A heart transplant

 

1)      The human heart beats approximately roughly 35 million times a year.

2)      In a lifetime, the heart pumps about one million barrels of blood.

3)      More than 2,000 heart transplants are performed each year in the U.S.

4)      We know enough about the world to realize that hearts sometimes wear out; they need replaced.

5)      Technology actually allows doctors to actually change our body parts such as the human heart.

 

6)      We can look at this type of operation and say, “wow.  Giving a new heart to someone is amazing.”

7)      As great as this procedure is, something else is greater.  God is also in the business of heart surgery.

8)      This morning we want to look at the word heart and see what God does to it.

9)      One of the points we find is that God wants to give a new heart to every person guilty of sin.

 

10)  Our study begins with 2 Cor. 3, the scripture reading.

a)      Paul said the Corinthians were like a letter.

b)      Most of our letters are either written with pen, pencil, or formed with a computer.

c)      Paul said the lives of these Christians were like a letter (verse 2).

d)     He also said it was a letter written on the human heart.

 

11)  Many have said the only sermon some people will hear will be our Christian life.

12)  That point is true, and it is supported by 2 Cor. 3:2-3.

13)  When a person really becomes a Christian, their heart is changed.

a)      That change usually does not come all at once—it is a process.

b)      As the heart is molded into the way God desires, a person becomes different.

c)      Several years ago there was a television show called the “Six Million dollar man.”

d)     At the time that was a lot of money; now it would probably be the 600 million dollar man.

e)      The opening narration of this program had a few memorable lines:  see if you recall them.

 

14)  Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.

 

a)      The show then tried to live up to its promises; the one they described was better, stronger faster.

b)      This man was different because some of his body parts had been replaced.  He had a bionic eye.

c)      A similar thing is true for Christians.

d)     When a person becomes a child of God, they begin to change and those changes are like a sermon.

e)      A person becomes a type of walking advertisement for Jesus and His gospel.

 

15)  When we evaluate people we often look at the outward appearance.

16)  In many cases an outward evaluation is the worst indicator of what a person is like.

17)  In 1 Sam. 16 the prophet Samuel was told to go and anoint a king.

a)      Samuel went to carry out God’s will and began to look at the sons of Jesse.

b)      Samuel saw one son (verse 6) and the boy was impressive.  Samuel thought he was the one.

c)      God said that child was not the right one.  Then God gave a reason – verse 7 – READ

 

18)  Finally the last son (David) was brought forth (verse 12).  This was the chosen one.

19)  What was God looking for in a king?  The answer is found in verse 7.

a)      God pays special attention to a person’s heart.

b)      Outwardly a person may not seem to have a single positive quality.

c)      They may not be physically attractive.

d)     They may have little money, power, education, or anything the world holds in high esteem.

e)      God says the heart is what really matters.

f)       If there is a heart problem, God wants to fix that problem.  He wants to perform surgery.

 

g)      Heaven’s lack of interest in the externals is also found in our next reference, Lk. 11.

h)      Jesus had been invited to dine with a Pharisee (Lk. 11:37).

i)        Men like the Pharisees had a lot of religious rules; they had rules about washing.   

j)        They washed their hands and utensils to avoid ceremonial defilement.

k)      Jesus did not observe their silly little traditions (verse 38) and this surprised His host.

l)        Verse 38 says – READ

m)    The Pharisees were really concerned with what they could see (outward appearances).

n)      God was and is interested in the heart.

 

20)  If a host is offended or shocked at a guest’s behavior, he or she may or may not say something.

21)  The man in Lk. 11 must have expressed surprise or shock because Jesus said something to him.

22)  What the Lord said is recorded in verse– verse 39 – READ

a)      This statement must have made the man sit down and think.

b)      Jesus said this man and others like him looked good to other people.

c)      On the outside they appeared religious and pious.  It seemed they were model Jews.

d)     On the inside, they had a bad heart.  They needed a heart transplant.

e)      Such can still be true today.  A person may look so good and so godly.

f)       Inwardly they are full of corruption and sin.  In these cases God wants the person to get a new heart.

g)      A heart is transformed by becoming a Christian.

h)      A heart is “sprinkled” with the benefits of Christ’s blood when we are baptized, Heb. 10:22.

 

23)  When a heart has been changed by being obedient to the gospel, it becomes sensitive.

a)      By sensitive I do not mean sensitive to criticism.

b)      There are people who are so sensitive to criticism that a quick look in their direction scares them.

c)      I mean sensitivity to knowing and following the will of God.

d)     In 1 Sam. 24 we have a time in David’s life when he was being chased by Saul.

 

24)  David and his men chose to hide in a cave.  Saul decided to use this same cave as a bathroom.

25)  During this time David quietly cut off part of Saul’s robe. 

26)  David’s action showed he could have killed the king, but he did not want to do that.

27)  Later David had some remorse about cutting Saul’s robe.

a)      He is pictured as a man who had a sensitive heart.

b)      This helps us understand why God wanted him to be king.

c)      God wants good hearts, and that process begins with spiritual surgery.

d)     Sin must be removed by a person’s life by becoming a Christian.

e)      Sin is like a cancer; we cannot have a right relationship with God if we are spiritually sick.

f)       When God cuts away the sin from a person’s heart, it can be sensitive to future sin.

 

28)  In the world, hearts are typically hardened by what people see and hear.

29)  In the church God continues to soften the hearts of His people through His word.

30)  God’s word will soften a person’s heart if they are receptive and it will harden the unreceptive.

 

31)  For a lot of people the idea of having a heart softened by the gospel is appealing.

32)  They want a heart that is soft toward God.  They also want something else:  a heart attached to the world.

33)  At the same time a person may want a good heart and a bad heart.

34)  That does not make any sense in the physical realm, but it seems to be what some want in the church.

35)  Jesus responded to this type of thinking in Lk. 9:61-62.

a)      Jesus said a man is “not fit for the kingdom of God if he turns back.”

b)      If a man puts his hand to the plow and turns back, he wants two kinds of hearts.

c)      James said this is spiritual adultery, Jas. 4:4.

 

36)  We can have only one heart; it is for God or it is for the world.  It cannot be divided.

37)  The Bible goes on to tell us that we make our choice very early in life.

a)      In Gen. 8:21 God says man’s heart is “evil from his youth.”

b)      We may not know the exact age of “youth” in Gen. 8:21.

 

38)  We do know that in our day and time hearts are evil from a very young age.

39)  We have children committing murder at the ages of 13, 15, 18, and 20.

40)  Robbery is a crime committed by teens.  There are sexual sins and problems with gangs.

41)  It does not take very much or very long to ruin a heart.

42)  Sin ruins a heart and there are plenty of sins to choose from.

43)  Parents need to realize there are many forces wanting the hearts of their children.

44)  Mom and dad can help either turn hearts to God or let the world shape the hearts of their children.

45)  When a heart becomes ruined, God is in the business of giving obedient people a new one.

a)      Furthermore, all accountable people need that new heart.

b)      Our next reference comes from Mk. 7.

c)      In verse 19 of this chapter we are told that “all meats are clean.”

d)     That is, food will not make us sin.  Unlike the Old Testament law, food cannot defile us.

 

46)  There are other things that will defile us.  A bad heart is one of those things.

47)  Jesus described many heart problems beginning in verse 20 and continuing through verse 23 – READ

 

48)  Suppose a doctor someone were to tell us this week we are ruining our heart.

a)      Suppose we were told carrots, rice, broccoli, asparagus, and beets are destroying our heart.

b)      What would we do?  We would no longer eat those items.

c)      We would also ask about undoing the damage.

d)     The things in Mk. 7 ruin the spiritual heart, but we cannot undo the harm.

e)      There is no pill we can take.  There is no medical treatment for us to pursue.

f)       We need what David described in Ps. 51:10 – “create in me a clean heart, O God.”

g)      This is certainly true for the one who has never become a Christian.

h)      It is also true for the child of God who has fallen into deep sin.

i)        Only God can transform the spiritual part of a person’s life.

 

49)  God wants to create a new heart within people through His plan of redemption.

50)  Unfortunately there are those who prefer to keep their hearts closed and hard.

51)  If you turned to Mk. 7, let’s turn back a few chapters to Mk. 3.

a)      Jesus met a man who had a withered hand; the Lord wanted to heal him.

b)      While this was a wonderful thing, there were some men with hard hearts.

c)      These men were more interested in destroying Jesus than helping a sick man.

d)     Mk. 3:1-3 – READ  Hard hearts have been around for a long, long time.

 

52)  Pharaoh also had a hard heart (he chose to harden himself to the instructions given by God).

53)  We also make a choice about our hearts:  we can harden them or let them be softened.

54)  If they are softened by the gospel, God will change them when we obey His word.

55)  When Jesus gave the parable of the sower (Mt. 13), He spoke about 4 types of hearts.

56)  Only one heart is the “good soil” (a life handed over to God and changed).

57)  All the other hearts were bad.

58)  Ideally a person’s heart will be warmed by God’s word.

a)      In Lk. 24:32 we read about men who were exposed to Jesus.

b)      After Jesus left them they said their hearts had “burned” within them.

c)      God’s word had affected them; that is what the gospel does to good hearts.

 

59)  God invites us to have a changed heart.

60)  Heaven’s spiritual surgery is an option for us if we are guilty of sin.

61)  We can decline it and face God on the day of judgment with a hard heart.

62)  Having a hardened heart will separate us from God for all eternity.

63)  We can have a soft heart but choose not to obey.  That choice will also destroy us.

64)  A third choice is a soft heart that causes us to obey God.  Does this describe our heart?