Are You Watching Your Heart Monitor?

Speakers Notes:

M.Kasperson Sermon “Are you watching your Heart Monitor?” 4/18/15

Good Morning Everyone:

Last Monday, at about 3:30 in the afternoon I was in the waiting room and the Nurse called for me. She led me through the locked door down a corridor with rooms on either side. I could hear the “Bleep” “Bleep” of an electronic device growing louder as she led me to the last room on the right with a name plate on the door that said “RECOVERY”.

Once inside the darkened room the bleeping was loud and I saw the sound was coming from  a bright electronic screen on the table with a bouncing blip, attached to it was my Son Carl as he laid reclined and sleeping in a cushy sofa chair. Carl had just finished oral surgery to remove his 4 wisdom teeth under full anesthesia. He was slowly recovering from the anesthesia and would awake and then dose as the heart monitor bleeped his heart rate. I could see his heart rate change faster when he was awake and slower when he dosed. It was a sensitive device, the Doctor told me when Carl was a little anxious about the Anesthesia before it was given the heart monitor would detect and show his higher heart rate.

It’s not often our bodies are hooked up to one of these devices to monitor our heart rate, you can crudely achieve the same result by using your finger against your wrist or neck and a watch and count the beats for a period of time. These numbers are used to calculate your heart beat, you can see the rate rise with physical activity like running etc. and falling with rest and calm.

But, Very accurate monitors are needed when our bodies are having a medical procedure or suspecting an issue with your heart.

Today, We will explore the use of heart monitors in a biblical perspective, that is are we monitoring the intents of our heart.

Before we do, we must acknowledge the stress that this world’s moral, spiritual and the resulting physical decline is putting on our hearts. Just like in many peoples bodies excess weight, poor diet and being overworked will stress a person’s heart and reduce their life expectancy so can living in this world if we let it.

The pressures of our daily social interactions affects us, we set up defenses to protect us from the deluge of conflicting, sometimes evil and malicious behaviors. Do you know what defenses you have put in place through years of stressful situations?

Just a few examples here to give us some perspective:

Entertainment:

In 1950 – Drive-in movies were the risky dating process sometimes with beer or wine but many were family events. Risky movies then would be rated “R” today.

Today – Movies and Sitcoms and other shows are seen by all and most include gruesome deaths, graphic blood, sexual situations all would be rated X in 1950 and most not ever seen then. Now its, Beer, Wine, Shooters, Ecstasy and now legal Marijuana.

These things continue to inspire moral abandonment.

Others, that show continually how violence can solve issues in the vacuum of absolute morals – showing it is right to not accept other people or respect their rights and resort to violence to “get your way”.

Our material society is consumed with the process or way of “GET” now at any cost, not the way of “GIVE”

Work:

In 1950, respect, grooming and integrity were valuable and even if people didn’t get along they worked within a moral framework and tried to make it with sincere intentions.

Now, Political correctness is the social state which has its roots in relative morality subjecting many to abuse by the group or an individual just because they think a little differently or have different moral values. All of this is done under the cover of “open mindedness” and “no judgement” but in fact is a closed system always excluding some.

I will stop here because you can see the issues created by the decline in morals and it makes it tougher to achieve world peace and a single world religion, man cannot rule himself and we live in this world today.

 Without a biblical perspective these things can harden your heart, take you away from faithful acceptance of biblical teaching and practices.

This is the world we live in

Lets look at a parallel historical perspective that can help us see how God sees things

Let’s go back to another period of Moral decline, immediately preceding the Flood of Noah’s time, let’s notice what God saw

Gen 6:5  Then the Lord[a] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Notice He said “every” not some not part of man was evil but every… I don’t think we are that close yet.

But let us look at the meaning behind “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”

Heart = Has a bigger meaning than just that pumping organ in our chest according to Vines expository dictionary of biblical words

The way the Bible uses the word heart both the old testament word “LEB” or the new testament word “Kardia” they both mean essentially the same thing.

The word heart, in the way the bible uses it, refers to the “inner man” or the “hidden springs of the personal life”

It is regarded as man’s core or seat in life, all his thoughts, desires, words, and actions flow from deep within him!

Lk 6:45 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart[a] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

A persons heart in the bible is

1. A persons seat of emotions
2. A persons seat of knowledge and wisdom
3. A persons seat of conscience and moral character
4. A persons fountain of his/her deeds
5. A persons seat of rebellion and pride

But man cannot understands his heart and follows his own way which hardens the heart!

Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?

And referring back to the time of Noah, God sees the issue with man’s heart and has mercy.

Gen 8:21 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

God also tests man’s heart to see where a man places his life in God’s ways or not

Prov 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the Lord tests the hearts.

1thes 2:44 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

So if God is testing our hearts and monitoring us, how can we begin to see what God sees in us?

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

So our Bibles contain the tool or monitor we can use to decipher our hearts thoughts and intents! Like breaking the code so we can understand and discern ourselves. This means finding and monitoring our pulse so to speak.

Paul says it is helpful to Judge ourselves

1Cor 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

So lets go back to the 5 things that we should be monitoring lets connect sensors to each of these so we can monitor them through heart surgery

1. A persons seat of emotions – we let these run our lives esp. when challenged
2. A persons seat of knowledge and wisdom and our perception or worldview
3. A persons seat of conscience and moral character – the evil one pulls us through these
4. A persons fountain of his/her deeds – what what we do to understand – ask who are trying to please? And What are we thinking
5. A persons seat of rebellion and pride

Now that we are monitoring - let the Bible show us how to perform heart surgery!

The Bible refers to a major theme we should drive to and stages of heart surgery for monitoring or guiding our hearts and the thoughts and actions they produce.

PURIFY our hearts

1. Through Obeying the Truth

1Peter 1:2222 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit[a] in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

1. Establish your hearts

1Sam 7:33 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to theLord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths[a]from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Heb 13:9 Do not be carried about[a] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

Jam 5:8  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Jam 4:8  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, yousinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1Peter 3:1515 But sanctify the Lord God[a] in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

LK 8:15 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

1. Through Faith

Acts 15:9 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Eph 3:17 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Heb 10:22  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1. Through Peace

Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

1. Through Loving God and Letting Him rule in your hearts

MK 12:30 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[a] This is the first commandment.[b]

And Jesus’s words

Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    For they shall see God.

AND David who God said was after HIS own heart after he sinned

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

1Chr 28:9“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

And Now The Apostle Peter

 2 Peter 1:1919 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed,[a] which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

Morning Star is the when the end of this age of evil (dark place) comes through Jesus’s return to this earth to establish the Kingdom Of God – Our hearts will rejoice in anticipation, hope and love as our King and Lord Jesus Christ steps foot again on this earth

He will be the STAR of our hearts forever.

In The Kingdom

Jerm 32:38-39 38 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. 41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

Ezek 11:19-20 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them,[a] and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

The Bible clearly asks us to work with God, His Word and Holy Spirit to perform heart surgery on ourselves. Today we have reviewed some of the basic procedures for this operation. Now we must connect up our heart monitors and work with God’s word and his holy spirit to produce what He wants

A PURE HEART

STOP

Lev 19:17  ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

Deut 2:30 30 “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

Mt 5:18-19 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mark 10:5 5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

JN 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”[a]

Acts2:46 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

Acts 28:27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”’[a]

Lev 26:41 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies;

If their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—

1Sam 6:6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?

PS 25:3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.MISCHIEF

Mk 3:5 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.[a]

1sam10:6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 

PS 7:6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me[a] to the judgment You have commanded!

Acts 15:8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

Rom 8:27 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Rev 2:23 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

Gal 4:6 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

1Chr 29:18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.

Prov 22:11 He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.

Prov 18:12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.

Prov 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.