Sunday Sermon
GETTING TO KNOW WHAT IS IN GOD'S HEART
Date: August 5, 2007
Speaker: Pastor Gerry Gregoire
Scriptural Reference: John 17:3 & John 14:7-21
Listen to Audio Sermon

FROM THE BEGINNING, THE HEART OF GOD HAS BEEN SET ON ONE GOAL, A PEOPLE OF HIS OWN, A PEOPLE AFTER HIS OWN HEART. THROUGH THE WORK OF CALVARY, THE PRICE WAS PAID TO PURCHASE THAT PEOPLE CALLED THE CHURCH. THROUGH THE PREACHING OF HIS WORD, THAT HAS BEEN THE GOAL, TO PROCURE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE HEART OF GOD.
LOOK AT WHAT 1 SAMUEL 16 :7 SAYS:
1 Samuel 16:7 (Amplified Bible)

7But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
WHEN GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART WHAT IS HE LOOKING FOR? I BELIEVE HE IS LOOKING TO SEE IF THE MAN HAS HIS HEART. DAVID WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE HE WAS A MAN AFTER GOD?S OWN HEART. NOT THAT HE WAS PERFECT, BUT, WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT DAVID? YES, HE WAS A MAN AFTER GOD?S OWN HEART. HE WAS A REPENTED MAN ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. HE WAS A MAN THAT COULD BE CORRECTED, A MAN THAT TOOK INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOWED THROUGH UNTIL THE JOB WAS FINISHED. HIS FIRST PRIORITY WAS GOD?S WORK AND PLAN FOR HIS LIFE. HE WAS NOT PERFECT BUT HE WAS ALWAYS OPEN TO REPENTANCE.

GOD DOESN?T HAVE DAVID ON EARTH ANYMORE, BUT HE DOES HAVE YOU AND HE IS LOOKING INTO YOUR HEART TO SEE WHAT IS IN IT. WHAT IS REALLY IN YOUR HEART? DOES IT CONTAIN THE HEART OF GOD?
LET?S LOOK AT THE SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY.

JOHN 17:3
John 17:3 (Amplified Bible)

3And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.
GOD REALLY WANTS YOU TO KNOW HIM AND NOT JUST IN A CURSORY WAY. TO GET INSIDE THE HEART OF GOD AND SEE REALLY WHAT HIS HEART HOLDS. NOW LOOK AT JOHN 14:7-21 ?
John 14:7-21 (Amplified Bible)

7If you had known Me [had learned to recognize Me], you would also have known My Father. From now on, you know Him and have seen Him.
8Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father [cause us to see the Father--that is all we ask]; then we shall be satisfied.
9Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?
10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord; but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the ([a]His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power).
11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father's name convince you.]
12I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.
13And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as [b]presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.(A)
14[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as [c]presenting all that I AM].

15If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever--
17The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.
18I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.
19Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you.
21The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]
THE APOSTLES WANTED TO SEE THE FATHER. THEY HAD WALKED WITH HIM FOR 3 YEARS AND DID NOT PERCEIVE WHO HE WAS. SOME IN THE BODY OF CHRIST HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS AND STILL DON?T KNOW WHAT IS IN GOD?S HEART. HAVEN?T GOT A CLUE AS TO WHO HE REALLY IS.
YET, JESUS SAYS, IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER. HE WAS THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF THE HEART AND CHARACTER OF GOD WALKING HERE ON EARTH. SO LETS TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT JESUS AND HOPEFULLY BEGAN TO SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE IN OUR HEARTS.
LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN BY REALLY KNOWING JESUS AND WHAT WAS IN HIS HEART.
LETS SAY YOU ARE JOGGING DOWN THE STREET OF WASHINGTON, D.C. AND YOU SEE PRESIDENT BUSCH JOGGING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND YOU MAY SAY GOOD MORNING MISTER PRESIDENT. NOW YOU KNOW HE IS THE PRESIDENT BUT DO YOU REALLY KNOW HIM? YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HIM ON TV AND YOU KNOW A FEW FACTS ABOUT HIM BUT, DO YOU REALLY KNOW HIM?

NOW WHO WOULD REALLY KNOW PRESIDENT BUSCH? MAYBE LAURA HIS WIFE AND THAT WOULD BE BECAUSE OF WHAT? SHE LIVES WITH HIM FROM DAY TO DAY AND MAY KNOW THE INS AND OUTS OF THE PRESIDENT. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THINGS SHE KNOWS ABOUT HIM THAT WE WOULDN?T KNOW BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HIM INTIMATELY.

WELL THE SAME APPLIES TO GOD AND GETTING TO KNOW HIM. YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM EVERY DAY AND KNOW WHAT IS ON HIS HEART AND MIND. HIS WORD TELLS US WHAT HIS HEART IS SAYING BECAUSE OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART THE MOUTH SPEAKS. WHAT DOES HIS WORDS TELL YOU ABOUT HIS HEART?
NOW, THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE IT?S FOUNDATIONAL TO YOUR BEING ABLE TO DO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR YOUR LIFE AND LIVING JUST FOR HIM.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY FOUNDATIONAL?
THEY ARE BUILDING A WAMU BANK ONE BLOCK FROM MY HOUSE AND I GO BY THERE 8 TIMES EVERY DAY. THEY HAVE TAKEN SO MUCH DIRT OUT OF THAT PLACE AND REPLACED IT WITH NEW DIRT. WHY? BECAUSE THEY WANT THE BUILDING TO HAVE A SOUND FOUNDATION.

THE SAME APPLIED TO THE PAWTUCKET RED SOX STADIUM WHEN THEY WANTED TO EXPAND THE SEATING CAPACITY.
THEY DUG HOLDS 100 FEET DEEP AND REPLACED THE DIRT BECAUSE THEY WANTED A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR THE NEW STADIUM.
THE SAME APPLIES TO OUR FOUNDATION IN CHRIST. WHAT IS IN THIS FOUNDATION WE KNOW AS CHRIST. WHAT DOES YOUR FOUNDATION CONSIST OF?
LETS LOOK AT WHAT MADE UP JESUS. HE SAID THAT HE WAS THE WAY TRUTH AND THE LIFE. LOOK AT
John 14:6 (Amplified Bible)

6Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.
IN YOUR HEART, SHOULD BE THE WAY TRUTH AND LIFE, YOU KNOW THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER. ARE YOU SHARING THAT WITH OTHERS? OR ARE YOU LETTING THEM GO TO HELL? IT?S CALLED HAVING A HEART FOR SOULS.

IN HIM WAS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE ABILITY TO DESTROY THE DEVIL. LOOK AT:
1 John 3:7-8 (Amplified Bible)

7[a]Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.
8[But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].
ARE YOU LIVING A RIGHTEOUS LIFE? WHAT DOES YOUR EVERY DAY WALK DEMONSTRATE TO THE UNBELIEVER. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS NOW LIVES IN YOU ARE YOU LETTING IT SHINE?
VERSE 8 SAYS THAT IN HIM WAS THE ABILITY TO DESTROY THE DEVIL. HAVE YOU BEEN DESTROYING DEVILS LATELY. IT WAS PART OF HIS HEART AND SHOULD BE IN OURS AS WELL.

IN HIS HEART THERE WAS NO FEAR: LOOK AT
Luke 12:32 (Amplified Bible)

32Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!
AND MT 8:26 ? WHEN WIND AND SEA ACTED UP HE SAID
Matthew 8:26 (Amplified Bible)

26And He said to them, Why are you timid and afraid, O you of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm ([a]a perfect peaceableness).
YET FEAR SATURATES THE CHURCH, FEAR OF FAILURE, FEAR OF DISEASE, FEAR OF THE DEVIL, FEAR OF EACH OTHER. IF HIS HEART IS IN US, THERE IS NO FEAR PRESENT. REMEMBER THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR CHRISTIAN WALKS. HIS PERFECT LOVE DOES CAST OUT FEAR.
JESUS? HEART WAS FULL OF JOY AND IT IS ONE OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. LOOK AT: JOHN 15:11 ?
John 15:11 (Amplified Bible)

11I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.
HE WANTED THE JOY THAT WAS IN HIS HEART TO BE IN US TO THE FULL MEASURE SO THAT IT WOULD BE COMPLETE AND OVERFLOWING. CHECK YOURSELF OUT SOMETIMES, WE DON?T ALWAYS LOOK TOO JOYFUL. LOOK IN THE MIRROR SOMETIMES. HIS HEART IS JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY. LOOK AT JOHN 17:13 ?
John 17:13 (Amplified Bible)

13And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts].
ARE YOU EXCITED? HE WANTS TO PERFECT HIS ENJOYMENT IN YOUR HEART. ARE YOU READY TO RECEIVE IT TODAY? IT?S PART OF HIS HEART AND CHARACTER AND IT NEEDS TO BE IN OUR FOUNDATION. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE THE CHRISTIAN EFFECTIVE IN RECONCILING PEOPLE BACK TO HIM. WHEN THEY SEE AND SENSE THE MASTER?S HEART IT WILL DRAW THEM IN. LOOK WHAT PAUL SAYS ABOUT WHAT DRAWS PEOPLE TO GOD. 2 COR 5:17-20 ?
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (Amplified Bible)

17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
18But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
19It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
20So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.
THE NEW CREATION THAT PAUL IS TALKING ABOUT IS THE ONE THAT HAS THE HEART AND MIND OF JESUS. ARE YOU INGRAFTED IN CHRIST? WHAT WE SAY AND DO AS A DIRECT REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD IS WHAT BRINGS THEM HOME TO GOD. IT HAS TO COME FROM A HEART THAT IS JUST LIKE JESUS? HEART
JESUS? HEART IS WHAT BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM.

VERSE 19 TELLS US THAT IT WAS GOD?S HEART IN CHRIST THAT RECONCILED US BACK TO GOD.

VERSE 20 TELLS US THAT IF GOD APPEALS THROUGH US, WE NEED TO LET HIS HEART REIGN IN OURS.

WHAT MAKES GOD WANT TO BRING PEOPLE BACK TO HIM IS THAT HIS HEART IS FULL OF MERCY. THAT IS TO SAY, WE DIDN?T DESERVE SALVATION BUT HE GAVE IT TO US ANYWAY.

CONCLUDING, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT IN GOD?S HEART IS UNITY. THE FATHER AND SON AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE GOD. HUSBAND AND WIVES BECOME ONE FLESH AND IN JOHN 17 JESUS PRAYED THAT WE WOULD BE ONE WITH HIM AS HE WAS ONE WITH THE FATHER. ARE YOU GETTING THIS? IN VERSE 6 OF CHAPTER 17 HE SAYS:
6I have manifested Your Name [I have revealed Your very Self, Your real Self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.
1.
I HAVE SHOWN THEM YOUR HEART THROUGH MY ACTIONS AND WORDS.
AND IN VERSE 20 ANS 21 JESUS SAID:
20Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,
1. 21That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.
IN VERSE 20 THIS INCLUDED YOU AND I AND HERE IS THE BIG ONE IN VERSE 21 THAT THEY BE ONE IN US SO THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE.
THE UNITY IN HIS HEART IS TO BE TRANSFERRED TO US SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE AND FEEL IT AND AS A RESULT ENTER THE KINGDOM THEMSELVES BECAUSE THAT ONENESS IS WHAT CAUSES THEM TO BELIEVE.

TRUE ONENESS IS VERY RARELY FOUND IN MANY CHURCHES YET, THAT IS WHAT IS REQUIRED TO DRAW PEOPLE IN.

IF WE TRULY KNEW AND UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS IN GOD?S HEART AND ALLOWED THE HOLY SPIRIT TO MINISTER THOSE QUALITIES IN US WE WOULD DEFINETLY BECOME VERY EFFECTIVE.
LETS LOOK AT THREE (3) STEPS THAT CAN HELP US:

1) WE MUST REFRESH OUR MINDS ON A DAILY BASIS BY STAYING IN PRAYER LONGER AND ASKING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TEACH US AND LEAD US INTO ALL TRUTH.
THE WORD DOES TELL US WHAT IS IN GOD?S HEART AND ITS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE THOSE QUALITIES.

2) WE MUST BE OPEN FOR CORRECTION AND STRIVE TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES.

3) WE MUST BE IN LOVE WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. ANYTHING SHORT OF THE AGAPE LOVE WILL NOT WORK.

WE CLOSE WITH A QUOTE FROM GEORGE MUELLER, A MAN OF GREAT FAITH FROM BRISTOL, ENGLAND, WHO SAID:
I SEEK AT THE BEGINNING TO GET MY HEART IN SUCH A STATE THAT IT HAS NO WILL OF ITS OWN IN REGARD TO A GIVEN MATTER .NINE-TENTHS OF THE TROUBLE WITH PEOPLE GENERALLY IS JUST THERE. NINE-TENTHS OF THE DIFFICULTIES ARE OVERCOME WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE READY TO DO THE LORD?S WILL WHATEVER IT MAY BE.

2007 IS THE YEAR OF PERFECTION. I BELIEVE THAT THE LORD HAS ALREADY STARTED PERFECTING US. ARE WE CO-OPERATING? IF NOT YOU NEED TO READ THESE NOTES AGAIN.