The Importance of The Heart

Title of Message: The Importance of The Heart

SERIES: HEART ISSUES (A STUDY IN THE BOOK OF JONAH)

Last week Pastor Vince talked about his trip to Israel and how the Lord spoke to him at the Sea of Galilee, at the same spot where Jesus asked Apostle Peter 3 times, “Do you love me?”

This week Pastor Frank begins a new series entitled “Heart Issues.” Through the month of May we are going to head to the Old Testament book of Jonah. In this series we will look at the heart of God and the heart of a stubborn prophet! You will see a clash of wills and desires…really a clash of heart between God and man

Verses used:

Matthew 15:17-20, Jonah 1:1-3, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 65:14, Romans 10:9,Hebrews 3:12, Psalm 19:14, Psalm 21:1-2, Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 4:4, 1 Samuel 16:7, John 2:23-24, Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Galatians 6:7-8, Jeremiah 32:39-40, Ezekiel 11:19, Gal. 4:6.

Key verses:

Matthew 15:17-20

“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

Jonah 1:1-3

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

SERMON NOTES:

The heart is the place where we experience emotion.

It is also a place of intellectual activity/thought.

It is the place of human will/volition/choice.

The heart is the place of knowing, willing and feeling in holistic unity.

The heart is the mission control center of our life; it directs our life.

We have the responsibility to direct our heart which is our director.

God says that humanity’s fallen heart is: Bent toward evil (Genesis 6:5)

What is evil: Evil is that which is wrong in relation to God and the effects which that wrong has on human life. God says that humanity’s fallen heart is:

Swollen with pride (Proverbs 16:5)

Prone to deceit (Jeremiah 17:9)

Hardened (Mark 6:52)

Stubborn (Jeremiah 3:17)

Foolishness (Romans 1:21)

Turns away from God (Jeremiah 17:5, Romans 1:21)

Some questions to consider this week:

What is one of your favorite songs that has the word heart in it?
What did you think about the message last week on the heart? Were you surprised at the length to which the Bible describes the essence and importance of the spiritual heart, if so what was surprising to you?
When we learn what Scripture says about humanity’s fallen heart, how does that affect the way you think about your spiritual heart?
Can you name a time in your life when you were deceived in your heart or rebellious towards God? What resulted from it? Who or what did God use to bring you back?
How would you describe your heart now: Soft? Hard? Warm? Cold? Why is that?
The Bible says we are to “guard” our hearts (Prov.4:23), how do you go about doing this in your life?
Pastor Frank gave a biblical definition of evil on Sunday, what were your impressions of his definition? How would you add or subtract from his definition?
How can we be “stirring in” the sermon’s verses into our lives this week?
Something to think about this week . . .

“What does God see when He sees my heart?”