Where’s your Heart at? Part 3
Bruce Chant
generation-j - Pulse
23/05/2003
Where’s your heart at?
“Above
all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
It is out of the overflow of what
is in our heart that leads to how we live our life. We like to blame other
factors – other people leading us to sin, others sinning against us,
opportunities to sin we find ourself in, we were set up, we were tired and
depressed and we couldn’t help it.
It is none of these things – it is
what is already within that simply springs out; from the heart – these things
come; good or bad.
Matthew 12:34b
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Proverbs 27:19 “As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the
man.”
If you want to know what is going
on in your heart – just look at your life, and take stock. Your life reflects
your heart.
Set your Vision
Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than
all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”
“Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us,”
The key to seeing God do
“immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” is the power that is at work within
us.
What is the power at work within you?
Is it Jesus or something
completely else?
IS it a heart turned towards God,
delighting in God, enjoying God? Or is it something else?
Where your heart is at will
determine whether you will see exceedingly abundant things happening in your
life or not.
God says:
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ[2] who strengthens me.”
“Jesus
said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes."”
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has
faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.”
It is a question of Spirit vs Flesh
Galatians 5
“16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the
desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what
is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful
nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you
want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us
not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
The above can be broken into the following categories of sinfulness and idolatry:
1. Sexual: “sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery”,
2. Occultic: “idolatry
and witchcraft”,
3. Relational: “hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy”,
4. Addictive:
“drunkenness, orgies, and the like”,
Such issues and problems arise
when your heart is not set on God or when you have a dead stone heart.
But a heart turned towards God
will see “exceedingly, abundant things happen – more than you could ask or even
imagine.
Power – is an attribute of
God:
“… Salvation and glory and power belong
to our God,”
“His divine power has given us everything
we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by
his own glory and goodness.”
Power is given to us, God’s
people.
“But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love and of selfdiscipline.”
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter
of talk but of power.”
God’s power is at work
within us to accomplish the purposes of God.
“With this in mind, we constantly pray
for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his
power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your
faith.”
Everything is under God’s power –
He is all sovereign.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to
God;”
We are made servants of the Gospel
“I became a servant of this gospel by
the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.”
God’s Power (at work in us)
is demonstrated in:
Overcoming Evil
“All the people were amazed and said to
each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives
orders to evil spirits and they come out!"”
Overcoming Sickness
“One day as he was teaching, Pharisees
and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from
Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present
for him to heal the sick.”
Overcoming Death and Hell
“But I will show you whom you should
fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into
hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
Overcoming unbelief
“With great power the apostles continued
to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them
all.”
Overcoming Sin and Rebellion
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because
it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for
the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
“For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.”
Overcoming Hopelessness
Hope – the future is bright
because of what is planned by God!!
“May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.”
Overcoming Lack of Faith
“so that your faith might not rest on
men's wisdom, but on God's power.”
Overcoming Strongholds
‘The weapons we fight with are not the
weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds.”
Overcoming Weaknesses
God’s power works in our weakness
(ie we need to recognise we are weak, we can’t do it in our own strength
therefore God’s power works in us)
“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”
God’s power working in us gives us
strength
“I pray that out of his glorious riches
he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,”
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
God power at work in us gives us
endurance, patience, joyful thanks
Colossians 1:11-12 “being
strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may
have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to
the Father,...”
Why “Joyful Thanks”?
Because of WHAT God is going to do
– it is exceedingly abundantly more than you could hope or even imagine – that
is worth shouting thanks for!!
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