our salvation. Jesus delighted in the will of the Father and because of that we are saved. We are enjoying his goodness.
Do not be tired or bored in the Lord. When its hard, delight in the Lord; when we are sick, delight in the Lord; when our loved ones leave us, delight in the Lord; when we have nothing, still delight in the Lord! It is easy to delight in him when there is abundance. The real test is when we are undergoing trials in life. We must do it not only for us but also for our children, family and descendants. Today is pastor’s appreciation, let us give them the reward of praises for their delight in the Lord! We thank you for not giving up.
Part IV. Conclusion
Delight in the Lord is FIRST and FOREMOST — number one and top priority. It is the reason for living. Period. Spend time with him even for just one minute everyday. Just one percent each day. At the end of the year, we have spent 365% with him. He will teach us more; he will show us things and bring us to places we have never dreamed of.
It may cost us something when we choose to delight in the Lord but it is worth it. The truth is, God already delights in us. We are his masterpieces. Can we delight in him in return? He is waiting for us.
Do you want joy, peace, contentment and rest? Delight in him and he will give us the right desires of our hearts. His desires will be our desires. Let us pray.
