Introduction

Welcome, dear friends and family in Christ, to this sacred gathering where we come together to seek wisdom and understanding from the Word of God. We are not here by accident, but by divine appointment. Our Heavenly Father, in His infinite wisdom and boundless love, has seen fit to bring us together in this moment to learn, to grow, and to be transformed by His truth.

We live in a world that often tells us to "follow our hearts". It's a sentiment echoed in countless songs, movies, and books. It's a mantra passed down through generations, a seemingly harmless piece of advice that encourages us to trust in our own feelings and desires. But is this truly the path to wisdom and fulfillment? Or is it a road that leads us astray, away from God's truth and into the wilderness of self-deception?

Our focus today is on the heart – not the physical organ that pumps life-giving blood through our bodies, but the spiritual heart, the center of our emotions, desires, and will. The Bible has much to say about the heart, and it's not always in line with the world's advice to "follow your heart".

Consider Jeremiah 17:9, which declares, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

And then we have Jesus' sobering words in Matthew 15:19, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander."

The heart, it seems, is not always a reliable guide.

Samuel Chadwick once said, "The man who thinks he can know the Word of God by mere intellectual study is greatly deceived. Spiritual truth is spiritually discerned."

So, let us approach this topic with humility and a willingness to learn. Let us set aside our preconceived notions and open our hearts to the truth of God's Word.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We ask that You would open our hearts and minds to Your truth today. Help us to see our own hearts as You see them, not as the world sees them. Give us the courage to face the truth about ourselves and the grace to change. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Let’s get started!

Misguided Mantras

What the world says: The world tells us to follow our hearts, to trust in our feelings and desires. But the Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful. It's not a reliable guide. It can lead us astray. It can trick us into believing lies. It can convince us that wrong is right and right is wrong.

A hard truth to accept: It's not what we want to hear. We want to believe that our hearts are pure and good, that we can trust in our feelings and desires. But the Bible tells us otherwise. It tells us that we need to be wary of our hearts, to guard against their deceitfulness.

Our hearts can produce evil thoughts and actions: They can lead us to sin. They can lead us away from God. This is not what we want to hear. We want to believe that our hearts are pure and good, that they are incapable of producing evil. But Jesus tells us otherwise. He tells us that we need to guard our hearts, to keep them from producing evil.

So, what does this mean for us? How should we respond to these hard truths?

Recognize the deceitfulness of our hearts: We need to understand that our hearts can lead us astray, that they can trick us into believing lies. We need to be on guard against this deceitfulness. We need to be vigilant. We need to test our feelings and desires against the truth of God's Word. We need to make sure that our hearts are aligned with His truth, not with the lies of the world.

Guard against the evil that can come from our hearts: We need to be aware of the potential for sin. We need to be vigilant. We need to keep our hearts from producing evil thoughts and actions. We need to fill our hearts with the truth of God's Word, with His love and righteousness. We need to let His truth guide us, not our own feelings and desires.

Seek God's wisdom and understanding: We need to turn to His Word for guidance. We need to pray for His wisdom. We need to ask Him to reveal the truth to us, to help us understand His Word. We need to seek His wisdom, not our own. We need to trust in His understanding, not our own.

Be transformed by God's truth: We need to let His Word change us. We need to let His truth shape our hearts and minds. We need to let His truth guide our feelings and desires. We need to let His truth lead us to righteousness.

Mankind's Misinterpretations

As we turn our attention to the Bible's true teachings, we find ourselves in the book of Romans, specifically Romans 12:2 ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO