The Heart Wants What It Wants

Devotional

Day 1: The Enigma of the Double Image

We carry both divine imprint and human brokenness. Every person bears God’s image, granting dignity and purpose, yet simultaneously inherits Adam’s corrupted likeness. This duality explains why humans create art and commit atrocities, nurture love and nurse grudges. The tension between these realities shapes our struggles: we long for holiness yet battle selfish impulses. Recognizing this paradox is the first step toward grasping our need for redemption. [01:22]

“God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:29, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt the tension between your God-given dignity and your human brokenness? How does this dual reality deepen your dependence on Christ?

Day 2: The Oil Well of the Sinful Heart

Sin isn’t surface-level dirt but a toxic seepage from within. Like an uncapped oil well, our corrupted nature continuously spews destructive desires, warped thoughts, and selfish cravings. No amount of external pressure or moral effort can stop this inner eruption. Even “good” people like the Apostle Paul admit their hearts produce darkness. The battle begins by acknowledging sin’s source isn’t our environment but our nature. [10:56]

“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.”
(Ephesians 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: What recent thought, desire, or action revealed sin’s “oil well” within you? How might this awareness shift your approach to spiritual growth?

Day 3: When the Heart Wants What It Wants

Our cravings don’t negotiate. Like Natasha stealing a TV she didn’t need, we often act against logic and self-interest because disordered desires override reason. Jesus identified the heart—not circumstances—as the birthplace of greed, envy, and malice. Following our hearts leads to chaos; submitting them to Christ’s authority brings freedom. The question isn’t “What do I want?” but “What does my heart want?” [29:31]

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery.”
(Mark 7:21, ESV)

Reflection: When has an impulsive choice revealed your heart’s hidden cravings? How can you practice heart-checking before God today?

Day 4: Confessing the Mess-Ups

Spiritual leadership begins with honest brokenness. Children spot the gap between our polished personas and private struggles. When a son wished his father “would mess up more,” it exposed our tendency to mask flaws rather than model repentance. Vulnerability about our sins—whether humorous mishaps or tearful failures—points others to grace. Perfection repels; redeemed strugglers attract. [37:08]

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
(James 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to project spiritual polish rather than authentic struggle? Who needs to see Christ’s grace in your weaknesses this week?

Day 5: Born This Way, Redeemed Another

Culture insists we’re “born perfect”; Scripture says we’re born broken. Lady Gaga’s anthem celebrates self-love, but Christ calls us to self-denial. The gospel isn’t about affirming our natural state but transforming it. Only when we stop justifying “how I’m wired” can we embrace how we’re reborn. Redemption begins where self-esteem ends. [40:41]

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your “natural self” have you rationalized instead of surrendering? How does Christ’s death for sinners reshape your self-perception?

Sermon Summary

Ecclesiastes says that God made Adam upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. Genesis shows how sin, once outside Adam in the garden, got into him through the first disobedience, and then marked every generation born in Adam’s likeness. The double image explains the strange contradiction of human life: every person bears God’s image, with real meaning, value, and worth, yet every person also bears Adam’s likeness and is messed up and vulnerable.

Ephesians 2:3 answers the question that rises after a foolish word, a cruel act, or a split-second disaster: “Why did I do it?” Paul says that people gratify the cravings of the sinful nature and follow its desires and thoughts. Sin goes everywhere. It gets into the mind, the will, the affections, what people think, what they want, and what they love. Sin is not merely crayon on the wall, something that can be wiped off or painted over. Sin is mold in the wall, a living thing that spreads and grows. Sin is in people, not merely around them.

Paul also says, “All of us.” The apostle includes himself, though he had been religious, moral, disciplined, and convinced of his own righteousness. Christ opened Paul’s eyes to see that, apart from him, he was totally lost. The contrast between outward respectability and inward corruption means that the problem cannot be assigned merely to openly rebellious people “out there.” Sinners sin because they are sinners by nature and by practice.

The sinful nature produces cravings like an oil well continually pouring its pollution into life. Pride rises when a person is blessed; envy rises when another person is blessed. Self-righteousness rises after good deeds, denial after sin, self-pity in suffering, resentment when service goes unnoticed, and self-justification in conflict. The sinful nature even dodges and weaves under the Word of God, always trying to make sure that nothing lands on the heart.

The heart also feeds itself through imagination sins. The mind can supply corrupt desires with imagined objects, imagined revenge, imagined wealth, and imagined impurity. The heart wants what it wants, but Scripture calls people not to follow their hearts blindly. The Word must judge the heart, because a heart born in Adam’s likeness can drive a life to wreck.

The gospel refuses the false comfort that people are born morally whole and need only self-esteem. Parents especially must let children see humble repentance, not a polished religious image. Christ receives sinners who come in faith and repentance, forgives them, strengthens them for the battle, and changes them from within.

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Key Takeaways

1. Sin reaches every part of life Sin does not sit in one isolated corner of the personality. It works through thoughts, desires, and affections, corrupting not only conduct but also the things a person loves and longs for. The battle therefore requires more than managing outward behavior; it requires bringing the whole inner life under the Word of God. [09:26]
2. Respectability cannot cure lostness Paul’s inclusion of himself destroys the illusion that religious discipline makes a person safe before God. Moral effort can even reinforce the false impression that everything is well. Christ alone opens blind eyes to see that even a person at his best needs a Savior. [14:33]
3. Learn to predict sinful cravings The sinful nature has recognizable patterns: resentment when overlooked, self-pity in suffering, and escape fantasies in hard commitments. Christians grow wiser when they learn to anticipate these impulses rather than treating each temptation as a surprise. Such watchfulness equips the heart to fight instead of simply surrendering. [22:21]
4. Do not blindly follow your heart The heart wants what it wants, but desire is not a trustworthy guide merely because it is strong. A heart born in Adam’s likeness must be checked against Scripture and placed under its judgment. Freedom comes not by obeying every inward impulse, but by letting God’s Word expose and direct the heart. [29:31]
5. Repentance makes Christ precious The recognition that something is broken within is not the end of hope but the beginning of true hope. A sinner who sees both nature and practice clearly can come to Jesus Christ, the righteous one, with nothing to claim except mercy. Christ receives such a person and supplies strength for the lifelong battle.

## [41:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:15] - The Double Image in Adam
[01:51] - Why Did I Do It?
[07:45] - Ephesians 2 and the Problem of Sin
[08:45] - Sin Goes Everywhere
[13:08] - Sin Is in Everyone
[17:21] - The Cravings of the Sinful Nature
[22:50] - Learning to Predict Temptation
[25:11] - Imagination Sins
[28:44] - The Heart Wants What It Wants
[31:17] - Born This Way or Born Sinners
[34:17] - Showing Children Humble Repentance
[41:18] - Christ Receives Repentant Sinners

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:3
“among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” [08:30]

Ecclesiastes 7:29
“See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” [00:21]

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” [06:57]

Observation questions

In Ecclesiastes 7:29, what two statements are made about how God made Adam and what people have done since then? [00:21]
In Ephesians 2:3, what parts of a person’s inner life are named as being affected by sinful cravings?
What word does Paul use in Ephesians 2:3 that shows he includes himself, not only openly rebellious people, in the problem of sin? [13:08]
What does Jeremiah 17:9 say about the human heart, and what question does it raise about a person’s ability to understand himself or herself? [06:57]

Interpretation questions

Ephesians 2:3 says that people follow the desires and thoughts of the sinful nature. How does this help explain why sin is more than isolated bad actions or unfortunate mistakes? [09:17]
Paul was religious, moral, and disciplined, yet he still says “all of us.” Why is this important for someone who compares himself favorably with more visibly broken or rebellious people? [14:03]
The contrast between “crayon on the wall” and “mold in the wall” describes two very different views of sin. What does this comparison show about why outward behavior management alone cannot solve the human problem? [11:23]
If the heart can be deceitful and sinful desires can shape both thoughts and affections, why must Scripture judge the heart instead of a person simply following whatever feels strongest? [29:31]

Application questions

Think of a recent moment when you said something hurtful, became defensive, acted impatiently, or made a foolish choice. What desires, thoughts, or cravings may have been working beneath that action?
Which situations tend to bring out predictable sinful responses in you—for example, pride when you are praised, envy when someone else succeeds, resentment when you are overlooked, or self-pity when life is hard? What would it look like to recognize that pattern earlier? [19:25]
Where are you most tempted to see sin mainly “out there”—in culture, family members, coworkers, or other groups—rather than honestly acknowledging what is in your own heart? [13:31]
Are there imagination sins that you need to bring into the light: rehearsing revenge, fantasizing about possessions or recognition, replaying conflict, or feeding desires that should not be fed? What could help you turn your mind toward what is true and pleasing to God? [27:00]
When you hear God’s Word exposing sin, what are your usual ways of dodging, minimizing, comparing yourself with others, or keeping the truth from landing on your heart? [21:03]
For parents, grandparents, or others who influence younger people: how can you show humble repentance rather than presenting a polished image that hides your need for Christ? What might a sincere confession or apology look like this week? [37:40]
Jesus Christ receives sinners who come to him in faith and repentance. Where do you need to stop defending yourself and come to him honestly for mercy, strength, and change from within? [41:50]

Sermon Clips

“But if you see today that you are a sinner by nature and by practice and you believe the word of God, then I say to you that is a redeemer today to whom you can come, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. And he is ready to receive you and to walk with you and he will change you and there is hope for every person in him today.” [00:41:50]

“But if you believe what we are learning from the Bible today, you will learn to distrust your own heart. And so the next time someone says to you, ‘Oh, follow your heart.’ Doesn't that phrase sound so wonderfully pious? ‘Follow your heart.’ You'll say, ‘Wait a minute. Follow my heart?’ This heart was born in the likeness of Adam. If I follow my heart, it may lead me into all kinds of sin and folly. I need to follow the word and check what is in my heart against it, and put what is in my heart under it, and let it be the judge of my heart. Otherwise, I will drive myself to a wreck.” [00:30:03]

“But the problem of sin is bigger than crayon on the wall. It's more like mold in the wall. You can't just paint over that. It's a living thing. It spreads. It grows. And unchecked, it will take you to your destruction.” [00:11:37]

“But Ephesians chapter 2 is going behind the fact that we all do wrong things some of the time, and it's asking the question, ‘Why? Why do I sin? Why did I do it?’ That's the question. Where does this come from? And the answer that we're getting here is that we sin because we are sinners. It comes out of us. There is a a nature within us that produces sin.” [00:10:24]

“If you are a Christian, your sin is forgiven. Your heart is renewed, but sin is not yet expelled. That awaits the day when you will be in the presence of Christ. And so you are in involved in a lifelong struggle. We all are. With this stuff that gets produced every day, learn to to read it, learn to predict it, learn to expect it, learn to fight it.” [00:24:11]

“In other words, the Bible's teaching is that sin is in us, not just around us, not simply environmental. It's not that we're sort of born really good people at heart, but then we're put into a bad world, and that's where the problem lies. No, the problem lies in us.” [00:11:55]

“Putting other people down, that put-down line, it came out of your heart. The endless desire for more, where does that come from that drives so many men? It comes out of the sinful heart. These things are in us. That's where sin comes from. That's the Bible's answer to the question, ‘Why did I do it?’” [00:12:35]

“Are you helping them realistically as they grow up to understand the mystery of sin in their life because they're battling all the same things that you are. Why don't you come clean with them? Why don't you get real with them? Are you helping your children to understand the mystery of sin that is in them or are you actively blinding their minds to the gospel by drip feeding them the false gospel of self-esteem?” [00:38:55]

“The heart wants what it wants. So, all of us are going to have to make, and it will have to be made on a daily and a continuing basis, a choice as to how we will live. And the choice you make about how you live will be a direct reflection about what you most deeply believe regarding the condition of your own heart.” [00:29:27]

“It affects what we love, it affects what we want, it affects what we think. All of these things are shot through by the impulse of sin. Which is why our Lord Jesus says, ‘This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men have loved darkness instead of light.’” [00:09:28]

“So, you've got the mind and the will and the heart. You've got the thoughts, you've got the desires, and you've got the affections. And what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that sin penetrates and corrupts all dimensions of the human personality. It is pervasive.” [00:09:09]

“The enigma of the double image. That is you are made in the image of God, which is what gives your life meaning, value, and worth. But at the same time, we are all born in the likeness of our father Adam, which means that by nature, we are messed up and we are vulnerable.” [00:01:25]

“Now, these are the two simple observations then. Uh sin goes everywhere in the human personality, and it is in everyone. There are no exceptions. This is my reality and yours by nature. Sinners by nature and by practice.” [00:16:54]

“I tell you the sinful nature is at the height of its production during the preaching of the word of God. It will dodge and it will weave to make sure as God as it's possible that nothing lands on you. Uh nothing comes into you. So that you would go out as you came in, never having truly encountered God.” [00:21:50]

“It's not just you, it's not just people who are pursuing an openly immoral life out there as it were. It's all of us. It is all of us. The Apostle includes himself.” [00:15:15]

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