HEARTBEATS
“The Heartbeat of Jesus”
Matthew 6:21
I am sure that one thing all of us could agree on this morning is that our world is in deep trouble. America is in trouble and something has to be done. But what we might not agree on is what the solution actually is. Many of us would say we need reform in our government and that is a very valid point. Others would point to our schools, places of education and would say that our schools need attention. Still others would point to the church and I would agree with that as well. But the problem with placing the blame on the government, the schools or the church is that we are placing all of the blame on an institution. And that is not where the problem really lies.
Years ago I heard Dr. Adrian Rogers put it this way: “the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.” I agree. In other words if you really want to see change take place, you have to change someone’s heart.
In this series of sermons we have been focusing on personalities from the Old Testament and looking at the condition of their heart and how God used them as a result. If their hearts were right God used them in a powerful way. David for instance was called a “man after God’s own heart.” And there is a lot we can learn from these OT characters. But today, just briefly I want us to look at the New testament at the heart of Jesus because that is our goal…. TO HAVE A HEART LIKE HIS.
Jesus spoke of the heart on numerous occasions. In the sermon on the mount He said, “blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”
He told His disciples “don’t set your heart on food and drink.” He wasn’t saying it’s not important; he was just reminding us NOT to make it our first priority.
He gave us a difficult passage when He said, anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And the spirit of the law also tells us that if you are angry you have committed murder in your heart. He also said that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The meaning is really simple …..
All of our actions, all of our sin, all of the terrible things that we do, every problem we experience in our world today all revolve around one thing: the heart. Why do we sin, we do we hurt other people, why do we say things we shouldn’t say…why do we do things we shouldn’t do?
Our hearts are not right.
In one other passage Jesus reminds us of a very important truth… he says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Your heart follows the things that you value.” So we looked at the heartbeat of David, Joseph and Moses so far….now what about the heartbeat of Jesus?
What were the things that mattered to Him? If we’re going to grow a HEART LIKE HIS, we have to know.
These are what I see. (1) Jesus had a heart for PEOPLE not THINGS. He had a heart for RELATIONSHIPS, not RELIGION. We don’t know of very many things that Jesus actually owned during His lifetime. Now He was directly related to the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And the hills too. But in His life here we never see Him being very concerned about the things of this world. He would remind us that we shouldn’t worry about these things. He said look at the birds, look at the flowers….if God takes care of those don’t you think He will take care of you? He says these things are temporary; they don’t last. But our soul does. The Bible says that the foxes have a den and the birds have a nest but yet Jesus had no place to lay his head. Things simply did not matter to Jesus. But people did. If someone was sick, he healed them, if they had a need, he met it. Never concerned about how much time it might take. Jesus was much more interested in people than God’s people always came first.
(2) Jesus had a heart for SOLITUDE not BUSYNESS. There is nothing wrong with being busy. The question is what are you busy with? For many of us our priorities are very out of order. Am I right? Jesus knew that getting alone with the Father was crucial. There is no substitute for it. People were constantly wanting to be with Jesus, especially during the final year of His ministry. And why wouldn’t you? Are you sick? See Jesus. Hungry, thirsty, see Jesus…he knows how to multiply food. He turns water to wine. Don’t you think that made Him pretty popular? On several occasions people wanted so much from Him that he had to make the decision to get away. But even then they would find Him. But Jesus knew how important it was to have a time where you can just be quiet and be alone with our heavenly Father. The Bible says to be still and know that he is God. We can miss God if we’re too busy. It happens to all of us.
(3) Jesus had a heart for the SICK not the HEALTHY. Of course Jesus loved everyone. But we do need to remember that when He was calling His disciples, He came to a man named Matthew and called Him out and then sat down to eat a meal with Matthew and other “tax collectors and sinners.” The Pharisees didn’t think He should be with those kinds of people. When Jesus heard them make that comment, He says to them, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, it’s the sick. He spent His time healing the sick, feeding the hungry, meeting the needs of those who were hurting.
(4) Jesus had a heart for the FUTURE not the PAST. Jesus didn’t really care much for tradition. It’s one of the things that really got Him into trouble. The Pharisees and the whole religious crowd were all caught up in tradition. And the problem with that is that too often we do things simply because they’ve always been done that way. We could have been doing it wrong for 20 years but we aren’t about to change ….because that’s the way we were taught. It has been said the 7 last words of the church are “we’ve never done it that way before.” You see once we stop trying new things we will stop growing. Jesus was always looking to the future. He told his disciples that there would be a time would He would come back and get us. Why? Because he wanted to give us hope and He wanted us to look forward rather than backwards. To the future rather than the past. There are only two occasions that I can think of when Jesus mentioned the past. One was when He told the woman at the well to forget her past. To more forward; to go and sin no more. Churches still get too caught up in the past. We tell people they can’t serve because of something in their past. God can’t use you because of something you did. But not Jesus.
The only other time I know of when Jesus mentioned the past was when He administered the first Lord’s supper. And He said when you do this, every time you do this…”do it in remembrance of me.” But even then he wasn’t telling us to dwell on the past… He was reminding us that our hearts must be focused on HIM. On Jesus. His priorities must become our priorities. His thoughts must become our thoughts. His heart must become our heart. So today we go to HIS table with these things in mind. And if things are not right in your life in any of these four areas now is the time to MAKE it right.
PRAYER.
LORD’S SUPPER.
