Time to Refresh
Matters of the Heart • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 22 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
When it comes to matters of the heart, experts tell us to eat right, exercise regularly and expect results. We are told that we should refrain from processed meats like bacon and sausage. We should stay away from processed and packaged snacks like potato chips and Little Debbie Oatmeal cookies. We should find alternatives to sugary desserts and never partake of fast foods, all of which could lead to having an unhealthy heart. Hippocrates, the Father of modern medicine, famously said, “Let food be thy medicine.” I have discovered that my choice of food does indeed have a tremendous impact on how I feel. I am free to choose anything I like. However, my choices will effect me and those around me.
“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
When I learn to eat right, my heart is better. I also have learned that the best thing I can do is to move more. Experts tell me that a sedentary or inactive lifestyle, sitting or lying down for long periods of time, will increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
When we move more, we feel better and have more energy.
We live in a time when have be reminded to move more. I wear a Fitbit that lets me know if I have not moved enough in the hour or how many steps I have take during the course of the day. I have to calendar exercise times to make sure that I am moving adequately. Without exercise, our bodies would cease to function. God’s desire for us is to have bodies that are useful for the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
If we eat right and exercise regularly, we are pretty much guaranteed to get the expected results. The way that God made us also is part of His design to get the expected results. All we have to do is to follow His commands.
You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
If we live physically by these commands of God, our hearts will be refreshed. When we are physically healthy, we can have more energy to do the things God wants us to do.
Spiritually, we also need to refresh our hearts. The short Book of Philemon, located between Titus and Hebrews gives us the example of what happens when one’s heart is refreshed.
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
This little 25-verse book is packed with a wealth of information we would do well to follow. The original Greek manuscripts has only 335 words. It is packed with thoughts and examples of Christian relationships. The act of refreshing one’s heart is demonstrated here in these two verses which we have read. Paul tells Philemon that he has refreshed the hearts of the saints and then requests Philemon to refresh his heart as well.
How does that happen? Based on what is conveyed here and in other passages, there are several things we can do to refresh our hearts and refresh the hearts of others as well. Our study today will give us three areas of practical ways we can refresh our hearts. We can remember the source, remove the stigma, and rely on the Savior.
Remember the Source
Remember the Source
If we want to refresh our hearts and be able to refresh the hearts of others, we must first consider the Creator of our hearts. The Bible tells us multiple times that God created us.
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Jesus reiterated this.
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
God delicately designed us the way He did. It is declared in His word that we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made.
God has designed us in a way that is pleasing in His sight. He has made us, molded and shaped us. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Since that is the case, we can be assured that Creator God will continue to work in and through us.
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
God works to His good purpose in our lives and is our redeemer.
Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
As He redeems has redeemed us, He refreshes us as well.
The promise from Jeremiah 31:25 reigns true:
I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
I need to pause here for a moment and talk more about this word refresh. It has multiple meanings that meld together to give it great significance. Refresh means to cause to rest, to abide implying continuing rest so one can remain and be ready for the next part of the journey. So God the Creator refreshes us in knowing us. God the Redeemer refreshes us in making a place of restoration and grants us the ability to abide. In doing so, God is the Sustainer.
Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.
Why do you think God sustains us? First and foremost, it is to accomplish His will. Secondly, it is because of His great love for us. What a mighty God we serve! For that reason, we should continually strive to serve Him with our very best and constantly work to refresh our hearts by remembering the Source of His being and all He is. When we do this, we will also remove the stigma. The stigma is that mark of disgrace or infamy. It is the stain or reproach that one may have on his or her reputation.
Remove the Stigma
Remove the Stigma
In the example from our scripture in Philemon, we see that Paul goes to great lengths to edify the relationship he has with Philemon and hopes to restore the relationship Philemon has with Onesimus. If you remember, Onesimus had been a slave for Philemon. Onesimus robbed Philemon and ran away. Somehow, as a person on the run, Onesimus came in contact with Paul. Under the influence of Paul’s ministry, Onesimus became a Christian. Paul learned of Onesimus still being the legal property of Philemon and Paul wanted to help smooth a way for Onesimus to return. Paul wanted to help remove the stigma and also help Philemon learn that Onesimus was not just a piece of property but a true brother in Christ. In order to refresh one’s heart, sometimes you have to move away from the past.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes we think our stain is too great for our heart to be refreshed. Sometimes we think that we have caused irreversible damage to our hearts. God helps us move from the past into everlasting by making all things news. I love the emphasis that is in the New King James Version:
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
If He makes all things new, He can certainly refresh one’s heart. Because He makes things new, when we fail, we are actually failing forward. Our past, our mistakes, and our shortcomings are simply stepping stones to a better future. One of my favorite all time authors, preachers and speakers is Dr. John Maxwell. He has authored several books and is recognized as one of the greatest speakers in the world. One of his books is called Failing Forward. I have read this book and referred to it many times. It’s premise is summarized in this Maxwell: “I want to help you learn how to confidently look at the prospect of failure in the eye and move forward anyway. Because in life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with them. Stop failing backward and start failing forward.”
Jesus said to His disciples multiple times that there would be trouble in this world. I am certain that also meant there would be failure. After all, one of the greatest examples of failure comes from one that was closest to Jesus. Remember Peter? He is the disciple that told Jesus that He would fight for Him. Jesus knew better,
Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
We learn in subsequent chapters that Peter did deny Jesus multiple times. We learn in John 21:15 and following that Peter failed forward as Jesus reinstated him to His kingdom work. We see further evidence in Acts 1:15 that the even Peter had denied the Lord three times, he was reinstated to a position where Peter proclaimed in front of at least 120 that Jesus was Lord. when we can remove the stigma, our hearts can be refreshed and in turn we can refresh others.
This propels us to a path of faithful living.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Our hearts are refreshed with when live out our lives faithfully in Christ. It should be our prayer as it was for King David when he prayed near the end of his life.
O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
This desire to keep one’s heart loyal to God can only come through the relying on the Savior.
Rely on the Savior
Rely on the Savior
When we rely on the the Savior, we are admitting that His ways are absolutely best.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Max Lucado says that the words of scripture are what the Mississippi River is to our country, an entrance to the heartland. Scripture helps us gain understanding to the heart of God. As we learn that His ways are best, our hearts are refreshed.
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms is a hymn published in 1887 with music by Anthony J. Showalter and lyrics by Showalter and Elisha Hoffman. Showalter said that he received letters from two of his former pupils saying that their wives had died. When writing letters of consolation, Showalter was inspired by the phrase in the Book of Deuteronomy 33:27.
"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms".
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.Refrain:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
When lean on Jesus, we are assured that our hearts are strengthened.
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
We learn His ways are best, we lean on Jesus, then our hearts are refreshed as we love in love.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
When we refresh our hearts, the overflow from our hearts to the hearts of others comes forth in action. In doing so we refresh the hearts of others. When we refresh the hearts of others, our own hearts are also refreshed. The reason that happens, is because of the last verse of the short book:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.