Consecrated - Message 4: A consecrated heart
INTRODUCTION: TURN TO 1 PETER 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15, NIV.
Today, we are going to discover what it means to have hearts set apart for Christ.
PRAYER
1. MY HEART IS GOOD. Ezekiel 36:26-27
God – through His prophet Ezekiel, spoke to what His intentions towards were – hear with the ears of your heart this truth from God:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26, 27, NIV.
Outside of a relationship with Christ, our hearts are in deep trouble. They lead us astray and generally cannot be trusted. This is what Jeremiah meant when he said:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
But the cure for our hearts came when we allowed Jesus access to them!
In Christ – your heart has been…
• Transformed not reformed!
Jesus told Nicodemus that… ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:7, NIV
God gave us the Law of Moses to show us out desparete need for transformation – not reformation! The difference between transformation and reformation is that in reformation you are cleaning up and polishing what already exists, but in transformation you are changing something at it’s very core and nature. Christ said – ‘you must be born again’ – meaning that we need a complete makeover – a complete fresh start – a complete and utter transformation.
And transformation is exactly what happens to us when we come to Christ!
Paul put it this way in Galatians 6:15:
“It doesn't make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.” Galatians 6:15 NLT
And this is exactly what Christ did for you and I – He made us – at the very core of our beings NEW PEOPLE! In order to do that he had to…
• Remove my old heart! (The Cross of Christ)
Look again at Ezekiel 36… “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
This is what Christ did on the cross – He did far more than simply forgive you your sin and tell you to ‘go about your business – trying harder to be good!’ – NO!
According to Romans 6:10-11, here’s what happened in the cross of Christ:
“Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time -- enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:10-11 NCV
Christ’s death killed off the power of sin to rule our lives!
But there’s more – for after he removed the heart of stone – He…
• Replaced with a New Heart! (The Resurrection of Christ)
There is far more to the Gospel Message than the Cross of Christ!
We’ve received a heart transplant – where there was death – we are now ALIVE! And our hearts have been made GOOD in Christ!
And the key to this is the resurrection of Christ!
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:14,17
Without resurrection – we are hopeless and dead! But with resurrection – everything changes for us!
What did the Apostles and early church fathers focus on? THE RESURRECTION of Christ!
“…the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” Acts 4:2, NIV.
“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33, NIV.
“…Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Acts 17:18, NIV.
John Eldredge wrote: “The reason the first and closest friends of Jesus focused on miracles, healing, and hopeful aspects of the faith such as the Ascension and Resurrection was simply that those are what God Himself wants us to focus on. Those are the point. Those make Christianity such very good news. A dead man is not a great deal of help to us; a dead God is even worse. But life, real life, the power of God is restore you… now that’s a whole nother matter.”
Jesus says in Matthew 12:33 says…“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good…” Matthew 12:33 – and that is exactly what He had done for you – He has made you a good tree! He has given you a good heart!
And – it is in this new and good heart…
• Where God lives!
The New Testament teaches us that are bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit – but where is the Holy of Holies – where is the place that GOD lives?
“…Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” Ephesians 3:17
The Holy of Holies – the Dwelling Place of God – is in your HEART!
Your heart has been made GOOD by Christ – so SET IT APART for Christ!
With all of this being true – it should come as no surprise that…
2. MY HEART IS UNDER ATTACK.
If someone were to write a story – or make a movie – about your life – there would be a common theme running through it: You have been under attack. The enemy of your heart is out to get you. He works full time assaulting you and doing everything in his power to cause you to lose heart.
That’s why God’s Word says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Jesus helped us to see the true nature of our enemy:
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Satan wants to kill you – and at the very least, he wants you to believe his lies. WHY? Because he fears what will happen when you start to live out of your true heart! You are a powerful source for good and for God in this world as you walk in the power of the resurrection! And anything that the enemy can do to keep you down is exactly what he’ll do.
Your heart is under attack.
Have you noticed how hard it can be to stay in a place where you are actually believing that you matter to God? That your heart is good? That God really truly cares and is actively involved in your life?
Have you noticed how easy it is to fall into a place of doubt – about yourself, about those around you and about God?
Your heart is under attack.
Then enemy works through subtle accusations, hoping that we will agree with him. Here’s some examples:
• You have an argument with your daughter on the way to school – “Well, I blew it again. Like usual. I am such a lousy parent…”
• You arrive late for an appointment, rushed and out of breath – “Late again? Why can’t I get anywhere on time? What is wrong with me? I wouldn’t blame them if they left without me…”
• You decide to pray, but suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere vile, filthy thoughts fill your mind – or – you cannot get quiet inside and all of your ‘to-do’s’ that aren’t done start crowding out space in your head for God – and you give up: “This prayer thing doesn’t work. I just get more and more frustrated – and how could God love me when I think such horrible thoughts…”
Your heart is under attack.
The Remedy? MAKE NO AGREEMENTS! The voice of God never condemns! The voice of God never leads to confusion and discouragement! MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
The voice of Satan kills and confuses – MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
• Do not AGREE with words that bring you down!
• Do not AGREE with words that are condemning!
Tell that lying spirit to go to Hell in Jesus name! MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
INSTEAD – Ask the Lord: “What would you say to me? What do you want me to believe in this moment?” And – when Jesus speaks – AGREE! EMBRACE! SPEAK FAITH!
But how do I know what Jesus says about my heart?
3. MY HEART NEEDS REVELATION. Ezekiel 36:27
Look again at Ezekiel 36 – verse 27: “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
God puts His Spirit within you – so that you are empowered to see with the eyes of His Spirit! You have the Holy Spirit so that you can have revelation of what God is really saying about you!
Jesus said in John 14:26…
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26
It’s as if Jesus said: “I am giving you the Holy Spirit for this very purpose: To give you revelation! To teach you the truth about who I am, what I am doing, who you are in me!”
The attack against you is great, and you cannot fight this fight with the eyes of your mind, flesh or emotions – you need spiritual eyesight, you need revelation. If you are going to ‘set apart Christ as Lord’ you’ve got to learn to see with the eyes of the heart!
Look at Ephesians 1:18
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:18
Paul isn’t using clever words here – he is going to battle for us: “God, open the eyes of their hearts – let them see things as they really are! They feel despair – show them the hope! They feel isolated and on their own – let them see your glorious plans for them! Open their spiritual eyes! Give them revelation!”
Paul also write in 2 Corinthians 4:16…
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
• In a life filled with trouble – do not lose heart!
• Instead – fix your eyes on the unseen – fix your spiritual eyes on the things of God, on the eternal!
In Ephesians 1:17 we read…
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:17
Do you need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation?
Do you need to know Him better?
If Paul can ask – so can we.
We are going to take a very practical step right now – we are going to ASK God to give us spiritual eyesight – to give us revelation of Himself – to give us wisdom – to help us know Him better!
We are going to use the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” as a tool. As we sing – seek the Holy Spirit. As we sing – seek the answers to your struggles. As we sing – place your heart before Him and ask Him for what you need in the battle.
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
What is God revealing to you?
Now – do these three things:
1. Agree with what He has revealed.
2. Agree to what He wants you to do.
3. Praise God for His revelation.
In the battle against your good heart, set your heart apart for Christ!
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15, NIV.
Today, we are going to discover what it means to have hearts set apart for Christ.
PRAYER
1. MY HEART IS GOOD. Ezekiel 36:26-27
God – through His prophet Ezekiel, spoke to what His intentions towards were – hear with the ears of your heart this truth from God:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26, 27, NIV.
Outside of a relationship with Christ, our hearts are in deep trouble. They lead us astray and generally cannot be trusted. This is what Jeremiah meant when he said:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
But the cure for our hearts came when we allowed Jesus access to them!
In Christ – your heart has been…
• Transformed not reformed!
Jesus told Nicodemus that… ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:7, NIV
God gave us the Law of Moses to show us out desparete need for transformation – not reformation! The difference between transformation and reformation is that in reformation you are cleaning up and polishing what already exists, but in transformation you are changing something at it’s very core and nature. Christ said – ‘you must be born again’ – meaning that we need a complete makeover – a complete fresh start – a complete and utter transformation.
And transformation is exactly what happens to us when we come to Christ!
Paul put it this way in Galatians 6:15:
“It doesn't make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.” Galatians 6:15 NLT
And this is exactly what Christ did for you and I – He made us – at the very core of our beings NEW PEOPLE! In order to do that he had to…
• Remove my old heart! (The Cross of Christ)
Look again at Ezekiel 36… “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
This is what Christ did on the cross – He did far more than simply forgive you your sin and tell you to ‘go about your business – trying harder to be good!’ – NO!
According to Romans 6:10-11, here’s what happened in the cross of Christ:
“Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time -- enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:10-11 NCV
Christ’s death killed off the power of sin to rule our lives!
But there’s more – for after he removed the heart of stone – He…
• Replaced with a New Heart! (The Resurrection of Christ)
There is far more to the Gospel Message than the Cross of Christ!
We’ve received a heart transplant – where there was death – we are now ALIVE! And our hearts have been made GOOD in Christ!
And the key to this is the resurrection of Christ!
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:14,17
Without resurrection – we are hopeless and dead! But with resurrection – everything changes for us!
What did the Apostles and early church fathers focus on? THE RESURRECTION of Christ!
“…the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” Acts 4:2, NIV.
“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33, NIV.
“…Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Acts 17:18, NIV.
John Eldredge wrote: “The reason the first and closest friends of Jesus focused on miracles, healing, and hopeful aspects of the faith such as the Ascension and Resurrection was simply that those are what God Himself wants us to focus on. Those are the point. Those make Christianity such very good news. A dead man is not a great deal of help to us; a dead God is even worse. But life, real life, the power of God is restore you… now that’s a whole nother matter.”
Jesus says in Matthew 12:33 says…“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good…” Matthew 12:33 – and that is exactly what He had done for you – He has made you a good tree! He has given you a good heart!
And – it is in this new and good heart…
• Where God lives!
The New Testament teaches us that are bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit – but where is the Holy of Holies – where is the place that GOD lives?
“…Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” Ephesians 3:17
The Holy of Holies – the Dwelling Place of God – is in your HEART!
Your heart has been made GOOD by Christ – so SET IT APART for Christ!
With all of this being true – it should come as no surprise that…
2. MY HEART IS UNDER ATTACK.
If someone were to write a story – or make a movie – about your life – there would be a common theme running through it: You have been under attack. The enemy of your heart is out to get you. He works full time assaulting you and doing everything in his power to cause you to lose heart.
That’s why God’s Word says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Jesus helped us to see the true nature of our enemy:
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Satan wants to kill you – and at the very least, he wants you to believe his lies. WHY? Because he fears what will happen when you start to live out of your true heart! You are a powerful source for good and for God in this world as you walk in the power of the resurrection! And anything that the enemy can do to keep you down is exactly what he’ll do.
Your heart is under attack.
Have you noticed how hard it can be to stay in a place where you are actually believing that you matter to God? That your heart is good? That God really truly cares and is actively involved in your life?
Have you noticed how easy it is to fall into a place of doubt – about yourself, about those around you and about God?
Your heart is under attack.
Then enemy works through subtle accusations, hoping that we will agree with him. Here’s some examples:
• You have an argument with your daughter on the way to school – “Well, I blew it again. Like usual. I am such a lousy parent…”
• You arrive late for an appointment, rushed and out of breath – “Late again? Why can’t I get anywhere on time? What is wrong with me? I wouldn’t blame them if they left without me…”
• You decide to pray, but suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere vile, filthy thoughts fill your mind – or – you cannot get quiet inside and all of your ‘to-do’s’ that aren’t done start crowding out space in your head for God – and you give up: “This prayer thing doesn’t work. I just get more and more frustrated – and how could God love me when I think such horrible thoughts…”
Your heart is under attack.
The Remedy? MAKE NO AGREEMENTS! The voice of God never condemns! The voice of God never leads to confusion and discouragement! MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
The voice of Satan kills and confuses – MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
• Do not AGREE with words that bring you down!
• Do not AGREE with words that are condemning!
Tell that lying spirit to go to Hell in Jesus name! MAKE NO AGREEMENTS!
INSTEAD – Ask the Lord: “What would you say to me? What do you want me to believe in this moment?” And – when Jesus speaks – AGREE! EMBRACE! SPEAK FAITH!
But how do I know what Jesus says about my heart?
3. MY HEART NEEDS REVELATION. Ezekiel 36:27
Look again at Ezekiel 36 – verse 27: “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
God puts His Spirit within you – so that you are empowered to see with the eyes of His Spirit! You have the Holy Spirit so that you can have revelation of what God is really saying about you!
Jesus said in John 14:26…
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26
It’s as if Jesus said: “I am giving you the Holy Spirit for this very purpose: To give you revelation! To teach you the truth about who I am, what I am doing, who you are in me!”
The attack against you is great, and you cannot fight this fight with the eyes of your mind, flesh or emotions – you need spiritual eyesight, you need revelation. If you are going to ‘set apart Christ as Lord’ you’ve got to learn to see with the eyes of the heart!
Look at Ephesians 1:18
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:18
Paul isn’t using clever words here – he is going to battle for us: “God, open the eyes of their hearts – let them see things as they really are! They feel despair – show them the hope! They feel isolated and on their own – let them see your glorious plans for them! Open their spiritual eyes! Give them revelation!”
Paul also write in 2 Corinthians 4:16…
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
• In a life filled with trouble – do not lose heart!
• Instead – fix your eyes on the unseen – fix your spiritual eyes on the things of God, on the eternal!
In Ephesians 1:17 we read…
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:17
Do you need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation?
Do you need to know Him better?
If Paul can ask – so can we.
We are going to take a very practical step right now – we are going to ASK God to give us spiritual eyesight – to give us revelation of Himself – to give us wisdom – to help us know Him better!
We are going to use the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” as a tool. As we sing – seek the Holy Spirit. As we sing – seek the answers to your struggles. As we sing – place your heart before Him and ask Him for what you need in the battle.
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
What is God revealing to you?
Now – do these three things:
1. Agree with what He has revealed.
2. Agree to what He wants you to do.
3. Praise God for His revelation.
In the battle against your good heart, set your heart apart for Christ!
posted by Doug Love at 10:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home