What Is Your Heart's Desire?

*WHAT IS YOUR HEART’S DESIRE?*

Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1-4

INTRODUCTION:

1.) What is the deepest desire of your heart?

2.) Everyone of us have some deep desires of the heart.

3.) Paul defined his purpose for being in terms of helping men and women experience God’s Great salvation.

(I Cor. 9:19-23)

A.) Certainly all of us would be wise to identify with the apostle’s heart’s desire.

I. PAUL’S HEART’S DESIRE GREW OUT OF THE GRACE OF GOD.

1.) The Apostle had experienced the forgiving grace of God.

A.) He had come to know Jesus Christ in the pardon and forgiveness of sin.

B.) He had received the precious gift of eternal life.

C.) The Holy Spirit was a permanent guest within him.

D.) He acknowledged that all he was, he was because of God’s grace and mercy.

da.) I Cor. 15:10

E.) Paul’s experience of the grace of God gave him an inward sense of obligation to help others come to experience that same grace.

ea.) Rom. 1: 14-15

II. PAUL’S HEART’S DESIRE AROSE OUT OF AN AWARENESS OF HUMANKIND’S GREATEST NEED.

1.) As we look over the world, we see many pressing and desperate needs.

A.) We just had an election, which is always a time when politicians speak of great needs: Better education, better health care, housing, employment opportunities, economic recovery, etc.

2.) The greatest need of humankind is to personally know God and His Son, Jesus as our Christ.

A.) Regardless of the economy, education, or any other need, the greatest service that we can render to another person is to help them to develop a relationship with God that brings peace and purpose to life.

B.) Paul knew the importance and seriousness of this inner need of man.

ba.) In this passage of Scripture, Paul expresses a great yearning in his heart for the Jewish people, and longed with all in his heart for them to come to Christ.

III. PAUL’S HEART’S DESIRE ASSISTED HIM IN DETTERMINING THE PRIORITIES OF HIS LIFE.

-- Phil. 3:13-14

1.) Paul was a man with one great controlling purpose that determined his priority of values.

A.) One of the reasons we sometimes go around in circles out of breath is that we do not always have a clearly defined purpose for being.

B.) Once we determined what our priority is going to be, it is much easier to get from where we are to where we ought to be.

IV. PAUL’S HEART DESIRE LED HIM TO A THOROUGH SELF-INSPECTION AND A CONTINUOUS DEDICATION TO HIS PURPOSE.

1.) We must have more than a clearly defined objective for living.

A.) we need to properly evaluate ourselves and then dedicate ourselves without reservation to the accomplishment of our desired objective.

B.) The Apostle Paul sets us a good example of self-inspection, self-discipline, and self- dedication.

ba.) I Cor. 9:24-27

C.) Prayer for the apostle Paul was not a duty to be performed; it was a continuous dialog with God for guidance as he sought to make disciples in his going about from one place to another.

D.) To the apostle, the indwelling Spirit was not to be ignored or neglected.

da.) Paul let the Holy Spirit work in him, and through him to accomplish God’s will in his life.

CONCLUSION:

1.) What is your heart’s desire?

2.) If we are to be good servants of Christ and good stewards of our opportunity, we will spend our time so as to please God and help others.

3.) We will give our testimony both by our words and by the way we live.