WILLING - to lay down our wants and embrace God's

Matthew 23:37,38 “...Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!...”

Context:

- Jesus has harsh words for the religious leaders of the day.

- They shut off the kingdom of heaven from people.

- They work hard on making converts, which are ‘sons of hell’.

- They put value in the wrong things.

- They tithe, but fail in justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

- They work on appearance, but are really self-indulgent.

- They appear righteousness but are full of hypocrisy.

- They are offspring of those who shed the blood of the prophets.

- They will mistreat the prophets and wise men sent by God.

- Jesus longs to gather His people together, but they are unwilling.

What happens when Jerusalem wants what Jerusalem wants?

- It rejects the voice of God that is sent to it.

- It misses out on the unity and safety that God offers.

- The end result is desolation.

Luke 19:41-44 “...When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation..."

What was Jerusalem’s problem and end?

- Failure to embrace God’s reality, which would have brought peace.

- Blindness that falls on those who reject God’s truth.

- Victory for the enemy.

What happens when a church wants what a church wants?

What happens when a person wants what a person wants?

Is Jesus weeping over churches today? Over people today?

Is there any answer? Is there a way to avoid defeat?

- It always starts with repentance.

- Lord, fix our wanters! Move us from our selfish personal wants to the position of embracing fully what you want. Open our blind eyes.