Sermon Notes from Sunday 6/4/23 – Becoming a Student of God’s Heart
Romans 12:2 – “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Proverbs 23:6-8
“Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;
for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost.“Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 4:2 – “For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”
Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Summary:
Liz was the guest speaker today.
By studying the word, God’s nature and how he feels about us and his plan for our lives is revealed. The Bible teaches us who we are in HIM.
Romans 12:2 reminds us that we need to know scripture so it can transform us and change us into the spiritually mature Christians God wants us to be. We need to focus and re-train our minds to focus on Godly things instead of worldly things.
Proverbs 23:6-8 reminds us that as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. Our emotions help us stay aware of what’s going on inside of our hearts and minds. God wants to heal us where we are broken. He can help us deal with our emotions in healthy ways.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 reminds us we are 3 parts:
- Body (5 senses)
- Soul (consciousness and emotions)
- Spirit (worship, prayer, faith and where the Holy Spirit lives in us)
The enemy attacks our souls, primarily with fear. Knowing this will help us prepare ourselves and recognize his attacks.
How do we keep our souls healthy? Stay in the word of God (Read and study the bible).
The word of God shows us truth and God’s plan. Hebrews 4:2 reminds us that we need to read the word when we are attacked. The word of God is our sword in battle against the enemy. Don’t go into battle without your sword.
Don’t allow yourself to be ran by your emotions. We need to remember to take each of our thoughts captive. We can often focus our attention on the situation or what others are doing. Instead, think about why you are behaving the way you are and why you are doing what you are doing. Then, look at what the bible says about what you are feeling and how you are supposed to behave. Bringing God’s perspective into the situation will help you re-train your mind to make decisions based on HIS word and HIS will, not our own will or our own feelings.
Our spirit is like a balloon. If we fill it with the Word of God, when the enemy attacks, we will be filled with God and he won’t be able to fill us with his lies. God’s word will always defeat the devil. Jesus used the bible to defeat the devil when Jesus was tempted in the desert. Why should we try to fight the devil with anything else?
Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us that if we look for God he will find us. So if we get really serious about seeking God, he will not hide himself from us. God won’t force his way in our lives though. We have to put in effort on our part and study the bible.