Description:

Our purpose in this study is to identify the difference between a heart dedicated to God and one dedicated to self. Based on the Word of God, we all start out as sinful. As David said in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Message from Marsh: “May your personal walk with the Lord lead you to be transformed, renewed, and blessed.”

Marsh

Founder/President

Thank you for coming to: mensgroup.org

Men and Matters of the Heart

LESSON 7 – The Delighted Heart – Resting within the Proper Boundaries

(www.mensgroup.org – “Original Study”)

Lesson Focus: Through this lesson we will discover how reading God’s Word can bring eternal delight to our soul and spirit.

“Blessing on every man that wants to delight in God and in His word. It will not go unnoticed and will have eternal benefit for you.” – C. Marsh Bull.

Starting Prayer: Father God, we want to have a delighted heart that soars above the circumstances that surround us. We want to study your word regularly and ask that your Holy Spirit give us delight and sustain us from your Word.

Opening Questions:

1.      What is one delight you have experienced in your life?

2.      What did you do when you were delighted?

Scripture Passage:

Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. (Psalm 119:111)

Phrase Explanation:

When we say we are delighted, it means that we are experiencing great pleasure in someone or something. Parents are delighted when their son finally finds a spouse. Diners are delighted with an excellent meal, and sports fans are delighted by watching their team win the Super Bowl. However, these could be identified as circumstantial happiness on steroids and most of their delight will fade and lose its impact soon.

In a deeper sense, to have a delighted heart indicates that the soul and spirit are unified in their mutual acceptance of the truth driving a true and faithful heart. The psalmist said above that he was delighted with God’s law even though it might not always be in his favor.

Delight is present in the psalmist heart - that immaterial part of his being - because he can see what God has done through His word. We all have experienced a time in life when it was dark and no solution presented itself. For that reason, the psalmist declares that all statutes, laws, decrees, and commandments of God are delightful. They provided light to his path in both good and bad times.

They do not weigh down, discourage, or beat him up. They are seen as his constant guide that “makes me wiser than my enemies,” gives me “more understanding than all my teachers,” allows me “understanding more than the aged,” are “sweeter than honey to my mouth,” gain understanding “through your precepts,” and allow me to hold back my feet from “every evil path” (Psalm 119:98-104). He was delighted with the by-products of his study of God’s word.

This perpetual delight is not the result of good circumstances but of principles and values revealed by God that direct his heart, and the heart of every person who would do the same thing, creating a life well lived. This delight produced a strong determination by the psalmist in several different ways: “I will follow your righteous laws,” “I will not forget your law,” “I have not strayed from your precepts,” and “my heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end” (Psalm 119:106-112). He was adamant and determined to keep his focus on God.

The eyes of his heart were opened by God’s commandments to the difference between temporal and eternal life, and to the inner workings of his own heart, as well as the hearts of others. So, how did he obtain that delight? A rhetorical question. He made time each day for God’s Word. He did as David said,

Trust in the Lord…take delight in the Lord…commit your way to the Lord…and be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (Psalm 37:3-7a)

A delighted heart finds rest in the boundaries given by the commandments of God. So, delight comes as each of us commit’s to reading and meditating on the Word of God, every day.

When time with God is calendared, your delighted heart will be one that finds rest within His boundaries.

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      How is delight different than experiential or practical joy?

2.      How do you think delight comes to one who studies the Bible?

3.      What kind of boundaries for delight are set in the Bible?

Application:

1.      Tell us about a time you were delighted by something you found in the Word of God?

2.      How has the reading of God’s Word changed the way you face serious situations?

3.      What would help you to have a delighted heart?

Closing Prayer: Father God, increase our desire to study your word. Help us to understand it and do what it encourages us to do. We want to have a delighted heart.

 

Additional Resources:

Similar verses:
1 Samuel 2:1; Nehemiah 1:11; Psalm 1:2; 35:9; 37:4; 111:2; 112:1; 119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174;
Jeremiah 15:16; 2 Corinthians 7:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

Continue to Lesson 8 – The Undivided Heart – Aim for Wholeheartedness

Or use these links to navigate to various parts of this study:

Intro | Lesson 7 | Lesson 8 | Lesson 9 | Lesson 10 | Lesson 11 | Lesson 12

Did you find this study useful?

We’d love to hear your success story, ideas, or other feedback. Please send us an e-mail addressed to mensgrouptopics@gmail.com or use our contact page.

click the button below for A “PRINTER FRIENDLY” PDF OF this free study

Join our email list to stay in touch!

  • Get notified of updates such as when new studies are added.

  • Stay “in the know” about book giveaways (and other prizes).

  • We hate spam and will never sell or share your email address.