Listen to the Heartbeat

“The heartbeat of America”

A patriotic, red, white and blue Chevrolet commercial

Oh, that it could be so simple

Heartbeat of the Natural Man

We will spend a bit of time here...

We are warned; it should be no surprise

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

We mentioned that a couple weeks back, in another message

Matthew 15:19 ESV

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

I’ve used Mark’s statement to that effect many times over the years…because it is so true

The wickedness of man is the natural state of mankind

That’s right—it’s unpleasant to admit that we are sinners

We are not even fit to judge ourselves to see if we’re “OK” Paul commented in 1 Cor 4 4

1 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Even if I am as faithful as (I think) I can be…in all ways, I can’t pat myself on the back and say I’m OK.

The more I learn of and from God and His Word, the more evil I can see in myself; the more shortcomings I can find

Culture doesn’t like that! No wonder our culture—to include media, to include lawmakers and political leaders, to include educators, to include even many members of the clergy—don’t like the Bible

…don’t like the preaching and teaching of truth

…want the Bible and any references to it removed from the public sphere

Might we say that the heartbeat of America is the heartbeat of the natural man?

Yes, the heartbeat of America is sin and wickedness

English Standard Version (Psalm 36)

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart

The idea of transgression is to cross an established line with the underlying word carrying the meaning of crime, rebellion, evildoing...

The idea of wicked, actually having some common ground in the definitions, though not in the word

Thus, for the wicked man, evil behavior is the norm

At the root of that, we see there is no fear of God

He pays no attention to God, or the thought of God; two psalms, 14:1 & 53:1 say much the same thing:

Psalm 53:1 ESV

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

Even if there is some subtle, unseen acknowledgement of God, the wicked thinks he’s smarter than God anyway

Psalm 36:2 ESV

For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

Why should I care—God won’t know, I’ll get away with it!

His whole being pulses with evil—vv. 3-4

When there is no conscious movement toward God, evil reigns in us

However, we contrast that to

The Heartbeat of God

In vv. 5-9 is a short lesson in the attributes or the perfections of God

We again find our friend the “steadfast love” of God, and see the enormity of it

…to the heavens, to the clouds, the mountains, the deep...figures of speech meaning endlessness, and all his ways over over all creation

The concept transfers to the NT as well, with

Romans 11:33 ESV

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

It is God’s heart, part of that steadfast love, to be benevolent to His children

He grants refuge

Abundant, sweet provisions

With Him is the fountain of life

In His light we see light

That thought takes us right to John 1 4-5

John 1:4–5 (ESV)

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

However, though the light was fully available to all men…John 3 19

John 3:19 (ESV)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

The evil actions are the out-workings of the the evil hearts of the natural man

That’s a tough pill to swallow

The Heartbeat of the Repentant Man

Where light has shone, where it has not been rejected, man has changed

David being one example here

He look for…longs for the continued steadfast love of the God whom he knows, and the righteousness this God bestows

He asks protection from the behaviors of the wicked man: the foot of arrogance and hand of the wicked are symbols of being dominated by evil in whatever fashion

…protection from falling with the evildoers…being unable to rise

He recognizes the way evil can worm its way in and overpower even a strong man

…and beg’s God’s deliverance from it

Hear Our Heart Beat?

Are we not seeing/hearing the domination of evil in our world?

That is the heartbeat of the natural man—…of the culture,

The heartbeat of America

Do we want our heart to resonate with the world’s heartbeat of God’s heartbeat

If we are repentant, we should be moving toward God’s heartbeat

First is knowing God…through His Son, Jesus Christ

Part of God’s heartbeat is his love for those in the world---that he gave His one and only son....

This is salvation;

True salvation comes with repentance, a change of direction, a changing of heart…heartbeat

A lot comes down to how much light we’ve let into our heart

How much have we allowed the world to regulate our thoughts and behaviors

The natural man—though by standards may appear to be good, is in his heart, evil

There may be some superficial goodness—indeed, many are good

My avowed atheist preferred backup

Many are outstanding citizens—honorable, upright

…but, according the words of Scripture, his nature is evil

As we talk—really talk—with good people, we start to hear their heart…they are not beating with God’s heart…they have the heartbeat of America

As we let the light of Christ penetrate our heart, through the power of the Holy Spirit, there should be a change in us

What Do We Do with This?

back to vv. 7-9

Take refuge in the shelter of His wings; the world cannot harm us there

Feast on the abundance of His goodness and His delights (note, eden)

Might make a case for returning to the state of purity and innocence of Eden

Soak up the light

Old hymn: The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin…the light of the World is Jesus

Do we want the heartbeat of America, or the heartbeat of the Living God?