Check Your Heart

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

This month we are talking about aligning ourselves back to God. Last week, we spoke on Considering your ways. This week well be talking about heart alignment.

Alignment is arranging your life, will, and desires to be in agreement with God's Word, character, and purpose, leading to spiritual growth, fruitfulness, and walking in divine favor, often achieved through renewing your mind and surrendering your plans to His.

Alignment is not about having it all figured out and Alignment is not about being perfect. Alignment is about being willing and available to allow God to come into your life and change you.

Ezekiel 36:26 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

this heart that we have is ruined

the heart that we need must be giving to us

the old spirit is connected to the old heart

new spirit is a result of new heart

The heart is the command and control center of life. Where your heart is today will always be a predictor of where you will be tomorrow. Your heart is the deepest thing about you. When it comes to the heart we must make sure that our hearts are in the right place, God is a stickler, for our hearts to be in the right place because everything flows from the heart.

The heart directs your life

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”

You have a responsibility for the state of your own heart. If your heart is cold, there are reasons for it. If your heart is distracted, there are reasons your heart is all over the place.

God calls you to keep it, to guard it. And here’s the reason: from it flow the springs of life!

The whole direction of your life will spring from where your heart is.

The heart is a mystery

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Can you explain your own heart? You may say, “If I told you what has happened in my life that would explain where I am.” Here’s the problem: Other people have had similar things happen in their lives and they are in a very different place from you. How do you explain the difference?

The heart is a mystery. Paul speaks about this in Romans 7:15–20 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

“I do not understand myself. I’m a mystery to myself.

The heart is sinful

Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

We like to think that the evil is “out there” in the world, but Jesus says that it is “in here” in our hearts.

WE as parents feel that we have a responsibility to protect our children from the evils of the world out there. But the greatest danger to our children, and to all of us is not the evil that is “out there” in the world, but the evil that is “in here” in our own hearts.

The heart often contradicts the mouth.

Matthew 15:8 “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”

Often times what we say is an overflow of what we think and what we feel. The another scripture that says outta the heart the mouth speaks. This is no always the case, Theres another scripture in the book Luke 6:46 (paraphase) why do you call me Lord, Lord and dont do what I command you to do.

The root of all unbelief lies in the heart.

Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.” The person who does not believe may also say that there is no God in his or her head, but the point here is that unbelief is rooted in a deeper place than the intellect. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”Surely this is an observable fact. There are people of great intellect who are Christians, and there are people of great intellect who are not. Faith and unbelief both have a deeper source than the intellect. Unbelief is visceral. It arises from a hidden resistance toward almighty God that lies in the human heart. Why is it that two people can go through the same experience, and one comes out praising God, while the other comes out blaming God? Two people experience the same tragic loss – one sees the hand and the help of God, the other sees yet another reason for unbelief. Their experience was the same. The difference was in the heart.

Loving God ≠ being aligned with God,

The lord clearly states that if we love him would keep his commandments.

loving God only proves your affection

being aligned with GOd proves your obience to him

God corrects hearts before He corrects behavior

your adverse behavior is a direct connection to your adverse heart.

God doesn’t just want your service, He wants your surrender.”

When your truly alignment with God you’ll surrender to God.

“You can be faithful in attendance and still divided in affection.”

just because you show up doesnt mean you like it.

“Alignment happens when desire bows to discipline.”

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said unto 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 seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”