The Desires of the Heart [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright desire can be unreliable like just a fantasy of wish fulfillment desire like hunger itself has been put within us by the creator, so here's here's a verse of the key for me. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your debts Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life for a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britton excited for you to hear today's message in the series called praying with power as presented at renewal the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer.

Contact us at pastoralan.org that's Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860.

More on that later in the program but right now let's get started with today's teaching in the series praying with our here is Alan Wright Matthew seven verse seven.

Here's the text asking to be given to you seek and you will find not in the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives who seeks finds and knocks the door will be open. Father, we just thank you for the promise of your word with thank you so much that you've allowed us the participants in the unfolding of the good news of the kingdom of God on earth, we join with the early disciples and once again saying, Lord, teach us to pray so that we pray effectively fervently with the righteous results and with power for the kingdom's sake and Jesus name, amen, amen. Okay, if you had a genie and got three wishes. You know what would be your three which is across writing is what I wish for unlimited wishes okay but if you couldn't get the unlimited wishes. You know, what would you want with your three wishes and I sent to you this morning is God like a magic genie in a bottle it would say got proud of you for saying that I said that it birds and 9 o'clock and only one person said no in each line so we've lived warily for laying background right now God is not a magic genie in a bottle and wising out a magazine about where the fundamental thing. If you pick up from like you'll see in right there is that when the genie spoke to Aladdin the genie called Aladdin the master let's be clear about one thing God our father is the king and the master where not the master of God right so there's a first reason why that you understand he's not a genie in a bottle because we don't own God. He is sovereign and free and powerful, and almighty and he's the king and he's a master and so he's not a genie in a bottle and yet we have this extraordinary promise asking you'll receive and in fact what we see in the Scripture over and over is something that is just startling and that is that God is keenly interested in what you want desires are okay in some ways I know our desires unreliable and we have so often we have no fantasies about wishes that we like to see come true. On Friday night.

I hadn't had this kind agreement so long and you know I just I but it was one of the great dreams and alarm went off right in the no mess me up because I dreamt I was flying there dreaming of flying and I would fly mean it was like that one like I was no flying with any other apparatus ring. I was just flying. I could just soar could just I could just float where I want to float and and and just feel kind of sore a little bit and I could move around not limited by you know the dust of the earth. No no limitations just totally free. I was flying and the alarm went off in the middle of one of my flying adventures and I was mad at that alone you get even a dream so good is like oh rats and saw go back tomorrow. Then I jump back in bed close: I am getting back into this dream that I would try to try to get back into one and and and now you're just can get back into your tribe you can, and finally in note because I gotta get up and even if I just sent the photo coveralls and go I can't fly, and I can hardly walk to the bathroom. I'm so tired right now you know.

But you just get up news go there because your eyes. It was a fantasy. You wish you could fly but you can't fly and so the wishing that you could can make you come to dream up a fantasy. So here's what some atheists you know would say at least part of the reasoning against against the existence of God is, they would say it lately.

Some people would say great this website your wishes and desires that can't be fulfilled.

What you want them to be fulfilled so you project the idea of a God who could fulfill those things so that you could enjoy a sense of fantasy about them being fulfilled.

No different than having a dream about being able to fly but is just fantasy and you really can't is not want to be fulfilled. But you project this on to an image that you call God. And this this so-called God is what you look to this going to be able to fulfill these these wishes. And so that a lot of of what religion is this just fantasy about wish fulfillment. That's not going to take place and if you say so therefore it's a waste of your time to pursue God like that. This idea of God, but you should be spending your time just cultivating your own skills because you're the only thing this will make any difference in the world. So that's that's kind of the argument like that and you could say well yeah we do understand that there are wishes that we have that are just wishes and they are not rooted in any reality and and maybe it could points of you can you could see that. But isn't there another way of looking at this and that is that there are a lot of your desires hunger within you that is. And there is another way in which it often does point to the fact that something does exist when the baby comes into the world and is never tasted milk and cries for milk before the milk is ever come. Isn't it kind of like proof that the milk exists in other words, there is a hunger that causes a longing that the baby doesn't even know what it is. Can't say the word milk never seen milk never tasted milk sure can tell you about the various nutrients in a mother's milk and yet everything inside the little infant is yearning for the milk didn't do everything about this.

The fact that you are so hot you get hungry for food sort of proves that food must exist.

Your hunger that you feel just for food him even if you didn't know that food existed. If you just would drop tear from Mars and you just suddenly a human being and you're out in the middle of nowhere and and just send them know that years like something is just hurting here.

You don't even know what you're supposed to eat you just have a hunger for something that makes you so convinced that there there must be food, so what would you do if you start seeking food.

What you the very hunger that you have causes you to seek so that you will find.

And the reason you're seeking, so that you will find is because the hunger with you has made you convinced that it must exist to you last you'll see kill not you do whatever you can to get some food because you just know I'm hungry. Well, right. But is this way with other things that are deeper things of life, like love, were born within a need for love to love and be loved as well.

If you're in a relationship and is not real love and it's not that is not being shown. This is it's in there you're not experiencing unconditional love. Don't you just know you're not satisfied because you know there's something better than this. Even children that have come from abusive homes under all the layers of hurt and all the wounds and sometimes of calloused around the heart. But still, underneath that there is a heart that is yearning to be loved talent right will have more teaching moment from today's important series prayer as a Christian you know it's important and you want to make it a priority. If you're like most your parent can slip so easily into routine fervor and passion.

Maybe you're wondering what is the key to praying with willpower in Ephesians chapter 6. The apostle Paul has a clear answer, praying in the spirit spirit. Some would say that Paul is referring to spiritual gift and a supernatural prayer language Megan Allen writes unique series, praying with power Pastor Alan reveals five different ways of praying and spirit. Discover how praying God's word is praying and spirit. Learn how to listen to the spirit as you pray, come to see Jesus as your prayer partner. It's practical. It's powerful to pastor our nights praying with power. Discover the power of praying in the spirit change your prayer life and you change the world to get to Alan Wright ministry said I will send you Pastor Alan's messages through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer were in the final days of this special offer being made available to you.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from our night ministries.

Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor.

Our in.work. Today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan writing the very fact that we so need that kind of unconditional love is to me a proof that the unconditional love exists and isn't it true that it even your best moments in life.

I mean the happiest moments, the great great moments of life where everything is going wonderfully. I mean just whatever it might be.

Imagine yourself in that moment. Isn't it true that even in that moment there is still a sneaky suspicion underneath it. There's more than this. This is an all that there is no line because ultimately we yearning for heaven itself. I believe that, just as surely as a baby's cry for milk is evidence that milk must exist.

So it is that the deepest yearning of humanity's heart is the very evidence that we were created for God and Augustine was right, our hearts will forever restless.

Be until they rest, oh Lord, with the so desire can be unreliable like just fantasy of wish fulfillment, but desire like hunger itself has been put within us by the creator, so here's here's a verse with the key for me. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

He's given me so many desires of my heart.

Let's start with the basic piece of good news that took me at least two decades of ponder before I finally accepted that this is true because it almost doesn't sound like good theology, but I want your Stan I am so committed to write theology. Typical theology, but this I'm absolutely convinced the true God wants to give you what you want. He does.

I base this on so many scriptures, not least of which, when Jesus himself says if you earthly fathers want to give good gifts to your children, how much more so does a perfect heavenly father want to give good gifts to his children.

I base this also on just the only way that we can understand prayer is relationally because as you try to understand prayer or some kind of formula or something that you're over into just religious stuff, but this is a relationship that we have like a child to a father and so I can understand some things because I'm privileged to be a father and one thing I know for sure it even though I must have a sinful man, even though I'm on my mind is still distorted and I lose my patience and so what I know that I'll love to give my children what they want.

Don't you give somebody what they actually want me to go to the trouble to give somebody a present because you care for them. I'm not Tom but we're doing it just out of duty or compulsion or something like that. You're just you know trying to do protocol and no, but given a gift to semi because you love and you give them a gift.

Don't you want to give them what they want. You know you don't want to give them something then and find out they only like that you know like that at all. I mean, what it is like the time that Christmas and we we thought we got a really nice little food volcanic game for my nephew Christopher that I was about five or something like that and you know he's just a little boy and he opened it I said oh I hate these things and appreciated his honesty about it, but no, I'd like to know what he wanted.

You know so that we got him some. He didn't hate, but you watch the parents in that situation won't know know you love it like the things I give them what they want to get what they will want to know what this is. The strange thing about it is a paradox, but it's almost like my generosity is in itself has self interest in it.

I get it it's all tied together because why do I love to give my children what they want because it is me so much it causes me joy to see them have joy that's just it causes me joy to see my children be blessed in a way that they wanted to be blessed. It causes me to tears of joy to watch them come to the realization of a long dream or reach some goal that they have anticipated and work toward and it comes to fruition. That blesses me even more to see that come to pass it out. I want to see the things that they want.

I want to see it come to pass and not just plainly sounds like it just makes me happy. It just makes me happy.

Could you just, could you just suspend everything else that shaman lies have taught you about what you and your father in heaven knew your relationship and just listen for just this moment and be sure you get this. Your father in heaven wants to give you what you want because it causes him joy to see his children blessed. It's an astounding thought.

And it's true. I got a real advantage over us and that we don't always know what the other one wants. So we get them a gift card because it might be who I hate these things so and you don't even know you can love with your wife for 22 years and still not really know what she wants.

Let's face it, no matter how great we get to know each other.

We still have to go around saying you like this. Do you like this will what you think of this because we don't fully know. Here's an astounding thing. Not only does God want to give you what you want he knows what you hope so here though for a father is a dilemma I want to give my children what they want, but I can't give them everything they want because some of their wants are not mature enough or based in enough wisdom to be healthy for them so the parent can't give a child everything the child wants can't do it would be if it is just some things I just can't lunge the ice cream only ice cream and Doritos and pizza you just can't do that, you know, I mean, uses you can't and you can't let your children stay up know all night long, every night I mean sometimes I think my children are just like this is their main goal is always just keep existing up I mean is just this is one of the challenges of parenthood is just getting somebody to go to bad I mean just you know it's time for bed but I can't envision a scenario in which it be like hey would you guys like to stay up another 45 minutes and watch the show need some popcorn. I'm not mingled, you know, pack a little early like that I don't do that. They don't do that doing so you know they have say can I please stay up longer you have to say no go get in the bed now as ever, now that you have to come in, you know, make your feet hurt a little bit like this.

I mean, anyway, it's just you can't get what is a dilemma for me because it causes me joy to give them what they want, and yet I can't always get what they want because they don't always want things that are good for them and so I got I got a dilemma about this so what do I do as a parent. What I do is I shift my strategy and my strategy is not, let me say about how I can be the magic genie to give them all their wishes and I shift my strategy towards me molding their heart and their character so that increasingly as they grow up. The things that they want will be more healthy more noble more pure more godly more right because the more that they want that. The more I will be free to give it to them tomorrow will be free to share with them is a so we shift our strategy as parents it was that you know my job is not just to give you the things that you want.

My job is to help you walk the right things because my ultimate goal is I want to give you what you want. It causes me joy. But if you don't want things that are in accord with what will be good and right. Then I will not be able to share those things with you and so were trying to mold their lives are going to things and bring the designs prayer as a Christian you know it's important and you want to make it a priority. If you're like most your parent can slip so easily into routine fervor and passion. Maybe you're wondering what is the key to praying with willpower in Ephesians chapter 6. The apostle Paul has a clear answer, praying in the spirit spirit. Some would say that Paul is referring to spiritual gift and a supernatural prayer language Megan Allen writes unique series, praying with power Pastor Alan reveals different ways of praying and spirit. Discover how praying God's word is praying and spirit.

Learn how to listen to the spirit as you pray, come to see Jesus as your prayer partner.

It's practical. It's powerful to pastor our nights praying with power. Discover the power of praying in the spirit change your prayer life and you change the world. You need to get to Alan Wright Ministries today seem to pastor Arlington messages through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer were in the final days of this special offer being made available to you. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor. Our in.work. Today's teaching is praying the desires of your heart is bringing our desires as they are to God or should we filter them first will what we really going to focus in on is what this means to have the desires of your heart.

When our desires start being motivated and matching what God's highest and best is for us then in a real sense our desires or going to be fulfilled by God because he put those desires down deep within us, but there are many things that we might call desires that are simply fleshly or selfish or or would even be destructive for us and God doesn't honor the right, so there is a way in which you bring power into your prayer life by allowing the Holy Spirit to do the continuing work in your heart so that the desires of your heart become the very desires the goddess planted there. That's were learning about. If you only caught part of today's teaching.

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