When the Gospel Transforms the Desires of Your Heart Pt 2
| Big idea: True conversion is a result, not a starting point. True obedience is the inevitable result of loving and enjoying Christ. |
- The visible and the invisible
| Your actions (the visible): what you do is the visible result — the fruit of the tree. | Your affections (the invisible): the root — whatever you find attractive, valuable, and worthy of your love. |
What you ________________ is the result of what you ________________.
- The engine behind our decisions
| The obedient heart — Root: loves God above all. Action: obedience. Effect: the natural outcome of enjoying God. | The disobedient heart — Root: loves sin more than God. Action: disobedience (works of the flesh). Effect: the inevitable consequence of what the heart falsely longs for. |
- A new capacity to obey
Experiencing a deep change produces two great results in every believer’s life: a new ___________ to obey and a new ___________ to obey Him.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” — Philippians 3:8
What happens when we experience a deep change?
- A new vision — a fresh perspective on what we already knew; we begin to appreciate the true glory of Christ (Phil. 3:8).
- A new attraction — what once seemed unimportant now becomes deeply attractive and valuable.
- A change of affections — we begin to love the light we once hated, and to hate the darkness we once loved (John 3:19).
- A change of perspective — 1 Timothy 1:5
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” — 1 Timothy 1:5
Step 1: Study the Scriptures → Step 2: Learn to love God and others → Step 3: Serve God and others
True love requires three things: a ___________ heart, a ___________ conscience, and a ___________ faith.
- A new motivation to obey
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Matthew 22:37-40
God’s aim is not force, but affection. Notice the text: it does not begin with “all your strength,” but with all your heart. Obeying God is the result of loving Him.
- To change is to have a new focus — John 15:9-11
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love… that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” — John 15:9-11
To be focused is to concentrate on changing what your heart longs for. When you love Him, you will obey Him and stop sinning easily. The call is to abide in His love.
- True conversion — Matthew 13:44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field… then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” — Matthew 13:44-46
Find: it is not merely intellectual belief; it is finding a treasure, a pearl of great price.
Treasure: discovering as immensely attractive what once held no value for us.
Release: leaving and selling all you have is the natural consequence of Christ becoming your great treasure.
“But to all who did receive him… he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh… but of God.” — John 1:12-13
- The order cannot be reversed
New perspective (appreciating His beauty) + New focus (treasuring Christ) + New motivation (genuine obedience)
| First Jesus must become your everything, your greatest delight and your greatest love… and then, as a result of that, your way of living changes, your decisions change, and your priorities change. |
Conclusion: the sufficiency of Christ
Obedience is the result of having our eyes opened to what God has done, is doing, and will do. It is the consequence of seeing His goodness. Because we have experienced the mercies of God, we offer our lives (Romans 12:1).
Obedience is the result of being full of Christ; disobedience, the result of being empty of Christ.
To reflect on this week
- What does my daily life reveal about what my heart truly loves?
- Am I obeying out of obligation, or out of affection for Christ?
- What do I need to release because I have found something of greater worth?
- How can I abide in His love this week? (Reading, prayer, service)
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