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"My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you."
-Proverbs 7:1 |
Sermon Archive
Training My Heart
Every single one of us has quitting points, and if we don’t strengthen ourselves to be able to break through those points, the enemy can actually influence our future. For example, when the heat of difficulty gets up to 7 (on a scale of 1-10) in your marriage, you give up. When the heat gets up to 7 with your employer, you give up. If your quitting point is 7 and the devil knows it, he can influence your future by turning up the heat at strategic points in your life to get you to distrust God’s way and try to do life our way.
TRAINING MY HEART
Our hearts cause us to do what we do. In Luke 6:45 Jesus said: “Good people bring good things out of the good they stored in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil they stored in their hearts. People speak the things that are in their hearts.” (NCV)
The principle of this passage is very simple: “our hearts cause, direct, shape and guide our behavior.” Our hearts (the inner person) cause us to do what we do.
In this life, we will face trials, tests, hardships, difficulties, challenges and it’s the condition of our heart that will affect the outcome. The Apostle Peter shared this with his friends: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” (1 Pet 4:12NLT)
When trials hit you, what is your first response; shock, surprise, disbelief, hurt, confusion, anger, resentment, fear? Your first response or tendency…is your default system. As Christians we've experienced a spiritual conversion, but our default systems do not change quickly.
God’s word for today is about training our hearts so we can respond in a manner that pleases the Lord. Oftentimes, we wrestle with ourselves…doing things we don't want to do but doing it because it's our default. Even Paul the apostle struggled with this. In Romans 7:15, he said, “What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise!”(msg)
Can the Lord progressively change our hearts so that His ways become our first response? The answer is…Yes! He can IF we will submit our hearts to training. Training takes time, effort, energy, and maybe even suffering. A lot of times we want God to be our “blesser” or “rescuer” but we don’t want Him to be our trainer and coach.
We may want the Lord to bless us but not train us however the Lord actually blesses us by changing our hearts. Our hearts need changing because our default setting is not always the best. Is there any way you can change it? Yes! In fact, here are three ways, according to Dr. Wayne Corderio, God will train and discipline your heart so that He can change your default system to something of the Lord, rather than something of the flesh. First of all, you must learn to…
1. TRAIN YOURSELF FOR THE PURPOSE OF GODLINESS.
“… train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life
“… train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life
and in the life to come.” (1 Tim. 4:7 NLT).
Before the trials and tests hit, we need to train ourselves. Athletes and musicians do certain routines over and over again (e.g. scales, sit-ups, sprints), everyday. They must discipline themselves because no one else can do it for them. In our spiritual lives as well, there are disciplines we must practice and train for so that in the heat of the battle, it (the right reaction) will be more natural. One discipline we need to stick with for the rest of our lives is… a Regular TIME in the Bible.
We need to take time read our training manual and write down what He is saying. The SOAP method is a good one. Ask the Lord, “What are you saying about my life with You and others? Is there anything you want me to do?” Write down what you are learning, as you open the Bible, God will speak to you. I know I always talk about taking time to read the Bible, but it is Peter who said, “I plan to keep on reminding you of these things – even though you already know them…”(2 Peter 1:12 NLT). I’m in good company with Peter.
Reading the Bible, on a regular basis, will help you survive the eventual trials and tests that you will face.
The Bible says the Word of God is living, so when you put God’s Words in you, and His Word begins speaking to you, you can actually train yourself…
The Bible, the Word of God, is alive and it will help us train. “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen & obey.(Heb. 4:12 msg). As you read the Bible, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you learn. Jesus told his followers that after he left them, the Father would send the Holy Spirit. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit… He will teach you all things, & bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”(John 14:26).
When you read, process, and digest God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will teach you, and your heart will begin to be trained. The first way God trains your heart is to have you train your heart for the purpose of godliness. The second thing you must do is …
2. HUMBLE YOURSELF UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time”(1 Peter 5:6).
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time”(1 Peter 5:6).
Humble here means to submit yourself, specifically to submit to “The mighty hand of God. ” In the OT “the mighty hand of God” is a symbol of God's power working in our lives accomplishing His sovereign loving purpose. “The mighty hand of God means different things at different times. Sometimes the mighty hand of God is used to deliver the believer from trouble. Sometimes the mighty hand of God is used to protect the believer through a time of testing. It's a shelter rather than a deliverance. Sometimes the mighty hand of God is used as a correcting hand bringing discipline. But always it is the sovereign mighty hand of God...whether for deliverance, for testing, for chastening, always God's mighty hand. It's the essence of humility. It's the confidence that the mighty hand of God is not over you to crush you but to care for you.
We need to humbly ask God to help us identify the sinful default settings in our lives, and if we respectfully fear the Lord, we will change. In Proverbs it says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..” But what does it mean to fear God? Does it mean to be scared or terrified of God? For some the answer is yes, some need to be afraid of him because there is a judgment day coming.
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is considered one of the greatest sermons ever preached in NA. Jonathan Edwards, preacher, philosopher, theologian, and the leading intellectual figure of colonial America preached this sermon July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. It remains Edwards' most famous written sermon. He taught graphically that Hell is a real place. He hoped that the imagery and message of his sermon would awaken his audience to the horrific reality that he argued awaited all those who reject Jesus. Those who reject Jesus should be terrified of going to hell.
For those who have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior and received Him by personal invitation are to “fear the Lord” in a different manner.
Let me illustrate: The concept of fearing God was difficult for me to understand until a Christian friend, who was an electrician, shared this. He said, “When you work with electricity you need to know it’s power, you respect it greatly and you fear it. If you work with it properly, the blessings are great but if you don't respect or fear it, it is extremely dangerous and the effects can be devastating (including death).” For Christians that’s how it is with God. Our wonderful, all-powerful God wants to bless us but if we ignore his Word and get off track, we’ll experience and suffer the harmful effects of sin. When you “humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,” you’ll be better able to detect those times when you are getting off track. As you humble yourself, God will train your heart so that your heart will be more like Jesus.
In addition to training and humbling yourself, there will be times when you will need to…
3. STRENGTHEN YOURSELF IN THE LORD.
There are going to be times when you'll get discouraged and there’ll be no one around to strengthen you. During those times, you need to strengthen yourself. “…David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”(1 Sam. 30:6).
There are going to be times when you'll get discouraged and there’ll be no one around to strengthen you. During those times, you need to strengthen yourself. “…David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”(1 Sam. 30:6).
In those seasons when there isn’t anyone around to encourage you, you’ll want to give up. One of the greatest tests of maturity is whether you can strengthen yourself in the Lord. Some of God’s greatest men and women, needed to strengthen themselves in the Lord. This is critical because it’ll help us… BREAK THROUGH QUITTING POINTS.
Every single one of us has quitting points, and if we don’t strengthen ourselves to be able to break through those points, the enemy can actually influence our future. For example, when the heat of difficulty gets up to 7 (on a scale of 1-10) in your marriage, you give up. When the heat gets up to 7 with your employer, you give up. If your quitting point is 7 and the devil knows it, he can influence your future by turning up the heat at strategic points in your life to get you to distrust God’s way and try to do life our way.
Satan will manipulate you and take you right to the edge where you've given up and you feel like you have nothing left...then he goes in for the kill. Remember, the Bible refers to Satan as a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We must learn to break through quitting points. When you start breaking through quitting points, then Satan can’t influence your future because you’re breaking through the challenges. Your tendency is no longer to bail out but instead to follow Jesus. Then, when people look at your life, they’ll see someone who, when your heart is tested and challenged, will follow His ways.
When we ask God to be the trainer of our hearts, we need to put our full trust in Him even when things get uncomfortable or even painful. Please allow the Father to be your strength coach and help you progressively train, humble and strengthen yourself . You’ll be transformed into a man or woman after His own heart.
Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel . . . in both directions. Now she would swim from Catalina Island to the California Coast.
The year was 1952. The day was dense with fog. The cold water was numbing. Florence could hardly see. She could hear rifles-shooting at sharks nearby. After more than 15 hours, it all became too much. Her trainer urged her on, but with no land in sight, her will was gone. Florence quit swimming.
That day, Florence Chadwick gave up one-half mile from her goal. When you're ready to quit, keep on swimming . . . the fog will lift and you'll see how close you are . . . in the high calling of our daily work.
The year was 1952. The day was dense with fog. The cold water was numbing. Florence could hardly see. She could hear rifles-shooting at sharks nearby. After more than 15 hours, it all became too much. Her trainer urged her on, but with no land in sight, her will was gone. Florence quit swimming.
That day, Florence Chadwick gave up one-half mile from her goal. When you're ready to quit, keep on swimming . . . the fog will lift and you'll see how close you are . . . in the high calling of our daily work.