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Message Notes:
TODAY:
Part 3
Follow your heart
MAIN IDEA:
Jesus doesn’t say follow your heart…He says follow Him.
The heart can be deceitful, and feelings can’t always be trusted.
LIE #1 - The deeper I feel something, the truer it must be.
LIE #2 - My deepest feelings are my truest identity…
Jesus teaches the opposite:
1. Life in Christ does not mean discovering our feelings and following THEM…it means denying our-self and following HIM.
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Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. NIV*
Truth is…We were all born into sin.
*Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image NIV
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*Psalm 139:13-24 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well…V. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. NIV
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2. Jesus warns us that evil can also come from the heart.
*Matt 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. NIV
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IN OTHER WORDS: Just because you feel it in your heart…doesn’t make it right or good for you
Other scriptures about the dangers of the heart:
**Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. NIV
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? NIV**
So, is Jesus saying the heart is always evil and bad?
NO
Luke 6:45 - A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. NIV
IMPORTANT:
The purpose of this message is not to say every feeling is bad and you should always ignore your feelings. We were created to feel. Following your heart is good to do…if you are following the good within your heart that Jesus is leading you towards.
3. Jesus doesn’t want us to follow OUR heart. He wants to give us a NEW heart.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again NIV
2 Cor 5:17 - This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! NLT
Ezekiel 36:26 – (prophesy regarding the work of Christ and the new covenant) And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. ESV
Matt 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. NIV
MAIN IDEA:
Jesus doesn’t say follow your heart…He says follow Him.
The heart can be deceitful, and feelings can’t always be trusted.
Matt 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” NIV
CLOSING CHALLENGE:
Jesus doesn’t say follow your heart; he says follow Him.
What area does Jesus need to change your heart to look more like His?
If you prayed the prayer to start fresh with God today text “startagain” (one word) to 97000 so we can connect with you and help you take the next steps in this amazing decision.
My Notes:
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