Heart Issues Part 1

Intro

[Thank worship team]

Good morning Bethel Church, and good morning to our network of rural churches that are joining us live on YouTube. And if you are new here, I want to extend a special welcome to you. If you would, there are “Connect” cards in the seat in front of you. If you would fill that out there or at the Welcome Center outside of the sanctuary. We even have a free gift for you if you are new to Bethel. We would love to get in touch with you and discuss how to get connected to our church family.

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Care Team - Nick

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Today we will be continuing our study of Summer On The Mount. If you are reading out of the Bibles in front of you, our passage can be found on page 824. If you do not have a Bible, please stop by the Welcome Center and take one. It is our gift to you.

TRANS: Pray

Opening Hook

There is one area of interest that I come back to every few years. I’ll research, watch videos, think about it, dream about it, and when I’ve had my fill I move on… until a few years go by and it starts again.

I am fascinated by the Titanic.

Did you know that there was allegedly a fire prior to launching the Titanic in the exact place where it struck the iceberg? Meaning, the hull was compromised.

Did you know that, as the ship was sinking, roughly half of the eyewitnesses who survived reported that the ship went down fully intact, whereas the other half reported that it split in two prior to sinking fully?

Did you know that the chief baker instructed his staff to fill lifeboats with bread, and he survived from floating on one of 50 deck chairs he had thrown overboard.

I think what draws me to the Titanic is not just because it’s an incredible set of circumstances of “all of these things have to go wrong in order to lead to catastrophe.” I’ll never forget seeing the footage that James Cameron took of the Titanic on the ocean floor. I can’t fully describe the feeling I had but i’ll try: I was filled with dread, intrigue, a sinking feeling in my stomach knowing how many passed away, and the sense of “it didn’t have to be this way.”

It’s perhaps a worn out point, but one that we must pay attention to: the reason the Titanic sank was because of what was happening below the surface, not above it.

The same is true in our lives.

Most of us believe that we can fix the deeper issues of our lives if we modify what we (or others) can see. But God is not interested in mere behavior, he is after the heart. And actually, what we see on the outside is a reflection of what is going on inwardly.

The Iceberg Model of Change

Our behavior reveals our heart.

What is the Heart? It is one of our 10 Key Concepts:

Heart

The heart is the inner control center of a person’s desires, thoughts, motives, and affections.

Matthew 5:21–22, 27–28; 6:21

The Bible says much about how the status of our “heart” affects the rest of our life:

- Above all else, for it is the wellspring of life (Prov. 4:23)

- A heart at peace gives life to the body (Prov. 14:30)

- A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit (Prov. 15:13)

- All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast (Prov. 15:15)

- A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (Prov. 17:22)

- A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? (Prov. 18:14)

Pete’s Iceberg Model of Change

Above the surface are behaviors. It is what we see, and what others see. But below the surface are emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. These things drive our behavior. We act in accordance with what we believe.

You might object, “that’s not always true, sometimes I do things that I know are wrong, or I make choices that are against what I believe.” But think deeply about that. It is more likely the case that you are at odds with yourself. Your formal beliefs are not always your functional beliefs.

· Formal Beliefs – “What you know to be true.”

· Functional Beliefs – “What you actually live out.”

Rather than dismissing destructive behaviors as a “fluke,” it is more revealing of your belief system then you realize.

For example:

You may believe having a budget is good.

But your behaviors suggest otherwise. When you get paid, you go for an excursion in the jungle — otherwise known as Amazon.

You may know that having a budget is good, responsible, and will set you up to not live emergency to emergency… but your behavior tells you that you believe, “but you will be fine without one,” or “but you deserve something nice.”

True transformation happens when Jesus addresses your belief system, not just your behaviors. In other words, we must live from a healthy and Christ-centered heart. But that is not always the case.

TRANS: In our time today, Jesus is going to expose three heart-issues that lie under three destructive behaviors: anger, lust, and divorce.

Matthew 5:21–26 ESV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Heart Issues

Sinful anger reveals a heart that destroys.

Matthew 5:21-26

Different Kinds of Anger

I have worded this carefully. There is a kind of anger that Jesus is teaching against here that reveals a destructive heart, but there is also a kind of anger that comes from a heart that longs for, say, justice.

Jesus got angry when he saw that the temple was being used as a place to sell sacrifices at a significant “mark up.” He saw injustice, and felt righteously angry. He then flipped over the moneychanger’s tables and taught against them. This is good anger. Righteous anger that leads to confronting evil.

Paul also says, “in your anger do not sin.” Meaning, it is possible to be angry and not sin. (Ephesians 4:26)

Sinful Anger

But this is not what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is confronting the kind of fleshly (or sinful) anger that comes from a heart that is consumed with contempt, resentment, and unforgiveness. Jesus says something shocking, that would have woken up his likely dismissive audience, “you will be liable to the hell of fire.” WHAT. No one considers anger to be so deserving of punishment.

“It’s just my private thoughts.”

“It’s not like I killed the guy.”

Jesus says, no, the heart matters.

When you destroy a reputation by your words, this comes from sinful anger.

When you hurl insults against another person (who is made in God’s image by the way), this comes from sinful anger.

This matters because anger that goes unchecked is anger that destroys. Look at the situations. These are meant to show how anger that destroys friendships, and anger from an accuser can lead to terrible outcomes. It’s like a snowball at the top of a mountain — once it picks up speed, the problem gets larger and larger.

Those who may think that they have not violated the sixth commandment, since they have not literally murdered anyone, have almost certainly harbored wrongful anger and done violence to others with their speech. Jesus is not abolishing the law, but rather is fulfilling it (Matt. 5:17), which in this instance means applying the spirit of the [Law] to a wide variety of hateful thoughts and actions. The Sermon on the Mount is a kingdom manifesto with high ideals.1

1 Craig L. Blomberg, “Matthew,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 22.

Sinful anger reveals a heart that destroys. When you notice anger in your life, it is best to stop the problem when it is snowball size slowly rolling down a hill, not boulder size at full speed.

TRANS: Jesus continues to reveal the heart, and he turns to the issue of lust.

Matthew 5:27–30 ESV

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Lust reveals a heart that consumes.

Matthew 5:27-30

To lust after another person is to use them as an object for one’s own gratification. Lust treats image-bearers as objects to consume, rather than life to be honored.

Again, Jesus goes after likely complacency in his audience. A likely thought would have been, “Well I’ve never done that with someone else’s spouse.” But that’s an “above the surface” attitude toward the Law. Jesus is once again showing that the heart, desire, the thoughts of a person reveal whether one has broken this law or not.

Jesus defines lust as the looking with “lustful intent.” There is a choice here. Jesus is not talking about temptation, which *happen to* people. Rather He is talking about the choice to dwell on, think about, and fantasies about another image-bearer in a consuming way.

The difference here is best illustrated by Martin Luther, who said, “you cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from nesting in your hair.”

Meaning, what we do with our temptations, our thoughts, is what prevents us from crossing into lust or not.

Then Jesus instructs about gouging out of eyes and chopping off of hands. I can confidently say that no Christian throughout history, save for a very few, have ever interpreted this literally. The point is not to be handless and eyeless, but the point is to take whatever measure is necessary to get rid of this from your life.

Did you know that in Scripture, sin is described as something we ought to “stand firm against.” “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” All sin, that is, except one area. Sexual sin is something we are supposed to “flee.” (1 Corinthians 6:18)

I am reminded of the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. (Genesis 39) She desired him, but he was a man of integrity — not willing to lay with another man’s wife. She was tempting and luring him, yet he did not sin. Finally she made a move on him, and he fled the scene. It ended up costing him his position, as she lied and said he went after her, and he was thrown in prison.

Jesus is teaching, do what it takes to get away from it. Take extreme measures. Because it is better to sacrifice some of your freedom then for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Why does Jesus go to such extremes again? Because unrepentant, continual lust reveals a heart that is not submitted to God. I do not know the state of people’s hearts, and this does not mean that Christians do not struggle with sin. But I would not take Jesus’ words lightly. Sexual addiction may reveal that you are not a Christian.

Repent. Turn. Come into the light. And do not allow temporary sinful gratification to lead you to the wide road that leads to destruction.

TRANS: Now you thought that one was difficult, I’m not even done going through our passage for today.

Matthew 5:31–32 ESV

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Sinful divorce reveals a heart that discards.

Matthew 5:31-32

Allow me to give some context.

Jesus was speaking to a group of largely 1st century Jews. It was common for both Jewish leaders and Roman culture to permit divorce for almost any reason. There was to be a certificate of divorce given, per Deuteronomy 24:1-4. But things had gotten, to put it bluntly, out of hand. Jesus, then, reacts with a strict view of divorce and it’s relationship with sexual immorality.

Now, there is a reason I stated “sinful divorce reveals a heart that discards.” Because not all divorce is “sinful.”

Divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality, as shown here, is permitted.

Divorce on the grounds of a non-christian spouse deserting a Christian spouse (1 Corinthians 7:10-16)

Both of these actions do not *require* divorce, only permit it.

I would add physical abuse into the mix, where separation is necessary for the safety of the spouse (and especially children), and where divorce may be the only way to protect life.

But Jesus is not teaching against situations where divorce is permitted, he is teaching against the attitude of discarding. Here’s perhaps another way of saying it: The unfaithful heart looks for loopholes.

But this is not proper for those who belong to a covenant, a life-long commitment before God and man.

The discarding heart, because it is looking for a “way out,” may…

Drift away from their spouse, and then blame their spouse for the distance.

Grumble to family and friends about their spouse to build support for divorce.

Convince themselves they deserve to be “happy,” and “happiness” can only be achieved (in their mind) apart from their spouse.

Fantasize about how life may had gone if they had made different choices.

The discarding heart looks for a way out. But Jesus is instructing on the consequences of such a choice. Not only is it sinful to illegitimately break a covenant, but it results in the spouse “commit adultery.”

When a man divorces his wife without legitimate grounds, he places her in an impossible position. The divorced woman who remarries commits adultery (Matt 5:32)—not because she bears primary moral fault, but because her legal status before God remains unchanged. She’s still bound to her first husband in God’s eyes, even though civil divorce has severed the earthly relationship.

The logic is this: by divorcing her unjustly, the husband creates circumstances that virtually guarantee she’ll either remain alone indefinitely or remarry and violate God’s law. He’s essentially forcing her into adultery through his own wrongful action. Jesus holds the divorcing husband responsible for the downstream moral consequence—he “makes her commit adultery” by setting in motion a chain of events that leaves her no honorable path forward.

TRANS: Anger, Lust, and Divorce. All things that we think we can manage and control. We believe it won’t get out of hand because we won’t let it! But Jesus is giving strict warnings: you cannot control sin. It controls you. We treat sin as though it is a fire in a fireplace, but sin is a wildfire that spreads quicker than we can manage. What are we to do? We must repent of sin, turn to God, and ask God to change our hearts.

Application

You cannot be your own heart-surgeon.

The answer is not merely “try harder to be less angry, less lustful, and more committed.” The answer is to bring the heart before the King. Jesus does not merely raise the standard; He exposes our need for a righteousness deeper than external performance.

TRANS: [text]

Stop managing symptoms; let the Spirit heal your heart.

Psalm 139:23–24 — “Search me, O God, and know my-” what? “Heart.”

The Sermon on the Mount does not leave us saying, “I am better than I thought.” It leaves us saying, “I need more grace than I realized.” And that is exactly why Jesus came. He came not only to forgive sinful actions, but to redeem sinful hearts.

We are not neutral observers of our own hearts. We excuse, minimize, justify, and hide. Jesus exposes the heart not to crush us, but to heal us. The same Lord who reveals sin also provides grace, forgiveness, and transformation.

COMMUNION

Invite Ushers

Open Communion, not membership

Must have a relationship with Jesus

We bring ourselves to Jesus this morning, perhaps more aware of our sinfulness, brokenness, and need of grace. Though we may try to hide these things from ourselves, we cannot hide them from the Lord. He knows. He sees. But what you and I need to hear this morning, is that He loves.

Jesus paid the price for us on the cross for our sin. He died, was buried, and raised to life 3 days later. We take communion to remember what He has done, and to be fed spiritually when we are so weak. We need the love and grace of Jesus. Apart from Him there is no hope.

So we take communion to say… thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving me grace. Thank you for paying the price that I owed and offering me forgiveness.

[SONG]

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Closing Prayer

Father, search our hearts and show us what is beneath the surface. We confess that we often focus on outward behavior while ignoring the desires, beliefs, and motives underneath. Forgive us for anger that destroys, lust that consumes, and any faithlessness that treats others as disposable. By Your Spirit, reveal our heart issues and lead us to repentance. Thank You that Jesus does not merely command us to get our act together, but gives grace to cleanse us and power to change us. Help us walk in the righteousness of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Talk About It/Think About It

Why do we often focus first on changing behavior rather than examining the heart beneath the behavior?

What is the difference between saying, “I know this is wrong,” and asking, “Why does my heart still want this?”

Where are we tempted to “destroy” someone without physically harming them? What might that look like?

How does Jesus show that lust is not merely a boundary problem, but a heart problem?

In Jesus’ day, divorce could be treated casually and used to discard a spouse. How does Jesus confront a throwaway view of marriage?

What is one area where you may be tempted to manage the surface issue instead of asking God to work on the deeper heart issue?

In what circumstances do you need to pray, “Holy Spirit, show me what is really going on beneath the surface”?