The Heart of it All

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope this finds you well and open to the words of Pastor Paul. I just love receiving his emails and I'm truly blessed to have him in my life. My husband Chris has this way of explaining the special people in our lives as "living angels" and after Adam left I have been blessed with many. Pastor Paul would say that I've been receiving angels all my life, it just wasn't until I hit rock bottom and ask for help that I could feel them. So I want to thank all my angels, past and present! Thank you for helping me, guiding me, caring for me and excepting me. Love to you all. ~Sara

A Few Minutes in the Word of God with Pastor Paul
“Biblical prescriptions for a better life”

Today’s Focus:
We live in a world that’s fascinated with the heart. – We hear often about “Heart Smart Days” or “How to Stay Young At Heart, with Heart Healthy Recipes.”
- Nutritionists tell us about the right kind of foods which promote a healthy heart.
- It doesn’t make any difference whether our favorite exercise is walking, running, cycling or swimming, consistent exercise is crucial for a healthy heart.

When God talks about the heart, He’s not usually referring to the blood-pumping vessel that keeps our bodies alive.
- When God talks about the heart, He’s referring to the very core of who we are.
- The Bible uses the word “heart” to describe the bundle of desires and hopes and dreams we have deep inside us.

Today, we want to talk about three insights that will help us live in such a way so we experience the desires of our heart.

Message: “The Heart of it All”

Scripture: Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Our Main Points:
The significance of our hearts.
- The Bible uses the word “heart” to describe our deepest longings and dreams and ambitions... the things we care about most and love to do.
... Proverbs 27:19 says: “Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart” (The Message).
... In other words, our heart is what makes us!
- The Bible says our hearts determine three things.
... Why we say the things we do – Jesus said it like this: “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
... Why we feel the way we do – Hebrews 4:12 says: “God’s word judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.”
... Why we act the way we do – Proverbs 4:27 says: “Above all else, guard your heart for it’s the wellspring of life.”

- Our hearts are what motivates us to do the things we do and God wants us to do what we do with all of our heart. – Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord.”
Signs that we’re experiencing life with all our heart:
- God wants us to do what we do out of the motivations He puts within us.
... How do we know if we’re doing that?
... How do we know if we’re living with all our heart?
- There are three evidences of that above is happening.
... Enthusiasm – Ecclesiastes 2:10 says, “My heart took delight in all my work.”
... Effectiveness – That’s what the Apostle Paul talked about in Romans 15:20, when he said, “It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known¼”
... Excellence – The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (I Corinthians 9:27a).
- One of the great tragedies of life is that so few people live life with all their heart.

Steps to living with all our heart?
- The Scriptures warn us about the deceitfulness of our hearts?”
... Jeremiah 17:9 says, ““The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
... On the one hand, God wants to give us the desires of our hearts; but on the other hand, our heart is deceitful and beyond cure.
- What are we supposed to do about this mentioned above and how can we protect the integrity of those most basic desires of our hearts? – Here’s what we need to do:
... Surrender our lives to Christ. – “Seek your happiness in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desire. Give yourself to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will help you” (Psalm 37:4,5).
... Search out our interests. – Paul said it like this: “Everyone should examine his own conduct, then he will be able to take the measure of his own worth, no need to compare himself to others” (Galatians 6:4).
... Seek out our options. – Proverbs 23:23 says, “... get wisdom, discipline and understanding.”
... Step out in faith.
+ “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
+ “[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight” (Philippians 2:13, Amplified Version).

Our Final Thoughts:
The secret of a fulfilled life? – “Find out what we love to do, and God made us to do, and do it for His glory!”
- Don’t drift along in life.
- Find out how we can best use who He’s made us to be (at any age) and use our gifts and our passion for His glory.
If not already, are we willing to ask God to enrich our lives more so in this way?

Our Prayer for the week: “So often, O Lord, we try to analyze and figure things out from an earthly perspective here and now in the middle of our situations. We ask, “Why did You let that happen to us?” But the answer only comes in knowing and understanding Your love; and You reveal it to us through Your Son Jesus, the language of life. What a privilege it is for us to approach You this evening. We are coming to receive Your love and reassurance so that we can stand strong and walk in faith and know Your Word, that Your will might be done, that Your kingdom might come right here to our part of the earth, as you in love have planned it there in heaven ~Amen.”