What Is It That Motivates Us?

We have come at the end of this series of messages. We have to ask ourselves the last of our questions: What is it that motivates us? Is it keeping up with the Joneses? Is it doing what everybody else does? You look at the people around you. Most of them are not happy, the people that don’t know the Lord. In Israel, I’d have to say, you see very few happy people. When Ruth and I walk down the street in Jerusalem, just as we are, people turn around and look at us because they’re not used to seeing happy people. Why do I say that? What I mean is their counsel isn’t doing them much good. Don’t follow them. You ’ve got access to a much better source.

How much has God really initiated in your home? Who is the source of activity in your home? Who directs your program? Can you say: “I heard from God and He showed me”?

Then in your church. How much has God really initiated? It may be, I don’t know. Of course, I’m British and British are prone to be critical. I have to admit that. I’ve tried to deal with it in myself for years. We have the impression it’s our job to go around and tell everybody else how to do things. I hope God has delivered me from that but I’d have to say that in most churches I don’t think people ever think in terms of hearing from God. They ’ve got a program, this is the way it’s done. 11:00 o ’clock on Sunday morning, et cetera. And, you know, whether God is in it or not is really almost irrelevant. Perhaps I’m being cynical, your church, praise God, may be different. There are churches that are very different. But you take the general spectrum of Christianity today, it’s exceptional that God has initiated something.

Remember, in this series of messages, we’re talking about the restoration of the headship of Jesus. Let’s leave the whole Church out for a while and let’s talk about our individual lives, yours and mine. If we have gone wrong, what’s the first step to putting things right? Repentance. How many of you would say, “Brother Prince, in the light of what you’ve been saying, I do need to repent.”? If the answer is ‘yes’, why don’t you pray this prayer in closing?