2. "Follow Your Heart" And 5 More Lies… Permission

3. Pop Culture: The truth is inside you You already have the answer Just listen to your heart

4. And it can be really good I feel like giving my wife Flowers and a great date night

5. But it can also go Really wrong Gone for almost 2 years "Just following my heart"

6. What if doing it Means I end my marriage? Lose my children? Wind-up with nothing?

7. Definitions Matter

8. Definitions Matter Spiritual is to Christian As Following my Heart Is to being Spirit-led

9. When I desire What God does not desire For me…

10. Following my heart can become Permission and rationalization To do whatever I feel like doing At the moment

11. The Faith is not freedom to do That which is contrary To God's will But power to do that for which I was created

12. Underlying belief: God wants more for us - Has pre-planned more for us- Than we want for ourselves

13. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast…

14. My faith is not a result Of me desiring God on my own But of God drawing me Convicting me and saving me

15. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance, that we should walk in them - Eph. 2:8-10

16. Underlying belief: God wants more for us - Has pre-planned more for us- Than we want for ourselves

17. My faith is not my own It's a gift from God My experience of that faith will Not be a product of my heart But of his leading

18. The war rages I think I'll watch Mad Men tonight

19. If I'm not careful Following my heart can become Permission and rationalization To do whatever I feel like doing At the moment

20. ...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh Do you sense the tension?

21. Flesh: - Immediate gratification - Self first, even to others pain - "Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life"

22. Spirit: - God's glory - Others more significant… - "Self-control…no covetousness …Humility"

23. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other...

24. The fruit of the Spirit is... self-control

25. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires "Father, not my will, but yours" - Jesus

26. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit All about Jesus: Faith and Life

27. This only happens if: - I know Jesus (empowered) - I trust that he wants more

28. Why not follow my heart? I love Jesus So I can trust my desires, right?

29. Addiction- easy We know that one Destructive behavior- yeah

30. But what about the harder issues Matters of love and relationships Jobs and direction in life Purchases and lifestyle Giving and helping others

31. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? - Jeremiah 17:9

32. …from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness

33. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person - Mark 7:21-23 Symptoms vs. Cause

34. "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" - Judges 17:6 It goes dark...

35. If I'm not careful Following my heart can become Permission and rationalization To do whatever I feel like doing At the moment

36. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God- Rom. 8:14

37. 2 Paths: Follow your heart - Do what I feel is right - When it goes sideways, blame God, circumstances or people

38. 2 Paths: Spirit-led - Pray, seek God, follow by faith - Expect: God to be at work. - When trials come, know God is present, powerful and able

39. If God led me It's up to God to take care of me If I led me, it's up to me

40. What does it mean to be Spirit-led? 1. Walk in (primary) relationship

41. 2. Renewing my mind …be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God- Rom. 12:2

42. Be the living dead But being transformed By renewing the mind

43. What does it mean to be Spirit-led? 3. Place myself in the Path of his Word

44. Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path - Psalm 119:105

45. What does it mean to be Spirit-led? 4. Place myself around real Followers for guidance (Not just "Christians")

46. Small Group!

47. What does it mean to be Spirit-led? 5. Be faithful, do what's right Leave the results to God

48. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there…

49. …except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me

50. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course…

51. …and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God - Acts 20:22-24 The heart does NOT want that

52. Following my heart can become Permission and rationalization To do whatever I feel like doing At the moment And cause me to miss out…

53. The Two Errors: - God wants your Greatest comfort - The hardest road is God's will

54. "Romans 8:28 brother!"

55. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

56. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son - Romans 8:28-29

57. Comfort and ease Is not God's highest concern Conformed to the Image of his Son is…

58. The hardest road is God's will Hebrews 11…by faith Same faith, same God leading Very different results

59. Can you imagine getting married like that? "I have zero desire for you. I hate your personality. I can't stand you. This must be God's will! Let's get married!

60. "Follow your heart" Permission to do what I feel like doing at the moment

61. "Follow your King" - He knows better, sees further - He cares more, leads well - You are his son or daughter - God wants more for you

62. Homework: - Write down current pursuits - Is this what God wants for me? Or what I want for me? - Do I trust that God wants more?

63. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God- Rom. 8:14 Do I need to respond to Jesus' Call in my life?

65. Saturday Theology on Tap Jim Fletcher's Home

66. Small Groups Next Sun, Wed, Thurs Jan 26, 29, 30

67. Superbowl Food, Fun, Fellowship 2 Weeks, 5:30 PM

68. 14 Days of Prayer and Fasting Feb. 17