Listening With the Heart 1

Listening With the Heart 1

Jer. 17:9; Ps 119:18 and Rom. 10:17

SUBJECT: Evangelism and Personal Work

THEME: It is vital we maintain a correct attitude toward God and His work. We must keep our hearts respectful, clean, compliant, and obedient towards the duties, tasks, and responsibilities of evangelism.

INTRODUCTION:

Even though the Word of God is incredibly clear on the Great Commission and personal evangelism, there is still a great deal of reluctance among believers to invest, involve themselves, and share their faith. They also are hesitant concerning any aggressive Christian activity. This perspective did not come from God…. 

Jeremiah 17:9, says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” You see our human nature is so fallible, broken, and deceptive…it cannot be trusted to respond to God or His priorities appropriately! We need to maintain or obtain the correct ‘heart’ posture to become responsive to the Lord.

Passages like these help us understand we need to experience a special form of ‘heart’ surgery rendering us more obedient to God.

Ps 119:18, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Rom 10:17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God frequently refers to “heart surgery” as influential imagery pointing to spiritual rejuvenation, where He cleans our sin and replaces our stubborn, unenthusiastic, and sinful ‘hearts’ with spiritually compliant ‘hearts.’ As a result, we become far more spiritually minded than carnal minded.

MESSAGE:

As God’s Servant, Use His Word to Examine Your Heart

We are susceptible to contracting various unhealthy heart conditions, but God’s word can be trusted to help us sort out our real condition.

A.  THE WEIGHTED DOWN HEART (Worried)

Luke 21:34, And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Our Lord Jesus warns us to remain spiritually alert. He cautions against letting worldly distractions, overindulgence, or everyday anxieties dull our spiritual senses. He wants to ensure we are not caught off guard by the sudden, unexpected arrival of “that day” (the return of Christ).

1.     “Overcharged with surfeiting” portrays the ‘heart’ as being weighed down or dulled by overindulgence, specifically gluttony or excessive eating.

2.    “Cares of this life” refer to the distracting, consuming anxieties and worries about day-to-day survival and earthly pursuits.

If we are not careful, we will end up ‘overcharged’ and weighed down with the many concerns of life.

·       Too disturbed with making ends meet financially

·       Too anxious about our professional pursuits and the work-related environment

·       Too worried about family or home related crisis or matters

·       Too concerned with friends, relatives and other matters of that nature

·       Too troubled with our health, eating habits/diet, and health insurance

3.    Remember, worry is an ineffective strategy for the future! God tells us not to worry as a matter of policy, emphasizing that life is more than material needs and reminding us of our immense value to Him. Instead of stressing, He invites us to pray and cast our burdens on Him, promising to replace our anxieties with a supernatural peace that guards our hearts and minds.

4.    Take these Bible thoughts very seriously because they afford wisdom and comfort to alleviate the weighted down heart condition:

·        Remember Your Value to God. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus reminds us to look at the birds and flowers; if God cares for nature, He will certainly provide for us. He assures us, we do not need to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.

·        Change your Anxieties into Prayers. Philippians 4:6-7 commands to refuse to be anxious about anything, instructing us to present our prayer requests to God with a heart of thanksgiving so He can grant us His brand of peace.

·        Release Your Burdens to the Lord. 1 Peter 5:6-7 encourages us to throw all our anxiety on the Lord because He deeply cares for us.

·        Take Comfort in and Trust God as a Habit. Psalm 23 reminds us that even when walking through the darkest valleys, we do not need to fear because God is with us, providing rest, restoring, assurance, and comfort to our souls.

Worries and more ‘bothers!’ God say, “No”! Avoid this condition making some godly priorities instead and sticking with them. Put God first, your family next, and then work it out from there with the rest of your priorities.  Place a precedence on the most important things first.