If you had permission to do what you really wanted to do, let me ask you “what would you do?” Don’t begin by asking yourself “how” you would do it. How is not the right question. I’m asking you “what” would you do? What is written on your heart? What makes you come alive? If you could do what you always wanted to do, what would it be?

Today, we’re going to look at the Heart God has given you so you can start “Living Your Heart's Desire.”

I. UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEART

The the word "heart" describes the bundle of motivations that you have -- your desires, your hopes, your longings, your dreams, your ambitions, your affections, the things you care about, the things you love to do. All these are composed in your heart.

God has given each of us a unique emotional “heartbeat” which motivates us to pursue certain activities, subjects and environments. Every human being's heart beats just a little bit differently. There's a slight variation in the pattern of every heartbeat. The same is true emotionally.

Would you agree that there are some thing you care very deeply about and there are other things you couldn't care less about? That’s your heart. It’s what makes you, you! We instinctively care about some things and not about others. And God made you so that your emotional heartbeat races when you're doing something that you’re passionate about. That is intentional. The interests that you have were put in you by God for a purpose.

The Bible says that your heart determines three things.

1. Why I say the things I do. "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
2. Why I feel the way I do. "God's word examines the thoughts and motives of the heart."
3. Why I act the way I do. "Guard your heart -- for out of it flow the actions of life."

If your heart determines the way you think, the way you feel, and the way you act then your heart is the internal guidance system that God has placed in you for a purpose. It's not by accident. You may have the same spiritual gift as somebody else, but your heart may be different so you're motivated to use it in a different way. Same gift, same ability, different heart, different motivation, different passion.

Tom Paterson writes in his book, Living the Life You Were Meant to Live:

“Giftedness is what you are – Heart is where you apply what you are. Heart is the “draw” towards a group of people, a field of expertise or a particular type of service. Heart is the altar upon which you wish to place your talents”

Our hearts reflect our dreams and desires. The key is to learn how to unlock the potential within our hearts so that they can beat for God.

II. THE RESULTS OF LIVING YOUR HEART'S DESIRE

There are some results of living your heart's desire, living based on what God made you interested in. The Bible says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord." We are always to work from our heart. We're always to work from the inborn motivations God puts within us.

How do you know when you're working from your heart? Three characteristics of living to your heart's desire:

1. Enthusiasm

When you do what you love to do - you enjoy it. When your job fits your heart you don't have to be motivated. You don't need anybody to supervise you. You don't need anybody to challenge you. You don't need any rewards, applause, or limelight. You do it because you love it. There's natural enthusiasm.

Ecc. 2:10 "My heart took delight in all my work." Do you delight in your work? in what you are doing? God doesn't want you just to endure life, He wants you to enjoy life.

How many of you have said or heard someone say, "Someday I'm going to make enough money so I can quit work and do what I love to do." God says,"NO! Don't waste your life doing things that don’t express what I made you to be."

When you use the interest that God put in your life you're a lot more likely to succeed than when you're trying to attempt something that God didn't interest you in. People don't succeed at what they don't like. You've got to love it.

2. Effectiveness

When you do what you love to do, what you're gifted and have a heart for, you're good at it. Another word for heart that is used commonly today is the word "passion". Passion is when you want to give yourself to a cause, an idea, a person, a task.

Passionate people get things done. There are many, many examples in history of the impact one passionate person can have, one person who has a heart to do something.

I would venture to say Charles Goodyear had a passion, wouldn’t you?

Some folks said “Steve Erwin” – the “Crocodile Hunter” was nuts. He took too many chances. Me personally, I see a person who lived each day following the passion of his heart.

He died doing the very thing he loved. To that I say “Amen”.

Moses had a passion to release the slaves out of Egypt which hadn't been done for 400 years. David had a passion to build a temple. Nehemiah had a passion to build a wall around Jerusalem. Paul had a passion to share the good news everywhere he went. Passionate people, the people who've changed the world, were not the smartest, the most educated, or the wealthiest, or even the most gifted. But the people who've changed the world, who have made an impact were those who had heart. They had passion, conviction. They went with their heart!

When you work toward your heart's desire you have enthusiasm, effectiveness and ...

3. Excellence

When you have a heart for something you give it your best. There is value in what you do so you want to excel. This is obvious in sports. If you ask the top athletes (golf, football, hockey, baseball, whatever) "What drives you?" the fact is, they love to do what they do! They're paid big incomes but the athletes that last are those who do it because they have a passion to do it. They excel in what they do. Passion outlasts profit over the long haul. To some athletes it doesn't matter if you paid them or not - they'd be out there on the field. They love to do what they do. Yet you can tell there are others – that all they care about is the praise and the profits, the limelight.

When you do what you love to do the limelight does not matter. It's not necessary. You're not doing it for the applause of other people.

Does everybody have a God-implanted passion? Yes. Everybody does. But hurts and fears and doubts often bury it so you can't find it. Sometimes our life experiences have buried it way too deep and it is only with God’s help that we can realize and revive the passion He has given us.

III. HOW TO START LIVING YOUR HEART'S DESIRE

Very few people act on the interests, desires, dreams and passions that God has given them. The saddest thing is to end life with an unattempted dream. "I've always wanted to do this but I've never tried it." That's not living to your potential. That's not living to the glory of God.

So how do you revive your passion start living your heart’s desire?

There are four essentials in how to start living your heart's desire:

1. Commit your life to Christ

Why is this the first step? Because who do you think gave you those interests, desires, dreams, passions, ambitions? God gave you that heart. He shaped it. But unless you place it under His control it will be misused, perverted, and wasted. We see that all the time. You can use interests for the wrong motives. You can use them selfishly. Psalm 37;4-5 (Good News) "Seek your happiness in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desire. Give yourself to the Lord, trust in him, and he will help you." Notice the verbs: "seek", "give", then you "give" and "trust" and then He will "help". It's a reciprocal promise. When you give your life to the Lord you start to become a more passionate person.

Some people say, "I don't feel passionate about anything! There's nothing that really turns me on. There's nothing that really thrills me in the morning to get up and say `This is a new day! My answer: "You're not spending enough time with the Lord. The closer you get to the Lord, the more passionate you're going to become about life, the more fully alive you become." You become like the people you hang out with. If you start hanging out with God you're going to become like Him. And you're going to start feeling deeply about all the things God feels deeply about. When I spend time with Him I pick up His heart and begin to feel the way He does. I like what Rick Warren says, "Let my heart be interested in the things that interest the heart of God. And let my heart be thrilled with the things that thrill the heart of God."

How else do you start living your heart’s desire?

2. Examine what you enjoy doing.

This means you need to go back and review your personal history. Maybe even write it out. Make some notes. What were the things you've enjoyed doing in your life up to this point? You did them well and you enjoyed doing them. Look particularly at your accomplishments. What gave you a sense of satisfaction?

Questions to ask yourself:

• What do you find captivating? What holds your interest?
• When you're doing the work of your heart, you don't get bored.
• Oh, you may get tired sometimes – that’s normal.
• Someone may ask me, "Do you ever get tired of the ministry." No! I don't. I get tired in the ministry, but I never get tired of the ministry. It's my passion.

• What do your dreams and desires drift toward?
• Sometime you need to listen for your whispers of secret prayers and desires to know the deep yearnings in your life.

• When were the times you felt fully alive?
• What types of things inspire you? Planning a project. Organizing an event. Making a sale. Giving a speech. Writing. Whatever.
• God put that interest in your life.

• What do you naturally excel at? When did others notice your accomplishments?

Galatians 6:4 "Everyone should examine his own conduct, then he will be able to take the measure of his own worth, no need to compare himself to others."

3. Explore Your Options

Expose yourself to all different types of work. All different types of ministry. Don't lock yourself in. Try many and you will eventually find the one that fits.

The same is true in a job. What is it to get into a job that maybe paid good money, but you hated it all your life. Explore the options.

Proverbs 23:23 says "Get the facts at any price." How do you do that? You can read and find out what appeals to you. You can interview people from different kinds of work, different ministries. Find somebody who has the same heart as you, the same passion. They may be a total stranger but you’ll feel good around them. Why? Because you have the same passion.

Link up with people who are successful and effective in an area you love. When you get around people with passion, you start picking it up. That's why you ought to choose your

4. Step Out In Faith

You commit your life to Christ, you examine what you enjoyed doing, you look at all the options and then you go for it! This is what God made you to be!

Joshua 1:9 "Be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord is with you wherever you go."

Most people do not go after their dream in life. Most people live lives of mediocrity. They don't develop the gifts, the talents, the interests that God has given them. Why? FEAR. It destroys more dreams, desires, ambitions, and longings, than anything else. Fear is spiritual cholesterol. It will keep you from being all God wants you to be.

Some of you have allowed fear to suffocate your dreams. Three fears that kill dreams:

• Has anyone ever said to you "Who do you think you are to have a dream like that?" Or "Don't you get too big for your britches." Or "Just remember where you came from!" When people discourage you ... dis courage. It means they're taking courage away from you.
• Passionate people do not let other people intimidate them by expectations or discouragement.
• This doesn’t always mean other people are intentionally trying to kill your dream. Sometimes they simply can’t feel or understand your passion. They may have even experienced failure themselves and it is their own fear that hinders them from encouraging you. Still – do not let someone else’s fear discourage you from your dreams.

• What if I try and fall flat on my face?
• What if I let someone down?

• The way to success is through failure.
• There are always a number of failures before success. That's the way you get there.
• Success comes from experience and experience comes from making the right decisions and the wrong decisions. You will make errors along the way.
• Don't be afraid to rock the boat if Jesus Christ is the captain of it.

The antidote to the fears of ridicule, failure and the unknown is - faith.

If God's given you the dream He's going to help you fulfill it.

The answer is you must move against your fears.

I accepted my role as Director of Equip Ministries only after facing my own fears.

When I decided to step out in courage, I realized fear did not have to stop me.

What I thought were my limits…were more like my starting points.

I did get past my fear, and you can too.

God rarely takes away our fear. Instead he asks us to be strong and take courage.

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is moving ahead in spite of your fear.

So often we are hindered by the fear of making a mistake so we do nothing.

Believe Philippians 2:13 (Amplified) "It is God who is at work with you energizing and creating in you the power and desire to will and to work for his good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." When God gives you a desire He gives you the power to do it! Step out in faith.

Take the advice of Psalm 37, "Seek your happiness in the Lord. He will give you your heart's desires. Give yourself to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will help you!"

Are you just a few steps away from the dream that you really want with all of your heart?

Then you need to make a choice.

Let me ask you again, “If you could do what you always wanted to do, what would it be?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I don't want to waste my life and I know that there are many here who don't want to waste their's. Help us to commit all of our lives to You, to examine what we enjoy doing, to explore the options and then to step out in faith, that our lives might be testimonies of what You made us to be. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.