Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000021A
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00:25 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:26 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that you 00:29 have joined us today. 00:30 We're on a journey toward hope, toward healing, 00:34 toward the transformation that the Lord Jesus wants to work 00:38 in your heart and in mine, as women, as daughters of God. 00:43 If you're just joining us, we began our 00:46 journey with forgiveness. 00:47 The forgiveness that the Lord Jesus Christ 00:50 wants to give to us; that He wants to give to us that we can 00:54 extend that to someone else. 00:55 We moved to fear, and those bands that many 00:58 times tightly bind us. 01:01 But the Lord Jesus said He came to set us free. 01:05 Next, we moved to sadness. 01:07 Many times we experience pain and loss, but God said, 01:11 I can turn your sorrow into joy. 01:14 Next we discussed purity, and lust from a woman's perspective, 01:19 and how God wants to clothe us with the righteous white robe 01:24 of His righteousness. 01:26 Finally, we talked about pride, the boastful heart, 01:29 the critical heart, the jealous heart, the fearful heart, 01:33 the offended heart, and now we're beginning 01:37 our journey into transformation. 01:40 Our subject today is a washed heart. 01:43 Our Scripture is Ephesians 5:26, 27. 01:48 I encourage you to open up your Bibles and follow along, 01:51 or jot down the reference. 01:53 The Bible says that He, meaning Jesus, might sanctify 01:57 and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 02:01 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, 02:04 not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; 02:08 but that she should be holy and without blemish. 02:13 Let's pray. Father we come before You in the name of Jesus. 02:17 I thank You that You can wash us with the washing of the 02:21 water of Your word. 02:23 I thank You for the power in Your word; 02:26 the life giving, life transforming power that's in it. 02:31 And right now we open up our hearts to receive You, 02:35 and to receive what You want to give us from Your word. 02:39 And we thank You in the precious and the holy 02:41 name of Jesus, Amen. 02:43 The music swelled as the refrain came: 02:48 I need Thee, Oh I need Thee, Every hour I need Thee. 02:53 Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee. 02:58 My eyes traveled around the room as I looked at our girls. 03:04 They sang loudly and with gusto. 03:06 Some were off key, some were monotone, 03:11 but all sang with enthusiasm. 03:14 We stood for prayer, and we held hands as we always do 03:19 on Monday night when we're there in the jail. 03:21 My friend from church prayed that night. 03:24 Tears fell from the girls' hearts as we prayed for 03:28 shattered hearts and homes, as we asked God for deliverance 03:33 from addictions, as we prayed for the girls and their kids 03:37 who were at home, and who were hurting. 03:40 A peace filled the room, and we settled back in the 03:44 room for our study. 03:46 There were never enough seats; there never are. 03:49 So they always sit four across on the desk. 03:53 The few fortunate ones get one of the chairs, and the rest sat 03:57 cross legged on the floor, or stood along the wall. 04:02 Our study that night was on temptation. 04:05 And one of the girls, I asked them, What temptations 04:11 are you all facing now? 04:13 We went around the room: food and fear, cutting, sex, drugs. 04:21 These were the temptations that they were battling with. 04:24 And as they spoke, I was struck with the similarities: 04:28 same pain, same brokenness, same void inside that they were 04:34 trying to fill with junk, because they didn't see any way 04:37 out from their pain. 04:39 Some of the girls eagerly reach out after God, and want to 04:44 be there at the study. 04:45 But yet others were kind of giggling, 04:47 and whispering in the corner. 04:49 It was time. I pulled out the mud smeared Styrofoam cups 04:54 that I had brought, and I watched as their attention 04:58 snapped back into focus, into focus on what we were doing, 05:02 into focus on the lesson. 05:04 The first cup here was dirty outside, 05:08 and it was pretty dirty inside. 05:12 I talked about how Satan twists up our thinking, 05:17 how he defiles our hearts. 05:20 You can see it's dirty inside there, too. 05:22 And then he smears us up on the outside as well. 05:26 I think the woman who was caught in adultery, 05:29 maybe she was kind of like this dirty cup. 05:32 She was obviously caught in the act of adultery, 05:35 so there was some dirtiness inside. 05:38 But when she was dragged with all that shame and condemnation 05:42 before Jesus, you know what Jesus and all the other people 05:46 saw? the filth and the dirt. 05:48 Now Jesus didn't look at her that way, but that's how 05:51 the other people looked at her. 05:52 The next cup was dirty outside, but the tip of the cup... 05:59 You see how clean that cup is inside; there's no dirt. 06:02 I believe the thief on the cross would fall into this category. 06:07 Remember after he asked Jesus, Would You forgive me? 06:11 And Jesus said, Yes! 06:13 This was on the cross. 06:15 Jesus said, Yes, I forgive you, and you will be 06:18 with Me in heaven. 06:20 Onlookers, what did they see? 06:23 They saw dirt, they saw filth, they saw a dying thief, 06:27 but heaven looked down and saw a pure, cleansed heart, 06:33 and heaven rejoiced. 06:36 The third cup is perfectly clean outside. 06:40 It looks pretty nice. 06:41 But if I were to tip the inside, you can see the filth 06:45 inside of that cup. 06:46 We talked about hypocritical Christians, 06:50 Pharisaical Christians; the outside looks pretty good, 06:55 but inside is filthy. 06:57 The final cup represents the purity of Jesus: pure white 07:05 on the outside, and pure white on the inside. 07:10 That's what God wants to do. 07:12 That's the transformation that He wants to work in your 07:18 heart, and in mine. 07:19 A woman, I'll call her Karen, she raised her hand 07:22 and then she said, I know which cup I am. 07:25 And I said, Oh Karen, which cup is that? 07:28 Oh, she said, I'm this one, picking up the one that's dirty 07:34 outside, but clean inside. 07:37 She said, I'm in jail. 07:40 I know God has changed my heart, 07:43 but no one else can see that. 07:45 I look filthy, I look dirty. 07:49 Tears filled my eyes. 07:52 Karen was not a dirty cup at all, only she couldn't see it. 07:56 We had known her for several months there in jail, 08:00 how Jesus had changed her life, from her countenance 08:04 change, from guarded and dark, to open transparent sunshine. 08:10 She shared Jesus with the other girls in the jail there. 08:14 She studied her Bible, she witnessed. 08:18 She wasn't a dirty cup at all, only she could not see that. 08:22 I picked up the pure white cup and slowly held it out to Karen. 08:28 I said, You know what? this is what we see when we look at you. 08:34 We don't see even the fact that you're in jail. 08:38 Yes, you're in jail. We know that. 08:40 But the transformation, the transforming grace of Jesus has 08:45 cleansed your heart, and it has spilled over onto the outside. 08:50 When we see you, we see a woman of God. 08:53 We see a woman who loves God. 08:55 We see the transforming power, and grace 08:58 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 09:01 I think God wants to make each one of us into 09:04 the pure white cup. 09:06 And whether you feel like, I'm dirty outside; I'm smudged. 09:10 And I sure am dirty inside. 09:11 Or whether you feel like, I look dirty outside, 09:15 but I know God's changed my heart. 09:17 Or whether you feel like, Boy, I'm pretty good! 09:20 Probably, you might have a little dirt outside. 09:23 No matter which cup you feel like you are today, the Lord 09:27 Jesus says, I can clean you up from the inside out. 09:31 Oh the glorious difference that happens when Jesus changes 09:36 our hearts and our lives. 09:40 Sometimes transformation occurs gradually. 09:44 I think about the subtle changes. That happens. 09:48 Sometimes He cleans us up inside; 09:50 people outside can't see it yet. 09:52 But you know what? pretty soon the change begins to trickle 09:57 down our face, and clean us up on the outside. 10:00 Other times Jesus does an immediate transformation in our 10:05 heart, and instantly we are clean. 10:09 Such was the case with the woman I'll call Jane. 10:12 She came to our women's prayer group at the church. 10:14 This was a few years ago. 10:16 And she was radiating joy and peace. 10:19 Now in her former life she was an alcoholic. 10:22 She walked into the prayer circle and she said, 10:25 I feel like Jesus has done a 180 in my life: complete turnaround. 10:30 I was going this way. 10:31 All of a sudden I turned, and I'm going this way now. 10:36 She said, The things I used to love are now 10:38 almost repulsive to me. 10:40 It's as if I have a brand new heart. 10:43 I thought of Hebrews 10 as soon as she said that. 10:46 I thought of Hebrews 10:16. 10:49 The Bible says, This is the covenant that I will make with 10:53 them after those days, says the Lord; I will put my law 10:57 into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them. 11:01 That's what God was doing with Jane's life. 11:04 He was putting His law into her mind, and writing it in her 11:08 heart, and she was truly totally transformed. 11:12 2 Corinthians 5:17. 11:14 If anyone is in Christ, he or she, is a new creation: 11:19 old things, they've passed away; behold, 11:22 all things have become new. 11:26 We're talking today about the washed heart, or you could say, 11:29 transformation through the word of God. 11:33 Let's take a look at our self evaluation. 11:36 If I look into my heart, how much do I love the word of God? 11:46 As always, be honest with this. 11:50 Number 1 12:04 Number 2 12:14 Maybe you're at number 3. 12:28 And finally, 4. 12:44 No matter where you feel you are, right there in that, 12:48 in your desire for the word of God, or not desire 12:51 for the word of God, God wants to transform us. 12:54 We're going to look at two aspects, two things that the 12:57 word of God does for us. 12:59 1. The word of God transforms us. 13:02 The word of God is one of the most powerful cleansing 13:05 agents that I know of. 13:07 Ephesians 5:26, that was our Scripture verse, it talks about 13:11 how we are cleansed through the washing of the 13:13 water of the word. 13:15 In addition, I want to turn back just a couple of chapters 13:20 to Hebrews 4:12. The Bible says, For the word of God is living, 13:26 and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 13:30 piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 13:33 joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 13:37 and intents of the heart. 13:39 Three things jump out at me in this passage: 13:42 1. The word of God is living. 13:45 In the Greek...If you look it up in the Greek, you know what 13:49 it means? The word of God is lively and quick, energetic. 13:55 The word of God is alive. 13:58 It has power to transform your heart and mine. 14:03 The word of God has power. 14:06 Think about when God created the world. 14:09 What did He do? He spoke and it came into existence. 14:15 He spoke and instantly the world was formed. 14:20 Light came, sun, moon, and stars were formed, 14:23 the oceans were teaming with fish, the birds flew. 14:28 He spoke and the dry land appeared, and the grass, 14:32 and the animals. He spoke and it was done. 14:35 Tremendous power in the word of God. 14:40 That's what the word of God can do in your heart, and in mine. 14:45 The word of God is lively. 14:47 The word of God changes us. 14:49 John 6:63, Jesus says, The words I speak to you, 14:53 they are spirit, and they are life. 14:56 You know what that says? 14:57 Not only the word of God way back at creation, 15:00 that says God's word, what I'm holding in my hands right here, 15:04 has transformational power. 15:07 His word is alive. 15:10 His word is spirit and life; they are spirit and life. 15:13 2. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. 15:18 Remember it said that in our Scripture in Hebrews 4:12? 15:20 The word of God penetrates. 15:23 Shelley Quinn always says the first edge strikes 15:26 when He spoke it. 15:28 The second edge strikes when I speak it. 15:32 Remember it said the word of God is as a two-edged sword? 15:35 The first edge struck when He spoke the word. 15:38 The second edge strikes when I choose to speak His word 15:42 alive over my life. 15:45 Finally, the word of God judges us. 15:48 It divides, remember? soul and spirit, joints and marrow. 15:53 It judges my thoughts and the attitudes of my heart. 15:56 The word of God shows me my heart, and my sins, 15:59 not to discourage me, but that way I can turn to Jesus, 16:04 and He can transform me. 16:07 We're talking about how the word of God transforms us; 16:11 the life giving power in the word of God. 16:15 There's a woman, I'll call her Sarah, due to a combination 16:19 of several factors, chemical imbalance in the brain, 16:23 some other issues, she landed in the psyche ward 16:27 in a local hospital. 16:28 One of the women from church and I decided to go visit her. 16:32 We talked of many different things as we drove up, 16:35 but as we neared the hospital, our talk slowed. 16:38 What could we say? 16:40 What could we even do that would make any difference? 16:43 I had no idea. We parked in the parking lot, 16:46 and we closed our eyes, and we prayed. 16:49 We prayed for Sarah. 16:50 We asked that the Lord Jesus would use us somehow, some way, 16:55 to be a blessing to Sarah. 17:00 We went into the hospital. 17:03 We checked our bags into the little locker that they have 17:06 reserved for visitors. 17:08 Then they let us into the room where Sarah was. 17:12 I'll never forget how hopeless she was, 17:18 how much pain she was in, how much she struggled, 17:24 tears coursing down her cheeks. 17:27 We held hands and we prayed with her. 17:31 We hugged her. We tried to sing songs. 17:35 We listened to her. 17:36 We held her. Nothing worked, nothing. 17:41 And I thought, Well, I guess it was kind of fruitless. 17:46 And then all of a sudden I had a thought: 17:49 read the word of God to her. 17:52 And I opened up my Bible to Psalm 91. 17:59 I love this whole Psalm. It's incredible! 18:03 I opened up my Bible to that Psalm, and I began to read it, 18:08 inserting Sarah's name into the words, and looking directly 18:13 into her eyes as I read. 18:15 Sarah dwells in the secret place of the Most High. 18:20 I'm in Psalm 91:1-4. 18:22 Sarah abides under the shadow of the Almighty. 18:27 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; 18:34 Sarah trusts in Him. 18:36 God will deliver Sarah from the snare of the fowler, 18:41 and from the pestilence. 18:42 God is covering Sarah with His feathers, and under His wings 18:48 she is taking refuge. 18:51 I have never in my entire life seen such a radical change 18:57 as the word of God made that day in Sarah's life. 19:01 As I read the rocking ceased, the sobs stopped, and she looked 19:09 into my eyes, and I could see some measure of peace 19:13 being restored to her. 19:15 You know what happened? 19:16 That is the power of the word of God. 19:20 I've experienced a transformation of God's word 19:23 many times in my own life, and in the lives 19:26 of those that I love. 19:27 But I don't think I've ever seen such an immediate, radical 19:31 transformation as I did that day. 19:34 1. The word of God transforms us. 19:37 2. The word of God empowers us. 19:42 Remember Jesus when He was, after His baptism, He was led 19:46 into the wilderness. 19:48 He spent 40 days, 40 nights being without food, fasting, 19:57 praying, pleading with His Father in Heaven 19:59 for His upcoming mission. 20:02 We find this story in Matthew 4, Mathew 4. 20:07 And remember? Satan came to Him after forty days of struggle. 20:12 And how did Jesus meet the temptation? 20:14 It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, 20:19 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 20:23 The word of God gives us power over temptation. 20:28 Do you feel weak? Are you struggling with a temptation 20:32 with an addiction, with a stronghold in your life today? 20:37 The word of God has power to empower you and to strengthen 20:42 you, and to give you victory with that. 20:44 Lets jump to John 8:32, John 8:32. 20:52 I've told you many times, I love the book of John. 20:56 And I think it's one of my favorites. 20:57 We're at John 8:32. 21:01 Jesus says, If you abide in My word,... 21:04 There's the word. 21:05 ...you are My disciples. 21:07 And you shall know the truth, and the truth 21:11 shall set you free. 21:13 The word of God sets us free. 21:17 Are you enslaved? Are you addicted? 21:20 Do you need to be set free? 21:23 Spend time in the word of God. 21:26 One of our Monday night's when we visited with the girls 21:30 in jail, there was a girl there, I'll call her Danielle. 21:34 She said she had been in jail before. 21:38 And when I walked in I said, What are you doing here? 21:42 I mean she had been there maybe six months. 21:45 And then she had gotten out, and everything had been okay. 21:47 And I said, What are you doing here? 21:50 I don't understand. 21:51 She said, Oh Jill, she said, I got picked up again. 21:56 I was really sorry, and I said, I'm so sorry. 22:00 And she said, When I was out again, I know what I went to 22:04 jail for the first time, but when I was out again, she said, 22:08 I got high again. She said, I was in my living room. 22:12 One of my family members died in my arms from a drug overdose. 22:19 And she said, Jill, I walked away from that, 22:23 and I went right out and I got high again. 22:28 She went right out and got high again. 22:32 She said, I need to be set free. 22:35 I want to be set free from this addiction, 22:38 from this bondage that I am in. 22:41 The word of God has life transforming power. 22:46 It transforms us. It empowers us. 22:50 It can set us free. 22:52 Now in her case we also encouraged her to get involved 22:55 in AA, get involved in support. 22:57 There's other things needed. 22:59 But the word of God has power to change us. 23:03 I want to encourage you to practice the word of God. 23:06 Get into it. Study it. 23:08 Seek to memorize those passages from it, because it's going to 23:12 make a radical change in your heart, and in your life. 23:16 We need to take a short break here, and when we come back 23:19 we always like to do application; something that you 23:22 can take with you this week in your journey toward freedom, 23:27 toward transformation, toward deliverance in Jesus. |
Revised 2016-05-03