Rev. Cyril A. Stevens – Sermon 1053A recorded on January 12, 1986 teaching from John 17:1-26 – Give Me Your Heart.
Pastor Cyril A. Stevens uses the familiar religious phrase “Give your heart to Jesus” as a central metaphor, illustrating spiritual transformation through the medical example of a heart transplant needing life-giving blood to function. This act of giving one’s heart to Christ, allowing His blood to flow, results in new life. Stevens then explores several themes from the Gospel of John, specifically Jesus’s prayer for His disciples, focusing on five key aspects: preservation from the world’s evil, jubilation or the full measure of Christ’s joy, emancipation from the evil one, sanctification through God’s truth (the Word), and unification among believers, which is rooted in Christ alone. Ultimately, Pastor Stevens emphasizes that true spiritual growth and unity come from ingesting the Word of God and maintaining a reverential fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, leading to a life of limitless joy.