The Heart Matters Part - 2

Scripture

Proverbs 4:20–27 (KJV 1900)

20My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thine heart.

22For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.

23Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.

24Put away from thee a froward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee.

25Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26Ponder the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established.

27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.

Romans 10:1–10 (KJV 1900)

1Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Introduction

As we continue with part 2 of “The Heart Matters”, you will found from Genesis to Revelation the word HEART recorded 954 times in 877 verses.

We realize that the writer of Proverbs is not referring to the physical heart, that marvelous pump that sends blood to all parts of the body. Rather, he is using the term “heart” spiritually--and when the Bible speaks of the heart spiritually, it is referring to the inner life--which is inclusive of intellect, emotion, and will. So, the writer of Proverbs is saying to us, “Keep”--or, literally, “Guard”--”your inner life.”

That phrase, “with all diligence,” denotes emphasis--even urgency. It’s as if he is saying, “You’ll find it necessary in life to guard many things that pertain to you personally--your property, your body, your reputation; but above and beyond all else, guard your heart--guard your inner life.” And the reason for that urgent admonition is made clear: “...for out of it are the issues of life.” He is saying to us that a person is made or broken by what transpires within the secret chambers of his heart. Or, to put it differently, he is reminding us that every one of life’s great issues is, in the last analysis, a matter of the heart--and that’s my subject today: “A Matter of the Heart.”

Sermon Points

A. The Heart involves the Mind

Note Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”

Here the Bible speaks of thinking in the heart. There is no question but that God is speaking of your mind, for you don't have thoughts in your physical heart.

B. The Heart involves the Emotions

Jesus said that you are to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart. Certainly, we are aware that the heart speaks of emotion. In fact, the Bible speaks of emotions ranging from heaviness of heart and sorrow, to love and affection. Don’t miss the fine point of what is being stated here. The heart that we are to guard is that part of our being that involves our thinking and feeling. You will hear someone say, "I can't help how I feel!" God says you can and He says you better

You must guard your heart – your emotions. You can’t let them control you!

C. The Heart involves the Will

The heart also involves the human will, the decision making process in human life. You surely remember the story in the Book of Acts regarding the lies told by Ananias and Sapphira. When Simon Peter confronted Ananias, he asked in Acts 5:3, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?" Notice that Satan had filled the 'heart' of Ananias and this affected the will, so that Ananias decided to lie to the Church, and by doing so lied to the Holy Spirit of God. Again, clearly, the heart involves the will of a person.

I. CHARACTER IS A MATTER OF THE HEART

First of all, the Bible leaves no question but that CHARACTER is a matter of the heart.

In Proverbs 23:7 we read, “...as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Marcus Aurelius said, “The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.” Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” An anonymous homespun poet expressed it in these quaint lines:

“I have a house inside of me, A house that others seldom see;

It has a door through which none pass, And windows, but they’re not of glass.

‘Where do you live?’ ask folks I meet, And then I say, ‘On such a street’;

But still I know, what’s really me Lives in a house folks never see.”

Someone has said that reputation is what people think you are, but character is what God knows you are as he looks upon your heart.

The devil tries constantly to blind us to the reality that character is a matter of the heart. He tries to lure us into the fallacious notion that unholy, God-dishonoring desires and attitudes aren’t really so bad so long as we keep them bottled up inside--so long as we “keep the lid on.” But Jesus said differently. Jesus said, in Matthew 15:19-20, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man....” One of life’s greatest dangers is that of convincing ourselves that we’re o.k. simply because we keep up a good outward appearance--but the truth is that regardless of how impressive and admirable an outward facade we maintain, if we are allowing our hearts to harbor sorry, muck-raking thoughts and desires, we are marked as reprobate in the sight of God.

So, the Bible makes it clear that being saved, becoming a Christian, is not just a matter of intellectually agreeing with a set of facts. A person can do that and spend eternity in hell. To become a Christian, to receive God’s gift of eternal life, one must believe in his heart. He must say, in effect, “Lord, I believe that you died on that cross to take the punishment for my sins. I believe that you are my only hope, and without you I am doomed. I repent of my sins and here and now I yield myself to you--body and soul, all that I am and have, for time and eternity; come what may, sink, swim, or die, I’m yours, Lord Jesus, totally.” When a person makes that surrender to him, that’s when Jesus, in the person of the Holy Spirit, comes into that person’s heart and works that miracle of transformation that the Bible calls the new birth. That person becomes God’s child forever. Then, day by day as he, from his heart, calls upon the Lord and experiences fellowship with him, his character is increasingly strengthened and stabilized.

II. CONTENTMENT IS A MATTER OF THE HEART

But the Bible not only teaches that character is a matter of the heart; it also makes crystal clear that CONTENTMENT is a matter of the heart.

To be at peace inwardly is a wonderful thing. 1 Timothy 6:6 says that “...godliness with contentment is great gain.” Everyone wants to have that inner sense of fulfillment that we call contentment, and God desires that for us. But the only way that contentment can be experienced is for one’s heart to be right with God and with people. I’m not discounting the fact that circumstances most assuredly make their impact on us, but circumstances are not decisive--contentment is, in the last analysis, a matter of the heart.

Even if a person has the most favorable circumstances imaginable, he will not be content if things are “out of kilter” inwardly.

Of course we ought to do our best to provide the most favorable circumstances possible for ourselves and for other people. That’s important. But far more important, we ought to point others to him who, when he dwells in the heart, can bring contentment in spite of one’s circumstances. Someone has said, “Life is like a grindstone; it either wears you down or polishes you up, depending on the stuff you’re made of”--and being made of the right stuff is the result of being trustfully and obediently anchored to Jesus Christ. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

III. CONQUEST IS A MATTER OF THE HEART

But not only is it true that character and contentment are matters of the heart; it is also true that CONQUEST is a matter of the heart.

In 1 Timothy 6:12 we are admonished to “fight the good fight of faith.” In Romans 8:37 Paul declared that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” If God lets us live any length of time at all on this earth, it is inevitable that we will find ourselves engaged in conflict. There are battles to be fought against the tyranny of our own moods, and against personal handicaps of various sorts--sometimes handicaps that are known to others, sometimes handicaps that are very unique and personal. There are battles to be fought against temptations of all sorts. As the old spiritual puts it, “That’s just the way things is down here.” And if we’re going to be victorious we must realize that conquest is, in the last analysis, a matter of the heart.

And we must never forget what real victory is. Real victory is being sure that what you’re attempting is right in the sight of God, whether or not it happens to be socially acceptable or politically correct, and then pouring your dead-level best into the battle. In other words, real victory in life is being able to say as Paul did, in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” If you can truly say that, you’re a winner in God’s sight, whatever the world may think.

So when you get right down to it, life in its real essence is a matter of the heart. Thus, life’s towering, overriding, number one question is this: Is your heart right with God?--and there’s only one way to be right with God: Jesus said, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Having Jesus Christ in your heart not only means that you’re going to heaven when you die, but knowing him as your Lord and Savior gives you the foundation for building noble character. His presence in our lives enables us to experience contentment in spite of the face value of the situation. And with him living in our hearts, we can say, as Paul did in In Romans 8:37, that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

Closing

Cleanse You Hearts

James 4:7-10 teaches us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” NKJV

Commit Your Life

Tell God that you want to live with a pure heart. A spring of water is no good if it is poisoned, or dirty. If I offered you a drink of water and said, “Now, don’t worry about this water. It does have a drop or two of poison in it, but it is not enough to hurt you,” would you drink it? NO WAY!

Jesus loves you and if he does not yet dwell in your heart he wants to do so. All he is waiting on is for you, by repentance and faith, to invite him in. In Revelation 3:20 he says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Question: If you’ve never done so, will you open the door this very moment by repentance and faith and say, “Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me. You’re my only hope; I’m lost without you, and I accept you now as my Lord and Savior?”

You can take his word for it that he’ll not deny a request like that. Jesus said, in John 6:37, “...him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” Let your prayer right now be that expressed in this simple chorus:

“Into my heart, Into my heart, Come into my heart, Lord Jesus;

Come in today, Come in to stay; Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.”