Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Heather…
I want to talk this morning about God, that He is a lover and He wants to be pursued. As you read through the Bible, there’s many times when Jesus was on earth, He showed us that He wanted to be pursued. I’m going to give a couple quick examples. In Mark 6:45, Jesus just fed the 5,000. He fed the multitudes, and it says that He sent off the disciples and said, “Go to the other side. I’m going to go up to the mountain and pray.” I can’t blame Him for wanting to get away for a little while. And so the disciples head out in the boat. We know the story. The storms starts, and the waves are beating their boat and they’re having a really hard time.
Jesus would have walked on by…
And it says something interesting. It says Jesus is walking on the water. He came toward them walking on the water, saw they were in serious trouble. They were rowing hard and struggling against the winds and the waves. But when He came toward them walking on the water, He intended to go past them. I was like, “Ouch. That’s kind of harsh.” But He intended to pass by them. But there’s this moment they see Him and then they cry out and they’re afraid. And it says He got into the boat and the storm stopped. But there was something that happened where He was going to pass by them and He stopped and He came and got in the boat.
Blind Bartimaeus…
Then you think about blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:49. Jesus is passing by and blind Bartimaeus is just crying out. And he’s like, “JESUS, JESUS!” And everybody around him is like “Shhh!” Telling him to be quiet. But he cried out all the more. And when he did that, it says Jesus stopped. When He heard him, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” So there’s something about our hunger and our pursuing of Him that it stops Him and it says, “What do you want Me to do for you?” What if Bartimaeus hadn’t shouted out to Jesus?
The paralyzed man with his friends…
Then what about the paralyzed man that was lowered through the roof? His friends took that roof apart to get him down before Jesus. And it says Jesus saw their faith. He saw that they were pursuing. They were hungry. They were going to do whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus. What if their friends didn’t do that?
The woman with the issue of blood…
What about the woman with the issue of blood? She pressed in through that crowd to get to Him. She wasn’t even supposed to be out in public. She was considered unclean. She was supposed to stay in her house. She wasn’t supposed to be out. She wasn’t supposed to be around people. But she knew that He had something that she needed. And she pressed through that crowd, and she pressed in. Jesus recognized her faith in that moment. He said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” What if she didn’t press through the crowds that day?
Short Zacchaeus…
What about Zacchaeus in Luke 19:5? He was too short to see Jesus. So he ran on ahead of the crowd and climbed up in a tree so he could see Jesus. Jesus saw him and told him to come down. Jesus said, “I’m going to your house today.” It seems like such a small thing. He just climbed up a tree. I’m like, what’s the big deal with Zacchaeus? All he did is climb up in a tree. But there was something in him that wanted to get into a place… He wanted to position himself to see Jesus to… to set himself apart from that crowd. And Jesus saw that and He recognized. What if he didn’t climb up the tree?
Jesus on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection…
In Luke 24:28, when Jesus was walking on the road to Emmaus after He was resurrected. So you have certain disciples walking and talking. Jesus joins them on the road and He walks and talks with them. They don’t even know it’s Jesus. I don’t understand that, but the Lord knows. But they don’t know it’s Him. And while He is talking, they’re saying their hearts are burning. And as they came to the town that they were going to, Jesus acted like He was going to go on to the next town. He was going to keep walking. He had a mission, right? But it says that they compelled Him to stay with them for the night. And He did. What if they didn’t compel Him? He would’ve gone on to the next town, right?
When we pursue Him, He responds…
So what does all this have to do with what we’re talking about this morning? When we pursue Him, it does something. He recognizes hunger. He recognizes when we pursue Him. And there’s something about God… He is a lover. And love wants to be pursued. Love wants to be chased. Love wants to be the most important thing. Our hunger catches His attention.
And I think sometimes we think God is going to make everything so easy for us. We just have to show up and then He does the work, right? “God knows where I am. God knows my heart.” And He does. And He does meet us where we are. But there’s something about that pursuing… that going the extra step… that stepping out and seeking Him and hungering Him that I believe draws something out of Him that we would miss otherwise if we didn’t do it.
Hunger will separate you, set you apart…
You think about the people that walk through the desert to find Jesus. They walked three days through the desert just to hear Him speak. So He doesn’t automatically just make everything easy for us. Sometimes we do have to press in. We do have to take that extra step. Take that step out of the boat, walk on the water, do that scary thing. And it separates that pursuit, like why does He do that? It separates the hungry people from the people that are like, “I could take it or leave it. I’m good. I’m comfortable. I’m okay where I am.” But when you have that hunger and you’re pursuing and you’re stepping out, that separates you. And I believe God rewards that. He sees that.
Song of Solomon…
You know Song of Solomon… one of my favorites. I talk about it a lot, but it’s a love story about a God who wants to be pursued. And He pursues us. He does pursue us. But He wants to be pursued back, right? Because if we’re in a relationship, if we’re in a marriage and only one person is constantly doing the pursuing, that’s a dysfunctional relationship. You want to be pursued back. You want that reciprocation.
There’s a passage in chapter five where the groom comes to the door and knocks on the bride’s door. And he says he wants to get in. He wants to spend time with her. And she’s inside. And basically, she says, “I just took a bath. I’m in my PJ’s. I’m all cozy. Come back another time.” I’ve been guilty of doing that. Once I’m in my PJ’s, don’t bug me for anything. And so I’ll just read it real quick.
Song of Song 5:3–5, “But I responded, I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed again? I’ve washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?” That’s inconvenient. “But my lover tried to unlatch the door and my heart thrilled within me.”
So in that moment, he continued to pursue her even though she wasn’t getting up off the couch. And in that moment of him pursuing her, it did something in her heart. “And then she jumped up to the door and my hands dripped with perfume. My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh. And as I pulled back the bolt, I opened the door to my lover. But he was gone. My heart sank. I searched for him, but I could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply.” She waited. He tried to pursue her, but she waited. And in that moment of waiting, he moved on.
Sometimes He removes our awareness of His presence…
And I think there’s something that God does… And I’m very careful when I say this because I want to make sure that people don’t take this out of context. He doesn’t remove His presence, but I think sometimes He removes our awareness of His presence.
Have you ever been in a time in life and you’re like, “God, where are you?” What does that do in you in that moment? It makes you seek Him. It makes you hunger for Him and look everywhere to find Him. And that’s exactly what she did. First, she was complacent. Then he pursues her. Then she’s like, “I need to pursue him back.” And he was gone. And then at the next verse you read, she’s just panicking and she’s looking everywhere for she realized she was taking him for granted.
Sometimes we take Him for granted…
And sometimes we do that in our relationship with God. We take Him for granted. But He wants us to do that pursuing. He wants us to pursue Him. He’ll continue to pursue us. He will. Because He is a good God whether we pursue Him or not. But there’s something to be said about us pursuing Him.
God is looking for a bride that is passionate…
God is looking for a passionate bride. He’s not looking for a half-hearted, lukewarm bride. And I’m including myself. This is not condemnation. This is just reminding ourselves of He’s worth it. He’s good enough. He’s given us everything. He laid everything on the line for us. And there are times in life where He’s just kind of waiting. He’s stepped back and He is like, “I made my move. Now you need to make your move.” And He wants us to move toward Him. He’ll never leave us. He’ll never forsake us. So hear the heart of that but also when we step toward Him and we’re passionate and we’re pursuing Him, that does something for the heart of God. That does something in our own heart.
And I think a lot of people are kind of sitting and waiting for something to happen. You’re waiting for Him to make the move. And He is like, “I already did. I sent Jesus. I gave everything to you.” There’s nothing more He could give you. He gave you literally everything… His life to have you in a relationship with Him.
God is a jealous God…
And it says that He’s a jealous God. Just think about that for a second. He’s a jealous God. He’s jealous to have our full affection and devotion. So this morning, let’s press in again. And if you wouldn’t mind worshiping just a little bit more. And I just want to inspire, encourage everybody to pursue Him. And you know what? It’s uncomfortable. I get it. You’re around your coworkers. You’re around people. “I don’t want to sing. I don’t want to…”
He’s worth it.
And when we take that extra step and we step out of our comfort zones and out of those boats of comfort that we’re in, there’s something that He does that He meets us there. So let’s do that. Let’s worship Him. But just worship Him from a place in your heart. Not up here. You are going to have to let it drop into here. And you worship from your heart. You worship from your spirit in a pursuit of Him. And you know, when He corrected the Church of Ephesus, “you’ve left your first love,” let that not be said of anybody in this room. And they were doing good things. They were doing all the works. As far as a church went, they were kicking butt. But they lost their first love. It was about the work. So just make sure that it’s about that relationship and that place of love. So as we go back into worship, let’s seek Him wholeheartedly.
