Can I Have Your Heart?

Can I Have Your Heart?

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Heb 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
Jas 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you….”

God is after my heart. He wants intimacy with me. HOW INCREADABLE!
“Our intimacy with God – His highest priority for our lives – determines the impact of our lives.”

Test: Ezekiel 14:1-5, Song of Solomon 1:4

Brian Simmons is the Bible scholar who translated the Passion Translation.
In his commentary about the book of Song of Solomon, he translates this book as a letter from the King to the bride of Christ. Jesus writing to the church.
Ver.4 “Draw me into your heart. We will run away together into the king’s cloud-filled chamber.” (PT)

The whole book helps us to see the desire, the passion, the longing of God to be personally intimate with each one of us.

Last week at CFO, one of my favorite parts of the day starts out with “Morning Mediations.” In good weather we go sit by the lake and someone reads scripture out loud, pausing at different times for personal reflection. It really is worth going just for that time with God.

Before going to CFO this passage was on my heart, and I was looking forward to times I would be able to sit with God and have intimate moments.

So here I am in the perfect setting, with the perfect Word adjusting my heart for intimacy, and what I found was a constant pull from within me to check my phone, to look at what time it was, to look up a scripture.

I find with most men, that intimacy isn’t something we are good at.
We are wondering: “How long is this going to take?” “Let me know what the main points are so I can check back in to know what is going on.” “I really want to be intimate, but can we be quick about it?”

Often our goal is to get our needs met.

As John was writing 1 John, a dominate theme runs through all 3 of his last books about loving God and God loving us.
As he was finishing this first letter in 5:21, he closes this letter with a tag: “Little children keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Why close with this? Because idolatry is so easy for us.

What is idolatry of the heart? Anything that draws my attention, my energy, my passion more than God does.

Idolatry can take on many forms.
It can even be a “good-God-type-of-thing” - like ministry, or church work, etc.

Where do I turn when I’m under pressure, when things go hard, where I’m frustrated – where does my heart turn for comfort and relief?

What are the things, the places I go to, the things I cling onto, the things I give my heart to?

Where do I go to fulfill a longing in my heart?

Idolatry can be so subtle that it will keep me from God’s life and will counterfeit God’s love for things my soul longs for.

The issue is not the thing that can become idolatry, but the function I give it, over God’s presence, over God’s principals.
What do I give my heart to other than God?

Is there an area in my life that tries to replace God’s position?
What stands in the way of me pressing into God more?

Ezekiel 14:1-5
Ver.5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.' (NIV)

God is after my heart. He wants intimacy with me.

Does God need to shout at me in order for intimacy to be a priority?
What is wrong with that picture?

If He is my priority, do I require Him to demand my attention - to allow life to be so difficult I finally go into His presence?

Isa 30:15 “For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." But you would not,..”

We can make idols of anything good - our family, our wife, our occupation, etc.
The idol is not the focus, the pursuit of my heart is.
My heart is what God is battling for.

This morning, can you hear God asking: “Can I have your heart?”