Canaan Fellowship

Bruce Hempel - Godliness and Living a God-Oriented Life

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Bruce Hempel: Godliness and Living a God-Oriented Life

Psalm 86:1-7
I used to get concerned with my sins and failures. If David—a man after God’s heart—was concerned with his sin, then I should be even more concerned.

However, godliness is not that we never sin or never fail. The essence of godliness is not sinlessness, rather that we are oriented towards God. He wants our heart to be drawn to him. The more I am drawn to the Lord, the more likely I am not to sin. John Piper says, “When I sin I have been tempted and I give into the temptation. We think that what tempts us is better than what God has.” No one enters the world with a God-oriented reality. God must change us. David was not innately God-oriented, but he changed over time.

God’s blessing does not come through hearing, it comes through doing. If we hear something and do not act on it, we miss the true blessing

V8-13:
The Lord is building a spiritual nation, rather than a physical nation. Glorifying the Lord’s name is the essence of godliness

Psalm 27:4-11;13-14
David had a God-oriented life. God should be the center of our attention. God wants to capture your heart. Spending time with the Lord will encourage this God-centered lifestyle. It is a blessing if we learn to live this way early in life.