Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
A pure heart is obtained through forgiveness from God. A sustained heart comes from a willing spirit, a willing heart, one that wants to not only be pure in the moment, but one that desires ongoing and unbroken fellowship with God.
We learned from this passage that:
1. A willing heart is a growing heart.
David had a heart that was open to correction and teaching. It was demonstrated in his prayer in Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
In Psalm 86:11, also after his low and high point in 51, David prayed, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
Do you see the connection? David understood that having a willingness to be taught by God was tied to having a pure heart.
2. A willing heart is also “going” heart.
Isaiah, in Isaiah 6 is a great example of someone who had a willing heart. He was open to whatever, wherever, and whenever if God had a plan to use Him. Isaiah had an encounter with God in which He was forgiven, purified, and cleansed of all sin. That purity of heart led to a willingness of his spirit. Again, there was a connection between having a willing heart and a pure one.
We read in Isaiah 6:8, Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
3. A willing heart is a giving heart.
Exodus 35:29-“All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.”
1 Timothy 6:18-“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
2 Chronicles 29:31-“Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord. So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.”
God may never ask you to sacrifice a great deal to be His disciple. He may never ask you to give large sums of money away. He may not send you an assignment to the remotest parts of the earth. However, He asks you to be willing to do any and all if He should ask. Are you willing to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) for Him?
Pastor Melissa
