Latest / First15 Devotional / Looking at the Light

Transcript

Looking at the Light · First15 Devotional

• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: all of our longings and needs were meant to be met in God, and yet we live in a world constantly vying to meet our needs and desires in false inadequate ways.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today we'll explore how to walk in the light by looking to the light to meet all of our needs.
• 0:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: as we retrain ourselves to seek God first for satisfaction.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: May we find how abundantly beyond our imaginings, the Lord's sufficiency is for us.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the first 15 podcast.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our Scripture for today comes from Luke 11, verse 34, Scripture says, Your eye is the lamp of your body.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
• 1:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: We live in a world filled with darkness of all forms.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: On any given day, we are inundated with temptation after temptation, lie after lie, darkness after darkness.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: But in the person of Jesus, a powerful hope has entered into the story of humanity.
• 1:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Matthew 416 says the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death on them a light has dawned.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: You and I now have the choice to fill our lives with the light of God.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're delivered from a life marked by darkness and set free to fill ourselves with the things of God.
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: But still, there is a choice set before us.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: The light has come, but we have a real enemy trying to draw us back to the darkness at every turn.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's for this reason Jesus said in Luke 11, 34.
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Your eye is the lamp of your body.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: But when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: you and I must choose to look to the light.
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: If we want to be spiritually healthy and full of light, we must look to the light.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: If we want the abundant life God offers us throughout every season of this life.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Paul writes in Philippians 4.8, finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that God would train us to look upon only that which will fill us with more of him.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that He would train our minds to think about only that which will truly satisfy the deep desires of our hearts.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Darkness is often only tempting to look at because we have yet to experience the immense satisfaction found in the light.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: so often God is characterized as a taskmaster out to ruin all the fun, and so often our church services, speech, and lives depict our father as anyone but a fun, satisfying God.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if we will take some time to trust the truth of Scripture and get to know our heavenly father as a friend,
• 4:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: We will discover a wellspring of life to which no darkness could ever compare.
• 4:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: The pleasures of the enemy are nothing but a shadow of the satisfaction we have in the light.
• 4:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: lust, adultery, earthly glory, the opinion of man and pride in possessions are nothing compared to total, open, and eternal relationship with a good, near and loving God.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Look to the light today for all you need.
• 5:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cultivate a hunger and thirst for the things of God that can only be quenched in relationship with your
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Run to God with your temptations, needs, and desires, and ask Him to lead you to satisfaction.
• 5:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: And open your heart to Him today that you might receive a wealth of love, purpose, joy, affection, and enjoyment from the only true source of life in this earth.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Open your heart as you enter guided prayer.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we begin, meditate on the importance of looking to the light, allow Scripture to fill you with the desire to spend your day out of the darkness and in the light.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: In Luke 1134, Jesus says, Your eye is the lamp of your body.
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: and next.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: What darkness do you normally look to?
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Where are you running to satisfy desires that should be met in God?
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: In what ways do you not trust that He will satisfy the needs of your heart?
• 8:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: And last, go to God with whatever needs you have and ask Him to reveal the ways in which He wants to satisfy them.
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Take time to wait on Him, press into His heart and receive the wealth of His affections for you.
• 8:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Isaiah 60 20 says, Your sun shall no more go down nor your moon withdraw itself.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: At times, the desires we feel are wrong desires that God cannot satisfy.
• 9:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, these wrong desires are always indicative of a deeper desire that God does want to satisfy.
• 9:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Lust and adultery are desires indicative of a need to be loved, liked, seen as beautiful or handsome, or simply enjoyed.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wrongful ambition and glory seeking are wrong desires indicative of a true need to have passion and make a deep and lasting impact on the earth.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: The temptations of the enemy and satisfaction we find in darkness are mere shadows compared to the true satisfaction available in God.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Discover the root of your wrongful desires.
• 10:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the true needs within your heart and to guide you to a lifestyle of fulfillment in God.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: May your eyes be wholly focused on the light today as you seek fulfillment in your heavenly father.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for listening to today's podcast.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller with verse 15.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Tomorrow, we near the end of our week-long focus on light, by looking at how we can follow God into the light throughout our lives, allowing his perfect leadership to fulfill our need for guidance as his people.
• 11:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hope tomorrow gives you a clearer sense of God's direction for your life as his beloved child.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have a wonderful rest of your day and may God bless you as you see Kim.