THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART
THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4)
This is a Scripture that was often quoted by televangelist Jim Bakker. Bakker had a popular television program called the PTL (Praise the Lord) club. It began in 1974. Bakker preached that poverty was a curse and that God’s people should all be rich. Apparently he believed that if you “delighted” in the Lord “you” could “have” anything “you” wanted to “have”! As proof of this he lived in a 40 room mansion with an air conditioned dog house, and had 12 cars. His opulent life style became a model, or an example, to convince his followers that they could send in their offerings and also have anything they desired!
The question is: “Was God Jim Bakker doling what “he” desired or what “God” desired?
If you find that question difficult to answer, this next question will be easier. Bakker apparently had sex with a 21 year old secretary in his ministry in 1980. Her name is Jessica Hahn. Now answer this question, did this “desire” to have sex with this girl, to whom he was not married, come from “himself” or from “God”? Obviously it did not come from God! The accusation was apparently true for in 1987 a newspaper called the Charlotte Observer discovered that Bakker had paid Jessica Hahn $279,000 to keep quiet about what he did.
Sadly the whole PTL “ministry” was millions of dollars in debt and collapsed like a house of cards. In 1988. After a 16-month federal grand jury probe, Bakker was indicted on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy. In 1989, after a five-week trial a jury found him guilty on all 24 counts. Judge Robert Daniel Potter sentenced Bakker to 45 years in federal prison and imposed a $500,000 fine.
A sentence-reduction hearing, however, was held on November 16, 1992, and Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years. In August 1993, he was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison in Jesup, Georgia. Bakker was paroled in July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence.
Bakker has apparently repented of his false teaching and wrote a book while in the federal prison at Rochester, Minnesota. The book is titled I Was Wrong! He wrote: “I have asked God to forgive me and I ask all who have sat under my ministry to forgive me for preaching a gospel emphasizing earthly prosperity.”
It is possible, as you know, to twist the Scriptures to your own destruction (2 Peter 3:14-16)!
WHAT IS GOD’S DESIRE?
It is obvious that God’s desire is not for people to be greedy or to commit fornication. The Psalmist was not promising that those who delight in the Lord would have bad desires. The promise was that those who delight in the Lord would be so close to God that his desires would become their desires. This is the very essence of conversion! Conversion means that we die to our own desires and do the will of God. Remember the prayer of Jesus: “Not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) This should also be our prayer! When we are truly converted to Christ we “desire” to do his will and
not our own. Paul said it like this: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20).
Yes! When we delight in Lord He gives us the desire of our heart but these are new desires that come directly from God. When Christ lives in us we will want what he wants. Ezekiel predicted: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) Note that it is God’s Spirit in our heart that causes us to follow his decrees and keep his commandments.
The good news is that when we delight in the Lord God not only gives us new desires which come from him, but also gives us the power to make those desires come true: Paul wrote: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil. 2:12-13) Both the desire, and the ability to make that desire come true, come from God.
DID THE APOSTLES LIVE LUXURIOUS LIVES?
The answer is “no”! Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” (1 Cor. 4:9- 13)
Paul wrote these inspired words from Ephesus: “But I will stay at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened for me, and there are many who oppose me.” (1 Cor. 16:8-9)
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Here is the “open door - “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:8-10)
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Here was his opposition - “About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus
and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.” (Acts 19:23-31)
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Here is where they got their money - “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:33-35)
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Obviously Paul and his companions did not live luxurious lives in Ephesus - “To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.” (1 Cor. 4:11)
DID JESUS LIVE A LUXURIOUS LIFE?
No! Jesus did not live a luxurious life style either. Jesus did not live in a 40 room mansion like Jim Bakker did. When a teacher of the law wanted to follow Jesus, “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’” (Matt. 8:20)
When the disciples of Jesus disputed about which of them was the greatest: “Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-27)
When someone asked Peter: “Does your teacher pay the temple tax? “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.” (Matt. 17:24-27) Jesus obviously didn’t carry around large sums of money.
Neither was Jesus wasteful. When he had fed 5,000 men plus women and children with a small meal of 5 loaves and 2 fish, he commanded his disciples: “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let
nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” (John 6:12-13). Please ponder this remarkable fact! Jesus could have easily saved his apostles the trouble of gathering those pieces that were left over. Jesus had the power to create enough food to feed thousands of people without even using one fragment. Instead, however, Jesus chose to teach his disciples the importance lesson of not being wasteful.
We have no record of Jesus and his apostles eating at expensive restaurants, but we do have evidence that they were fed by a group of faithful women who ministered to him out of their own means (Luke 8:1-3).
THE LESSON OF CONTENTMENT
Jesus once told his disciples: “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.” (Luke 10:3-8)
Jesus and the twelve obviously did not complain about the food provided for him by women mentioned above. These women included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others (Luke 8:1-3). Complaining is not a virtue. The Scriptures command: “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” (Phil. 2:14) Paul and Silas didn’t even complain when they were unjustly beaten and placed in prison with their feet in the stocks. Their prayers, and their hymns of praise, however, resulted in leading the jailer and his whole family to receive Christ (Acts 16:22-40).
Here is the way Paul expressed his philosophy of life to the Philippians: “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Phil. 4:10-20)
FOOD AND CLOTHING
Here is Paul’s inspired advice to Timothy: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap
and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Tim. 6:6-10)
There were obviously times in Paul’s life when he had plenty (Phil. 4:12) but reminded Timothy that all he really needed was food and clothing. As long as we have something to eat and something to protect us from the weather, we should be content. In Paul’s last letter he asked Timothy to bring the cloak that he left at Troaz (2 Tim. 3:13). He also wrote: “Do your best to get here before winter.” (2 Tim. 3:21).
Paul brought a large sum of money to Jerusalem for the poor saints in Judea. Felix knew this and keep Paul in prison “Hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe.” (Acts 24:26). This, however, was not Paul’s money, it was the Lord’s money. When Paul brought this money to Jerusalem he wisely had a team of men chosen by the churches to travel with him and insure that the money was used for the purpose it was given. He did this to avoid criticism and to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord and also in the eyes of men. Please consider: “Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany usas we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.” (2 Cor. 8:16-21)
PAUL’S DESIRE
Remember! “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4) Paul delighted in the Lord and here is the desire the Lord gave him: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowingChrist Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently,
that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” (Philippians 3:7-17)
WHEN WE DELIGHT IN THE LORD, THIS WILL ALSO BE OUR DESIRE!