David [00:00:01]:
Last week we began exploring Psalm 37, verse 4, Psalm 37, verse 4. New King James Sergeant says this delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Hallelujah. What a promise. We began by understanding what it means to delight yourself in the Lord. We learned that delighting yourself in the Lord is a choice, not just an emotional reaction.
David [00:00:51]:
We also saw that delighting is not a transactional relationship, but a transformational relationship. As we delight in the Lord and begin to know him more and more and come closer to him, it transforms us. It changes us. We discuss several ways you can demonstrate your delight in the Lord. One is to know him and be one with Him. Two is to honor Him. Above all, we honor him and give him preference. 3.
David [00:01:28]:
Know his way, his lifestyle. 4Know his word, his precepts, his instruction, his direction. And last but not least, five walk in His Word, walk in his way, live as he directs. As we delight in the Lord, we come closer to him and he delights in us. His love flows to us and through us, and his blessings flow to us. Hallelujah. Praise God. Today we will explore what the desires of your heart means.
David [00:02:15]:
I will read this from the Amplified Classic because it gives us insight in the phrase to the desires of your heart. So Psalm 37:4 in the Amplified Classic says, this delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. We’re going to look into what that means. Desire, as we said before, means to request, to make a request. This isn’t a surface request or desire. It comes from deep within us. And that’s why here in the Amplified, it goes on to say the secret petitions of your heart. That word petition means to ask for some favor or right from someone, to urge or press someone to move on your behalf.
David [00:03:15]:
And so those secret petitions are those things deep in us that we desire and go, lord, there’s a way. Show me the way. Desire here is a deep longing for something that others don’t know about. However, God knows all, and so he sees and knows even the secret petitions of your heart. One of the things we see here again, and we talked about this last week, but delight becomes before desire. Light comes before desire. Delight comes before desire. I will say it correctly, delight comes before desire.
David [00:04:07]:
We often read this verse as if God promises whatever we want, but the order is intentional. Last week we talked about what all this means. So let’s review this again. First, delight yourself in the Lord. Then he will give you the desires of your heart. So delighting in God means choosing to find your deepest joy, rest and fulfillment in Him. It’s not simply enjoying his blessings, it’s enjoying Him. As we said last week, it’s seeking the blesser, not the blessing, which makes it transformational, which makes it relational.
David [00:05:03]:
We begin each day not with a list of needs, but with gratitude and worship for who he is. We begin each day not with a list of needs, but with gratitude and worship for who he is. My friend Jackie Liston’s shouting right now. The more you enjoy him by knowing him, his way, His Word, and honoring him by walking in it, the more your wants are shaped by his goodness. So desire here is a deep longing for something that others probably aren’t aware of, don’t know about. However, God sees and knows even the secret petitions of your heart. The word heart here in the Hebrew means this, your inner person, that place that is the seat of your passion, your courage. It’s that real you.
David [00:06:15]:
Your heart speaks to who you are. It points to what drives you and what you are passionate about. It’s a part of you that you don’t share with everyone else. Yet God knows all about the deepest part of you, the passion and purpose you long for. He made you. He created you. He planted those seeds of purpose within you. Psalm 20, verse 4 and 5, and this is from the new King James Version, says, may he grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfill all your purpose.
David [00:07:00]:
We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our Lord we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Hallelujah. The psalmist is saying here. This is our prayer for you because we know God wants to do this for you and in you. It’s not about just your emotional wants and likes. Your heart’s desire, all your purpose God is interested in, he’s aware of. But then the psalmist goes on to say, may the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
David [00:07:49]:
And as we press in to know him, we press on to obtain. Is what Paul says there in the New Testament, press in to know him, that we may press on to obtain. That we may press through the challenge so we can press out to the world. In the Gospel of John, this promise is stated again. Earlier we talked about knowing him, his way, His Word, and honoring him by walking in it. John shares with us what Jesus said to his disciples in John 15, verse 7. New King James Version if you abide in me And My words abide in you. You will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
David [00:08:46]:
And so if we’re living in Christ, we’re honoring him, we’re knowing him, we’re walking with him, we’re in His Word. And His Word is in us, that shapes us, that transforms us. And the desires of our heart come into alignment with Him. And he says, it shall be done for you. John 15:7. There. That word abide means to reside, to hold to. If we hold to the Lord.
David [00:09:22]:
Hmm. If we hold to the Lord and His Word. Wow. What does that mean to you, to hold to it? It’s important every day to hold to the Lord and to hold to His Word that leads him to desire to give you what you desire. That word desire means to take delight in. When we hold to the Lord and we hold to His Word, he takes delight in us because we’re delighting in him means to have pleasure in. He takes pleasure in you. Hallelujah.
David [00:10:15]:
And then it goes on to say, the promise is, it shall be done, which means to be resolved or determined with purpose. God comes with purpose and intention and makes it happen. Those deep desires and longings of your heart. Jesus is echoing Psalm 37:4 here. Your delight in His Word brings your desire to you again. This is a deep, heartfelt desire. We see this again in Mark 11:24, when Jesus says again to the disciples, therefore I say to you, what things soever you desire, when you believe, when you pray, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them. They’re mine.
David [00:11:14]:
I know because I’m his child, and you shall have them. Those desires are coming to you. I may not be able to tell you the day. I probably can’t tell you the day when. But I know this. Jesus said, if you believe and receive, you shall have them. So they’re coming. You will have them.
David [00:11:41]:
Mark 11:24. There is this to ask so what things you desire means when you pray, that you’re asking for them, you’re calling for them. You’re craving them, you’re requiring them. Believe you receive. This verse is based on Mark 11:22, where Jesus said, have faith in God. Let your confidence be in the Lord. Extreme confidence. To have faith in God is to have faith in His Word.
David [00:12:33]:
And remember this. John tells us this in John chapter one. He is His Word. The Word was with God, and the Word is God. So here we are, walking out. Psalm 37:4. Delighting in the Lord by doing these things that we saw here in John. Mark 11:24 and Hebrews 11:6 also speaks to this.
David [00:13:03]:
It encourages us in challenging us. I’m going to read this from the Amplified Hebrews 11:6 from the Amplified Classic. But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to him. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that he is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek him out. I’ve said this before, but let me say it again. Faith is extreme confidence in someone or something. It is knowing who God is, knowing his heart for you, knowing his desire for you. Hallelujah.
David [00:13:59]:
And who is he? Hebrews 11:6 says, he is a rewarder. God has a reward for you today. He’s coming to reward you today. He is a rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek him out. God is looking to reward you. Hallelujah. This principle is stated here. Again, you aren’t seeking the reward, but the rewarder.
David [00:14:30]:
When you earnestly and diligently seek him, then his love says, here, let me reward you. Again, it goes back to what I said last week. It’s just like the grandkids. When they’re earnestly and diligently seeking love from me, and they’re earnestly and diligently giving love to me, I’m ready. I’m ready to bless them, to give them the desire of their heart. God is who he he says he is. He does what he says he will do. As Mark 11:24 says, simply, believe me and receive from me.
David [00:15:28]:
Now in all these verses we see what Psalm 37:4 is talking about. What it states, delighting in the Lord shall shapes the way for the desires of your heart to come forth. Now let’s drill down into what this next part means. The secret petitions of the heart so he says he will give you the desires and the secret petitions of the heart. Psalm 37:4. Let me read it again. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and the secret petitions of your heart. Have you had I’m sure you have.
David [00:16:18]:
Or do you have a hope, a dream, a desire that’s deep in your heart that no one knows about. It’s something you hold close, is so close and personal you never really discuss it with the anyone. That’s a secret petition. Secret petitions are those deep, sometimes unspoken longings, dreams, needs or prayers you may not even know how to articulate. They may be tied to your calling, to your relationships, your destiny, something physical in your body, healing. You may desire, need. Here’s the reality. God knows them even before you do.
David [00:17:10]:
He’s already aware of them. God knows us completely. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He really does. Psalm 139,4 in the new king James Version says this for there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, you know it all together. You already know what I’m thinking. You already know what I’m going to say. Even before us.
David [00:17:40]:
Think it or say it. You know God knows your heart. Don’t be afraid to bring to him even the faintest or most hidden desire you have and trust that he understands their depth and their meaning better than you do. And he delights in seeing the desires and secret petitions of your heart fulfilled. Why? Because delighting in him aligns your heart with his will. So when you take pleasure in the Lord, your desires begin to match the desires of his heart. You stop craving things that would harm you or pull you away from Him. You see, God is not promising to fund every whim we have, but he is promising to fulfill every longing that’s aligned with this perfect plan for you.
David [00:18:44]:
Delighting in God reshapes what you want so it lines up with his good plans. This is why the promise is safe. He’s not granting selfish impulses to us. What he’s granting to us is spirit shaped desires. So ask God to sanctify your desires so that what you long for is exactly what he has planned for you. And he will. He will. Hallelujah.
David [00:19:22]:
Now here’s something we all deal with. And this is one of Pastor Conia’s favorite things to talk about. I think because she deals with this, she’s got a little thing in her office that she keeps up in front of her. Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Fulfillment comes in his timing. God’s promise is certain. If he said it, it’s done.
David [00:19:52]:
But his timetable is not our timetable. Now hear this. Listen to what I’m saying right now. Waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. They are shaping seasons. Waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. They are shaping seasons. Instead of obsessing over when will it happen? Is it coming today? Focus on who you’re becoming while you wait.
David [00:20:26]:
How is God growing you? What is God teaching you? How are you changing? How is he shaping you? What is he preparing for you and preparing you for? Delighting in him transforms your desires and transformed desires move you to God inspired secret petitions and secret petitions aligned with his heart gives you your desires. Paul echoes this in 2nd Corinthians 3:18. What the writer here in Psalm 37 is saying 2nd Corinthians 3:18. This is from the amplified. And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continued to behold. That’s a key phrase right there. Continued to behold in the Word of God as a mirror, the glory of the Lord. So all of us, as we with unveiled face, because we continue to behold in the Word of God as in a mirror of the glory of the Lord, we are constantly being transfigured into his very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another.
David [00:21:56]:
For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. The reality here is, as we delight in the Lord, we are always in a shaping season, a season of transformation. God’s always shaping us and transforming us. It’s a journey of continuous spiritual growth where we are increasingly changed to reflect God’s glory more perfectly. As we delight in the Lord beholding His glory, the Holy Spirit changes us into his image from one degree of glory to another. So this is a progressive transformation that takes us from one level to the next. Over time, we’re growing. Just like us human beings grow.
David [00:22:54]:
We’re a baby and then we’re a toddler, then we’re a child, then we’re a teenager, and then we’re an adult. The Holy Spirit is the active agent in this transformation, changing us. As we delight in the Lord focusing His glory, the goal is for us to become more and more like God in our heart and character, manifesting his glory in our lives. And that’s why the Lord tells us, stay in the Word. Don’t let it get away from you. Stay in it day and night. Meditate on it, pray it, declare it, read it, study it. Stay in the Word, because the Word will change you and it will make you like me.
David [00:23:49]:
I mean, this is something we have the opportunity to do every day. And as we do, his love brings us a flow of blessing that fulfills our heart’s desire. It fulfills us in a way that nothing else will. Let me read this again to you. Psalm 34:7 in the Amplified. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Wow. Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
David [00:24:29]:
Lord, I choose choose to delight in you today, not just in what you can give me, but in who you are. I pray, Father God, that you align our hearts and desires with yours. Fulfill the deep hidden petitions of our heart that are from you, Lord, and prepare us to steward every blessing you bring into our lives so that we may be a blessing to others also. And we thank you for doing this. Amen. So be it. Hallelujah. Delight in the Lord this week, again, every day, spend some time delighting in the Lord.
David [00:25:21]:
Hallelujah. Pastor Conia is coming with a closing word and a prayer. God bless you.
