Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000017A
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00:25 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:26 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that 00:29 you've joined us today. 00:31 We're on a journey toward hope, toward healing, 00:34 toward the transformation that the Lord Jesus wants to work 00:39 in your heart and in mine, as women, as daughters of God. 00:44 If you're just joining us, our last program we began several 00:47 we began several programs in this series that will deal with 00:50 the subject of pride. 00:52 Our last program was a boastful heart. 00:55 And we talked about how boastful hearts; 00:58 we really never see Jesus. 01:00 And how, if we behold Him, if we give thanks for that which 01:05 maybe humbles us a bit, and if we behold Jesus, how He can work 01:10 in our lives to create in us His humility and His meekness. 01:16 Today's topic is a critical spirit, a critical heart. 01:21 Our Scripture is 2 Corinthians 10:12, 2 Corinthians 10:12. 01:30 The Bible says, For we dare not class ourselves, 01:34 or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves: 01:38 but they, measuring themselves by themselves, 01:42 and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 01:47 Let's pray. Father, we come before You right now 01:51 in the name of Jesus. 01:52 Thank You that You want to work freedom in our hearts. 01:56 Thank You that You want to bring deliverance from the critical 02:01 heart, from those things that are displeasing to You. 02:05 And right now we just open up our hearts to receive 02:08 what you have for us. 02:11 And we thank You in Jesus' name, Amen. 02:14 I was having my early morning time with God. 02:19 One of those times where you just love spending time 02:23 in Jesus' presence. 02:24 I had drunk deeply from His Word. 02:27 I had spent time in prayer, and now I was just sitting quietly 02:31 savoring the presence of being with my King. 02:35 This particular morning I decided to pray 02:38 Psalm 139:23, 24 over my life. 02:42 And I've shared with you before that I love this Scripture, 02:45 and it's a beautiful prayer to pray over our hearts and lives. 02:50 David says, Search me, O God, and know my heart: 02:54 try me, and know my thoughts: and see... 02:57 The Bible Says... see if there's any wickedness in me, 03:01 and lead me in the way everlasting. 03:04 Now that's what David says, but I always say, because I know 03:08 the wickedness exists, so I always say, Reveal to me what's 03:13 displeasing to You, and lead me in Your perfect way. 03:17 So as I was praying this prayer, I all of a sudden, saw my heart 03:24 laid out on my lap. 03:26 Now I'm not trying to tell you I had a vision, 03:28 because I do not have that. 03:30 So we're not talking about that. 03:31 But it was as if I could see my heart. 03:34 I was sitting. It was as if I could see my heart 03:37 laid out on my lap. 03:38 In the middle was fresh clean tissue; healthy looking. 03:45 All the way around the edges were pockets of diseased tissue. 03:51 I began to cry as I realized the junk that's in those pockets, 03:58 the junk that that stuff represents. 04:02 I had no idea what it was, but I knew that God would 04:07 show me in His time. 04:09 That very day a situation arose. 04:13 Instantly my heart responded with a critical, 04:18 and a judgmental spirit. 04:21 And in that moment, when I responded with a critical 04:24 spirit, I felt God tap me on the shoulder, and He said, Jill, 04:29 My precious daughter, this is one of those pockets 04:34 that I showed you this morning. 04:36 You didn't know what it was, you just knew it was junk, 04:39 and disease filled, but this is what was in 04:42 one of those pockets. 04:44 And I said, God, I'm sorry. 04:45 And He said, I forgive you! 04:47 Instantly, completely! 04:50 And then He said, I want to work in your life to remove 04:55 this spirit of criticism. 04:58 We have our self-evaluation. 05:01 We always like to begin our programs with a self-evaluation. 05:04 As always, I want to encourage you to be honest. 05:08 Don't feel like you have to share this with anybody else, 05:11 or you have to somehow measure up to anybody else. 05:14 All you need to do is simply be honest. 05:17 Where do you feel you are right now in your 05:20 relationship with God? Self-evaluation. 05:31 We have several options here. 05:33 Just pick the one that fits you the best. 05:34 1. 05:55 Maybe that's where you feel you are right now. 05:57 2. 06:10 3. 06:26 And I have to be honest with you, I have been in 06:28 category 1 and 2 definitely. 06:30 I know I have, but I think more than any other category, 06:33 I've been right there at 3. 06:35 I think the critical thoughts. 06:38 I might not outwardly express it, 06:40 but I'm still thinking it inside, and God says, 06:43 Jill, that's the same. 06:44 Sin is sin, right? 06:46 It doesn't matter whether I'm acting out, or if I'm thinking. 06:49 It's the same thing. 06:50 Maybe you're not at any one of those three. 06:52 Maybe you're at the next one. 07:05 And the last one, finally. 07:22 The pocket of a critical heart is like a cancer. 07:26 It spreads; it poisons my life with Jesus, and cripples my 07:32 walk with Jesus, and it spreads to effect other people. 07:39 It eats away at our hearts. 07:41 Often, you probably have seen this, the pocket of a critical 07:44 spirit separates best friends, and can divide homes. 07:49 It can destroy innocent lives. 07:53 I'm sure you've seen examples of the critical heart, 07:56 and we're going to look at a couple examples 07:58 of the critical heart here today. 08:00 Some modern day examples I can think of is at the dinner 08:04 table, after the Pastor has preached. 08:06 At the dinner table afterward what can happen? 08:10 The critical spirit, the critical heart can pop out with 08:14 maybe some comments. 08:15 When it might pop up in nominating committee 08:19 when someone is suggested for an important position, 08:23 and all of a sudden the critical spirit, a critical word 08:27 begins to slip out. 08:29 It even manifests itself in seemingly harmless ways, 08:34 such as someone might come to you with the prayer request, 08:37 Oh, pray for Sister Jane and Sister Helen. 08:41 They can't seem to get along. 08:44 In the beginning we're almost sucked in without realizing it. 08:47 Oh yes, we want a prayer. 08:49 We want to pray for Sister Jane, and Sister Helen. 08:52 We believe in prayer. 08:54 But underneath all of that, you know what we see? 08:58 We find the critical spirit. 09:00 You and I get along with each other. 09:02 We're not like Sister Jane, and Sister Helen. 09:05 We're a little bit better than that, because we can 09:09 get along with them. 09:10 And in our self righteous attitude, we can pray for them. 09:13 Now I'm not saying it's not a good thing to pray for people. 09:17 That's a beautiful thing. 09:19 It's the spirit that is insidious underneath and behind. 09:24 It's the story of the Pharisee and the tax 09:27 collector all over again. 09:29 And we see this in Luke 18, Luke 18. 09:33 It's the story of the Pharisee and tax collector. 09:35 Verse 9. Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted 09:41 in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 09:46 Two men went up to the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee. 09:51 He was a religious leader. 09:53 He was a religious ruler. 09:56 The other was a tax collector. 09:59 King James says Publican. 10:01 Someone who was not well thought of in society. 10:05 So you have one man; they're both going 10:06 to the temple to pray. 10:08 One man is reputable, and people think well of him. 10:12 The other man is maybe lower caste in society, 10:16 and people would naturally judge him. 10:19 The Bible continues, Verse 11. 10:22 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank 10:27 You that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, 10:33 adulterers, or even as this lowly tax collector. 10:38 I fast twice in the week, and I give tithes of all I possess. 10:43 Do you see that pride? Oh, that's huge! 10:45 It just comes right off the page as you read it. 10:49 And the tax collector; see the difference in his spirit. 10:53 The tax collector; he stood afar off. 10:57 He would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, 11:01 but he beat on his chest, and he said, 11:05 God be merciful to me a sinner. 11:10 The Bible says, I tell you, this man went down 11:14 to his house justified. 11:16 The man who everyone else thought was a low life, 11:19 he went down justified rather than the Pharisee. 11:23 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 11:26 and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 11:31 Now was God being mean there? 11:32 Was God saying, I don't want to justify the Pharisee? 11:37 Of course not. Simply he didn't ask. 11:41 Did you notice that? 11:42 Having asked for nothing, he received nothing. 11:46 He was so busy telling God how much better he was than 11:50 the people around him, he didn't even ask. 11:52 He didn't even say, God I need You. I want you. 11:56 James 4:6, the Bible tells us, God resists the proud, 12:00 but gives grace to the humble. 12:04 You see, the tax collector received grace, 12:08 and the Pharisee received nothing, because he didn't ask. 12:12 Matthew 7 tells us that. 12:13 This is the sermon, part of the sermon on the mount. 12:16 We have the beatitudes in 5, and then it just kind of 12:19 continues through 5, 6, and 7, through there. 12:21 And Matthew 7:7 Jesus says, Ask, and it will be given you; 12:27 seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you: 12:33 For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; 12:38 and to him who knocks it will be opened. 12:42 The disciples battled this critical pride often. 12:45 It wasn't just in the heart of the Pharisee, 12:48 in the heart of the religious ruler. 12:50 This critical pride could effect any one of us. 12:53 They battled this often. 12:55 In my mind's eye I can see them now, toiling up some dusty road 13:01 in Galilee, absorbed with trying to keep the closest 13:06 spot next to Jesus, because that was the most important. 13:10 Trying to keep those women and insignificant children 13:15 in the background, arguing as they walk about 13:21 who is the greatest. 13:23 Mark 9, Mark 9:33, 34. 13:29 Jesus came to Capernaum. 13:32 When He was in the house He asked them, What is it that you 13:35 disagreed among yourselves along the way? 13:38 What were you arguing about? 13:40 The Bible says they kept silent, for on the road they had 13:46 disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 13:51 Jesus said, What were you arguing about? 13:53 What was troubling you? 13:55 But they kept quiet, because they had been arguing 13:59 on that dusty road. 14:00 They'd been arguing about who was the best. 14:03 Who was the best disciple? 14:05 Who was the one most worthy to take that place right next to 14:10 Jesus when He should set up His earthly kingdom? 14:13 For that's what they believed He was going to do. 14:17 I want to share, in the remainder of our program, 14:20 four steps to breaking free from the critical spirit. 14:26 How do we break free from the critical spirit? 14:29 1. Don't get discouraged, don't despair, don't give up, 14:35 don't listen to the lies of the enemy. 14:37 There's hope and victory in Jesus. 14:40 So if you feel like, Boy, I do criticize people a lot. 14:44 Boy, I do have the critical heart. 14:47 Don't be discouraged. 14:48 The Lord Jesus, already knows everything about our hearts, 14:52 and He says, I love you. 14:54 I can change you. I want to change you. 15:00 I love that about our God. 15:02 Jesus can show us our hearts. 15:05 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just 15:10 to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 15:14 from all unrighteousness. 15:16 Ezekiel 36:26, the Bible says: A new heart also will I give you, 15:23 and a new spirit will I put within you: 15:26 I'm going to take away that stony heart, Jill, that you 15:30 possess. And I know I do. 15:32 And He says, Jill, I'm going to give you a heart of flesh, 15:36 a heart that's soft, a heart that's pliable, 15:40 and moldable to Jesus Christ. 15:45 Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through 15:50 our Lord Jesus Christ. 15:51 Victory is assured; victory is sure in Jesus. 15:56 And finally Hebrews 10:16. 15:59 I like this promise. 16:01 He says, I can write My law of humility in your heart. 16:06 He wants to write His law of humility in your heart as well. 16:11 We can't do that. God knows that. 16:12 He knows we can't any sooner get rid of critical pride 16:16 than we can change our skin color, than we can change our 16:19 hair color, except with dye, of course, 16:21 than we can grow taller. 16:24 We can't do that. We come to God and He writes His law 16:28 of humility in our hearts. 16:31 John 13, the book of John, I believe is one of my 16:36 favorite books in the Bible. 16:37 I just love the way John expresses his thoughts. 16:41 John 13, we see when Jesus washed the disciples feet. 16:47 Here we are with Him, the Messiah, the Son of God 16:52 stooping down, and washing their feet. 16:56 Let's look at two verses: John 13:3, 4. I love verse 3. 17:01 It says, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into 17:05 His hands, and that He had come from God, and was going to God; 17:10 He rose from supper, He laid aside His garments; 17:16 He took a towel, and He girded Himself. 17:21 You notice John prefaces Jesus kneeling down, and washing the 17:27 feet of the disciple with that statement. 17:29 He's not saying Jesus had a momentary lapse in memory. 17:33 He's not saying Jesus forgot who He was and thought, 17:36 Okay, I'm a servant. 17:38 I can just go down here, and I can do that job. No! 17:41 With full knowledge of His divinity... 17:44 That's what I have written in the margin of my Bible. 17:46 With full knowledge of His divinity, 17:49 He still chose to serve. 17:53 First remember that God... 17:56 Don't despair, don't get discouraged, God can work 18:00 in our heart and change us. 18:01 Second, we learn to esteem other people 18:04 as better than ourselves. 18:07 We want the mind of Christ. 18:11 We see that mind in Philippians 2. 18:13 Philippians 2 is a beautiful picture of the mind of Christ. 18:20 Philippians 2, and we're going to start with verse 2. 18:24 It says, Fulfill my joy, by being like-minded, 18:29 having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 18:35 How much strife and division could we avoid if we considered 18:39 each other as brothers and sisters in Jesus, 18:42 instead of shoving each other out the way, in our frantic 18:46 struggle to get to the top? 18:48 Or maybe we pick up little pebbles, and we toss them 18:52 at other people; people who don't think like we do, 18:55 people who don't dress like we do, people who don't act like 19:00 we do, people who anyone that we would view as a threat. 19:05 Verse 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition, 19:10 or conceit; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem the others 19:16 as better than themselves. 19:19 To me that is the mind of Christ; esteeming other people, 19:24 that servant heart; Him getting down and washing the 19:27 feet of His disciples. 19:29 That is the key: esteeming other people as better than ourselves. 19:33 They have what they call the crab mentality. 19:37 Maybe you've heard of it. 19:39 And I'm not talking about being a crabby person. 19:41 I'm talking about, it's actually a term. 19:43 You can Google it: the crab mentality. 19:46 If fisherman want to collect crabs; they want to catch them. 19:51 They can put them in a bucket without a lid on. 19:54 Do you know why? Because if one crab reaches up 19:57 a little claw... I don't like crabs. 19:59 If one crab reaches up a little claw to climb out of the bucket, 20:03 you know what happens? 20:04 His brother in the bucket reaches up a claw, 20:07 and pulls him back down. 20:09 So they don't even need a lid on it, because they're not 20:12 going to get out of the bucket. 20:13 They're always pulling each other down. 20:15 The crab mentality is, If I can't have it, neither can you. 20:19 That's the crab mentality. 20:21 In addition to esteeming other people as better than ourselves, 20:25 we want to focus on others. 20:27 Learn to listen instead of always speaking. 20:30 I really need to learn this one. 20:32 Is someone telling a story? 20:34 Listen to what they say without trying to interrupt it, 20:37 or without, while they're talking, thinking, 20:39 How am I going to top this story? 20:41 Or what am I going to say to one up what they just said to me? 20:45 Is someone excited about their promotion? rejoice with them 20:48 Rejoice with them instead of feeling sorry for yourself. 20:52 Is someone struggling because they're not friends with 20:55 the popular person? 20:56 Encourage them, and be friends with them. 20:59 Pay attention to their needs. 21:01 Are they sick? You could cook them a meal, pick up groceries, 21:05 and bring them to their house. 21:07 Do they need a friend? 21:09 You could drop by and listen to them. 21:12 Are they discouraged? 21:14 You could offer to pray with them, or for them. 21:17 Claim promises from the Word of God over their life. 21:21 My mother-in-law, Valerie, my husband Greg's Mom. 21:24 I just call her Mom. 21:26 She's a beautiful example of a servant's heart, 21:29 of someone who esteems other people as better than herself, 21:34 and someone who focuses on other people instead of herself. 21:39 Hers is a beautiful heart because it's patterned after 21:42 the heart of Jesus Christ. 21:45 Lastly we want to give of ourselves. 21:49 Sometimes it requires sacrifice to do that. 21:52 Does someone need a ride, and it's out of your way? 21:55 Maybe drive a distance anyway. 21:57 Is someone lonely and discouraged, and yet you're 22:00 too tired to go? Go and visit with them anyway. 22:05 J. D. Quinn always says, It was the right thing to do. 22:09 Meaning, go and do it anyway, even if you don't feel like it. 22:14 Go and do it anyway. 22:15 Is someone obnoxious, and just likes to talk about themselves? 22:19 and those people kind of drive you nuts? 22:20 Maybe sit and listen anyway. 22:24 Jesus lived to bless other people. 22:28 He lived to bless others. 22:30 And He says we will be following in the footsteps of Jesus 22:35 when we do the same. 22:37 No matter where you feel you are right now, with that critical 22:41 spirit, you might say, It's just all over me. 22:44 And God says, don't be discouraged. 22:46 I can forgive you. 22:47 I can give you the mind of Christ. 22:49 I can teach you to focus on other people, to esteem others 22:53 as better than yourself, to give of yourself, to even sacrifice 22:58 if need be for them. 23:00 We're going to take a short break, and when we come back, 23:03 we're going to do our practical application for this week. 23:07 Something you can do at home that will be a help, I pray, 23:10 and an encouragement to you. 23:11 And then our next program deals with jealousy. |
Revised 2016-06-02