Definition: Unconditional commitment and devotion; unreserved enthusiasm; earnestness; sincerity.
1. Wholehearted love for God is the cornerstone of Christian life.
* Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
* Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
* Joel 2:12a Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart.
2. We are to be wholehearted in our obedience and service to God.
* Deuteronomy 32:46,47a And he [Moses] said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. 47a For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life.
* 1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He hath done for you.
* Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
* Ecclesiastes 9:10a Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.
* 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
* Philippians 3:13,14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
3. Wholeheartedness brings us closer to the Lord.
* 2 Chronicles 15:12,15a And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. … 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them.
* Psalm 9:1 I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all Thy marvellous works.
* Psalm 119:2,10 [David knew the importance of wholeheartedness.] Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. … 10 With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments. [See also verses 34,58,69,145.]
* Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.
* Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.
* 2 Corinthians 7:10,11 [True repentance brings on wholeheartedness for God.] For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
* James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
4. The halfhearted stumble down the path that leads to failure and disappointment to God.
* 2 Chronicles 25:2 And he [King Amaziah] did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart [wholeheartedly].
* Jeremiah 3:10 [The Lord sees right through halfheartedness.] Her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly [in pretense], saith the Lord.
* Hosea 10:2a Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty.
* Luke 9:57-62 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. 59 And He said unto another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the Kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.
* Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
* James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
* Revelation 3:15,16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.
5. When we are wholehearted toward God, He is wholehearted toward us.
* Deuteronomy 11:13,14 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
* 2 Chronicles 31:21 [King Hezekiah’s wholeheartedness won him blessing and prosperity:] And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
* 1 Kings 2:4 [Old King David encourages Solomon, his son and newly crowned king of Israel, to serve God with all his heart and be blessed:] And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4 That the Lord may continue His Word which He spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said He) a man on the throne of Israel.
* Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.
* Jeremiah 32:41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul.
6. Our wholeheartedness should not to be dependent on others or to be seen of others.
* Galatians 4:18a But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
* Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
* Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.
7. Lord help us to keep stirred up!
* Exodus 36:2 [Moses looked for those who were stirred up to help with the work:] And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
* Isaiah 64:7a And there is none that calleth upon Thy Name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee.
* 2 Timothy 1:6 [Paul wrote to Timothy encouraging him to stir up and use his gifts for the Lord:] Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. [See also Romans 12:6-8.]
* 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
* Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke [stir up] unto love and to good works:
* 2 Peter 1:13 [Peter stirs up the Church by reminding them and giving them the vision:] Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. [See also 3:1,2.]
8. Wholeheartedness is contagious!
* 2 Chronicles 15:12,15 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. … 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.
* 2 Corinthians 9:2b Your zeal hath provoked very many.
* Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.
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