August 2, 2009

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It Came From Within!

Matthew 15:17-19

Where did that come from? 
 

That embarrassing outburst was not an exception to what is in your heart, It was a reflection of what is really swirling around in there.

As children, we were taught to monitor our behavior.  We were taught to behave.

You and I have become much better at monitoring our behavior than our heart.

"The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
Jeremiah 17:10

When your public performance becomes too far removed from who you are in your heart, you’ve been set up for trouble!

If your heart bdyinues to go unmonitored, whatever “thing” is growing in there will worsen to the point that you are no longer able to bdyain it.

A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thornbushes or grapes on bramble bushes.  A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
Luke 6:44-45

For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.  All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."
Mark 7:21-23

We hurt most who we love the most.  Bad grammar.  Painful truth.

So how is your heart?

Whatever your situation, odds are, you’ve got some cleaning out to do.  We all do.

The Heart of the Matter:

Knowing what to do is not enough. 
Lasting change comes from the inside out.

Jesus may have moved into your heart, but has He been given full access?

Until you deal with the source, you have not dealt with the problem.

Your heart did not arrive at its present condition overnight.  It will not become healthy overnight either.  Adopting new habits of the heart is a process,  But it is a process that will yield some immediate results.

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.'
Matthew 15:8-9
 
Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do."
Matthew 15:10-11
 
"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body. But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God!"
Matthew 15:17-20

Destroying all Monsters:

Four enemies of the heart:

Guilt - "I owe you"

Anger - "You owe me"

Greed - "I owe myself"

Jealousy - "God owes me"

These creatures lose their power when exposed to light.

How to Fix it?

Exercise Your Heart

Next Week...

The 4 habits that exercises your heart.

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