Apathy is the opposite of love, but our God burns with passion. He is not some syrupy sweet Church Lady who mouths that sentimental old cliche', "Hate the sin but love the sinner." He passionately hates all sin, and sometimes he even hates sinners. In this edition of Pursuing the Heart of God, those who want to seize his heart need to grab hold of a shocking but true principle: There is hatred in holiness.
Beethoven spent hours playing a crippled, old harpsichord that teetered precariously on wobbly legs. Keys were missing and strings were stretched out of tune. Even so, the old composer--by now totally deaf--would play until tears were rolling down his cheeks. Who would have known that he could make so grand a use of such a crippled instrument? In truth, we are all as handicapped as that harpsichord. But our God specializes in crippled instruments. When we are seemingly beyond repair, he doesn't junk us. Instead, he uses us to compose a symphony to his glory.
This sermon is now available to listen online.
The wisest man who ever lived summed up a human's lot in Ecclesiastes 2:23: "All his days his work is pain and grief..." Yet grief is not something to be dreaded. The Bible says that God grieves. Because we are in his image, we too must grieve. Grief is not only a good medicine, it is necessary for our very salvation.
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