The Stages of War for the Heart

Part 2
1. Everything you say and do traces back to what is in your heart.

2. God defines your heart as the real you, in you; your heart is the core of
your personhood and identity.

3. Only God can truly know, weigh, and search the thoughts and intentions of
your heart.

4. Heart-idols are God-replacements; they draw you away from God and
counterfeit for genuine spiritual life.
5. God made us worshipers, and we become like what we worship. At the
root of all sin is self-worship.

6. We speak and act from what fills our hearts, not from what fills another
person’s heart.

7. All of life is worship, because we approach everything in life from the

attitude of our hearts.
“The question ‘why’ has launched a thousand theories of
human nature. The Bible’s view of what is disordered in
human motivation sharply challenges all secular pretenders
to [explain] why we do what we do.”

David Powlison

The Bible tells us very clearly why each of us say and do

sinful things in relation to God and others.
“For the sinful nature (remaining sin in you) desires what is contrary to the
Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit what is contrary
to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other,
so that you do not do what you want.”

Galatians 5:17
(note and emphasis added)
 Greed is not simply the opposite of contentment;
it is that, but it is more. Greed is an
insatiable desire for more of what God forbids
or for what He limits in your life.

Greed acts as a ruling desire to go beyond God’s limits for you.

Greed is reaching beyond what God provides for you.

Your greed is about you wanting different or more than
God wants for you.
 Please keep in the forefront of your minds that
as we consider this pattern taking place within us,
we are aiming at not only understanding these stages,
but even more importantly, we are aiming at repenting
of the self-serving desires and at replacing them with
godly desires to please and glorify the Lord in all things.
 STAGE 1

I must. . .

Desire becomes demand!

 STAGE 2

I will. . .

Demand becomes need!

“The problem with desires is the way they tend to grow,
and the control they come to exercise over our hearts.
Desires are a part of human existence,
but they must be held with an open hand.”

Paul David Tripp

Even good desires can become a poison to our hearts;

because we think them good, we can give them
too much control over us.

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the heart.” Proverbs 16:2
 STAGE 3

You should. . .

Perceived need
inevitably produces expectation!
 STAGE 4

You didn’t. . .

Expectation leads to disappointment!

 STAGE 5

Because you didn’t, I will. . .

Disappointment leads to
some form of punishment!
 “Because idolatry operates in the subtle shadows of the
thoughts and motives of our hearts, most committed
idolators have no idea that this is their problem.
But the influence is powerful just the same.”

“We hold onto our beliefs, tithe, remain faithful in church attendance, and
occasionally participate in ministry activity.
Yet at the level of what we are really living for, we have
forsaken God for something else. This is the silent cancer that weakens the
church, robs individuals of their spiritual vitality,
and leads to all kinds of difficulty in relationships and situations.”

Paul David Tripp

“All human desire must be held in submission to a greater purpose, the desires
of God for his kingdom.
This is the posture of open hands before the Lord.

Paul David Tripp

(emphasis added)
Material for this message was drawn from
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand
by Paul David Tripp,
among other resources.