Where is Your Heart?

Introduction

going through sermon on the mount

beatitudes - a description of the key attributes of the Christian

Salt and light

Jesus focuses on the heart as the source of attitudes, behaviours, emotions, motivations, and urges the disciples to focus on the right thing

in verse 21 of chapter 6 we have this important verse Matt 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Remember that treasure here is ‘the things you treasure’

Conversely, where your heart is, everything else follows

your love, your desire - for people and things

your time - where you spend it

you always have time for the things that are most important to you

‘I’m too busy’

your money - what you spend it on, but also what you think of it, how important it is to you

it’s not how much you have or don’t have, but how it rules you

Clearly the heart is profoundly important, and it is worthy of further consideration with you this morning

What is the heart?

The heart is the core of the soul

word sometimes used to describe the soul

not the same, since it’s used together - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength etc

however, heart and soul are often taken for one and the same

the soul - also called the spirit of man, the life of man

inhabits the body

another great subject that we should come back to because of its profound importance

Mark 8.36-37 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

the loss of the soul!

the seat of the emotions - love, joy, hatred, grief, desire

the seat of the mind - thoughts, perceptions, imagination, reasoning

you’ve perhaps heard me talk about the mind, the heart and the will

the heart is in the centre

the mind is the CPU for the heart, if you like

the motive force for the will - leading to action

the place where the plotting, scheming happens

The heart of man is naturally corrupted because of sin.

Jeremiah 17.9 ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Jeremiah 17.7-11 ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.””

We say that when we’re saved, we give our heart to Jesus

do we truly realise what that means?

if the heart is our soul, or the engine room of it at least, we are giving all those things to Him, and placing that under his rule and authority.

we no longer operate independently, but dependently

VERY big thing

How important must the souls of men be to God, for Him to send His only Son to die for us?

Where is your heart?

2 Kings 10.12-16 “And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?” So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them. Now when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. Then he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So they had him ride in his chariot.”

Pr 14.30 “A sound heart is life to the body…”

De 5.29 “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”

Where is your heart today? How can you tell?

your time - where does it go?

do you have time for God, and put that time first?

nobody is too busy or doesn’t have time for the thing that is most important

your interests - what are you interested in? What captivates your attention

what do you read?

what do you watch on TV - or stay away from

where do you go on the internet?

your money - not how much you have but your attitude towards it and what you do with it.

extreme examples - no matter how little some people have, they will find the money for that thing - horses etc

your affections - what and who do you like or not? Do you love the things of the world, or the things of God? 1 John 2.15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

your language - Luke 6.45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Your thoughts - Prov 23.7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.”

your associates - who do you spend time with, who are you drawn to, who do you have an affinity with?

we are told to be in the world but not of it

your opinions and priorities - what do they reveal about your heart?

Prov 14.30 “A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.”

A heart for God

Get a new heart - structural

can’t do this ourselves

have to get from God

Saul was given a new heart 1 Sam 10.9 “So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.”

When we are saved, we are a new person

what was dead is now alive

we are a new creation - if any man be in Christ 2 Cor 5.17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

the Holy Spirit lives in us - we see that in Rom 8.11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Also nearby in 1 Cor 6.19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

When David sinned with Bathsheba, he asked God to create in him a clean heart Ps 51.10-12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

If God has not done that work in you, if the Holy Spirit does not live in you, then all the rest is irrelevant - it can’t help you and doesn’t do any good - and you need to fix it.

But, even if you are born again, we are not bulletproof! We have to be active, and that life and activity is the evidence that we are His at all

if you’re a Christian, it will show!

We have to make sure that our heart remains true

Set your heart - intentional

we talk about having our heart set on something - we have to have it and will seek it relentlessly until we have it

2 Chron 11.16 “And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.”

When David was dying, he encouraged Solomon to follow the Lord.

In 1 Chron22.19 “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.””

When the set of our heart is right, it is stable and self-correcting

the ball in a bowl vs ball on another ball

Col 3.2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Matt 6.33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

If we do this, then all those other things will follow

we have to set the direction first...

Guard your heart - intentional

We are in constant danger from the devil

Although we are gien a new heart when we are saved, if that new heart is not protected, we can be turned away from God

not talking about eternal security

Solomon, with all his wisdom and experience, was still turned away from God by his many wives 1 Kings 11.4 “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.”

How do we guard our hearts?

Philippians 4:4-9 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Eph 6:10-16 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

What does that mean practically?

v22 gives a clue

Matt 6.22-23 ““The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

commit to those things that matter! Philippians 4.8-9 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Commit to abandon the things that don’t matter or will trip you up

the books you read

the sites you visit

the TV programs and videos you watch

the people you associate with

the places you visit

If you live in mud, you will get dirty!

Conclusion

the heart of man - so important, so powerful, so fragile, so vulnerable

Praise God that He has given us a new heart when we come to know Him

May we set our hearts to follow Him and guard them carefully