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Grace and peace to you church once again.

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What song are you on?

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Somebody said 21. That's what we'll go with.

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So 21,

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joy, sin and God's strength.

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It is a Psalm of David with whom I am sure we are all very familiar.

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And today, just for today,

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for the sake of time,

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I want to just focus on maybe just like the first four scriptures.

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I think that'll take long enough working through those.

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The psalm starts off the king show joy,

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the king show joy in your strength,

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O Lord, and in your salvation,

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how greatly shall he rejoice.

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You have given him his heart's desire

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and you have not withheld the request of his lips.

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For you prevented him with blessings and goodness.

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You said the crown of pure gold on his head.

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He asked life of you.

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And you gave it him even length of days forever and ever.

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Let's pause for a second.

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I know for a very long time, just through experience,

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when people hear that God is going to give an individual the desires of their

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heart,

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that sounds very self pleasing. Doesn't it?

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That like, man, like God is going to give me the desires of my heart.

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The essence of the things that I long for,

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the essence of the things that I desire,

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God is going to give those for me.

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However, we must think about the question,

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especially in the context of two, even though this is in,

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even though David for one is the writer of this song and two later on we will

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get into as to how that this song is very much speaking about our Lord and

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savior, Jesus Christ.

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But just the words you have given him,

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his heart's desire and has not withheld the request of his lips.

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What does heart mean right here?

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What have you known for heart to mean in this context in the old Testament here?

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It primarily means the, the inner man,

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our will,

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the soul of the heart of man. It is our,

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it is the seat of our, of our heart.

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It is the seat of our heart.

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The heart of man, it is our, it is the seat of our emotions and inclinations,

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passions,

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appetites and all the things of such.

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It is the most intimate part of man and in the new Testament,

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it takes it a little bit further. Obviously in the new Testament,

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it is the Greek word,

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Kardia and then in ancient Greek it was this term also using the new Testament

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called the noose and the noose was considered the eye of the heart and we

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really do not have a good word to describe the noose,

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meaning the eye of the heart.

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And so if it is true that the heart is the most inward part of us,

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the most inward part of us, it is the seat of our appetites,

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emotions and passions.

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It is the seat of our inclinations.

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What are the odds that God is going to give us the desires that are in there?

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Let's think about that for a moment.

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My innermost being without the will of God present, my innermost being,

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my innermost person without sanctified emotions and passions and appetites is

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God going to give me those things? Is God going to give me my innermost desires?

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The word heart here is the exact same word that is used in Genesis six and five

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where it says and God saw that the wickedness of man was great and the earth

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and that every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was evil

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continually.

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It is also the same word that is used for when Pharaoh's heart is hardened in the

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book of Exodus.

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Now this term sounds good that God will give the desires of the heart whether to

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the author here or even to us because this is a term that is used in Psalms

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chapter 37 and four where it says that God will give us the desires of our heart.

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However, I want to humbly suggest that this should not be face value.

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These things sound good about God giving us the desires of our heart.

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However, what if our heart is wicked?

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Is God going to give us things that is going that are going to feed our self

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indulgence?

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Is God going to give us things that is going to feed us being envious?

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Is God going to give us the desires of our heart that will support lustful

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lustful thoughts or lustful inclinations?

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Is God going to give us the desires of our heart that is going to support our

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pride and our lack of meekness and humility?

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Is God going to give us the desires of our heart that will promote us living out

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our own will?

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Is God going to give us the desires of our heart that will drive us in the

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opposite direction of who he is?

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I hope that our answer would be a resounding no because one that is not how

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even prayer in and of itself works.

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And the scripture and this particular scripture where it says you have that you

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have given him his heart's desire and you have not withheld the request of his

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lips. The strange thing about prayer is that prayer reveals what is going on in

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our hearts.

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Prayer reveals what we really want out of life.

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Prayer reveals what we really want to see happen.

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If you want to know about an individual, ask them,

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what are they praying for?

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Many times people are praying for whether you want to say it's unconsciously or

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subconsciously, people are praying for a life that is actually without God.

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Well,

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I just want to enjoy life. I just want to be happy.

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I just want to experience things in the world.

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Now guess what? All those things sound fine and dandy on the surface.

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But the question as believers in Christ,

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we have to ask ourself is did Jesus Christ suffer and die simply for you to be

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happy and to experience life the way you want it.

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When he was being flogged, when he was being beaten, was he thinking about your

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happiness

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or was he thinking about redeeming and reconciling you?

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Was he thinking about you just having a wonderful life?

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Great movie by the way, my favorite Christmas movie.

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Or was he thinking about reconciling you and redeeming you?

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Many times in life,

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many times in life prayers reveal not necessarily evil things, but very much

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neutral things. And by neutral mean that the prayers or the actions don't

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necessarily offend God.

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However,

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the prayers and actions don't necessarily lead the individual into an intimate

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life with God either.

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And that is why neutrality can be very dangerous.

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It's because one

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thing that we can't do is be faithful. Faithfulness requires us to be faithful.

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It is impossible to be faithful without being faithful.

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And so when prayers reveal what's really going on in our heart,

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we see some of these examples in the word of God

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because we know that God would not give the King here or us anything inherently

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bad.

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Let's look at what Christ says about the heart real quick.

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Christ is talking about in the book of Matthew 15 and 19,

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he talks about what really defiles people.

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And this is what Jesus said. He says,

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for out of the heart comes forth evil thoughts,

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murderers, adulteries, fornications,

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theft, lying, blasphemy.

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And then Christ says,

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these are the things that defile a man.

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Does God want to give us these things?

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The answer is no.

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God is not going to give us these things or the causes of these things or the

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things that will nurture these things.

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So in so many words,

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God will not give us the desires of our heart.

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And the book of James, it says this,

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from where does wars and fighting come from among you?

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Do they not come because of your desires that war in your members?

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You lust and you don't have,

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you kill and desire and you do not get and cannot obtain.

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You fight and you war,

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yet you have not because you do not ask.

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And then watch this.

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And when you ask,

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you don't receive because you ask a miss

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that you would consume it on your desires.

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Notice that for, for one moment,

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the word of God, James writer in the New Testament,

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lets us know through inspiration of the Holy Spirit

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that there are times that people will ask and will not receive.

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Why?

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Because they ask a miss and the very things that they are asking for,

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they're going to spend on their own selfish desires.

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Sometimes people ask things of God for the sake of their own pride.

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I've definitely seen who will go unnamed people who became pastors

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just so that they could be called pastors.

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And I've seen people who became pastors

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just so that they could be liked.

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I've seen people join ministries for the purpose of just getting a pat on the back.

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Now I know what you're saying, in and of themselves,

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in and of themselves, pastor, those things are not bad.

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And I would have to agree with you.

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Yes, you are correct.

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In and of themselves, those things are not bad.

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However, if the heart is not sanctified, those things will come to ruin.

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If the heart is not sanctified, those things will come to ruin.

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Children of God, what is going through your hearts today?

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What is it that you have been asking God for?

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What is it that you have been asking God for?

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Ouch.

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Does the majority of our prayers inhabit our basic essentials and our basic needs?

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Typically they do, and that's okay.

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However, if we truly, sincerely believe

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that Christ Jesus is our greatest good,

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that Christ Jesus is our greatest good,

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how often is that prayer inhabiting our prayers?

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Because if that prayer is not answered,

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children of God, it does not make a difference what else you do

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or what else you will accomplish in this life, because without him you can do nothing.

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If thinking like Jesus, loving like Jesus, performing actions like Christ

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are not at the top of the prayer list,

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if they are not the consistent prayers,

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if they are not the daily prayers,

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if those are not the prayers without ceasing,

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then your priorities may be messed up.

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Nothing should come before love of Jesus,

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not life's necessities,

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not even love for parents.

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This is what Christ said, right?

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He said, he who loves mom and dad, son and daughter.

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He loves mom and dad, son and daughter, their spouse.

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And then Christ says, and even their own life,

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they are not worthy of being my disciple.

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So what things are getting in the way

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of the necessary discipleship that we need in America right now?

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What things are getting in the way

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of you obtaining that deeper, meaningful relationship that we all want with Christ?

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The answer is in your prayers.

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What is it that you have been praying for the most?

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Is it for your repeated sins?

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Now, it's great to ask for forgiveness of our sins.

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It's awesome. But what about asking God, teach me not to repeat this anymore?

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Because functional grace in scripture teaches us to deny ungodliness and wickedness

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and it instructs us how to live righteously, soberly and godly in this present age.

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That's exactly what Paul said.

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Paul even said, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

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Then he said, certainly not.

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So it's great to ask for forgiveness of our sins.

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So it's great to ask for forgiveness.

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Are we asking for a heart change in our prayers?

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To do the work of Christ, we must become like Christ.

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You can't do the work of Christ without becoming like them.

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That's like me trying to put a Range Rover engine in my GMC Acadia.

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It must be the same make and model.

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Let's look at some more scriptures.

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Listen very closely to this one.

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It's 1 John 5, 14 and 15.

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And this is the confidence that we have in him.

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That if we ask anything according to his will, that he hears us.

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And if we know that he hears us whatsoever, we ask, we know we have the petitions of our heart.

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I hope he wrote that one down.

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The scripture says if we ask anything according to his will.

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Anything according to his will.

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For those of us who seek peace from the world, who are constantly disappointed from seeking peace in the world.

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Instead of prayers that the undercurrent is seeking peace from the world,

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we should ask Lord teach me to have peace in you.

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Since you said in the world you will have tribulation, but you said in you I will have peace.

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Isn't that awesome?

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I mean, we should all crave real peace, right?

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We should all crave real love.

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Because Disney love does not exist.

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Many of us who have been married for at least 10 or 15 years,

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I guarantee you what has kept your marriage alive and what has kept your marriage good is not the words I love you.

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It is the words I apologize, forgive me.

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It is the words I apologize, forgive me.

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Disney marriages live forever.

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Real marriage isn't like Disney though, is it?

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But yet we flock and we desire something that a depraved human being has made up to make us all feel good.

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And sometimes we even pray for that.

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And that's not even real love.

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We tell you what real love looks like sometimes.

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Real love is I'm upset and I choose not to say anything mean so I go for a walk.

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Real love is that a wife is upset with her husband but she still cooks dinner.

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Real love is that the couple, not because of the kids,

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but because of God and the sake of the marriage they work things out.

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Even when it's difficult.

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Even when it's difficult because love is not a feeling.

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Love is a series of behaviors.

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Somebody thinking, I don't believe that ref.

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Take that old psychological stuff out of here trying to be deep.

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Well, what does 1 Corinthians 13 say? It starts off love is what?

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It's what? That's a behavior.

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And what else? That's a behavior. Those aren't feelings.

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So once again, love is not a feeling.

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Love is a series of behaviors that are dedicated and rooted in God himself.

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And regardless of how we feel, that is what we pursue.

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And that is why things work.

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And so when we pray and we ask God for things according to his will,

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we should automatically anticipate,

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God, I am not looking for you to make me feel like I'm not looking for you.

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I'm not looking for you to make me feel good.

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I'm looking to you to make me good.

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I'm not looking for you to make me feel good, God,

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because feelings are not always facts.

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I'm looking for you to make me good.

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That promise is worth knowing God's will, then, right?

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I would say it is if if we have this promise in scripture that

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whatever we ask according to his will, that God will hear us

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and that whatsoever we ask, then we will have the petitions of our heart.

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Let's start off at the very basic level, then, according with things according to God's will.

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At the very basic level, take away everything that you are capable of doing.

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Take away how you look. Take away everything that you have pride in.

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And when stripped down, what are you?

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You are created in the image and likeness of God.

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So that is where we start.

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Should be the basics of our prayers.

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God, let me live out the original purpose in which you created

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man and woman to be in your image and in your likeness.

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Because when you made us, you called us good.

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You see, many people have it wrong.

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The gospel is not that people are bad and God came to save them.

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Human beings are not inherently bad.

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Sin corrupted the image and likeness of God and made human beings bad.

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When God created man, he called us good.

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The worst thing we can do is to think that our sins and vices are part of who we are.

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Because they're not. God made you good.

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Satan and sin severely damaged the likeness.

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It injured the image. It suppresses it. It taints it.

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It made it impure, but never forget.

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You are in his image and likeness.

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And so sins and vices are not our normal.

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They are an abnormal defect of the soul.

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And God can heal it.

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So instead of prayers being about things,

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instead of prayers being about what we want to do in life and what we want to see in life,

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I think the smartest man in the world.

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But maybe majority of our prayers should be more about becoming like Jesus.

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And not about being being friends with the world,

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not about loving the world and the things of the world.

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Maybe, just maybe our prayers, the majority of our prayers, our daily prayers,

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our nightly prayers should be, God, my father,

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make me like my savior.

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And God, who promised that if we ask anything according to his will,

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what do you believe he will do with that prayer?

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I think half of the room is maybe thinking,

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that sounds good, but I really don't think it's going to happen.

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Well, your problem is not the promise of God.

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Your problem is unbelief.

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Be 12 shot real quick.

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Your problem is unbelief. It's not the promise of God.

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Our faith and our belief should be based upon what God has actually said,

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not on how we feel about what God said.

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Not on how we feel about what God said.

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Our faith and our belief must be based upon what God has actually said,

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not based upon what we feel about what God has said.

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If God has promised that if we ask things according to his will,

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that he will answer that prayer, then we should believe him.

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As a matter of fact, Jesus said this in John 15 and 7,

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if you abide in me and my words abide in you,

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you shall ask what you will and it shall be done to you.

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That is John 15 and 7.

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But are we willing to abide in Christ

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and have his word abide in us?

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As the psalmist also said, your word have I hid in my heart

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that I might not sin against you.

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Are we ready to hide Matthew chapter 25 in our hearts?

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Are we ready to hide everything Christ have said

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and the apostles have spoken in our hearts

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and hold on to dear life for those things?

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And if we feel we are weak, are we willing to ask God to make it so

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since we know that it is a part of his will?

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And if it's part of his will, children of God, he will make it come to pass.

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I only have two minutes left. I have my timer going.

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Believe God will answer the things that you pray for that are according to his will.

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Just because you do not like how he answered, it doesn't mean he did not answer.

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Just because how he answered does not make you feel good

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and give you butterflies in your stomach.

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I can guarantee you this, he only gives good and perfect gifts.

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So maybe the reason why you feel bad is because

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he's removing some of that love for the world out of you.

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Maybe he's removing some of those carnal desires out of you.

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Maybe that is why it does not feel good.

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One of the worst things we can do to the gospel of Jesus Christ

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is try to make Jesus Christ relevant to the culture.

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Our culture is sinful, depraved, and blasphemous.

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And it needs redemption and reconciliation.

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But the redeemed and reconciled needs to go to them.

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I hope you catch that.

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The redeemed and reconciled must go to a depraved and sinful and blasphemous culture.

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If these things are in our hearts and we accept those things,

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we are perpetuating evil.

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But glory to God,

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if we are in fact fed up with our sins and fed up with our vices,

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and we are going to the sole person that can heal and correct the disposition of our soul,

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and if we are willing to do things how he has said for us to do them,

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then we will be prepared.

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But his will must be in our hearts.

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If his will is not in our hearts, children of God,

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then he will not give us the desires of our heart.

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But watch this.

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We can ask him to give us the desires of our heart,

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meaning that we are open to all the new and truly good and truly loving

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and truly compassionate and truly empathetic things that God wants in our hearts.

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In that capacity, God will give us the desires of our hearts.

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But let us not be fooled.

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Our hearts needs to be cleaned.

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The Holy Spirit needs to work inside of there.

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Our hearts needs to be cleaned. The Holy Spirit needs to work inside of there.

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For God to be glorified. Amen.