| A 40 Day Experience - Extreme Love Message
Two: “All Your Heart”
A 40 Day Experience Sermon by C. Gene Wilkes
We all have different measures of value on things and people.
We may be too confident about who we are and how much we think
people value us. You may have read this story floating around
on the Internet that tells how one man put his confidence
in what his pastor thought of him:
There were two men shipwrecked on this island. One started
screaming and yelling, “We’re going to die! We’re
going to die! There's no food! No water! We’re going
to die!” The second man was propped up against a palm
tree, so calm it drove the first man crazy. “Don’t
you understand? We’re going to die!” The second
man replied, “I make $100,000 a week.” The first
man looked at him quite dumbfounded and asked, “What
difference does that make? We’re on an island with no
food and no water. We’re going to DIE!!!” The
second answered, “You don't get it. I tithe on that
$100,000 a week. My pastor will find me!”
Some people look at us and put value in us for what we earn.
Others value us for our talents and what we can bring to the
table in experience and expertise. Rarely do others value
us for just being us. But God loves us, period, and desires
for us to love Him in the same way.
Jesus told His disciples that their extreme love for God
should come from their entire being—their heart, soul,
mind, and strength. Today we want to look at what it means
to love God with all your heart.
What is your heart?
Your heart is where God looks. (See 1 Sam. 16:1-7.) [Web
editor: how about linking to the full texts of the passages
listed in this outline?] Sam: Can you do this?
God does not look at our appearance but on our hearts. No
Botox, implants, suctions, or exercise changes where God looks
to see the real you. What is the real you? One indicator is
who you give the credit for what you accomplish. Remember
the St. Louis Ram’s Super Bowl victory in 2000? Kurt
Warner’s story was a stocker-in-a-warehouse-to-Super-Bowl-MVP
story. How did he describe himself to others?
“Who am I? I am a devout Christian man,” he
told the crowd of 40,000. “I am not a football player.
That is what I do. When I throw a touchdown pass now, my thoughts
are on how can I use this success on the field as a platform
to glorify and praise my Lord Jesus Christ. People often ask
the secret of my success as a football player. It has nothing
to do with how I work out in the off-season, or my diet. The
secret of my success is simply Jesus Christ.”
Your heart is the source of your sin and sayings (Matt. 15:19;
12:33-35). Jesus did not give us a pretty picture of our hearts.
Left to us, our hearts spew forth hurt and unkind words. Mean
intentions make any words even worse. I heard a minister confess
once that when he was a boy his family was not allowed to
say bad words. So when he got mad at his brother, he would
think of the two worst words he could think of and call his
brother this. His best shot was “You stupid, shut up.”
Your heart is a follower. It follows your priorities (Matt.
6:21). Randy Alcorn, in his helpful book on stewardship, puts
it this way, “My heart always goes where I put God’s
money.” He offers that if you want to change your heart,
change where you put your money. This truth is a hint to how
you and I can lead our hearts to the right places.
The Bible makes it clear that your heart in its natural condition
can deceive you. (Jer. 17:9). You naturally rationalize away
your mistakes, shortcomings, and sin. Your heart does not
want you to see what Holy God sees. That’s too painful.
You and I would rather not look into our hearts. Or, when
we do, our hearts deceive us into believing we are OK.
Your heart is also the source of your faith (Rom. 10:8-10).
From our hearts come the trust that guides us to God’s
grace and salvation. This kind of faith causes us to do great
things for God and others. Remember Todd Beamer’s last
words on Flight 93 before he and the other passengers caused
the plane to crash into a Pennsylvania field instead of the
U.S. Capitol or the White House? We all remember, “Let’s
roll,” but part of that last conversation with the phone
operator was, “I don’t think we're going to get
out of this thing. I’m going to have to go out on faith.”
The faith in God he had in his heart gave him the courage
to do what he did.
How do you love God with your heart?
Confess what is really in your heart (1 John 1:8,9). When
I offend my wife, I begin the reconciliation process by confessing
to her that I recognize what I did was an offense to her.
I do this because I have vowed I would love her for as long
as I live. The same is true in your relationship with God.
To love God with your heart begins (and continues) with honest
confession from your heart.
You love God with your heart when you guard it as the source
of your life and faith (Prov. 4:23). To protect the water
you drink, you must ensure the spring or well is pure. The
way to make sure the water in your life is pure is to choose
the source of God’s love as the “well spring”
of your life. This means you love God by keeping your heart
pure (Matt. 5:7). It is only with a pure, single heart for
God that you will see His work in your life. And, since your
heart is a follower, you must lead it to God (Ps. 9:1-2).
When you love God with your heart—an open, pure, honest
heart—you can live life without a heart that is numb
or cynical. Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky, in their insightful
book, Leadership on the Line, describe the value of a “sacred
heart” when faced with life’s pressures.
The virtue of a sacred heart lies in the courage to maintain
your innocence and wonder, your doubt and curiosity, and your
compassion and love even through your darkest, most difficult
moments.
Jesus calls you to love God with “all your heart.”
So what do you do?
· Confess the true condition of your heart.
· Call upon God to clean up the “well spring”
of your heart.
· Commit to leading your heart daily to the things
of God.
C. Gene Wilkes is the pastor of Legacy Drive Baptist Church
in Plano, Texas. He is the author of Jesus on Leadership:
Becomming a Servant Leader, My Identity in Christ, and With
All My Soul: God's Design for Spiritual Wellness, A Fit 4
Continuing Study.
www.lifeway.com/a40dayexperience
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