TEaching - Cultivating Our Hearts
I. THE NEED FOR VISION AND FOCUS
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18)
As we go through life, we must have a goal of what we want—a vision. Otherwise, we will simply be carried along by the current of our community and our culture. We may say we value God and prayer and friends but without a plan—without a decision in our hearts that this is where we want to go—you will find that 1 year, 5 years, and then 10 years go by and you haven’t progressed in your life they way you had dreamed.
All sorts of things are necessary to live a full life, but only one thing needs to be your primary concern.
II. One thing:
Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
4 One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
Luke 10:42 (NASB)
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Phil 3:13-14
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Moving from dullness to vibrancy in our hearts is a process—day by day. The way back to delighting in God is the same way we came out. We do not wake up one day with a dull heart. The journey into boredom is a process. We have a part to play.
The “one-thing”s are not the only things but they are primary. Your deepest longings should not be marriage, success, money, recognition, etc. We desire to be consumed with the glory and beauty of God.
Settling this for ourselves in our hearts reorients our lives. It changes everything. Remember the woman at the well. Jesus offered her living water and said she would never thirst again. This drinking is not a once-and-you-done experience. We see this repeatedly in the book of Acts. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. Then they prayed and were filled again in Acts chapter 4. Then again. Then again. The drinking of the Spirit is a day-in day-out thing.
Our desire needs to be being with Jesus; walking through our life with him. We do it like Mary did. We listen to him and we do the everyday tending of our hearts. This is not a one sided deal, Jesus desires it as well. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17: 24).
How do we walk this out? We get into the word of God. We do it to encounter God not to win arguments. Reading the Bible feeds our hearts though often we don’t feel it. We put the truth in our minds and hearts. We surround ourselves with it. We immerse ourselves with it. Slowly, it transforms our lives. It starts to change the way we think. It changes the way we react to situations around us. It changes our emotions and the longings of our hearts. The most influential voice in your life will be your own mouth. Speak the word of God over yourself. Find the promises in scripture and declare them over your life.
III. COMPONENTS OF A FOCUSED LIFE
A. Overall life vision – primary purpose in life
B. Life goals – applying my life vision to each specific area of my life.
Long-term goals (over 10 years) and short-term goals (3 months–3 years)
1. Spiritually (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.)
2. Relationally (family, friends, etc.)
3. Vocation (marketplace calling, etc.)
4. Ministry (in the church, outside the church, etc.)
5. Economically (spending, giving, saving, investing, etc.)
6. Physically (exercise, health, diet, etc.)
7. Rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.)
C. Action plan – for each long and short-term goal in each area of your life.
D. Schedule – for each action plan, i.e., focuses us to prioritize. This is where our life vision most easily is derailed and lost.
The Lord says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." 15 See then that you walk wisely, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:14–17)
Based on teachings from Mike Bickle and Stuart Greaves.