Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000001A
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00:27 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:29 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that 00:31 you've joined us today. 00:33 We're beginning a program of hope, of healing, 00:36 of the transformation that the Lord Jesus wants to work 00:40 in your heart and mine, as women, as daughters of God. 00:44 Are you enslaved by your emotions? 00:47 Do you feel held back from following God even though 00:50 your heart longs for Him? 00:52 Do you wonder if you can ever truly be forgiven, 00:55 experience peace, and joy in Jesus? You're not alone. 01:00 As we journey through this series we're going to be sharing 01:03 real stories of real pain, from real women, and we will see 01:09 the transformation, the healing, the hope that they have found, 01:13 and that we can experience as well. 01:16 We're beginning with a Scripture. 01:17 Our Scripture is Psalm 147:2, 3. 01:22 I love the book of Psalm. 01:23 It just runs the whole gamut of emotion. 01:25 David is so honest with God, and I love that. 01:29 Our first Scripture deals with brokenness and how 01:32 God wants to heal us. 01:36 The Lord builds up Jerusalem: he gathers together 01:41 the outcasts of Israel. 01:42 He heals the broken hearted, and binds up their wounds. 01:48 Let's pray. Father we come before You in the name of Jesus. 01:52 Thank You that You want to heal us. 01:54 Thank You that You look in, and You see the broken places 01:59 in our hearts, and that You say, I can fix that. 02:02 I can go in and I can bring healing. 02:05 We open up our hearts just now to receive 02:08 what You have to give us. 02:10 And we thank You in the precious and holy name of Jesus, Amen. 02:15 I was a young teacher fresh out of college: innocent, 02:20 and I'll have to tell you, quite naive. 02:24 She was a gorgeous girl: upper classman in academy. 02:28 She was probably 16 or 17. 02:31 She had beautiful hair, a perfect face, 02:35 perfect complexion, even white teeth, just a beautiful smile. 02:40 We'll call her Megan. 02:42 I was so caught up in the busyness of teaching 02:46 for the first time, of making lesson plans, 02:49 and grading papers, of trying to establish classroom discipline, 02:53 that I neglected to sit down and ask Megan about her heart 02:58 to see how she was really doing. 03:01 We went for a weekend; the school took all the kids for a 03:05 weekend getaway, a weekend retreat. 03:08 And on that weekend Megan asked, Miss Jill, Can I talk to you? 03:14 And I said, Of course. 03:16 So we sat down, and she looked up at me, and I was startled 03:20 to see the pain in her eyes. 03:22 How long had it been there? 03:24 How long had I not seen the pain in this beautiful girl? 03:28 She pushed up her sleeve and she said, I want to show you 03:32 something, Miss Jill. 03:33 And it occurred to me as she pushed up her sleeve that she 03:36 always wore long sleeved clothes. 03:39 And I had never noticed that before either. 03:41 It seems like long sleeved shirts, 03:43 or sweaters, or sweat shirts. 03:45 And I hadn't picked up on that. 03:46 She pushed up her sleeve, and I saw on her 03:49 arm she'd been cutting. 03:52 And I caught my breath, and I said, Oh, Megan! 03:56 No, Miss Jill, she said, I want to show you this. 03:59 And she turned her arms so that I could see they were not just 04:04 random slashes in her tender skin. 04:07 She had cut herself to spell one word, H E L P, HELP! 04:16 Even though it's been maybe fifteen years since that 04:20 experience, I can still close my eyes and I can see 04:23 the word HELP etched in blood across her skin. 04:27 Our world is full of people just like Megan; 04:32 men and women lost and alone, longing to find 04:35 the face of Jesus, but not sure where they can find it. 04:39 Can they experience hope, and health, and victory, 04:43 transformation in Jesus? 04:45 I don't know where you are right now. 04:48 You might be saying, Jill, I've been cutting. 04:50 Jill, I am even contemplating suicide. 04:54 I don't know what pain or sadness is in your heart. 04:57 I don't know what anger you're dealing with. 04:59 Maybe you're young and you say, I'm acting out against 05:03 Mom and Dad because I don't like the rules 05:05 they have set for me, and I am just not happy with life. 05:09 Maybe you're married and say, I'm mad at my husband, 05:12 or my ex-husband, or my boyfriend. 05:16 Maybe it's your kids, and you're concerned about what they're 05:20 doing, and the choices that they are making. 05:24 Maybe it's fear. Fear is a big one. 05:28 In my life, and I don't know, maybe it's big in your life. 05:31 Maybe you're afraid to live, yet terrified to die. 05:35 Maybe you have no assurance in your life of salvation. 05:40 You say, I don't know if I'm going to be saved. 05:42 I don't know if I am, right now, in a saving relationship 05:47 with the Lord Jesus. 05:48 Maybe someone that you love is dying right now, 05:52 and you're afraid to face the future without them. 05:55 Maybe you're afraid to leave the abusive 05:58 relationship that you're in, or you're afraid to tell other 06:01 people about the one you left behind. 06:04 Maybe you're afraid of what other people think of you, 06:07 or you're afraid of stepping out and doing something for 06:09 Jesus because of fear. 06:12 Maybe it's not fear, but it's resentment, or bitterness 06:15 that you have bottled up in your heart. 06:18 You can't stand to hear someone's name, 06:21 or to see someone because of that angst, 06:24 that bitterness that is inside. 06:26 Maybe it's unworthiness, and you say, I'm not worth anything. 06:30 I'm not worthy to be loved. 06:32 I'm not worthy to be protected. 06:35 I'm not worthy to be forgiven. 06:37 And I'm not worthy even to step out and to do something 06:41 for the Lord Jesus. 06:43 No matter where you fall into any one of those categories, 06:47 know that the Lord Jesus wants to bring you hope. 06:50 He wants to bring you healing. 06:52 He wants to pour in His transformation into your life. 06:57 We want to start each program with a self-evaluation. 07:01 This is something that you're not to share with your pastor, 07:04 or with your spouse, or even your best girlfriend. 07:08 This would be something that is between you and God, 07:11 something that I encourage you to be honest about. 07:16 The self-evaluation; how would you describe your relationship 07:21 with God right now? 07:22 We have six different options. 07:24 And pick the one you feel most closely fits where you are right 07:28 now in your walk with Jesus. Number one. 07:36 You can fill in the blank. 07:37 No matter where you are right now, 07:40 no matter what you're feeling. 07:41 Maybe you say, I'm mad at God because I was abused as a kid, 07:45 and He should have stopped that. 07:47 Maybe you're mad at God because of something going on in your 07:52 life right now, where someone that you love is dying, 07:54 or whatever. Maybe that's where you are. 07:57 And if you are, be honest. 07:59 Put that, I'm mad at God. Number 2. 08:14 I was doing a teen conference, and talking to young girls, 08:18 and I gave them this self-evaluation: the six 08:22 different points that we're going through. 08:23 And they did not put their name on it. 08:25 I think you can be much more honest if you 08:27 don't identify yourself. 08:29 So they did not put their name on it. 08:30 They turned them in, and I was amazed to find that most of 08:35 them were at Number 2. 08:36 Almost all the girls there felt like their relationship 08:40 with God was strained. 08:41 You know if you have a rubber band, 08:43 and you stretch it, what happens? 08:45 You get a lot of tension. 08:47 Maybe you don't feel mad with God, but you say there's a 08:50 lot of tension in our relationship. 08:52 Let's go to Number 3. 09:01 If you're here, if you feel indifferent, 09:03 you really don't care about God. 09:05 You say, He does His own thing, and that's fine. 09:08 He can do His own thing. 09:09 I'm going to do my own thing. 09:11 I remember I was talking with a young man who was an agnostic. 09:16 He said, I do believe God exists, 09:18 but I don't think He care about my life. 09:20 He would be indifferent. 09:22 Maybe you're at Number 4. 09:25 If you're at Number 4, that is polite. 09:36 Polite, maybe that's where you're at right now, 09:40 in that polite stage. 09:42 To me if you're in this stage, it would be saying, 09:45 God, if you want me to do something, I'm happy to do it, 09:48 as long as it agrees with what I want to do. 09:51 But if You say, Jill I want you to do something, 09:54 and I don't want to do it, uh uh, I'm not doing it. 09:57 God, I don't want anything to do with that. 09:59 To me this is the polite stage. 10:01 I only do it if it's something I want. 10:05 Let's look at Number 5, friends. 10:14 You know, if you have a good girlfriend, 10:17 what do you want to do? 10:18 You want to hang out. 10:20 You want to go out to eat. 10:21 You might want to go shopping together. 10:22 You want to spend time with people that you like, 10:26 with your friends. 10:27 If you're here you like God. 10:29 You want to spend time with Him. 10:31 You talk to Him, and you listen, and He talks back. 10:36 Maybe you're all the way at the other end, Number 6. 10:39 That would be passionate. 10:49 If I'm being honest with you, I would say in my own life 10:52 probably I've been at all six of these points. 10:56 I know I have. All six of them at one point or another. 11:00 But where I want to be is passionate. 11:03 I want to love the Lord Jesus. 11:06 I want to talk to Him. 11:07 I want that unbroken communion with God, and I know He wants 11:13 that for me and for you as well. 11:16 When my sister and I were growing up, we would go into 11:20 church... This story probably happened when I was maybe 11:23 five, and my sister was seven. 11:25 We would go into church and sit on the pew, and our little legs 11:29 would swing, because we were too short to reach the floor. 11:32 We had those ribbons... Our hair was tied up in ribbons, 11:37 and those little ringlets, courtesy of an awful night 11:40 on those pink sponge rollers. 11:43 I don't know if you remember those. 11:45 We had our faces scrubbed and shining, 11:47 but our hearts not so much. 11:50 Someone would walk up the isle of church, and they'd look down 11:54 and then they'd say, And how are Penney angels doing today? 11:58 Penney was our maiden name. 12:01 And my sister and I would look up and say, Ah, we're fine! 12:05 Happy Sabbath! It's so good to see you! 12:09 They would walk on. 12:10 As soon as they went my sister would jab an elbow into my ribs, 12:15 or maybe I started it. 12:17 I don't know, we're still trying to work that one out. 12:20 But our private elbow war would continue until the 12:25 next person came up. 12:26 And they would start walking up the isle, and they would say, 12:30 And how are the Penney angels doing today? 12:33 And my sister and I would look up and say, 12:36 We're fine. Thank you. 12:39 And as soon as they walked off my sister would kick me 12:43 underneath the pew. 12:44 Or maybe I kicked her. 12:46 I'm not sure. We're still deciding that one, too. 12:49 But our private war would continue with the feet until 12:53 the next person came up and asked us how we were doing. 12:57 Now as I share that story with you, you probably say, 13:00 Jill, that's very hypocritical. 13:02 And you would be right. 13:03 It was a pretty good mask that we wore; the mask. 13:08 The mask of good Christianity is pretty easy to slip on. 13:13 I ought to know, I wore it for years. 13:16 As I grew up from that age, as I grew up I learned I had to 13:22 wear a mask, and pretend to be a good Christian. 13:27 That was one of my battles. 13:29 I don't know, maybe you're experiencing that today. 13:32 Maybe someone has deeply hurt you, and your resentment is 13:36 simmering right underneath the surface, 13:38 yet you smile in church, even while you tighten the lid on 13:43 all that tumult you feel inside. 13:45 Maybe you have no peace, no assurance that you can be saved, 13:50 yet you lead out in church, maybe even give Bible studies. 13:55 Maybe you've just yelled at your kids, or your spouse, 13:59 and all of a sudden the doorbell rings. 14:02 And you go to answer it, and you say, 14:03 Hey, I'm so glad you've come. 14:06 Why don't you come in and have some lemonade? 14:09 And the kids are there, and they're watching, 14:11 and they're learning how to wear the mask. 14:15 I don't know what mask you feel like maybe you're wearing today. 14:20 On Monday night we go with some of the ladies from church 14:25 to our local jail, and minister to the women there; 14:28 give Bible studies to them. 14:30 This particular night the girls were really restless. 14:34 And we stood for prayer, and as we did I prayed 14:38 a prayer of my own. 14:39 God somehow, someway, help us reach their hearts, please. 14:45 They settled back down. 14:48 There's not a lot of room in jail. 14:50 In our room it's very small. 14:52 There's a desk, and they sit four across 14:55 on the desk, legs swinging. 14:57 There's a couple of chairs. 14:58 And the fortunate ones always get those chairs. 15:01 The rest sit cross legged on the floor, 15:04 or we have to stand along the wall. 15:07 This night, as we began the study, I asked them a question. 15:10 How would someone else describe you? 15:14 We're talking about the mask, but I didn't ask them that. 15:17 I just said, How would someone else describe you? 15:19 And they smiled, and looked at each other and thought, 15:22 this should be fun. 15:23 I nodded at the first girl. 15:25 She was usually eager to talk, and pretty excited, 15:29 so I thought she would be a good place to begin. 15:32 Oh, she said, my friends would call me mouthy. 15:36 And all the girls laughed, because, obviously, 15:39 that description fit her. 15:40 I said, Thank you! 15:42 Who else wants to share? 15:43 So around the circle we went. 15:46 They said, boisterous, and the girls laughed again. 15:50 And I thought, That's for sure. 15:52 Because during this study, she's the one who 15:53 always interrupts it. 15:55 They said, loud, quiet, pretty, funny, 16:00 individualistic, sweet, and nice. 16:03 They seemed to be having a good time as we went around. 16:06 Then I said, How would you describe yourself? 16:12 What one word would you use to describe you? 16:16 Instantly a chill settled into the room. 16:19 They looked at one another, not sure what to say. 16:23 It's okay, I said. 16:24 You can be honest. 16:26 Just share how you would describe you. 16:30 I looked at the first girl. 16:32 She was the one who was so eager to talk before. 16:34 The one who said her friends would call her mouthy. 16:38 She looked up at me, and I was surprised. 16:41 Now all that joy and joking was replaced by pain. 16:45 And she said, depressed. 16:48 And then she dropped her eyes. 16:50 I said, Thank you for being honest. 16:52 Who else wants to share? 16:54 We went around the circle. 16:57 They said, lonely, scared, confused, afraid. 17:06 And then the tears began to fall. 17:08 The next girl said, Angry. 17:11 And she kind of twisted her hands in her lap. 17:13 There was one girl remaining. 17:16 And I said, What about you, my sister? 17:18 How would you describe you? 17:21 I had to strain to catch what she said, 17:24 because she whispered so quietly. 17:26 She said, Broken. And she just cried. 17:30 How skillfully Satan weaves his web over our lives. 17:37 How he obscures God's love, and the beautiful plan 17:41 that He has for us. 17:44 But do you know what I love about God? 17:46 He doesn't look at us through the mask other people 17:49 look at us through. 17:50 Neither does He look at us through the lies that Satan has 17:53 told us about ourself. 17:55 After all, all that matters is what does Jesus think about me? 18:00 What does He think about me? 18:02 Turn with me in your Bible to Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31. 18:08 It's one of my favorite promises in the word of God; Jeremiah 31. 18:12 We're going to go real quickly here through several Scriptures 18:16 that will counteract the lies that Satan 18:18 tells us about ourself. 18:23 The Lord has appeared of old unto me, saying, Yes, I have 18:27 loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with 18:31 loving-kindness I have drawn you. 18:34 You might say, Jill, I'm not worth anything. 18:37 Jill, I'm not even worthy to be loved. 18:39 And God says, I love you! 18:41 I have loved you with an ever-lasting love. 18:44 What about John 6:37? 18:46 Jesus is speaking. 18:48 He says, Whoever comes to Me I will never cast away. 18:54 So if you come to God He's not going to say, I don't want you. 18:58 I don't want anything to do with you. 19:00 He's going to say, Come, I want to receive you. 19:04 What about John 14:27? 19:06 Jesus says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: 19:11 not as the world gives, give I unto you. 19:14 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 19:20 Are we confused? Are we afraid? 19:23 God says we don't have to be afraid. 19:25 It doesn't matter the way other people look at us 19:27 with that mask, neither does it matter what we 19:30 think about ourselves. 19:31 All that matters is what the Lord Jesus thinks about me. 19:35 What about Jeremiah 29:11? 19:38 The prophet says, Jesus says, I know the plans I have for you, 19:42 says the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, 19:46 plans to give you a future and a hope. 19:49 God says, I have a plan for your life, and it's way better 19:52 than the life that you're living right now. 19:57 The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 20:00 Jesus says, I have come that they would have life, 20:04 and have it more abundantly. 20:07 Satan's the one who brings death, destruction, evil, 20:11 and misery in this world. 20:12 God brings life, and He brings us abundant life. 20:16 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, He, Jesus Christ, 20:22 is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 20:27 from all unrighteousness. 20:29 Whatever your impurity, He's going to cleanse it. 20:33 John 16:20. Whatever our sorrow, 20:37 He will turn it to joy. 20:41 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. 20:45 What about 2 Corinthians 12:9? 20:47 Whatever my weakness, He will give me strength. 20:51 He says, My grace is sufficient for you, 20:54 for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 20:58 Do you feel weak today? 20:59 Do you feel like you're struggling, 21:01 and battling with temptation? 21:04 The Lord Jesus says, I can exchange My strength 21:08 for your weakness. 21:10 I can give you grace for what you're dealing with, 21:14 for what you're experiencing today. 21:18 Our final Scripture is Luke 4:18. 21:22 And this occurred when Jesus went back to His hometown of 21:25 Nazareth, and He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. 21:29 And Isaiah had prophesied... 21:31 This is a Messianic prophecy. 21:33 This is something where Isaiah had prophesied what 21:37 the Messiah would do. 21:39 And it said, He came to set me free. 21:42 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. 21:46 You know that verse. 21:47 He came to set us free. 21:49 I love God because He never looks at us through 21:53 the mask that we wear. 21:54 Neither does He look at us through the eyes we look 21:58 at ourself with, or through the lies that Satan 22:01 has told us about ourself. 22:03 What He says when He looks at you: He says, I love you. 22:07 I made you. I have a plan for your life. 22:11 In just a moment we're going to take a break. 22:14 And when we come back we will do some practical application, 22:18 something that you can take with you this week. 22:21 Something you can work on this week as we incorporate 22:24 the principles of Who am I in Jesus? |
Revised 2016-02-11