The Matter of The Heart
Bible Text: Acts 7:39, 51-56 | Speaker: Pastor Jerry Irwin | Pastor Jerry Irwin preaches a dynamic sermon about, “Matters of the Heart”.
Salvation is a matter of the heart!
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Notice the connection between what or how you see, with what you really believe and act upon. Understanding comes through seeing with the eyes of the heart and soul. Satan wants to change what we see.
II Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that lost: in whom the god of the world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Our heart and mouth are attached.
Matthew 12:34b For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
With the light of the gospel, we then become the children of God, walking the light of God’s truth, called out of darkness, shewing forth praise and walking in newness of life. But maintaining our hearts and inclining them toward God’s plan and purpose can sometimes become a difficult thing to do.
Isaiah 35 “Highway 35”
Psalms 119:111-114 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end. I have vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
The trouble then is that the heart if not inclined can decline and regress to become deceitful and wicked.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Our enemy has schemes and devices to decline our hearts away from God and enslave us. Our hearts will then yearn for the pleasures of sin. Of the many examples of a heart led away from God’s plan and purpose, the story of salvation is most poignant.
In II Kings 6:15-17 when Gahaza alerted by Elisha that an army of chariots and horses and surrounded the city he cried, “What shall we do?” And Elisha said, “Don’t”. In other words he didn’t answer the question of Gehaza but informed him what we are not gonna do. “Don’t be afraid!” Sometimes it is more important to know what not to do than what to do. God made Gehaza’s eyes become the window that his heart was looking through.
If you are living for God, you’ve got to expect that there’s going to be trouble. The devil doesn’t want to lose you and whenever you begin to walk with God, he tries to throw some stumbling blocks in your way and hold you back. Samson is a great example of losing heart. (Judges 16:17 That he told her all his heart…)
Guard your heart. In verse 21 of Judges 16, you see the connection between losing heart and the ability to see.