What Does God Want?

Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 22:37-39

We are truly blessed, my brothers.  God truly has blessed us.  We can look around us and we can see the blessings of God.  He blessed us this morning to be able to wake up and to be able to get up.  He even blessed us with a house to live in and clothes on our back.  We are blessed that all is well in our homes. He blessed us even with food and with a mind to acknowledge Him this morning – and God has blessed us with many things that we need and want. The question is - What does God want?

Giving is an act of worship.  God wants us to give Him praise. He wants us to give Him the Glory. Foremost, God wants us to give ourselves wholly to Him.

Paul is writing in Romans 12 and says “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (NIV)

God wants us to be willing to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him, holy. He wants us to be holy and acceptable to Him. He also says be not conformed - God doesn’t want us to take the shape or form of this world.  Instead he wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.  God wants us to be transformed, renewed.

I remember a time in my life my mind wasn’t on God or the things of God.  But we thank God for the transformation that He has allowed me to have.  When we give ourselves to God it involves dedicating our lives to Him.  It also involves giving of our time, giving of our talents and finances to help advance the Kingdom on this earth.  God wants us to do all of those things.

When you talk about finances in the church, when you talk about tithes, offerings, or giving sometimes people get a little nervous.  Sometimes people want to start cringing up.  But how do you think the missionaries could do what they do if the people didn’t give?  What about the things that the local church needs? How do you think we could keep the lights on, keep the air on or the heat on?  How do you think we could pay the mortgage if we didn’t give?

So God is interested in us giving of our time, our talents, even our finances to help advance the kingdom.  If we go back and study the early church, we see that the early church did exactly that.  They gave sacrificially to support the mission.

We also need to be willing to give our hearts to God; to give our minds to Him.  I am talking about the renewing of the heart and mind - these are the things He wants from us.

There’s not a man sitting here that has never asked God for something.  If you go and do a survey, you’ll find out that everyone has asked God for something.  Maybe this morning, maybe yesterday, maybe you are sitting there now asking God for something.  But the thing about it is  - what are you willing to give God?  We have all asked Him for something but what are we willing to GIVE Him? And……
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What does God want?

In Matthew 22 Jesus was asked a question, and Jesus answered the question by saying, talking to this man: “Thou shalt love the lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

What does God want? God wants us to love Him with all our heart – not part of it – and with all our soul, and with all our mind.  The bible says “let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”.  In other words He wants us to have the mind of Christ.  Jesus says this is the first and greatest commandment.  Then he goes on in the 39th verse, saying the second is like unto the first.  The question is, who is my neighbor?  That question was asked of Jesus once. 

The answer is: anybody. Some people think their neighbors are the people who live next door or the person living behind them or the person across the street.  You all are my neighbors.  All you brothers are my neighbors, not just the people next door to us. And Jesus tells us “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”.  

Who is going to do hurt themselves? Who would say: I don’t like myself - POW! He slaps himself - just goes to beating up on himself.  Who would do that?  You should treat your neighbor as yourself; with love and respect.  God wants us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind - that’s what He wants. He wants us to be willing to present our bodies a living sacrifice; to present ourselves holy and acceptable to Him.  He wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Let me tell you this brothers, I haven’t always been where I am now.  I was out there doing anything I thought I was big and bad enough to do.  I wasn’t even thinking about God and His word man! My mind was on what I could get into when I got off work, where I’m going - all this stuff, worldly stuff! I was thinking of how much I’m going to drink, how many girls I was gonna be chasing - all this stuff.  But I thank God for the renewing and the transformation of the mind.

Now I wake up with the mind of Christ.  I’m thinking about God and the things of God and the people of God.  I get up I’m thinking about doing the devotion. I’m thinking about the bible study I’ll teach at church.  I’m thinking about the people of God - I’m thinking about those that are sick and I’m thinking about those that are in need.  I used to not think like that and that’s the difference.

That’s what he wants us to do.  He wants us to love each other. Jesus said “love one another” and in this way “men will know that you are my disciples”.   I can’t say I love Him and hate you or dislike you, brother, because of the color of your skin.  I can’t do that and say I love Jesus.  I can’t.

That’s why He talks about a transformation - being transformed by the renewing of the mind.  We as Christians we have a long way to go, brothers.  We have a long way to go as saints of God.  What does He want? Actually, (just like he wrote on the ground with the woman caught in adultery) I wish he would come down and write on a pad right now and let all of us know what he wants.  Some of us would probably be shocked because some of us may have some things He wants us to get rid of - some things that keep us from Him.

Let’s be willing to not just look for Him to bless us.  Let’s be willing to bless Him with our praise, our hearts, minds, and souls.

​~J. T.