Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
July 14, 2002 P.M.
God's Cure For Heart Trouble
Reading - Hebrews 10.16-25
Our heart beats almost 100 thousand times every day-every 24 hours. Over 4000 times an hour. The heart pumps our entire blood supply through its chamber every four minutes. It is true that the physical heart is often used as a metaphor of the spiritual heart. But, the spiritual heart... the heart of the Bible is more than a blood pump -- It is the mind... The seat of our emotions.
- The heart is the seat of decisive action...
- It is our will....
- It is with the heart that man believes or doubts... Accepts or denies God.
- The heart reasons... plans... dreams.
It is this spiritual heart that elevates human kind over the rest of God's animal creation.
When God looks at an individual, he doesn't see what we see of one another.
- He doesn't see the color of our skin...
- The kind of clothing we wear...
- Our educational achievements...
- Our social position...
- Our financial or political clout.
God sees the real us.... He sees the heart. God told Samuel... Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord see the heart.
In scripture, the heart of a person is considered to be the real... genuine... individual.
When Stephen Stepano of the early colonies fell into the hands of his assailants, they ask him... Where is your fortress?... Stephen placed his hand over his heart saying... Here is my fortress.
Helen Keller wrote... The best, the most wonderful things in the world cannot be seen, touched... but felt in the heart.
When Sir Walter Raleigh laid his head upon the executioner's block... The officer ask if his head lay right. Raleigh replied... Let my heart be right, then it matters not which way the head lies.
Church... Our outward being is not important. What is of utmost importance is our heart right?... Are we right with God?... Right with one another?
Now... What I want to do with the lesson is to note some things the Bible has to say about the heart... And what we can learn.
Proverbs 27.7 tells us... As a man thinks in his heart... So is he.
We are what we think. We will never rise above our thoughts. What we think controls the kind of person we are. Thinking evil thoughts... Sinful thoughts makes us evil. Thinking good... Godly thoughts makes us more like him. No wonder Paul wrote... Whatsoever things are honest... just... pure... lovely... Whatsoever is of good report... If there be any excellence... If there be any praise... Think on these things.
Regardless what others might try to tell us... We become what we think!!
Proverbs 4.23... Out of the heart come the issues of life.
Solomon is saying that real life is not made of material things... But heart issues.
This is close to what Paul said in Second Corinthians 4.18... Do not fix your eyes on what is seen... But on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
- What is our life made up of...
- Where is our focus...
- What goes on in our heart?
Are we concerned with the seen... Or the unseen... The material... Or issues of the heart... Things like... Hope... Faith... Love.. Joy... Peace... Patience... etc?
Proverbs 6.18 tells us that... Evil imaginations come from the heart.
Can I ask an embarrassing question...
- What do you imagine?...
- What do we fantasize about?
- What are our dreams?
This is why Jesus said... You have heard it said, do not commit adultery -- Do not murder... But I tell you, he that looks on a woman to lust after her... He has committed adultery with her already in his heart... He that is angry with his brother is a murderer already in danger of judgment.
Church... What we imagine, we become... What we think, we are... Sin or righteousness has its beginning within our imaginations.
Matthew 15.8... These people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips... But their heart is far from me.
This verse says that we can go to church regularly. Live an outward, good life. But, inwardly our hearts can be far from God. You see, like Ananias and Sapphira, we can look good outwardly... While our hearts are black with sin and deceit.
Consider Mark 7.21 & 23... For from within... Out of a man's heart... Come evil thoughts... Sexual immorality... Theft... Adultery... Greed... Malice... Deceit... Lewdness... Envy... Slander... Gossip... Arrogance... and Folly... All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.
I didn't say this... Jesus did. Notice church that... ALL!!... ALL!!... These evils come from the inside... From the heart.. And make a man unclean.
Jesus is saying that... Our hearts... What we think... Makes us clean or unclean.
- Gossip makes one unclean in God's eyes!!
- Deceit... Arrogance... Pertinaciousness... Makes one unclean.
- Malice... Envy... Slander... Make us unclean.
Question... Am I... Are you, clean... or unclean?... Have we made ourselves unclean today by harboring some of these thoughts... Some of these attitudes in our heart?
Hebrew 3.12 & 13... See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
We must know tonight that doubt... A weakening faith... Has its beginning in our thoughts. Satan plants a seed in the heart. When that seed germinates and develops, The result is doubt.
- Seeds like... One religion is as good as another... As long as one is sincere.
- Seeds like... All of us are should be able to have one vice... one sin... After all, we aren't expected to be perfect.
- Seeds like... Grace covers all our sins regardless of our attitude... or behavior.
You see church... The heart can be led astray by the deceitfulness of Satan. He has the ability to take truth and turn it into a lie... By planting the seeds of half truths. The Hebrews writer says... Don't allow Satan to get to you in this way.
Psalm 101.5 says that... God will exclude from his presence two groups of people: those who slander the brethren... And those who have a proud heart.
Solomon tells us that pride is God's number one hated sin. Listen to these other scriptures that deal with a heart filled with PRIDE...
- Proverbs 21.4 ... Haughty eyes... Evil thoughts... And a proud heart are sinful.
- James 4.6... God opposes the proud... But gives grace to the humble.
- Philippians 2.3... Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit... But in humility consider others better than yourselves.
God help us to think of ourselves more highly than we ought... But to think soberly... humbly.
Ezekiel 6.9 speaks of an idolatrous heart -- A heart that has gone after its own idols.
Question!!!... What is my idol... Yours?
- Money?...
- Power...
- Popularity...
- Pride... Pretentiousness...
- Entertainment... Television?...
Do we spend more time with TV than we do in the Word? Then TV is an idol. Are we more interested in faithfulness to Kiwanis or the Lions club than the church of God? Then we have an idol. More interested in things than people?... Then these things have become our idol.
You see... God will tolerate no rivals... He didn't at Mt. Sinai... And He will not today.
No other gods before Me... Love God with all your heart.
Hebrews 3.8 & 15... Today... If you hear His voice... Do not harden your hearts as did your fathers in the days of rebellion... During the wilderness wanderings.
The Hebrews writer is saying... We can harden our own hearts by choice. You see, the Bible teaches that we are the keepers of our own hearts.
- We decide what we will allow into our hearts.
- We decide what we will think upon... and about.
- We decide what attitudes and dispositions that we hold.
- Our will has control over our hearts.
We are what we decide to be... Because we control what we think.
Psalm 44.21... God has discovered our wickedness... Because He knows the secrets of the heart.
You see... God knows what's going on inside us... There is nothing hidden from Him... We observe the outside behavior... But God sees our thoughts & our attitudes...
- Jeremiah says... He searches our hearts.
- Solomon tells us that... He ponders our hearts.
- Paul says in Thessalonians that... God tries our heart.
I want to close this part of the lesson by noting that God opens our heart.
Luke... In Acts 16.14 says... Speaking of Lydia... God opened her heart.
God opens hearts... I can't explain this... We must accept it... The Bible says He does. Listen to me audience... God is opening my heart and yours... Any time and all the time we will listen to the truth... If we will allow Him!! That's why it is so important to come...
- To Bible study...
- To teaching and preaching services...
- And to study privately on our own...
- And in family devotionals.
The problem comes when we decide on our own that we know all the truth we need to know. Or... When we decide that we will not obey the truth we do know... RIGHT?
OK... Now as an application... What kind of heart should we have?
First... We must have a heart focused on God.
When ask what was the first commandment... Jesus replied... Love God with all your heart... Mind... Body... and Soul.
Indeed... God must be first and foremost in our lives. Matthew 6.33 tells us... Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Let me read from Philippians 2... Have this same heart... This same attitude... This same disposition in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be held on to... But emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Here it is church... We will have little heart trouble when we take on the heart of Jesus... Right?
Secondly... We must have a heart that is sensitive to serving others.
Jesus said for us to love our enemies... Why?
- Does anyone here tonight know WHY God commands us to love our enemies?
- Why must we love our enemies to have a good heart... A right heart?
Listen to Jesus... So that you may be sons of God who is in heaven. Loving others makes us like God... Because He causes the sun to rise and sends the rain on the just and the unjust.
Well... What kind of people will we be when we have a heart that is sensitive to serving others?
- We will love others as ourselves... And love your neighbor as yourself.
- We will understand that serving others is serving Jesus... As often as you do it to the least of these... You do it unto Me.
- We will seek that which is good for others... Look not only to your own interest... But also to the interest of others.
- We will be willing to serve others... Do unto others... As you would have them do unto you. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ... As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers... Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world... We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves... Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment. But let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. Do not destroy the church of God for the sake of argument over judgmental matters.
Do we have the heart... the mind... the attitude... the disposition of Jesus?... I pray that we are all working to that end.
Thirdly... We must act out of pure motives.
Jesus said... Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them: for then you will have no reward from your father in heaven. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus is saying that...
- Coming to church...
- Doing good works...
- Giving money to the church...
- Fasting... Praying... Assisting the poor..
To be seen of others accomplishes nothing... And is an improper attitude... An improper disposition to have and hold.
Church... We must love God with all our heart. I want you to note that LOVING GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART... Will automatically exclude loving the praise of men. If we obey God because we love him with all our heart... mind... strength... and soul... Then there is no room for us doing things out of improper motive... RIGHT?
Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount that God blesses the pure in heart. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that worship which pleases God must come from a pure heart... Worship and service that are in spirit and truth.
Here is something to think about... Doing things out of proper motive pleases God... Because God is always and absolutely pure in motive. But on the other hand... Nothing makes us more like Satan than to live a lie... To be a hypocrite... Because Satan is a liar... And the father of all who live a lie. Are we children of God... Or children of Satan?
Indeed... God wants us to have a heart that is...
- Focused on him...
- That is sensitive to... And serves others...
- And that operates out of pure motive.
Are we willing?
Tonight... The invitation is to make our hearts right with God -- So that if Jesus should come tonight... We would be ready to meet Him...
- For some here tonight that means becoming a child of God by faith... repentance... and
New Testament baptism... Immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins.
- For others it may mean correcting some heart defect.
- Or asking the church to pray for us that we are able to effect a cure for our heart problems.
The challenge is ours... As we stand and sing this invitation song together...
Will you come!!
