Oh How I Cherish You

Psalm 66:18-20

Verse 18  If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

    Yesterday we talked about how God isn’t wanting us to come to Him if we haven’t taken care of issues with someone that we have something against or that has something against us.  God doesn’t hold issues against others as higher than other sins.  In fact, there are multiple places in Scriptures that speak about the kind of people God listens to.

    Our key verse speaks of our relationship with sin.  The psalmist says that if he had cherished sin in his heart that God wouldn’t have listened.  Notice the word cherished.  This doesn’t say that we have to be sinless to come to Jesus, if that were the case none of us would ever be able to come to Him.  To cherish sin is to care deeply for our sin.  It is the concept of wanting it and not being willing to let it go.

    This is a situation that proves that we are not in a submitted relationship with God, we are in a submitted relationship with our sin.  Just as a woman doesn’t listen to a man not her husband, we don’t, by nature, submit to one we are not in a relationship with.  It is this knowledge that should give us pause to see who we truly are in a relationship with.

    This should cause us a moment of self-examination.  We need to address the reality of our loyalties.  It is necessary to be honest with ourselves and ask the tough questions.  Which do we turn to?  How willing are we to give up one or the other?  Because the fact of the matter is that we can’t serve both.  They are opposing of each other and so we can’t submit to both.

    The one we choose to submit to, is the one that we truly love.  Yes, to cherish our sin over our relationship with God, says that we love our sin more than God.  Is it any wonder then that God would not listen to our prayers?  Why would God listen to someone that isn’t His?  Prayer is our way to communicate with God.  And if we want Him to listen to us we need to make sure He is our number one.  We need to cherish our relationship with Him and do our part to keep the lines of communication open.

Making It Personal

    Do you have a sin that you cherish?  Are you ready to admit it has been meaning more to you than God does?  What do you need to do to show that you cherish God more than anything?

Making It Personal Kids

    What does it mean to love your sin?  Who should you love instead?  How do you show that you love Jesus more?

Closing Prayer

    Father, we repent of the times that we have cherished our sins more than we have loved You.  Help us look only to You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.