Intro: Jesus told a group of people if I force or cast out demons by the power of God then the kingdom of God has come to you. What is the kingdom of God? It is the rule and reign of Jesus Christ over all areas of life. Jesus doesn’t just wish to rule over the fallen angels. He desires to direct your life by ruling over your heart.
Proverbs 23:6 “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.”
Why does God want our hearts? Why does He want us to freely give our hearts away to Him? Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart for from it flow the springs of life.”
Psalm 51:16-17 “You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” (HCSB)
Psalm 51:16-17 “Going through the motions doesn’t please You, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Matthew 15:19 “Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, other sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within (from the heart). 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating without washing one’s hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”
The activities of a heart that is separated and not surrendered to God causes pain and suffering in our lives and the lives of others. When Jesus is reining in our hearts the pattern of our life is to bless and not curse, to heal and not hurt.
Isaiah 29:13 “these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote”
When our worship of God is based on forms instead of intimate interaction with His Holy Spirit and His Holy Word it is lip service. What God wants from us is our heart in a daily relationship of trust and obedience.
What does Paul say about salvation? Romans 10:9-10 believe in your heart God raised Jesus from the dead.
I. Giving God your heart means giving Him your desires in life (Proverbs 23:1-3)
If we are not careful our desires will destroy us. How can our desires be harmful to us and to others? Wrong desires lead to wrong action. David’s desire for Bathsheba destroyed Uriah’s life and the life of Bathsheba and David’s first son. It left David scarred for the rest of his life. We all have evil desires that we should not ignore. In order to follow the Holy Spirits leadership we must deal decisively with ungodly desire. How do we deal with them?
Galatians 5:24 We crucify them with Christ. The desires can include obvious sins like sexual immorality or witchcraft. They can also include less obvious, selfish ambition, hatred, jealousy, gossip, gluttony, greed. Galatians 5.16 “But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.”
It is possible in the power of the Holy Spirit to have your desires and habits changed. If you give your desires to Jesus!! If you will walk by the Spirit sins power is broken!! Walking by the Spirit means that our day to day conduct that begins with our inner life of desires is changed by the presence of God’s holy Spirit. If you don’t desire to live the way God directs then ask Him to change your desires then live like He has!!
II. Giving God your heart means giving Him your thought life
A) Submission of your thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5) read
Proverbs 23:7a “as a man thinks so he is.” What you believe is what directs your behavior. What you really believe in your heart will determine the type of relationship you have with God. Your trust or lack of trust, your communication or prayer, are all determined by what you believe. When Jesus says that we worship in Spirit and in truth He is talking about the inner life of a believer that overflows into outer action.
An outstanding Bible teacher once gave this wonderful word of caution:
When one of those defeating thoughts enters your mind, you’ve got about 5 seconds to “take that thought captive.” If you don’t… that thought is going to take YOU captive!
B) Transformation of your thoughts
God has plans for us that will prove completely satisfying to us if we will follow His plan for our lives. He tells us in Romans 12.1-2 that he wants us to be living sacrifices and the only way that happens is to be transformed in our thought life. He doesn’t just want us saved from hell He wants us changed from hellish living. He wants us to be new and different people. If a person is what they think then we all need radical transformation of our minds. Jesus died to set us free from our old thought patterns. He died to give us a heavenly mindset. It is vital to ask God to help us to think before we talk or act. We must consider the consequence of our thinking, choosing, and acting. This does not happen by accident. It happens when we offer our thoughts to Jesus for a radical transformation. The truth will set you free but it will hurt you first.
C) Revolution of your actions
God created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Acts of love direct by God only happen in the life of a person who thinks Godly thoughts. When someone hurts us if we think well they were out to get me. You have already derailed God’s pattern for your thought life. Whenever our thoughts are concentrated on what we get out of anything then our actions will not be Godly.
III. Giving God your heart means giving Him your emotional life
Ephesians 4:31 “All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.”
Paul is directing us to let go of every feeling or emotion inconsistent with love. How do we do this? Malice is a drive to hurt someone and enjoy it. Bitterness is caused when we resent someone instead of forgiving them. When our emotions control us we create a prison of our own feelings. When we allow the Holy Spirit of God to control them then we have freedom. As long as we are angry, bitter, or malicious toward another they are in control and we are in chains. There are always physical repercussions to our thinking, desires, and emotions. If we allow them to control us it leads to sickness, sadness and separation from God and others.
IV. Giving God your heart means giving Him you decisions in life
Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God delivered all of mankind and creation into the sin and suffering we live in.
Decisions determine destiny. It is what you decide that will determine where you spend all of eternity. If you decide to believe on Jesus Christ and accept His free forgiveness of sin and submit your life to Him you will live in Heaven now and forever.
If you decide to ignore what God did in Jesus Christ you will live in hell now and forever.
The greatest decision you will ever make is to allow Jesus Christ to become the Savior and Lord of your life.
How do I do this?
What difference does it make?
A) Decisions are based off of information
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me and I will show you great and mighty things you don’t know
B) Decisions are easy when God is allowed to direct
