جارٍ تحميل الأرشيف الحي.
Part 1 of 4
Think Ahead
واصِل الاستكشاف
مرتبطة بالمقطع الكتابي أو بموضوعات مشتركة.
Imagine if you could ask God for just one thing—only one thing—and nothing else. What would you ask Him to do for you? This question reveals what you truly value most.
When asked this question, people offer all sorts of answers. Some are lighthearted: winning the lottery, eliminating cellulite, or a lifetime Chick-fil-A gift card. But many answers are deeply serious: healing a loved one who is sick, saving a broken marriage, bringing someone far from God into a relationship with Him, overcoming addiction, or delivering from anxiety. Others think even bigger: ending human trafficking or eliminating world hunger.
This question matters because it exposes our priorities and what we genuinely believe will satisfy us.
When we think of King David, he seems larger than life. He killed a giant, wrote the Psalms, and defeated nations. But the truth is, you have more in common with David than you might realize—especially when it comes to decision-making.
Like you, David had good intentions but didn't always make the best decisions. He valued family and relationships, yet he often avoided conflict to his detriment. He wanted to please God with righteous living, but he gave in to temptation, including sexual compromise. When he did, he lied to cover his tracks.
David's unwise and unhealthy decisions hurt his marriage, cost him the life of a child, and created chaos with his sons. One son got into trouble; another turned against him and led a revolt attempting to take his own father's life. In a painful moment, David made a decision that negatively impacted thousands of people.
Yet despite all these shortcomings, David was still known as . This is encouraging because it shows that even with serious failures, what matters most is what we prioritize and pursue.
لم تُترجم هذه الصفحة بالكامل بعد. يظهر بعض النص أدناه أو كله بلغة English، وهي لغته الأصلية.
All of us want to make wise, healthy, and God-honoring decisions. But we often don't live up to our good intentions. Why? Because when we're tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, our decisions don't reflect our best selves.
Instead of waiting to make decisions in those compromised moments, we can think ahead and pre-decide. We make crucial decisions in advance, when we're at our best, so that when temptation, fatigue, or emotion arrive, we've already chosen our path.
David teaches us this principle. Before anything else—amid all his shortcomings and mistakes—he pre-decided to prioritize intimacy with God.
You never end up close to God accidentally. In over 30 years of ministry, I've never met anyone who said, "I was just binge-watching Netflix, scrolling Instagram, and suddenly I was full of God's Word." No one has ever said, "I was cursing at traffic, and suddenly I had the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control."
There is no intimacy without intentionality.
You know this is true in marriage—you don't get close to your spouse by accident. You won't be really close with your children by accident. The same principle applies to God: you will never be close to God accidentally. It takes intentionality to experience intimacy with Him.
When we ask David, "If God could do one thing for you, what would you ask?" here is his response:
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27)
Notice what David didn't ask for. He didn't ask for:
Instead, David said: The one thing I want is to be in God's presence, to experience His glory, to dwell with Him, to hear His voice, and to have Him direct my steps.
If you want to be close to God, you must pre-decide to prioritize intimacy with Him. Here are three reasons why I do this—and why you will want to as well.
I am desperate for God's presence right now, today, in this moment. I need His comfort, His strength, His power, His wisdom, and His Word directing my steps.
To be transparent, my life right now includes:
Yes, I am desperate for God's presence. And David was the same way.
David wrote these words while likely hiding in the wilderness, fleeing from his own son who wanted to kill him:
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek You. I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. (Psalm 63)
That's intimate. That's desperate. That's beyond mere friendship—that's deep, personal, and raw need.
Some of you might say, "I don't have that connection with God. I believe in Him, but I don't have that intensity." Here's why: every demon in hell will lie to you and tempt you to distract you from chasing after God. Instead of pursuing God, we pursue anything and everything else, thinking maybe this will make me happy, maybe that will fill the void.
But here's the truth: whether you know it or not, you are desperate for God. You'll go long enough and you'll do something dumb. You'll try to change something and can't do it on your own. You'll think some external thing—more money, more stuff, more luxury, more time off, a different person—will fill that longing inside.
Nothing can or ever will fill that void because it's a God-shaped void that only He can fill.
That's why I pre-decide to intentionally, passionately, faithfully, and consistently pursue intimacy with God. Because like David, I am desperate for God's presence.
I am desperate for God's Word. Why? Because His Word reveals who He is and what His purpose and will is for us.
Amy and I have been married almost 33 years, and I love her with all my heart. How do I know her and why do I love her? Because of the words we exchange. The words create the knowledge that leads to love and intimacy.
The same is true with God. You get to know Him through reading His Word. It's His love letter to you.
David described God's Word using powerful imagery:
The instructions of the Lord are perfect and revive the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy. The commands of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. They are more desirable than gold—the most precious thing. They are sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19)
God's Word does whatever you need it to do:
Whether you know it or not, you are desperate for God's Word. It's sweeter than honey; it's better than gold.
I pre-decide to prioritize intimacy with God because I'm desperate for God's Church. David felt this way too:
I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122)
Notice what David didn't say. He didn't say, "I rejoice with those who said, 'Let's sleep in today and maybe go to church next week.'" He didn't say, "I rejoice with those who say, 'I'm a Christian, but I don't need the church.'"
David said he rejoiced with those who said, "Let's go together corporately to worship God in His temple." Why? Because God is good and worthy of our praise. But also because we all have struggles, and we need God—not just individually, but through each other.
Sometimes I need the presence of God with skin on—someone who prays with me and for me. We're desperate for each other. We need the body of Christ.
Virtually every blessing in my life and marriage traces back to God's faithfulness through the Church:
Why? Not because we were perfect parents, but because the church helped disciple our children to become followers of Jesus.
When we travel on vacation, we find a church and go. Not because I'm a pastor, but because I'm a Christian. The church blessed and discipled my children.
David said this about those rooted in God's house:
The righteous are planted in the house of the Lord; they will flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 92)
I believe with all my heart that the best blessings of God are found with His people in the church. Every blessing I have, I can trace back to God's hand through His Church.
You might say, "That's not my story. I don't have that." Then let's start there. You can pre-decide today to pursue intimacy with God.
Hear me: whether you know it or not, you are desperate for His presence. You are desperate for His Word. You are desperate for His presence through His people in His body, the Church.
If you could ask God for one thing and truly realized how desperate you really are for Him, your answer would be simple: "God, I just need You. I need Your presence with me. I need Your Word correcting, convicting, and strengthening me. And I need You—Your love through Your people in the Church."
Because whether you know it or not, in every single moment, you are desperate for Him.
I'm not going to wait for an emergency in the future. I'm going to decide today to be very, very close to Him. I encourage you to do the same.
When anxiety keeps you awake at night, you can quote God's Word to yourself: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation with prayer and petition, I make my request known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind and my soul in Christ Jesus."
When you feel worn down and can't go on, you'll quote: "Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time I will reap a harvest from my God if I do not give up."
Whenever fear grips you, preach God's Word to yourself: "My God has not given me a spirit of fear, but power and of love and a sound mind."
When you feel stuck, tell yourself: "I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in me will bring it about into completion."
When you're hurting—perhaps your daughter is still sick—you run to God who promises: "He is your refuge and your strength, your ever-present help in a time of trouble." And no matter what happens, you tell yourself: "The Lord my God is with me; therefore I will not be shaken."
You are desperate for God's Word. It's sweeter than honey; it's better than gold. Whether you recognize it or not, you need it desperately. I'll tell you plainly: I am desperate for God's presence. I need His strength, His wisdom, His comfort, the power of His Spirit. I am desperate for His Word—to convict me, correct me, strengthen me, encourage me, give me wisdom, and guide my steps.
The third thing I'm desperate for—and why I pre-decide to prioritize intimacy with God—is God's Church. I'm actually desperate for God's Church.
Look at how desperate David was. In Psalm 122, he said: "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" Notice what David didn't say. He didn't say, "I rejoice with those who said, 'Let's sleep in today and maybe go to church next week.'" He didn't say, "I rejoice with those who say, 'I am a Christian, but I don't need the church.'" No—he said, "I rejoice with those who said, 'Let's go together!'" Corporately, as the body of Christ, we worship the goodness of God in His Temple.
Why do we do that? Because God is good. Because He is worthy of our praise. And selfishly—because we've all got stuff. I mean, I have burdens. I don't just need God; I need God through you. Honestly, sometimes I love the presence of God with skin on—when someone else prays with me and for me. I need the body of Christ like I need you. And whether you know it or not, you need me too. We're desperate for each other. We're desperate for the Church.
I've been thinking about this, and it's pretty special: virtually every blessing in my life, in my marriage—virtually every blessing—I can trace back to God's faithfulness through the Church.
When I was five or six years old at First United Methodist Church back in Bonita, Texas, during a Christmas Eve communion service, I told my mom, "I feel called to be a pastor." No reason, no foreshadowing—just in that moment, in church, that's what I felt as a child. I was drawn to God through the Methodist youth group. I was voted president of the Methodist youth group—even though I wasn't a Christian. But when they asked me to pray out loud, I didn't know how. That was confusing.
I went to college on a partial athletic scholarship and a partial Church scholarship because I was youth group president. In college, someone gave me a free Bible. I read it, gave my life to Jesus, and the very first thing I did was find a church and go. It was in the Church where I made new Christian friends—and it's funny: before I was a Christian, I thought all my friends were Christians. After I became a Christian, I realized none of them were!
It was in the Church that I was discipled, that I learned God's Word, that I walked away from sins that had held me hostage for years. It was in the Church that I learned to stop being selfish, to give, to tithe. Someone in the Church told me about Amy, and someone else confirmed she was a godly, passionate Jesus-follower. Our first date? We went to my Bible study. We grew together spiritually in the Church. We felt called by God to serve Him together in the Church. I proposed to Amy in front of everybody at church. We did our premarital counseling with my pastor. We were married and shared our vows before God at the Church.
I preached my first sermon in the Church. Today I have the richest group of lifelong friends you could imagine—all found and formed through God's Church. All six of my children were baptized in the Church. They all discovered who they are in Christ through the Church. They're all grown now and all serving Jesus in the Church. My four daughters met four guys in the Church and married them. My son met his girlfriend in the Church and married her. My extra son is dating a girl he met in the Church. And they're all serving Jesus today.
You might ask why. I'll tell you plainly: it's not because we were perfect parents. It's because the Church helped disciple my children to become followers of Jesus. Here's what's true: we never, not one time, said, "Are we going to church this weekend?" Of course not—because we're the pastor, we had to go, right? No. When we weren't pastors and we were dating, we went to church. We didn't go because we're pastors; we went because we're Christians, period. When we go on vacation, what do we do? We find a church and go, because that's what we do.
The Church blessed my children. The Church discipled my children. What is the Church? The Bride of Christ. Jesus said, "I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." Every blessing I have in my life I can trace back to God's hand through the Church.
David said this about those planted in the Church: "The righteous are planted, rooted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God." The best blessings of God, I believe with all my heart, are found with His people in the Church.
Some of you are going to say, "That's not my story. I don't have that." Well, let's start there. You can pre-decide today to pursue intimacy with God. Here's what I'm telling you: whether you know it or not, you are desperate for His presence. You are desperate for His Word. You are desperate for His presence through His people in His body, the Church.
Think ahead and recognize: not only do you need Him today, but you're going to need the presence of God in the future. So what do you do? You pre-decide to seek Him today. Because you'll never encounter Him without intentionality.
If I could ask you one question—what one thing could God do for you?—and if you truly realized how desperate you really are for Him, your answer would be immediate and simple: "God, I just need You. I need Your presence with me. I need Your Word correcting, convicting, and strengthening me. And I need You—Your love through Your people in the Church." Because whether you know it or not, in every single moment, you are desperate for Him.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to decide today. I'm not waiting for an emergency in the future. I want to be very, very close to Him today. You are desperate for God.
Let me ask you something: if we could sit down and have an intimate conversation, and I asked you, "Where do you stand with God?"—how would you answer? Some of you would tell me a story, but it would lack confidence. It would lack intimacy. It would lack clarity.
I believe with all my heart that God doesn't want you to have uncertainty when you answer that question. I believe He wants you to know Him intimately.
Let me tell you about how good He is. Our God is a relational God. The first thing He did was speak. When He spoke, He created man. He created man because He wanted to love man. He created woman for man. And God showed His love for us—not by shouting from heaven, but by coming to Earth in the person of His Son, Jesus.
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God who was perfect in every way. He never sinned. Jesus gave His life on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. God pre-decided to send His Son while we were still sinners. Scripture says Jesus died for us. And the good news is: He did not stay dead. Three days later, the stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave.
Why did He do this? So that anyone—and this includes you, no matter what you've done, no matter where you are—anyone who recognizes their desperation for God could call out to Him through Jesus. When you do, God hears your prayers. Scripture says God forgives your sins. He separates your sins from you as far as the East is from the West.
Today, some of you—it's time to decide. On this day, as for you, you can be a follower of Jesus. You may feel unworthy. You may feel like you need to clean up first. No. You come to Him exactly as you are, right now. You come to Him and say yes. God is loving you. You are not here by accident.
If you don't really know where you stand with Him, then by faith, as you call on His name, He will hear your prayer. He will forgive your sins. You will never be the same. Those who say, "Yes, that's me. I'm ready to decide to give my life to Him. I'm not playing around. I'm stepping away from my sin. I am surrendering my life to Jesus today"—would you lift your hands and say yes?
Others of you say, "I choose today to surrender my life." Lift your hands high right now. Jesus, I surrender. Would You be the Lord of my life?
I'm going to ask all of you to pray with those around you:
Heavenly Father, would You forgive my sins? Jesus, save me. Make me new. Fill me with Your Spirit so I could walk in Your presence, so I could know Your Word, and so I could be strong in Your Church. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for new life. I give You all of mine in Jesus' name. I pray.
Worship Him right now. Give thanks to God today. Welcome those born into God's family.
