Sermons for the Month
DATE: July 5, 1998
SERVICE: Pentecost V
TEXT: Proverbs 4:23, Philippians 4:8-9
Three ways:
Sermons for the Month
Eating Right for a Healthy Heart
DATE: July 5, 1998
SERVICE: Pentecost V
TEXT: Proverbs 4:23, Philippians 4:8-9"To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN Four thirty o'clock PM. The afternoon is about over. I come out of the hospital and hop in the car and drive the ten minutes to the "club." Once there, I climb on the treadmill and push the control buttons…thirty minutes minimum. I begin to walk. And walk and walk and walk. I start to sweat. I take a drink from my hip water bottle. I sweat some more. My breathing gets faster. My heart rate climbs. My muscles begin to ache. And finally I decide it's time to look at the clock to check my progress…3 minutes and 35 seconds! Are you kidding!?!?! It is at that point I ask, "Why do I do this?" Well, I do this to myself for the very same reason that I eat low carbohydrate foods? I do it for the same reason that I have cut out peanut butter. I do it for the same reason that I order a McGrilled Chicken instead of sinking my teeth into a juicy big Mac. I do it for the same reason that I check the cholesterol grams on every package of food I buy. I do it for the same reason that I don't go to Basken Robbins for a cookie dough ice cream cone.
I do all this because I know, like you know, how vital it is that we build and maintain a healthy heart. I do it because my wife would kill me if I didn't. This may surprise you, but I'm actually in pretty good shape…I just hide it very well.
Americans are consumed with our hearts. The heart has become one of the preoccupations of our time. The fact is that God also cares deeply about our hearts. The Bible talks about our heart as much as any other subject in the Bible. 251 times it is specifically mentioned. But when the Bible talks about the heart, it describes more than just the pumping station for our blood. According to the Bible, the heart symbolizes the very center of who we are—the center of our emotions, our intellect, and our will. It is the very core of our being. And so we hear the Bible describe our heart as either "courageous" or as a "faint." A "joyful heart" or a "sad heart." A "cold heart" or a "warm heart." A "heart filled with hatred," or a "heart filled with love." A "heart of faith," or a "heart filled with love." The Bible paints a picture of the heart as the center of our being. That's why when Jesus spoke, he always aimed for the heart.
A rich young leader came to Jesus asking, "What must I do to be saved?" Unlike his contemporaries, Jesus did not talk about principles to achieve salvation. He said to the man, "Go out and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor." Crazy? Maybe. But Jesus knew he had to aim for the man's heart. He knew the pressures of finances captivated this man's heart. He knew that his heart was consumed by money. And so Jesus aimed for the heart. That is why in Proverbs 4:23 it says, "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of your life." It is like a spring of water. If that spring is healthy and whole, fresh, life-giving water will flow out to you and others around you. If your heart is sick, poison will flow out to others and yourself. What happens on the outside flows from what is in our heart.
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.
There is a great story about a famous author named Max Lucado who tells of an early morning where he could not sleep, so he decided to go to work—even before the sun rose. On his way he remembered that there had been a break-in at his office a few weeks earlier. So when he reached the front door of his office he disarmed the alarm system and unlocked the door. But as he entered and locked the door he decided to set the alarm just in case the thieves were still hanging around. As soon as he reached his office he heard the sound of a siren. The alarm had gone off! He panicked. He raced down the hall and he disarmed the alarm and called 911. As he walked back to the office he began pondering what he had just done. He thought, "You know, maybe those thieves are back trying to get in. I just disarmed the alarm. They could get to me before the police." So he ran back and reset the alarm. Seconds later it went off again! He raced back there, kind of laughing to himself as he imagined how these thieves must have been trying to break in, heard the alarm and ran back into the bushes. He set it again. Seconds later it went off again. Finally, he concluded there must be something wrong with the alarm system. So he called the alarm company, and just as the police were driving in, he said to the alarm company, "Either there are thieves outside or we have a troubled alarm system." The man at the other end of the line said, "Sir, do you realize that you have a motion detector inside your office?" Oops! With a very red face he said, "Oh sorry! He went out to the police. They were very kind to him. He said, "I'm sorry, this is an inside problem. Not an outside problem."
How often in our own lives the alarm goes off. Trouble in a relationship. Trouble at our work. Personal struggles. The alarm goes off and we look outside for the solution. The problem is out there somewhere! Have you ever done that? Have you ever blamed Washington for your troubles…"if my taxes were a little lower my business would be better." Have you ever blamed your family for your troubles? "Mom always liked my sister best." Have you ever blamed the church for your troubles? "Those hypocrites, if they would only do more for me." Have you ever blamed God for your troubles? "God, if you are a God, why don't you heal my marriage?" It is easy to look outside.
Reminds me of the story of the golfer who on the first tee-off stood there with his buddies ready to tee-off. First swing, missed the ball. Lined up again, second swing. Whiffed it again. Third time, swung again and hit nothing but air. Finally, he put his hand on his hip and turned to his buddies and said, "Man, this is a tough course!"
It may have been a tough course, but that wasn't the problem. How often can we look beyond the heart and try to place the blame on the problem "out there."
But the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.
Where is your heart? How is your pulse today? What condition is your heart in?
The great news today is that a change of heart is an inside job. And that's God's business. That's why David cries out in Psalm 51, after he'd been placing blame on everyone else for his problems. After he instigated a murder. Finally, he turns to God and says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me." There is more good news.
In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord proclaims a promise to the people of God, to you and to me. He says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." What a great promise! God promises to place a new heart within you! God's transforming grace can give you a new beginning and a new heart.
If God were to open you up today—to perform open-heart surgery, what would he find? Perhaps he'd find a broken heart. You've been deeply disappointed. You're going through a divorce. Someone has so hurt you that your heart feels like it's in pieces and you can't pick it up. I have good news for you. God will give you a new heart today. That's what he wants and can do!
Or maybe as God opens your heart he finds hardening of the arteries. Because of the pressures, because of your busy schedules, because of the hurt someone has inflicted upon you, you've grown a little crusted. You have hard time receiving love from people. Or giving love away. You have hard time accepting God's love for you. God comes to you today and says, "Here, let's do an exchange. Let me give you a new heart."
Or maybe your heart is palpitating. Racing. There's something that looms ahead so scary, so frightening, that you're full of fear. God says to you today, "Let's make an exchange. Let me take your heart and give you a new heart. Let me give you faith and the courage that you haven't had."
Or maybe your heart is just weak. You're drained from trying and trying and struggling and all the pain. You feel faint. Faint-hearted. God comes to you today to give you a heart of courage.
This is God's work! God can transform your heart today. And because that is true, because we can trust that God is in the business of giving us new hearts, we can experience a healthy whole heart.
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.
For the next two weeks we are going to be focusing on this series, "How to build a Healthy Heart." I would like to wrap up this introduction by asking a question, "How can we eat right for a healthy heart?" Three ways:
First, let God's thoughts be your thoughts. You can let God's thoughts be your thoughts. In our text for today, the Apostle Paul understands the matters of the heart. He understands that if we think negative thoughts, and if those negative thoughts consume us, it will harden our hearts. It will make our hearts weak and faint. And so Paul says to us, "Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, lovely or admirable. If there is anything excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."
Second, we can let God's ways be our ways. Paul goes on to say, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put into practice." Just do it!
And then finally, not only can we let God's thoughts be our thoughts, and let God's ways be our ways. We can also let our heart by God's home. Ultimately, only God can change our heart. In Ephesians, Paul offers this prayer, "I pray that out of his glorious riches God may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ironic as this may sound, a lot of churches would be better off if Christ rather than some other entity or fear ruled in the hearts of the membership.
Friends it all starts and ends by letting Jesus Christ fill your heart. Letting your heart be his home. Letting Jesus Christ be the center of your being. Your thoughts, your ideas, your imagination, your decisions. Welcoming Jesus Christ into the center of your life. That's the key to a healthy heart. It is as simple as that.
I would like to ask you to join me prayer. We're going to pause for a moment of silence and listen to the Lord. Let God flood your heart with his love…Maybe you have a broken heart and you need God to heal it. He will do that in this time.
Maybe you have a hard heart and want God to soften it. Maybe your heart is faint or trembling. Let's let the Living God come right now, to give you a new heart.
Almighty Jesus come into our hearts and make it your home. Where there are hard places, make them more pliable. Where there are cracks, fill them with your healing. Where there are holes, fill them with your love. Where it is malfunctioning, restore it to its original created rhythm. Make it live with your presence.
AMEN