Passions of the Heart - Part 1

It's good to have all of you here this morning.

We're going to go ahead and get started.

I'll pray for us and then we'll begin the study.

Father, I pray that you would go before us this morning.

Thank you for the instruction that you've given to us in your word.

Thank you for the promises that we have in the scripture,

the guidance, the instruction,

but most importantly, thank you for the power that we can enjoy

through the Holy Spirit.

And as we put your word to work in our lives,

that we can experience the overcoming power of your spirit

working through us to help accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Of course, it is impossible without your help,

but with your help, it is possible.

And so we pray that you would guide us and direct us this morning

in this study and throughout the next six weeks

as we look into passions of the heart.

I pray that you would be honored and glorified through our time together.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, I want to encourage you before we get started to,

hopefully you all have one of these.

And this is going to kind of be our tour guide,

map as it were.

And so as you think about the study and as we're working through this together,

the goal is that we'll be doing this,

hopefully interactively through this study guide

and through some time of teaching

and through some responses that we get.

And I imagine that,

let me, this is grabbing me.

I imagine that some of you are wondering

what in the world have we gotten ourselves into.

And I want to say that,

if you have a pen,

it might be good to have a way to take some notes.

Anyone need a pen?

Okay.

I'm going to give this to Stephen.

And if you can be responsible for getting those out,

that'd be great.

Some of you may be wondering,

what in the world have we gotten ourselves into?

What is this going to be like?

I've got some kids who are high schoolers,

who are teenagers,

and I'm a little concerned about the content.

Maybe you've read the book,

or you've heard about the book,

and you're like,

I'm not so sure my teens are ready for this subject matter.

But going back several months now,

the pastoral team and the leaders of the church,

the deacons,

have really felt like this is an essential matter.

And not just because it addresses purity,

sexual purity in that sense,

but because it addresses kind of the foundations of living,

the things that rule your heart,

and that will set the course of activity for your life.

And we find throughout the course of the Scripture,

Old and New Testament alike,

that the affections that we have,

the desires that you have,

those ruling desires and passions of your heart,

is what's going to lead you to certain habits and patterns

that may either lead to disaster in ruin for you,

or will lead to life for you.

And so this is the tipping point.

This subject that we're talking about

is really the essence of what God has called us to consider.

That we think about the first and second great commands.

What is that first and greatest command?

To do what?

To love the Lord your God.

With all your what?

Heart, soul, mind, and strength.

If we want to worship God,

and God has made us worshipers,

and that's what we're going to kind of understand

as we're working through this time together,

if we're going to worship God truly,

you have to worship God with your heart.

You have to know what that kind of worship looks like.

And so cultivating good heart patterns,

cultivating good desires, good passions,

are going to set the course for life for you.

Whether you're going to live in jeopardy of spirituality,

ruin, potential ruin, of your spiritual life,

shipwreck, as it were,

or you're going to enjoy the safety and security

and life that God has called us to.

And it starts with our heart.

It starts with our passions.

We think about the word passion.

What are some other words that come to mind?

What do you think of when you think of the word passion?

Desires.

Okay, that's a good word.

Desires.

Fundamentally, what you want, what you desire.

Any other words that come to mind when you think of passion?

What's that?

Mastery.

Now, that's an interesting word.

Why did you think about mastery?

Ah, fantastic.

I love that.

And that's not what I was thinking,

but that hits the nail on the head.

When you have a passion for something,

you want to master it.

You want to do your best at it.

You put all your effort into it.

Phenomenal.

What else do you think of when you think of passion?

Intensity.

Okay.

There's an intensity.

There's a zeal.

There's an interest, a desire of your heart to pursue something.

Good.

Any other words?

Those are tremendous.

Any other words that come to your mind?

Love.

Okay.

Love and desire.

That what we are passionate about

helps us understand what you love.

And fundamentally,

what we're going to look at in just a moment here

is what you desire,

how you feel,

what your emotions are telling you

really are like the little gauges

on the panel of your car

that I always ignore

because they're always on.

But those light indicators on your car

are like your emotions.

Now, emotions aren't necessarily good or bad.

Okay.

That even what we would consider negative emotions,

anger, frustration,

discouragement,

and despair,

whatever you want to fill in.

Even those quote-unquote negative emotions

can lead you

and are meant to lead you

to God.

They're meant to lead you to worship.

Emotions can be good.

But the problem is

is when those emotions

become controlling emotions,

when they become the kinds of emotions

that you might find yourself saying,

well, I just can't control myself.

Ever heard yourself say that?

I just can't control myself.

And so,

as we think about

passions of the heart,

the reason why we've chosen this study

is because we recognize

the significance

of those passions in your life

that are going to lead you to something.

They're going to set the course

for the way you live,

either for good or for bad.

And we also understand

that our culture,

our culture,

our culture wants to tune in

to your emotions.

They want to access your emotions

and they want to drive them somewhere.

They want to help you use those emotions

in a way that are destructive

and not life-giving.

One such example,

a popular song

that's written in the last couple of years,

written by Teddy Swims.

Anyone know who Teddy Swims is?

I did not know who Teddy Swims was

and I didn't even know

what this song was by its title,

but I am sure

that every single one of you

have heard this song.

It's called Lose Control.

It was a song

that was released in June of 2023

and the song reached number one

on the Billboard Hot 100 chart

in March of 2024.

And it holds the record

for the longest charting song

on the Billboard Hot 100

with 112 non-consecutive weeks.

112 weeks.

That's over two years

it was on this list, okay?

That's how popular this song is.

That's how much this song

engaged culture, okay?

And it was in the,

on this,

it was a top 10 song

for 80 weeks.

80 weeks.

Well, let me just,

I'm just gonna read a couple of the,

not the choruses,

but the refrains, okay?

And there's,

I'm gonna leave out certain parts,

but here's kind of a sense of this song.

It says this,

something's got a hold on me lately.

No, I don't know myself anymore.

Feels like the walls are closing in

and the devil's knocking at my door.

Whoa.

Out of my mind,

how many times

did I tell you

I'm no good at being alone?

Yeah, it's taken a toll on me,

trying my best to keep

from tearing the skin off my bones,

don't you know?

And then it says,

I,

something,

I,

what's that?

I lose control.

Something's,

I don't lose control.

Okay?

That's the whole tenor of this song.

And so,

you know,

I trust it's obvious, okay?

This is not a song

we're encouraging you to listen to necessarily,

but it's just a song that's popular

and it explains,

it really explains

kind of the,

the heart

of our culture today.

And that is

that

this core idea

is that the feelings

don't just inform

the way you live,

your feelings drive,

fundamentally drive

the way you live.

Your feelings control you,

at least

from a cultural perspective.

Your feelings

will,

will take you up,

will capture you

and pull you along.

And,

and we've learned

in culture

that,

that that's not just okay,

that's just expected.

That's what we expect

to happen.

And so,

our,

in our culture today,

your feelings

aren't just something

that,

that drive you,

your feelings now become

your identity.

And so,

how you feel

then

becomes

who you are.

and that's,

that's the message

of our culture.

How many times

have you heard,

heard it said,

or maybe even

have said yourself,

I can't help myself.

I had no choice

in the matter.

It just happened.

I couldn't stop it.

That's just how it is.

Ever said that?

Or,

or this identity language

that says,

well,

this is just

who I am.

That's just

my personality.

I'm just being honest.

Ever heard that?

I'm just being honest.

This is who I am.

Or,

or how about

the permissive language

that says,

I deserve this.

After all,

it's,

it's what I've been through.

So,

I'm allowed to feel this way.

I'm allowed to respond this way.

Or,

don't judge me.

Or,

it's not really

that big of a deal.

Come on.

Let it go.

Give,

give me some space.

Or,

or maybe this

blame shifting language

that says,

it's actually

your fault

because you made me

feel this way.

Or,

if you hadn't said that

or done that,

I would never

have reacted this way.

Or,

you're the reason

I'm like this.

Or,

it's your fault

that I'm upset.

Or,

it's the woman

you made.

Or,

it's the serpent.

that you put in the garden.

It's the age old problem

where we explain away

our responses

based upon

the way we feel.

Or,

this avoidance language.

I just need some space.

I can't talk about this right now.

Just leave me alone.

Or,

justification

in having the moral high ground

that says,

I'm only standing up for myself.

I,

I don't feel safe.

And so,

because I don't feel safe,

that I'm acting this way.

I'm just protecting

myself.

I'm setting

my boundaries.

I have every right

to do this.

Or,

the kind of minimizing language

that says,

come on,

you're overreacting.

Or,

it's not a big deal.

Or,

I was just joking.

Come on.

Give me a break.

I didn't mean it like that.

All of this,

these words

that we use

to explain away

or justify

the way our feelings

have driven us

to act.

And so,

we create this space

for ourselves

to act a certain way

because of how we feel.

And that everyone needs

to kind of clear

the boundaries,

clear the space for us

because we feel this way

and the way we feel now

has set this,

this identity for us

that gives us

the room,

the justification

to do whatever we want,

whatever we feel.

So,

one of the biggest lies

in our world

is that

our feelings

are the truest things

about ourselves.

And that

when our emotions

like losing control

are happening,

it's just expected.

You should just expect it.

Give me some room.

Give me a break.

This is how it goes.

Don't you understand?

And even going back

to the 1800s,

this has kind of been

the way that our culture

has begun to feel.

Those of you

who have taken

like literature,

English literature,

will know the name

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

And he wrote

Self-Reliance.

And the governing line

of that entire poem

is this,

Trust thyself,

never imitate.

Trust yourself.

Your emotions,

your convictions,

your identity,

it's all that matters.

Trust yourself.

Don't imitate.

Allow your life

to be ruled

by your emotions,

how you feel,

what you think,

what you believe.

And if we're honest

with ourselves,

we've all been influenced

to think that way.

We've all been conditioned

to believe

that how we feel,

what our passions are,

give us now

the room

to do whatever

we want to do.

And that's why

this is so important.

That's why

when we look at

the passions of the heart,

we can understand

it doesn't just

relate to sexual purity.

And there's going to be

a lot of times

where we're going to try

to address that

just generally

but very carefully

in this mixed audience.

But I want you to understand

that this is transcendent.

That what you believe

and what you feel

are essential

to how you live.

And especially

how you worship.

Because what you feel

is an indication

not only of what you believe

but what you value.

What you think is important.

And so

those indicator lights

when I'm angry,

when I'm frustrated,

even when I'm happy,

when I'm excited

about something,

what am I excited about

and how does that point

and direct my heart

to see

what am I really worshipping?

What do I really value?

What do I really want

in my life?

And so right at the outset

what I'd like to do

I want to just encourage

go ahead and open up

your little

your guides.

Okay.

And I want you to take

a little personal

self-inventory.

Okay.

And I say personal

because

I just want to encourage

you to keep this private.

Just between you

and the Lord

and as you're answering

these questions

I want you to be honest.

Honest with yourself

before the Lord

as you kind of

gauge

and examine

your emotions

and how much

your emotions

drive the way you act.

Okay.

So we're going to spend

the next

five, ten minutes

I want you to

take out a pen

if you don't have one

we can get you one

and do this self-inventory

just to help drive home

the point

of how emotions

have

kind of

driven the way

that we act.

So take your time

and go ahead

and do that right now.

If you need

one of those

workbooks

we can get you one

just raise up your hand

and we'll make sure

you get one.

I want you to

one of those

one of those

two of those

one of those

one of those

all right

just another

minute or two

when you're done

you can just go ahead

and look up at me.

and look at me.

all right

we almost done?

A few more seconds.

Okay.

What did you learn?

What did you learn

about yourself?

What did you learn

about yourself?

Maybe this is

an easier question.

of the little

pieces in this

inventory

which

which of those

questions

grabbed your attention

the most?

one?

Any of those?

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

My identity is found by my emotions.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, right.

So, you know,

you're working through this

initially like

I don't find my identity

in my

in my desires

but then you're like

well then

you come to anger

and you come to fear

and you come to anxiety

and you come to pressure

and you're like

ah, well then

maybe I'm actually

a little bit more driven

by my emotions

than I think I am.

Right?

That's true.

Good.

I appreciate that.

And by the way

this was

this was pretty

pretty convicting

for me too.

When we think about

emotions

or we think about

passions

we generally

tend to think about

those passions

that lead us to

sexual

problems.

Okay.

But

we

we understand

that

feelings

and emotions

and passions

are much broader

than that.

Right?

Any other

of the

of the

questions

that kind of

grabbed your

attention?

Anyone else

want to be honest?

Good.

How about

this one?

This is

this is

one that

that

resonated in my

heart.

Work pressures

increase my

anger or

irritability.

Now

my wife can

attest to that

and hopefully

you don't see

that very much

but she does.

Okay.

When

when pressure

and doesn't

necessarily have

to be work

pressure

when family

pressure

work

pressure

financial

pressure

health

pressure

whatever that

pressure is

when it comes

pressing down

then the

then the real

me tends

to

to show up.

This

what is it

about

me

that is so

small

in faith

I

I

I

I

I

see

my

flaws

so much

clearer

when

the pressure

mounts

and the

pressure cooker

is

is doing

its work

and I

see the

true me

and it's

not necessarily

a pretty me

and I imagine

the same is true

in your own life

as well.

You get to see

the real you

when things are hard

when the pressure

intensifies

and you

recognize

that

that

that

whatever

your escape

mechanism is

whether that's

to check out

and do nothing

whether that's

to tap into

leisure

or to tap

into friendships

or to

or to

to work

harder

or to strive

more

whatever that

whatever that

that release

or escape

mechanism is

that happens

as you

as the pressure

cooker

is

pressing in

it's cooking

hard

so what does

this say

about our

heart

and that's

kind of

this next

section

and I want

to

I'll just

kind of

walk through

this with

you

briefly

and I

we have

a little

section here

where you can

you can take

some notes

what do you

learn about

the heart

okay so

as we're

working through

this

just kind of

interacting

with one

another

over this

this would

be your

place to

kind of

take some

notes

for yourself

this personal

self inventory

that now

kind of leads

into

okay so

how does

God instruct

me

as I'm

becoming

very aware

of my

feelings

and my

emotions

now how

do I

examine

myself

or how do

I allow

the word

of God

to examine

my life

and provide

the road map

for me

on how I

should live

how I should

respond

and what's

normal

in the course

of a spiritual

life

okay

so

we find

some passages

and there's

more than we

can access

in our

time

together

but

some

key

passages

that help

to kind

of set

the course

for understanding

the heart

that the

issue of the

heart goes

all the way

back to

Genesis

and we see

this in

Genesis chapter

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

6

it says

the Lord

saw the

wickedness

of man

was great

in the

earth

and that

every

intention

of the

thought

of his

heart

was only

evil

continually

what do

we learn

about this

what does

this

what does

this say

about our

normal

human

condition

the condition

of our

heart

what is it

generally

what's that

it's only

evil

continually

okay

and how

deep

is the

problem

how does

how does

Moses

through

I think

of course

the Lord

is the

one

speaking

through

Moses

writing

this

down

what is

how does

he describe

the depth

of the

problem

here

it's all

inclusive

okay

that every

thought

of all

the time

is only

evil

there's no

spark of

goodness

at all

in their

heart

evil is

rooted in

the heart

that's a

great way

to summarize

that

David

that's our

condition

that's your

heart

that's my

heart

our heart

is only

evil

continually

given

the

permission

of God

to

the

unrestrained

passions of

our heart

always lead

us

to reject

God in

every way

every

intention

of your

heart

is only

evil

continually

unless it's

brought

into

alignment

with God

and is

accessing

his power

okay

that's the

bad news

okay

but there's

some good

news

and we're

gonna get

there

eventually

here

Proverbs

16

9

says

the heart

of man

plans

his way

but the

Lord

establishes

his steps

now why

is that

important

how does

that help

us to

understand

how things

should work

normally in the

course of

our heart

condition

and especially

when our

heart desires

to do the

things of the

Lord

what do we

learn about

the heart

here in

this verse

what do you

see

okay

that's good

our heart

is our

planning center

and by the

way

that is

good

okay

it is good

when your

heart

desires

things

it is good

when your

heart

plans

things

the

strategy

though

the key

is

is to

allow

God

to

govern

the

actual

outworkings

of

your

plans

so you

hold

those

plans

those

desires

with an

open

hand

and you

let God

guide and

direct

the steps

that you

take

and by the

way

you allow

God

to

fundamentally

change

those

desires

so that

they're in

line

alignment

with

his

desires

desires

can be

good

they're not

always

bad

and so

we need

to allow

God

to

govern

our

desires

Romans

Romans 10:9–10

chapter 10

verses 9

to 10

says

because

if you

confess

with your

mouth

that

Jesus

is

Lord

and

believe

in

your

heart

that

God

raised

him

from

the

dead

you

will

be

saved

for

with

the

heart

one

believes

and

is

justified

and

with

the

mouth

one

confesses

and

is

saved

why

is that

important

what is

our

heart

doing

there

why

is

this

a

good

expression

of

the

heart

why

is

this

encouraging

!

for

us

especially

in light

of

Genesis

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

okay

because

through

through

godly

desires

God

shapes

our

heart

to

want

the

right

things

and

to

enjoy

him

okay

God

wants

to

take

our

heart

he

wants

to

shape

it

and

move

it

in

the

right

direction

and

and

it

really

begins

with

believing

our

heart

that

confesses

and

believes

and

trusts

and

and

then

now

our

affections

are

stirred

and

begin

to

move

in the

direction

of

God

and so

real

worship

can

begin

to take

place

in

Matthew

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

chapter

22

36

to

40

it

says

teacher

which

is

the

great

commandment

and

he

said

to

them

you

shall

love

the

Lord

your

God

with

all

your

heart

and

with

all

your

soul

and

all

your

mind

this

is

the

great

and

first

commandment

and

a

second

is

like

it

you

shall

love

your

neighbor

as

yourself

on

these

two

commands

!

depend

all

the

law

and

the

prophets

!

I mean

I'm

going to

put

this

way

and

this

may

I'll

try

to

qualify

this

I

want

to

say

emotions

in

and

of

themselves

are

neutral

okay

even

anger

and

frustration

and

discontentment

can be

somewhat

neutral

as long

as those

emotions

are driving

you in

the right

direction

okay

that God

isn't

God

isn't

alarmed

when

all

of

a

sudden

we're

frustrated

about

something

it's

just

what

do

we

do

with

that

frustration

what

do

we

do

with

that

fear

what

do

we

do

with

that

anxiety

what

do

we

do

with

those

feelings

of

despair

do

they

drive

us

to

God

or

do

they

drive

us

away

from

God

that

is

really

what's

important

so

feelings

in

and of

themselves

are

neutral

until

they

take

flight

in

moving

us

in

a

certain

direction

and

if

your

negative

emotions

move

you

to

God

then

that's

exactly

what

emotions

are

meant

to

do

and

and

then

God

begins

to

take

those

emotions

he

begins

to

to

to

move

those

emotions

around

and

to

help

us

to

become

secure

in

him

even

when

we

feel

like

in

our

emotional

turmoil

we're

just

like

I

don't

know

what

to

do

and

God

takes

those

emotions

he

begins

to

change

them

and

help

us

to

trust

him

and

worship

him

as

he

desires

so

what

does

our

heart

require

what

do

we

need

fundamentally

what

do

our

hearts

need

and that's

this next

section

what does

God

do

and here's

the

beautiful

truth

for us

Ezekiel

36

22

25

to

27

it says

therefore

say to

the house

of Israel

thus

says

the

Lord

God

it is

not

for

your

sake

O

house

of

Israel

that

I'm

about

to

act

but

for

the

sake

of

my

holy

name

okay

now

let's

just

pause

there

for

a

moment

what

did

God

just

say

what

did

you

hear

summarize

this

for

me

what's

there

that's

good

it is

not

about

!

you

it's

about

me

I

am

!

doing

this

for

you

what

I'm

about

to

do

I'm

going

to

do

for

my

glory

I'm

going

to

do

for

my

renown

I'm

going

to

do

to

set

my

name

above

the

heavens

where

it

belongs

and

for

you

to

revere

me

the

way

that

I

deserve

I'm

going

to

do

something

it's

going

to

blow

you

away

but

I'm

not

doing

this

because

I want

you to

feel

!

necessarily

I'm

doing

this

because

I

want

you

to

look

at

me

and

worship

me

the

way

I

deserve

so

what

is

he

going

to

do

let's

look

at

this

verse

25

is

that

25

put

my

glasses

on

25

I

will

sprinkle

clean

water

on

you

and

you

shall

be

clean

from

all

your

uncleanness

and

from

all

your

idols

I

will

cleanse

you

and

I

will

give

you

a

new

what

church

heart

hallelujah

a new

heart

and

a

new

spirit

I

will

put

within

you

and

I

will

remove

the

heart

of

stone

from

your

flesh

and

give

you

a

heart

of

flesh

and

I

will

put

my

spirit

within

you

and

cause

you

to

walk

in

my

statutes

and

careful

to

obey

my

rules

what's

the

good

news

about

that

verse

what's

the

good

news

regeneration

okay

that's a

fancy

word

for

make

us

new

okay

why

else

is that

good

news

well

really

personalize

this

okay

make

this

super

personal

why

is it

good

news

for

you

what's

that

God's

the one

doing

the

action

why

is that

good

news

for

you

David

it's

not

about

you

it's

about

God

why

else

is this

good

news

for

you

you

need

it

that's

right

the

longer

we

live

the

more