(October 6, 2009)

Prayer House News!

Our ladies are praying this morning at 9:00am. Are you enjoying Family Week?

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On October 15 the Jesus Sensitive Conference begins. I hope you will be able to get to many of the sessions.

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Intmacy with God

continued from yesterday

There used to be a popular song called, "Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places." That could actually summarize this message today. The world is looking for love, all men have a basic need to be loved. The problem with the world is that it is looking in all the wrong places.

Mark 6:21 21Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

Herod was definitely a part of the dark world at this point in his life. On his own birthday he decides to give himself a banquet. It’s stated that the banquet was for his high officials, military commanders, and leading men, but let me ask you this: if you were invited to a banquet that just happened to fall on the King’s birthday, who do you think would be the guest of honor?

Please don’t read into this thinking that I am saying that birthday parties are wrong. I’m just talking about this one incident where the King threw a party for himself. I want us to see the difference between our love for God, which results in intimacy with Him, and the love of the world, or a love of self, which results in lust.

22When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

Lust Destroys life

We need to get a picture of what is happening here. King Herod, who is driven by the spirit of this world, throws a party for himself. In the midst of all the debauchery he asks the daughter of Herodias, who is actually his niece, though he is married to her mom, to dance for them. This by the way is why Herodias wanted to kill John the Baptist – because the prophet told the King that it was not right to marry his brothers wife.

This dance was obviously very sensual because when she is finished he is ready to give away half of his kingdom to her. The spirit of incest must have been incredible here. His own flesh and blood has so stirred his spirit that he is willing to do anything for her. He is driven by his need to gain for himself.

What does his own lust result in: the death of John the Baptist?

24She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

Lust destroys life. In this case one man’s lust literally resulted in the death of another man. This is not the first time that has happened. Uriah died because of the lust of King David. However, literal death is not the only kind of death that lust can cause.

Lust can kill a home, it can kill a marriage, it can destroy the hope children have in their parents, or it can kill a ministry. Lust is a false intimacy. Yet intimacy is a drive that all people have.

The problem here is priorities. The man who does not have an intimate relationship with God turns to himself as that which he worships. Subsequently, he will allow himself to enter into all sorts of potentially devastating situations in an effort to fulfill his need for intimacy. He ends up looking for love in all the wrong places. Self- preservation is a strong force. The man who worships himself will put himself above others and even above God.

(26) The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. (27) So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, (28) and brought back his head on a platter.

The king’s lust got him into a very difficult situation, now his pride won’t let him out of it. He is distressed. How many men and women have allowed their own love of self get them into situations that literally distress them, and find that they cannot get out of it.

They have gone to far, they have crossed the line and now their lust won’t even allow them to turn back. Isn’t it interesting that he was distressed for two reasons: his oath and his dinner guests. He made an oath – he sold his soul. He made a promise that he could not back out of. And then there are the dinner guests.

By all means – if you have dinner guests you’d better keep your word. This is a pride issue (which is a fruit of self love). His guests heard him make the oath. For their sake he must kill John the Baptist – someone he actually claims to like (that’s why he was distressed).

continued tomorrow

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Medication: A Merry Heart