HEART SMART | Part 2 | Shifting Our Perspective for Eternal Impact

Heat.

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Heat.

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Heat.

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Let's

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do one, two. Hey,

>> what do you know?

Thank you for your prayers. Uh hey, if

you're uh first or second time guest

with us, um so grateful that you're here

and uh I'll tell you that you're part of

uh a move of God. God is doing some

amazing things here. And uh many of you

know that uh as John had shared, I've

been experiencing some pretty radical

back pain. Um that's fun.

And uh it's interesting that

uh when I talked to Pastor Dan last week

to cover the pulpit uh because of what I

was experiencing um his testimony and I

think he shared it from the pulpit last

week was that uh shortly after me asking

him to preach he was experiencing uh

fever chills and started feeling sick

right away. uh this last Tuesday was

able to spend some time in uh staff

meeting and I was just kind of giving

them the update of uh what's going on uh

with me and and uh it kind of opened up.

We just hung out for a while but

everyone went around and started sharing

uh their major struggle and uh doesn't

it seem a bit calculated to you?

Doesn't it seem like a type of enemy

opposition uh to come against an entire

leadership team for a church that is

having incredibly high impact? Uh that

we are growing and moving and God is

doing things here. You know, as the

pastor, I have the opportunity to get uh

some of the behind thes scenes stuff, uh

the text, the phone calls, the letters

of what God's doing in different

individuals, um and in entire

households. And I've got to tell you,

God is on the move. Uh we've had radical

growth. um and stepping into this

capital campaign to respond to the

growth uh that we can have higher impact

and the devil doesn't like it. One of

the things that God continues to speak

to me over the years, I used to have a

real struggle uh with some of the enemy

opposition particularly um serving in a

leadership capacity because it's heavy

and it's very real opposition that

sometimes we experience. And uh God

continues to share this with me. The

devil does not attack something that's

not a threat.

>> Amen. Uh some of you might even be

experiencing some opposition in this

season. Uh the reason uh that the enemy

would attack is because he's afraid of

us.

Oh my goodness. Take that devil. And so

here's what the word of God says. No

weapon formed against me shall prosper.

>> Amen.

Uh, I've been through worse seasons of

opposition and God won.

And what the devil meant for evil, God

turns and uses for the good of those who

love him. Do you love Jesus?

>> I do, too. You know what I think? I got

a funny feeling. I think everything's

going to be all right.

>> Yeah. So, we're going to get in the word

of God today. Before we do, uh, I want

to just speak to the Capitol campaign a

little bit. We're kind of moving along

this timeline. Uh some of you have been

meeting with uh individually

uh we have some meetings coming up and

it's called an advanced challenge

meeting. It's really designed uh for

leaders in the church uh to kind of

unpack the campaign, where we're at,

where we're going, uh do some Q&A and

and kind of move us forward. Uh and it's

usually just for leaders. Uh God has put

it on our heart to open it up to

everyone. And so we want to invite you

if you're uh interested in that. Uh

there's some times here and you can get

one of these cards and I think there's

even a QR code that they can throw up

behind me. Uh but there's some of these

uh at the welcome point and if you're

interested in participating in the

advanced challenge meeting uh which

means hey I'm I I'm I'm behind this

thing. I I catch the vision or or hey I

don't even know what's going on. I want

to learn more about uh the vision and

where God's taking us. Uh there's a few

different times. October 10, uh there's

uh between 12 and 1 during the day. And

then uh also on the 10th, 6:30 p.m. to

7:30 p.m. And then there's another one

on Monday, October 13th in the evening,

6:30 to 7:30 p.m. And really want to

invite you. Here's the deal. It's RSVP.

We need to have a specific headcount for

these meetings. Um and so that's what

the QR code is about. You can fill this

out, drop it in the bucket, um or give

it to one of the leaders here, um and

let us know that you're coming. But I do

want to preach the word of God today. Uh

it's interesting.

Uh I was thinking about I guess back

pain will do that. I was thinking about

how old I am.

And uh

again through so many years of ministry

and opposition and struggle. The one

thing that has always prevailed, God

called me uh almost 25 years ago to

preach his word. And there's always been

a unique anointing uh over my physical

body. When I begin to preach, all the

pain goes away. Uh I've told the Lord,

"Hey, if we could just take that same

anointing home, that would be really,

really cool." Uh but sometimes when I

get preaching, it's like all of it

disappears and there's this uncction of

the Holy Spirit. And so, I'm going to

preach today. Uh if I happen to tip over

and fall down, uh somebody come help me

up. And and uh but we want to get into

God's word. Father, we thank you Lord

for your written word. Lord, we thank

you also for freedom and deliverance and

healing that comes through your spoken

word. Father,

you said, "Let there be light and there

was light." Father, we pray in this

moment and thank you for the freedom in

this atmosphere. deliverance, healing,

power, love, grace, mercy, and truth

prevail and our lives and our hearts and

our bodies

in this ministry and in this word. So,

Father, speak to us now in Jesus name.

Amen. We're in a series called Hearts

Smart and the tagline is it all starts

with the heart. Say heart.

>> Heart.

>> Everything starts with the heart. And so

I want to kind of uh kick off today by

shifting our perspective. Say

perspective.

>> James 4:13 uh has a has a way of

James 4:13

shifting my perspective. It it says uh

come now you who say today or tomorrow

we will go into such and such town and

spend a year there and trade and make a

profit.

Uh this is uh biblical language but in

our current day that's kind of our

lingo. Hey, we're going here tomorrow.

This is when work's, you know, kind of

at the in the conversation. You're

talking about going here, doing this,

all of these things. Even relationally,

uh, we're always kind of making our

little plot and our little plan, aren't

we?

And so, that's what it's kind of talking

about. Verse 14, he says, "Yet you do

not know what tomorrow will bring."

Here's the question. What is your life?

What is your life? He says, "For you are

a mist that appears for a little time

and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord

wills, we will live and do this or

that." As it is, you boast in your

arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

So, whoever knows the right thing to do

and fails to do it, for him is sin.

Uh here's the reality and the

perspective shift that I want us to

catch today. Uh and let me begin by

saying this. Just a couple of weeks ago,

many of you know I was did a funeral for

a very close loved one, family member

that was just three months younger than

me. And I've done too many funerals to

count in ministry. Uh I've also had the

privilege of uh spending the last days

with several individuals that knew they

were about to pass from this life and

into the next. And it's interesting

because uh you know and it's some of my

most cherished memories are sitting with

people that know they're about to die

and having conversation with them and

praying with them and talking. And one

of the things I've noticed is that

conversation is radically different for

an individual that knows they're on

their way out compared to the average

human.

We're not talking about the weather.

We're not talking about material things.

We're not talking about this stuff.

There's a spiritual depth and emphasis

on eternity. Say eternity.

>> One of the things that uh helps me

have a healthy perspective is

understanding that a 100red years from

now all of us are going to be gone.

Unless you're four years old and you

outlive Uncle Art.

In just a hundred years, think about how

long the earth's been here and how many

generations we have. In just a hundred

years, we're all out of here, man. And

I'm hoping the rapture comes and my my

declaration is I'm taking the first bus

out of here, man. Right?

And so, in a hundred years, we're all

going to be gone. I want you to let that

sink in for a minute. And here's the

reality of it. Somebody else is going to

be living in your house.

They better treat my house good. I kind

of like my house.

Somebody else is going to be using your

stuff. If your stuff even still exists,

your car that you stress over making

payments and and try to keep uh

insurance on all these different things

that your car is going to be scrap metal

unless you drive a really cool car and

somebody decides to preserve that thing

and make it history.

Uh, isn't it interesting uh when

somebody passes from this life and into

the next? I mean, just days later,

they're divvying up all their stuff

and we keep a couple momentos and then

and then we sell stuff and and sell off

all their property or we take stuff to

Goodwill and we just give it all away. I

want you to catch the perspective of

what really matters in this life. And

the things that you own, they don't

really have any great impact.

In just a hundred years,

it'll all be gone.

Think about this. Your name.

I want you all to say your name out

loud. First name.

Yeah.

Benjamin.

The name that we work so hard to make

mean something.

within just a couple of generations will

have completely faded away. They say

this on earth people experience two

deaths. One is the time that you

actually die. The second is the last

time that somebody says your name out

loud.

Unless you're a mover and a shaker and

make it to the history books books,

you're going to be forgotten. Let's just

put it to the test. How many in here

know your great greatgrandparents names?

A couple of you. Do your kids know it?

>> Do you know which house they lived in?

>> Do you know what car they drove?

Do you know what their character was,

their values,

their morals, their faith? What do you

know about them?

In just a hundred years,

our names will be forgotten.

I'm not sharing this to

be morbid.

It's not meant to be morbid.

Stick with me, folks. Come on.

>> It's meant to be liberating. Say,

"Freedom."

>> Freedom.

>> It It means this. It means that 99% of

your worries that you have in this life,

the things that scream for your

attention, the things that fill your

mind and take your time, pale in

comparison to the eyes of eternity.

It should speak freedom to you. My hope

is that this perspective shift as we

leave here, we'll have a type of freedom

that cares less about the things of

earth and more about the things of God.

Solomon

in his wisdom uh near the end of his

life wrote a book called Ecclesiastes

and uh it's interesting uh because it's

kind of a depressing book. He says he

talks about everything under the sun is

meaningless, meaningless. Vanity,

vanity. I think the King James says it's

a chasing after the wind. Everything.

Everything on earth is meaningless. And

I'm just like, what am I reading here?

Right?

And there's some powerful things and he

does share uh the most important things

uh in there. But uh you know I think

about that chasing after the wind and

how many times have we looked back in

our life and the things that we chased

in our younger years we look back and we

go why was I so ambitious chasing after

this thing

because now it means nothing. The things

that we thought were so important. You

ever have something in your past that

man you just you saved up for, you

fought for, you finally got this amazing

thing and now you look back and you're

like, "What an idiot. Why did I do that

now? It's garbage. It's stupid." Right?

Chasing after the wind. I'm not saying

uh we shouldn't live in the here and

now. I'm not saying we shouldn't do our

best while we're here on Earth.

Not saying sell all your stuff and live

like a monk.

I'm saying there's more to life than the

stuff we own and the things we do.

Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon tells us that

God has given us a work to do and that

we should find joy in it. But listen to

verse 11 in Ecclesiastes 3. He says he

God has put eternity into man's heart.

Say heart.

>> Not saved people's hearts.

all of mankind's heart. God has put

eternity in our hearts. Let me share a

little testimony.

Many of you know I was an atheist before

coming to Christ and caught up in

addiction and different things. And I

would have these moments of uh pressure

in my life that were too much for me to

bear. And I would pray to a God that I

didn't even believe in or didn't even

know if he existed or not.

And sometimes in these moments of

emotional weight, I my heart would cry

out, "There has to be more to life than

this."

In a season that I was suicidal, I I had

that in my heart. There has to be more

to life than this. Because if this is

all life has to offer, I'm out of here,

man. There was something on the inside

of me that knew that there has to be

more. Say more.

>> There were these seasons in my life. I

love nature. I love being outside that I

would lay on my back and I would look up

at the stars and something on the inside

of me would connect with something. I

knew there has to be more. Amen. It was

almost connecting with something

eternal. God has put eternity on the

inside

of every man. That's not a glitch.

That's a feature. Amen. That God has put

on the inside of you and I.

God installed it in every man on

purpose. The reality is is that we're

hardwired

for forever.

The problem is we keep trying to plug

our eternal hearts into temporary

outlets.

Oh my goodness. You can write that down.

We keep trying to plug uh our soul, our

heart, our mind, our will, and our

emotions and into something that's going

to satisfy. We plug it into this

temporary outlet when you were designed

for eternity. Amen.

Happiness or God's peace, short-term

temporary satisfaction

or God's power and strength and will for

your life?

I want to shift our perspective today.

The enemy

in my experience is so good at bogging

us down

with the here and now. We get so busy

and so distracted.

I I don't know about you, but I do get

so busy and so distracted sometimes we

lose sight of the things that really

matter.

Today I want to talk about the heart.

I want to talk about things that

actually matter.

Eternity.

I want to have a smart heart.

To have a smart heart. I believe this.

Our focus, our investments, our energy

should be on things that last. Our heart

should be set on things eternal.

And that's what brings pre peace and

removes worry.

That's what brings the perspective that

we need to be free from the cares of

this world.

So, let me give you a few things today

to shift your heart. Number one,

seek the things above.

Seek the things above. Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 and verse one,

he says, "If then you have been raised

with Christ," I think I'm talking to the

right crowd, right? "If then you've been

raised with Christ, seek the things that

are above

where Christ is seated at the right hand

of God." Verse two, he says, "Set." That

word set has the idea of establishing.

It has an idea of a foundation,

something that we can build upon. He

says, "Set your mind on things that are

above,

not say not."

>> Not on things that are on earth.

You guys catching the word of God today?

Verse three, for you have died.

You have died and your life is hidden

with Christ in God. When Christ who is

your life appears, then you also will

appear with him in glory. We're talking

about eternity.

He says, "Seek the things that are

above."

Seek.

Sometimes I read through scripture and I

kind of miss the heart of it.

Seek, it means to chase after it.

Solomon said, "All the things under the

sun are a chasing after the wind."

This now in the New Testament is saying,

"Chase after the things above. Seek them

out."

What are the things that when you lose

it, you really seek after it?

Your cell phone.

You ever lose that thing?

It's like our whole lives are on them

now. You ever had that little bit of

panic? Like you're running late and

you're like, "Where is my where is my

phone?" Have you ever just ran around

your house saying that? Where is my

phone?

Watch your keys to your vehicle. That's

an issue, right? Got to have those

things.

Chase after it. Have a heart that's

searching. Is the idea of the word seek.

It means to hunt it down, to pursue it.

The word seek has the heartbeat of

intentionality.

Jesus said, "Seek

and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened unto

you."

Too many of us are chasing after the

wind

when we're called to be chasing after

the things of God.

And the reality is this. Every human is

chasing something.

Boy, I got really quiet in church. Look

at this. I'm preaching, man. I forgot I

even got a back. Hey, boom.

I still ain't moving too quick, but hey,

we're all chasing something. The

question I like to ask is, what are you

chasing?

Matthew 6, Jesus said this. He said that

do not lay up for yourself treasures on

earth where moth and rust destroy where

thieves break in and steal but say but

>> lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.

Can I just say this? There's a overly

selfless hyperspiritual mentality uh

that we don't we we just don't want

anything. It says, "Store up for

yourself treasures in heaven because

down here, this life is but a midst or a

vapor in the eyes of eternity. But we're

going to spend forever in one place

called heaven."

He says, "Store up for yourself

treasures

in heaven

where neither moth nor rust destroy,

where thieves do not break in and

steal." Catch this. Verse 21. For where

your treasure is, there your heart will

be. Also,

number two in your notes, your heart

will always follow your investments.

Your heart will always follow

your investment. Say, always.

>> Always.

>> Here's what we've learned.

True peace never comes from possession,

only from perspective.

You ever been around people that are too

rich for their own good?

No. People go, "No, I have. I've been

around people that are way too rich for

their own good and they chase wealth.

They chase position. They've p chased

title. And and some I've had some

friends. They're fun to hang around cuz

they have all the toys. They got the

amazing house. They got the cool

vehicles. They got the boats. Uh when

you go out to dinner with them, they

insist. And it's just like, "Holy cow,

what is this food that you placed in

front of me?" You know what I mean? I

feel like royalty. and and you know, but

I I've had conversations and

relationships with individuals that have

every earthly possession that you could

ever imagine. They have nothing that

they should uh need on this earth. And

at the same time, because I'm a pastor,

sometimes people bear their souls with

me. They're miserable, depressed,

suicidal. They're struggling in their

marriage and their relationship. They

don't have any peace. They can't even

sleep at night. All these different

things go on. And I'm going, man, I

mean, if we could just catch the mindset

that possessions do not equal peace.

And I'm thinking of a friend of mine I

had so many years ago. He was a Native

American man. He was single uh most of

his life. And he had the smallest one of

the smallest houses that I've ever seen

in my life. It was it was like the one

room shack just like it size of smaller

than your garage probably. And I

remember uh hanging out with him. He

invited me over to his home and and uh

kind of honored just to go spend some

time with the guy because he was always

just happy and just a good goodnatured

individual. And I remember walking into

his house and being astonished looking

around and going, "It's dirt floors."

And I'm like, "What year is it that we

still have a home with dirt floors?" and

to sit down even on the furniture that

he had available and just get to know

him and hang out with him and I go, I

think he's one of the happiest humans

I've ever met in my life.

Possessions

don't mean a whole lot. Amen.

Perspective means everything because I

can have very little and be grateful

about the little that God gave me or I

can have a great amount and be

ungrateful about what God has given me.

Perspective matters.

Your perspective matters.

So the question isn't just where is my

heart. The real question is where is my

treasure? In other words, where are my

investments? Are they in things above?

Things eternal, things that matter.

Because where your treasure is, there

your heart will be also.

What I've learned is that my investments

show me where I'm leading my heart.

time,

treasure,

talents,

relationships.

Those are all things that we invest in.

Your investments are leading your heart.

Number three is lead your heart. Well,

lead your heart well. Do you know this

that you're at the helm of your own

heart?

We have a more modern idea in western

civilization. It's a victim type

mentality that everything happens to us

and and we have no control over it. And

and so if somebody says this and I react

to it, I just it triggers me at all. We

have all this crazy ideas in our

America.

And the reality is you don't have to

react

emotionally or mentally unstable.

Preaching to somebody. I don't know who.

You are at the helm of your own heart.

Your heart by biblical definition is

your mind, will, and emotions. It's the

way that I think about things. Your

perspective. It's your will. It's what

I'm going to do or what I'm not going to

do.

And it's your emotions. It's the way

that you feel about things.

You're at the helm.

You have control. The Bible says this.

He who the son sets free is

>> a you guys read your Bibles. Free

indeed. Man, that means I'm no longer

under bondage to circumstances, to

situations, to what he said, what she

said, what they did, what they didn't

do. I'm no longer in bondage to that

because he who the son sets free is free

indeed. And that means my heart is free.

My mind is free. My emotions are free to

choose God or that.

That's deliverance. That's healing.

That's freedom. Amen.

>> Joshua 24:15 says this, "Choose for

Joshua 24:15

yourselves this day whom you will

serve."

M.

In other words, make an active decision

about who you serve.

You're going to bow down to every

emotion that you don't like,

every thought that the enemy throws in

your mind. You going to bow down to

that? I'm about to start preaching. Are

we going to continue to bow down to

every demonic influence that comes into

our life? Or are we going to choose this

day, devil, get out of here? I'm only

receiving from God. I'm only listening

to God. I'm letting the peace of God

rule and reign in my heart. And so,

devil, get out.

Psalm 119:12.

Psalms 119:12

The psalmist said this. He said, "My

heart is set." We see that word again,

established. "My heart is set on keeping

your decrees to the very end."

In other words, man, preach it.

Preaching real good. Second pew. Let me

get an amen.

Thank you, Lord.

For those of you watching online,

there's a baby up here preaching with

me. And I think it's the most beautiful

thing I've ever seen.

My heart is set

established on keeping your decrees.

Deuteronomy 30:1 19

Deuteronomy 30:1

says this, "I have set before you life

and death, blessing and curses.

Now choose life so that you and your

children may live."

Wait a minute. Is this God speaking? He

says, "I've set before you two things,

two paths, two choices, life and death,

blessing and curses, but choose life."

That means in order to say yes to one

thing, I have to say no to another.

And too often, we're just allowing our

hearts and our minds to be caught up in

this thing. And now we're not in

position to say yes to the blessing

because we've already been sucked into

the curse.

Set your heart on things above.

Lead your heart well.

You're at the helm.

I heard this recently. It's kind of a

modern day parable or a an analogy. It

said this. It said, "If you chase

butterflies, they fly away.

But if you build a garden, butterflies

find you.

Isn't that amazing?

Stop chasing butterflies and build a

garden.

What are you chasing after?

What are you chasing after? Whether good

or bad, what are you chasing after?

Listen, single people,

young ladies, don't chase a boyfriend.

Chase God.

And in your chasing God, if you see a

single person running in the same

direction, introduce yourself.

Amen. I know what it feels like to be a

young Christian,

especially with a heart that a

discipline that says we're going to stay

pure and we're saving things for

marriage is as far as intimacy is

concerned and having at the same time uh

some emotions that are much bigger than

me because I desire a young lady. I I

know those feelings and I know those

emotions. And we start chasing. We start

looking go. There was a season of my

young Christian. I go, "Man, if I could

just find a good Christian woman. I need

a good Christian woman. I just need a

good Christian woman." I've talked to a

lot of young men that have the same

thing. It's like, it's like they stop

chasing God. And all they're looking for

is a good Christian woman. And my heart

is to say, "If you could just ch stop

chasing women and start chasing God, God

would bring you a woman.

Broke people,

stop chasing money.

Chase God.

Be faithful.

Build a garden with integrity and good

stewardship and God's blessings will

chase you.

God's provision will find you. Stop

chasing butterflies and build a garden.

People who feel unloved,

stop chasing affirmation,

chase the father.

Chase God. Because in Christ, when my

perspective shifts and I'm only chasing

after him, I find out that I am a

beloved child of the most high God. And

then affirmations of man pale in

comparison. I kind of don't care if you

don't like me because my God loves me.

Amen.

>> Amen.

build a garden.

You guys catching this perspective shift

this morning?

Matthew 6:33, Jesus said this, "But seek

Matthew 6:33

first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things will

be added to you."

Do you guys know that the world has sold

us a deadly lie?

We see it on mugs. We watch it in

movies. We hear it in songs.

Just follow your heart.

Doesn't that sound good? Really rolls

off the tongue good. Just follow your

heart. Maybe some of you have received

counsel as it pertains to relationships

or jobs or whatever it is. Just follow

your heart. Do you know the Bible says

in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is

Jeremiah 17:9

deceitful above all things and

desperately sick? Who can understand it?

Lead your heart well. Don't follow your

heart. Lead it.

That'll preach right there. Somebody

say, "Good preaching, pastor."

>> Thank you. I feel better about things.

You were awful quiet for a minute.

Can I tell you that my heart has led me

astray

too many times to count? My heart has

led me into some of the biggest messes

of my life.

I've taken a personal survey of my own

heart. I found that my heart is fickle.

My heart is selfish. My heart often

times lives in fear.

The heart is deceitful above all things

and desperately sick. Who can understand

it? One of the things I've learned is

that my heart is not a reliable GPS.

God made our heart to be a passenger

that needs you as a driver.

It needs you as a driver.

Lead your heart well. Proverbs 23:19

Proverbs 23:19

commands us, "Direct your heart in the

way."

Direct your heart in the way. Tell your

heart where to go. Quit being a victim

to everything around us. Tell your heart

where to go. Direct your heart. I think

of a director over an orchestra

directing and telling it when to do this

and how to do that. I think of a one

directing traffic. It's telling things

where direct your heart in the way that

it should go.

And when you see this other path,

you're not bound to that. You don't have

to give yourself to that. You don't have

to respond or react to that thing.

direct your heart in the way that it

should go. God has given you authority

to lead your heart well.

No longer a victim.

Direct your heart. That's an action.

That's a decision.

Sometimes we get too cliche in

Christianity for our own good. We use

these overarching terms.

When I say I trust him, that's a

decision, not a feeling.

Amen. When I say that I have faith in

God, that's a decision. That's a

lifestyle.

That's not an emotion.

Don't follow your heart.

Lead your heart.

You take charge of its direction.

You the heart is an interesting thing.

We're we're born into a sin nature.

Nobody has to teach us how to sin.

Nobody has to teach our heart how to uh

be deceitful and and wicked above all

things. Uh I remember even at the

youngest of age I have I'm the youngest

of five and I have three older sisters

and they were often asked to uh babysit

me and they hated babysitting me because

I was a little terror when I was little.

And so now that we're older sometimes

we'll sit around at family stuff and

then they'll tell all the stories of how

bad I was when I was a little kid. And

they're talking about this time I was 3

years old. Who knows anything at three,

right? I knew enough to take off all of

my clothes, run through the house, and

use every curse word that I knew. And

somehow at 3 years old, I knew some.

And my sisters didn't know how to handle

me cuz I was that kid. And they would

just sit there and cry.

My old one of one of my older sisters

used to just lock herself in the

bathroom and cry when she had to babysit

me.

And I was like, "Victory."

Yeah. The heart is deceitful above all

things. No, we had to teach my little

butt how to sin. Man, I was born a

sinner.

So why is it in adulthood without

Christ, we think that our heart got good

all of a sudden? And we trust our heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things.

Your heart wants to hit snooze. You ever

have that? I I live with teenagers.

There's lots of snooze buttons going on.

And they come by it honestly because I

was that kid, too. I'd sleep till noon,

you know, or longer if you'd let me

because I was up till 3 in the morning

uh doing whatever I was doing. And and

so uh man, the heart

has the idea of just hitting snooze.

But what I choose to do is to lead my

heart to go pray.

Lead your heart. Well, your heart wants

to snooze. You lead it to get up and

pray. Your heart, hear this, wants to

hold a grudge,

but you lead it to forgiveness.

Your heart wants to scroll on social

media mindlessly,

but you lead it to open the word of God.

One of the things I've learned

in issues of the heart, we're talking

about having a smart heart. The heart

always wants to negotiate.

You ever notice that

I have the right thing that I know that

I'm supposed to do? I even know that God

wants me to do this thing. Have you ever

had an issue that you've had to go

confess a sin and ask for forgiveness?

Have you ever had one that's like, "Man,

this is uh I I this is embarrassing. I

don't want to go confess this thing."

And so, you're getting to that place and

you're about to go do the good thing

that you know that you're supposed to

do. You're stepping up and stepping out

and your heart starts negotiating with

you. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal.

What they know, don't know won't hurt

them. Like, I'm not confessing it for

their sake. I need freedom, man. I I

need to confess it for my sake, for my

relationship between me and God. It

says, "Go confess your sins one to

another. Make it right.

Ask for forgiveness."

I've noticed that the heart wants to

negotiate. I've even had times in prayer

where I've made a a dedicated length of

time that I'm going to uh sit down and

pray for this amount of time. I'll even

be in prayer and my heart will start

negotiating. Well, you do have a lot on

your schedule today. Maybe you should

save it and and and and bail out early.

I'm like, you stupid heart.

Don't negotiate with your heart. Yeah.

I'm pulling a page out of America's

book. Uh, as it comes to my heart, I

don't negotiate with terrorists.

My heart's a little terror. I know it

is, man. It's wanting to wreck things

and ruin. I'm not going to negot

negotiate with you. I'm going to do the

right thing and I'm going to lead my

heart to the right place. Amen. Lead

your heart. Well,

let me say this. Don't just give your

heart to anyone.

You've got to know that you can trust

them with your heart before you give it

away. Anyone in here had a broken heart?

When we were younger, we gave it away

too quick

to some idiot that stomped all over our

heart. Can I say this? If you give your

heart to the father, you can trust your

heart with the father. He'll never break

your heart.

All these years later, he's never let me

down.

I can be vulnerable before him. I can be

honest with him. I can bear my soul

to him. I can trust God with my heart.

We sit in the driver's seat of our own

heart.

We're the one that makes allowances for

where our heart goes or who we give our

hearts to.

And let me say this, you have to learn

to lead yourself well before you're able

to lead other people well.

How many times I've seen somebody

attempt to lead others when their own

heart is a mess, bitterness, lack of

self-control, anger.

Be careful who you allow to speak into

your life

or who you give your heart to. Which

brings me to point number four. Guard

your heart.

Guard your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else,

Proverbs 4:23

guard your heart, for everything you do

flows from it."

Everything you do flows from it. Have

some boundaries. Have some protections

up. I'm not just all willy-nilly with

who I let my heart give my heart to.

Guard your heart.

That's God's.

Everything you do flows from it. The

words you speak, the decisions you make,

the way you parent, the way that you

love your spouse, it all springs from

the well of your heart.

If

you haven't led your heart well, if you

haven't guarded your heart,

we don't have what it takes. We can't

give somebody something

that we don't have. I've heard people

say, "I want to be a better spouse. I

want to be a better parent. I want to be

a better Christian."

Set your heart on things above. Build a

garden and stop chasing butterflies.

Lead your heart well.

I found this to be true. If my heart is

polluted with anxiety, with bitterness,

with greed, that's going to flow out of

my heart. Jesus confronted the religious

leaders of his day in Matthew 15 and

verse 8. He said, "These people honor me

with their lips, but their hearts are

far from me."

Saying the right thing is different than

being the right thing and doing the

right thing.

I found that God doesn't want lip

service. He wants heart service.

God wants your heart.

And number five, I'll close with this

point.

Let your heart be about your father's

business.

To be about your father's business.

It's not inviting God into your life,

into your plans, into your mess.

It's God inviting you to leave

everything behind and join him in his

peace and his power with his mission.

That's what salvation is

to be about our father's business.

It's forgetting your own mission and

joining his mission.

It's not about you being blessed. It's

about blessing him with your life.

You guys ever heard the saying, mind

your own business?

It's a good one, isn't it? Mind your own

business. I like this version better.

Mind your father's business.

Set your mind on things above.

Tend to your father's business.

Just a hundred years, it's all going to

be gone.

all the stuff you worry about, all the

stuff that you're invested in.

When we shift our perspective to things

that really matter, we're all about our

father's business. Do you know that your

affections will always orbit around your

investments?

I'm going to ask the worship team to

join me up here.

I want to ask you and I want you to be

gut level honest with yourself.

What have you been giving your heart to?

What have you been chasing after? What

have you been investing in?

It's about being hearts smart.

In other words, smart with our heart

to make wise decisions

with the part of us that's going to

outlast our physical body.

To be wise with your soul, your heart.

Eternity is a long time. Would you

agree?

Eternity is beyond time.

Why are we wasting our emotional and our

spiritual energy on things that are here

today and gone tomorrow

when we have a loving father that has

asked us to store up for oursel

treasures in heaven that we could live

in eternity with him.

[Music]

2 Corinthians 4:18 says,

2 Corinthians 4:18

"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.

[Music]

It's not about getting rid of stuff.

It's about shifting our perspective on

how we view stuff.

Amen.

It's about shifting our mindset and

shifting our heart towards the one that

made our heart.

[Music]

My sense is that there's some of us in

this room that need to lay a few things

down.

The affections of our heart.

[Music]

We need to make investments because

where our treasure is there our heart

will be also. We need to begin to invest

is say you say man my heart's just not

there. My heart's just not able my

heart. You need to start investing in

those things and lead your heart into

those things by the investments that you

make.

Where your treasure is there your heart

will be also. Let's stand to our feet

all over this house.

[Music]

There might be some in here that hearing

this saying, "I need to give my heart to

Jesus. I think I've missed the whole

thing."

Some of you might be saying, "I think I

had a concept of serving God, but but I

don't know if my heart's really been

been it. I don't know if I've actually

really done this thing the right way."

You know, today can be the day

to change your eternal destination.

Say, "Well, I don't know if I'm if I

die, if I'm going to heaven." Can I tell

you when God saves your soul, you know,

when you die, you're going to heaven.

You know that. There's no question mark

on it.

Let's just bow our hearts and bow our

heads and close our eyes.

If that's you in here, I'm not going to

embarrass you. I'm not going to call you

forward. But if that's you and you say,

"Man, I I I want to make Jesus Lord of

my life. I want to give my heart to

Jesus today." Would you just lift your

hand and say, "Pastor, pray for me.

Thank you.

Thank you."

Hallelujah.

Father, I thank you for those hands that

have been raised.

Lord, I thank you, God, that in this

moment in time, spiritually and

eternally, everything can change for

them. And so, Father, I pray for

authentic divine salvation and

conversion that in this moment they

would pass from death into life. That

they too would be translated into the

kingdom of your dear son. So, Father,

bless them. I pray. I'm going to lead us

in a simple prayer continued with eyes

closed and heads bowed.

And we're all going to give our life to

Jesus together. And if you lifted your

hand and I want to challenge you to pray

this prayer, encourage you to pray it

and you know in your heart what you're

saying to God.

Yeah. Would you just follow me in this

prayer? Say, "Father in heaven,

I confess right now

that I'm a sinner. I'm a mess and I need

you.

I'm asking for salvation,

freedom,

deliverance for my heart.

Father, I give you my heart. I give you

my life. I confess with my mouth Jesus

is my Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Praise the Lord. Can we give the Lord a

hand clap for that? Some people just got

saved in the house of God.

In just a moment, we're going to

transition to some worship and we're

going to open the altars and have our

prayer team up here. If you need prayer

for anything, whether it's physical,

spiritual, emotional, whatever it is, we

have a team of people that are connected

with God and want to pray with you,

would you pray with me? Father, we thank

you for freedom in this house. And Lord,

I thank you for the power of God resting

upon us. Lord, I pray blessing over

every soul now in Jesus name. Amen.

[Music]

Hey, hey, hey.

[Music]