Pastor Paul Chappell: A Prepared Heart

I'd like to read first Thessalonians chapter five three verses verse 17 18 and 19 pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you quench not the spirit three commands given to the thesulac in church in these three verses so let's read them together okay verse 17 ready begin pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you quench not the spirit let's pray together father we thank you for a new year and Lord no one here in this room has missed Church in 2018 and thank you for the great start you're giving us thank you for the privilege of opening your word and I pray you'll bless the teens and the Spanish out of the walther Center and the new Christians in the discipleship and and all the things going on tonight but right here in this auditorium Lord we ask you to speak to our hearts and and father prepare our hearts for this new year in Jesus name I pray amen you may be seated as we open the Word of God tonight we hear many sermons mi ni many sermons being given at the last part of this epistle to the thessalonians church and these are issues of the heart when the Bible speaks about quench not the spirit this can be done without an outwardly known action you can quench the spirit by your own attitude within your heart and these are these are issues of the heart that we read about in this particular passage and it's interesting to me the Bible says in 1st Samuel chapter 16 and verse 7 but the Lord said unto Samuel look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature he was speaking about David's older brother Eliab remember that story and David saw these are Samuel saw these brothers and he thought surely the oldest brother Eliab that's the king he's tall he's handsome he's got a lot of hair kinda like pastor you know he's just that's the one we're gonna pick you know and Samuel thought this is who it is but what does God say to Samuel he said Samuel look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him for the Lord seeth not as man saith for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart now we must remember tonight that what God is looking for in the beginning of this new year is not necessarily what the world is looking for most of what the world is emphasizing right now is the outward emphasis the world emphasizes the outward stature and there's nothing wrong in the sense of maybe having some goals to be in shape or going on Weight Watchers and you can do what I did one time take some doughnuts into a Weight Watchers meeting that that always is encouraging you know and and and people think that way and man looks on the outward right and man is continually thinking in terms of how do I look how is this appearing outwardly but God looketh we're at the what at the heart and and so at the heart of the of the matter tonight is the matter of the heart and so oftentimes long before a parent long before a pastor really sees outwardly the manifestation of a problem it's born in the heart and so tonight if we're going to prepare our hearts if we're gonna have hearts that are ready because we know that that when the heart is pure the vision is clear in other words we're not really ready for the vision Sunday if our hearts aren't prepared tonight and if we want to be ready and if we want God to bless and use us in this new year then we must have our hearts prepared for him and so notice first of all that we must have a prayerful heart as we enter this new year verse 17 is clear and simple pray without ceasing God speaks to us about the privilege of constant prayer and I don't know about you but I'm thankful that no matter where I am I can immediately come to the throne of grace I can I can immediately enter into God in prayer and the Bible tells us in 1st Peter 4 and verse 7 but the end of all things is at hand be therefore sober and watch unto prayer Colossians chapter 4 and verse 2 says continue in prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving now I want to challenge everyone here tonight to have a specific time with God each day and I I really think it's best to start your day in prayer and sometimes people are more like a night owl and a night person and and a lot of times that's how I am my brain will kick on and I'll get some reading done at night and so forth but I always begin my day with the Lord in Bible reading and prayer and I hope that you're either getting the daily and the word devotional or that you have some kind of a Bible reading schedule I'm using the olive tree Bible app I'm on the McShane Bible reading plan this year and and I just love that particular plan as it goes from Old Testament - to New Testament then to a psalm or proverb and sometimes even back to a New Testament and and it just gives you some corresponding passages Old Testament - New Testament some people might be doing a one-year Bible where you start in Genesis and just read right through Revelation and and and it doesn't really matter what the plan is but what is important is that you have time with the Lord each day in Bible study Bible reading and then in prayer time to come to the Lord in prayer the Bible says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much and God says I want you to constantly be in prayer so while we encourage and while I think it's so important to have a beginning of your day in prayer and time with the Lord the Bible challenges us to be constantly speaking to the Lord years ago I remember a Christian film and I believe it was on the story of evangelist Tom Williams and I don't much about the the the the film other than he was in need for medical bills for his wife some of you might remember that movie in and I remember he got onto the elevator at the hospital after getting a bill another large bill for his wife's care and I remember seeing him in that elevator and he took off his cowboy hat and he just started praying he said Lord it's Tom again and I need some help again and and he just began to bear his heart out to the Lord and I don't know why I just struck me you can pray in an elevator you can pray in a in a commuter car you can pray anywhere anytime how many of you are thankful for that that you have that direct access I think it was about 31 years ago that we put a private line into my office telephone you don't really need it now with cell phones I suppose but back at those days I wanted Terry to know that no matter what was going on no matter who I was counseling no matter what I was in the middle of if she needed me here's the number honey you call me you're the only one that has that number call me anytime and I'm available for you and did you know that God loves you so much that he says to all of us anytime any time day or night you might be in a hospital you might be at work on the swing shift you might be burdened about something with your family but I want you to come and I want you to come boldly Hebrews 10 says unto the throne of grace so we're to be constantly in prayer as we approach this new year and we are to be what the Bible refers to as being instant in prayer that is to say that we are to be continuously Romans 12:12 rejoicing in Hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer and often it like to say obey every impulse of the Lord and sometimes people will ask you to pray for them and you know what I have found is that it's often good just to stop right there and pray just right there just take a minute either with the person or by yourself somewhere and just pray for them and then jot down that prayer request that's why we give out the prayer page every Wednesday night so that when you go to your private place for prayer you can have the place where you open your Bible and where you have this prayer list and you can just bring these things before the Lord but sometimes you've got prayer requests that you don't need them on paper they're just on your heart and your burden for someone and the Bible says just continually come to the Lord in prayer and so I want to challenge you enter into this year with that spirit that spirit of Prayer just talking with the Lord bringing your needs before him intercessory prayer praying for other people importunate prayer praying with fasting and with the heart of desire for the Lord and so here the Bible is very simple for us tonight pray without ceasing we're going to pray in just a few moments and ask the Lord to bless in the new year of the church then secondly I want you to think about your heart not only as a prayerful heart this year but secondly as a thankful heart a thankful heart now notice it in verse 18 in everything give thanks a moment ago I mentioned how brother Ron Hamilton has been diagnosed with dementia and he knew that when we were with him this summer we talked about it some as we had a meal or two together and and I can remember just like yesterday as he got a big broad smile on his face and he said well the Lord brought me through cancer and he's brought me through so many things he'll bring me through this you know what that's the evidence of it's the evidence of the Holy Spirit in control in his life and I was studying some over this Christmas holiday again the fruit of the Spirit and just the importance of walking in the spirit and it's it's amazing when you study it and it's convicting because you realize that we need to have a heart of gratitude and here we see that we're to have a thankful heart thankful for what well notice here it says in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you well I believe first of all then we must be thankful for our Savior just take time each day to thank the Lord for what he did for you 1st Corinthians 15:57 but thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ now sometimes Satan wants us to feel as though we're defeated we're on the losing side but really just the opposite is true that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the victory and we need to be thankful for that tonight in fact doesn't matter what happens in 2018 we already have the victory in the Lord Jesus Christ and we need to give him thanks just say Lord I don't I don't understand everything that's going to happen or that is happening but I want to say to you that I trust you I want to thank you for your faithfulness to me thank you for bringing me through this far and be thankful for the work of the Savior on the cross of Calvary I I really believe this that no matter where we are no matter what we're going through that if we'll take time to meditate on that cross and what happened there and who died there and to be thankful it really changes the perspective no matter what's going on in our life and I was sharing with our staff this morning just a brief devotion with some of our pastoral staff on all that Jesus did for us how that his body was broken how that his will was broken how that he was broken and spilled out for us and how we should also be a people that are broken in our will and yielded and that we would break up the fallow ground of our heart and when you really ponder the the fact that Jesus humbled himself and and became a man and suffered and died for our sin it changes the perspective on so many things it really reminds us of how blessed we are as a people so we must have a thankful heart for the Savior and and then and then we need to be thankful for every god-given opportunity this year you know sometimes we come into circumstances and and we tend to complain when it's difficult rather than to give thanks to the Lord for the opportunity I think if David after God delivered him from Saul do you remember how jealous Saul was always of David and look at this verse in 1st Sam 22:50 I read this this past week and it blessed my heart therefore I will give thanks unto thee O Lord among the heathen and I will sing praises unto thy name now this is David's prayer after Saul had been trying to kill him time and time and time again and he said Lord I just want to give you thanks and I'm gonna give you thanks in the midst of the heathen for what you did in preserving my life and you know anybody can give thanks to the Lord when everything's going great but it takes a spirit-filled Christian to give thanks when things have been going in a more difficult way let me encourage you don't waste the trial it's a shame to waste a crises and when God brings a crises into your life when God allows a trial remember all of the fiery trials our Father filtered right he will not allow us to be tried above that which we are able and when God brings us into circumstances that are beyond our control anything out of our control is in the will of God anything out of our control is in the will of God and when God brings us to that point there's nothing we could do to stop this there's nothing that we there there's no way that we could have prevented this it's just boom here we are facing this then God has a purpose in that and God wants us to look for that purpose Romans 8:28 is very clear on this subject and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose and so in the context of that sovereign hand of God then we pause and we just give thanks to the Lord in the good times and in the bad times and so I believe that tonight we ought to say lord help me to enter this year prayerfully in everything giving prayer praying without ceasing help me to grow in my prayer life and then lord help me to enter this year thankful from the very first week of this year giving you thanks for what you've done giving you thanks for what will do and I find that a lot of times it's easy to to see unthankfulness and other people like we can see it in teenagers you know and we can see it in people that always want more from the government or whatever hits your hot button but how many of you would admit that all of us hit periods of time when we're not as thankful as we should be and when that happens comparison comes and discontentment comes and now the devil's having his way so let me encourage you that you would spend time with a thankful heart as we begin this new year so first of all a prayerful heart secondly in everything giving thanks to the Lord then notice this third verse what a powerful verse and this kind of launches us into Sunday notice what it says quench not the spirit let's say this together quench not the spirit so let me encourage you before we go to the Lord in prayer to have this year a sensitive heart now I don't mean by that an easily offended heart right the Bible says great peace have they which love thy law and what nothing shall offend them so you know you meet sometimes Christians and they're so easily offended I mean it's the smallest thing can set them off that's that's not what we mean by a sensitive heart what we mean by a sensitive heart is that we would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit now an immature Christian is sensitive in that they're they're easily hurt all the time and oh that was said just at me and you know one person in the church can say something and they'll say the whole church is that way and they're very very sensitive to what others would say or think that's not a good sensitivity to be that way the good sensitivity is that we would have a tenderness towards the Lord and towards the Holy Spirit so the Bible says quench not the spirit now let's just quickly identify the Holy Spirit you see the identification of the spirit and how do we identify the spirit in verse 19 very easily with a capital S so this is not speaking about you know some man's spirit this is speaking about the holy spirit of God now we've studied this many times in the past but there's a lot of new members here tonight and how many of you are aware of the fact that as Baptists we believe in the Trinity the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost they are the three and one and the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and God says that we're not to quench the Holy Spirit now we've taught our children for example from the time they were learning how to talk that we don't take the name of the Lord in vain in our home if that would have happened they would have been licking their wounds for a while we would have talked and prayed and counseled and had therapy in the whole nine yards we just weren't going to allow even a derivative of the name of Jesus used in a in a in a phrase that is disrespectful and most of us would agree with that most of you would be like me in the sense that when someone says the name of Jesus and connects it with cursing it it hurts you because we love the Lord Jesus and we love his name and his names above every name but did you know that God says that's that's the spirit I want you to have towards my Holy Spirit even as you would not quench the Lord the name of the Lord God says don't quench the Holy Spirit he's an equal person of the Trinity Ephesians 4:30 says and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption now all of you have someone in your life perhaps that you could grieve a lot of times us husbands are good at grieving our wife we'd and sometimes we don't intend for that to happen but we can maybe come home from work and just kind of grumpy and instead of noticing the whole area that our wife may be clean or some new things she made or how nice dinner smells we see one thing that's not yet done and we bring that out how many of your husbands are kind of you guys are a little bit stupid like I am that way and and sometimes you see what you should not see and you didn't see what you should have seen and you get your signals crossed and before you know it you've put your size 11 in your mouth anybody else like that because I do that regularly and sometimes over the years just saying the wrong thing I can grieve Terry's spirit in in in not that it's a fight even it's just in in inwardness that something was said it can grieve her spirit and and when we talk about raising children we sometimes say to be careful with having an angry spirit towards your child because even your tone of voice can grieve the spirit of a child how many of you have ever seen maybe someone just harshly speaking at a child and you could literally sense the way the child was grieved just by their body posture you know they just they shrink back their spirit is grieved now I do not intend to paint a picture that God is in heaven in a state of weakness but what I'm trying to illustrate is the fact that we serve a God whose holy and mighty and powerful to create the whole world and yet he's sensitive to his children isn't that amazing that we have a God who's so loving and so desires our fellowship that when we never pray or when we sin without thinking of it or when we heard his body with gossip or when we neglect to read his word that that when we're not having relationship with him it can grieve him and certainly the most grievous thing that we do is not only to sin but then to go on in our sin acting as though the Holy Spirit's not there and these are grievous things so the Holy Spirit is who we speak of here tonight now think of the sensitivity of the Spirit first of all he is quenched by our neglect by our neglect failing to allow him to rule now look if you would in your notes there Galatians 5:17 it says this for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would so here we see that we by neglecting the spirit and by just doing what comes natural can quench the Holy Spirit it's this way if I came into your home tomorrow night as as a guest and I'm standing there and your four year of your home and you don't ask maybe to take my coat you don't show me a see you don't give me a drink of water you don't tell me where to sit you don't act like you really want me to be there and you don't even speak to me after a few moments for a little while how many of you would understand that's a little awkward right and how many of you know that when you got saved the Holy Ghost took up residence in your life your body is the what of the Holy Spirit it's the Temple of the Holy Spirit and and the Holy Spirit lives within you when you're saved and when you never listen to him or hear from him or act like he's even there it's a grievous thing I don't think anyone here wants to grieve the Holy Spirit in 2018 but we must learn how to practice his presence how to enjoy his presence how to lean into his presence how to hear his still small voice in this new year because the Spirit wants to have power and leadership over the flesh but if we neglect the spirit he cannot lead and we cannot know his power and and and I think sometimes after we're saved awhile we can just let certain messages like this just kind of go off our back and we can take these things for granted but there is a God that lives in you and he wants a relationship with you and he wants you to listen to him and he wants to talk to you and communicate with you and and the Bible says don't quench him don't treat him like he's not even there years ago when my granddad was alive he had a problem with his garden seems like a lot of the summer and his problem was that he had too many deer coming in and eating his garden and he tried all kinds of things to keep those deer out of there and and and one of the things that he tried I remember was a radio he'd play radio music and meant they must have been kind of worldly the year they just got used to the music you know and just kind of came after the first few nights just kind of read a little party in there with the music I guess and and then he tried these big spotlights to get these to get these deer out of his garden oh he loved his guard and all the cabbage and and all of the different corn and and he loved that garden but you know after a while they even got used to the light I mean they just they seemed like after the first couple nights they'd be back into that garden no matter what he put up there and you know sometimes when we first hear a message about the coming of the Lord or when we first realized about the presence of the Lord in our lives some of these things they alarm or they alert us and were amazed and were in awe and wonder but if we're not careful we can become desensitized to the presence of the holy and this is why the Bible uses these words grieve not quench not don't get used to it don't treat it like it's just another day so he is quenched by our neglect and secondly he's quenched by sin in our life now the word quench really gives us a picture and I think about when you go up to the mountains maybe camping you've got to make sure that when you're done camping you quench that fire out right you don't want to leave the campground start a campfire of some kind and and you've got to quench the fire to make sure that it's out well how many of you know God does not want the baptism that he has given to us by his Spirit to ever be quenched out and it will not be fully quenched out thank the Lord for that thank the Lord for our eternal security but he wants the fire of his presence to be known and seen if I could say it this way he wants our presence to warm this cold spiritual community he wants our lives to be on fire for him and that comes from the Holy Spirit and he says quench not the Holy Spirit and if I could get this picture in your mind when you get upset with your spouse when you are filled with covetousness it were when when there's lust or Envy in your heart when these things are happening it's like pouring water onto your spiritual fire it's just literally dousing out the very warmth and presence of God from your life when you allow sin to quench and and John said it this way in Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to be bare he and to bear he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire and what is the fire it is the presence the illuminating power of God's Holy Spirit within us and and so I just want you to consider tonight the matter of your heart and there are many things that that we can organize and I don't know some of you might be like me I mean I've organized my closet I've organized my desk drawers I got I think I've even got all my socks color-coded in the sock drawer I'm not sure but I've organized a lot of things new year's inspire me that way and I've got all of my sermons charted out for the first six months and and all big spreadsheets and and Lord willing I feel like I've got good direction for the preaching and and I've studied the calendar I mean just so many things that I've tried to put in order but if my heart is not right not one single plan not one single day will be what God wants it to be and so what we're talking about tonight is the most important thing that is preparing the heart for the new year making sure that we're ready for the new year here we have three challenges that we would have a prayerful heart that we would pray without ceasing I want to encourage you to be in a conversation with the Lord this year that's normal and regular and not using prayer as your spare wheel but literally talking to the Lord throughout everyday and then not only a peripheral heart but a thankful heart just begin the year out with gratitude to the Lord and finally let me encourage you to have a sensitive heart not that you would be easily offended but that you would recognize that there's a holy God living within you and don't act like he's not there but treat him like the royal guest that he is and give him the prominent place in the throne room on the throne of your heart right now tonight let the Holy Spirit know you have first place to lead and to guide and to direct in my life and I think of the Lord Jesus how when he was tempted of the devil how that he was so filled with the spirit have you ever read that passage in Matthew's Gospel it says and he being led of the Spirit went into the wilderness I believe the reason he came out of the wilderness and he withstood Satan not only was that he quoted Scripture but that our Savior was filled with the spirit and we also need to be filled and sensitive to the Holy Spirit as we enter this year

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, prepare, heart, prayer, sensitive

Id: PLvewAB3UAk

Length: 30min 20sec (1820 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 03 2018