Our Heart Disease

Our Heart Disease:
Much of this is adapted from "Idols of the Heart" by Fitzpatrick for our cells. Please buy the book.

Reading:
Yes, it is true that God does call us to learn and embrace the truth with our mind. He calls us to desire and long for Him with our affections. He commands us to choose Him with our will. He does hold us responsible in each of these ways. But we have a problem don't we. Without God's aid, we'll never understand or choose Him. We have a major heart problem against which we have to struggle our entire lives – so says the Bible.

Jeremiah spoke about our heart disease.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)

Our heart is false: it tricks us and decieves us into thinking that our desires are pure. It tells us that what we want is good and that God approves. However, many of our ways seem right in our own eyes but still lead to death and Hell.

Look at what the Bible teaches.

Gen. 6:5, Gen. 8:21
Psalm 51:5
Ecc. 9:3
Matthew 15:19

So you may be thinking: “If my heart is so bad, why should I even bother?”

Please, take refuge in that fact that while your heart may decieve you, it isn't hidden from the Father. Your heavenly father completely understands your heart.

1 Samuel 16:7
1 Chron 28:9
Psalm 44:21
Jeremiah 17:10
John 2:24-25
Acts 1:24
Rev. 2:23

The Father knows everything about you. He knows when you long to love Him, when you want to please Him. He knows when and where you are decieved. He knows when you are faking it and trying to show Him and others that you are OK. Your not okay. Get over it. He knows when you do good works to impress others. He knows YOU through and through.

So what is the diagnosis for your heart condition?

Simply put, the Word.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV)

What does this have to do with last Sunday?

Sunday at church, Tim taught us from Luke 17:1-2 about the temptations that will come. Tim talked to us about how our sin is rooted in idolatory and pride and how are temptations take this form spewing forth from our hearts.

Let's see what the Bible has to say. Do you remember the Ten Commandments? The ten what?????

The first commandment is:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:2-3 (ESV)

How amazing it is that God's primary command is to have no other gods before Him! God commands our absolute devotion. He demands our pride. He demands the idols of our hearts. This first command is preeminent because it is impossible to obey the other nine if we fail to obey this one. God cuts right to our heart.

This begs the question. Do the Ten Commandments still apply today? Yes, they play a very important role in the life of a believer. Reading them intently shows God's unchanging standards. They help us grasp the fact that no mere human has ever pefectly kept the law and can not do so. It makes Romans 3:23 come to life! “for all have sinned and fall short...”

That is important for us to understand! People you work with, go to school with, play golf with, flirt with, drink with, or whatever...trust that they are going to heaven because they are relatively good. They are nothing more than moral diests. The Ten Commandments prove that we are unable to live a life that matches up to God's Holy and perfect standards. We can't even get God's primary command down.

We fail the first commandment on nearly a daily basis due to our heart condition. Don't believe me? Do you not think that you have pride or idols in your heart? Do you not often worship things other than God?

Answer these questions honestly.

Do you think that God's lovingkindness is better than a nice car, house, or retirement plan?
Is God's steadfast love more desirable than good health? What about when you are suffering from cancer on your deathbed?
Is His everlasting love more pleasurable than obedient children?
Is spending time in the word and in prayer more pleasurable than chicken wings and football?
Is declaring His fame at work more desirable than achieving your fame/status at work?
Where is your happiness found? Name your god.
What do you want, desire, or wish for daily? Know your heart.
Who are you trying to please?
What would bring you the greatest happiness, pleasure, delight?
What would bring you the greatest pain and misery? Why?

After answering those questions, what are you tempted to worship more: the God of the Bible, or an idol of your heart that forms due to your pride. Temptations will come.

Paul wrote that he came to know sin through the law in Romans 7:7. What has the law, specifically the ten commandments taught you?

Do you see our heart disease?
Do you know your heart's condition?

If you were at church Sunday Tim challenged all of us to write out the gospel. After this study, would you change what you wrote?

What did you write?