GOD GIVES ME A BIG HEART
Fresh Start #7
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, May 19, 2024
(1 Kings 4:29, Message) “God gave Solomon wisdom—the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn’t handle.”
(Colossians 1:15–20, NLT) “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”
God’s Word gives us a captivating picture of our identity, purpose, and virtues.
1. I AM A COMPLEX PERSON.
(Psalm 139:14, NLT) “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”
(Exodus 33:16, NLT) “For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”
a. What is your relational capacity?
b. Do you understand the relationships in your life?
Replenishing _____ Neutral _____ Diminishing _____
c. Jesus modeled relational health.
In my unique complexity, what complicates my relationships?
2. A fear of exposure?
“Exposure frees us to take in the humanity of our own failure and humiliation.”- Dan Allender
(Genesis 3:7–9, NLT) “they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. … they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
3. A fear of disapproval?
· “I did something bad.” Guilt
· “I am bad.” Shame
(Luke 19:6–7, NLT) “Zacchaeus quickly … took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner, …”
4. A fear of losing control?
(Mark 14:55, NLT) “The leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any.”
A Story of a Big Heart
(Acts 13:22, NIV) “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;”
(2 Samuel 9:8, AMP) “And [the cripple] bowed himself and said, What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?”
Growthwork
I MUST LEARN TO LIVE IN GOD’S LOVE
(1 John 4:7-8, 18, NLT) “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. … Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
(1 Corinthians 13:7, NLT) “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”