1 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:05,708 [singing and clapping] 2 00:00:05,792 --> 00:00:10,292 Over the last 10 years I've been to Ethiopia, now 9 times. 3 00:00:10,333 --> 00:00:14,292 And it's just amazing to see Africa 4 00:00:14,333 --> 00:00:17,208 and the continent of Africa and the people of Africa 5 00:00:17,292 --> 00:00:19,500 and what Jesus is doing there. 6 00:00:19,583 --> 00:00:21,208 I just think that you just see 7 00:00:21,292 --> 00:00:28,125 a beautiful explosion of the love of Jesus, what he's doing there. 8 00:00:28,167 --> 00:00:31,125 To me, you can see it very clearly. 9 00:00:31,167 --> 00:00:32,708 Many times it just feels 10 00:00:32,792 --> 00:00:37,667 like we're serving the Ethiopian church. 11 00:00:37,750 --> 00:00:39,667 Actually I think it's just the opposite. 12 00:00:39,750 --> 00:00:44,000 I think that we will learn and we will grow more as a church 13 00:00:44,083 --> 00:00:47,667 by serving and loving on brothers and sisters. 14 00:00:47,750 --> 00:00:49,833 Jesus is building his church; 15 00:00:49,875 --> 00:00:54,125 he's absolutely building his church and we get to be a part of it. 16 00:00:54,167 --> 00:00:58,417 I think there's an opportunity to plant 1,000 churches in Ethiopia 17 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:00,792 and 1,000 churches in India 18 00:01:00,833 --> 00:01:04,500 that we can directly be a part of over these next 15 years 19 00:01:04,542 --> 00:01:07,917 and to me that's just staggering to even pray about. 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:09,500 We're a family. 21 00:01:09,583 --> 00:01:12,500 Mars Hill Global is a family of people 22 00:01:12,542 --> 00:01:18,208 that are globally planting churches and making disciples 23 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:22,125 and just a great opportunity for everyone around the world 24 00:01:22,167 --> 00:01:26,708 to be a part of what Jesus is doing through Mars Hill Church. 25 00:01:26,792 --> 00:01:28,083 Honestly, I don't know 26 00:01:28,167 --> 00:01:31,000 what Jesus is going to end up doing through Mars Hill Global, 27 00:01:31,083 --> 00:01:33,583 but I'm really excited to find out. 28 00:01:34,083 --> 00:01:41,500 [people singing] 29 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,000 All right, Mars Hill. This is really exciting. 30 00:01:46,083 --> 00:01:49,417 Coming to preach for me is Dr. Wayne Grudem. 31 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:50,917 Good friend of mine, 32 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 somebody I've learned from for many years. 33 00:01:53,042 --> 00:01:55,750 His systematic theology is really what we built 34 00:01:55,833 --> 00:01:57,792 all of our convictions on, 35 00:01:57,833 --> 00:01:59,500 of course based upon the Bible 36 00:01:59,542 --> 00:02:00,958 at Mars Hill Church. 37 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,708 He has been a professor for us at various events, 38 00:02:04,792 --> 00:02:06,333 coming in to lecture. 39 00:02:06,417 --> 00:02:08,083 If you enjoy the ESV Study Bible 40 00:02:08,167 --> 00:02:09,500 that I teach out of, 41 00:02:09,542 --> 00:02:11,708 he was the general editor of that Bible. 42 00:02:11,792 --> 00:02:13,708 Has his PhD from Cambridge 43 00:02:13,792 --> 00:02:16,250 and when he was willing to come preach for me, 44 00:02:16,333 --> 00:02:17,917 I was absolutely thrilled. 45 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,917 But let me tell you a little bit more about his family. 46 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,500 His wife, Margaret, is amazing. 47 00:02:22,542 --> 00:02:24,167 She is super sweet. 48 00:02:24,250 --> 00:02:25,708 They're really cute together. 49 00:02:25,792 --> 00:02:28,208 The first time I met them, they were holding hands, 50 00:02:28,292 --> 00:02:30,708 sitting together in an event, and she was snuggled up 51 00:02:30,792 --> 00:02:33,208 with him, and they were as cute as can be. 52 00:02:33,292 --> 00:02:35,208 They've been over to dinner at our house 53 00:02:35,292 --> 00:02:36,625 on a number of occasions. 54 00:02:36,667 --> 00:02:38,333 They always bring gifts for my kids, 55 00:02:38,417 --> 00:02:40,042 and my kids really love the Grudems. 56 00:02:40,125 --> 00:02:42,167 And they're just a warm, loving, gracious, 57 00:02:42,208 --> 00:02:45,167 ministry-minded couple with the man 58 00:02:45,208 --> 00:02:47,542 that I think is the most influential 59 00:02:47,625 --> 00:02:50,208 living reformed teacher, theologian, 60 00:02:50,292 --> 00:02:52,250 and writer on the earth today, 61 00:02:52,333 --> 00:02:55,333 and we're glad to have him at Mars Hill Church. 62 00:03:01,083 --> 00:03:03,250 Thank you, Mark. 63 00:03:03,333 --> 00:03:04,750 Good to be here. 64 00:03:04,833 --> 00:03:06,292 Good to be here with you. 65 00:03:06,333 --> 00:03:08,333 Thank you, Bellevue. 66 00:03:08,417 --> 00:03:12,208 Mark and I have been maybe two or three times to Seattle, 67 00:03:12,292 --> 00:03:15,708 and it seems like every time we come the sky is blue. 68 00:03:15,792 --> 00:03:20,333 Is this the way the weather is all the time? 69 00:03:20,375 --> 00:03:22,417 No, once we came and it was snowing. 70 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:25,000 I remember that. 71 00:03:25,083 --> 00:03:27,000 Well, it's good to be here with you. 72 00:03:27,042 --> 00:03:31,667 We're going to talk today about what the Bible calls your heart, 73 00:03:31,708 --> 00:03:35,333 from this verse, Proverbs 4:23. 74 00:03:35,417 --> 00:03:37,667 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, 75 00:03:37,708 --> 00:03:41,292 "for from it flow the springs of life. 76 00:03:41,333 --> 00:03:43,375 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, 77 00:03:43,458 --> 00:03:46,917 for from it flow the springs of life." 78 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,917 Different translations have--in fact, 79 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,208 we could put that up on the screen now, 80 00:03:52,292 --> 00:03:53,917 if you have that verse. 81 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,000 There it is, okay good. 82 00:03:56,083 --> 00:03:59,000 Different translations, instead of "keep," 83 00:03:59,083 --> 00:04:01,000 they have "watch over" or "guard," 84 00:04:01,083 --> 00:04:06,167 but it's the idea of protecting, guarding, 85 00:04:06,208 --> 00:04:07,833 caring for your heart, 86 00:04:07,875 --> 00:04:10,000 and so that's what I want to talk about, 87 00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:11,500 mainly from this verse this morning. 88 00:04:11,583 --> 00:04:13,333 So, if you would pray with me. 89 00:04:13,417 --> 00:04:15,292 Our Father, we thank you for your word. 90 00:04:15,333 --> 00:04:19,625 We thank you that it contains your words and the words 91 00:04:19,667 --> 00:04:22,167 of the Bible speak to us from you, Lord, 92 00:04:22,208 --> 00:04:24,667 in a way that no other book on earth does. 93 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:31,125 And so, we ask this morning that you would empower your words, 94 00:04:31,167 --> 00:04:34,375 that you would teach us from them and help us to understand, 95 00:04:34,458 --> 00:04:36,500 but also, Lord, I ask that, 96 00:04:36,542 --> 00:04:38,917 for my own heart and for everybody else's heart here, 97 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,167 you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, 98 00:04:41,208 --> 00:04:46,167 would make these words come alive to our hearts 99 00:04:46,250 --> 00:04:48,958 and do the work that you wish to do 100 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,125 in each of our hearts this morning. 101 00:04:51,167 --> 00:04:56,917 In Jesus' name, amen. 102 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,042 When we talk about your heart in English modern culture today, 103 00:05:02,125 --> 00:05:06,000 we normally mean mostly your emotions, and affections, 104 00:05:06,083 --> 00:05:08,167 and your feelings. 105 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:10,375 And in the Bible, your heart includes that, 106 00:05:10,458 --> 00:05:12,000 but it's broader than that. 107 00:05:12,042 --> 00:05:16,958 It really includes all of your deepest moral and spiritual 108 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,125 convictions, along with your feelings and emotions, 109 00:05:20,167 --> 00:05:24,375 and especially your deepest moral and spiritual convictions 110 00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:27,333 in relationship to God. 111 00:05:27,375 --> 00:05:30,792 So, your heart is talking about what's really deep inside 112 00:05:30,833 --> 00:05:33,875 of you, what makes you you and who you are. 113 00:05:33,958 --> 00:05:36,458 And this verse says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance." 114 00:05:49,208 --> 00:05:52,000 And verse 1 of this chapter, 115 00:05:52,042 --> 00:05:54,708 "Hear, O sons, a father's instruction." 116 00:05:54,792 --> 00:05:58,833 What this is, this is a father saying to his son, 117 00:05:58,875 --> 00:06:01,125 "This is how life works. 118 00:06:01,167 --> 00:06:04,458 "After living a lot of years, I just want to tell you something. 119 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:07,792 "What's really important in life is keep your heart 120 00:06:07,833 --> 00:06:12,208 with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." 121 00:06:12,292 --> 00:06:14,333 So now, I look back. 122 00:06:14,417 --> 00:06:16,958 I've taught in a seminary-- one seminary or another-- 123 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,333 for 32 years, and I've taught thousands of students, 124 00:06:20,375 --> 00:06:23,583 but I've followed the lives of maybe hundreds of students whom 125 00:06:23,667 --> 00:06:26,500 I've gotten to know somewhat better. 126 00:06:26,542 --> 00:06:29,542 And I have seen this verse prove remarkably true, 127 00:06:29,625 --> 00:06:33,500 because some students go on to lives of blessing, and ministry, 128 00:06:33,542 --> 00:06:36,083 and faithfulness, and God's favor on their lives, 129 00:06:36,167 --> 00:06:38,542 and their families, and their churches, and their ministries. 130 00:06:38,625 --> 00:06:43,500 But others have gone on sadly to destroyed lives, 131 00:06:43,542 --> 00:06:45,333 destroyed marriages, destroyed families, 132 00:06:45,375 --> 00:06:49,417 and destroyed churches, I think because they didn't 133 00:06:49,500 --> 00:06:53,667 pay attention to what God is saying in this verse. 134 00:06:53,708 --> 00:06:58,042 God is saying basically that the inward spiritual and moral life 135 00:06:58,125 --> 00:07:01,875 that you have will determine the course of your life 136 00:07:01,958 --> 00:07:05,458 and ministry, whether it will be a life that knows God's favor 137 00:07:05,500 --> 00:07:07,292 and blessing or not. 138 00:07:07,333 --> 00:07:09,792 So, I want to talk about three things this morning. 139 00:07:09,833 --> 00:07:12,792 I want to talk about what it is to keep your heart, 140 00:07:12,833 --> 00:07:14,833 and number two, how you keep your heart. 141 00:07:14,917 --> 00:07:19,542 Nope, I made a mistake. 142 00:07:19,625 --> 00:07:22,833 What it is to keep your heart, why you should keep your heart, 143 00:07:22,875 --> 00:07:25,583 and then how you should keep your heart. 144 00:07:25,667 --> 00:07:29,375 There's only three, you think I could remember those. 145 00:07:29,458 --> 00:07:31,375 Well, let's see if we can do better. 146 00:07:31,458 --> 00:07:33,833 All right, what does it mean to keep your heart 147 00:07:33,875 --> 00:07:35,333 with all vigilance? 148 00:07:35,375 --> 00:07:37,500 So, I wanted to look at this phrase first: 149 00:07:37,583 --> 00:07:39,500 "With all vigilance." 150 00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:42,417 Literally, the Hebrew text says, 151 00:07:42,500 --> 00:07:44,167 "More than all vigilance," 152 00:07:44,208 --> 00:07:46,500 or "More than all guarding," "More than all protecting," 153 00:07:46,542 --> 00:07:49,292 keep your heart. 154 00:07:49,333 --> 00:07:50,667 So, what do you guard? 155 00:07:50,750 --> 00:07:52,667 What do you protect? 156 00:07:52,708 --> 00:07:55,917 I suppose you locked your car because you didn't want anybody 157 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:57,625 to steal it. 158 00:07:57,667 --> 00:08:01,000 More than you protect your car, this is saying keep your heart. 159 00:08:01,083 --> 00:08:04,917 I imagine you locked your apartment or your house 160 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:06,625 when you left this morning. 161 00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:09,750 More than that, protect your heart. 162 00:08:09,833 --> 00:08:11,833 If you're married and you've got kids, 163 00:08:11,917 --> 00:08:14,500 you want to protect your marriage and safe guard it, 164 00:08:14,583 --> 00:08:17,000 you want to protect your children and look after them. 165 00:08:17,083 --> 00:08:18,417 Or now we have grandchildren. 166 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:21,417 When we're caring for them, we really want to care for them 167 00:08:21,500 --> 00:08:22,833 and protect them. 168 00:08:22,875 --> 00:08:24,208 They're so important. 169 00:08:24,292 --> 00:08:26,208 But this verse says, "More than all vigilance, 170 00:08:26,292 --> 00:08:28,333 "more than all guarding, more than all protecting, 171 00:08:28,417 --> 00:08:29,833 keep your heart," 172 00:08:29,917 --> 00:08:34,500 more than your job, your health, everything. 173 00:08:34,583 --> 00:08:36,833 Make this most important. 174 00:08:36,875 --> 00:08:39,708 So, it's a challenge to us right off the bat. 175 00:08:39,792 --> 00:08:41,333 Have we been doing that? 176 00:08:41,375 --> 00:08:43,833 Have we been making the condition of our hearts 177 00:08:43,875 --> 00:08:47,792 more important than any other concern? 178 00:08:47,833 --> 00:08:51,583 And I think in practical terms, what that means is that from 179 00:08:51,667 --> 00:08:54,583 time to time, you might have to give less attention 180 00:08:54,667 --> 00:08:59,333 to some other good things, like family, or job, or exercise, 181 00:08:59,417 --> 00:09:02,458 or church meetings, or car repair, or house repair. 182 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:07,167 You might have to give some less time to those other good things, 183 00:09:07,208 --> 00:09:10,458 but you can't neglect taking care of your heart 184 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:11,958 and keeping your heart. 185 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,708 With all vigilance, more than all vigilance, 186 00:09:14,792 --> 00:09:17,583 keep it and guard it. 187 00:09:17,667 --> 00:09:22,375 Now, there's something else, this word, "Keep it--" 188 00:09:22,458 --> 00:09:24,583 keep it, or guard it, or watch over it. 189 00:09:24,667 --> 00:09:28,667 If you are to keep something, it implies that there's a goodness 190 00:09:28,750 --> 00:09:32,458 to it, that there's a goodness that is to be protected 191 00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:33,833 and guarded. 192 00:09:33,917 --> 00:09:37,250 But as soon as I say that, some of you who know the Bible 193 00:09:37,333 --> 00:09:39,458 pretty well are probably saying, "But wait a minute. 194 00:09:39,500 --> 00:09:41,667 "I think I read back in the Old Testament, 195 00:09:41,708 --> 00:09:43,667 "I think it was some place in Jeremiah, 196 00:09:43,708 --> 00:09:45,500 the heart is deceitful above all things." 197 00:09:45,542 --> 00:09:47,000 And you're right, Jeremiah 17:9 says, 198 00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:48,708 "The heart is deceitful above all things, 199 00:09:48,792 --> 00:09:50,917 and desperately wicked; who can understand it?" 200 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,167 When I read the context of Jeremiah, 201 00:09:53,250 --> 00:09:57,083 and then I see later in Jeremiah he predicts a new covenant 202 00:09:57,167 --> 00:10:00,750 that's coming when God will write his laws on our hearts, 203 00:10:00,833 --> 00:10:04,958 I just don't think that that description in Jeremiah 17:9 is 204 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:09,917 the whole truth about our hearts in the New Testament. 205 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,792 And another reason I think that's not the whole truth is 206 00:10:14,833 --> 00:10:19,208 because the New Testament speaks in a much more positive way-- 207 00:10:19,292 --> 00:10:20,792 not entirely positive, 208 00:10:20,833 --> 00:10:22,958 but a much more positive way--about the heart 209 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,625 of someone who has trusted in Jesus as Savior, 210 00:10:25,667 --> 00:10:27,542 someone who has been born again. 211 00:10:27,625 --> 00:10:30,000 Here are some verses that talk in a positive way 212 00:10:30,083 --> 00:10:32,667 about the heart of a New Testament Christian. 213 00:10:32,708 --> 00:10:37,042 Romans 5:5, "God's love has been poured into our hearts 214 00:10:37,125 --> 00:10:39,708 through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." 215 00:10:39,792 --> 00:10:44,792 Romans 6:17, "You have become obedient from the heart 216 00:10:44,833 --> 00:10:48,625 to the standard of teaching to which you are committed." 217 00:10:48,667 --> 00:10:51,000 Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near--" 218 00:10:51,083 --> 00:10:52,500 that means draw near to God. 219 00:10:52,583 --> 00:10:55,167 "Let us draw near with a true heart 220 00:10:55,208 --> 00:10:57,333 and full assurance of faith." 221 00:10:57,375 --> 00:11:01,333 1 John 3:21, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, 222 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:03,292 we have confidence before God." 223 00:11:03,333 --> 00:11:05,833 Several verses in the New Testament speak 224 00:11:05,875 --> 00:11:09,792 in a quite positive way about the condition of our hearts. 225 00:11:09,833 --> 00:11:12,833 If we've been born again and trusted in Jesus as our Savior, 226 00:11:12,917 --> 00:11:16,625 there's a goodness to them that has to be protected. 227 00:11:16,667 --> 00:11:20,958 However, that's not the whole New Testament story, 228 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:27,833 because we go over to James, and James warns Christians 229 00:11:27,917 --> 00:11:30,875 about some things that can go wrong in their hearts. 230 00:11:30,958 --> 00:11:35,333 For instance, James 3:14, "If you have bitter jealousy 231 00:11:35,375 --> 00:11:39,750 "and selfish ambition in your hearts, 232 00:11:39,833 --> 00:11:42,208 do not boast and be false to the truth." 233 00:11:42,292 --> 00:11:47,333 Or James 4:8, "Purify your hearts, you double-minded." 234 00:11:47,417 --> 00:11:49,458 So, even though the New Testament 235 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:51,292 talks about our hearts 236 00:11:51,333 --> 00:11:54,500 as having been cleansed when we're born again, 237 00:11:54,542 --> 00:11:57,833 yet James says you can have bitter jealousy in your heart 238 00:11:57,917 --> 00:12:00,292 as a Christian, and you can have selfish ambition, 239 00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:02,000 and you can be double-minded. 240 00:12:02,042 --> 00:12:03,625 And so our hearts aren't perfect, 241 00:12:03,667 --> 00:12:06,833 but there is a goodness in them still by Jesus' work within us 242 00:12:06,875 --> 00:12:10,000 that needs to be protected and guarded. 243 00:12:10,083 --> 00:12:12,125 Keep your heart with all vigilance 244 00:12:12,167 --> 00:12:16,500 because it can go astray. 245 00:12:16,583 --> 00:12:22,375 Now in England, in the 1600s, there was a Puritan writer 246 00:12:22,458 --> 00:12:27,167 named John Flavel, and he wrote about this verse. 247 00:12:27,208 --> 00:12:31,250 In fact, he wrote over 100 pages about this verse, 248 00:12:31,333 --> 00:12:36,083 because that's just what Puritans did. 249 00:12:36,167 --> 00:12:38,750 But in it--I didn't read all 100 pages, 250 00:12:38,833 --> 00:12:41,375 but I kind of went through it, 251 00:12:41,458 --> 00:12:46,167 and in that writing on Proverbs 4:23, 252 00:12:46,250 --> 00:12:50,167 he said, "Our hearts are like a musical instrument." 253 00:12:50,250 --> 00:12:54,167 You tune it, and you've got it just right, 254 00:12:54,250 --> 00:12:57,167 and then you hang it on the wall for a few days 255 00:12:57,250 --> 00:12:58,750 and it goes out of tune. 256 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:01,500 Or you tune it, and then something bumps it 257 00:13:01,542 --> 00:13:03,833 and it's out of tune again. 258 00:13:03,875 --> 00:13:06,292 And he said, "You know, our hearts are like that. 259 00:13:06,333 --> 00:13:09,000 "They can be right with God and then something disrupts them 260 00:13:09,083 --> 00:13:13,875 or we neglect them, and they begin to stray." 261 00:13:13,958 --> 00:13:19,000 I saw this happen in my own heart one time. 262 00:13:19,083 --> 00:13:23,500 It was while I was part of a 12-member committee 263 00:13:23,542 --> 00:13:28,000 working on the translation of the ESV Bible. 264 00:13:28,042 --> 00:13:33,958 So, from 1998 to 2001, we worked to produce this translation, 265 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,167 and most of the time, 266 00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:39,167 we worked in Cambridge, England at a research library. 267 00:13:39,250 --> 00:13:41,792 And we worked from 9 to 5, and you say, 268 00:13:41,833 --> 00:13:44,208 "Well, that sounds like a normal workday," and it was, 269 00:13:44,292 --> 00:13:48,833 except it was the most intellectually, emotionally, 270 00:13:48,917 --> 00:13:51,292 maybe even spiritually draining time 271 00:13:51,333 --> 00:13:53,000 that any of us had ever had. 272 00:13:53,083 --> 00:13:55,500 Even though it was amazingly rewarding and exciting 273 00:13:55,542 --> 00:13:59,542 professionally, it was just really hard work, 274 00:13:59,625 --> 00:14:02,167 because here's what was happening. 275 00:14:02,250 --> 00:14:03,667 We had an agenda. 276 00:14:03,708 --> 00:14:05,833 We would go through the Bible book after book, 277 00:14:05,917 --> 00:14:09,042 and we had certain suggestions that had to be voted on for how 278 00:14:09,125 --> 00:14:11,792 a verse should be translated, or leave it how it was 279 00:14:11,833 --> 00:14:14,292 in the text that we began with, or change it. 280 00:14:14,333 --> 00:14:17,000 And let's say you had something you wanted to suggest as 281 00:14:17,083 --> 00:14:20,333 a change in someplace in Matthew 15, and you say, 282 00:14:20,375 --> 00:14:22,083 "You know, if we change this word, 283 00:14:22,167 --> 00:14:24,083 "it would make it a little more accurate 284 00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:25,500 to the Greek text." 285 00:14:25,542 --> 00:14:28,667 But if you go out of the room just for a rest stop, 286 00:14:28,750 --> 00:14:31,667 or take a phone call, or something, and you come back in, 287 00:14:31,750 --> 00:14:33,875 and they already voted on Matthew 15, it's done, 288 00:14:33,958 --> 00:14:36,333 it's in the Bible, you lost. 289 00:14:36,417 --> 00:14:42,000 So, I mean, yeah, 290 00:14:42,083 --> 00:14:45,250 there was a procedure for getting reconsideration 291 00:14:45,333 --> 00:14:47,000 of something that was decided. 292 00:14:47,042 --> 00:14:49,542 It required 2/3 vote of the committee to reconsider. 293 00:14:49,625 --> 00:14:52,708 It was hard, but could be done, but basically, once it was over, 294 00:14:52,792 --> 00:14:54,208 it was over. 295 00:14:54,292 --> 00:15:00,208 So, you couldn't ever snooze or fail to just be concentrating 296 00:15:00,292 --> 00:15:02,750 all the time to try to make the right argument 297 00:15:02,833 --> 00:15:05,667 and vote right on the words that are supposed to be there. 298 00:15:05,750 --> 00:15:08,625 And day after day, we were just tired. 299 00:15:08,667 --> 00:15:10,125 So that was fine. 300 00:15:10,167 --> 00:15:12,667 We could have managed that, but this very nice hotel 301 00:15:12,708 --> 00:15:17,500 we stayed at had sold-- the publisher, Crossway Books, 302 00:15:17,542 --> 00:15:20,542 had sold us a package where breakfast and supper was 303 00:15:20,625 --> 00:15:23,792 included with the hotel, which we thought was a great deal 304 00:15:23,833 --> 00:15:26,208 because, you know, that would all be taken care of. 305 00:15:26,292 --> 00:15:29,208 But we'd walk a half an hour from the library back to 306 00:15:29,292 --> 00:15:32,208 the hotel, and we'd get there, and we'd be ready to eat, 307 00:15:32,292 --> 00:15:37,833 but they could not figure out how to get supper finished 308 00:15:37,917 --> 00:15:41,208 in less than 2 1/2 hours. 309 00:15:41,292 --> 00:15:44,708 Could not, don't ask me why, but every--you know, 310 00:15:44,792 --> 00:15:46,708 the soup had to have the right spoon, 311 00:15:46,792 --> 00:15:49,208 and then the salad had to have the right fork, 312 00:15:49,292 --> 00:15:51,417 and they had the lettuce sit between each course. 313 00:15:51,500 --> 00:15:53,917 And it was beautiful, but we were just tired. 314 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,167 And I wanted to spend some time with Margaret, 315 00:15:56,250 --> 00:15:58,167 I wanted to catch up on some e-mail, 316 00:15:58,250 --> 00:16:01,417 and so we'd go back to our room, and we'd spend some time 317 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:03,625 together, and I'd get all this personal stuff done, 318 00:16:03,667 --> 00:16:06,792 and get to bed, and the nights were getting shorter and shorter 319 00:16:06,833 --> 00:16:09,292 and I was getting more and more tired. 320 00:16:09,333 --> 00:16:11,667 So, I decided what difference does it make. 321 00:16:11,750 --> 00:16:15,000 I set my alarm a half hour later, and I said, "You know, 322 00:16:15,042 --> 00:16:18,625 "I'm spending so much time reading the Bible already with 323 00:16:18,667 --> 00:16:23,167 "these other guys 8 hours a day, why do I need to get up early 324 00:16:23,250 --> 00:16:26,625 "and spend time alone with God, reading the Bible, and praying, 325 00:16:26,667 --> 00:16:30,333 and asking God to apply the word to my own heart?" 326 00:16:30,417 --> 00:16:36,625 So, I let it go, 3 days, 4 days, and then Margaret said, 327 00:16:36,667 --> 00:16:39,167 "Wayne, something's just not right with you. 328 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:41,292 What's going on?" 329 00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:44,500 And then I realized I'd neglected my time with God 330 00:16:44,583 --> 00:16:47,833 and my heart was straying, 331 00:16:47,875 --> 00:16:50,208 so I made a note that I carry around 332 00:16:50,292 --> 00:16:52,583 just to remind myself. 333 00:16:52,667 --> 00:16:58,250 "Results of missing personal Bible-reading and prayer time: 334 00:16:58,333 --> 00:17:04,667 "pride, talking about myself a lot, 335 00:17:04,750 --> 00:17:11,167 "often inwardly hoping people will praise me, 336 00:17:11,250 --> 00:17:14,292 "lack of love for friends, irritability, 337 00:17:14,333 --> 00:17:18,542 "relationships with friends just stall or put on hold, 338 00:17:18,625 --> 00:17:23,292 "general inward feeling of unease, unsettledness, 339 00:17:23,333 --> 00:17:26,167 "hard to concentrate on Scripture and prayer, 340 00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:30,208 self-reliance, no peace." 341 00:17:30,292 --> 00:17:32,500 I had to say, "Margaret, I'm sorry. 342 00:17:32,583 --> 00:17:35,167 "Here's what's happened. 343 00:17:35,208 --> 00:17:40,833 I just--I wasn't spending time with the Lord." 344 00:17:40,875 --> 00:17:43,500 And then I had to go to God privately and say, 345 00:17:43,542 --> 00:17:47,167 "God, I'm sorry I didn't put you first." 346 00:17:47,208 --> 00:17:49,167 And the next morning when the committee met, 347 00:17:49,250 --> 00:17:52,333 I asked if I could have a couple of minutes just to say 348 00:17:52,417 --> 00:17:53,750 what had happened. 349 00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:56,250 I said, "Look, I'm sorry if you've noticed something wrong 350 00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:57,958 "in my attitude the last several days. 351 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,458 This is the reason, I'm sorry, forgive me." 352 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:05,333 Our hearts can so easily stray. 353 00:18:05,375 --> 00:18:08,583 And 8 hours a day of looking at the Hebrew and Greek text 354 00:18:08,667 --> 00:18:10,542 of the Bible and trying to translate 355 00:18:10,625 --> 00:18:12,333 verse after verse into English correctly, 356 00:18:12,417 --> 00:18:15,667 there's no substitute for time alone with God 357 00:18:15,708 --> 00:18:18,667 and private prayer. 358 00:18:18,750 --> 00:18:22,625 So, what does it mean to keep your heart? 359 00:18:22,667 --> 00:18:25,208 To guard it above all things. 360 00:18:25,292 --> 00:18:29,333 It's paying attention to what's going on in the deepest core 361 00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:32,833 of what is inside of you. 362 00:18:32,917 --> 00:18:36,917 Now, why should you keep your heart? 363 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,333 The first reason is what is said in this verse: 364 00:18:40,417 --> 00:18:44,458 "For from it flow the springs of life. 365 00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:47,333 For from it flow the springs of life." 366 00:18:47,375 --> 00:18:49,958 The Hebrew phrase is not the easiest thing to make into 367 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,333 understandable English. 368 00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:14,667 "From it are the outflowings or outgoings of life." 369 00:19:14,750 --> 00:19:16,625 And so to make that understandable in English, 370 00:19:16,667 --> 00:19:18,667 most translations, maybe all now, say 371 00:19:18,750 --> 00:19:20,667 "For from it are the springs of life" 372 00:19:20,750 --> 00:19:22,500 or "the water springs of life." 373 00:19:22,542 --> 00:19:27,917 The picture is that your heart is like a stream of water that's 374 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,042 continually flowing out to touch and impact people around you 375 00:19:32,125 --> 00:19:34,875 that you come in contact with. 376 00:19:34,958 --> 00:19:38,417 And so when we've got that picture that your life is 377 00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:40,833 continually flowing out from your heart to impact other 378 00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:42,875 people--when we have that picture, 379 00:19:42,958 --> 00:19:47,208 then I think it makes sense to expect that probably Jesus had 380 00:19:47,292 --> 00:19:50,125 this verse in mind when he talked about our hearts. 381 00:19:50,167 --> 00:19:54,000 He said in Luke 6:45, "The good person out of the good treasure 382 00:19:54,042 --> 00:19:56,417 "of his heart produces good, 383 00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:58,833 "and the evil person out of his evil treasure 384 00:19:58,875 --> 00:20:02,500 "produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart 385 00:20:02,583 --> 00:20:06,333 his mouth speaks." 386 00:20:06,417 --> 00:20:10,167 Someone cuts you off in traffic 387 00:20:10,208 --> 00:20:15,292 and you open your mouth to bless 388 00:20:15,333 --> 00:20:20,167 or to curse, your life is flowing out of your mouth 389 00:20:20,250 --> 00:20:24,167 to impact others. 390 00:20:24,250 --> 00:20:27,833 I think Jesus also had this idea in mind when he said in 391 00:20:27,875 --> 00:20:33,708 Mark 7:21, "For from within, out of the heart of man, 392 00:20:33,792 --> 00:20:38,875 "come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 393 00:20:38,958 --> 00:20:43,167 "adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, 394 00:20:43,250 --> 00:20:46,333 "slander, pride, foolishness. 395 00:20:46,375 --> 00:20:50,792 All these evil things come from within." 396 00:20:50,833 --> 00:20:56,667 So, it gives us an indication of why people do evil things. 397 00:20:56,708 --> 00:21:02,708 And sometimes even Christian leaders neglect their hearts 398 00:21:02,792 --> 00:21:06,000 and then they do evil things. 399 00:21:06,042 --> 00:21:09,000 I read, not too long ago, a news headline, 400 00:21:09,042 --> 00:21:13,417 pastor of a megachurch in some city in Indiana, 401 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:16,833 it was discovered that he was in an adulterous relationship with 402 00:21:16,875 --> 00:21:19,125 a woman that he wasn't married to. 403 00:21:19,167 --> 00:21:20,833 Why? 404 00:21:20,875 --> 00:21:23,833 It brought great destructiveness to his marriage, to his family, 405 00:21:23,875 --> 00:21:28,958 his pastorate was basically over, people couldn't trust him, 406 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,000 and great damage to the church, and great damage 407 00:21:33,083 --> 00:21:37,708 to the reputation of the gospel and the reputation of Christ. 408 00:21:37,792 --> 00:21:42,833 But let me tell you, that wrongful relationship 409 00:21:42,875 --> 00:21:45,583 did not occur just in a moment or two. 410 00:21:45,667 --> 00:21:48,333 That occurred over a course--I don't know anything about it, 411 00:21:48,417 --> 00:21:50,500 but I just am telling you in general. 412 00:21:50,542 --> 00:21:53,125 That kind of thing doesn't happen instantly. 413 00:21:53,167 --> 00:21:55,958 It happens over the course of weeks and months where, 414 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,833 in a relationship with a woman that he wasn't married to, 415 00:21:58,917 --> 00:22:02,500 there were feelings in his heart, 416 00:22:02,583 --> 00:22:07,000 attractions in his heart that were of a nature that only 417 00:22:07,042 --> 00:22:10,458 belonged to the marriage relationship and should have 418 00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:12,583 only been directed towards his wife. 419 00:22:12,667 --> 00:22:14,750 And when he was aware of those feelings, 420 00:22:14,833 --> 00:22:16,250 rather than prolonging the relationship, 421 00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:19,375 he should have distanced himself from it immediately, 422 00:22:19,458 --> 00:22:22,750 because he should have kept his heart with all vigilance, 423 00:22:22,833 --> 00:22:27,292 but he didn't and it went on and resulted in actual physical, 424 00:22:27,333 --> 00:22:30,208 adulterous relationship. 425 00:22:30,292 --> 00:22:32,583 He didn't keep his heart with all vigilance. 426 00:22:32,667 --> 00:22:36,833 So, it makes sense, doesn't it, why the Bible tells us to keep 427 00:22:36,875 --> 00:22:40,542 our hearts more than all vigilance, above all guarding, 428 00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:42,167 above everything else? 429 00:22:42,208 --> 00:22:44,500 Every time you encounter a new situation, 430 00:22:44,542 --> 00:22:47,375 out of your heart come the outgoings of your life, 431 00:22:47,458 --> 00:22:51,000 and what is in your heart is constantly flowing like a spring 432 00:22:51,083 --> 00:22:53,292 to affect other people. 433 00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:56,958 The quality of your inward moral and spiritual life is impacting 434 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,583 others around you, for from it flow the springs of life. 435 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:03,917 Last week, just a week ago tonight, 436 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,625 Margaret and I were with some friends in Illinois, 437 00:23:06,667 --> 00:23:12,500 long time friends, and we love to be with them because their 438 00:23:12,542 --> 00:23:15,708 hearts are full of love for Jesus and faith in Jesus, 439 00:23:15,792 --> 00:23:18,333 and when we're with them, our faith and our love 440 00:23:18,417 --> 00:23:20,125 for the Lord is just built up. 441 00:23:20,167 --> 00:23:26,708 From their heart is flowing just an infectious love for the Lord. 442 00:23:26,792 --> 00:23:29,208 Many of you here have responsibilities. 443 00:23:29,292 --> 00:23:32,042 You have, perhaps teaching responsibilities 444 00:23:32,125 --> 00:23:33,667 in the children's program. 445 00:23:33,708 --> 00:23:35,625 Maybe you have responsibilities to welcome people 446 00:23:35,667 --> 00:23:37,333 on Sunday morning. 447 00:23:37,417 --> 00:23:39,542 Maybe you're leading a neighborhood group, 448 00:23:39,625 --> 00:23:41,875 or a home fellowship group, or maybe you're leading 449 00:23:41,958 --> 00:23:44,833 a Bible study, or something else. 450 00:23:44,917 --> 00:23:48,083 In all of those responsibilities, 451 00:23:48,167 --> 00:23:52,500 if your heart is full of self and pride, 452 00:23:52,583 --> 00:23:56,708 then your interpretation of the Bible may be perfect, 453 00:23:56,792 --> 00:24:01,000 your doctrine may be sound, but self and pride will also 454 00:24:01,083 --> 00:24:02,792 be what you communicate. 455 00:24:02,833 --> 00:24:05,500 Like a virus, it'll flow out and touch other people. 456 00:24:05,583 --> 00:24:08,625 If your heart is full of anger and bitterness, 457 00:24:08,667 --> 00:24:12,250 it will flow out and infect others around you. 458 00:24:12,333 --> 00:24:15,625 If your heart is full of fear, it'll flow out of you 459 00:24:15,667 --> 00:24:17,500 and others will have that fear. 460 00:24:17,583 --> 00:24:20,667 They will be touched by that fear. 461 00:24:20,708 --> 00:24:24,750 If your heart is full of love for Jesus and faith in him, 462 00:24:24,833 --> 00:24:28,417 then love for Jesus and faith in him will also be what you 463 00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:30,458 communicate to others. 464 00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:33,000 It'll flow from your heart, and refresh us, 465 00:24:33,083 --> 00:24:38,500 and will refresh everybody who hears. 466 00:24:38,542 --> 00:24:43,750 I think this verse also gives insight into why people, 467 00:24:43,833 --> 00:24:48,042 and churches, and seminaries, and denominations sometimes 468 00:24:48,125 --> 00:24:51,833 stray away from faithfulness to the Bible and faithfulness 469 00:24:51,917 --> 00:24:54,000 to its teachings. 470 00:24:54,083 --> 00:25:00,583 I think it starts when their hearts grow cold toward God. 471 00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:05,833 Let me give you an example, a story that talks about this. 472 00:25:05,917 --> 00:25:11,625 Charles Hodge was a professor at Princeton Seminary 473 00:25:11,667 --> 00:25:13,625 from 1820 to 1878. 474 00:25:13,667 --> 00:25:16,125 Now don't worry, I'm not going to say anything negative 475 00:25:16,167 --> 00:25:17,500 about Charles Hodge. 476 00:25:17,583 --> 00:25:20,167 I'm going to say what happened when he found out something 477 00:25:20,250 --> 00:25:21,958 about another situation. 478 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,625 But he taught at Princeton from 1820 to 1878. 479 00:25:25,667 --> 00:25:29,458 Do the math, that's 58 years. 480 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,292 I've been teaching 32 years. 481 00:25:31,333 --> 00:25:34,792 I've got 26 to go, and then I won't be able to walk up 482 00:25:34,833 --> 00:25:36,167 these steps anymore. 483 00:25:36,250 --> 00:25:38,167 But he was faithful for that whole time. 484 00:25:38,250 --> 00:25:39,667 Well anyway, he was well known. 485 00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,667 He had a great impact on the world. 486 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:43,083 And during that time, 487 00:25:43,167 --> 00:25:46,125 Princeton Seminary was very conservative 488 00:25:46,167 --> 00:25:48,500 in terms of its view of Scripture and actually 489 00:25:48,583 --> 00:25:52,042 reformed theology, so it was just his--you could have had him 490 00:25:52,125 --> 00:25:53,500 come and teach here. 491 00:25:53,583 --> 00:25:55,958 He was doctrinally sound in that way. 492 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,333 But after Charles Hodge had been a professor at Princeton 493 00:25:59,417 --> 00:26:02,833 for 6 years, in 1826 494 00:26:02,917 --> 00:26:07,333 he decided, "Why is all this unbelief flowing out 495 00:26:07,375 --> 00:26:09,292 "of German Universities? 496 00:26:09,333 --> 00:26:11,750 "All these people that are denying that you can believe 497 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:13,750 "the Bible, denying the miracles in the Bible, 498 00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:16,333 "denying the virgin birth, denying many other parts 499 00:26:16,375 --> 00:26:19,333 "of Scripture, why is it all coming from Germany, 500 00:26:19,417 --> 00:26:22,208 "which was the birthplace of the Reformation? 501 00:26:22,292 --> 00:26:26,000 "After all, in 1517, it was Martin Luther in Germany 502 00:26:26,042 --> 00:26:30,583 who began the Reformation." 503 00:26:30,667 --> 00:26:32,667 Why had Germany strayed? 504 00:26:32,708 --> 00:26:36,000 So, Hodge decided that he would go to Germany, 505 00:26:36,042 --> 00:26:39,917 and he went to Germany for 2 years, 1826 to 1828, 506 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,542 and studied in Germany universities to sit 507 00:26:42,625 --> 00:26:45,167 under these professors and find out what was going on. 508 00:26:45,208 --> 00:26:50,333 Then when he came back in 1828, he gave a talk to the students 509 00:26:50,375 --> 00:26:54,250 in Phoenix--sorry, Phoenix Seminary--in Princeton Seminary, 510 00:26:54,333 --> 00:26:58,708 and he used this verse in the King James version. 511 00:26:58,792 --> 00:27:03,958 And he said this--he said in deciding what he thought about 512 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,375 why Christianity had ceased to be even the nominal religion 513 00:27:07,458 --> 00:27:10,792 in Germany, he said it was the decline of vital religion. 514 00:28:04,042 --> 00:28:09,833 And so even today, as it has been throughout history, 515 00:28:09,917 --> 00:28:15,708 God allows different attractive wrong teachings to arise 516 00:28:15,792 --> 00:28:18,000 in the culture from time to time, 517 00:28:18,042 --> 00:28:20,833 and it's different teachings in different centuries. 518 00:28:20,917 --> 00:28:25,500 But I think God allows some error to prosper in the world 519 00:28:25,542 --> 00:28:28,417 and eventually in some parts of the church in order to test 520 00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:32,333 our hearts and see if we'll be true to him and to his word. 521 00:28:32,375 --> 00:28:35,250 Mark, you weren't here for the first two times I did this 522 00:28:35,333 --> 00:28:37,917 message this morning, but what I said and I'll say again, 523 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:39,458 I'm so thankful for you. 524 00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:41,500 I'm thankful for your courage 525 00:28:41,542 --> 00:28:43,833 to speak the truth of the word of God 526 00:28:43,875 --> 00:28:46,750 even when it is contrary to what is commonly believed 527 00:28:46,833 --> 00:28:49,208 in the culture today and it's not popular, 528 00:28:49,292 --> 00:28:55,625 but it's the word of God and we have to be faithful. 529 00:29:01,500 --> 00:29:05,792 So, the first reason we are to keep our hearts is for from it 530 00:29:05,833 --> 00:29:09,667 flow the springs of life. 531 00:29:09,708 --> 00:29:13,667 But now I want to take a detour for a minute, 532 00:29:13,708 --> 00:29:16,833 and I want to take a quick overview of the whole Bible from 533 00:29:16,917 --> 00:29:20,708 Genesis to Revelation and say, you know, in the whole Bible, 534 00:29:20,792 --> 00:29:23,625 God puts a high importance on the condition 535 00:29:23,667 --> 00:29:25,458 of people's hearts. 536 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:27,667 You start way back in Genesis 1 and 2. 537 00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:29,875 Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. 538 00:29:29,958 --> 00:29:31,875 God put them there to test their hearts. 539 00:29:31,958 --> 00:29:34,875 Would they be faithful to him or not or would they eat 540 00:29:34,958 --> 00:29:37,875 the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil 541 00:29:37,958 --> 00:29:39,375 that God had forbidden to them? 542 00:29:39,458 --> 00:29:41,875 And they failed; their hearts weren't true to him. 543 00:29:41,958 --> 00:29:46,000 And then the Bible goes on, chapter after chapter, 544 00:29:46,083 --> 00:29:48,417 and evil multiplies on the earth. 545 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:51,167 So, we find by the time of Genesis 6, 546 00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:54,500 in Genesis 6:5 the Lord saw that every imagination 547 00:29:54,583 --> 00:29:58,000 of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. 548 00:29:58,083 --> 00:30:01,125 Heart, the thoughts of man heart was only evil continually, 549 00:30:01,167 --> 00:30:05,917 and God brought the flood on the earth in judgment. 550 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:07,958 God started again with Noah and his family, 551 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,333 and then God raised up the nation of Israel 552 00:30:10,375 --> 00:30:12,625 to follow him and be his own people. 553 00:30:12,667 --> 00:30:17,542 God chose Saul, raised up Saul as king over Israel, 554 00:30:17,625 --> 00:30:20,333 and Saul had promise, but then he failed 555 00:30:20,375 --> 00:30:23,708 and he wasn't true to God. 556 00:30:23,792 --> 00:30:27,708 So then Samuel came to him, the prophet, and Samuel said, 557 00:30:27,792 --> 00:30:30,125 "Saul, it's all over. 558 00:30:30,167 --> 00:30:32,417 God's going to take your kingdom away from you." 559 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:37,167 He said in 1 Samuel 13:14, "Now your kingdom shall not continue. 560 00:30:37,208 --> 00:30:41,167 "The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, 561 00:30:41,208 --> 00:30:44,167 "and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, 562 00:30:44,208 --> 00:30:46,708 because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 563 00:30:46,792 --> 00:30:51,000 So, God raised up David as a king, and David was, 564 00:30:51,083 --> 00:30:53,167 for many years, faithful to God. 565 00:30:53,208 --> 00:30:55,083 He was a man after God's own heart. 566 00:30:55,167 --> 00:30:57,542 And then everything was going well, 567 00:30:57,625 --> 00:31:02,000 but then David fell into sin, horrible sin with Bathsheba, 568 00:31:02,083 --> 00:31:06,208 committed adultery and had Bathsheba's husband murdered. 569 00:31:06,292 --> 00:31:09,333 So, David failed. 570 00:31:09,417 --> 00:31:12,292 Then Solomon came after him, 571 00:31:12,333 --> 00:31:14,833 and Solomon was a good and wise king 572 00:31:14,917 --> 00:31:19,292 for many years, but then 1 Kings 11:4, 573 00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:22,792 "When Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart 574 00:31:22,833 --> 00:31:24,583 "after other gods, 575 00:31:24,667 --> 00:31:27,542 and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God." 576 00:31:27,625 --> 00:31:30,208 So you begin to think, "Well, wait a minute. 577 00:31:30,292 --> 00:31:31,833 "Everybody is falling away. 578 00:31:31,917 --> 00:31:34,375 "Is there ever going to be anybody whose heart is 579 00:31:34,458 --> 00:31:37,333 wholly true to the Lord?" 580 00:31:37,375 --> 00:31:39,083 And through the Old Testament, 581 00:31:39,167 --> 00:31:40,875 the answer is no, 582 00:31:40,958 --> 00:31:44,042 but there was a Messiah coming. 583 00:31:44,125 --> 00:31:46,000 And so we get to the New Testament, 584 00:31:46,042 --> 00:31:49,083 and we find that Jesus comes, 585 00:31:49,167 --> 00:31:51,792 and Jesus is truly a man after God's own heart. 586 00:31:51,833 --> 00:31:53,833 He is purer than King David. 587 00:31:53,917 --> 00:31:55,833 He is wiser than King Solomon. 588 00:31:55,875 --> 00:31:58,000 He is the one in whom the Father 589 00:31:58,083 --> 00:32:02,333 continually delighted. 590 00:32:02,417 --> 00:32:05,167 And then, for those of us who have trusted in Christ, 591 00:32:05,208 --> 00:32:07,583 the New Testament says the Holy Spirit 592 00:32:07,667 --> 00:32:09,083 has cleansed our hearts. 593 00:32:09,167 --> 00:32:10,500 Our hearts aren't completely pure, 594 00:32:10,542 --> 00:32:14,667 but they're cleansed because we're joined to Christ. 595 00:32:14,750 --> 00:32:17,917 Then the New Testament looks forward to a time in the future 596 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,833 when Jesus is going to return. 597 00:32:20,875 --> 00:32:23,167 And when he appears, we shall be like him, 598 00:32:23,208 --> 00:32:24,667 and one day, 599 00:32:24,750 --> 00:32:27,500 then our hearts will be perfectly pure and we will know 600 00:32:27,542 --> 00:32:33,542 the favor of God resting on us forever. 601 00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:38,375 But now, in this time between Jesus' resurrection 602 00:32:38,458 --> 00:32:40,500 and his second coming, 603 00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:42,542 we're in what is called the New Testament 604 00:32:42,625 --> 00:32:44,167 or New Covenant age, 605 00:32:44,250 --> 00:32:49,000 and in this time, God still tests our hearts. 606 00:32:49,083 --> 00:32:50,625 Why do I say that? 607 00:32:50,667 --> 00:32:53,167 I say that because the Apostle Paul was living 608 00:32:53,208 --> 00:32:56,625 in this same period of time in history 609 00:32:56,667 --> 00:32:59,708 in terms of God's overall work, 610 00:32:59,792 --> 00:33:02,333 and Paul said that even for himself, 611 00:33:02,375 --> 00:33:05,500 as he went from city to city, God was testing his heart. 612 00:33:05,542 --> 00:33:09,333 So, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, "Just as we have been approved by God 613 00:33:09,375 --> 00:33:11,375 "to be entrusted with the gospel, 614 00:33:11,458 --> 00:33:14,250 "so we speak, not to please man, 615 00:33:14,333 --> 00:33:17,667 but to please God who tests our hearts." 616 00:33:17,750 --> 00:33:20,208 Paul would go to city, after city, after city. 617 00:33:20,292 --> 00:33:21,792 He'd be persecuted. 618 00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:23,875 He'd be beaten with rods. 619 00:33:23,958 --> 00:33:25,500 He'd be thrown in jail. 620 00:33:25,583 --> 00:33:27,583 He'd be stoned. He'd be whipped. 621 00:33:27,667 --> 00:33:29,333 Why? 622 00:33:29,417 --> 00:33:32,333 Because he was speaking God's word and it was unpopular, 623 00:33:32,417 --> 00:33:35,500 but at the end of the day, I think every day, he's saying, 624 00:33:35,583 --> 00:33:37,208 "God, was my heart true to you? 625 00:33:37,292 --> 00:33:38,625 "Was I faithful? 626 00:33:38,667 --> 00:33:41,250 I'm speaking to please God who tests our hearts." 627 00:33:41,333 --> 00:33:44,833 And so I think that's true today of us as well. 628 00:33:44,917 --> 00:33:47,875 I think God is testing our hearts. 629 00:33:47,958 --> 00:33:50,000 There's a verse from the Old Testament 630 00:33:50,042 --> 00:33:51,750 in 2 Chronicles, 631 00:33:51,833 --> 00:33:55,583 spoken by a prophet named Asa, and I think it's still true. 632 00:33:55,667 --> 00:33:59,833 2 Chronicles 16:9, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro 633 00:33:59,917 --> 00:34:03,333 "throughout the whole earth, to give strong support 634 00:34:03,375 --> 00:34:06,167 to those whose heart is blameless toward him." 635 00:34:06,250 --> 00:34:08,958 I think that's true this morning. 636 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:15,125 "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout Bellevue, 637 00:34:15,167 --> 00:34:18,417 "to give strong support to those whose heart 638 00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:24,167 is blameless toward him." 639 00:34:24,250 --> 00:34:27,458 So, the second reason that keeping our hearts is important 640 00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:30,708 is throughout the whole Bible, the condition of our heart 641 00:34:30,792 --> 00:34:36,583 before God is very important to him. 642 00:34:36,667 --> 00:34:42,500 God will let different heart tests come into our life. 643 00:34:42,583 --> 00:34:45,792 Margaret and I were traveling a month ago and we had a plane 644 00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:48,958 delayed, and then delayed and delayed again, and in it all, 645 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,417 we were saying, "Now, are our hearts right before God 646 00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:56,958 or are we becoming grumbling and resentful?" 647 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,000 Or just last night, we went to a restaurant to eat and we were 648 00:35:01,042 --> 00:35:04,583 with our son, Alexander, who'd driven down from Vancouver, BC. 649 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:07,542 And I had in mind, you know, how the dinner would go 650 00:35:07,625 --> 00:35:09,542 and everything, and we got into a restaurant 651 00:35:09,625 --> 00:35:13,000 and the seating was not very good for conversation. 652 00:35:13,042 --> 00:35:15,500 And I was just trying to guard my heart. 653 00:35:15,583 --> 00:35:17,708 Am I going to grumble about this or say, 654 00:35:17,792 --> 00:35:19,708 "No Lord, this is how you ordered it. 655 00:35:19,792 --> 00:35:21,542 "There's nothing we can do about it. 656 00:35:21,625 --> 00:35:24,417 Be at peace." 657 00:35:24,500 --> 00:35:28,000 So, God lets tests come into our heart from time to time. 658 00:35:28,042 --> 00:35:32,542 A pastor that I know said to me, "I used to go to this 659 00:35:32,625 --> 00:35:35,292 "same restaurant several times a month 660 00:35:35,333 --> 00:35:37,958 "and I have breakfast there, meet people. 661 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,292 It just was a nice place to work." 662 00:35:40,333 --> 00:35:43,750 And he said, "One day, I was walking out of the restaurant, 663 00:35:43,833 --> 00:35:46,500 "and I was putting the change back in my wallet, 664 00:35:46,542 --> 00:35:49,292 "and I noticed I had $5 too much. 665 00:35:49,333 --> 00:35:54,250 "And I went back in and gave the $5 to the manager 666 00:35:54,333 --> 00:35:56,208 "who was there at the cash register. 667 00:35:56,292 --> 00:35:58,458 "And she said--she just smiled and she said, 668 00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:03,958 'Just testing you, Pastor.'" 669 00:36:05,708 --> 00:36:08,500 But I think God does that from time to time. 670 00:36:08,542 --> 00:36:11,792 He allows things that we don't want to happen to come into our 671 00:36:11,833 --> 00:36:15,917 lives to see if our heart is going to be faithful to him. 672 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,667 I have a former student who went through 3 years of seminary. 673 00:36:19,708 --> 00:36:21,167 He did well. 674 00:36:21,208 --> 00:36:23,875 He went on and got a PhD in New Testament studies. 675 00:36:23,958 --> 00:36:26,083 And there was only one job that opened up, 676 00:36:26,167 --> 00:36:29,292 so he interviewed for the job, and they got in touch with him. 677 00:36:29,333 --> 00:36:31,792 And they said, "We wanted to give you this job. 678 00:36:31,833 --> 00:36:33,167 "There's only one condition. 679 00:36:33,250 --> 00:36:35,917 "We'd like you to change your view on this one thing 680 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,333 that the Bible teaches." 681 00:36:37,375 --> 00:36:38,833 They didn't say, "The Bible teaches," 682 00:36:38,875 --> 00:36:40,833 but this one doctrine which he firmly believed 683 00:36:40,875 --> 00:36:42,208 the Bible taught. 684 00:36:42,292 --> 00:36:44,708 And he said, "I'm sorry, that's what the Bible teaches. 685 00:36:44,792 --> 00:36:46,125 "I can't change my mind. 686 00:36:46,167 --> 00:36:47,833 I can't change my conviction on that." 687 00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:50,333 And they said, "Okay, I'm sorry, we can't hire you." 688 00:36:50,375 --> 00:36:53,500 So he lost the job and they went back to the drawing board. 689 00:36:53,583 --> 00:36:55,208 And he was just finishing his PhD, 690 00:36:55,292 --> 00:36:58,625 it had cost him a lot of money, and he didn't have a job, 691 00:36:58,667 --> 00:37:00,375 and he didn't have a job prospect. 692 00:37:00,458 --> 00:37:02,083 I remember standing in the street outside 693 00:37:02,167 --> 00:37:04,583 the research library in England where he'd done his PhD, 694 00:37:04,667 --> 00:37:07,250 and I said to him when he told that story--I said, 695 00:37:07,333 --> 00:37:08,667 "You know, God sees that, 696 00:37:08,708 --> 00:37:11,083 "and I think he's going to take care of you 697 00:37:11,167 --> 00:37:13,083 and he's going to be faithful to you." 698 00:37:13,167 --> 00:37:14,500 And you know, that happened. 699 00:37:14,542 --> 00:37:16,500 Shortly after that, he got another 2-year research 700 00:37:16,542 --> 00:37:18,167 fellowship to stay at a prestigious university. 701 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:20,917 After that, he got a major teaching job in a seminary 702 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,333 in the United States. 703 00:37:22,375 --> 00:37:25,833 God tested his heart, and he was faithful, and God honored him. 704 00:37:25,917 --> 00:37:30,833 For you, what will it be? 705 00:37:30,917 --> 00:37:35,833 Friends might turn against you. 706 00:37:35,875 --> 00:37:38,500 It might be illness that goes on for some time, 707 00:37:38,583 --> 00:37:43,625 no evident solution. 708 00:37:43,667 --> 00:37:47,167 It might be a financial setback that you didn't plan for. 709 00:37:47,208 --> 00:37:50,750 It might be difficulties with children, or with parents, 710 00:37:50,833 --> 00:37:55,500 or with in-laws, or neighbors, 711 00:37:55,542 --> 00:37:57,833 or a thousand other things. 712 00:37:57,875 --> 00:38:00,542 It might be a temptation to do wrong for the sake 713 00:38:00,625 --> 00:38:01,958 of great gain. 714 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,917 In all of this, in all of these situations, God is watching. 715 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,833 Will you continue to trust him 716 00:38:07,917 --> 00:38:09,917 and not become bitter or resentful? 717 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,833 Will you keep your heart with all vigilance? 718 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,333 Now, the third point, how can you keep your heart? 719 00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:25,167 See, when this verse says to us, "Keep your heart," 720 00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:27,875 I think it implies that you can know something 721 00:38:27,958 --> 00:38:29,667 of what's in your heart. 722 00:38:29,750 --> 00:38:32,833 I think it implies that you have some ability to examine your 723 00:38:32,917 --> 00:38:35,833 heart, otherwise there'd be no sense in telling you to keep it 724 00:38:35,917 --> 00:38:37,250 or guard it. 725 00:38:37,333 --> 00:38:38,667 So, here's the question. 726 00:38:38,708 --> 00:38:40,375 What do you see in your heart? 727 00:38:40,458 --> 00:38:45,333 If you're nervous or tense, ask, "What is it, Lord? 728 00:38:45,375 --> 00:38:47,333 "What's troubling my heart? 729 00:38:47,417 --> 00:38:51,500 Lord, will you make it right?" 730 00:38:51,583 --> 00:38:54,417 Or if your heart is fearful and worried about something 731 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:57,167 in the future, tell it to God and say, "Lord, 732 00:38:57,250 --> 00:39:00,417 "help me to understand this fear and help me to trust you 733 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:04,000 in my heart." 734 00:39:04,083 --> 00:39:06,750 And don't pollute your heart. 735 00:39:06,833 --> 00:39:11,500 If you know that there are books, or movies, 736 00:39:11,583 --> 00:39:18,042 or Internet sites that pollute your heart, don't go there. 737 00:39:18,125 --> 00:39:23,833 Keep your heart with all vigilance. 738 00:39:23,917 --> 00:39:28,333 You know, I think one aspect of growing in Christian maturity 739 00:39:28,417 --> 00:39:31,167 is learning to know what's in your heart, 740 00:39:31,208 --> 00:39:33,625 learning to know what it feels like when your heart 741 00:39:33,667 --> 00:39:35,667 is not right before God. 742 00:39:35,708 --> 00:39:38,750 When you're arguing or pushing for something in the strength of 743 00:39:38,833 --> 00:39:42,083 the flesh, as I've done from time to time in faculty meetings 744 00:39:42,167 --> 00:39:44,750 at the seminary, and then God says to me, 745 00:39:44,833 --> 00:39:46,667 "Wayne, shut your mouth." 746 00:39:46,750 --> 00:39:48,667 I mean, he doesn't quite say that, 747 00:39:48,750 --> 00:39:50,625 but that's the sense that comes to me. 748 00:39:50,667 --> 00:39:53,792 And I've just got to be still, because I was trying in the-- 749 00:39:53,833 --> 00:39:56,125 I just wanted to prove that I was right, 750 00:39:56,167 --> 00:39:57,625 and it wasn't from the Lord, 751 00:39:57,667 --> 00:39:59,125 and it wasn't the Lord's leading. 752 00:39:59,167 --> 00:40:02,208 Maybe you know what that feels like too. 753 00:40:02,292 --> 00:40:04,542 Know what it feels like when the Holy Spirit 754 00:40:04,625 --> 00:40:06,292 convicts your heart. 755 00:40:06,333 --> 00:40:09,208 Sometimes, when I'm in conversation with someone, 756 00:40:09,292 --> 00:40:12,083 I'll get this pain right in here some place. 757 00:40:12,167 --> 00:40:15,833 I see somebody nodding. 758 00:40:15,875 --> 00:40:19,667 And I think it's the Holy Spirit saying, 759 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:22,833 "Wayne, the words that just left your mouth were gossip. 760 00:40:22,917 --> 00:40:24,333 "They were slander. 761 00:40:24,375 --> 00:40:26,292 You shouldn't have said that." 762 00:40:26,333 --> 00:40:29,500 And I have to say, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. 763 00:40:29,542 --> 00:40:32,292 That was wrong. Will you forgive me?" 764 00:40:32,333 --> 00:40:35,042 Know what that feels like. 765 00:40:35,125 --> 00:40:38,375 But know what it feels like also when the peace of God 766 00:40:38,458 --> 00:40:41,667 is guarding your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. 767 00:40:41,708 --> 00:40:44,000 Know what it feels like when your heart is 768 00:40:44,042 --> 00:40:45,917 in constant communion with God, 769 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000 and learn to stay there more and more 770 00:40:48,083 --> 00:40:51,042 in that place spiritually. 771 00:40:51,125 --> 00:40:53,500 Sometimes, in the middle of a church service, 772 00:40:53,542 --> 00:40:56,125 a stillness will come on the room 773 00:40:56,167 --> 00:40:58,333 and there's a sense of the presence of God, 774 00:40:58,417 --> 00:41:01,292 almost a heaviness or a weightiness. 775 00:41:01,333 --> 00:41:05,375 Recognize that and rejoice in it, 776 00:41:05,458 --> 00:41:10,000 and let God do his work when that happens. 777 00:41:10,083 --> 00:41:14,417 A lot of this I think is just taking a few quiet moments 778 00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:19,417 during the day and thinking, "Lord, now what's in my heart? 779 00:41:19,500 --> 00:41:23,333 Help me to know what's happening in my heart." 780 00:41:23,375 --> 00:41:28,042 And then, I think another great help in keeping your heart is 781 00:41:28,125 --> 00:41:31,000 just the old fashioned disciplines of the Christian 782 00:41:31,083 --> 00:41:34,708 life, what sometimes have been called the means of grace: just 783 00:41:34,792 --> 00:41:40,958 Bible reading, prayer, privately and with other people, worship, 784 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,375 obedience to God's word, caring for the needs of others, 785 00:41:44,458 --> 00:41:47,042 sharing Christ with those who don't know him, 786 00:41:47,125 --> 00:41:50,375 giving to the Lord's work, fellowship with God's people, 787 00:41:50,458 --> 00:41:52,292 just those old fashioned disciplines 788 00:41:52,333 --> 00:41:56,875 of the Christian life. 789 00:41:56,958 --> 00:42:01,042 Now, before I close, I just want to take a parentheses here 790 00:42:01,125 --> 00:42:03,833 as well and I want to say something 791 00:42:03,875 --> 00:42:07,167 in case any of you are new here to Mars Hill Church, 792 00:42:07,208 --> 00:42:09,292 or you maybe came with a friend, 793 00:42:09,333 --> 00:42:12,667 and maybe you're not sure that you've ever trusted in Christ 794 00:42:12,708 --> 00:42:14,500 for forgiveness of sins. 795 00:42:14,583 --> 00:42:18,542 Maybe you're not sure that you've ever been born again. 796 00:42:18,625 --> 00:42:20,833 Maybe a lot of this doesn't make sense. 797 00:42:20,917 --> 00:42:24,000 Let me just say to you, 798 00:42:24,042 --> 00:42:28,458 the pastors here and I am just glad you're here, 799 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:30,833 but before you do any of this stuff 800 00:42:30,917 --> 00:42:33,083 I've been talking about, 801 00:42:33,167 --> 00:42:35,333 the first step is trust in Christ first 802 00:42:35,375 --> 00:42:37,708 for forgiveness of sins. 803 00:42:37,792 --> 00:42:39,667 The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, 804 00:42:39,750 --> 00:42:42,667 "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 805 00:42:42,708 --> 00:42:45,375 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 806 00:42:45,458 --> 00:42:50,167 And there's another sentence from the New Testament 807 00:42:50,250 --> 00:42:53,500 that Jesus said that I think he is speaking to you right now. 808 00:42:53,542 --> 00:42:57,083 If you've come in this morning and there's kind of a burden 809 00:42:57,167 --> 00:43:01,000 in your heart, kind of a heaviness, and you just feel, 810 00:43:01,042 --> 00:43:03,000 "I can't get my life straightened out. 811 00:43:03,042 --> 00:43:04,417 "I can't make things right. 812 00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:06,417 "I don't know if I'm right with God. 813 00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:07,917 "This is too heavy for me. 814 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,333 I cannot do it," 815 00:43:09,375 --> 00:43:11,500 I think Jesus is saying to you right now 816 00:43:11,583 --> 00:43:12,917 Matthew 11:28. 817 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:17,167 "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 818 00:43:17,208 --> 00:43:20,167 and I will give you rest." 819 00:43:20,208 --> 00:43:23,500 I think you should picture him as being in this room right now 820 00:43:23,583 --> 00:43:29,500 and saying to you, "Come to me, come to me all you who labor 821 00:43:29,583 --> 00:43:32,625 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 822 00:43:32,667 --> 00:43:35,625 The burden of trying to make your life right is too great. 823 00:43:35,667 --> 00:43:38,250 The burden of trying to make yourself right with God 824 00:43:38,333 --> 00:43:40,167 is too great. 825 00:43:40,208 --> 00:43:42,417 He's saying, "Come, I'll give you rest." 826 00:43:42,500 --> 00:43:45,917 And then he says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, 827 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,708 "for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 828 00:43:48,792 --> 00:43:54,500 and you will find rest for your souls." 829 00:43:54,583 --> 00:44:01,000 When I say that, if you sense in your heart 830 00:44:01,083 --> 00:44:03,083 that Jesus is speaking that to you 831 00:44:03,167 --> 00:44:05,333 and you need to make things right with him, 832 00:44:05,417 --> 00:44:08,750 then any of the hundreds of people here would love 833 00:44:08,833 --> 00:44:10,292 to talk with you afterward, 834 00:44:10,333 --> 00:44:12,625 and especially I think there'll be a prayer team 835 00:44:12,667 --> 00:44:14,125 here in front. 836 00:44:14,167 --> 00:44:16,625 So, there'll be people who will just talk with you 837 00:44:16,667 --> 00:44:18,125 and chat with you about it. 838 00:44:18,167 --> 00:44:20,625 And just say, "Look, I'm not sure things are right 839 00:44:20,667 --> 00:44:22,000 "between me and God. 840 00:44:22,083 --> 00:44:23,833 Could you talk with me about it?" 841 00:44:23,917 --> 00:44:26,042 And there'll be people here to talk to you. 842 00:44:26,125 --> 00:44:28,625 Conclusion: 843 00:44:28,667 --> 00:44:33,292 will you keep your heart with all vigilance 844 00:44:33,333 --> 00:44:38,750 today, this week, for your whole life? 845 00:44:38,833 --> 00:44:43,917 If you will, then Proverbs 4:23 is saying to you 846 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,417 that from your heart will continually flow 847 00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:49,375 a life of blessing 848 00:44:49,458 --> 00:44:52,042 and a manifestation of the presence of God, 849 00:44:52,125 --> 00:44:55,667 and God will look and be pleased, and his favor, 850 00:44:55,708 --> 00:44:59,208 and his blessing, and his delight will rest on you 851 00:44:59,292 --> 00:45:02,167 through all your days, and your life will bring him 852 00:45:02,208 --> 00:45:04,833 glory and honor, more and more, 853 00:45:04,875 --> 00:45:11,792 until the day he says to you, "Come home. 854 00:45:11,833 --> 00:45:16,833 Well done, good and faithful servant." 855 00:45:19,583 --> 00:45:22,917 What I would like to do is I'd like to spend a few minutes 856 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:26,292 sort of in quiet prayer, 857 00:45:26,333 --> 00:45:30,083 just asking God to work in everybody's heart 858 00:45:30,167 --> 00:45:32,917 in this room in the way he wants to work. 859 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:38,500 So, would you pray with me? 860 00:45:42,958 --> 00:45:46,625 Lord Jesus, thank you for everybody here 861 00:45:46,667 --> 00:45:48,500 at Mars Hill Church Bellevue 862 00:45:48,542 --> 00:45:54,500 this morning, or this afternoon. 863 00:45:54,583 --> 00:45:57,250 Lord, you say, "Where two or three are gathered together, 864 00:45:57,333 --> 00:45:59,417 there am I in the midst of them." 865 00:45:59,500 --> 00:46:01,917 Well, we believe that you are here present with us. 866 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,833 Lord, you've lived here on earth as a human being. 867 00:46:04,917 --> 00:46:08,500 You know the struggles, the kinds of struggles 868 00:46:08,542 --> 00:46:11,583 that each person here is going through. 869 00:46:11,667 --> 00:46:14,333 Lord, will you search our hearts now? 870 00:46:14,375 --> 00:46:19,000 You know us better than we know ourselves. 871 00:46:19,083 --> 00:46:23,250 Lord, if in anybody's heart here there is fear--fear of 872 00:46:23,333 --> 00:46:26,667 a financial situation, fear of something else in the future, 873 00:46:26,750 --> 00:46:29,917 fear of a job situation, or other kind of fear, 874 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:34,125 fear in school perhaps--Lord, I pray that you would take that 875 00:46:34,167 --> 00:46:38,042 fear away, forgive it, cleanse it, 876 00:46:38,125 --> 00:46:44,208 and replace it with peace and deep trust in you, Lord, 877 00:46:44,292 --> 00:46:50,833 with a deep sense of your presence and your protection. 878 00:46:53,167 --> 00:46:56,417 And Lord, if there is anybody's heart here, 879 00:46:56,500 --> 00:47:03,292 if there is jealousy, or envy, I pray that you would forgive 880 00:47:03,333 --> 00:47:06,667 and cleanse that. 881 00:47:06,750 --> 00:47:10,458 You've said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 882 00:47:10,500 --> 00:47:13,833 Keep your life free of love of money and be content 883 00:47:13,917 --> 00:47:16,250 with what you have, for he has said, 884 00:47:16,333 --> 00:47:18,250 "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 885 00:47:18,333 --> 00:47:21,750 Lord, if there is jealousy or envy, will you remove that, 886 00:47:21,833 --> 00:47:26,125 and let there be deep peace, and replace it with deep peace, 887 00:47:26,167 --> 00:47:31,333 and trust in you, and a sense of your presence 888 00:47:31,417 --> 00:47:34,500 and your care. 889 00:47:37,458 --> 00:47:43,083 Lord, if there is bitterness or resentment because of a wrong 890 00:47:43,167 --> 00:47:48,125 that's been done in the past that can't be made right, 891 00:47:48,167 --> 00:47:50,167 Lord, will you remove that. 892 00:47:50,208 --> 00:47:54,458 Take it away, please Lord, 893 00:47:57,250 --> 00:48:03,042 and replace it with your love and your peace. 894 00:48:03,125 --> 00:48:05,750 Lord, we give that situation into your hands. 895 00:48:05,833 --> 00:48:08,417 We know that you will one day settle all accounts. 896 00:48:08,500 --> 00:48:11,000 You are the judge of the universe who will make 897 00:48:11,042 --> 00:48:16,667 all things right and we release it to you. 898 00:48:16,708 --> 00:48:22,958 Give your presence and your peace, Lord. 899 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:27,583 Lord, if there's wrongful lust or coveting, 900 00:48:27,667 --> 00:48:30,542 we ask your forgiveness, and Lord, 901 00:48:30,625 --> 00:48:33,958 we ask by the power of the blood of Jesus that you would wash 902 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:39,542 our hearts and consciences clean. 903 00:48:39,625 --> 00:48:43,542 Forgive that, Lord, 904 00:48:43,625 --> 00:48:46,750 and replace it with joy, and contentment, 905 00:48:46,833 --> 00:48:52,833 and again with delight in your presence. 906 00:49:03,708 --> 00:49:07,583 Lord, if for anybody here there's just a delight 907 00:49:07,667 --> 00:49:11,333 in the things of the world more than delight in you, 908 00:49:11,417 --> 00:49:14,500 if we've put other things ahead of you and they've become our 909 00:49:14,583 --> 00:49:21,333 gods, Lord, delight perhaps in material possessions, 910 00:49:21,375 --> 00:49:28,167 in money, in clothing, 911 00:49:28,250 --> 00:49:30,667 in where we live, Lord, 912 00:49:30,708 --> 00:49:34,167 perhaps even in good things that you have given, Lord, 913 00:49:34,250 --> 00:49:37,125 if those have become greater importance than you 914 00:49:37,167 --> 00:49:39,583 in our hearts, forgive us. 915 00:49:39,667 --> 00:49:44,167 Lord, replace our delight in those things with 916 00:49:44,250 --> 00:49:47,250 a greater delight in you, and a joy in you, 917 00:49:47,333 --> 00:49:52,917 and awareness of your presence. 918 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:56,708 And Lord, if there's been a pattern of deceptiveness, 919 00:49:56,792 --> 00:50:00,125 or lying, or falsehood, I pray that you would forgive that, 920 00:50:00,167 --> 00:50:05,917 and you would remove it, and you would fill those hearts 921 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:09,167 with delight in truth, and the resolve to love 922 00:50:09,250 --> 00:50:13,667 the truth and speak the truth. 923 00:50:17,167 --> 00:50:23,250 Lord, if there's wrongful pride, Lord, forgive that pride. 924 00:50:24,583 --> 00:50:28,208 We have nothing that has not been given from you. 925 00:50:28,292 --> 00:50:32,125 We ask your forgiveness for boasting in things that are not 926 00:50:32,167 --> 00:50:37,667 of our own doing and we ask that you would give us humility, 927 00:50:37,750 --> 00:50:41,542 and humility in your presence, and trust in you. 928 00:50:41,625 --> 00:50:47,625 Lord, for all these things, 929 00:50:50,917 --> 00:50:54,792 Lord, for anything else that you are bringing to mind, 930 00:50:54,833 --> 00:50:59,958 I pray that you would take those things away now 931 00:51:00,083 --> 00:51:06,083 and fill our hearts with your presence. 932 00:51:17,542 --> 00:51:20,458 Complete your work now this morning--this afternoon, Lord. 933 00:51:20,500 --> 00:51:24,167 Complete it, amen. 934 00:51:26,875 --> 00:51:29,833 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 935 00:51:29,875 --> 00:51:32,917 are downloaded worldwide for free. 936 00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,500 This ministry is generously supported 937 00:51:35,583 --> 00:51:38,167 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 938 00:51:38,208 --> 00:51:41,708 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 939 00:51:41,792 --> 00:51:44,708 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 940 00:51:44,792 --> 00:51:47,625 by visiting marshill.com/give.