Canaan Fellowship

The Lord’s Delight: We Are the Fruit of His Labor

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Canaan Fellowship
Canaan Fellowship
The Lord’s Delight: We Are the Fruit of His Labor
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Bruce Hempel shares two personal testimonies centered on understanding and experiencing God’s love. He reflects on how God’s love is not based on our performance but on our identity as His children, and how we, in turn, bring delight to God as the fruit of His labor and as His bride.

  • [00:00:25] The first half of 1 John 4:16, “So we know and believe the love God has for us,” was a powerful confirmation of God’s personal love for him, received on a retreat.
  • [00:01:55] Bruce reflects that understanding God’s unconditional love—that we are loved because we are His children, not because our behavior is right—is a truth that takes time to dawn on us.
  • [00:03:31] He shares an analogy of planting fruit trees as an act of faith in the future, seeing the discounted trees as a specific mark of God’s love and blessing for him.
  • [00:04:52] Bruce recounts a story of finding sports jackets on a “buy one, get two free” sale, feeling the Lord say, “I was glad to do that for you,” which became a lasting reminder of God’s love.
  • [00:07:12] The main point of the second testimony is that God delights in us and we bring joy to the Lord, even in our imperfection, much like parents delight in their children.
  • [00:07:49] He emphasizes that delighting in someone, whether a child or a prisoner, is a powerful way to help and encourage them.
  • [00:08:45] Using a gardening analogy, Bruce explains that as a gardener delights in a perfect tomato or a large pepper, so Jesus delights in us as the fruit of His labors.
  • [00:10:00] We are called the bride of Christ, and a groom delights in his bride; therefore, we are the Lord’s delight.
  • [00:10:18] He references Jeremiah 2:2, where God remembers the devotion of Israel’s youth and their love as a bride, showing how their early love touched the Lord’s heart.
  • [00:11:21] Bruce concludes that the struggle we have to do God’s will is evidence we belong to Him, and while the devil brings condemnation, the Lord brings only encouragement and correction.

Scripture References

  • 1 John 4:16
  • Jeremiah 2:2

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