STEP FORWARD – 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Mark 3:3 NKJV
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 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. Luke 6:43-45 NIV
This week we’ve talked about stepping forward in what we do and in what we say. Our verses for today make it clear that both are matters of the heart. What we genuinely feel in our hearts will come out in our actions and words.
If you aren’t motivated to live out your love for God and for others, and if you aren’t burdened to share Jesus with those who don’t know Him, these are heart issues. Think about your wants, burdens, and passions. Do the things of God stir your heart? Do you want what He wants? Do you feel love for Him and love for those who don’t know Him? These are hard questions!
He is constantly working in our lives and can change even our deepest hurts and desires.
Maybe you are struggling with sin, hurt, prejudice, bitterness, laziness, un-forgiveness, or fear. No matter your heart’s issue, there is hope! We become new creations at salvation, but God doesn’t leave there. He is constantly working in our lives and can change even our deepest hurts and desires.
In Psalm 51, David prays, “10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me… 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Ps. 51:10, 12 NIV). David had sinned and turned from what he knew was right, but he knew the Lord could change his heart.
May David’s prayer be ours today. May we confess the sin in our hearts and ask the Lord to change our desires. May we step forward in what we feel through the Holy Spirit doing a new work in us!
APPLICATION
– Spend some time praying about the feelings in your heart that you know are not pleasing to God. Ask the Lord to change your feelings and to give you a desire for what He desires.
– Pray for the Liberty family. Pray that God would cleanse us of any sin, hurt, prejudice, bitterness, laziness, un-forgiveness, or fear. Pray for continued racial, generational, and locational reconciliation. Ask the Lord to use Liberty to bridge these disconnects in Hampton Roads.
– Thank God that He is constantly at work and that He can change even our deepest heart’s desires. Pray that He would do a work in many hearts through the services this morning.
– Pray that God would use Liberty Anywhere to change any hearts that are skeptical of Liberty or the Gospel. Pray that this enhanced online presence would be used in areas where we do not yet have a physical campus and that the Lord would use it to turn many hearts to Him. Pray that we would be able to start physical campuses in the areas of Hampton Roads where people are watching online.