Message for September 7, 2025 from Pastor Shirley

At the closing of our gathering last Sunday, it was evident that Holy Spirit was in our midst.  In this tangible presence, God said, “You have touched my heart today”.  God, who has created all things, who gave mankind breath to breathe, said to us, “You have touched my heart today”.  I am still in awe!   The heart of God is the essence of who He is, what He desires, His will, and His purposes.                                                       

Worship brings us close to God. Then we are in heart beat with him.  “Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24                                                         

“Jesus’ teaching that true worship comes from the heart, not just outward rituals, and should be expressed with genuine spirit and factual truth.  In essence, biblical worship is the wholehearted, reverent response of a person to God, showing Him highest honor, love, and adoration in all that they do.”  Spirit Filled Commentary.

God is looking for a replacement for King Saul, who failed to uphold God’s commands and sought the will of the people instead of God’s.  In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks of God’s feelings about King David.  After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him. “I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”  Acts 13:22   God’s decision to promote David to king was based on David’s desire to do God’s will instead of his own.  David’s heart of obedience attracted God’s favor and blessing.  Was King David perfect in his obedience?  No!  He made some major mistakes in his life.  Yes.  David missed the mark many times, but he was also quick to confess and repent. David’s heart was to do God’s will.  That is the heart God is searching for.  A person after God’s own heart is about having a heart that desires what God desires.  David had a heart of worship.  David said in Psalms 95:1-7 and invites his readers to join him. “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all Gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”                                                        
A desire to touch the heart of God is from a heart that is devoted, obedient, and repentant, having a heart of worship, and a heart that trusts in the Lord above all else.  I am sure we have touched the heart of God in other gatherings. We all have sensed that on a personal basis.  However, God wanted us as a gathering of his people as one body to hear out loud, “You have touched my heart today.”  I have seen your faithfulness.  My eyes have been on this place for a long time.  There is a new beginning for New Life.  New beginning implies a fresh start rather than a first start.  The word Holy Spirit has given today,  “Move Forward In The New.”   “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past.  Behold, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert”   Isaiah 43:1-19