"BUT NOT
WITH A LOYAL HEART"
Intro:
1. It is said of Amaziah that he "followed the Lord," but that this was "not with a loyal heart."
2. For one’s service to the Lord to be any good, it must come from a loyal heart.
a. Loyalty is expected from the Lord. (Luke 9:57-62)
b. When one is not completely loyal, converted, and committed to the Lord, his service
is simply reduced to going through the motions.
3. This statement about Amaziah raises at least two questions in my mind:
I. Why Follow The Lord, If Not With A Loyal Heart?
A. Because of tradition. (Matt. 15:3,7-8)
1. What parents did.
a. Many follow the Lord, not because of any conviction on their own part, but that is what their
parents did.
(1) Mom and dad always went to church.
(2) Mom and dad were baptized, so why shouldn’t I.
b. Children, sometimes, grow up blindly following because of a failure in teaching.
(1) Parents have a responsibility to teach their children to follow the Lord. (Eph. 6:4)
(2) Parents must teach their children the reasons that they are to follow the Lord, else faith
cannot be produced.
(a) "Because I said so" is good enough reason for children to do many things,
but not to serve the Lord.
(b) Service to God must come out of faith, conviction and commitment and we must
produce these qualities in our children through proper teaching.
2. What I have always done.
a. Some obeyed gospel at one time, but never grew past fundamentals and therefore just go
through motions. (Cf. Heb. 5:12-14)
b. Some have no more idea of why they do what they do in their service to the Lord except that its
what they’ve "always" done.
B. Because one wants to please men.
1. Some follow the Lord because they know that is what will please their family or friends.
a. It’s not good enough to follow the Lord simply because that is what husband, wife, parent, or
friend wants you to do.
b. We must follow God that is what He wants us to do and we want to please Him. (Cf. Gal. 1:10)
2. If one follows the Lord simply to please others, he will reject the Lord if others become displeased.
(Cf. John 12:42)
3. Some just want to please themselves. Think they can get something they want out of supposed service
to the Lord. Suppose that godliness is a means of gain. (Cf. 1 Tim. 6:5)
a. A means of contacts (social, business, etc.)
b. A means of monetary gain. (handout, etc.)
C. To fulfill a sense of morality.
1. Many people at least have some sense of morality ? sense of right and wrong.
2. Some know it is good to do those things found in the Bible, but have no real loyalty to the one
who commands those things.
a. With them the Judeo-Christian ethic seems to be a good system of living ? a good system
of morality.
b. However, if they discover something else that appeals to their sense of morality, then
that will do just as well.
II. What Are The Results Of Following The Lord Without A Loyal Heart?
A. Easy for worship to become corrupted. (v. 14-15)
1. Worship is just going through the motions ? lip service. (Matt. 15:7-9)
2. If worship does not grow out of a desire to please God, then it does little good. (John 4:24)
3. Many do not know why they worship as they do. They just have always worshiped that way.
a. Easy for innovations to come into worship when there is neither knowledge of God’s will nor
loyalty to it.
b. As result we see instrumental music, emotionalism, etc.
B. Easy for daily lives to become corrupted.
1. Because of our loyalty to the Lord we behave in a different way in our lives from the world.
(1 Pet. 1:15-16; 2:9)
2. If not really loyal to Lord, when life gets tough it is easy to cave in to own "feelings."
a. Concerning wrong done us. (Cf. Rom. 12:17-21)
b. Concerning complete honesty with others. (2 Cor. 8:21; 1 Thess. 4:12)
c. Concerning marriage. (Matt. 19:4-6,9)
C. Easy to turn away from God in any respect. (v. 27)
1. Easy to become corrupted by philosophies of world. (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:21,26-27)
a. Humanism.
b. Worldly wisdom.
2. Easy to become corrupted by religious philosophies contrary to Bible.
a. Social Gospel.
b. Calvinistic ideas.
Concl:
1. Let’s follow the Lord, but with a loyal heart.
2. Our hearts must be into our service or it is no good to us.
3. How loyal are you really to the Lord? Enough to obey Him completely?