Here Is Why God Wants Your WHOLE Heart

The Book of Judges is an Old Testament book. Perhaps, you’re not overly familiar with its teachings and haven't heard it taught very often. Nonetheless, it is a book filled with many truths. It can teach us many lessons from the lives of others, specifically, how to live right and how to avoid making wrong decisions. The overall context of the book of Judges is, not surprisingly, all about “wise judgment” in life, religion, and politics. Moreover, Hebrew judges, at the time of this ancient writing, were the final authority for the religious and political governance of the nation of Israel. Their job was to counsel their country towards wisdom and godliness – to help them collectively KEEP THEIR HEARTS RIGHT!

Samson was one of these judges. This historical reality might surprise you, especially if you’ve been following our Meaningful Connection series closely.

Samson was a powerful man and effective warrior, but he made many foolish choices and NEVER established a meaningful relationship with God -- or anyone else for that matter. He lacked wisdom and godliness. It’s easy to conclude Samson’s heart was not right. This reality, despite God having a meaningful life planned for Samson!

Samson arrived when his nation was under bondage to another nation, Philistia. In fact, for 40 years, the Philistines had domineered the Israelites. But God intended for Samson to be a means of deliverance for his people. He was ordained to help create change and make things better in his society and for his culture. But after twenty years of being a judge, Samson had done nothing for anyone other than himself. You could sum up Samson’s leadership in one sentence, “a judge with no judgment.”

WHY?

Because Samson was a man who struggled with having the right heart, he missed the essence of the greatest command from God.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38 NKJV).

Here’s why God wants your heart – all of it. Because your heart ultimately determines the course your life will take and the issues you will battle. If God has your heart, your whole heart, your life will be vastly different than if He does not, because the issues you face, and the path you are on will be different. The sooner you give Him your whole heart the better:

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV).

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT).

Tim Keller, a man considered to be very wise in modern-day Christianity, provided commentary on that verse in this way with a tweet (July 27th, 2013):

“What the heart trusts, the mind justifies, the emotions desire, and the will carries out. Everything follows the heart.” (1)

The question is does God have your heart?

And, if so, how much of your heart does He have?

The heart is a very difficult place to conquer and surrender. Maybe you're not sure if you’ve given your whole heart to God or if you're holding a piece back from Him. Take a good look at the path you are on and the issues you’re facing in life, this may offer you some insight.

The poem, Invictus, has been read and quoted by Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, the Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh, and all through literature and film. It echoes the pride of Samson and confidence he finds in looking to himself rather than to God. (2)

“Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. (3)

In Latin, the term Invictus means unconquered. This poem is an ode to men and women, like Samson, who refused to be conquered specifically in their hearts and souls. And as motivational as it might sound, it is a declaration that we all must avoid making because the one thing God wants from us above all else is our hearts! It’s the one place we must be willing to allow God to conquer us! If we refuse, the unconquerable becomes unnecessarily conquered.

Again, God wants your heart! He wants to conquer and own it. He wants to fill the whole space with not just his power but his presence!

So, the question you must answer: Have I given God my WHOLE heart?

Have you given Him your life, your ambitions, your plan, your vision, your gifts, and your talents… Have you given Him all of you?

Samson never arrived at this level of surrender -- this place of meaningful connection with God. The result: an unconquerable man was conquered by the things of this world. Samson was a man of incredible strength, but his greatest weakness was his inability to surrender to God, and it caused him to lose the meaningful life God had planned for him.

Don’t allow this to be your greatest weakness too. You can choose to surrender your whole heart to God. When you allow this to happen, you step into a truly meaningful relationship with God!

This change may be the course correction your life so desperately needs.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/c_DPzy71VBc

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

5. Subscribe to EricGilbert.org using this link:https://www.ericgilbert.org/subscribe. You'll be able to receive updates directly to your email inbox as we post blogs every Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning.

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1) Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) Twitter post, July 27, 2013, https://twitter.com/timkellernyc/status/361154443921735680?lang=en.

2) Anders and Phillips, Holman Old Testament Commentary, 228.

3) William Ernest Henley, “Invictus”, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus.

Seven Questions to Evaluate Your Relationship with God

But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. - 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NKJV)

Paul reveals that there can be multiple vessels in the same house. Specifically, using the description of “a great house,” he shares that there can be gold, silver, wood, and clay vessels; but he clarifies that not all of them are for honorable use. There are dishonorable vessels too. His point: it’s not enough to just be in the house – even a great house – you have to personally choose to be a vessel that brings honor to God.

He further clarifies that to encourage honor in the vessels of those following God, Timothy must remind his audience of these things, “Shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase more ungodliness. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace...avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife…a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition…” (2 Timothy 2:14, 16, 22-25 NKJV)

First, the things that we must move away from:

1. SHUN inappropriate conversations

2. FLEE immature lusts

3. AVOID arguments with irrational people

4. REFUSE to quarrel needlessly
   

Now, the things we must do:

1. PURSUE faith, love, and peace

2. BE gentle

3. DEVELOP the ability to share Scriptural truth

4. EXEMPLIFY patience

5. DISPLAY humility when correcting someone

Continuing in our posts evaluating Samson's life, we again acknowledge that he was called to holiness. He was called to be set apart. But he became a dishonorable vessel.

You do not want to become a dishonorable vessel.

So, how do you know what type of spiritual vessel you are, honorable or dishonorable? First, you must choose to evaluate your life.

1. Have I surrendered my life to Jesus?

2. Am I shunning unholy things?

3. Am I fleeing immature lusts?

4. Am I pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace?

5. Am I avoiding strife-filled conversations?

6. Am I a gentle, teachable, and patient person?

7. Am I patient when attempting to correct others?

God wants to do something very awesome in your life! But you have to make sure you are a vessel unto the Lord, fully surrendered to do His will through you. Samson never learned this lesson!

Samson was always fighting against everyone else and could not seem to control the lust of his flesh. As a result, he never surrendered or expressed passion for God until his dying breath.

What if Samson had just surrendered to God?

What if he had nurtured his parents’ passion for God in his own life?

How would his story be different?

Samson can’t change his story. His life is concluded, and it is heartbreaking. But your story is still being written. You can change your story. You can be the vessel that God uses to bring glory to Himself. You can be the “honorable” vessel God uses to impact the lives of others! Allow God to do something extraordinary in your life. It’s time to pivot from a causal and meaningless relationship to a meaningful and powerful relationship with God!

You don’t want to end your life thinking about the “what if’s,” you want to live your days celebrating and remembering all the very awesome things God did for you and through you!

Please allow us to help you take your next step with God and join a meaningful community. REGISTER FOR A SMALL GROUP HERE: https://www.3trees.com/groups

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/1oio3Vr_UE4

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

That Was Awesome!

Judges 13:1-25 gives us the story of Samson’s parents, and interestingly, it is not Samson’s father, Manoah, who is revealed to be the spiritual thermostat in the household. Instead, he experienced a growing relationship with God only as a direct reflection of his wife's relationship with Heaven.

Although Samson’s mother’s name is not given in Scripture, she is the one who first receives an angelic visitation regarding a soon-coming birth. During her divine encounter, she is told that despite being barren, she will have a son, and he is to observe the Nazirite law from birth – being holy and set apart for God all of his days. She is so excited that she runs to share the fantastic news with her husband! In response, Manoah also began praying to receive proof from God of his wife’s revelation. Thankfully, the angel shows up again, speaking directly to Manoah. First, he responds with worship to the Lord for his goodness. Then, gathering an expensive sacrifice, he lays it on a rock and burns it unto the Lord. It is at this moment that the angel does something very awesome!

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So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome…So Manoah (made a sacrifice unto God)— it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground... (Judges 13:6, 19-20)

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Here, a significant transition happens in the original text of the Hebrew language. Up to this point, Manoah’s household has referred to God with the description of Adonai in the original text. But, following the extraordinary moment, they change the term to Elohim. This action is significant! Because Adonai signifies a general relationship with God, but Elohim relays personal – meaningful – connection. Transformation in their relationship with God is taking place! This revelation is so important to understand, as it represents their belief in God’s promise and demonstrates their faith and personal relationship with Him (1).

A meaningful connection was made at the altar that day!

God desires us to have that very moment with us! The moment when we move from a general relationship with Him into a meaningful connection with Him. He wants to do something very remarkable in your life! You can come into covenant with God, and it will be incredible! So stop going through the mundane motions of Christianity. God has more for you! God can move in your life just like He moved in the lives of Samson’s mother and father. Had Samson followed in his mother’s footsteps, maybe he could have avoided his downfall?

It is also essential to give this one final encouragement, as it is not to be missed. In the biographical sketch of Samson, his mother stands out in this story because of her commitment to God. Her faith brought Samson into this world and transformed her husband’s relationship with God. She was a model of faithfulness and attentiveness to God and His Word. If you are a woman or mother in an adverse situation spiritually, never underestimate the significance of your personal relationship with God and how it can affect anyone and everything around you!

I’m believing this for you, for our church, for our communities, and beyond. God is going to do something very awesome – something that changes the description of your relationship with Him from Adonai to Elohim!

Please allow us to help you take your next step with God and join a meaningful community. REGISTER FOR A SMALL GROUP HERE: https://www.3trees.com/groups

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/1oio3Vr_UE4

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

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(1) Anders and Phillips, Holman Old Testament Commentary, 186.