How is Your Heart?, Part 6

For the last six weeks, we've been asking the question, how is your heart? Stemming from Hebrews chapter 3, verses 7 to 19, which gives us the warning today if you hear us Voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness And so we want to make sure that the hearts of our people are not hardened to the things of God So we are looking at the condition of one's heart by asking and answering the questions: do you have a hard heart? How do you know your heart is being hardened to the truth of God? Or do you have a soft heart? And how do you know your heart is Solved

And so we've been looking at that over the last six weeks We looked at the book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse number 26, where the Lord God says, Give me your heart Why? Proverbs 23:7 says, As a man thinks in his heart, so is he And Proverbs 4 tells us that we are to guard our hearts because from your heart flow every issue in life And so your heart is all that matters The question comes: we need to examine our heart to see where it is in light of what God's Word says

So we asked the question: How is your heart? And we looked at the characteristics of the heart heart and to be able to help you understand if you are going down that road And we began two weeks ago looking at the characteristics of The soft heart and asking the question: Do you have a heart that's soft to the things of God? We began by saying that a soft heart is a seeking Heart It seeks after God And we know that no man seeks after God That's what the Bible says in Romans chapter 3, which is a quotation from the book of Psalms in the Old Testament

And yet, the Bible says, If you seek me, you'll find me If you seek for me with all of your heart Heart And so the soft heart is a seeking heart because it's responding to the call of God upon its life And so you understand that you have a soft heart because you are seeking after the things of God We talked about that And then that seeking heart is a shattered heart It's a broken and contrite heart It's been shattered because of its sin It's been broken over the fact that it's that rebellion against God And therefore, the reason it seeks God is because It's a broken and contrite heart

It is a shattered heart That's why we preach the word of God Jeremiah 2:2 says that when God's word is preached, it shatters The heart It shatters the soul It breaks it up so it's soft and can receive the truth of God's Word So you have a seeking heart You have a shattered heart And now, thirdly, That heart that's soft is a sub he It is a sub heart. A broken heart, a heart that seeks after God, wants to do what God says How do you know your heart is not hard? You want to do what God says You are submissive to the truth of God's holy word Listen to Psalm 119, verse number 102

Psalm 119:1. I have not turned aside from your ordinances, for you yourself have taught me In other words, the psalmist says, I'm not going to turn aside from what you have said, because you yourself have taught me To do what you say, I want to submit myself to you It says in Psalm 119, verse number 112: I have inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to The end The Bible says in Romans chapter 6 Romans chapter 6, verse number 17 But thanks be to God

That through you, that though you were, I'm sorry, slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed You were once slaves to sin, but now you are obedient from the heart because you have been born again There's a certain characteristic of the soft heart that truly is submissive to the things of God That's what Israel's problem was They were unwilling to submit to what God had said in His Word That's why, when you go back to Psalm 78

Verse number 8, we talked about this on Wednesday night, Psalm 78, verse number 8, when As is giving a record of Israel's history He says, Do not be like your fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God Remember, we talked about on Wednesday night that one of the issues in your home is To be able to have parents who are submissive to the authority of God's word in their lives because that translates over to the lives of their children

And if you're not submitting to God's word as parents, then you are giving your children the idea that they don't have to submit to a higher authority as well And so As is saying in Psalm 78 that your stubborn and rebellious fathers did not prepare their heart They were not willing in their spirit to follow what God said Instead, they rebelled against God, and that was Israel's prayer Problem And that's why over and over again you have those admonitions in the scriptures: listen, listen, listen Because you need to obey what God's word says But a soft heart truly is a Submissive heart

It wants to do what God says in His Word Psalm nineteen Psalm 19 gives us that dissertation on the Word of God Verse 7: The law of the Lord is perfect, it restores the soul The testimony of the Lord is sure, it makes wise a simple The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever The judgments of the Lord are true They are righteous altogether They are more desirable than gold, yes, and much fine gold, sweeter also than the honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb

Moreover, by them your servant is warned, in keeping them, there is great reward So the psalm says there's something about keeping the word of God that causes there to be a great reward In other words, a submission to the truth brings great reward And the soft heart is a submissive heart It's submissive to all that God says because it's already broken over its sin It's a shattered heart because it's already seeking after God It wants to do what God God says Characteristic number four of a soft heart is this: a soft heart is a steadfast Heart, a steadfast heart

Psalm fifty seven Psalm fifty seven, verse number seven My heart is steadfast, O God My heart is steadfast It means firmly att Okay? Everybody 's heart in the room is attached to someone or something Okay? The psalmist said, My heart is firmly attached He reiterates it, my heart is firmly attached It is steadfast, O Lord It sticks to you. A heart that's been broken, shattered over its sin, a heart that seeks after God and is submissive to God, firmly attaches itself to the God it submits to Listen to what it says over in Psalm 112

Psalm 112 says this: it says, The man who fears the Lord from verse 1, whose descendants are mighty upon the earth, who has wealth and riches in his house, verse number 2 This man shall never be shaken, because the righteous will be remembered forever And verse 7 says, He will not fear evil tidings, his heart is steadfast The man who fears the Lord is firmly attached to the Lord He is steadfast in his heart, trusting in the Lord His heart, then, verse number eight, is up He will not Fear Isn't that great? The steadfast heart is the heart that's upheld

The steadfast heart is the one that's firmly attached to God That's the one who doesn't fear The evil tidings That's the one that will never be shaken because it only fears the L Ask yourself today: do you have a steadfast Heart Remember Isaiah 26? Isaiah 26, verse number 3 The steadfast of mind, and in the Hebrew, both mind and heart are one and the same The steadfast of heart, the heart that's firmly attached You will keep in perfect peace, perfect peace, for he trusts in thee Isn't that great? The heart that's attached, firmly attached to God, is a peaceful heart It's at ease

It rests in what God is doing It trusts in God That is a steadfast he Remember what the Bible says, 1 Corinthians 15:5? Be ye steadfast, firmly attached Immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord So, what are you steadfast about? What are you firmly attached to? Not only are you firmly attached to the Lord God, who is your Savior, you're firmly Firmly attached to the fact that he is going to come again because 1 Corinthians 15 is all about the return of the king

So, because he's going to come again, the one you have your heart attached to, you can be steadfast, you can be Immovable, you can always be abounding in the work of the Lord Why? Because your heart is fixed on Him Wow, that's just so good How do you know your heart is a soft heart? It is a stead Heart Listen to what Paul says in Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 15 So then, brethren, stand firm In other words, be steadfast Hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us

In other words, how are you firmly attached to God? You must be firmly attached to God through the truth that God has given to you How do you know your heart is fixed upon? The Lord God, because of what God's word does for you And so Paul says, brethren Be steadfast How do you do that? You hold to the traditions which you were taught, the Word of God, whether by mouth or by letter from us You hold fast to those things And you will be steadfast and immovable Way back in the book of Joshua, Joshua chapter 23 Listen to what Joshua says to the nation of Israel

Verse six, be very firm, be very firm, be steadfast To keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them Bow down to them, but you are to cling to the Lord your God You are to be firmly attached to the Lord your God You are to be steadfast To the Lord your God, as you have done to this day

For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you And as for you, no man has stood before you to this day One of your men puts to fight a thousand For the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God For if you ever go back, And you stop clinging to the Lord, you stop being firmly attached to the Lord, and then cling to the rest of these nations

These which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them, and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you But they will be a snare, and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you Joshua told Israel, listen, you need to cling to the Lord You need to be firmly attached to the Lord Your heart must be steadfast

Because if not, guess what? If you're not firmly attached to the Lord God of Israel, you will now firmly attach yourself to the nations of this world and you will go after them And if you do, your life will be like thistles in your eyes and thorns in your sight Your life will be miserable How many people you know have a miserable life today because they cling to someone else or something else other than the Lord of Israel? You see, God's very clear in His Word You need to stand firm You need to be steadfast You need to be firmly and permanently attached, clinging to the Lord

That's what the soft heart does Listen, if it is seeking God, And it has been shattered by the word of God It now becomes submissive to that truth, and because it is, it wants to hold on to that truth, cling to that, because that's all it has That's all we have Clinging to anything else is temporary Clinging to anything else is futile Clinging to anything else doesn't last But clinging to the Lord It lasts because he's the anchor of your soul That's what the soft heart does It is steadfast, it is submissive Because it's been shattered and it seeks after God But on top of that, the soft heart

Is a singing heart Did you know that? A singing heart If you go back to Psalm 57 that we read earlier It says, my heart is steadfast, O God My heart is steadfast. I will sing Yes, I will sing praises What is the result of a steadfast heart? A singing heart How do you know your heart's firmly attached to God? You want to sing praises to God Why? Because your heart's filled with the joy Of the Lord If you go back to Psalm nine, Psalm nine, verse number one

It says, I will give thanks to the Lord with all of my heart. I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High There's something about The soft heart that wants to sing unto the Lord Psalm 84 Psalm 84, verses 1 and 2 Say this, how lovely are your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God My heart and my flesh can't wait to sing. I long for your courts, O Lord. I long to be in your presence, O Lord

And when I get there, I want to sing unto your name And then over in Psalm 32, Psalm 32, it says in verse 11: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous one, and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart Sing For joy, chapter 33, verse number 1 In the Lord, O you righteous ones, for praise is becoming To the upright Sing for joy There's so much to say about the singing heart, but the soft heart Can't wait to sing songs of praise and song of joy to the Lord

You see, when we gather together, God inhabits the praises of his people, what happens when we don't want to sing into the Lord? It's a heart issue It deals with the softness of the heart or the hardness of the heart The soft heart wants to sing Because a soft heart is a steadfast heart It's firmly attached itself to the God it says it seeks after and submits to There, that heart can't wait to sing praises to his n. A singing he. A singing heart Number six is a str he Soft heart's not a weak heart. A soft heart is the strongest of all hearts

The weak heart is a hard heart, but the strong heart is a soft Heart Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 10, verse number 17 Psalm chapter 10, verse number 17. O Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble You will strengthen their heart You will incline your ear Isn't that great? The humble heart is a soft heart The humble heart is the shattered heart The humble heart is the broken heart that seeks after God And that's the heart that God strengthens That's the heart that God comes alongside and upholds, lifts up, gives energy to, strengthens Because it trusts in the living God

The psalm said in Psalm twenty- Psalm twenty-se, verse number four, these words First of all, Psalm 27, verse number 1 says this: The Lord is the light of my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life Whom shall I dread? When evild come upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear Though war ar against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident Is that you? Do you have a strong heart? It says in verse number 14, wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take Courage, yes

Wait for the Lord Wait for the Lord Psalm 7 Psalm 7 states these words Psalm 73, verse number 25: Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart Heart and my portion forever Even though I might physically fail, okay, because of what's happening to me physically, my heart will be strengthened because of the Lord The nearness of God is my good because He Sustains me spiritually. A soft heart is a strong he

Paul 's prayer in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 16 says, Now may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace Comfort. and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word Paul's prayer for those in Thessalonic that God would strengthen their hearts because He is the God of all comfort That he would do that, so that every deed and every work they do could be accomplished for the glory of his name Strong heart So ask yourself the question Do you have a so he? A soft heart is the strongest of all hearts

Not the weakest of hearts, it's the strongest of all hearts Why? Because that strong heart is a singing heart That singing heart is a steadfast heart That steadfast heart is a submissive heart That submissive heart is a shattered heart That shattered heart is a seeking he Heart That heart is Wrapped around God Himself And that's the strongest of all hearts That's the way every one of us should be

So you can ask yourself: is my heart soft? Or is my heart str or hardened to the things of God based on the characteristics of what the Bible says concerning a soft heart? But it goes on, it goes way beyond this The soft heart Heart is a sensitive he Not only is it strong But it is sensitive It is a sensitive heart Psalm 119, verse number 13, says this Psalm 119, 136 My eyes shed streams of water because they do not keep your la My heart or my eyes shed streams of water because they do not keep your law There's a certain sensitivity of the soft heart toward those who do not keep the law Of God

There was a sensitivity of our Lord in the book of Matthew, the 23rd chapter, when he wept over the city of Jerusalem For how often he wanted to gather them as a mother hen gathers her little chicks, but they would not come And so Christ wept over Jerusalem He was sensitive Sensitive to the fact that these people were unwilling to respond to the truth of the living God In Philippians chapter 3, Paul said these words Philippians chapter 3, verse number 17, and verse number 18 Paul made it very clear

In Philippians 3, when he said this, Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross Of Christ There is a certain sensitivity about the soft heart It's sensitive to sin It's sensitive to sinners It's sensitive to the things of scripture The soft heart is in tune with what the Lord God Himself is in tune with And so I become very sensitive to sin

Knowing that when sin erupts or sin arises in my heart, that it's something that needs to be dealt with But it becomes very sensitive to even those who sin around me and those who are sinners, that they might hear and understand the truth of the gospel. A strong heart is strong because it's sensitive to the things of God Is your heart sensitive to the things of God? And then, on top of that, the heart that is soft, number eight, is a sincere heart. A sincere heart That is, it's a genuine heart It's not hypocritical It is a sincere heart

That's why over in Hebrews 10, 22, it says, Let us draw near with a sincere heart, a genuine heart, an honest heart Remember in Luke's Gospel, the eighth chapter, when the Lord is talking about the good soil, it says this in verse number 15: But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word. in an honest or genu and good he, and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance There is a genuineness, there is a sincerity about their lives. A soft heart is a sincere heart

We are to have a sincere love for the brethren that comes from a sincere heart, a genuine heart. A soft heart is honest, gen, tr. and truly is sincere On top of that, the soft heart is a sympathizing heart Not only is it sensitive to sin, but it sympathizes With sinners over in the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter four, verse number nineteen Jeremiah says, My soul, my soul, I am in anguish Oh, my heart My heart is pounding in me. I cannot be silent because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war In other words, he knows that judgment is coming

He knows that judgment is coming upon his people He knows about the captivity of his people, and in the depths Of his soul, there's this great sympathy for the fact that his people, the ones that he loves, are going to experience the judgment of God So he sympathizes with them The book of Lamentations is all about Jeremiah's weeping for his nation And all the sins of the people, and the effects of those sins upon the people

You know, would it be that as a church we would be more sympathetic? More sympathetic to the sinners that we come in contact with every day, knowing of the impending judgment that they're going to face We tend to be cold and calloused toward the sinners around us, thinking that they, yeah, they deserve what they're going to get, instead of sympathizing with the fact that they are going to be separated from God forever That's what we said earlier when we talked about our prayer time

Those 11 people that were killed in that Jewish synagogue and those who were wounded, we sympathize with those people Not because they died, but because they died belie they knew the true God And they don't That should break our hearts That should break our hearts That causes us to be softened toward the things of God and would cause us to want to meet the needs of those people That they would understand the truth of who Jesus Christ is, the true and living God The soft heart is a sympathizing heart Why? Because down deep it is a sincere heart It's genuine

Has a sincere love for the brethren, has a sincere attitude toward the things of God That sincere heart is a very sensitive heart That sensitive heart is a str heart, a seen heart, a steadfast heart, a submissive heart. A shattered and broken heart, a seeking he The soft heart is a single focus Heart, a single focus heart Psalm 8 Psalm 8, verse number 11 The psalmist says these words Teach me your way, O Lord. I will walk in your truth Unite my heart to fear your name That is a single heart, a single focus heart It wants its heart to be united It doesn't want it to be divided

It doesn't want it to be distracted Yes, the soft heart is firmly attached to the Lord God of Israel It clings to the Lord God of Israel, but at the same time, the soft heart cries, Lord, unite my heart to fear your name Let there be no division In my heart Let there be no distractions that come within my heart Unite my heart, Lord May it be one May it be singularly focused upon you and you alone, because so easily our hearts can be misdirected But the soft heart doesn't want that, does it? It does happen, but it doesn't want it because he truly wants to do the will Of the Lord

That's why in Matthew 6:2, the Lord says that no man can serve two masters You're either going to love one and hate the other, or are you going to be devoted to one and despise the other? Right? You can't serve God and money or God and wealth or God and something else You can only serve one master Ask yourself, is my heart united to fear the name of God? Is my heart singularly focused upon the Lord God of Israel? That's a soft heart And then the soft heart is a sanctified heart It's set apart It's a holy he It 's been set apart unto God for His purposes It 's a sanctified he

That's why Peter says in 1 Peter 3:1, sanctify Christ as Lord in your he Set him apart as Lord in your hearts That is a sanctified heart It is set apart unto God for his purposes That is a soft heart And then the soft heart is a selfless heart It's not a selfish heart It truly is a selfless he That 's why you do the will of God from the heart That's why, over in the book of Romans, the 12th chapter, the ninth verse, Paul says these words Romans 12, verse number 9 Let love be without hypocrisy Let it be genuine Abhor what is evil Cling to what is good Be devoted to one another in brotherly love

Give preference to one another in honor Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord To rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer That's the way we are to be We are to have the kind of he that truly want to honor the Lord that are selfless kind of hearts The church at Corinth. 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse number 1

Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God, which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liber For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints And this, not as we expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God

The churches of Macedonia gave selflessly from the heart because they first gave themselves to the To the Lord Their hearts were devoted to the Lord Their hearts were steadfastly set apart unto God and His purposes, which trans out into a selfless kind of heart So many of us are selfish We only want for us We only want people to do for us But the soft heart is a selfless heart It only focuses on those around them To meet their need, to see what is up with them and how we can come alongside of them and deal with them That's the soft heart

It truly is a selfless he. A selfless heart is a satisfied heart The selfless, seeking, shattered, singing Steadfast, submissive heart is a satisfied heart Listen, why are people selfish? Because they're unsatisfied Why are people insensitive? Because they're unsatisfied Why are people arrogant and proud instead of submissive to the God of Israel? Because they're unsatisfied The soft heart is a satisfied heart It truly is a spiritual heart It wants to do what God says That's why it says over in Psalm 3 these words: Psalm 3 Do not fret because of evild Verse 1

Be not envious toward wrong, for they will wither quickly like the grass, and fade like the green herb Trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, and cultivate faithfulness Delight yourself in the Lord He will give you the desires of your heart Commit your way to the Lord Trust also in Him and He Will do it That's the satisfied heart It truly rest in God The satisfied heart is satisfied because it's selfless, and the selfless heart is truly a ser heart It truly is a serving heart It wants to serve the Lord God of Israel It wants to serve others So you can take the exam yourself

You can look at your own life You can go through the list And there are many other words that we could use The ways to describe the soft heart in scripture

All you got to do is read the word of the Lord, but when you do, you can put yourself up against this and say, Look, or your children and say, Children, look, is this the way your heart is? Is your heart seeking after God? Do you hunger for God? Do you want Want more of God? Is your heart shattered and broken over your sin? Is your heart submissive to the things of God? Does it willingly want to follow what God's Word says? Is your heart steadfast? Does it cling to God? Is it firmly attached to God? Or do you firmly attach your heart to something else or someone else? Is your heart a strong, singing kind of heart? Because you want to honor the Lord with the praises of your heart

Is your heart sensitive to sin? Is it sensitive to sinners? Is it sensitive to the Savior? Is it sensitive to Scripture? Is your heart a sympathizing kind Where you sympathize with sinners because they do not know the truth of God's Word Even in Mark chapter 3, when our Lord looked at the Pharisees, he grieved in his heart because their hearts Were hardened He was sympathetic toward them Even though their hearts were hardened toward him, he was sympathetic toward them He grieved in his heart See, that's the soft heart

And we've spent these last six weeks looking at the difference between the hard heart and the soft heart, so you can know the difference So, you can look at your life, so you can do some reflection, some self-examination, and say, where do I stand with the Lord? What kind of heart do I have? And my prayer for you, for me, is that every one of us would be softened to the things of Scripture, that we might wholeheartedly Follow our God Let's pray together Father, we thank you for today What a joy it is for us to spend time in the Word of the Lord Oh, Lord, there is so much in Scripture

That helps us to understand the soft heart Lord, may our hearts be tender To the things of God May our hearts be broken over our sin May our hearts truly be selfless hearts Lord, we can become so selfish, thinking only of ourselves But, Lord, we should always be looking outwardly To help those who are in need, to minister to those in our family, to serve those alongside of us Help us to be a serving kind of people, Lord Help us to be the kind of people that bring glory to your name Because, in all reality, Lord, we want our Savior's heart, we want your kind of heart

We want the heart that motivated you to do what you do to motivate us to do the things that we do. L, may we truly give our hearts to you May we guard our hearts, protect them for the glory of your name We ask in the name of our coming King, Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.