I have 3 questions for you today.
Question 1: When we look back on our lives, in general, what is it that we can think about, focus on and feel? We tend to remember our hurts, wounds, and regrets. If we aren’t forgiving, we can hold grudges against people. And if we don’t forgive ourselves, we can live in regret for our bad choices.
Question 2: When we look into the future, in general, what is it that we can think about, focus on and feel? We don’t know what is going to happen, leaving us feeling insecure. So, we can feel a sense of fear and anxiety moving into our hearts.
Question 3: When we walk through our current day, in general, what is it that we can think about, focus on and feel? We can be frozen by the regrets of yesterday or the fear of tomorrow. So today, we struggle to enjoy it. We struggle to be where our feet are and see the beauty in the moment. Our hurts from yesterday and our anxiety of tomorrow steal our today.
I want to read for you what Jesus said in His first sermon.
16 He [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” NIV Luke 4:16-19
Jesus shows up to announce God’s favor on us. God’s favor simply means God showed up to do things for us that we cannot do. He came to forgive us of our past so our sins and regrets would no longer control us. That’s good because we can’t make sin or regret go away. God came to anoint us with the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead to give us courage so fear and anxiety would no longer control us. That’s good because we can’t make fear and anxiety go away. God came and invited us to be in a relationship with Him so we can relax and enjoy today. That’s good because we struggle to embrace and enjoy each day.
I want you to think about this. All these things I am talking about, these emotions, are found in our hearts. Sin and regrets are in our hearts. Fear and anxiety are in our hearts. Peace is in our hearts. And only God can transform our hearts. We can’t do it. We can’t do the heart stuff. That is why the most important thing we can do in our lives is pay attention to what is happening in our hearts. That’s what ‘spiritual’ or ‘being spiritual’ means. We deal with the reality of our hearts.
And that’s what Jesus was explaining. Because we can’t fix our heart stuff, that’s why He came. He came to do the things we cannot do. We call it God’s favor or God’s grace.
Before we move on, I want you to think about these questions: What is going on in your heart right now? Are you angry, stressed, hurt, controlling, depressed, anxious, or checked out, what is happening in your heart? When was the last time you thought about what is happening in your heart? When was the last time you thought through the choices you are making? Do you think there is anything more important in your life than dealing with your heart condition?
As important as dealing with your heart is, many people don’t want to deal with their true heart condition. Another way to put it is, they don’t want to deal with spiritual things. Instead of dealing with their heart, they would rather ignore their heart, and push through life on their own strength. What is the result of ignoring your heart and pushing through life on your own strength? We aren’t enjoying what only God can do for us. We aren’t enjoying forgiveness for the things in our past. We aren’t enjoying a relationship with Jesus and peace for today. We aren’t enjoying the Holy Spirit who gives us courage for tomorrow.
How do we push through life on our own strength? We can become busy, so busy, we believe we don’t have time for God. We wake up, our feet hit the floor, and we are off into the day. We can care more about how we appear to others than our true heart condition. We put a mask on and pretend we are doing really well while feeling really defeated. When unhealthy emotions pop up, we do all kinds of things. We can stuff them in hopes they never come back. Or, when negative emotions hit, we turn to addictions to find relief. Or we can just give in to our negative emotions, do the least possible, be a victim, and conclude, ‘That’s just who I am.’
Quick time out. Now think about Church. What is the message of the ‘Church’? The message from Church is, God came to share His favor, His grace, to do things you can’t do. God came to deal with the spiritual things in your heart. The Church deals with what matters most, our heart condition. The challenge Church has, in general, people don’t want to deal with their heart condition. There is a reason people don’t go to Church and it’s normally not the reason they give. What are the reasons people say they don’t want to go to church? They want people their same age. They don’t like, fill in the blank here, music volume, the people, length of service, on and on. Where some of that can be true, the bigger reality is that many times, the excuses are just smoke screens to, I don’t want to give my life to God and deal with my heart condition.
Let’s read what we find in Proverbs.
The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. NKJV Proverbs 10:16
Same verse, different translation.
Good people are rewarded with life, but evil people are paid with punishment. NCV Proverbs 10:16
Same verse, different translation.
The wage of a good person is exuberant life; an evil person ends up with nothing but sin. MSG Proverbs 10:16
What does that mean? What does it mean when it says, ‘The labor of the righteous’? It sounds like work. It means, people who surrender their lives to God, people who do the work on their heart condition, people who make the right long-term choices, and people who spend time with God, their spiritual reward is energy and passion as they walk through the challenges of life.
Remember when we opened the Proverbs series in week one? Sam said, wisdom isn’t intelligence or being smart, it’s bigger than that. Wisdom is knowledge and the capacity to live out. How do we get wisdom? Sam said, humility.
How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! TLB Proverbs 1:7
Remember week two in the Proverbs series? We all have to decide what will be the foundation of our life. Will it be our culture and the people around us? Will it be our thoughts and feelings? Or will it be God?
18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over. NLT Proverbs 4:18-19
When we make God the foundation of our lives, over time our lives become more vibrant and radiates life. When we choose culture or our feelings as the foundation of our lives, we end up stumbling through life.
Last week Sam taught us the difference between an orderly life vs. a chaotic life.
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. ESV Proverbs 3:1
Isn’t that amazing? Did you know that? When you give your life to God, it adds days and years to your life and it gives you peace. He closed with a powerful point. We must take inventory of our lives, and be deliberate and intentional. Wisdom means we live on purpose. As we live life, we pay attention to our hearts and our choices. We surrender our lives to God.
34 Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work. 35 When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God’s good pleasure. 36 But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you’re flirting with death. MSG Proverbs 8:34-36
People who surrender their lives to God, people who work on their heart condition, people who spend time with God, their spiritual reward is energy and passion as they walk through challenges.
Okay, let’s get really practical. Let’s read Proverbs 10:16 again.
The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. NKJV
What does that mean practically? …The labor of the righteous leads to life… To explain this, I want to ask you two questions.
First question. When you grew up as a young boy or girl, what did you want from your Dad? Looking back, you probably wanted your dad’s love and support. That simply means you wanted him to have a healthy heart to be able to love and support you and be in a good relationship with you.
If your dad didn’t have a healthy heart, or we could say a healthy spirituality, what happened in your life? Chances are, you were wounded to some degree, and you have spent much of your life healing from those wounds. And because of those wounds, you probably struggle to understand who you are, you probably struggle to relate to others well, and you probably struggle to know your place in this world. The deeper the wound, the more this is real for you.
Do you see that your Dad’s heart condition, his spirituality, directly impacted your heart for years?
Don’t you wish he understood this verse? The labor of the righteous leads to life. Don’t you wish he made his heart condition a priority?
Why do I talk about a Dad’s heart? Here is what we know about how important a dad’s heart is based on surveys. Ready? If a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5% probability everyone else in the household will follow. If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17% probability everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is first, there is a 93% probability everyone else in the household will follow. Dads have a huge spiritual impact.
Now think about that for a second. If the above stats are true, who and what will our enemy come after? The heart inside the father.
If you are a dad, do you make the connection, do you see that your heart condition, your spirituality, will impact your kids?
If you are a parent, do you make the connection, do you see that your heart condition, your spirituality, will impact your kids?
Would you agree, based on your life experience, that your heart condition is the most important thing you could work on?
Second question. In your marriage, what is it that you want from your spouse? You want to be close to them and have them believe in you and make you feel valuable. That simply means you want them to have a healthy heart, to be able to love and support you and be in a good relationship with you.
If your spouse does not spend time with God, what is happening in your life? Chances are, you are wounded to some degree, and you have spent much of your marriage life struggling to figure out why your marriage is so hard. And because of those wounds, you probably struggle to understand who you are, you probably struggle to relate to others well, and you probably struggle to know your place in this world.
Do you see, do you make the connection, that your spouse’s heart condition, their spirituality, directly impacts your heart for years?
Don’t you wish they understood this verse? The labor of the righteous leads to life. Don’t you wish they made their heart condition a priority?
If you are married, do you see that your heart condition directly impacts your spouse’s heart condition?
If you are single, do you see that your heart condition directly impacts everyone around you for life?
Would you agree, based on your life experience, that your heart condition is the most important thing you could work on?
What is the greatest thing you can do? Work on your heart condition, your spiritual condition.
What is the one thing people don’t want to do? Work on their heart condition, their spiritual condition.
If we ignore our hearts, where does the damage show up? In the hearts of everyone around us. Damage shows up in our relationships. Our heart condition can impact the hearts of those around us, for years and years.
I want to share a proverb with you.
“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.” – Unknown
I want to read this verse again and share facts with you.
The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. NKJV Proverbs 10:16
First. Your heart condition, and your spirituality, needs to be one of the highest priorities in your life. Why? It has huge implications. Huge spiritual implications, from your heart into the heart of others.
Second. You will be tempted to ignore your heart and work on how you appear to others. You will be tempted to believe; I don’t have time to work on your heart. You will be tempted to ignore your heart so that you can get things done. You will be tempted to stuff the junk that pops up in your heart. And wisdom tells us, don’t ignore your heart because it has huge long-lasting implications.
Third. The greatest challenge to your life isn’t other people, it’s you.
What is your heart condition? Here is how we can start.
Question 1: When you look back on your life, in general, what is it that you think about, focus on, and feel? It is hurts, wounds, or regrets?
Question 2: When you look into the future, in general, what is it that you think about, focus on, and feel? Do you feel a sense of no control leaving you feel insecure? Do fear and anxiety move into your heart?
Question 3: When you walk through your current day, in general, what is it that you think about, focus on, and feel? Are you able to enjoy today? Are you where your feet are?
Your heart condition matters. Wisdom says, work on your heart.
The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. NKJV Proverbs 10:16