IDOLS OF THE
HEART
Learning to Long for God Alone
by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Presented by Elder Wendie G. Trott
Chapter 4: The Heart Changer
Luke 7:36-50: “A Pharisee invited Jesus to have
dinner with him. So Jesus went to the
Pharisee’s home and got ready to eat. When a
sinful woman in that town found out that
Jesus was there, she bought an expensive
bottle of perfume. Then she came and stood
behind Jesus. She cried and started washing
His feet with her tears and drying them with
her hair. The woman kissed His feet and
poured the perfume on them.
The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw
this and said to himself, ‘If this man really
were a prophet, He would know what kind
of woman is touching Him! He would know
that she is a sinner.’ Jesus said to the
Pharisee, ‘Simon, I have something to say
to you.’ ‘Teacher, what is it?’ Simon replied.
Jesus told him, ‘Two people were in debt to
a money lender. One of them owed him five
hundred silver coins, and the other owed
him fifty.
Since neither of them could pay him back,
the money lender said that they didn’t
have to pay him anything. Which one of
them will like him more?’ Simon answered,
‘I suppose it would be the one who had
owed more and didn’t have to pay it back.’
‘You are right,’ Jesus said. He turned
toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Have
you noticed this woman?
When I came into your home, you didn’t give me
any water so I could wash my feet. But she has
washed my feet with her tears and dried them
with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but
from the time I came in she has not stopped
kissing my feet. You didn’t even pour olive oil on
my head, but she has poured expensive perfume
on my feet. So I tell you that all her sins are
forgiven, and that is why she has shown great
love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a
little will show only a little love.’
Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are
forgiven.’ Some other guests started
saying to one another, ‘Who is this who
dares to forgive sins?’ But Jesus told the
woman, ‘Because of your faith, you are now
saved. May God give you peace.”
Her eyes were opened to His worth [TRUE
VALUE], and worship flowed out of her.
Are our eyes as open? Do we care about the
approval of others over God?
IDOLATRY is:
worshiping, adoring, admiring,
reverencing, or loving false gods.
Incomprehensible
Power
The Power of the Holy Spirit = the only
life-changing power in the world! His
unique work produces holiness. In our
own strength, we don’t have the power
to make us a holy God-worshiper, but
God is committed to changing us!
How the Spirit Makes Us Holy
Teaching Us the Glories of Christ: John 16:14: “The Spirit will
bring glory to Me by taking My message and telling it to
you.”
Showing Us the Cross: John 16:8-11 says that the Holy Spirit’s
assignment is to:
1. Convict the world of sin
The world has no faith in the Lord! [NO FAITH = Can’t please
God!]
2. Convict the world about Righteousness
Christ’s righteousness [HIS PERFECT NATURE] is freely available
to all God’s children.
3. Convict the world about Judgment
God’s holiness demands that sin be destroyed!
Writing His Word on Our Hearts: John 16:13: “The Spirit shows what
is true and will come and guide you into full truth.” Psalm 119:11:
“I treasure Your Word above all else; it keeps me from sinning
against You.” [CEV]
Inclining Our Hearts to Worship Him: Bend Down, Listen With Your
Heart, and Love On Him! I Kings 8:57-58: “May the Lord our God
be with us…that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in
all His ways and to keep His commandments and statutes and His
ordinances.”
The Spirit Convinces Us That We Are God’s Children: Romans 8:1516: “God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of Him.
Instead, we become His children and call Him our Father. God’s
Spirit makes us sure that we are His children.”
The Spirit Teaches Us to Pray: Romans 8:26-27--The Spirit prays
through us when we don’t even know what to say to God.
God Is Faithful
1 Corinthians 10:13-14: “You are tempted in
the same way that everyone else is tempted.
But God can be trusted not to let you be
tempted too much, and He will show you
how to escape from your temptations. My
friends, you must keep away from idols.”
The Certainty of Our
Ultimate Glorification
Romans 8:29-30—Speaks of predestination = PRE (before/already),
DESTINY (fate/divine intervention/external circumstances),
DESTINATION (purpose/end/target/aim/goal/objective/intention)
[Msg] “God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He
decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him
along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the
line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape
of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His
children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name.
After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with
Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with
them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.”
Chapter 5: Better Than Life
“Because Your lovingkindness is better than
life, my lips will praise
You.”—Psalm 63:3
The Worth of
God’s Love
How valuable is God’s love
to you?
Is the love between you
and Him more valued than
everything else in your
life?
Man’s Happiness Is
God Himself
Happiness means: contentment,
pleasure, gladness, cheerfulness, delight
As God’s children, it is God Himself who should be the
Source of our happiness. Knowing Him, worshiping Him,
being loved by Him, and loving Him in return should be
the center of our existence and our joy.
Psalm 16:11 says: “You have shown me the path to life,
and You make me glad by being near to me. Sitting at
Your right side, I will always be joyful!” [CEV]
Delighting to Do
God’s Will
Psalm 40:8: “I delight to do Thy will, O God! Thy Law is
within my heart.”
Delighting to do God’s will means: turning from the
deception that joy lies outside obedient fellowship with
God.
Does something else seem more attractive? It’s a deception!
Matthew 6:21 says: “Your heart will always be where your
treasure is.”
Eve’s Unhappy Choice
Genesis 3:6: Eve chose to disobey God by eating from the
tree that:
was good for food
was a delight to the eyes
was desirable to make one wise
Running after Happiness
Pursue THE happiness of
knowing and loving Christ
and you will find that your
holiness and worship will
grow.
Why Do We Choose
the Way We Do?
If you are willing to sin in
order to be happy, you are
an idolater!
Happiness becomes a god if
and when your pursuit of it
is done despite the offence to
God!
Your History and
Happiness
We are all products of
what we have endured.
The power of God is greater
than our history, or any
other power, however,
failure to admit we have
been affected, and need
healing, can cause us to
erect false gods in our
lives.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit can
illuminate your heart and cause you to grow
in your esteem of Christ and disdain the
charms of the world. He does this by
inclining you to serve Him and teaching you
the true joys of heaven.
So go ahead! Pursue
happiness!
Define it the way that God does and you’ll
never be disappointed. Remember your
goal is to say with David, “Nothing, not
even life, brings me more happiness than
Your love!”