Latest / The Daily Word / April 19 – A Heart That Isn’t Divided
Transcript
- Brandon Dirmann: Well, welcome once again to another episode of the Daily Word podcast. My name is Brandon and I am one of the pastors here at our church. And on behalf of all of our pastors who are part of this podcast, let me just say we're thrilled to have you with us on the journey. I haven't said this in a while, so let me say it. If you're being blessed by this podcast in any way, so generously people are telling me on a pretty regular basis, that they're listening to it and that they feel really blessed, really encouraged. I got a really kind encouraging text this past week just saying, hey, this is so helpful. It's really encouraging me. It's really blessing me. And my response was, that's awesome. Help us get the news out. Help us get the word out. And so if you're being blessed by this podcast, ⁓ like, subscribe, comment, share it with a friend, hit the share button on the podcast, whatever ⁓ platform you're listening to. Hit the share button, share it with a friend today, and help us to continue to get the word out because really our heart is to encourage people, not only to spend time with God, but encourage people in the moment. And that is the whole point of our podcast. We're trying to encourage people with the word of God, giving you practical tools and application to better live out the life God's calling you to live out, and also more and more become who God's called you to be, and also provide a roadmap or a template, if you will. for reminding you that you can spend time with God in a deep and a meaningful way all by yourself and from the scripture the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you. That being said, today is April the 19th. I don't have time to do what I wanna do, but I gotta say it. Happy birthday to my beautiful wife, Pastor Jenny. I don't know if they did this on purpose, but all of my podcast days have been birthdays of my sisters and now my wife. and I'm pretty sure that my birthday is actually a podcast day and I'm not gonna wish myself happy birthday, but ⁓ it's just, how it's fallen. It's kind of interesting. But today is Pastor Jenny's birthday. Happy birthday to my beautiful wife and send her a text, tell her that she's awesome and encourage her today. But today is April 19th and our New Testament reading today is Matthew chapter six. If there were ever gonna be a day that you took time to go read the scripture, today might be a good day. because Matthew chapter six is so full of great insights. It's so full of things that are like power packed in these little verses, these little phrases, these little thoughts that really do illuminate so much of the Christian life that Jesus has called us to live. Everything from how we pray and how we fast to putting our treasure in the right place to guarding our hearts and minds to seeking first. the kingdom of God, all of it is in Matthew chapter six. And the verse that really stuck out to me today and I want to encourage you with is in Matthew chapter six, verse 24. Here's what it says. Jesus is speaking and Jesus is just gonna give you like a really, really ⁓ hard truth that you can't get around. It's not a question. It's not like, you know, here's a thought of, it's just a truth. He goes, no one, by the way, applies to me and you. Why do we think we're so special that parts of God's word just don't apply to us? No, they apply to us. He says no one, no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon will be money, material wealth, material gain. He goes you can't serve God and stuff. You can't serve God in material wealth and gain. can't do it. And the observation that I want to make really Jesus makes it for me, but it's that we, can't serve two masters. I think sometimes the reason that we can find complication in following Jesus, we can find complication in our ⁓ relationship with God and working things out and applying the script. I think a lot of the complication comes from a divided heart. We have a heart that is divided between God and something else. It could be God in self. It could be God in money. It could be God in, ⁓ you know, a desire for pleasure or it could be a million things. But we have divided hearts. And so actually the things that Jesus has asked us to do, they're not complicated, even that difficult. We just can't do them and also do the other thing at the same time. We have to choose, which is a lot of what Jesus is saying. You cannot serve two masters. I'll give you a silly example. ⁓ Last month, March Madness was happening, the NCAA tournament, and my daughter who plays basketball was really into watching the tournament. And one night I told her, said, hey, me and you, we're gonna watch this game tonight. We're gonna watch these games tonight. And what I didn't know, is that would be a night that my wife's like, hey, I want for us to spend time together and watch this show together. Well, neither one was difficult. It wasn't hard for me to sit downstairs and watch basketball with my daughter. I love that. We were eating ice cream and just having a great time. It's not difficult for me to go upstairs and to watch a show with my wife. It's not difficult. It wasn't hard, but... but I couldn't do both at the same time. I had a divided heart. It's like, ⁓ I love my daughter and I love my wife and and we feel that tension a lot. ⁓ Jesus tells me to do this. but I feel like I need to do this. ⁓ I know the Bible says this, but I want this too. ⁓ I know Jesus says this is the way to live, but I just don't want to disappoint these. And we have a heart that's divided. And this is why Jesus says that no one having put their hand to the plow and looking backwards is fit for the kingdom. In other words, no one who goes, I'm all in Jesus and immediately goes, but I got a couple of things I got to take care of first is going to make it in his kingdom. No Jesus, he is the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. He is seated at the right hand of the father and the first and the greatest commandment is that with all of our heart, mind, soul, body, that we love God and prioritize God. In fact, Jesus would say Matthew 6 33 in this chapter, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Hey, what do I put first? Not me, Jesus. What do I put first? Not the job, Jesus. What do I put first? It's always Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The order should not be confused. And often again, the complication and the tension we feel is that we're trying to serve two masters. And I just want to tell you today, along with Jesus, or I'll say in alignment with the words of Jesus, you can't do it. You cannot serve God and yourself. You cannot serve God and culture. You cannot do both. You have to make a choice. And that is why following Jesus, it is a surrendered life, a need that's been bowed. to the Lordship of Jesus, a life that's been crucified at the foot of the cross and surrendered fully to Him. And so my encouragement to you, the application, is that if you're feeling tension in any areas of life, can I just encourage you? Can I ⁓ ask you to go to God, ask Him to help you and examine? Is it because I have a divided heart? Are there any areas of my life that are just divided? I'm trying to serve God in something else or someone else because my friends, it will never ever work. We have to choose to serve God and to serve Him fully and to serve Him first. So Lord, I'm praying today for myself, but for everyone who's listening and I pray that you'd reveal to us in our hearts, any areas or any places where we just have a divided heart and we have divided living. And I pray God that you would help us to crucify and surrender those areas and to make you the first and the only Lord that our knee is bowed to. You said in your word, we cannot serve two masters. So God, we make a decision to serve you and to serve you alone. Help us to live lives that seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness, trusting that all things we have need of and even things we desire that you can freely and liberally add to our life as we trust you. In Jesus name, amen and amen. Well today, I hope you were encouraged and I hope that you were strengthened. ⁓ Excuse me. That's a great cue for me to log off. And so we'll see you tomorrow on another episode of the Daily Word Podcast. Love you so much. Can't wait to talk again. We'll see you then.