(SS) 4 Heart Considerations for the New Year

Opening Transition:

Last week we finished up our study through the one another commands.

We beginning next week will began a series looking at prayer in the Christian life.

But for this week I wanted us to consider something that would challenge us to evaluate our spiritual condition as we enter the new year.

****What are the foundations of living a faithful Christian life?

and I thought it would be good for us to consider

When we examine our Christian lives,

a foundational truth we must consider is that the Heart is a key to the Christian life.

a

1) Foundational Truth: Heart is a Key to our Christian life.

a. Our heart is the control center of our lives.

The Heart is the C

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Matthew 15:17–19 ESV

17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

****What does this teach us about the heart?

ILLUSTRATION:

A Heart Checkup

A Christian should make regular spiritual health checkups to reflect on our hearts. The goal of this lesson is to reflect on the major areas our hearts can be sick.

b. Heart Defined:

3 Parts of the Heart

“Heart” is the word the Bible uses for your mind and your emotions and your will altogether. Your mind, emotions, and will work together and influence one another.

Your mind: Your mind involves your ability to understand, reason, and discern. It includes your beliefs and opinions.

Taken aback with news from angels about her son, Mary the mother of Jesus “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (��).The power of God’s word “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” 2)As a man thinks in his heart so is he 7, NLT).

Your emotions: Generally, your emotions also include your longings, desires, and hopes.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation ().If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts. . . ().

Your will: Your will is the part of your inner person that chooses what actions to take. Your mind and emotions inform your will what to do.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ().Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth ()

So when we consider the heart,

it is helpful to consider our thinking, our emotion’s, our will.

- Our failures relate to our thinking, emotions, and will.

- Our Spiritual victories are related to our thinking, emotions, and will.

****How does our hearts deceive us?

The 3 parts of the heart do not always agree.

This is why our heart can deceive us.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

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

Jeremiah 17:9–10 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Jer 17

2) The Tests of the Heart

a. Your Love and Joys.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 28:47 ESV

47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

John 14:15 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 28:47 ESV

47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Deuteronomy 28:46–48 ESV

46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.

Deut 28:46-

It as not simply their outward choices,

but their inward hearts and joys.

God judged them because of their heart joys - their loves.

Therefore a great reflection about our Spiritual walk - is what brings us joy.

****Is what brings us joy necessarily wrong or right?

b. Your Choices (Idolatry vs. Christlikeness)

()

No bigger indicator than how we live our lives.

Our particular sin struggles reflect our heart desires.

Our particular Christlikeness reflect our heart desires.

****What are examples of this from the passage?

3) The Worshiping Heart.

How is your worship?

Proverbs 1:7 ESV

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

It is important we consider -

how do I respond to the Word? (Devotions, Preaching, studying)

Am I learning.

Am I being challenged by the word.

Or am I just sitting here.

how do I respond to the Singing in church?

how do I respond to the Singing in church?

Am I passionate about the truths in our songs?

Am I participating as part of the congregation.

Or am I just going through a mindless routine.

Or am I just going through a mindless routine.

Ultimately, it is - Am I in awe and wonder of God on a regular basis when I study God’s Word or sing with his people?

If not, we should ask why.

****- Why is this important?

****- What does your attitude show about your Christian walk?

It comes back to what we love.

If we are not in awe -

it could be simply we need change up our routines.

or I need to spend time considering God (Count your many blessings)

OR

it could be I have a love for the wrong things

I am not in awe and disinterested because my mind and heart and will are distracted or in love with other things.

CAVEAT:

Sometimes our mind and will do not match our emotions. And that is ok, that is part of the Waring of the flesh and desires.

But should still ask the question and consider why. Because this may reveal bigger struggles in our Christian life.

5) The Satisfied Heart

We spend much time talking

about change,

and hearing great preaching

and having great worship time.

And we live in a culture where there are millions of self help programs.

The temptation is to always be desiring something more, and better, and looking for the next best thing.

Yet, God often speaks of his sufficiency.

Hymn - Satisfied.

****What does it mean to be satisfied?

****What should satisfy us?

We ought to be satisfied with

a. Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

*****How are we unsatisfied with Scripture?

Scripture gives us everything we need live.

b. Ordinary Congregational Worship

Colossians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

If we were to sing hymns only, acca pella,

would our worship be insufficient.

unable to transform us?

The worship service of the smallest, least musically trained congregation is sufficient when we sing in love and worship of Christ with the truths of Scripture.

*****What does an approach worship with unsatisfied heart produce?

Emptiness.

*****What does an approach to worship with a satisfied heart produce?

c. The Gospel

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

*****What does that mean?

““Believing in Jesus is a coming to Jesus so as to find your heart-hunger and heart-thirst satisfied.””

John Piper

John Piper

*****How are we at times unsatisfied with the Gospel?

*****What does it meant to be Satisfied in the Gospel?