Pt. 2 - Lies of the Devil - Just follow your heart

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to God’s living room,

About the time you were born a Swedish pop duo (D.H.T.) released a song “Listen to your heart.“ For those of who were hip and fly in the late 80’s and early 90’s the song gave us direction and guidance. It at least sub-consciously played a parenting role in the lives of many people my age and so has effected the lives of many students who are in college today. Just a hand full of years ago a remix was released and it still can be heard at clubs. Just Follow Your Heart. Dream big and follow your heart. Have you ever heard that? Given someone that advice? We grew up on Disney and fairy tales and so we have bought into this lie of Satan. We make hundreds of decisions each day. Some are not so important and yet some are life changing decisions with far reaching consequences. To make God honoring decisions we must rely on more than our senses and experiences. In reality, our hearts are not a precision instruments for what is right, not even close. It would be like using one of those big hand held hedge trimmers to cut a pad of butter. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful about all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Matthew 1519-20 :19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean. Just follow your heart doesn’t sound like such a good idea does it? Our hearts will assure us that we know better than God, that we are more just than God, that we are more loving than God. Our hearts will try to convince us that as long as we love someone it’s ok to cross sexual lines. Our hearts will try to convince us that as long as nobody gets hurt it will be ok. Our hearts will try to manipulate God. Our hearts will perplex us when we can’t figure out God or make him work the way he should work according to the morality of our heart.

Our hearts’ from the get go don’t like God. Our hearts by nature arrivals to God. We are used to them especially in the sports world. UWM/UWGB, Marquette/Notre Dame, North Carolina/Duke, Oklahoma/Nebraska. In South Carolina, the big and I mean big, rivalry is South Carolina vs. Clemson. Check out this video.

I know I have been a lot like Jad. Lord, I’m going to fit you into the equation in my life and so Lord you are just going to kinda of naturally bless me because I’m pretty good right? Lord I’m just going to go full steam ahead, throw a few prayers around and you are to keep trouble away from me. Deal? And if I’m not presenting myself to God as someone who is already deserving of the good things in life then it looks like this. Ok God, what I do I have to do to get what I want. I will probably do it but you better come through whether I do or not. From the beginning my hearts sucks and so does yours. Just follow our hearts - not good advice.

There is this guy in the Old Testament. He was popular, powerful and wise. He pretty much got everything his heart wanted literally. He had every kind of degree imaginable, double majoring no problem, early graduation no problem. And guys, check this out - he got all the girls. He had some many women, he ran out of fantasies. He followed his heart. He chased his hearts desires. His name is Solomon, King Solomon. And when he chased his heart this is his own commentary: Ecclesiastes 2:10,11 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed what my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

When our hearts want us to chase degrees, climb the corporate ladders, get a bank load of benjamins, engage in lustful relationships or whatever, our hearts are leading us away from God. All this chasing after our hearts desires has led us to be the most depressed nation on the face of the earth. We can’t sleep because we have insomnia because we are worried about school, grades, job, money, relationships. We fill our lives with family, friends, sports and parties and there is still a hole that is not filled. Has your heart ever gotten you in trouble?

Do you know what God’s equation is? God’s desire is for our salvation, not for football, dance, song, grades, job, money. Jesus doesn’t want to take our hearts. He just wants to give us his. God just wants to give us his heart. (relate Wed. frustrating events) I again came to the realization that I need a new heart. Do you need a new heart? Not that you would ever say anything to her, but the girl down the hall way is a real bi . . . That guy in my stats class is real sleaze bag. I don’t know how she got this job and how people can’t see that she is a piece of work. It is my prayer that you will see our hearts for what they really are and plead with God to replace my heart.

Ezekiel 36:24-32 God wants to give us a new heart but nor for our sake but for his glory. And I willing to bet that sounds just as funny to you as it did to me. It sounds like something is not right here. A new heart but not for our sakes but for his glory. It sounds funny, because we have been living for our glory and not for his glory. This is a life change. This is what happens with a replaced heart we live for God instead for ourselves and our heart doesn’t want that.

But even with a replaced heart we need to be careful not to lose focus. I remember running a short road race and one of the competitors was just that a competitor not a seasoned racer. When the gun sounded this person took off like a bat out of hell. He accelerated to the front of the pack. Now I’m not near the fastest person alive but I was not worried. I knew I would catch him and pass him and beat him by a mile - literally. You see this person had lost focus. He ran the race as if the race was going to be won at the first turn on the road. His focus was on the turn on the road not the finish line. The winner wasn’t going to be determined for miles after that first turn.

Sometimes in our striving in life, striving for approval, for success, for happiness we lose our focus. And when we lose our focus God gets blurry and we may even completely lose sight of him. And truth be told, I have and you have fallen into sin way more than we needed to because we lost focus. Hebrews 12:1-3 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Jesus for the joy set before him endured the cross. How does that work? People are hitting him, spitting on him, making fun of him, pulling out his beard, creasing his brow with a crown of thorns, nailing him to the cross. How’s that joy? Get this: Jesus had a perspective from altitude not longitude. Jesus had a perspective from eternity not just the present. Jesus was willing to go to hell and back because it wasn’t about his momentary happiness it was about God.

You may be struggling right now. You may have put off your papers and readings and now and in addition to all of that tests are just around the corner. You want to give up but you know that is not what God has called you to. You need to keep your focus. Life isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. You run a marathon one step at a time. And so it is with life, one step at a time with God!