WEBVTT 00:04.874 --> 00:15.793 [SPEAKER_00]: As we reach the middle of our week-long focus on stirring up our affections for God, today we're going to create space to simply delight in God's love. 00:17.055 --> 00:27.574 [SPEAKER_00]: Oftentimes, focusing on the simple foundational aspects of our relationship with God will produce more fruit than trying to journey beyond them. 00:28.246 --> 00:36.656 [SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that God reveals His love in a tangible and fresh way today for you and me as we open our hearts to meet with Him. 00:37.677 --> 00:57.139 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the first 15 podcast. 01:03.295 --> 01:08.222 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture for today comes from John 17 verse 26. 01:09.183 --> 01:24.004 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says, I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them. 01:28.000 --> 01:33.687 [SPEAKER_00]: John 17 is an incredibly significant passage of Scripture for Christians today. 01:35.129 --> 01:42.799 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus prayed perfectly in accordance with the will of the Father in submission to Him during His time on earth. 01:44.081 --> 01:48.306 [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, everything Jesus prayed, God will accomplish. 01:49.908 --> 01:53.873 [SPEAKER_00]: Part of the beauty of their oneness is shared desires. 01:55.439 --> 01:59.565 [SPEAKER_00]: In John 1726, Jesus praised to the Father. 02:00.546 --> 02:11.782 [SPEAKER_00]: I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me, may be in them, and I, in them. 02:11.802 --> 02:15.227 [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine that. 02:16.348 --> 02:23.438 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus says we can have the same love in us with which God the Father loved Jesus. 02:24.785 --> 02:28.470 [SPEAKER_00]: Think of the magnitude of love the Father has for His Son. 02:28.530 --> 02:34.337 [SPEAKER_00]: And now think about God having that same magnitude of love for you. 02:35.739 --> 02:39.663 [SPEAKER_00]: You are His beloved, His prized possession. 02:40.925 --> 02:50.657 [SPEAKER_00]: Your heavenly Father gave up His own Son to have a personal relationship with you, to be able to pour His vast love out on you. 02:52.831 --> 02:56.915 [SPEAKER_00]: The Bible describes David as a man after God's own heart. 02:58.237 --> 03:06.445 [SPEAKER_00]: He was a man who delighted in God's love and experienced the joy of his presence throughout various seasons of life. 03:08.167 --> 03:16.696 [SPEAKER_00]: In Psalm 16 verses 5 to 11 David wrote, The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. 03:17.557 --> 03:19.159 [SPEAKER_00]: You hold my lot. 03:19.983 --> 03:22.940 [SPEAKER_00]: The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. 03:22.980 --> 03:27.023 [SPEAKER_00]: Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 03:27.509 --> 03:33.398 [SPEAKER_00]: I bless the Lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart instructs me. 03:34.600 --> 03:41.590 [SPEAKER_00]: I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 03:42.832 --> 03:51.745 [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices, my flesh also dwells secure. 03:51.725 --> 03:57.752 [SPEAKER_00]: For you will not abandon my soul to shill, or let your holy ones see corruption. 03:58.913 --> 04:01.176 [SPEAKER_00]: You make known to me the path of life. 04:02.257 --> 04:05.561 [SPEAKER_00]: In your presence, there is fullness of joy. 04:06.582 --> 04:09.926 [SPEAKER_00]: At your right hand, our pleasures forevermore. 04:13.149 --> 04:19.116 [SPEAKER_00]: When I read David's words, I can't help but desire his joy and security. 04:20.311 --> 04:24.635 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm filled with a desire to know that kind of love in my own life. 04:26.417 --> 04:36.186 [SPEAKER_00]: Some 16 makes me desire to have God as my chosen portion, and I wholeheartedly want to experience pleasures forevermore. 04:37.307 --> 04:37.888 [SPEAKER_00]: What about you? 04:37.928 --> 04:47.837 [SPEAKER_00]: Allow your desires to be stirred to experience for yourself the immeasurable love with which God has loved Jesus. 04:49.015 --> 04:56.225 [SPEAKER_00]: Know that it's not only your desire to experience love, but the desire of your heavenly Father as well. 04:58.168 --> 05:02.935 [SPEAKER_00]: In what areas of your life, do you need to set the Lord always before you? 05:04.157 --> 05:07.421 [SPEAKER_00]: What areas do you need him to beat at your right hand? 05:08.863 --> 05:12.268 [SPEAKER_00]: In the Lord, there truly are pleasures for evermore. 05:14.431 --> 05:18.297 [SPEAKER_00]: Take time today to simply delight in your God, 05:18.850 --> 05:25.177 [SPEAKER_00]: and allow his presence to flood the dry, weary places of your heart. 05:25.197 --> 05:29.202 [SPEAKER_00]: You are his chosen portion, the apple of his eye. 05:30.663 --> 05:34.888 [SPEAKER_00]: God gave up his only son for the chance to meet with you right now. 05:36.510 --> 05:48.283 [SPEAKER_00]: Simply open up your heart and delight in the love of your heavenly Father. 05:53.258 --> 06:21.156 [SPEAKER_00]: As we begin, meditate on John chapter 17 verse 26, allow these words of Jesus to give you a better revelation of the depth of God's love for you. 06:22.334 --> 06:37.980 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. 07:06.901 --> 07:23.825 [SPEAKER_00]: And next, where do you need to delight in the love of God today? 07:25.548 --> 07:31.356 [SPEAKER_00]: Where is your life not marked by the fullness of joy, David described in Psalm 16? 07:33.175 --> 07:43.624 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 1611 says, in your presence, there is fullness of joy at your right hand, our pleasures forevermore. 08:28.660 --> 08:33.849 [SPEAKER_00]: And last, take time to simply delight in the love of God for you. 08:33.889 --> 08:39.239 [SPEAKER_00]: The very same love that He has for His Son, Jesus Christ. 08:41.282 --> 08:50.398 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 37 verse 4 says, delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 09:57.254 --> 10:04.643 [SPEAKER_00]: Every day is a battle to root yourself in the love of God, but it is a battle worth fighting. 10:05.884 --> 10:13.373 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a battle waged within the depths of your soul, the fight between what God and the world says matters. 10:15.055 --> 10:23.565 [SPEAKER_00]: When you make more space for God to fill, by reading yourself of the ways of the world, his heart and mind will become your own. 10:24.760 --> 10:27.943 [SPEAKER_00]: What matters to him will begin to matter to you. 10:29.484 --> 10:33.869 [SPEAKER_00]: Keeping his love in perspective will become as natural as breathing. 10:35.530 --> 10:42.737 [SPEAKER_00]: The fullness of relationship with him is meant to be our source, portion, strength, and desire. 10:44.359 --> 10:53.147 [SPEAKER_00]: Give way to his loving kindness today and let the cares of the world go 11:17.275 --> 11:28.546 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for taking the time to listen to today's podcast. 11:29.166 --> 11:31.068 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller with First 15. 11:32.249 --> 11:38.775 [SPEAKER_00]: Take time today to simply notice how meeting with God affects your thoughts, emotions and actions. 11:39.816 --> 11:43.840 [SPEAKER_00]: What does making space to meet with God accomplish in your life? 11:44.697 --> 11:54.648 [SPEAKER_00]: taking time to reflect on what God has done can often be a really powerful motivator in opening our hearts for him to move in the present in future. 11:54.688 --> 12:05.000 [SPEAKER_00]: If you haven't already, make sure to follow the podcast so you won't miss another episode as we continue to draw closer to God this week. 12:05.020 --> 12:09.625 [SPEAKER_00]: Have a wonderful rest of your day and may God bless you as you see Kim.