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#6 from Nurture Spiritual Desires
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart...”
We are living in volatile and uncertain times. There are all sorts of voices and influences fighting for our attention. In some cases, we're not even sure what to believe.
Regarding COVID-19, I read that it isn't mutating, then I read another article that says it is. Some say once isolated to test for vaccines, the virus dies quicker than they can test it. Others say it lasts longer than usual. Some say masks will save people, others say they’re unhealthy. Our own health care officials say going to church is dangerous, but then say it's unclear if the virus is spreading due to protests. One thing we know for sure is that God's promises are sure. Let's stand on those.
Since we can't really trust the majority of news sources, we must listen to another source. I'm not pushing a conspiracy theory as much as I'm addressing the 24-hour news cycle. News outlets are forced to squeeze every drop out of a story. Often they release stories before they know all the facts. This is a problem.
That leaves us with only one option that will not give us fake news, the spirit of God. If I could teach you to do one thing, it would be to hear and follow God. Because if you consistently follow God, your life would continually point people to Jesus, glorify God and be a blessing to the families of the earth, including yours.
So how do you hear and follow God? It’s all about the heart.
Your Hear God From The Heart
This is what most people think about the human heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. NKJV
But you have to know this as well.
Ezekiel 36:25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
God puts His spirit in you and gives you a new heart so you can hear His spirit. You received a new heart here.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. 12 And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.
God removed the old heart in a spiritual circumcision. He cut away the old, dead inner man and put in a new one, along with His spirit.
This new heart is directly connected to God's spirit, which not only lives in and through you but has joined it/Himself to you. God's spirit is alive in you and pours that life, light, and love into your new heart. You follow God from this new heart.
Nurture Spiritual Desires
I don't suggest you follow your heart, I suggest you follow God, but you do that from the heart. So you want to make sure your heart is receptive to His leading.
You do this by learning to live from your spiritual senses and desires. You see with the eyes of your heart. You receive revelation with the eyes of your heart. You can taste and see that what the Lord is giving you is good for you. You can hear His voice in your inner man/heart. You already know you can feel his presence. I think, at times, I have even smelled a sweet aroma related to His manifested presence.
We're talking about spiritual vs. carnal thinking. Spiritual thinking turns the eyes of the heart to God in any given situation to consult His Word and hear from His spirit. At any point, regarding any issue, we can turn to God's written Word and allow it to become the Living Word in our hearts.
This is how grace works. God's spirit/Word/life empowers, teaches, and sustains us. It's a real thing that happens. We really can receive joy in sadness. We really can receive the power of righteousness in the face of temptation. We really can allow His spirit to flow through us to heal people. We really can yield our mouth to His spirit and pray with our spirit in unknown languages.
His spirit is alive and active in your life!!
The message above says so much more on this topic. I hope you watch the full sermon, I really believe I said clearly what God placed on my heart for this season. Watch it and let me know what the Lord inspires in you. Take action! Don't let the volatile political season discourage you. The world needs hope, and it lives in you!!
