Heart | The Core

praise the sun praise the spirit our kids [Music] you did not despise [Music] knowing this was my salvation jesus for us [Music] [Music] foreign full of head and held its breath till that storm was moved for good for the lamb had conquered death and the dead rose from their was born jesus you christ me praise god [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] amen thank you worship team thank you thank you thank you how are we this am good we good well let me first start off by saying um happy valentine's day i know that that uh comes sweet to some bitter to others so that's all i'm going to say and i'm also going to welcome our online community those of us that are joining with us from home that uh that you're with us in spirit but we just want to say that you are part of the family we're so grateful to have you we're so grateful for what jesus is doing in you from far and wide not just local but now national and global we just consider you a blessing from jesus part of our lh community and so can we just give them a warm welcome sort of invite them in [Applause] so uh i uh i'm really really excited about what we're starting this morning we got some things um uh in our time together that uh that i'll unveil as we as we push on but um if you have your bibles i want you to go with me to ephesians chapter five ephesians chapter five and just so you know if you don't have your bible but you have your phone with you you got your bible come on somebody it's 20 21 and um and you can go right to either your bible app or you can go to the lh app and you can download that and that has follow along notes that has the scriptures that we're going to be reading that has places where you can take notes throughout the the time that we spend together and um by way of of this particular collection of talks that we're getting ready to launch into i want you to be aware of something and that is is that over the course of the next four weeks four weeks starting tomorrow um we have put together daily devotionals that are sort of underpinning what we're going to talk about today and next weekend and the following weekend and every week we're going to take a deeper look or a deeper dive into the subject matter that we're talking about on sunday and so even those of you at home um that you can join with us on our lh app um and i believe back am i right for saying that's the exclusive place that this is and so you want to download that and every single day tc and i are going to sort of be sharing devotionals sort of in in some in written form some in video form and then the other pastors as well and that is for your edification and so again it's on the app totally free so if you don't like it well you get what you pay for so we're launching into it but before we begin hopefully you're in ephesians chapter five i'm gonna pray we're gonna get right to work i'm believing that jesus is going to come and speak to us stretch us comfort us do work in us that not only do i desperately need but here's what i take great hope in is that god wants to do it even more than i needed that god wants to meet with us that god wants to leave us ultimately transformed today not that we come and we sort of notch our belt and go through the formalities or the religiosity of gathering oh no no no no no the holy spirit dwells here richly to do a deep work within us and so what i'm going to pray is that we have open hearts and that we avail ourselves to him that we have ears to hear so that he can come and have his way in our life why because i want change i want it all and so heavenly father we ask you today would you come and dwell with us richly lord in a life-changing way father we want to experience you we want to see you we want to understand the truths found in your incredible word and lord we want to leave here today different than when we arrived i pray for my brothers and sisters in this room i pray for those of us that are watching or listening right now father whether in homes or dorm rooms their car the light father we know that you're all present and where we are you dwell as well come and be god for your glory and our joy we pray this in the matchless name of jesus and all god's people said amen over the last five weeks we as a community have been in a series entitled how to have a relationship covered all through that series there has been a statement that's been commonly made and perpetually made that stands true and that is is that relationships according to the biblical standard as seen in scripture are not only the golden standard for relationships universally but relationships are the clearest indication that you and i are followers of jesus the way we treat one another the way that we walk with one another the way that we love one another jesus said you'll know who my followers are by the way that they love one another aka relationships that said over the last four weeks we talked about matters such as commitment confrontation charity and honor these sort of benchmarks if you will these bedrocks of relationships that lend themselves to health and radiance and life infusion one to another that if we honor one another if we're charitable to one another if we confront right if we're committed well not only will we have healthy relationships but in turn we glorify our father in heaven but at the end of last week john made this statement that i was so grateful that he made amidst this powerful sermon speaking on honor at the sort of culmination of all the talks john said this if you feel like you can't do this if you feel like commitment's hard for you if you feel like confrontation is a struggle for you if you feel like being charitable to those that are are um either weaker than you that need to be sacrificially loved by you if you have a hard time when it comes to seeing the value in others and honoring them and you feel like you can't do this well truth be told you can't you absolutely cannot you in your own right your own strength and your own power and your own fortitude are absolutely incapable of living out biblical relationships you might be able to do it for a day you might even be able to get to tuesday afternoon but after that you're going to hit a wall where you realize i don't have it in me i really don't care about confronting i'll just cancel i don't really care about being commitment committed i don't like them enough that anyhow i don't want to be charitable to the lesser brother or to to to the one that's weaker i want my own rights my own privileges my own thing an honor the only person that's valuable in this world is me that's our default mode in your own flesh and your own strength in your own mind's eye that's what we revert to and so it takes nothing shy of the presence of god and the power of god to do relationships the way god wants us to hence this collection of talks what i've realized is is that there's a reason why so many of us including myself at times have a hard time doing this thing called christianity there's a reason that we can leave here full of tenacity and full of vigor and full of hope and full of inspiration and yet soon soon i mean it doesn't even take for some it might take a few hours for some you might get a couple days for some might be a week for some it might be a year but eventually you hit a wall where you feel like man i'm running out of steam man this is a lot harder than i thought it was man i don't know if i want to do it anymore man i got attitudes man i got trips man i got hang-ups man i'm pretty jacked up man i i got a myriad of things man i'm tired there's a reason for that there's a reason that some of us through the course of 2020 now into 2021 i've realized wait a minute my well my well that i've been drawing from my strength that i thought i had my my fortitude that used to be long my my stick-to-itiveness it isn't what it used to be and for that very reason i believe it's a timely message for you and i in this local body but i'm going to say that this message is universally applicable and it started about 16 years ago when i had an aha moment if you're wondering why i know that date in particular it's because where i came to the realization of this was at the birth of my firstborn handsome incredible son asher samuel foster so it was ruth and i had been married now for about five five and a half years ruth is pregnant she had fulfilled the full term of nine months here we are on our way to the hospital headed to the hospital we're excited you know life's getting ready to take on a whole new form the room was ready asher's grand arrival is getting ready to take place and we get there and all of a sudden what should have been very seamless and we thought that would would take place in the matter of of an hour turned into about a 10-hour labor it's all kinds of complications and asher was stubborn just like he is now and he wouldn't come and all of a sudden we got to a point the middle of the night where his heart rate started to drop and what ruth wanted to avoid at all cost was she did not want a c-section nevertheless through the way the things unraveled they rushed us back for an emergency cesarean and so it was after the doctors did what they had to do asher samuel foster arrived bigger than life beautiful eight pounds three ounces there he was and i i everything everything changed and so as a first first dad you know and and ruth now after the caesarean here we were and and we stayed in the hospital due to uh you know that surgery it would be about four days later that we would finally get discharged so the doctor comes in as many of you who have undergone c-sections know and doctor came in and said here's the here's the deal when you go home um ruth i want you on bed rest you're gonna take it real real easy i don't want you to ascend stairs i don't want you to pick up anything over five pounds you're not even to pick up asher you get sammy to hand you asher i want you to lay low and so it was that after he told us no picking up no walking stairs taking it easy no work no strenuous activity that we went home made all the provisions for that moved the bedroom into essentially the living room because her her bedroom was on the top floor so she wouldn't have to take stairs i made sure that i got her everything that she needed and so on and so forth i stayed home with her for about three days after three days i went back into the office and i was at the office i came home i walked through the front door and there's ruth just just just just being a busy bee here she was she's now over at the sink doing little dishes she had asher on her hip she's talking she's laughing she looks i mean radiant here she is going to and fro i think she was out you know chopping wood all kinds of stuff i was like whoa whoa whoa i was like what are you doing i said doctors gave us strict orders we gotta do this do that yadda yadda she was like i'm straight if you know ruth bruce nonstop and so was that she just took on ruth fashion and i thought well hey if you feel good well then hey do good all right i'm i'm cool with that i'd ask a series of questions but she had assured me no i feel i feel totally fine i'm off the pain medicine a couple ibuprofen you know keep the pain at bay here we are well as the days progressed not just that one but the next one the following one and the following one ruth only got busier only got more more more involved doing stuff and and all the things that she was doing were all the things that the doctor told us not to do and then we hit right around the fifth day ruth woke up and said i am in terrible terrible pain i'm hurting everything hurts everything's sore ever i feel weak i feel fatigued and due to the contrast of that statement compared to how high i saw her acting the previous days truth be told i was worried concerned and so it was that we went to the doctor we go to the doctor and sat down this was sort of the pre-postnatal you know visit and here we are the doctor sat us down and said let me ask you a series of questions he said have you been ascending stairs yeah you've been picking anything up over five pounds yeah you've been doing activities that i told you not to yeah you've been sleeping like you know bed resting throughout the day no okay he sits us down looked me dead my runners and he said this let me be very clear about something when ruth had her c-section and i was the one that was being held accountable he said i cut right through her core right through it i didn't just cut fatty tissue which there wasn't any i didn't [Laughter] happy valentine's day girl i'll see you yeah you're gonna get me i didn't just cut through skin he said i cut through the center of her core and he said when i cut through that what you need to know about the core is is that the core is where she derives all her strength from even though her extremities might be strong such as legs back and shoulders and arms even though all their strength is rooted in the health of that core now they may be able to disguise the unhealth of that core for a period of time they may lead you to believe that you're stronger than you actually are but eventually you're going to hit a wall and that's exactly what's happened to her that she relied on the strength of arms and legs and shoulders and neck and on and on but be the fact that they had nowhere to dry derive their nourishment from this is why everything is sore and this is why she's in terrible pain her core is where her posture comes from her uprightness comes from even her mental clarity comes from it's rooted in her core in that moment of me sitting there listening to this doctor this aha revelation came to my mind that the principle that is so true about us physically is as important to you and i spiritually that you and i have a spiritual core and if that core is not healthy if it is weak if it is broken if it is hurting if it's never been dealt with will eventually you're going to run out of steam you can rely on your extremity strength you can rely on you thinking that you have what it takes you can rely on a little fortitude only for a period of time but eventually you have to deal with your core if you're wondering what exactly is one's spiritual core well jesus spoke to it and jesus spoke to it when he was asked one time in matthew 22 by a young attorney this young attorney was a sadducee he was from the far right this pious super self-righteous religious group that thought i'm gonna i'm gonna pepper jesus with a series of questions and catch him in his words ultimately to find him to be a false prophet this was their this was their attempt and so what they wanted to ask him was out of all the laws out of all the christian priorities out of all the to do's which were 613 in total out of everything that you and i are called to be in this thing called the christian walk is there anything that reigns supreme is there anything that is more important than the others and they thought that had jesus said yes to that question well then he would be dead in the water actually that's what we wanted to hear he would in no way answer that by saying that there's one that is that is above all but that is precisely what he did and so it says this that this young young student said teacher which is the most important commandment in all the law of moses jesus replied you must love the lord your god with all of your heart with all of your soul and with all of your mind this is the first and greatest commandment but the second is equally important love your neighbor as yourself listen to this the entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments what jesus just said in essence to that young attorney is in order for you and i to actually have any shot at this thing called the christian life any longevity any radiance any way that your life will glorify me in any life span you must concentrate first and foremost on your core and your core is your heart your soul and your mind therein lies what you should give your first allegiance to and all your efforts he said this because every demand of the prophets and all the other laws are tethered to those two commandments that you love god with all your heart soul mind and that you love your neighbor as yourself the reason that so many of us have problems at times being committed being charitable confronting rightly honoring one another being patient being loving being gentle being self-controlled being forbearing being good the reason many times we feel like you know what i don't i don't want to do it anymore i can't do it anymore i'm not even doing a good job at my attempt to do it why is because many times our core is shot we've never taken long enough to focus on our core and so you know what we wind up doing christian life through a hardened heart a wounded soul and a tormented mind i'll talk to people sometimes and no have walked with jesus for a while i'll talk to whether it's one that's just starting the journey or one that's been in the journey for a long time and they're realizing all these struggles they're hard they're callous they're fatigued they're irritated they're upset they're fighting they're bewildered they've lost hope and many times what you'll realize is you've never dealt with your core you thought you were strong you thought you could use your arms and your legs and your back and your shoulders you thought you thought you could get by by being patient a little behavior modification a little tweak little bible reading a little devotional you know a little worship time you'll change your music you'll change your reading pattern you thought you thought but eventually you get to a place where you go i don't have it anymore and many times it's because you've never doubt the core the first thing that that jesus starts with is he says i want you to love god with all of your heart if you're wondering what your heart is your your heart in essence is the true real you not to facade you not the masqueraded you not to pretend you not the christianese you the real you it's who you really are it's your identity it's who you are as a person it's it's your idiosyncrasies and your personalities it's it's you it's what makes you you and jesus said i want you to love me with all of you let me tell you what jesus was not saying in that what jesus was not saying in that is i want you to do more and try harder let me tell you what he was saying is he was saying i want you to give me all of you so i can give you all of me that's what he was saying i i don't want you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and i don't want you to pull a hamstring and break a sweat trying to love me ah what he was saying is i want you to give me all of you the real you so that i can then deposit in you all of me because what he looks at when he sees us as scripture so clearly describes us is just a broken cistern just an empty vessel that needs filling and so what he said was i want you to give me all of who the real you is so that i can give you all the real me that you can handle if you're wondering like like like why we do what we do it's not really complicated what we do in this thing called life really is rooted from the condition of our core our heart this is why jesus says this in luke luke six he says a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart what you say flows from what is in your heart ultimately what jesus just said is what you say what you do how you act how you behave how you live comes from the condition of your core your heart and so when he says i want you to give it to me as you follow me what he's saying is i want to deposit me into it so that it becomes good why because without me it's deceitfully wicked it's default mode is it's just going to do bad things it's going to leave you to bad places it's going to behave bad it's going to speak bad it's going to out of out of that core you you will not just result in good no no it's going to it's going to be bad so i want you to give it all to me so i can give you all of me in ephesians chapter five paul talks about the core paul talks about the essence of who we are and the transformation that god wants to make in it that leads us ultimately to a place in life where we're full where we're loving where we're patient where we're joyful where we're powerful where we're radiant what paul said is is you now being called children of light i want to address the core i want to address the the heart the soul and the mind the inside you but he begins by talking about just the heart he talks about the condition of our heart and how ultimately to keep it soft and to keep it pliable and to keep it full of jesus mind you what i'm getting ready to read you is from the author that amen essentially penned 13 letters in the new testament paul saw more about the revelation of who god was and and and what we're called to do than any human that's ever lived how do i know that paul was caught up in the third heavens all right i don't i don't know anybody that's you know sat in the clouds and talked to jesus all right if you can find him i'd love to have a conversation with him guaranteed he's going to be a weirdo paul was not paul legitimately had an encounter with jesus where jesus removed the scales from his eyes spoke to him in candid fashion and showed him himself to paul and so paul then would take this as a jewish scholar as a roman citizen as one that was learned that sat under gamaliel and he penned all these letters to the new testament churches and he gave some of the most profound dense theology and doctrine any author has ever given and in ephesians 5 he speaks in very straightforward fashion about the heart and this is what he says he says imitate god in everything you do because you are his dear children live a life filled with love following the example of christ he loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us a pleasing aroma to god listen to this carefully determine what pleases the lord take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness instead expose them it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret he goes on and says so be careful how you live don't live like fools paul says but like those who are wise make the most of every opportunity in these evil days and don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the lord wants you to do and don't be drunk with wine that will ruin your life instead be filled with the holy spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the lord in your hearts and give thanks for everything to god the father in the name of our lord jesus christ now see the progression there watch what paul just does paul just says listen listen if you do these certain things well if you do these and give yourself to them he said it's going to keep your heart full of light full of like it's going to cultivate a good heart in you a good strong healthy core and he said and when you do that what it's going to result in is that you're just going to be walking around singing singing songs to yourself singing in the midst of other people you're going to be so filled with joy and thanksgiving and gratitude and contentment that you can't help but sing he said you can't help but thank god for all the goodness that he's given you and you can't help but walk with a pep in your step why because your core is going to be really healthy your core is going to be nice and strong and radiant but what he but the opposite of a of a soft healthy core is a hardcore and a hard heart life i don't know if you've realized this or not life has has an incredible way of making you and i hard just life j just comings and goings just walmart has has has this potential to make you hard to give you attitudes to make you isolated to make you not want a people anymore to make you tired life has a way compounded with the very enemy of your soul of taking a soft fertile healthy heart and making it hard and here's the problem here's the problem with a hard heart people with hard hearts they forfeit four things one they can no longer see they no longer hear they no longer feel and they no longer do what god wants them to they can't see where god's moving acting and and and and showing up why because they scale over due to callousness and hardness they no longer hear the still small whisper of his voice why because they've lost all sensitivity to him they don't feel his presence why because they're so jacked up and calloused over that it's real hard to even penetrate and therefore they don't do what he's called them to do there's a real danger scripture is real clear about hard hearts hard hearts make you can't see can't feel can't hear won't do and so paul emphatically is saying keep that heart soft keep that core healthy because your arms don't have a lifespan your legs can't get you there as strong as your shoulders may be they can't carry you you got to have a healthy heart so love god with all of it so he can put in you all of him now i know up till that point that sounds that sounds compelling in one sense but yet um sort of abstract in another how is it that you and i keep a healthy soft heart that lends itself to a healthy strong core i'm so glad that you asked so glad and paul lists three things paul lists three things that i absolutely love and as profound as paul may be is is is is only rivaled by the simplicity of his instruction and the first thing that paul said in order for you and i to have a soft pliable strong heart as he says this you have to become a kid again you have to become a kid again what he cautions is i don't want you to grow up too fast i don't want you to try to adult too much i want you just to remember who you are this is everything about your and my identity as followers of jesus what he said is i want you to remember your children and i want you to live like it i want you to have the carefree attitude of a kid and i want you to stop trying to adult in things that weren't yours to deal with in the first place how does paul say it he says this imitate god imitate him follow him replicate him stare at him and then do what he does he says therefore in everything you do not just in some things but in everything he says because you are his dear children live a life filled with love he said following the example of christ because he loved us and he offered himself as a sacrifice for us a pleasing aroma to god what he said was is here's what i want you to do if you're trying to figure out how to keep that heart soft if you're trying to figure out how do i love god with all of my heart this is what he says look at god and then imitate him because he's incredible and i trust paul would say that the longer you stare at him marvel at him live and wonder of him fix your eyes on him you're going to want to become like him now anybody who's had a father that that was in many ways their hero understands this clearly of which i had i had a father that i was absolutely convinced could leap tall buildings in a single bounce faster than locomotive and could catch bullets in his teeth if you're wondering what that is a reference to that's superman okay of which i thought my father was and so from from from a young age i would watch my old man and i i would marvel at him i would marvel at how strong he was i'd marvel about how big his arms were he would always take these button-down shirts no matter which one he had he'd cut the sleeves off of it you know so he could show his arms always frayed flannel he had he had these you know you know navy tattoos on his arm i thought he was so cool i would watch him pick things up he'd invite me to work parties over at the church and they'd be coming out of the ground you know either building and i watch my old man you know grab you know two cinder blocks no problem you know and he'd do it all day long i'd watch him cut trees down he'd take me camping and i'd just watch him i mean i thought he was like like a man in the woods i didn't he didn't even know what he was doing i didn't i didn't even know that he didn't know you know what i meant i would watch the park rangers you know come to us tell us now you can't set up camp here this is this is illegal you know and i just watched how he talked to him he was always so confident so sure of himself so comfy in his skin and i just remember i wanted to be just like him i'd watch the way he dressed i wanted to dress like him sometimes he'd invite me down to the state house when they were doing sort of like march for life as they would petition against the abortion i i remember as a little boy i walked into his bedroom he was putting a button-down shirt on and a sports coat i thought what if if you're rocking that that's what i'm rocking i'd go get my little sports coat my little button down i'd hang right on his hip i just wanted to be like him i wanted to imitate him i just felt the world of him i'd wonder how big he was and how how how incredible he was i wanted to imitate him what i knew is is he's my protector he's my provision i didn't know half the stuff my dad was dealing with all i knew is i want to be like him and there was a comfort in that why cause i was the kid and he was not and when paul writes and says little children imitate god in everything you do what he's saying is don't try to think this thing through too much just follow him imitate him imitate the way that he treats people he's loving he's gracious he's forbearing he's giving but also imitate his confidence he's got the whole world in his hands you know why so many of us are so fatigued is because we're tired of adulting we're tired of trying to figure everything out and fix everything and think through it seven ways to sunday and parse out scripture and i'm a theology guy a doctrine guy a well thought out guy hey but there is sometimes i just want to be a kid again i want him to worry about it i don't have it all figured out i don't know how this thing is is going to go i know who holds it and therefore i want to just stare at him and imitate him to the degree that you and i lose our kid-like wonder of god is to the degree that your heart becomes hardened that you're no longer impressed you no longer marvel you no longer wonder it's all it's all head to you and what paul said is don't do that he's got the very hairs on your head numbered his thoughts are way beyond your thoughts and his ways are way beyond your ways he says take your rightful position of being a kid again and find all the rest in it there were times that my father was worried about things i had no idea about but he worried so i didn't have to he thought it through so i didn't have to burden myself and this is why this whole this whole become a kid again jesus said that's the essence of what the christian life should have that keeps your core healthy this is how jesus said it jesus one time was speaking and preaching and these kids started to come to him and his disciples and the likes of peter shoot him away told him this is adult stuff this is big boy stuff you're not invited here and jesus seeing his disciples through that became indignant and said this jesus then called a little child to him and put the child among them picked him up i can see him put him right right on his lap and this is what he said then he said i tell you the truth unless you turn from your sins and become like little children you will never get into the kingdom of heaven if you try to overthink this thing if you try to think that actually you're holding this thing together if you try to adult to a degree that actually you think that you're responsible for so much and rather than just walk in this child-like humility he said you're gonna miss it you're gonna miss it fully he goes on to say this he says so anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven become a kid again he doesn't say be childish she says be childlike i still want to be impressed by god i still want to be mouth wide opened by god i still want to i just still want to wonder and marvel and look at and go i don't i don't have it all figured out but i'm going to imitate him i'm going to imitate him because i'm deeply deeply impressed by him and so the first thing he says is is imitate god in everything you do why because you are his dear children he says become a kid again second thing he said is is he says become a student again become a learner again become investigative again where you want to learn as much about god as you possibly can why because it keeps your heart soft it keeps your core healthy and it provides nourishment to all your other extremities love god with all of your heart he said that means you become a kid again and then you become a student again this is how he says it paul writes carefully carefully not flippantly or not emotionally or not just just just every once carefully determine what pleases the lord then he says this take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness instead expose them it is shameful to even talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret here's what paul just said as paul said in order for your core to be strong you have to have right values you have to value worthy things and devalue unworthy things paul said there's some things in your life that you shouldn't even talk about the worthless deeds of evil he said you shouldn't what people do in secret he said you shouldn't even give them lip service you shouldn't even even talk about them they they're beneath what god's called you to so you should have a value system where you demand excellence where you value what actually is worthwhile to god he said carefully determine what pleases god what's my father like what is he into what does he hold as valuable what does he hold this supreme what does he say i should give my eye to my ear to my time to my my mouth too and paul said so make sure that you evaluate your value system you know why sometimes our hearts our hearts get hard because we value trash we live in a whole culture right now that puts that puts price tags that are seemingly astronomical to that which isn't even worthy entertainment i'm not saying people aren't worthy but we'll make celebrities just about out of anything or anyone a cheap cheap laughs cheap cheap forms of of of luxury and and and we in our mind's eye that's the most valuable thing and so people chase for it they give their time to it they give their efforts to it they give their time their talk to it they give their bandwidth to it we think it we talk it we want it we we pursue it it doesn't even rate to be on your value system and paul says if you want a strong core that you're not totally burnt out and totally fatigued and totally irritated and totally tired and totally wreck your life he said you must carefully determine what pleases god and then imitate those things this is why proverbs says this my child my child listen to what i say and treasure my commands tune your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding cry out for insight and ask for understanding search for them listen to this as you would for silver seek them like hidden treasures then you will understand what it means to fear the lord listen to this and you will gain knowledge of god here's what the prophet here's what solomon just said you want a strong core you want a life that's full and robust and content and joyful and peaceful and rock solid even in the face of storms he said search for understanding like you would pursue silver and search for wisdom and the values that god holds near and dear like it's a hidden treasure he said then you'll understand what it means to fear god and you will grow in your knowledge of god you want a strong core or strong core he says recognize who you are that you're a kid that you're a kid stand in wonder and awe don't be childish but be childlike he said secondly he says be a student again you got to be a learner don't live thoughtlessly that's that's that that's only going to rob your core that's going to lead you into a real dark hard and callous place and then he says and lastly he says and become filled again you want to know where all your strength comes from you want to know how to get those abs solid you want to know how that your heart grows fertile and soft he says you must become filled again this is how he says it don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the lord wants you to do and don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life now stop right there because paul ultimately he says don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life and then he's going to say this and they're paired together he says this instead be filled with the spirit why did paul talk about being filled with wine in contrast to being filled with the spirit because many times what we're prone to do is we try to cope with our fatigue our weariness our lack of strength our our attitudes our hopelessness and other things with just being filled with a coping mechanism some use wine some use narcotics some use entertainment some use sex some use porn some use anger some use a myriad of things because they just want to get filled they just want to get filled they're exhausted they're exhausted and in in many ways outside of jesus you can't blame them you can't blame them paul goes hey hey if if your core is showing signs of unhealth what he said is oh you need to be filled with the spirit of the living god he said then then you're going to be strong here's what paul's saying it's not good enough for you to be in the presence of god you have to get the presence of god in you there's a there's a big difference of just being in the presence for you to come into corporate gatherings for you to be in small group for you to be around other christians where you get in the presence of god paul said that's great that's great but a healthy core it requires that the presence of god fills you because when it does when it does he said that's where life happens when you're filled again [Music] that's where you're filled with love [Music] you're filled with hope you're filled with power filled with fullness you're filled with radiance you're filled with joy when the holy spirit makes his presence in you he says this i pray paul says from his glorious unlimited resources that he will empower you with inner strength through the spirit then christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him your roots will grow down into god's love and keep you strong and you may have the power to understand as all god's people should how wide and how long and how high and how deep his love is may you paul says experience the love of christ though it is too great to understand fully then you will be made complete listen to this with all the fullness of his life and power that comes from god now all glory to god who is able through his mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think [Music] our only hope in this thing called life is jesus and jesus wants his followers to have a healthy core not to be all show and no go not to run out of steam not to rely on strengths from other extremities but he said i pray that by his glorious power as he makes his home in your heart that you would be complete and full beyond anything you could ever imagine when you are filled with his holy spirit now some of us as we conclude you need to be filled again [Music] but some of us we've never been filled in the first place some of us are our heart you've never surrendered it to god actually the reason that you're here this morning is because you are so aware you may not be able to put it into words that your core is shot you're hard you're tired you're angry you're done why because of an unhealthy core [Music] and this is why this is why scripture says that when we come to him and say i want to give me to you the very first thing that happens is he says well the first thing that i'm going to do is give you a brand new heart because i need one that i got to operate with ezekiel says it this way god this is god and i will give you a new heart and i will put a new spirit in you and i will take out your stony stubborn heart and give you a tender responsive heart and i will put my spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees like a kid like a kid and you will be careful to keep my regulations why because i'ma change your values and some of us we sit here today you've never given him your heart and so here's what i want to do here's what i want to do i just want to ask you a question because i believe some of us we came not for information today we came for transformation you want different you want new and i would be a bad pastor if i didn't ask you a question and draw you to a conclusion for some of us that have never surrendered our heart you're trying to figure out how come i keep doing the same thing i want to stop doing how come i don't do the very thing that i said that i will start doing why it's because you have a hard heart and some of us here today you walk with jesus you might have you've been kicked stones with moses for all i know you've been in it for a long time but you know you do not live with a kid's identity you do not have right values you've sold them out to cheap things that are no longer providing for you any form of satisfaction and you need to be filled with the holy spirit so that you have a soft pliable heart here's what i want to ask you if that be you if that be you i'm asking you to do something real bold and crazy okay but it's going to be for your benefit for your change i'm going to ask you to stand right where you are right where you are and i'm gonna wait in this room until there's amen amen amen amen amen [Applause] amen amen i want you to stay standing with me stay standing and now i want everybody to stand and even if you're home and you would say that's that's me i don't live like a kid i don't seek understanding or wisdom or what god values i've sold my heart out to cheap things that have rendered me tired and i want to be filled with his holy spirit so that he comes and makes his residence in my heart even at home i'm going to ask you to stand up and i'm going to pray a prayer and here's what i want to do i just want you to pray this with your arms out in a posture of lord come change me change me do a work deep inside of me because i want i want to be filled with life i'm tired and i don't want to be tired anymore i want to live like a kid i want to be a student of you and i want to be filled with your holy spirit and i want you to repeat this prayer after me lord jesus as your sons and daughters in this room we say that you are the king of kings and the lord of lords that you came on a rescue mission for us and you died a sinner's death to pay a sin debt that i earned and you died in my place so that i could have a new heart father i repent for trying to pick up what is not mine that you said you wanted to carry i repent forgiven my heart to cheap things rather than what you value and you want me to live for and i repent father for trying to be filled with anything and everything outside of your holy spirit forgive me and fill my heart with your holy spirit and give me life in the area of dead places and renew my joy and give me eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to receive and help me love you with all of it we love you jesus thank you for forgiving our sins dying in our place and being such a good good god in jesus name we pray amen amen hey church thank you so much for being with us right now and i tell you we have something incredible to share with you today i just want to thank you so much for being here with us we're going to share this next journey in joshua's life and and taking the next step in baptism and if you've been around here at any amount of time the lighthouse you would know that we take baptisms very seriously prior to covet we would baptize two to 300 people on a weekend and let me tell you what it was absolutely incredible but things have changed through covet but one thing is for sure that never changes and that's jesus that he is the same yesterday today and forever and joshua's ready to take that next step and we're going to share that incredible moment with you today so it would be about two months ago that joshua would reach out to the church and say that i'm ready to take that next step so i gave joshua a call and we talked and he shared a little bit about his story and he has an absolute incredible testimony that he he was walking through his life and felt so empty felt so alone that he tried to fill himself with everything in the world and and nothing could fill that spot up that empty spot and he said i tried drugs i i knew one day that i hurt my wife one too many times so i went home and i knew i needed to go to church so i got online and i was looking for a church and i just happened to stumble across lighthouse he said i started going to some services and on november of 2019 is when jesus met joshua and he was completely transformed and he said his life now there's no more emptiness he is fulfilled like he's never felt been been fulfilled before his marriage is better than ever and his relationships are absolutely incredible he said so i'm ready to take that next step so for those of you that don't know what baptism is but baptism is that next step of obedience after following jesus the only thing that can save us is a relationship with jesus and scripture says that when we confess with our mouth that jesus is lord and we believe in our heart that god raised him from the dead scripture says then we will be saved baptism as i said is that next step of obedience it's showing to the world that we are going down with the old and we are coming up with the new that we are washing away our sins and we are coming up resurrected with christ and joshua's ready to take that next step and joshua what i find incredible that jesus didn't even start his earthly ministry until he was baptized it says that the heavens were opened and the spirit of god came down and rested upon him in bodily form and from that moment on he went on to teach he went on to preach he went on to heal and i really believe my man that today is going to be the start of your ministry that that same holy spirit that was in and upon jesus is in and upon you and i believe that you're going to be a kingdom or a warrior for this kingdom i believe you're going to be a soldier for jesus that you're going to change lives through him and i can't wait to walk along through you with this are you ready all right so joshua do you accept jesus as your lord and savior you ready to live for him you're ready to honor him walk with him and make him the lord of your life all right i now baptize you in the name of the father son and the holy spirit amen church [Music] hey when christ was baptized matthew writes that the heavens opened up and his spirit came down you better believe that that happened than the earth and the heavens are jersey for josh so let's rejoice this morning is [Music] [Applause] is is for us jesus christ [Music] [Music] we love you church please drive what an incredible start to this series i am so excited to see all that jesus does as we continue through the core but really talking about the heart and identity and then actually getting to witness joshua's baptism getting a new identity in christ i mean just absolutely amazing you know we've actually been seeing a lot of people making the choice to get baptized just to obey jesus in this season it is incredible to see people taking that step during during everything going on in our world if that's you and you're saying you know what i would love to get baptized or maybe you're asking i don't know what my next step is what is it we actually have a great new way to get in touch with us here at lighthouse called lh chat we rolled it out last week and on sunday mornings if you go on our website or on our app you can talk live to one of our staff members if you have a question about the sermon if you want to ask about getting baptized if you want to talk about what's my next step anything we are more than happy to just connect with you and see how we can help you get closer to jesus yeah absolutely so why don't we do this brett why don't we pray and then we'll move on with our day and see what jesus has for us going forward love it well jesus we are so grateful for community we are so grateful for one another jesus thank you that we don't have to do this alone lord you are always with us but then you give us brothers and sisters and we pray god that you would help us help us get into the community you have for us and god we ask that this week as we are inviting you into our hearts as we're inviting you to transform our identity jesus you would do a new work in us we understand that we can't do this on our own but we understand you have blessings for us you have an abundant life for us god help us to put ourselves in that place where we can receive what you have for us we ask all this in the name of jesus amen amen well hey thanks for hanging out with us today we've had fun being here it's so much fun we'll be back next week you can check it out 9 50 about 10 minutes before the service starts we'll be here for the countdown and also don't forget starting tomorrow on monday the daily divas for the corps are available in our app or on our website we cannot wait to see the stories that jesus i'm excited to start doing them and to start talking with you guys about all that jesus is doing through those devos so we love you and we will see you next week you

Channel: Lighthouse Church

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Length: 82min 55sec (4975 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 14 2021