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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/murray-mccandless/heart-engagement/
Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse number 21. And their nobles shall be of themselves and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them. And I will cause them to draw near. And and he shall approach unto me.
Now here's the question. For who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me said the Lord who is this that engages his heart to approach unto me said the Lord. Now back to the book of Judges. Please in chapter 16 just for a final reading.
Judges chapter 16 and verse number 15 the words of this woman Delilah. And you have the best of character at times but that's the main choice of her. And she will say in verse number 15. Judges chapter 16 verse number 15.
And he said. And she said unto him how canst thou say I love thee when thine heart is not with me. That's all I wish to read. I don't like to speak very briefly concisely on the truth of heart engagement heart engagement.
I'm sorry that I have to tell you that in North America there have been three conferences canceled this year now. I haven't always attended all those conferences and maybe haven't made the effort to be at some of them that I could be could have been but there's only so many weekends in a year.
What really is draw my attention to this is a brother called me from one of the assemblies and it's a conference going longer than I have been. Okay. This is a conference going close to 100 years. Not gonna happen this year.
He said. He said Rudy Murray. So I got a vent. He says you know we've lost older people. It worked in the kitchen and the assembly is not big. I realized that. But we're on a hill. I didn't say it but you know what I want to say.
You're not over the help brother. You're on the heart your brother the heart. I'm not in the horse racing but when I read something I sometimes have a hard time forgetting it. But they tell me that these these big racehorses that run the greatness and you know the downs of these Topocron winners that the first half of that race that horse runs on his strength the last half runs on hard.
The only thing that will get them to the finish line is hard. When it comes to Christianity I don't think this would be hard for young Christians to remember. Just two things remember today is this Christianity is hard work.
If it isn't there's something wrong. It is not only hard work but it's hard work hard work. And that's just what you could go through the Old Testament. We're going to touch on some of these and just show you that where the people of God failed is was always in the heart.
You've heard it said from preacher after preacher the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. And so here's this woman Delilah and she's saying that how can still say that I don't love us. Me and my heart is not with me.
Let me ask you today where's your heart. Where is your heart. The Bible speaks of a divided heart. But could you honestly say that your heart is in. I don't mean that you have to be preaching all day long.
I don't say you have to be a full-time preacher a full-time servant. But is your heart really in the assembly. You know it matters not now. I know we have to have numbers to we have to have numbers to be able to function as an assembly.
But you know at the end of the day what will carry any testimony to the finish mark is not gift not ability. Not necessarily numbers. Heart. Sure. Who doesn't like numbers. If I had to remind the brother here a while ago I said listen let's get it straight.
I'm not interested in counting numbers. I am more interested in numbers that count now. Would that really define you this afternoon. And the assembly which you form a part that you're a part of the number that count.
That's what we're talking about. That was what was wrong. Back in Jeremiah's day. Who is this that engages his heart. He said the Lord to approach underneath other words the Lord didn't want them coming to him unless it was coming from the heart.
I did. Oh we had a lady a dear sister in Newfoundland. It will happen to Newfoundland. And she is that I was having gospel meetings there a number of years ago. And she come in on two canes. Okay wrote a bus.
So she came in one day and I was there pretty good time. And she came in her two canes. You hear coming the door. So just asking her. I said what time do you start on Sunday morning. What time you get up.
She's well I have to get up. I have to get up at six o 'clock to make it. Meeting isn't tall 930. I can get a six o 'clock to make it. Could you argue with her. I said you're doing pretty good. Because that she says.
I said you're here 20 minutes early. Oh she said mr. McAnlis. My heart was here long before that. Her feet followed her heart. Nobody else would climb out on a Sunday morning. A woman that's with such limitations physically go through the effort.
Who would say well we don't expect her to be here. I mean she's pretty almost an invalid. And there's this. And there's that. There's those that would have picked her up on that. You know the reason she didn't let people pick them up.
They wouldn't pick her up early enough. How do you make our brother. No no. I see these boys come in. They look up at the clock. Is that the clock's wrong box. Right. No excuse. Well I remember the clock.
Let's get it straight. I get accused of a lot of things. I get accused. I'm a man on the clock and I am come on. You would hire me for a long if I was late. All the time I was getting it. I didn't get the off track.
I'm conscious of that. I said a pretty large hall having meetings. I can tell you where it was. They had a big carport drive in underneath the carport. No it wasn't him. Okay. And anyhow there's something more coming in late tonight.
I told him. I said you know some of you boys slept over. You still be late for a meeting. You couldn't make it. So the correspondent gave me the meeting times and I was to read the meeting times. I remember yet.
I looked at it and said breaking bread 10 o 'clock. And I said breaking bread 945. And he's putting up his hand and telling me to correctly his wife was smarter. She's pulling his arm down. She got it.
He didn't. Now listen Frank I'm not here to exhort you on that. But you know heart heart work. You know how can I tell if my heart is in it by how much I love it. Whatever I love my my heart will follow that no matter what it is not only can be things that might work our employment our occupation our family.
There's a lot of things that that draw our hearts. There's a lot of things competing for the heart today. But for the child of God. Remember salvation started with the heart that if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus leave it.
That heart that God has raised him from the now shall be saved. In other words it is people that have engaged hearts. You know you're surprised. Not when you see them but when you don't see them. I mean sometimes people come into an assembly and it's like I they gave it out in our home assembly the other night I poked it.
Don't sit beside me. I said I was an assembly one time. I said this brother gives it up. But often but just where he comes that's about three times a year. And his song is I'm gonna stranger here. That's about it.
Okay. So don't be that like there are people. If they weren't there you would say hey what has happened. And you would have no difficulty at all calling them say we missed you brother we missed you sister.
What happened. And there are others that you're afraid to call. They're insulted. They feel that you're interfering in their private life. You don't know what's happened. The hearts not there. Listen.
There would be no Congress of Nathan if there wasn't some heart. And these believers should let's just face rags. Okay. If there weren't numbers that count in anything I wouldn't be on this platform. Then you wouldn't be here.
That wouldn't be us being looked after as we have for the weekend. I'm not here tossing bouquets. I'm here facing facts today. You're going back to your assembly. We want you to go back. Not because of what I am speaking here today.
We want you to go back from the Ankeny conference with a different heart changed heart that you're going to put into that assembly. You haven't been put into it. None of us put in what we could speaker included.
Any of us could go back. And so that's the big question today. You could go through the Davis. I'm going to touch on a few of them too very very quickly. But let me say this true revival recovery and restoration.
Okay one more time. Recovery revival and restoration. Start with the heart. I was just reading of Hezekiah lately and it's interesting. And started with his heart. But you don't have to be reached first his conscience.
That's why God will often speak to the conscience first. Because the conscience starts the wickedness to the back. I've got a very cold distant heart. In other words you could just as easy to be somewhere else as you are being here today.
Some of you have driven miles to be there's got to be some kind of heart got to be something that has brought you. There's got to be some kind of heart in the things of God good for you. But couldn't you put a little more heart into it.
You're gonna tell me you've got. You're putting everything into it. Did you pray at the prayer meeting last week. Not a look at the guy behind you. I love brother. Did you pray at the prayer meeting last week.
I say I find that top line to try somewhere. But you're there. You know that that is something to be said just for that that you're there and brethren can count on you. They want something. Do they'll call on you.
I'm not going to repeat what we are yesterday but that's the truth of the heart. Come on. When it comes to other things we pour our hearts into it. We do not. It's just likely maybe our makeup. But in whatever I did in my life I felt it was worth everything.
If it was worth anything I started out. I never my I don't think I pulled this off a conference platform in my life. But I'm gonna say it's afternoon. We had a rough time going through public school because we had a teacher the one room school.
It wasn't all that said about the gospel or my parents believe. And she just did not have too much time for the countless boys for some strange reasons. But anyhow that came out is a little bit like Jacob's sons one day.
I'll tell a bit of a lineup. And she was deciding what everybody was going to do. She started with her favorite that she was going to be a doctor. She says I think you'll go into science Martha. And she went on down.
I was last waiting for it. Finally she looked at me. She said well all right. I hope you can get some work with your dad. We're going on to high school. Listen. I might as well tell you my grandson tell you I don't.
He got the authority to run off Caleb and tell people I didn't finish high school. I didn't went in the aid business. Was 19 years old. I was employing 19 people. Where was the teacher. That didn't think I was gonna be able to work for my dad.
Well God is good. Well listen. That didn't come with a lot of a lot of hard work and hard work. My heart was in it. I drove. I competed with big boys. Guys have been in the businesses for years marketing age.
Doing this doing that. Put your heart into it. Come on brother. You got one. You can do it. You know as well as I do brother and sisters this afternoon you could contribute a lot more than you are. What's gonna make the difference when you get back to this book.
When you get back to the enjoyment of the Lord himself. You know we talk about gospel preachers having a love for souls. That's true. First of all it's a love for God. Love for souls follows a love for God.
A lover of good brethren follows a lover of God. So when it comes to the assembly when it comes to testimony your love for that place follows inseparably your love for God. And God has been kind to you gospel virtuous brethren come on.
I didn't go off to the children's ward of the hospital this morning and leave home with my grandchildren wondering if they're gonna make it. I know others that are doing that. I'm not sitting a night vigil wondering if my wife is gonna survive cancer.
Others are doing that. And I've done it. It's not been easy. But when it comes to the spiritual they haven't let up on it. So rebuke to us at times where do we become very lethargic and very lazy. You know what you remember going back to like I say let's go back to hang the eyes.
Ministry for an example. What do you say. Just consider your ways. Consider your ways. That's why you have to have a ministry of a Zachariah to follow. Because what's Zachariah do. He gets to their heart.
Hey guy got to their conscience. Zachariah gets to their heart. He talks about the branch talks about the one that will come talks about the one that will rain gets their sight sights lifted from this world this planet to a world that is to come.
We look for one or two worlds either this world or the world to come. So that was his ministry. But in David's day remember in chapter 12 of 1st Chronicles all these men of war that could keep right. What's the safe.
They came to David with perfect heart. Whatever you want to just breathe it did you just want a little water for the wells of Bethlehem. And they're on their way. Why. Cuz they love David. Any. It was very difficult.
Remember. You'll go through those passages. I can go through them with you. But let me leave them with you. Read them in the chronicle passage especially constantly repeatedly. It's their heart and their heart being read with David.
And their heart was with David and their heart being knit together with David. That's what we need they admit together. That's the language of course of the Colossian epistle. Well mind is you kind of got a bad rap in this country not by the people here.
I asked you who Betsy Ross was. You know who Betsy Ross was. I'm a Canadian. I know what Betsy Ross was. She's a young girl that as far as I know sold the first American flag. And that flag of course is your flag that you have today.
My mother's name was Sarah and she got big recognition for that so much so that there's a huge bridge that bridges the Delaware River and it connects. It connects New Jersey with Pennsylvania. It's called the Betsy Ross bridge in the Philadelphia Philadelphia one of those big papers.
There's a picture old picture not that long ago I showed Betsy working away stitching. What's going to become this first flag. You know what the caption said. Time to check the stitches. Because what's happening in this country in our country that fabric's being pulled apart pulled far enough and there's no flag pulled far enough and there's no heart in there at all.
How do you. I see these men. Watch the pictures of them I've served I've gone over and know what it is. And just your recent I read USA. It's on my it comes on my web the news whether it's Fox News USA Today or whatever.
What's the need of the flag and people's endearment towards their hearts and that sort of thing. And it's a big issue here. What is really the issue. The heart of the people. The heart of the people. What is the biggest challenge to this country in any other country every assembly I know today it's the heart.
It's the heart. So here's this woman to Hilah and Samson with his can I be cutting ways and probably she just comes out. She has to tell what she's going to tell for a long time. How can you say you love me.
How how can you say use words like how can I say I love you when my heart is not with me. But you know as well as I do that wasn't going to last long and it didn't listen. I could tell you brother sister.
And I don't know a lot of this audience this afternoon. If your heart such as the testing days of testimony today and then the other day if your heart does not appear your heart is not that something you'll get into love.
You won't. Because your feet will follow your heart. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if this conference left lasting impact and marks in your life for the glory of God for the honor of the testimony which you form a part.
And those brothers could say you know before they came they found that they ain't to be conferenced. They came back. And there's a nice change. It happens it happens. There's a sister in our assembly professed in gospel with his.
I had and I had to say to you I'd be one of those that was very very slow. And I'm believing that Dorothy was ever saved. She went to one of the conferences in America just 25 years ago. She came back a different girl.
No it wasn't the Sussex conference. Another conference came back a different girl five children faithful to the assembly. Where did it start. I don't know who was ministering. What was being taught. It started at the conference.
You know something else people pick up at a conference even more than what goes from this platform. You think of it rather the spirit of the conference. You've got something to be thankful for here. There's a nice spirit that flows among the people that I've communicated with rather than my fellow brethren fellow visitors.
I'll agree to that lovely floor. Just kind of a warm spirit. May God preserve that to you. The devil hates it. What will keep it. What will preserve it again. It is the engaged heart now. That was God's challenge to his people that they would just keep that.
So it says the rest of Israel. It says finally when David we're here about that from Scott this morning when David is finally crowned. What's it say. They all came together. All Israel came together with one heart with one heart to make David king.
Remember his rejection and his rejection now even on the why those men of Judah they're holding out on it until he says you're born in my home. What's wrong. He said. I am not going to that throne. So I have you men with me.
Finally the day came. The moment came when they were united together in that. So Paul writes about Peter. Remember Peter with that company that day that had to be hard on the apostle. Peter says that he would.
Or Paul writes. And he says this in Galatians chapter 2 he says he withdrew and separated himself fearing them which were of the circumstance. What's the word for it. Through there cut it up disengaged.
So a heart that was once engaged became disengaged. Thank God that Peter is recovered in that on a man like Peter and his heart becomes disengaged. What does that mean me. I mean you know what leaves us with the challenge of a book that I've got this.
The same as yours and we've got the same challenges in the east. I mean I now I know I'm partial to the east and I will stick up for it. That sort of thing. We've been accused of all kinds of things out there but always do like these good brethren do come and visit us sometime.
See for yourself. God's been kind but I'm saying this. Don't you think for a minute. The devil doesn't have his eye on things. This man here knows it as well as I did. I did not say it's because our of our home assembly.
I've never known this before where brethren overseers made an announcement that brethren had to shorten their prayers because there wasn't enough time for a regular worship on a Sunday morning. And usually there's 14 to 17 brethren that would worship on a Sunday morning.
May the Lord preserve that now that's not just where we are. We're gonna be all right. Like I mean somebody's over there. Same thing other places to other places to say bless your worship. What about your gospel word that follows that promise.
Give me a place where there's strong worship. Give me the place first of all where there is that royal priest or the holy priest going into worship God. Then there's their royal preach going on with that gospel.
How canst thou say thou lovest me. And my heart is not with me. Leave this building today. Leave this premises today with a changed heart. With a heart maybe that's become cold and distant heart. And hard.
With a heart of course that is soft. Remember Demas. The same thing you want. You read about Demas three times. He's mentioned in the new testament every time there's just a little bit of a drawing away hoping to be left.
The assemblage that you went to a place where life was a little easier. That's all. I don't have anything to suggest that he really turned his back on me. Paul says Demas have forsaken me having loved this present world.
And he says this is departed unto Thessalonica. It's relatively easier Thessalonica than where he came from. And he says Greece is to Galatia. Padis in Galatia. The word there is deserting. Deserting rather than dusting.
I've had some very close friends very close friends that deserted the place that I hope I'll always love. A sister came to my wife. Not that long ago not a few years ago. Now she says listen. I want to tell you Shirley because I can't tell Murray this.
But Bill wants his relationship to still be the same with your husband. With Murray calling her by name. She said to her Dorothy it won't be. It won't be. She says I don't want to call you that way. She says he's very passionate about where he goes.
And when Bill turns his back on that that relationship will not be the same. And it hasn't. It hasn't. Love to see him back. Love to see him recovered. Love to see that hurt. Nevertheless that's the truth of it.
Dear David Livingston. Some of you have read his books. I've read snippets of the pieces of it. Uh dear David Livingston labored those years in Africa when he died. He died of course right. In the area where he labored up a lot in the Shetembo village.
And Britain felt that because he was one of theirs he should have a proper proper burial. But they had big difficulty trying to get the body back to the UK. To give David Livingston the burial he deserved.
Anyhow just to make the story short they set the bed. They sent his body back up to the UK. But we got there's something minus. No heart. No body. They carved it out. Here's what they sent. A note they said in case you're wondering his heart belongs to Africa.
Where's your heart belong to me. I could be in the testimony. Is your heart belong to your brother. Why not. Why couldn't it be. Why should it be the rest of that. I'm just going to leave. I just want to leave with you.
Two words I'd like you to remember heart engagement. And go back and read those words of Delilah. They're touching. How canst thou say don't love us me. My heart is not with me. Listen brethren and sisters I'm as guilty as anybody.
But we sing a lot of bitch in our songs. That's lies. Don't we stand up and sing lord Jesus I love thee. No valor in mine all that we do. And the next breath we're other plans. Let's manifest that love of him to one another and let our hearts be engaged for that which will count for eternity.