Habits of a Healthy Heart – A Worshiping Heart

This podcast is presented to you by Pastor Jason and Liz Burns in Acts Church in Lakeland and Bartow, Florida.

For more information, visit actus.tv.

We're in the habits of a healthy heart series, and I've enjoyed this the first two weeks that Pastor Jason has carried us through this through the series.

And today I get to talk about worship just to continue through our series.

And just like your physical heart affects your whole body today, I want to really hit home that your spiritual walk actually has a lot to do with the way that your spiritual heart functions, how healthy it is.

And I want to turn to scripture.

It's sort of been the foundation of our series.

And if we look at the screen, Proverbs 4.23, it says this above all else, somebody say, above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

And that's the foundation of our series, that everything that we do flows from the heart.

Above all else, guard your heart.

And so, hey, how many's excited for Thanksgiving week?

Come on, somebody.

I guess you're just ready, ex ready for Christmas, because that was week.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving, church?

Come on.

Listen, this is our first Thanksgiving here in Florida, so I have no idea really what to expect.

I know in Tennessee we throw down, okay?

We've got the Southern Cook, and I need to know from you, church, from all of our locations.

Say it out loud.

Is it dressing or stuffing?

Anyone that said stuffing, we're gonna pray for you at the end of service because it's dressing.

There's only one way to do it, y'all.

There's only one way to do it.

Turkey or ham, come on.

Come on.

Okay, okay, okay, that's good.

I just want to have a little bit of fun with you for a second, but seriously, it's it's dressing, not stuffing.

Um but listen, I'm so excited about today.

I want to give you this quick thought is that you think about Thanksgiving and you think about how much we consume, how much food that we maybe actually, maybe you don't need to think about that.

Uh just do it.

Uh but we just enjoy so much food on Thanksgiving.

We eat it up, we eat all the food in the world uh that we can possibly think of.

We not only eat it the day of, but we eat it three days later until all the Pyrex dishes are cleaned out.

Come on, somebody.

Uh but I don't know if you've thought about this or not, but a life, our physical bodies cannot sustain that kind of pattern, that kind of rhythm, that kind of routine of eating.

And I want to I want you to think about this for a second.

It's just like your spiritual walk.

If you're relying on one hour a week for your services here at access to fulfill your spiritual walk, how are you going to sustain that?

How are you going to build a healthy heart based on one hour per week?

Come on, I want you to think about that for a second.

So everything that we do flows from the heart.

Again, everything, our routines, our rhythms, our habits, the way that we speak, everything that we do flows from the heart.

So if we spend one hour a week doing what we're doing today is spending time with God, and we forget the other a hundred and how many ever hours that there is in a week, uh, how how healthy do you think that your heart's gonna be?

How many habits, how many of good habits do you think that you're gonna have in your spiritual walk?

I would, I would, it would be safe to assume that you would say, not it wouldn't be that healthy, it wouldn't be that uh good of a habit.

So I want you to think about that today.

We're gonna turn to Romans 12 and 1.

And if you've got your Bibles, turn to it or it's on the screen here.

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Somebody say living sacrifice.

This is where your true and proper worship.

This is this is your true and proper worship.

And I want to get on the same playing field for a second.

Some of you came into the rooms today, uh, any of our locations, and as soon as you thought worship, you thought music.

And I actually want to get off of that for a moment, even though I love the music, I love the that expression of worship that we have every single week.

I want to get that out of our minds today, and I want to think a little bit deeper if that's okay.

I actually want to just level the playing field and let you know where the word worship comes from.

The word worship actually comes from an old English word.

I'm not gonna pronounce that, but I'm gonna say it's worth ship, and it just means to acknowledge worth.

Okay, so we acknowledge so many things in our life that are worthy of our time, worthy of our presence.

And I want to I want to jump in, I want to lean in for just a moment, and I want I want to ask you this.

I want to ask you this.

When it comes to worship and the way that we live our lives, are your are your habits leading your heart or is your heart leading your habits?

I want you to think about that for a second.

Because it's really possible when we show up to church to come in and lift our hands and sing really loud, but our our hearts aren't even lifted toward God.

It's really, it's really easy to say, God, I'm gonna give you this moment, but we don't give him our week.

We don't give him any other time outside of these walls.

And I'm not saying I'm speaking from perfection here.

I struggle with the same thing.

We all do, I think.

And so I just want to I just want to sort of level the playing field and say, we're not called to live for just a moment or a lifestyle, we are we're called to live a lifestyle of worship that we're constantly refining, we're constantly uh challenging our thoughts and our habits.

And I believe if you lean in today and if you just commit to me for just a few moments to lean into the message, I promise you I'll I'll I'll shift maybe some perspective on your thought of worship.

Amen.

Hey, before we start, I want to pray.

Is that okay?

Can we bow our heads and pray across our locations?

Lord, I thank you.

We don't want to take another moment without saying thank you, God, for who you are.

Lord, I just thank you so much for everything you've done in my life, everything that you've done here at Access Church, Lord, we know you deserve all of the glory, all of the honor, all of the praise.

So for the next few moments, let us surrender our time, let us surrender our thoughts to your word and let us just devote ourselves to this moment.

So, Lord, I pray that you would just allow this moment and your word to be impactful, let it resonate with us, Lord, and let us change us for the better.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Somebody say amen.

Amen.

Come on.

Hey, talking about being a dad for just a little bit.

Hey, are any dads in the room?

Come on, come on.

Hey, listen, being a dad is one of the best things in the world.

And being a girl dad, even though it's so expensive, uh, it is one of the best things in the world.

My wife did not pay me to say that.

Um, it is the most one of the most joyful things to be a part of.

And uh, I want to tell you, whenever I want you to think about this.

If you're a dad, if you're a parent, or maybe even in your relationships, you think about this.

With my seven and my 11-year-old, uh, there's two different approaches that I get, two physical approaches.

They like, dad, dad, dad, I want to tell you about this.

I want to ask you a question, I want to spend time with you.

I wanna I want to know more about this.

I just want to hang out, I wanna, I want to have fun.

And then there's the other posture, there's the other approach that says, Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, I need Starbucks, I need coffee, I need Target, I need a Disney trip, I need, I'm like, okay, okay, okay.

And there's two different approaches that I want to point out.

There's there's dad or or or father, I I I want something, or, or dad, father, whatever you want to say, uh, I just want to be around you.

And I want to sort of relate that to our spiritual walk for just a minute, is think about your own walk with the Lord and how many times are we going to the Lord when we need something, and how many times are we going to the Lord when we just want to be with Him?

I want you to think about that.

Think of it, I want you to reflect.

We're gonna do a lot of reflecting throughout our time in God's Word today, really thinking about our thought processes, our rhythms, our habits.

And I want to tell you, if you're taking notes, the first point is worship is the posture of your heart.

Worship is the posture of your heart.

I love the sound of that click from that pen.

It's amazing.

That means you're taking notes.

Come on.

And we'll jump back into Romans 12 and 1, because I want to sort of dive deeper into this.

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

This is your true and proper worship.

I want to pause for a second.

The first 11 chapters of Romans, for anyone who wants to know or to set it up a little bit, is the first 11 chapters is really talking about the mercy of God.

And then verse 12, Paul is starting to write with, this is how we live because of it, okay?

So verse 1 is the action, and then verse 2 is the mechanism.

On Romans 12 and 2, it says this: do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.

Somebody say, transformed.

Transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And if you're taking notes or if you're in your message notes today, I want you to know this.

It says in verse 1, Paul calls for total surrender.

Somebody say, total surrender.

Presenting your body as a living sacrifice.

See, I want you to know that's the outward expression.

Worshiping God in our daily life.

Okay, I want to point out this.

In verse 2, it says Paul gives the how.

It's the renewal of your mind.

Somebody say renewal.

Renewal of the mind.

Transformation starts internally.

Transformation starts internally.

And I'm here to tell you that it's total surrender.

It's going to cost you something.

It's going to cost you something.

Your thinking, your perspective, your mindsets fuel the worship lifestyle.

It starts in here, and it starts in here.

Some of you made the decision today.

Some of you didn't want to show up to church today, but you showed up.

It started in here.

You made that decision.

And I want to tell you about a story out of Luke 7.

If you've got your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn there in Luke 7.

It's a story of Mary of Bethany where it's really a profound story of just giving your all into the Lord.

Some of you are already made that decision, that sort of short step to, or maybe that long drive on South Ford Avenue to get here at South Lake on today.

But I want to tell you that it starts with surrender and it's going to cost you something.

I want to jump into scripture.

Luke 7, 36.

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house.

So she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.

And we're going to jump around a little bit.

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and then poured perfume on them.

Do you see this woman?

I came into your house.

You did not give me any water for my feet.

But she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love was shown.

And the narrative of this story is this is that she had this alabaster jar of perfume.

And she went and she laid it at his feet.

Get past the tears and the hair and all of those things.

Those are important parts of the story, but I just want to hit this is that she just gave everything that she had.

She just started beginning to weep and begin to be broken, saying, I know I live a sinful life, God.

I know I've gotten it messed up over and over and over again, but I just want to lay these things at your feet, Lord.

You are worthy of my everything, and that cost her something.

I'm sure that that was a little embarrassing to just come into a house and do that in front of Jesus, the Son of God.

Let alone, but she went in humility and she said, I want to give you all that I have.

See, worship isn't about the amount that you give, it's about the posture of your heart.

It's about the posture of your heart.

And I want to, again, I told you I was gonna make you think a little bit, and I want you to think about this.

What is the current posture of your heart toward God?

Or I'll even say for myself, what is the current posture of my heart toward God?

As I was preparing this message, it made me think a little bit.

And this is a little bit more challenging of a question that you need to think through this week or the next couple weeks is this.

Is there anything I'm holding back from him?

Is there anything you're not trusting him with?

Is there anything that you're holding on to pride and saying, No, I got it under control?

And you're not, and you're just holding it back.

I want you to think about those minutes.

We're gonna continue through the message with our second point, and it says this true worship draws you closer.

Somebody say closer.

Closer to the Father.

Come on, how many at any of our locations wants to be closer to God?

Come on, I think that's why we're here.

Uh, I know, I don't know about you, but I want to be closer to the Lord in every area of my life.

In Psalm 22 and 3, it says this.

It says, God inhabits, somebody say inhabits, inhabits the praises of his people.

What I love about God's word is that there's it's filled with promise.

It's filled with promise.

It's not saying he might inhabit your praise if you come sing loud enough.

He's not saying that he might come if we've got some cool lights and some cool screens at the location.

No, it says God inhabits the praises of his people.

And I want to leave you with this thought.

Write it down, put it in your message notes.

But worship creates space for God to move in.

Worship creates space for God to move in.

So I want to give you some vision real quick.

That's why we start with worship.

That's why we start with praise.

Every single service.

We start with praise and thanksgiving.

Uh, Pastor Caleb was here this morning and leading us in worship, and I'm so thankful for him.

Uh, but he was singing the joy of the Lord is my strength.

There's a joy and a praise that rises up when we come together, and it's because God inhabits the praises of his people.

Amen.

Come on.

So I want you to think about that.

Worship creates space for God to move in.

I and I want to relate to you for just a second, if that's okay.

Uh I'm I'm a husband of Sabrina.

She's she's the most amazing wife.

Uh, again, she did not pay me to say that.

Uh, but I want to tell you that uh we've been working together at the same place.

We were on staff at uh at our church in Tennessee where we moved from together.

So we worked there together.

And then when we moved here, Sabrina's also on staff here at the church.

And I want to tell you, working together with your wife is difficult, somebody.

I don't know if I have anybody, anybody else that's in the room that you work with your spouse, uh, but it can be a challenge, and more so on her part than my part, because I'm chilled.

But uh, but she has to put up with me week in and week out.

But I want to relate to you for just a moment that we went through a season of our life where we just got really busy.

And uh for me as a man, or maybe it's just my personality, uh, when it comes to just coming uh to spend quality time and different things like that, I'm like, I'm with you all day long.

We go to lunch together, we we get our morning coffee together, we drive home together, we drop the kids off together.

You get my point, is we're together a lot.

Uh, but she came to me a little bit ago and said, Hey, I'd really love for you to prioritize like more date nights, like more special time where we can have together.

And my first thought was like, oh my gosh, we're already spending so much time together, and I'm not gonna get in trouble.

I've already ran this by her, but I want to tell you is that uh she said, and I said, Why do you why do you say that?

And she said, Well, I just want to feel special.

I want you to feel like uh you care for me.

I want to feel like you want to spend time with me, not just because you're obligated, because you just want that desire in your heart.

And it really, it really did something for me.

And it as I was preparing this message, I started thinking, like, we take time for what's important in our lives.

Amen.

We take time for what's important in our lives.

So if you're a sports enthusiast, you're probably taking time to go watch the games or or or hang out with some some friends to uh watch the games.

If you're into the latest trends or uh you love social media, you're probably scrolling, you know, I don't know, 30 minutes, an hour, two hours a day.

Uh if you love spending time with friends and family, you're gonna take the time to spend with those.

If you've got a hobby or an interest, you're gonna take the time to spend with them.

You get my point, is we take time, you know, the intentional time for the things that are important in our lives.

And I want to sort of bridge that idea into worship.

Is what if we took that intentional time with the Lord?

What if we took intentional time and drew close to the Father?

What would shift in your life?

What kind of habits would begin to form in your life if you just began to persistently and intentionally spent time with him instead of on your phone?

Or maybe spending time with him instead of diving into fantasy football.

Listen, side note, I'm in last place in fantasy football, so I'm just I'm trashing it right now.

Listen, I'm done.

But but think about that.

What if we took intentionally, intentional time to draw near to the Lord?

I love the promise in scripture from James in the book of James where it says, When we draw near to him, do you guys know the promise?

Come on, that's a promise that he lays out in the in his word.

And the other thing I love about God's word and the story of God the Father who sent his son Jesus to live on earth uh for 33 years to live and die for us, and and the resurrection and all those things, those things are so good.

But what I love also is that Jesus set the example for us to how to live, how to be a friend, how to walk through difficult situations.

And Jesus was intentional with his time with God, and I want to point out a couple things that may or may not relate to you.

Before starting his ministry, he took intentional time with the father.

And maybe you can change the word ministry to before you started your week, or maybe you started a new job, or maybe you jumped into a new season.

Before making decisions, we all make decisions.

You made a decision to show up to church this morning.

So before making decisions, Jesus took intentional time and worship and pray to the Father.

After a hard day of work, some of you are going through a stressful season at work, and Jesus laid it out that he took time with the Father after those moments, after ministering to people, and after losing a close friend.

And I don't know if any of this relates to you.

I'm sure that it does, but I want you to uh sort of hang on to this thought is that intimacy cannot come without intentionality.

Intimacy cannot come without intentionality.

And some of you may feel a little cringe or a little weird when you say the word intimacy when you're talking about your walk with God.

Uh change that intimacy with closeness, uh, a deeper relationship, however you want to put that.

So closeness cannot come without intentionality.

You have, just like any other relationship, you have to work on it.

It's gonna cost you something.

I also love the scripture.

Uh, it's not gonna be on the screen, but uh where it says that we must become less so he can become more.

So think about those areas in your life that you need to be moving out of the way for God to just move.

Some of you are wondering why God hasn't moved or God hasn't done that thing.

Well, maybe you need to get out of the way.

Come on, come on.

I want to I want to make you reflect and think again for just a few more moments.

Take a look at this.

Think about this for yourself for a moment.

Do I intentionally create space for God or do I just rush past him?

I want to pause for just a minute.

Some of you, we create an experience every single week that's one hour.

You've been, I grew up in a church that it could have been three hours, it could have been, I don't know, it depended on if there was a potluck afterwards or or what.

But we do that with you in mind, with your time in mind.

We honor your time with you and your family.

We we honor that.

But some of you are are already thinking about what's going on after church, what's for lunch.

And I want you to take a moment, or you're rushing past him.

Come on, let's take a moment and create space for him.

But how are you doing that in your own life?

The next one is this is where has my relationship with God grown lukewarm instead of alive?

Come on, and the last one is this.

This is a challenging one.

What would it look like for me to intentionally draw near again?

What would it look like?

What would it look like in your own life?

I want to go ahead and jump to this next part of the message where we're gonna, it's sort of a response, a declaration, and that's to worship you, I live.

Again, I told you we're gonna get beyond the music, and worship is the way that we live.

It's our lifestyle, it's our routines, it's our habits, it's what we spend our time acknowledging worth to.

So again, in Romans 12 and 1, we'll read, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

This is your true and proper worship, which is gonna go straight into Colossians 3:17.

Colossians 3:17

It says this Whatever you do, somebody say whatever you do, do it all.

Somebody say all.

All in the name of the Lord Jesus.

So scripture's telling us whatever we do, we're supposed to do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

I want you to write this down.

A habit of a healthy heart is a heart connected to God.

A habit of a healthy heart is a heart connected to God.

So when we read Colossians 3:17, whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Colossians 3:17

That means everything can be done, and everything can become worship when it's done for God's glory.

Everything.

Everything.

Worship isn't an event, you guys.

Worship is a lifestyle.

It's the way that we live, it's the way that we talk, it's the way we interact.

All of those things can reflect worship.

And so during this message, as we were preparing, I was I was just thinking about what how can I give you some handlebars, some parameters of like, where can I start?

Like you may have said, man, I thought I was doing good.

I came in here, I come in here for one hour a week and I give my all during worship.

Keep doing that, please.

I'm just trying to give you some other practical things of how you can live your life like this outside of these walls.

So you're saying what is it for me?

If you live a lifestyle of worshiping your heart connected to God anyway.

It turns gratitude into a lifestyle.

But also guide your choices and your decisions.

So again, I wanna I want to jump to this next part where we're gonna put the mark well.

It's another profound story where Jesus encounters a widow.

Putting her money into the temple treasury.

But a poor widow came and put into very small copper coins.

They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything.

All.

Somebody say all.

Somebody say all again.

All she had to live on.

I want this to hit home with you today.

You may have been giving the Lord something, but you you again, you showed up to church this morning.

You are giving him something.

But what else are you holding on to?

What are those moments outside of these walls that you just haven't fully trusted him with or fully started living your life of worship to him?

Again, the widow's gift was small in amount, but massive.

And sacrifice.

Again, it cost her something.

It cost her something.

When I was thinking about this story and I was praying about this moment, I wrote some things down, and if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down.

Or if you've got a better memory than me, then just remember it in your heart and in your mind.

But God isn't impressed by the portion we bring, He's moved by the posture we bring it with.

Her two coins sold heaven, you're worth everything.

And I really, really, really want you to get this.

Worship that costs you nothing, it changes nothing.

Worship that costs you nothing changes nothing.

It's gonna cost you something.

When you give God your everything, even when it's small, he calls it more.

He calls it more.

So you may be like, Cody, I'm not even sure what you're talking about outside of these walls.

I feel like I live a pretty good life.

I'm a good person.

I want to make it even more practical for you.

Outside of these walls, I want to I want to just sort of move into how you're going to apply these things in your life.

When I was starting to think about the things that I wanted to apply just a lifestyle of worship to, these are the things that I thought of that I hope it relates to you.

Your parenting, your marriage, your generosity, your prayers, your finances, your rest.

We talked about that in this message.

Your work, your friendships, your home, your faithfulness, your words.

Come on, somebody.

Your words, your time, your attitude, and your decisions.

Think about it, church.

Worship is not just an event.

It's not just a moment.

It's not just a moment.

It's the way that we live.

This is our true and proper worship as a living sacrifice, as Paul writes in Romans 12 and 1.

So I want you to think about these moments and think, how can I start surrendering?

How can I start giving these moments to the Lord?

In just a few moments, we're going to respond and worship through a song.

And it's to worship you, I live.

I live to worship you.

But before we do that, can we stand for all across this place at all of our locations?

Wherever you're at, can you just begin to stand in the room?

Listen, we can come in here and receive a message, but if we don't respond, what's the point?

We have to respond.

And as I was preparing this message, as I was thinking about them this moment, I wanted us to put this into action.

I wanted to make this declaration over our lives.

And can somebody in this room say, I give you my all?

Come on, can you say that?

I give you my all.

One more time.

Say, I give you my all.

Come on.

And in this moment, I'm going to read this declaration over so many areas of our life.

So it's a call and a response.

So I'm going to call and you're going to respond with the words, I give you my all.

One more time.

I give you my all.

So I want to read this over you.

I want to read this over your family, over your circumstances, because today we get a chance to respond in worship today.

So in my relationship with you, God, in my marriage, in the way I love my spouse, in my children, and the way I leave my home.

In the way I think and the desires I pursue.

In the way I speak and the words I choose.

In my calling, my work, and the way I lead.

And with every breath I breathe.

Come on.

Come on, somebody say one more time.

I give you my all.

Come on now, can we give the Lord 10 or 15 seconds of our best praise?

Come on! Come on, lift it up! Lift it up to the Lord! Lift it up to the Lord! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!

Come on, if you can just stay standing in just a few more moments of service, we're gonna respond and worship in just a moment.

But I don't wanna lose sight of what's important here is that you may have never said yes to Jesus in this room.

Or maybe you're worshiping online, or maybe you're at any of our locations, you may have never said yes to Jesus, and today something shifted in your heart, and you say, I wanna come home, I wanna say yes to Jesus.

Maybe you've been living far away from God, and maybe something just sparked today in the message or in our time of worship, or maybe some fellowship, and you say, you know what?

I'm gonna get out of the way, I'm gonna create space, I'm gonna allow God to move in my life, and I'm gonna say yes to Him today.

Come on, with every head bow and eyes closed, I want this to be a sacred moment here at all of our locations.

You say, Cody, I wanna say yes to Jesus, I wanna come back home.

Come on, can you just begin to just slip your hand up all across this room at all of our locations?

Come on, thank you.

Thank you, come on, the hand raised high in boldness, saying, saying, I want to live my life for you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Come on, we're not a church that prays alone, so I want you to no matter if you had that hand raised or if you're just joining with us today, I want us to pray this prayer out loud.

Say, dear Jesus, say dear Jesus, I thank you.

I thank you for dying for me.

I thank you so much for being with me.

From this day forward, I give you my life.

All of me, for all of you, never turning back.

I give you my all.

You are worthy of everything.

So today, I give my life to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Come on, church.

We just tell people to say yes to Jesus.

Come on, and we're gonna respond in worship to worship you out there.