WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: All Thy Heart
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
VERSE TEXT: PSALM 119:1-8 “BLESSED ARE THE UNDEFILED IN THE WAY, WHO WALK IN THE LAW OF THE LORD. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT KEEP HIS TESTIMONIES, AND THAT SEEK HIM WITH THE WHOLE HEART. THEY ALSO DO NO INIQUITY: THEY WALK IN HIS WAYS. THOU HAST COMMANDED US TO KEEP THY PRECEPTS DILIGENTLY. O THAT MY WAYS WERE DIRECTED TO KEEP THY STATUTES! THEN SHALL I NOT BE ASHAMED, WHEN I HAVE RESPECT UNTO ALL THY COMMANDMENTS. I WILL PRAISE THEE WITH UPRIGHTNESS OF HEART, WHEN I SHALL HAVE LEARNED THY RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS. I WILL KEEP THY STATUTES: O FORSAKE ME NOT UTTERLY.”
When it comes to laying out of church on Sunday, people will use their whole heart in coming up with ways to be out of the house of God. Maybe they wanted to go to some sporting event and they’ll put their whole heart into inviting friends and spending their money on it.
the writer said here that I’ll do it with my whole heart. He said I’m going to learn your laws, your precepts, your judgments and commandments so that I’ll be able with my whole heart to follow thee. We just noted four things in verse two. The write said I’ll seek you with my whole heart. If you’ll read on down in verse 10 the writer said I sought thee with my whole heart. Then in verse 34, talking about his precepts he said I’ll observe them with my whole heart. In verse 58 he said I entreated thy favor with my whole heart. In other words there’s just some things in your heart that’s just no good. We need to get rid of those things and start by putting our whole effort, our whole heart into serving God. Don’t you sit there and tell me that you’re serving God whole heartedly when you don’t even come to the house of God to worship the Lord, the creator of Heaven and earth, the one who sent his only begotten Son to die on the cross for you so that you would not go to a devils Hell...don’t you sit there and tell me you’re serving God with your whole heart when God knows you’re not. You say preacher you don’t know how I live. I beg to differ with you. The Bible says you’ll know a tree by the fruit it bears. The Bible says that whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. I can look around and tell you right up front or face to face if I had to that you’re not living with your whole heart for the Lord. This writer here said he was going to give God all he had. He said I’m going to give him my whole heart. God give us everything, we ought to give him everything. We ought to do our very best at whatever it is God wants us to do. Whole heartedly as to the Lord and not unto men. A lot of people are looking in the wrong place for their answers. Their looking in the wrong place to get the direction in which they need to go. Their looking in other places for the solutions to their problems and their not being helped, their not growing spiritually. Let me tell you something beloved without the word of God and the preached word of God you’ll not grow. If you want to be somebody for God then get in the house of God, and get in the word of God. I could have stayed home today. I felt like it. But I come to hear the preached word. If it don’t help me then it won’t help you. We need to give God our whole heart.
ROMANS 8:27 “AND HE THAT SEARCHETH THE HEARTS KNOWETH WHAT IS THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT, BECAUSE HE MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR THE SAINTS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.”
What does that mean? It means that God the Father, His mind works in us through the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts. He said if you want to know what the mind of the spirit is, search your heart. That’s what I’m asking you to do today. I want to preach for just a minute on all thy heart. If we don’t do it whole heartedly, it’s not going to work right. If we’re going to preach the word, teach the word, live the word, be and example of the word...we have to get in the word of God. Quit trying to live these half hearted Christian lives. You’re failing because you’re leaving God out. You leave God out and he’ll leave you out. When God leaves you out it’s not going to be a pretty picture. If you’re serving God with half of what you have, you’re not going to get even half of what God’s got. He’ll not give it to you.
The Spirit works according to the will of God in our hearts. It may not happen your way. You may not be satisfied with everything God’s doing for you but if you’re in God’s will it’s happening because of the will of God and you ought to accept it. I could ask this question...Is God pleased with you? I’ll never forget the saints of God years ago who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket but every Sunday those people would sing to the top of their lungs, praising God and God blessed them because they did it with their whole heart. Don’t worry about your incapabilities. Think about God’s capabilities and what He can do for you. God can take what you don’t know you have and make it work and happen in your life. Paul said when I am weak, then am I strong. You need to realize how weak you are. That’s when God uses us. He don’t use people who think their bigger than God. It’s when we’re weak, when we’re nothing that God uses us.
LUKE 17:20-21 “...THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMETH NOT WITH OBSERVATION: NEITHER SHALL THEY SAY, LO HERE! OR, LO THERE! FOR, BEHOLD, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU.”
If you’ll just let Christ work from the inside out you’ll have a grand and glorious time.
MARK 13:21-22 “AND THEN IF ANY MAN SHALL SAY TO YOU, LO, HERE IS CHRIST; OR, LO, HE IS THERE; BELIEVE HIM NOT: FOR FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS SHALL RISE, AND SHALL SHEW SIGNS AND WONDERS, TO SEDUCE, IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, EVEN THE ELECT.”
Somebody tells somebody that Christ is over here at this church, they want to run over there. If you can’t find Christ in your own life, you’re not going to find him at any church. You’ll not find him anywhere. I’ll say this, if you can’t feel him here at Westside, you’ll not feel him anywhere.
I’m going to share this with you in relevance with how God deals with us through our hearts. I heard Ed say when I first came to this church that people were missing hell by 18 inches. That’s the distance between your brain and your heart. They get it in their minds but not in their hearts. Theirs a lot of truth to that today. God speaks to us through our hearts. I know theirs different ways he can speak to us but he trying to deal with you today through your heart. I want to prove it to you through scripture. Look at
LUKE 24:32 “AND THEY SAID TO ONE ANOTHER, DID NOT OUR HEART BURN WITHIN US, WHILE HE TALKED WITH US BY THE WAY, AND WHILE HE OPENED TO US THE SCRIPTURES?”
If you can’t feel God within your heart you need to be born again. That’s what God does when I preach. He speaks through me. He lays on my heart what he wants you to hear and I preach it. It’s His Spirit that deals with your heart and it’s the only way you can get saved. You start listening to your flesh and it’ll get you in trouble. They that walk in the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh. But they that walk after the spirit do mind the things of the spirit. Listen to this in JEREMIAH 20:9 “THEN I SAID, I WILL NOT MAKE MENTION OF HIM, NOR SPEAK ANY MORE IN HIS NAME. BUT HIS WORD WAS IN MINE HEART AS A BURNING FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES, AND I WAS WEARY WITH FORBEARING, AND I COULD NOT STAY.”
He wasn’t down at mom and dad’s house, it wasn’t the clothes that he was wearing...he said his word was in his heart as a burning fire. Psalmist David said this in PSALM 39:3 “MY HEART WAS HOT WITHIN ME.” God was speaking to him.
I heard a preacher once at Promise Keepers who preached a message called guarding your flame. Their was 60,000 people there and if none of them got it, I did and he said to guard your flame. He was talking about guarding your heart. The old devil sometimes tries to make you think that your flame is burning out but if Christ abides within you, you’ll feel the power and the Spirit of God! So many people feel him just at Westside Baptist Church. They think their some big Christian just because they come to Westside three or four times a year. They think they have everything they need. Listen, you don’t have anything. You wouldn’t just be at Westside but you be somewhere in the house of God. Seeking God’s will in your life. I want to interject this. Time is running out. I’m 38 years old. I don’t know how long God will leave me here. He could call me out tomorrow. I’m ready! I don’t know how old or young you are but death is coming. It’s appointed unto all men to die and after this the judgment. DEATH is coming and it’s coming RAPIDLY. I want you to know that because I want you to get your whole heart right with God.
In ACTS 8:37, ya’ll know the scripture where Philip was gone to witness to the Eunich. This is for the Lost people and if God is speaking to your heart and you’re lost and don’t know Christ as your savior, God is speaking to you. The Eunich asked what was keeping him from being Baptized. Philip answered and said this: “IF THOU BELIEVEST WITH ALL THINE HEART, THOU MAYEST.” If you’re sitting here today and God’s speaking to your heart. You hear him knocking and calling; all you have to do is believe with all your heart that He is and you can be saved. Just ask God to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to save you. Don’t just give him part of it, give him all of it. Don’t just give him a little bit, give him all of it. It’s the only way you’ll get saved, by giving him all your heart. I remember the day the Lord saved me. I heard him knocking on my hearts door telling me that I was lost and I gave him my whole heart and he saved me. It wasn’t because of any merit of mine own. It was simply because of my faith and God’s grace.
Now, if you’re here today and you’ve been saved by the grace of God but you’re not living right; I want you to know that you’re backslid. Instead of going forwards, you’re going backwards. Instead of going toward the light, you’re going away from the light. Instead of living the truth, you’re living a lie. There’s so many backslid Christians today that it isn’t funny. Their everywhere. You’ll find few and far between ones that are living a real Godly Christian life for Him. Our churches are full of backsliders. CLEAN UP YOUR LIFE AND GOD WILL DO SOME MIRACLES FOR YOU!
This is for you backsliders. Look at JEREMIAH 24:7 It says “I WILL GIVE THEM A HEART TO KNOW ME, THAT I AM THE LORD: AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD: FOR THEY SHALL RETURN UNTO ME WITH THEIR WHOLE HEART.”
You know what you backsliders need to do? You need to return unto the Lord with your whole heart. We have members of our own church that are backslid. Their not living a Godly life. Their not bearing the fruit and their not receiving the blessings of God. They’ve walked out on God. They’ve forsaken God. Their backslid and the Bible says that the ways of a transgressor are hard. Anytime you walk away from God, you’re going to have a tough life. If you’re here today and you’ve walked away from God, you better get it right. NOW!
Here’s my favorite part. I want to talk to you Christians. Turn to MARK 12:30 “THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: THIS IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.”
He asked Peter once if He loved Him and Peter said yes and the Lord told him to feed his sheep. He asked him again and he said yes and he told him to feed his lambs. He asked him again and Peter told him yes and Jesus told him to feed his sheep. Listen, how can you feed his sheep if you aren’t around his sheep? If you love the Lord, you ought to show it. Jesus said in one place that the people draw nigh to him with their mouth but their hearts were far from him. Theirs people in the world like that today. You can stand up here and preach the gospel to them and give an altar car and they’ll do their best to get out that door before anybody can see them. I’ve had people leave so fast that I didn’t even have time to go shake their hands. God help them. If we’re going to run, let’s run for the Lord and not from Him. give him everything. If you love somebody they ought to know you do. I can tell you I love you all I want to but unless I show you my love, you’ll not feel anything from me. If you don’t show Jesus you love Him, there ain’t no need in telling him you love him.
Turn to DEUTERONOMY 4. If you’re here and you’re going through some tribulation or trial in your life, I want to tell you right now there’s hope. Don’t let the devil bring you down or discourage you.
Verse 29 says this “BUT IF FROM THENCE THOU SHALT SEEK THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT FIND HIM, IF THOU SEEK HIM WITH ALL THY HEART AND WITH ALL THY SOUL.”
We have to seek him with all our hearts. In verse 30 it says this: “WHEN THOU ART IN TRIBULATION, AND ALL THESE THINGS ARE COME UPON THEE, EVEN IN THE LATTER DAYS, IF THOU TURN TO THE LORD THY GOD, AND SHALT BE OBEDIENT UNTO HIS VOICE; (FOR THY GOD IS A MERCIFUL GOD;) HE WILL NOT FORSAKE THEE....”
I want to encourage you to seek the Lord with all your heart. Sometimes people let their troubles distract them from being obedient to the Lord. Preacher, where do I need to go to do this? the kingdom of God is within you. Seek God right here and love him with all your heart.
PROVERBS 3:5 “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART; AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING.”
If you trust in the Lord that means you have faith in the Lord, right? If you trust in the Lord and you’re trusting with all your heart then nothing that comes your way will distract you from Gods will and way. Nothing will deviate you from God’s word. There can be some of the biggest mountains in front of you but if you’re trusting God with all your heart then He will move them. Just keep loving, seeking and trusting with all your heart.
You ever get in a situation where you say , “I just don’t know what I’m going to do?” What do you do in that case? You seek the Lord. The Bible says this: He’s a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He’s a friend of yours. You ought to figure up how many hours during the week you spend for God then figure up how many hours we spend doing other things not for God. You’d find that God was at the very bottom of your list.
A preacher came to church one time preaching on tithes and offering and he brought ten apples and gave them to one of the people in the congregation. He said God told me to give them to you because you’ve earned them working for him this week. Now give me one back and he said, this one is God’s. think about it. He left him with nine because God only had to have one. That’s the way it is not only with our tithes and offerings but with out time. You can work a 70 hour a week job if you want to but if you don’t find some time with God you’ll not grow spiritually. When you grow spiritually you can lead people to Christ. That’s what it’s all about...people getting saved.
In DEUTERONOMY 10:12 “AND NOW ISRAEL, WHAT DOES THE LORD THY GOD REQUIRE OF THEE, BUT TO FEAR THE LORD THY GOD, TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS, AND TO LOVE HIM, AND TO SERVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART AND WITH ALL THY SOUL.” That’s what the Lord requires of you. He don’t want you just on Sundays or ten times a year, He wants you continually. As a man thinketh in his heart; so is he. Where is your heart?
PSALMS 86:12 “I WILL PRAISE THEE, O LORD MY GOD, WITH ALL MY HEART: AND I WILL GLORIFY THY NAME FOR EVERMORE.” How many times have you praised Him today? Usually Christians try to praise the Lord when they have money and everything is right. But when God starts taking them through the valley they forget how to praise Him. People, praising starts in the valley. He’ll get you up on the mountain top. People are afraid to praise the Lord. If we love Him with all our heart, seek him with all our heart and trust him with all our heart and serve him with all our heart....we will praise him with all our heart. Here’s what a lot of Christians do. They want to start at the top and not the bottom. They want to praise him while their on top. After that they want to try and serve him. Then they want to go out and do something because they say they better trust in him otherwise their going to get in trouble. Then they say I better seek him and make sure that’s what he wants me to do even though they’ve already done it. Then they say, oh I better tell God I love Him. That’s how backwards peoples lives are. The Bible says because he suffered, we shall also suffer. You have to go through a valley to get to the mountain side. You have to go through some pains and aches and sufferings to see the glory of God revealed in your life. You know why God let the children of Israel go through the wilderness for forty years? These two reasons. So that I might humble you and so that I might know what is in your heart. He was saying....hey you spend forty years in the wilderness and stick with me and I’ll know you trust in me and love me.
1 JOHN 4:4 “YE ARE OF GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM: BECAUSE GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.”
Quit trying to live in the flesh. Quit trying to serve God in the flesh. Check in with your heart and he’ll lead you the right way. About a year ago in church we were having a gospel singing. God spoke to my heart and said to go tell everybody you love them. I did what he said, I went through the whole church and then came and sat down. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said you left one out. I turned around and saw my son sitting in the back and I got up and ran to him and began weeping and he began crying and I hugged him and said, “Son, I love you.” On the way home he said this and I’ll never forget it, “I thought for awhile that you were mad at me. You hugged everybody in that church and I thought you forgot about me.” If you’re going to be a christian, be a christian to everybody. If God spoke to your heart today, won’t you come to the altar and give him your whole heart.
LET US PRAY: Father forgive me of my sins. I haven’t been giving you my whole heart. I’ve been selfish in giving you only part of my heart. I ask you Lord to have mercy upon me a sinner and give me another chance lord to worship you in spirit and in truth. Show me Lord how I might live a better life and live it for you. Leading lost souls to the cross of calvary. Thank you Lord for showing me that I need to follow you, trust in you, seek you, worship you and serve you with my whole heart. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
