The Heart

Do not become self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency is Satan’s net where he catches men, like poor silly fish, and destroys them. Be not self-sufficient. The way to grow strong in Christ is to become weak in yourself. God pours no power into man’s heart till man’s power is all poured out. Live, then, daily, a life of dependence on the grace of God.

- Charles Spurgeon

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:5–6 ESV

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

We all know the phrase “follow your heart.” It’s misleading in that it presents the heart as a compass that can and will lead to true happiness. The world has almost made it like a sacred quest in that in not “following your heart” you are not achieving your truest self. At least that’s what we are being taught and what we are truly believing. But through the truth of God’s word we know all the phrase really means is “seek what you desire.”

Follow Your Heart = Seek What You Desire

If you’ve ever had to pick a place to eat with your family, you will see immediately that you don’t know what you desire from meal to meal, something we all should be doing several times a day!

And when put that way against Scripture such as:

Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

How does Jeremiah 17:7-10 relate to Luke 6:43-46?

We see that God’s Holy Word, which we should be striving to shape ourselves to, calls the heart “deceitful above all things & desperately sick.”

Heart = deceitful above all things & desperately sick

The definition for desperate is a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with. God says that our heart is sick to the point of hopelessness and so bad that it’s impossible to do with.

Heart = hopeless and impossible to deal with

What does the Bible have to say about the heart?

Why should we not follow the heart?

Mark 10:27 ESV

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

We know that Satan’s motive is to misinterpret God by changing a word hear or there. He’s not creative. He’s not original. He’s manipulative. He’s a liar. But he’s convincing with his lies. Satan urges people to follow their heart, but God gives a different directive, a better directive.

Proverbs 23:19 (ESV)

19 Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way.

Don’t Follow Your Heart, but direct your heart in the way.

And who is the way, by his own admission? According to the Bible, our hearts, when left undirected, follow themselves in all sorts of directions

Matthew 6:21 (ESV)

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Therefore, our hearts need to be directed away from following deceitful loves and treasures, and toward what is truly lovely and valuable.

Direct or “lead” your heart away from “following” deceitful desires and toward what is truly lovely and valuable.

What can make directing our hearts confusing is that the Bible tells us we’re dealing with 2 selves.

New Self - Created after the likeness of God

Old Self - Corrupt, Deceitful Desires

What are the 2 competing selves God’s word says we have?

Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV

22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So, if God wants us to direct our hearts, how do we do that?

1. God’s Word

Hebrews 4:12–13 (ESV)

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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.

Psalm 119:105 (ESV)

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

James 1:22 (ESV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

We see in that verse James is not only telling us to hear, but to do and What did we learn from the word Shema? To hear is to obey!

To Hear = To Obey

2. Prayer

1 John 5:14–15 (ESV)

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

James 5:13 (ESV)

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Psalm 145:18 (ESV)

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

To all who call on him in truth. Who is the truth? To all who call on him in Jesus. Psalm 23:19 says to direct our heart in the way and Psalm 145:18 says the Lord is near to all who call on him in truth or in Jesus.

3. God’s People

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Romans 12:4–5 (ESV)

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Acts 2:44–47 (ESV)

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

God’s body is important. Us meeting up to encourage one another is important. Prayer time both congregational and individual prayer is important. And time in God’s word is important. It is the sword of the Spirit the whole armor of God.

Deuteronomy 30:14 ESV

14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

Next week we will begin focusing on Section #2 The Family.

Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—

Psalm 127:3–5 “3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

Proverbs 22: “6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

What do these verses have to say about the famity?