An Undivided Heart // God Wants to Heal Your Heart, Part 9
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Release Date: 08/07/2025
Encountering Bullies // Living Your Dreams, Part 3
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Each one of us has some big dream for our lives – woven into our DNA by God. But sometimes, when we expect those closest to us to be excited and supportive, they’re anything but! Why is that? It's great to be with you again today. You know, this week and next week we are doing something that's really exciting. I'm excited by the teaching that we are having on the program over these next two weeks. We are looking at the dreams in our lives. What's the dream that God has planted in your life? Are you living that dream or is it, maybe, a lost and forgotten dream? Or is it maybe a...
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Leaving Your Comfort Zone // Living Your Dreams, Part 2
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Each one of us has some big dream for our lives – woven into our DNA by God. But most people realise that to live out that dream they’re going to have to leave their comfort zone. And that … that’s scary. We all have a dream, something that we really want to do. It’s not only something we’re good at, it’s not only something that really excites us. Sometimes we had the dream a long time ago and through the pressures of life we’ve forgotten them. But God weaves those dreams, His purposes, into our DNA. The things we’re really good at, that we really enjoy doing. We...
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Embracing Your Dreams // Living Your Dreams, Part 1
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Each of us has a big dream for our lives. Sometimes it’s forgotten. Sometimes we’re afraid of it. And sometimes we’re just too busy for it. But that God-given dream is woven into our DNA. It’s great to have your company with us today. I want to begin by asking you three distinct questions. The first question is this: how many people do you know who are living out their dream? When they’ve discovered who they are and what they’re good at and what God made them for and they’re out there, living it and loving it. Second question: how many people do you know...
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Enough to Go Around // Reaping God's Harvest in My Life, Part 5
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
One of the greatest things in life is when you sow a good seed and one day you get to reap a good harvest. That’s probably why so many cultures have harvest festivals. But – what do we do with that harvest? What we get out of life depends pretty much on what we put into it. It's a self-evident piece of blindingly, glimpsingly obvious wisdom isn't it? That’s why this week we've been looking at the whole idea of sowing and reaping in our lives. We're confronted by a tough or a difficult situation and if, instead of running away or kicking and screaming, we actually sow some...
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Waiting, Waiting, Waiting // Reaping God's Harvest in My Life, Part 4
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
We pretty much know that to reap a good harvest, we have to sow a good seed – but I’ll tell you sometimes it’s a long way between sowing and reaping – waiting, waiting, waiting…. I'm not a farmer but I've often imagined what it must be like, you know you spend the money, you buy the seed, you prepare the soil, you plant the seed and then you wait. So many things can go wrong, too much rain, not enough rain or it rains at the wrong time and pests and disease and fire and hail. Sometimes it can be a different one each year but eventually after some hard work, the investment and the...
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Weathering the Storm // Reaping God's Harvest in My Life, Part 3
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Have you ever noticed – when you take a good decision to plant some good seed in difficult soil – all of a sudden, a dirty great storm whips up. Hey, I’m trying to do the right thing – God what’s going on? We all like sunshine and warm weather. You know when the weather forecaster comes on and says it's going to be cold and wet tomorrow, we go, "Augh yuck," but of course without the rain we'd all be dead. It's as simple as that, and sometimes it comes down in torrents, storms blow, the rain pelts down. Have you ever noticed the plants and the trees and the bushes in all that?...
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Watering the Dirt // Reaping God's Harvest in My Life, Part 2
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Sometimes, when we go through a bit of a rough patch, instead of running away (which is always our first instinct) instead, we make a good choice and decide to plant a good seed in that place. But then for a while, it feels like nothing’s happening. Have you ever planted a seed into some dirt? There’s something that, well frankly, is unnerving about this simple transaction. You take the seed and invariably it costs you something, you put it into the dirt and you cover it up and it's gone. There's a little kid inside each of us who wants to sit there and say, "Ok, well. I planted you, I...
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Planting the Seed // Reaping God's Harvest in My Life, Part 1
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Sometimes when you’re going through a bad patch – all you want is for it to get better. But actually, sometimes, what we need to do is to plant a good seed while we’re waiting. Can I ask you, what do you want to get out of life? I mean when you stand back and survey the landscape called, “your life”, the highs and the lows, what are some of the things that you’d love to see there? Relationships, achievements, family, career, money, a promotion, holiday? We’re all different, but basically my hunch is that we kind of want the same sorts of things in life. We want health and...
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Back to the Future // How to Get More Out of Your Parents, Part 5
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
One of the things that nobody ever really tells you when you’re a teenager, is that the tough lessons you learn now are going to be so important later on in life. Is that really true? There's a great film that was produced back in 1984 called, “The Karate Kid”. It's about a teenage boy who had just lost his father and who ends up studying karate under an older Japanese man called, Mr Miagi. And for the first few months, all Mr Miagi does is to get this young Daniel Laruso to do menial chores – polish the car, paint the fence, sand the deck and after months Daniel has had enough. He...
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The Marque of Maturity // How to Get More Out of Your Parents, Part 4
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
One of the things I did when I was a teenager is that I wanted to act like a child and yet, to be treated like an adult. So what are parents looking for in their teenagers as key indicators that they’re actually growing up? Can I ask you a question? How would you define maturity? I mean, you look at two people, similar ages, similar backgrounds and you think that one, well she definitely has it but that other one over there, he just needs to grow up. So what’s the difference between the two? What sets them apart? What makes one person mature and the other one immature? Interesting. We...
info_outlineHave you ever been half hearted about something? We all have – and the thing is, when we’re half hearted, there’s one thing for certain, we’re never going to succeed. Part of us puling this way, part of us pulling the other way. Tears us apart. But God, God is into healing our hearts.
You know one of the things that I give thanks to God for is that I’m not indecisive. Well, at least I don’t think I am but maybe, I don’t know. What do you think? You get the point. It’s okay for us not to be sure about some things in life.
I was speaking with a man just the other day. Faithful man of God. Put in charge of a ministry. And once he took over he discovered that the organisation was massively in debt. And as I listened to him share his story with me. Would they have to close the doors in the next couple of weeks? Or would God perform miracles they needed? I really felt for him.
Sometimes in the circumstances of life we’re not quite sure how things are going to turn out. Is this going to go this way or that? Is God going to show up with a miracle or not? They are normal issues with life that we deal with.
But there’s something else that can go on in our hearts, an indecisiveness of a much deeper sort. An indecisiveness so deep that it tears us apart. And that condition is known as a “divided heart”. A heart torn between God and all the other things in life that we can chase down. A heart torn between a deep desire to give our all to Him and the intensely human desire to chase after the gratification this world peddles.
Imagine for a moment a football team where the players can’t agree which end of the field they’re defending and which end they’re attacking. Half the team thinks it’s one way and the other half thinks it’s the other way. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that they’re probably not going to be the most affective and cohesive team on the field that day. And they’re probably not going to win the game.
It’s blindingly obvious, isn’t it? Yet how many people live their lives like that? Let me get right in your face with this today. I’m not going to “mamby pamby” around because while Gods passionate desire is to heal our hearts, there’s often little He can do when our hearts are divided.
Now there’s a principle that Jesus spoke of on this very subject. It was in a different context but the principle nevertheless stands. They all saw the amazing miracles that Jesus was doing and so some of the religious leaders accused Him of being the devil. They were saying that He was demonised and all these amazing displays of power were being, well, powered not by heaven but by hell. Jesus answered His critics this way:
Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?
It makes perfect sense doesn’t it? It’s the football team analogy. If a kingdom is divided against itself that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. It’s blindingly, obvious.
And if our heart is divided, if our desires are pulling in two different directions, let me ask you something. How much peace are we going to have in our lives? How much power are we going to have in our lives? How affective are we going to be in pouring the love and the grace of God out into this lost and hurting world? Well again you don’t have to be Einstein to figure that out.
One of the things that really shocked me when I started scratching around in the Bible was how often this phrase appeared:
With all your heart.
Have a listen to just a few. Deuteronomy 4:29:
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 6:5:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 10:12:
And now O Israel what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart?
Deuteronomy 11:13:
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Over and over again, it’s in the same context. Being committed to God, loving Him and seeking Him with all our hearts.
There are so many people who want the benefits of believing in Jesus but haven’t thrown their hearts into it. There are so many people who want the peace and the joy of knowing Jesus. Who want the power for things to change in their lives for the glory of God. But their house is divided. Their kingdom is divided. Their heart is divided.
God is not looking for part of us. God is not looking for some half-hearted commitment. Last time I checked there were no Biblical dispensations for honouring and serving and obeying him like, “Well Berni, if it suits you. If it doesn’t cost you anything. If it’s not too inconvenient. If it’s safe and you won’t lose anything.” And yet sometimes we behave as though those dispensations are there.
So many Christians, people who love Jesus. Who believe in Jesus. They do it half-heartedly. Have a listen to what James writes about the getting of wisdom:
If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him but when he asks he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed with the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double minded man unstable in all he does. (James 1:5-8).
God doesn’t want part of us. He wants all of us. God doesn’t want us to be half-hearted or double minded, tossed around. He wants ALL of us. He’s calling us today to love Him, to serve Him, to seek Him out with all our hearts. Every last little bit. Every last ounce of what we have left. That’s how much He wants us.
Let me ask you something, are you in or are you out? Because there are no half measures for God. There is no lukewarm. There are no comfort qualifiers on this commitment.
How do I know if I’m committed? Well, here are a few questions that I use from time to time in my own life as a litmus test:
Am I prepared to stand completely alone for Jesus in this world?
Am I prepared to lose everything to follow Him?
Is there anything that I would not give up in order to serve Him?
They’re telling questions my friend. They are important questions because the one who is double minded, half-hearted, lukewarm, shouldn’t expect to live in a place where he or she receives the joy of the Lord and the power of salvation. Yes God wants to heal our hearts but in order for Him to do that we have to hand the whole heart over to Him so that He can heal the whole thing.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever asked God to help you with that? Here is a prayer that King David prayed along those very lines:
Teach me Your way oh Lord and I will walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name. I will praise You oh Lord my God with all my heart. I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your love towards me. You have delivered me from the depths of the grave. (Psalm 86, verses 11 to 13).
What a mighty prayer. And Gods promise is to give us an undivided heart. Ezekiel 11:19:
I will give them an undivided heart and a new spirit in them. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.