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Cultivating our Hearts (Living a Focused Life)
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Month 6 classes
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Class 1: Cultivating Our Hearts
Class 2: Application - Creating a Weekly Schedule
Class 3: Psalm 103 Meditation
Class 4: Listening Prayer
Class 5: Journaling
Class 6: Listening Prayer
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TEaching - Cultivating Our Hearts
I. THE NEED FOR VISION AND FOCUS
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18)
As we go through life, we must have a goal of what we want—a vision. Otherwise, we will simply be carried along by the current of our community and our culture. We may say we value God and prayer and friends but without a plan—without a decision in our hearts that this is where we want to go—you will find that 1 year, 5 years, and then 10 years go by and you haven’t progressed in your life they way you had dreamed.
All sorts of things are necessary to live a full life, but only one thing needs to be your primary concern.
II. One thing:
Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
4 One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
Luke 10:42 (NASB)
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Phil 3:13-14
13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Moving from dullness to vibrancy in our hearts is a process—day by day. The way back to delighting in God is the same way we came out. We do not wake up one day with a dull heart. The journey into boredom is a process. We have a part to play.
The “one-thing”s are not the only things but they are primary. Your deepest longings should not be marriage, success, money, recognition, etc. We desire to be consumed with the glory and beauty of God.
Settling this for ourselves in our hearts reorients our lives. It changes everything. Remember the woman at the well. Jesus offered her living water and said she would never thirst again. This drinking is not a once-and-you-done experience. We see this repeatedly in the book of Acts. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. Then they prayed and were filled again in Acts chapter 4. Then again. Then again. The drinking of the Spirit is a day-in day-out thing.
Our desire needs to be being with Jesus; walking through our life with him. We do it like Mary did. We listen to him and we do the everyday tending of our hearts. This is not a one sided deal, Jesus desires it as well. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17: 24).
How do we walk this out? We get into the word of God. We do it to encounter God not to win arguments. Reading the Bible feeds our hearts though often we don’t feel it. We put the truth in our minds and hearts. We surround ourselves with it. We immerse ourselves with it. Slowly, it transforms our lives. It starts to change the way we think. It changes the way we react to situations around us. It changes our emotions and the longings of our hearts. The most influential voice in your life will be your own mouth. Speak the word of God over yourself. Find the promises in scripture and declare them over your life.
III. COMPONENTS OF A FOCUSED LIFE
A. Overall life vision – primary purpose in life
B. Life goals – applying my life vision to each specific area of my life.
Long-term goals (over 10 years) and short-term goals (3 months–3 years)
1. Spiritually (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.)
2. Relationally (family, friends, etc.)
3. Vocation (marketplace calling, etc.)
4. Ministry (in the church, outside the church, etc.)
5. Economically (spending, giving, saving, investing, etc.)
6. Physically (exercise, health, diet, etc.)
7. Rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.)
C. Action plan – for each long and short-term goal in each area of your life.
D. Schedule – for each action plan, i.e., focuses us to prioritize. This is where our life vision most easily is derailed and lost.
The Lord says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." 15 See then that you walk wisely, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:14–17)
Based on teachings from Mike Bickle and Stuart Greaves.
Application - Cultivating Our Hearts
Once we have decided in our hearts that we want to pursue God—once we have decided that we want to be a people of one thing—then we must think about how that choice will become a reality in our lives. If you do not fill your time, someone else will. This is the tyranny of the urgent.
Today we are going to create an action plan for what we want out of life. Know this; you will not keep this plan perfectly. If you fulfill this plan 80% of the time, you are doing well. 80% of achieving your goal is better than doing 100% of nothing. When you squander your time, you squander your destiny.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18)
We need insight into who we are or we wander around squandering our lives.
We MUST know where we are going. In order to get where you want to go, you must learn how to control your schedule (time). We take hold of what God has called us to do by growing in the skills necessary for the calling. For most of us, this includes developing a prayer life, digging deeply into Scripture, working on our character, developing skills for a trade (education), etc.
What we are going to do today:
-Create goals for our lives. (Think about God’s promises over you)
-What is the vision for your life?
-This can change as you develop and grow as a person
-What do you want to be true of you when you are 50?
-What do you want to be true about you when you stand before the Lord at the end of your life?
-What are long-term goals (10-20 years) related to fulfilling this vision or becoming the type of person you want to be?
-What are short-term goals (months) related to the long-term goals
-Rest and relationships are some of my own personal goals.
-I want to be friends with my wife 30 years from now
-This means I need to spend time with my wife and invest in my relationship with her.
-I want to have a deep relationship and friendship with my children 20 years from now.
-This means I schedule time to be with my children.
-Create an action plan for how you are going to achieve these goals.
-Schedule your life in 15-minute increments. Pay attention to every 15 minutes.
-Update your schedule every couple of months.
-In a year, you will notice a difference in your life
Today we are going to create an action plan for what we want out of life. Know this; you will not keep this plan perfectly. If you fulfill this plan 80% of the time, you are doing well. 80% of achieving your goal is better than doing 100% of nothing. When you squander your time, you squander your destiny.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18)
We need insight into who we are or we wander around squandering our lives.
We MUST know where we are going. In order to get where you want to go, you must learn how to control your schedule (time). We take hold of what God has called us to do by growing in the skills necessary for the calling. For most of us, this includes developing a prayer life, digging deeply into Scripture, working on our character, developing skills for a trade (education), etc.
What we are going to do today:
-Create goals for our lives. (Think about God’s promises over you)
-What is the vision for your life?
-This can change as you develop and grow as a person
-What do you want to be true of you when you are 50?
-What do you want to be true about you when you stand before the Lord at the end of your life?
-What are long-term goals (10-20 years) related to fulfilling this vision or becoming the type of person you want to be?
-What are short-term goals (months) related to the long-term goals
-Rest and relationships are some of my own personal goals.
-I want to be friends with my wife 30 years from now
-This means I need to spend time with my wife and invest in my relationship with her.
-I want to have a deep relationship and friendship with my children 20 years from now.
-This means I schedule time to be with my children.
-Create an action plan for how you are going to achieve these goals.
-Schedule your life in 15-minute increments. Pay attention to every 15 minutes.
-Update your schedule every couple of months.
-In a year, you will notice a difference in your life
Meditation - Cultivating our Hearts
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40).
It is not enough to simply know the Bible, we must come to a place where we actually meet God in the Scriptures. I learned to do this by using the Bible as a basis for my prayers. IHOP (prayer not pancakes) is a treasure trove of resources in this area. [ihop.org, mikebickle.org]
[Excerpt from “Walking in the Spirit: Feeding Our Spirit on God’s Word” by Mike Bickle
2008-03-19]
Today, read Psalm 103 and pray it back to God in writing. As much as possible I would use the actual words from the verse so that they become embedded in your prayer language (this is Bible memorization made easy). Writing out our prayers is a tool forcing ourselves to be specific in the language we use.
For example:
Read:
“1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Ps 103:1, NIV)
Pray:
Father, I ask for grace to praise you with everything I am. I want everything in my life to praise you and bring you glory. There is no other name worthy of my praise.
Then move on to the next verse.
It is not enough to simply know the Bible, we must come to a place where we actually meet God in the Scriptures. I learned to do this by using the Bible as a basis for my prayers. IHOP (prayer not pancakes) is a treasure trove of resources in this area. [ihop.org, mikebickle.org]
[Excerpt from “Walking in the Spirit: Feeding Our Spirit on God’s Word” by Mike Bickle
2008-03-19]
- Two broad categories of truth related to pray-reading the Word (meditating on Scripture): First, Scriptures that focus on exhorting us “to believe” God’s Word. For example, use Scriptures that declare that God loves, forgives, leads, protects, or provides for us, etc. Second, Scriptures that focus on exhorting us “to obey” God’s Word. For example, use Scriptures that command us to bridle our tongue, serve one another, humble ourselves, give time and money to Him, etc.
- We actively dialogue with God by praying truths back to Him that exhort us “to believe” His Word. Spiritual warfare: we speak these truths against Satan’s attack on our lives.
- First, we thank God for a particular truth. We turn these truths into simple declarations of thanksgiving or trust. For example, we declare, “Thank you that You love me or have forgiven me. I trust that You will lead, provide and protect me.
- Second, we ask God to reveal (release) particular truths to us. Ask God to release a spirit of revelation (Eph. 1:17). For example, pray, “Father, reveal to me the certainty of Your provision, how much You love me, forgive me, or how I have ravished Your heart. Father, I ask You to release Your promised guidance, provision, and protection, etc.
- We actively dialogue with God by praying truths back to Him that exhort us “to obey” His Word. Spiritual warfare: we speak these truths against Satan’s attack on our lives.
- First, we commit ourselves to obey God in the specific way set forth in a biblical person or passage. Make simple declarations of your resolve to obey the Word or imitate the faith of the godly. For example, declare, “I set my heart to love You and obey You with my speech, time and money, etc. or, I set my heart to love you like David, endure hardship like Paul, pray like Daniel or do miracles like the apostles in the Book of Acts.”
- Second, we ask God to empower us to obey a particular truth or imitate the example of the godly. Ask God for help to obey in specific areas. For example, pray, “Father help me to love You, to bridle my speech, or to use my time and money in full obedience.” Pray, “lead me away from temptation (Mt. 6:13) or deliver me from the works of the evil one” (Jn. 17:15), or, “Father, I resolve to love You more, or give me power to love you like David, endure hardship like Paul, pray like Daniel or do miracles like the first apostles.”
Today, read Psalm 103 and pray it back to God in writing. As much as possible I would use the actual words from the verse so that they become embedded in your prayer language (this is Bible memorization made easy). Writing out our prayers is a tool forcing ourselves to be specific in the language we use.
For example:
Read:
“1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Ps 103:1, NIV)
Pray:
Father, I ask for grace to praise you with everything I am. I want everything in my life to praise you and bring you glory. There is no other name worthy of my praise.
Then move on to the next verse.
