Main Idea
Submit to the search, surrender what you find.
Key Verses
Mark 7:18-23 NLT
18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) 20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
Jeremiah 17:10 ESV
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
1 Chronicles 28:9a ESV
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought…
Revelation 2:23b ESV
…And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart…
Psalms 139:23-24 NIV
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Discussion Questions
What did you think of the message?
Matt talked in the message about the battle we often face between the heart and the mind, which side would you say you tend to lean? More towards heart or mind?
Read Mark 7:18-23 NLT. What is Jesus communicating here?
Read Psalms 139:23-24 NIV. How can asking God to search our hearts and mind impact how we live?
If you feel comfortable, share what you wrote for your answer to the prayers that Matt showed us in the message.
“God, my thoughts are _____. What do you think?”
“God, it’s become clear that I have _____ in my heart. Help me get it out and instead have ______.”