Jeremy Utley - God Desires Our Loyalty

Jeremy UtleyApril 4, 201617mWatch on YouTube

In this collectionJeremy Utley130 messages

Speaker: Jeremy Utley Title: God Desires Our Loyalty Date: 04-03-2016 Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29) We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3) We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Summary

The sermon explores the depth of loyalty God desires from His people, drawing heavily from Hosea and the Book of Joel. The speaker emphasizes that God values genuine, persistent loyalty over mere outward sacrifices or temporary resolutions to return. True loyalty, according to the speaker, means crying out to God in times of potential separation or struggle, demonstrating a desire to remain close to Him before falling, which is rooted in believing in His keeping power.

Outline

The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.

Reading Hosea on loyalty and God's judgmentThe speaker shares how reading Hosea chapter 5 and 6 this week brought up the theme of loyalty, noting God's strong warning and impending discipline toward Israel.

Israel's response of returning to the LordThe Israelites respond to God's discipline by calling one another to return to the Lord, trusting fully in His healing and faithfulness.

God delights in loyalty rather than sacrificeInstead of accepting their superficial return, God rebukes their fleeting loyalty, stating plainly that He delights in loyalty and the knowledge of God rather than sacrifice.

What kind of loyalty delights the Lord?The speaker asks what kind of loyalty truly delights God, suggesting it is a matter of when we cry out for help—before we fall or only after.

Fearing separation from God above consequencesTrue loyalty is shown when our greatest fear is being separated from God, prompting us to ask for grace before we stumble.

Unbelief as the root of waiting until after a fallThe reason we often wait until after we fall to cry out is a lack of belief that God is actually able and willing to keep us from falling.

God's power to keep us from fallingJesus Christ offers not only forgiving power for our past mistakes, but also keeping and saving power to prevent us from falling.

The promise of complete sanctificationFirst Thessalonians promises that God will sanctify us entirely and preserve our spirit, soul, and body complete and blameless.1 Thessalonians 5:23

Everything pertaining to life and godlinessSecond Peter reminds believers that God's divine power has already granted everything we need for life and godliness.2 Peter 1:3

Ruthlessly rooting out unbeliefHebrews warns against an evil, unbelieving heart that causes us to fall away from the living God by doubting His power to keep us.

Go and sin no moreJesus consistently urged those He healed—like the woman caught in adultery and the man at Bethesda—to go and sin no more, pointing to a higher standard of life.

Do you want to be made whole?Jesus asks the man at the pool of Bethesda if he wants to get well, challenging us on whether we truly have faith for complete transformation.

The grace of God instructs us to live righteouslyTitus teaches that God's grace has appeared to train us to deny ungodliness and live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.Titus 2:11

Refusing to settle for less than full salvationConcluding the message, the speaker urges the church not to disregard the call to full salvation, but to believe fully that God is able to keep us from ever leaving Him.

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Jeremy Utley - God Desires Our Loyalty

Jeremy Utley · April 4, 2016 · 17m

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