Title: Heart Attack
Text: Psalms 25:17
Psalms 25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
Intro: How many here today would say that you have suffered from a broken heart. This scripture describes how you may have felt or how you are feeling today. You may be feeling lost or abandon, like everything that you believed in has deserted you. I want to tell you today that you are not alone. Everyone at one time or another has had their heart broken in this life. But how do you survive when all of hell is attacking your heart? There are people here today that Satan has you under attack right now; The husband who’s wife is fighting cancer; The wife who has been abused and abandon. There is a way to rise above that broken heart and live in the joy of the Lord.
I. Wait on The Lord
Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
ILL. Old cowboy movies the cavalry always came just in the knick of time to save the day. God may not be early in your situation BUT He is NEVER late.
1. God is close to us when we are hurting.
Psalms 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
A. When someone is hurting they get God’s attention
- If a bird falls to the ground, He knows it.
- If a hair falls from your head, he knows it.
- The person who is hurting financially drops a coin into the offering IT GETS GOD”S ATTENTION.
B. If you are broken hearted today it means that you are the object of His care; you have His attention.
- If you have been crushed by problems
- If you have been neglected
- If you have been abused
- If you have been wronged
- He is here today to mend your broken heart
2. The first sermon Jesus preached said the reason He came was to heal the broken hearted.
Psalms 51:17 a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
- Satan would have you think that God is not to be bothered with our problems
- That He is not concerned with us
- That even if we went to him nothing would happen, so why bother.
- But God says, “come unto me… I will give you rest”
- God says, “call on me while I am near”
- God wants to touch that heart that is under attack
3. When your heart comes under attack by the enemy run to the rock, the Rock of Ages.
Psalms 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
A. You will find rest from the storm in the rock
B. You will find a healing balm for the heart
C. You will find renewed strength
D. You will find the Prince of Peace.
- Where ever we are; what ever we are going through we can draw near to God and find: protection from the attacks, peace from the storm, power to overcome.
To rise above that Broken Heart you must:
II. Keep a Right Spirit
1. The danger of a broken heart is what it can lead to, a broken spirit.
Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
2. Now follow me closely:
- A broken Spirit says, “I can’t keep going”
- A broken Heart says, “It’s hard to keep going, but I will”
- A broken Spirit says, “there is no way.”
- A broken Heart says, “I don’t know a way, but I will follow the
way.”
- A broken Spirit says, “I can’t so I won’t”
- A broken Heart says, “I can Through Christ that strengthens me”
- A broken Spirit says, “I am down and I cannot get up.”
- A broken Heart says, “I am down but watch me get back up.”
- A broken Spirit says, “There is no way to win.”
- A broken Heart says, “It’s not by might nor by power but by God’s
Spirit”
- A broken Spirit says, “There is no hope.”
- A broken Heart says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus
- blood and Righteousness”
- A broken Spirit says, “I quit, I give up, I’m throwing in the towel.”
- A broken Heart says, “As long as I have breath in my body,
Strength in my soul I’ll never quit, I want
stop.”
3. Your Spirit is that part of you that keeps you going when your heart is
lying on the floor broken into pieces.
Proverbs 17:22 but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
4. A wounded Spirit is one that has lost it ability
- To turn to God.
- To trust God
- To know that God is in control
- & To understand that what Satan has meant for evil God can take it and use it for His glory.
5. A broken heart can keep going because it still has
- Something to trust in
- Something to Hope for
- Something that is sure
6. Heart Attack Victims
A. Broken Hearted Job
- 10 caskets of his children
- Health gone
- Money gone
- Wife & friends turn on him
- His spirit is still strong
- “Though He Slay me yet will I Trust Him.”
- Broken hearted but not broken spirit
B. Broken Hearted Ezekiel
- Preaching and comes home to find that his baby is dead
- Goes back to preach a few nights later comes home his wife dies
- The next day he is out there preaching
- Broken hearted but not broken spirit
C. Broken hearted David
- Sinned
- Child dies
- Cries out with a repentant heart, “God renew a right spirit in me.”
- When you lose out with God the first thing to go is your spirit.
- God restores him.
D. Broken hearted Ananias Judson
- He went to Burma and preached 40 years
- Buried his children in Burma
- Buried his wife in Burma
- Returned home alone Crushed but with a spirit that had seen him through.
E. Broken hearted here today
- You can rise above the attack of Satan
- Hold your head up high
- Look to the sky
- And shout “Devil you me break my heart but you will never break my Spirit.”
III. Building A Heart that withstands attack
Ps 112:7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
(NIV)
1. It is built on commitment.
Psalms 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
- No matter what comes at me I will not let my heart worry because it is fixed on God
2. It is built on faith
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
A. Moses, Had a heart of faith to march into Pharoph’s court because he had been in the presence of God.
B. David, had a heart of faith when he stood before Goliath because he had experienced the anointing before.
C. Elisha, had a heart of faith because he had seen the hand of God move through Elijah and was able to take that mantle and divide the river Jordan.
- The more your in the presence of God; the more you experience the anointing of God, the more you walk with people that pull you to God, the more your heart will be built up in faith.
3. It’s built on trust
- No matter how great the attack God will see you through & victory over our foe will be ours.
