"Heart Health"
Matthew 15:1-20
Matthew 15:15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 9 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Introduction: Several months ago I attended the Mid-South Bible Conference in Nauvoo, Alabama and it was probably one the best conferences that I have ever attended. It was a powerful spiritual experience for me personally and I took several things away from the conference that have blessed me ever since. The speakers were Bro. Jim McComas and Bro. Will Beauchamp and God used these men in an extraordinary way to speak to my heart. Bro. Jim was still grieving over the loss of his son and it was a very emotional time for everyone present. These two men laid bare their hearts and God met with us. One of the messages Bro. Beauchamp preached has stayed with me and still speaks to me today. It is simple yet profound message. I trust that the Holy Spirit will use this message to bless you.
Most of you know that I have been dealing with some health issues in recent days related to my lifestyle and so I'm been paying more attention to my diet and other things that were recommended to me by my family physician. I have also been trying to take better care of my heart health too. I have a history of heart issues on my dad's side of the family that makes this an important issue. Many of you in this audience are familiar with medical terms like cholesterol, triglycerides and other important factors that determine heart health. But my message this morning is not about the physical health of our hearts but the hearts spiritual health. As we read our text it is obvious that the scribes and the Pharisees were more concerned with the disciples hands than their hearts, but Jesus states that our hearts our infinitely more important. The Scripture supports the Lord's position for when God was selecting a man to replace Israel's first king: 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
I. Four Things that Hurt Us
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...
To be honest most of us do things that hurt our heart health. We don't get enough exercise and our diets don't promote heart health. This is also true spiritually speaking. We develop habits and behaviors that are not conducive to healthy hearts. I want to share just 4 of those unhealthy habits with this morning. The first one is:
a. Unresolved Guilt -- I owe you
Because I have hurt you, betrayed you, wronged you or sinned against you in some way; maybe through unfaithfulness or infidelity or gossip or lies. Guilt is a powerful taskmaster.
ILL - In Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Tell-Tale Heart" the main character committed murder. Unable to escape the haunting guilt of his deed, he begins to hear the heartbeat of the victim he has buried in his basement. A cold sweat covers him as he hears the beat-beat-beat of a heart, that goes on relentlessly. Ultimately the heartbeat drives the man absolutely mad, not knowing that it was not coming from the body in the basement, but from the heart within his own chest. So it is with a guilt ridden, unforgiving conscience.
b. Anger -- You owe me
ILL - In the movie "Forrest Gump", toward the end, Jenny goes back to her old home place that she grew up. As she & Forrest walk toward the house, she goes further & picks up rocks & throws them at the house. Eventually after breaking a window, she falls to the ground & Forrest comes & sets down on the ground beside her & narration takes place with Forrest saying" Sometimes there aren't enough rocks". This is a great iilustration for a message to be preached on hidden wounds in our lives. Whether it's sexual, verbal, or whatever abuse has taken place, we always will want to throw rocks at those deep rooted hurts or people who have hurt us in our lives.
c. Greed -- I owe me.
Most greedy people don't realize they are greedy. They don't realize that greed is a trap. I suspect that many in the church who do not tithe are trapped in the grip of greed and they don't realize it!
ILL - A visitor to Africa observed how to build a monkey trap. He filled a container with nuts. The container had a round opening big enough for the monkey to put its hand into the container. But a fist-size grab left the monkey trapped.
The visitor commented, "What a sight---the thing the monkey wanted most was the very thing that trapped it and led to its capture."
Luke 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
ILL - Greed cost you more than you know. Here is how, by greed, an Eskimo catches a wolf.
The Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer upon layer of blood, until the frozen blood completely conceals the blade. The hunter next fixes the knife in the ground with the blade up. A wolf smells the blood and when he discovers the bait he licks it, tasting the fresh-frozen blood. He licks faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. In his mad craving for blood, he does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue, nor does he recognize the moment when his insatiable thirst begins to be satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow.
d. Jealousy -- God, you owe me
At the root of jealousy is the notion that somebody has received what you think you deserve and we question God as to the why of it! You deserved that promotion, you worked harder, you put in the overtime, you sacrificed time with you family but this totally undeserving person got what you deserved.
WHY NOT ME?
ILL - I watched a TV show called, "What Would You Do?" They put actors into everyday situations with hidden cameras to see heat the people around will do.
Last week they sent an actor into a grocery store. The actor asks to cut in line. When he gets up to the check out, lights and music start playing and a clerk runs out with a huge $500 check saying, "You are our one millionth customer!"
The fun part was watching the person who let them cut in line. Many of them were furious--That guy just took MY prize money. One guy threw his stuff down on the counter and left. A woman ran to the service desk to raise, well, not heaven.
It's difficult for us at times to see other's blessings without the "Why not me" attitude.
ILL - There is a story in the Bible that describes the destructive effects of jealousy. The Bible tells us that Joseph was loved by his father Jacob more than all his children because he was the son of his old age. When Joseph's brethren saw that he was loved more than they were, they hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. The coat of many colors reminded the brothers that Joseph enjoyed a favored position. This signified a position of favor, princely standing, and birthright. It was a dramatic way of saying he was the son to receive the birthright. This favorite son dreamed and explained his dreams causing more hatred to develop.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: I am not sure if Jacob was wise in showing the partiality that he had towards Joseph or not. Even with him doing so, that did not justify the brothers having the jealousy/hatred that they did for Joseph.
Source: From W. Alderman's Sermon: The Dreamer
BEWARE OF JEALOUSY
ILL - Mrs. Wesley was extremely jealous of her husband. His work set him in the position of friend and counselor to many women. Among his helpers and in the institutions that were springing up under his care, women were employed, and each one was for his insanely jealous wife an object of deadly suspicion.
Wesley on his part was apt to be tolerant, in a masculine and broad-minded way, of the facts and relationships of some women, which other women, even the best, would hardly forgive. Sally Ryan, for example, the housekeeper at one of his orphanages, was a woman with a past. She was at this time only thirty-three, but she had three husbands living and was separated from them all. Wesley was in constant correspondence with her, a fact which kindled his wife to fury.
She stole Wesley's letters to satisfy her doubts. She would travel one hundred miles to see who his companions were at a particular stage of his preaching tour. Her fury threw her sometimes into paroxysms of mad violence and sometimes into acts of almost incredible treachery. She not only stole her husband's letters to satisfy her doubts, but she tampered with them so as to give them an evil sense and put them into the hands of his enemies to be published.
Beware of jealousy. It can make the light of God in your heart so dark you see only evil, never good, in everyone.
(Illustration of Bible Truths).
II. Four Things that Heal Us
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
How many of you have ever had a heart cauterization? I had one about 5 years ago because of some shortness of breath. When your cardiologist does a heart Cath he is looking to see if you have a healthy heart. He wants to look into your heart and see if there are any blockages or other abnormalities that prevent your heart from operating or functioning in a healthy way. If you have a blockage he will place a stent or balloon it to open it up and restore good blood flow. In extreme cases the condition of your heart may call for open heart by-pass surgery and some of you have experienced that too. God knows what is in our hearts and He wants to help us in ridding us of the things that prevent us from having a healthy heart.
a. Confession -- rids us of guilt
Confession is a powerful strategy for ridding ourselves of the effects of guilt. But confession is more than just saying "I'm sorry." It means taking full responsibility for what you have done and in some cases making restitution also. Don't be like the guy I heard about who was feeling guilty:
FEELING GUILTY
ILL - Nicky Gumbel tells us of a man who sent a check to the government for back taxes with a note attached that said:
"I felt so guilty for cheating on my taxes I had to send you this check. If I don't feel any better, I'll send you the rest."
THE WORLD ON GUILT
ILL - A young man called in to one of those call-in talk shows hosted by a psychologist and said, "I'm consumed with guilt and don't know what to do with it. How do I get rid of this guilt?" The answer offered by the talk show host was upsetting: "You can't get rid of guilt. You just have to learn to live with it." Davon Huss
The talk show host was wrong, dead wrong. You can get rid of guilt through the power of confession, but the longer you wait the more damage can be done...
ILL - A lecturer was giving a talk to students on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?" The students' answers ranged from 20 grams to 500 grams. The lecturer replied," The absolute weight doesn't matter. What matters is how long you hold it. If I hold the cup for a minute, I would be Ok. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for one day, you will have to call an ambulance. The cup of water is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels and the more damage it can do to me." Guilt is like that glass of water, the longer you hold it the more damage it will do to you and your relationships.
b. Forgiveness -- without requiring an apology rids us of anger
The late great Indian political and spiritual leader, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 - 1948), once said, "Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep." He must have read the Bible because it says do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
The late great Amercian journalist, Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842 - 1914), once said, "Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret."
"Anger damages our souls and gives the devil a foothold into our lives!"
(From a sermon by George Dillahunty, "Anger - A Satanic Foothold!" 1/14/2009)
THIS IS FORGIVENESS
ILL - I once invited a guest lecturer to speak to a counseling class I was teaching and ask him to specifically discuss the topic forgiveness. He told a powerful story from his own life that day to illustrate his point that we should forgive.
His brother had many struggles, and one day there was a conflict that arose and someone shot and killed my friend's brother. The whole family was sad of course and grieved very much about this sudden and unfortunate loss. Our guest that day said he struggled initially forgiving the man that killed his brother. After a while though, God helped him process the tragedy and forgive the murderer. This was the neat part. For years, my friend had a prayer list with his brother's name on it, and he prayed for him often. After his death, he eventually got to the point where he erased his brother's name and inserted the murderer's name in his brother's place on the prayer list, and now he prays for him often. This, ladies and gentlemen, is forgiveness.
c. Giving -- rids us of greed
When you give expecting nothing in return the grip of greed will be broken. Some folks quote the Scriptures to justify not giving. For instance they say that the Bible tells to give cheerfully and they say that they just can't do that so they don't give at all but friend giving itself helps to bring us to the place where can feel good about giving. Someone said, "Give until it hurts," but God says, "Give until it stops hurting." Give even when you don't feel like it, do it and watch what happens in your heart! The Apostle Paul salutes the believers in Macedonia for their willingness to give in difficult circumstances and challenges the Corinthians to do the same thing:
2 Corinthians 8:11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. 12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
d. Humility -- The antidote to what we used to call "old green eyed jealousy" is humility, genuinely celebrating others accomplishments rids us of jealousy.
So what is humility, and what makes humble people different? Humility is the absence of self in all we think, do or say. You know when you encounter humility because you are irresistibly drawn to and awestruck by its presence.
People with the quality of humility are interested in everyone else. In conversations, they want to know about you. They are not looking for ways you can be a blessing to them, they are looking for ways they can bless you. Humility is the very opposite of pride and arrogance. In a disagreement, pride is concerned with who is right, humility is concerned with what is right. Pride and arrogance are all about self, they are always looking down at everyone else. Humility looks up.
One Saturday night in April, a friend and I stopped in at a Denny's Restaurant in Dallas for coffee. Our waiter was a tall man with a South African accent. I watched him as he hurried about between tables working hard to serve the many customers in his area that night. There was a refined quality about him as he spoke and I wondered how this gentle, intelligent soul had ended up waiting tables in a family restaurant in Dallas. Asked what kind of work he had done previously in his own country, he replied he had run several large companies and it was clear he had been in executive management. I was awestruck that he could do such menial work with such a wonderful attitude toward even the rude and drunken patrons, which were many that particular evening.
"But," he replied, "I now have the privilege of serving others." And with that he bowed his head, laid our check on the table and walked off to assist other diners.
The rest of that evening and for many days after, I thought of that gentleman and pondered the wonder of encountering true humility up close. I felt I had held a rare dazzling jewel worth an entire kingdom for the briefest of moments, and I longed to see more.
How much nicer the world would be if there were no prideful and arrogant people, if everyone were concerned with others instead of themselves. If all the prideful people suddenly realized the uselessness of talking about oneself.
Why talk about yourself anyway? As soon as you leave the room, there are plenty of people willing to do it for you.
"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." - Abraham Lincoln
Excerpted from Sidewalk Flowers, Vol. 1
Conclusion: Let's review before we close: Four habits that are toxic to our hearts are guilt, anger, greed and jealousy. We also said that there are four things that produce heart health. We said, confession rids us of guilt, forgiveness rids us of anger, giving rids us of greed and humility helps us to rid us of jealousy. If your doctor said that you have several serious heart issues that are going to cause damage to your heart and he recommended some changes, you would take his advice and make the changes. God is tell us that these bad habits serious affect our hearts and we need to make some changes. Are you going to listen to your doctor and live? Will you listen to the Great Physician and have a healthy heart?
