1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,140 If you would open your Bible, at Proverbs, 2 00:00:03,140 –> 00:00:05,460 Chapter 23, that’s just been read. 3 00:00:05,460 –> 00:00:07,440 We’re especially going to look at the first part 4 00:00:07,440 –> 00:00:09,140 of Verse 26 today. 5 00:00:09,140 –> 00:00:12,340 We really began looking at these verses last week, 6 00:00:12,340 –> 00:00:15,780 and we saw that these are the words of a wise 7 00:00:15,780 –> 00:00:19,260 and of a loving father, speaking to his son. 8 00:00:19,260 –> 00:00:21,420 The father’s name is Solomon. 9 00:00:21,420 –> 00:00:23,020 He’s a king. 10 00:00:23,020 –> 00:00:26,400 God has given to him a very special gift of wisdom. 11 00:00:26,400 –> 00:00:28,660 He is the one, of course, who either wrote 12 00:00:28,660 –> 00:00:32,639 or collected together most of the Book of Proverbs. 13 00:00:32,639 –> 00:00:36,919 And the son’s name, as we saw last week, is Rehoboam. 14 00:00:36,919 –> 00:00:39,619 And this wise father has some reasons 15 00:00:39,619 –> 00:00:43,180 for being concerned about his son. 16 00:00:43,180 –> 00:00:46,259 Solomon, of course, had a rebel brother. 17 00:00:46,259 –> 00:00:48,799 His name was Absalom. 18 00:00:48,799 –> 00:00:53,299 And now, in these later years, Solomon is anxious 19 00:00:53,299 –> 00:00:56,459 that the heart of his rebel brother 20 00:00:56,580 –> 00:01:00,480 may also be manifesting itself again in his own son. 21 00:01:01,700 –> 00:01:03,900 And so this wise and loving father 22 00:01:03,900 –> 00:01:06,599 speaks very, very directly to his son, 23 00:01:06,599 –> 00:01:08,900 speaks words of wisdom to him. 24 00:01:08,900 –> 00:01:13,760 And when he does, he identifies certain areas 25 00:01:13,760 –> 00:01:17,459 in the son’s life that are giving 26 00:01:17,459 –> 00:01:21,199 the father cause for concern. 27 00:01:21,199 –> 00:01:23,059 And we saw last week, therefore, 28 00:01:23,059 –> 00:01:25,300 that the words of Solomon in these verses 29 00:01:25,300 –> 00:01:28,019 really indicate to us where it is 30 00:01:28,019 –> 00:01:31,660 that the heart most commonly goes wrong. 31 00:01:31,660 –> 00:01:33,139 And we saw that the first place 32 00:01:33,139 –> 00:01:34,760 that the heart often goes wrong 33 00:01:34,760 –> 00:01:36,739 is in who you admire. 34 00:01:36,739 –> 00:01:40,180 So Solomon says to his son, verse 17, 35 00:01:40,180 –> 00:01:43,540 let not your heart envy sinners. 36 00:01:43,540 –> 00:01:47,000 Evidently Rehoboam was looking at people 37 00:01:47,000 –> 00:01:49,379 who lived without God in his mind 38 00:01:49,379 –> 00:01:51,180 and heart, seemed to be saying, 39 00:01:51,180 –> 00:01:52,739 they’re the people I want to be like, 40 00:01:52,739 –> 00:01:55,059 that’s the kind of life that I want to live. 41 00:01:55,580 –> 00:01:56,980 The father comes to him and says, 42 00:01:56,980 –> 00:02:01,699 now don’t envy sinners in your heart, 43 00:02:01,699 –> 00:02:02,540 who you admire. 44 00:02:02,540 –> 00:02:05,239 Second, the heart goes wrong very often 45 00:02:05,239 –> 00:02:07,900 over how you decide. 46 00:02:07,900 –> 00:02:10,080 Solimon says to his son, verse 18, 47 00:02:10,080 –> 00:02:12,759 surely there is a future. 48 00:02:12,759 –> 00:02:16,580 In other words, son, don’t make your decisions 49 00:02:16,580 –> 00:02:20,080 in life on the basis of short-term comfort. 50 00:02:20,940 –> 00:02:23,220 Always remember that there is a future. 51 00:02:23,220 –> 00:02:24,960 Surely there is a future 52 00:02:24,960 –> 00:02:27,600 and therefore you should, if you’re wise, 53 00:02:27,600 –> 00:02:29,500 be making your decisions in life 54 00:02:29,500 –> 00:02:32,500 on the basis of long-term outcomes. 55 00:02:32,500 –> 00:02:35,759 Always remember, son, that your life in this world 56 00:02:35,759 –> 00:02:38,779 is very, very short, and then your life in eternity 57 00:02:38,779 –> 00:02:42,020 will be very, very long indeed. 58 00:02:42,020 –> 00:02:45,259 So whatever you do, don’t be making your decisions in life 59 00:02:45,259 –> 00:02:47,240 on what makes you feel good now. 60 00:02:47,240 –> 00:02:49,600 Make your decisions in life on the basis 61 00:02:49,600 –> 00:02:51,460 of what will make you feel good then 62 00:02:51,479 –> 00:02:53,940 when you stand in the presence of God 63 00:02:53,940 –> 00:02:58,020 and then you are there forever and forever. 64 00:02:58,020 –> 00:03:00,940 And then thirdly, we saw that the heart often goes wrong 65 00:03:00,940 –> 00:03:03,479 over where you invest, 66 00:03:03,479 –> 00:03:06,279 which is why in verse 23 surely Solomon says 67 00:03:06,279 –> 00:03:11,279 to his son, buy truth and do not sell it. 68 00:03:12,339 –> 00:03:15,479 In other words, son, please understand this. 69 00:03:15,479 –> 00:03:18,940 The truth is worth whatever it costs you 70 00:03:18,940 –> 00:03:20,960 to get it and to keep it. 71 00:03:21,839 –> 00:03:25,800 Buy truth, son, at any price. 72 00:03:25,800 –> 00:03:28,740 And always remember that the truth is worth more 73 00:03:28,740 –> 00:03:32,539 than anything you could ever gain by giving it up. 74 00:03:33,419 –> 00:03:35,580 So here’s how the heart goes wrong. 75 00:03:35,580 –> 00:03:39,619 And we saw this from the verses that lead up to verse 26 76 00:03:39,619 –> 00:03:41,539 which is our focus today. 77 00:03:41,539 –> 00:03:43,559 And today I want us to look then 78 00:03:43,559 –> 00:03:46,139 at the subject of the heart set right. 79 00:03:47,080 –> 00:03:50,940 Now we ended last time with a prayer 80 00:03:50,940 –> 00:03:54,380 of Solomon’s father, King David. 81 00:03:54,380 –> 00:03:56,960 From Psalm 51 in verse 10 where David prayed, 82 00:03:56,960 –> 00:04:01,279 create in me a clean heart O God 83 00:04:01,279 –> 00:04:04,979 and renew a right spirit in me. 84 00:04:06,240 –> 00:04:09,160 Now that word create is very important 85 00:04:10,360 –> 00:04:14,300 because it means, and this is what David was praying. 86 00:04:15,220 –> 00:04:18,700 Bring into existence, O Lord, 87 00:04:18,700 –> 00:04:21,059 something that was not in me before. 88 00:04:22,380 –> 00:04:27,380 Create in me a clean heart, O God. 89 00:04:29,399 –> 00:04:34,320 Now there’s more here than David asking for forgiveness. 90 00:04:34,320 –> 00:04:37,559 Remember in Psalm 51, he has already done that. 91 00:04:37,559 –> 00:04:40,179 He says in Psalm 51 in verse seven, 92 00:04:40,179 –> 00:04:43,000 purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. 93 00:04:43,000 –> 00:04:47,700 Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 94 00:04:47,700 –> 00:04:50,420 David had already asked for forgiveness 95 00:04:50,420 –> 00:04:52,700 and he had received it. 96 00:04:53,559 –> 00:04:56,839 But his prayer doesn’t end with the request for forgiveness. 97 00:04:56,839 –> 00:04:58,279 His prayer moves on. 98 00:04:58,279 –> 00:05:02,619 It’s as if he is saying after verse seven of Psalm 51, 99 00:05:02,619 –> 00:05:05,559 Lord, thank you for forgiveness. 100 00:05:05,559 –> 00:05:08,059 Thank you for washing me. 101 00:05:08,059 –> 00:05:09,899 Thank you for cleansing. 102 00:05:10,760 –> 00:05:14,980 But now I need to ask you for something else. 103 00:05:14,980 –> 00:05:17,239 See, I did what I did 104 00:05:17,239 –> 00:05:20,720 because my sinful heart was drawn to do it. 105 00:05:21,720 –> 00:05:26,279 And if you forgive my sin but leave my heart 106 00:05:26,279 –> 00:05:28,459 as it was before unchanged, 107 00:05:28,459 –> 00:05:30,799 it won’t be long before the same sinful heart 108 00:05:30,799 –> 00:05:33,440 takes me to do exactly the same thing again, 109 00:05:33,440 –> 00:05:35,899 and then I’ll just be locked in a cycle of repeating 110 00:05:35,899 –> 00:05:38,260 the same thing over and over and over again. 111 00:05:38,320 –> 00:05:39,820 That’s not what I want to be, 112 00:05:39,820 –> 00:05:41,959 so Lord, create within me something 113 00:05:41,959 –> 00:05:44,119 that has not been there before. 114 00:05:44,119 –> 00:05:47,380 Create in me a clean heart, oh, God. 115 00:05:47,380 –> 00:05:49,700 I want you not only to forgive the sin, 116 00:05:49,700 –> 00:05:51,820 I want you to change the impulse 117 00:05:51,820 –> 00:05:53,339 that actually made me do it. 118 00:05:53,339 –> 00:05:54,940 That’s what he’s praying here. 119 00:05:57,179 –> 00:05:59,220 Lord, I need more than forgiveness. 120 00:06:00,459 –> 00:06:04,040 Create in me a heart that loves you 121 00:06:05,260 –> 00:06:07,320 and loves you more. 122 00:06:08,459 –> 00:06:11,399 Than the sin I fell into. 123 00:06:13,260 –> 00:06:17,320 Now that’s what I want to take up, 124 00:06:17,320 –> 00:06:22,260 the thread of this two part message today. 125 00:06:23,720 –> 00:06:25,399 So where do you go from there? 126 00:06:27,179 –> 00:06:31,059 So here you are today, you are a forgiven sinner 127 00:06:32,220 –> 00:06:35,899 and you do have a new heart. 128 00:06:36,899 –> 00:06:39,920 The truth about you is that you love the Lord 129 00:06:40,940 –> 00:06:43,399 and you trust the Lord. 130 00:06:43,399 –> 00:06:47,700 And you want to live in a way that honors the Lord. 131 00:06:47,700 –> 00:06:50,619 Where do you go from here? 132 00:06:51,820 –> 00:06:54,420 See last week the message was very much 133 00:06:54,420 –> 00:06:56,619 as we focused on the heart gone wrong. 134 00:06:56,619 –> 00:06:59,239 Last week the message was primarily 135 00:06:59,239 –> 00:07:02,619 to those who may be tempted to give up a faith 136 00:07:02,619 –> 00:07:03,839 that they once professed. 137 00:07:03,839 –> 00:07:05,140 That’s what Rehaboam did 138 00:07:05,140 –> 00:07:08,160 and that’s why Solomon was speaking to his son 139 00:07:08,160 –> 00:07:11,019 with such intensity in these verses. 140 00:07:11,959 –> 00:07:15,679 But today I want to speak to all of us 141 00:07:16,720 –> 00:07:19,739 who truly would say, as a forgiven person 142 00:07:19,739 –> 00:07:22,700 who has a new heart, who truly loves the Lord 143 00:07:22,700 –> 00:07:24,760 and wants to honor him in your life, 144 00:07:24,760 –> 00:07:26,579 where do we go from here? 145 00:07:26,579 –> 00:07:29,859 What is it that God says to us today? 146 00:07:31,519 –> 00:07:32,980 And the answer to that question 147 00:07:33,000 –> 00:07:36,040 is in the first six words of verse 26, 148 00:07:36,040 –> 00:07:37,920 Proverbs and chapter 23. 149 00:07:39,019 –> 00:07:44,019 My son, give me your heart. 150 00:07:45,600 –> 00:07:50,600 Or if we phrase it another way, 151 00:07:50,600 –> 00:07:55,299 my daughter, give me your heart. 152 00:07:57,519 –> 00:07:59,839 Last week we heard these words 153 00:07:59,839 –> 00:08:01,239 primarily as the words of 154 00:08:01,239 –> 00:08:03,160 a wise and loving father to his son, 155 00:08:03,160 –> 00:08:04,859 Solomon speaking to Rehoboam 156 00:08:04,859 –> 00:08:07,559 and a father today speaking to a son today 157 00:08:07,559 –> 00:08:08,980 about the path of wisdom 158 00:08:08,980 –> 00:08:10,739 and how not to go wrong. 159 00:08:11,880 –> 00:08:14,100 Today, I want us to hear these words 160 00:08:14,100 –> 00:08:17,679 as the very words of God Himself to us, 161 00:08:17,679 –> 00:08:18,799 which of course they are, 162 00:08:18,799 –> 00:08:20,320 they’re the words of scripture. 163 00:08:20,320 –> 00:08:24,160 God is saying to each of us, his children, 164 00:08:24,160 –> 00:08:26,959 to every person who is in Jesus Christ today, 165 00:08:26,959 –> 00:08:29,160 the word of God from Proverbs 166 00:08:29,339 –> 00:08:33,500 and chapter 23 and verse 26 is simply this. 167 00:08:33,500 –> 00:08:36,940 My son, my daughter, 168 00:08:38,200 –> 00:08:43,200 give me your heart. 169 00:08:43,640 –> 00:08:47,619 I want, in reflecting on these remarkable words, 170 00:08:47,619 –> 00:08:50,200 to make very simply four observations today. 171 00:08:50,200 –> 00:08:54,659 The first is please note an established relationship. 172 00:08:54,659 –> 00:08:59,659 My son, give me your heart. 173 00:09:00,359 –> 00:09:03,840 In other words, the person who will give his 174 00:09:03,840 –> 00:09:07,700 or her heart to the Lord is not a stranger, 175 00:09:08,619 –> 00:09:13,159 certainly not an enemy, and not a slave. 176 00:09:14,599 –> 00:09:18,159 The one who gives his or her heart to the Lord 177 00:09:18,159 –> 00:09:21,419 is a son, a daughter. 178 00:09:22,280 –> 00:09:26,340 In other words, the giving of the heart 179 00:09:26,340 –> 00:09:30,440 flows from the knowledge of an established relationship. 180 00:09:30,440 –> 00:09:35,200 My son, God says, give me your heart. 181 00:09:35,200 –> 00:09:37,320 Now, notice the way around that it is. 182 00:09:37,320 –> 00:09:41,000 The point here is not that if you give God 183 00:09:41,000 –> 00:09:43,520 your heart, you will become his child. 184 00:09:44,400 –> 00:09:48,320 The point is that if you are his child, 185 00:09:48,320 –> 00:09:50,900 you will give him your heart. 186 00:09:50,900 –> 00:09:54,559 My son, give me your heart. 187 00:09:56,440 –> 00:09:58,799 Now as most of you will know very well, 188 00:09:58,799 –> 00:10:03,559 our Lord told a marvelous story about a prodigal son 189 00:10:03,559 –> 00:10:07,280 who wasted his life in wild and reckless living, 190 00:10:07,280 –> 00:10:11,400 but then came to his senses and returned to his father. 191 00:10:11,400 –> 00:10:15,140 Before he came back, he decided in his mind 192 00:10:15,140 –> 00:10:18,299 what he was going to say when he got home. 193 00:10:18,299 –> 00:10:19,799 When I get back, I’m going to say, 194 00:10:19,799 –> 00:10:24,700 father, I am no longer worthy to be called your son, 195 00:10:26,020 –> 00:10:31,020 so treat me as one of your hired servants. 196 00:10:32,760 –> 00:10:35,119 Now in the event, when the son got back, 197 00:10:35,119 –> 00:10:38,700 he actually only got through, halfway through, 198 00:10:38,700 –> 00:10:42,059 the speech that he had planned. 199 00:10:42,059 –> 00:10:45,679 Father, he said I am no longer worthy 200 00:10:45,679 –> 00:10:49,340 to be called your son, but at that point 201 00:10:49,500 –> 00:10:50,940 the father interrupted him, he broke 202 00:10:50,940 –> 00:10:53,140 into the son’s prepared speech and 203 00:10:53,140 –> 00:10:54,659 said to the servants now bring the 204 00:10:54,659 –> 00:10:56,979 fatted calf and let us eat and 205 00:10:56,979 –> 00:11:00,200 celebrate, for this my son was dead 206 00:11:00,200 –> 00:11:03,739 and is alive again, he was lost and is found. 207 00:11:03,739 –> 00:11:05,559 It’s as if the father is saying what do 208 00:11:05,559 –> 00:11:08,080 you mean you’re not worthy to be my son? 209 00:11:08,080 –> 00:11:12,159 You are my son and you’re back, 210 00:11:13,299 –> 00:11:15,080 and let’s celebrate. 211 00:11:16,080 –> 00:11:20,460 But then you remember there was another son 212 00:11:20,460 –> 00:11:24,039 and he was the very opposite of reckless, 213 00:11:24,039 –> 00:11:26,679 oh he was as dutiful as the come, 214 00:11:28,299 –> 00:11:31,539 every day he went out into the fields 215 00:11:31,539 –> 00:11:32,880 and worked for the father and did 216 00:11:32,880 –> 00:11:35,419 everything that the father told him to do. 217 00:11:37,059 –> 00:11:39,080 And when he saw that his no good 218 00:11:39,080 –> 00:11:40,919 brother had returned, and that there 219 00:11:40,919 –> 00:11:42,559 was such a lavish welcome being laid 220 00:11:42,559 –> 00:11:44,299 on for him, you remember that 221 00:11:44,299 –> 00:11:45,859 he was not happy, it all seemed 222 00:11:45,859 –> 00:11:48,380 very, very unfair to him. 223 00:11:48,380 –> 00:11:50,280 And so he said to the father, 224 00:11:50,280 –> 00:11:54,179 many years I have served you, 225 00:11:56,059 –> 00:11:59,900 and I have never disobeyed your command. 226 00:12:01,760 –> 00:12:04,460 And the father said to him, 227 00:12:04,460 –> 00:12:08,919 first word, son, you are always with me 228 00:12:10,599 –> 00:12:12,700 and all that is mine is yours. 229 00:12:12,700 –> 00:12:13,599 Now think about this, 230 00:12:13,700 –> 00:12:16,340 here are two sons 231 00:12:17,299 –> 00:12:20,059 and both of them think of themselves 232 00:12:20,059 –> 00:12:23,179 as if they were only servants. 233 00:12:25,000 –> 00:12:28,619 And if you think of yourself 234 00:12:28,619 –> 00:12:31,020 only as a servant of God, 235 00:12:31,020 –> 00:12:33,340 one of two things will happen. 236 00:12:34,739 –> 00:12:37,500 Either, on the one hand, 237 00:12:37,500 –> 00:12:40,340 you will spend your whole life thinking 238 00:12:40,340 –> 00:12:42,419 I owe him, 239 00:12:44,159 –> 00:12:47,599 I messed up and I have to now work 240 00:12:47,599 –> 00:12:49,719 for the rest of my life to make up 241 00:12:49,719 –> 00:12:50,679 for my mess up. 242 00:12:50,679 –> 00:12:52,559 I blew the inheritance 243 00:12:53,520 –> 00:12:55,479 and so the rest of my life I’m just trying 244 00:12:55,479 –> 00:12:58,320 to make up to God what I blew 245 00:12:58,320 –> 00:12:59,559 and what I did wrong 246 00:12:59,559 –> 00:13:01,479 and that’s why I have to work my way 247 00:13:01,479 –> 00:13:03,119 through life and try and make up 248 00:13:03,119 –> 00:13:04,919 for all that I’ve done in the past. 249 00:13:06,520 –> 00:13:10,200 Or you will have the opposite problem, 250 00:13:10,200 –> 00:13:11,559 not of spending your whole life 251 00:13:11,679 –> 00:13:13,679 thinking that you owe God 252 00:13:13,679 –> 00:13:15,000 but you spend your whole life 253 00:13:15,000 –> 00:13:15,960 like the elder brother thinking 254 00:13:15,960 –> 00:13:17,559 that God owes you. 255 00:13:19,200 –> 00:13:20,039 Huh? 256 00:13:21,280 –> 00:13:23,599 I’ve lived a good moral life, 257 00:13:23,599 –> 00:13:25,719 I’ve been a loyal husband or wife, 258 00:13:25,719 –> 00:13:28,799 I’ve studied hard, I’ve told the truth. 259 00:13:28,799 –> 00:13:30,599 I’ve pursued a moral path 260 00:13:30,599 –> 00:13:32,159 and God owes me better than 261 00:13:32,159 –> 00:13:33,640 he’s given to me. 262 00:13:36,159 –> 00:13:38,520 Think of yourself as only a servant. 263 00:13:38,520 –> 00:13:40,880 You will live your life in one of two places, 264 00:13:40,880 –> 00:13:44,599 either I owe God or God owes me 265 00:13:44,599 –> 00:13:46,479 and in neither case 266 00:13:48,179 –> 00:13:50,080 does the father have the son’s heart. 267 00:13:52,679 –> 00:13:55,520 But friends, if you are in Jesus Christ, 268 00:13:55,520 –> 00:13:57,400 please try to take this in today, 269 00:13:57,400 –> 00:13:59,659 you are not a slave, you are a son. 270 00:14:02,039 –> 00:14:03,919 You are no longer a slave, 271 00:14:03,919 –> 00:14:06,679 but a son, Galatians four in verse seven, 272 00:14:06,679 –> 00:14:08,599 and if a son then inAR. 273 00:14:11,239 –> 00:14:12,760 Romans eight in verse 15, 274 00:14:12,760 –> 00:14:15,520 you did not receive the spirit of slavery, 275 00:14:16,419 –> 00:14:19,080 but you have received the spirit of adoption 276 00:14:19,080 –> 00:14:24,080 as sons by which we cry out, Abba, Father. 277 00:14:24,599 –> 00:14:28,679 And you know what, it’s the knowledge of the relationship, 278 00:14:28,679 –> 00:14:31,059 a son, a daughter of God, 279 00:14:31,059 –> 00:14:36,000 that leads to the giving of the heart 280 00:14:36,000 –> 00:14:37,520 otherwise you’ll spend your whole life 281 00:14:37,520 –> 00:14:40,080 either feeling that you owe God or that God owes you. 282 00:14:41,239 –> 00:14:45,440 Father God, I wonder how I managed to exist 283 00:14:45,440 –> 00:14:48,440 without the knowledge of your parenthood 284 00:14:48,440 –> 00:14:49,880 and your loving care. 285 00:14:51,400 –> 00:14:53,419 But now I am your child. 286 00:14:54,460 –> 00:14:57,159 I am adopted in your family 287 00:14:57,159 –> 00:15:00,880 and I can never be alone for Father God, 288 00:15:00,880 –> 00:15:02,340 you are there beside me. 289 00:15:02,340 –> 00:15:03,739 You see the force of this? 290 00:15:03,739 –> 00:15:08,039 My son, give me your heart. 291 00:15:08,039 –> 00:15:09,820 The appeal of God to you is 292 00:15:10,640 –> 00:15:14,219 on the basis of a relationship established in Jesus Christ. 293 00:15:14,219 –> 00:15:16,340 You are not a stranger. 294 00:15:17,979 –> 00:15:19,919 You are not his enemy. 295 00:15:20,900 –> 00:15:23,159 You are not his slave. 296 00:15:24,979 –> 00:15:28,020 My son, my daughter, 297 00:15:29,039 –> 00:15:32,760 give me your heart. 298 00:15:33,760 –> 00:15:38,760 Second observation, an essential priority. 299 00:15:40,159 –> 00:15:41,479 We thought about sonship, 300 00:15:41,479 –> 00:15:43,580 let’s think now, together, about the heart. 301 00:15:43,580 –> 00:15:47,619 Give me your heart. 302 00:15:49,260 –> 00:15:50,619 Now, we looked together last week 303 00:15:50,619 –> 00:15:52,900 at why the heart is so important. 304 00:15:52,900 –> 00:15:54,140 Let me give you a picture. 305 00:15:54,140 –> 00:15:55,380 And for the boys and girls, 306 00:15:55,380 –> 00:15:57,700 if you wanna draw something, here’s a picture. 307 00:15:58,859 –> 00:16:00,900 Here’s a picture of the Christian’s heart, 308 00:16:00,900 –> 00:16:02,219 the Christian’s heart. 309 00:16:03,539 –> 00:16:07,119 A Christian’s heart is like a walled city, 310 00:16:07,119 –> 00:16:10,140 so a city with a wall around the outside. 311 00:16:10,960 –> 00:16:12,719 And on the outside of the wall, 312 00:16:12,719 –> 00:16:15,559 there are many many enemies that want to get in. 313 00:16:17,799 –> 00:16:19,479 That’s one part of the problem, 314 00:16:19,479 –> 00:16:22,260 a walled city with enemies on the outside. 315 00:16:22,260 –> 00:16:24,080 But here’s the other part of the problem 316 00:16:24,080 –> 00:16:25,359 of the Christian heart. 317 00:16:25,359 –> 00:16:29,460 There are also traitors on the inside of the city. 318 00:16:30,479 –> 00:16:32,380 Traitors on the inside of the city as well. 319 00:16:32,859 –> 00:16:34,419 Now, this is our experience, isn’t it? 320 00:16:34,419 –> 00:16:37,659 We live in this world in which the temptations 321 00:16:37,659 –> 00:16:40,020 of the world and the flesh and the devil 322 00:16:40,020 –> 00:16:42,020 outside of us, as it were, 323 00:16:42,020 –> 00:16:44,700 are always being thrown at us 324 00:16:44,700 –> 00:16:49,140 and we need to keep the gates of the walled city 325 00:16:49,140 –> 00:16:53,580 closed to anyone or anything that would lead us 326 00:16:53,580 –> 00:16:57,340 down a destructive path. 327 00:16:57,340 –> 00:16:59,219 But when all is said and done 328 00:16:59,219 –> 00:17:00,619 about the many, many evils 329 00:17:00,659 –> 00:17:03,419 that are on the outside of the Christian’s heart, 330 00:17:03,419 –> 00:17:06,140 the even greater problem is 331 00:17:06,140 –> 00:17:08,500 the traitors on the inside. 332 00:17:08,500 –> 00:17:10,020 There is something, is there not, 333 00:17:10,020 –> 00:17:12,599 within all of us that is actually drawn 334 00:17:12,599 –> 00:17:14,459 to different forms of sin. 335 00:17:14,459 –> 00:17:15,900 And so we need to guard 336 00:17:15,900 –> 00:17:18,000 not only against temptation on the outside 337 00:17:18,000 –> 00:17:20,680 but against the traitors on the inside 338 00:17:20,680 –> 00:17:22,459 in our own hearts, as well. 339 00:17:23,420 –> 00:17:25,339 Now, you will notice that this whole theme 340 00:17:25,339 –> 00:17:27,640 of contending with the many temptations 341 00:17:27,640 –> 00:17:29,939 and lures that come to a Christian 342 00:17:30,020 –> 00:17:31,819 and come to the Christian heart 343 00:17:31,819 –> 00:17:33,699 are very prominent in these verses 344 00:17:33,699 –> 00:17:35,819 that are before us in Proverbs. 345 00:17:35,819 –> 00:17:38,719 For example, if you look at verse 27, 346 00:17:38,719 –> 00:17:41,500 you will see that it speaks very clearly there 347 00:17:41,500 –> 00:17:45,420 about the lure of sexual temptation, 348 00:17:45,420 –> 00:17:49,060 and in verse 20, you have very clear reference 349 00:17:49,060 –> 00:17:53,359 to the temptations of drink and of gluttony 350 00:17:53,359 –> 00:17:55,660 and of laziness, and I think with that 351 00:17:55,660 –> 00:17:57,439 in our culture today we could add 352 00:17:57,459 –> 00:18:00,160 the whole scene of the drug culture 353 00:18:00,160 –> 00:18:04,520 that is such a temptation for so many today. 354 00:18:04,520 –> 00:18:06,099 Now, here’s the question. 355 00:18:07,459 –> 00:18:11,380 How are you going to guard your heart, 356 00:18:11,380 –> 00:18:14,400 especially a heart that has traitors within it, 357 00:18:15,680 –> 00:18:17,599 how are you going to guard your heart 358 00:18:17,599 –> 00:18:20,540 against temptations like these? 359 00:18:22,439 –> 00:18:25,420 Now, let me tell you another story from the Bible, 360 00:18:25,420 –> 00:18:27,339 another familiar story that I think 361 00:18:27,339 –> 00:18:28,520 will make the point. 362 00:18:29,680 –> 00:18:32,920 The Bible tells us the story of Joseph, 363 00:18:32,920 –> 00:18:36,000 a young man who you remember had been very badly treated 364 00:18:36,000 –> 00:18:38,979 and ended up living in another country 365 00:18:38,979 –> 00:18:41,599 away from his family and from his support network, 366 00:18:41,599 –> 00:18:44,300 a place where he was away from everyone who knew him. 367 00:18:45,560 –> 00:18:48,660 He worked for a man by the name of Potiphar. 368 00:18:49,780 –> 00:18:54,500 And Potiphar’s wife tempted him. 369 00:18:54,979 –> 00:18:58,859 Now Joseph said this. 370 00:18:58,859 –> 00:19:00,500 Here’s how he responded. 371 00:19:00,500 –> 00:19:02,699 It’s Genesis 39 and verse 9. 372 00:19:02,699 –> 00:19:07,439 He says, how then can I do this great wickedness 373 00:19:07,439 –> 00:19:11,640 and sin against God? 374 00:19:13,719 –> 00:19:17,300 Notice what he says to Potiphar’s wife. 375 00:19:17,300 –> 00:19:21,260 I couldn’t do this against God. 376 00:19:21,920 –> 00:19:25,000 That’s his defense. 377 00:19:25,000 –> 00:19:28,140 And these are the words of a man 378 00:19:28,140 –> 00:19:31,199 who has given his heart to God. 379 00:19:31,199 –> 00:19:32,979 These are the words of a man 380 00:19:32,979 –> 00:19:36,660 who loves the Lord with all his heart. 381 00:19:36,660 –> 00:19:38,339 Now Joseph’s brothers would not have said 382 00:19:38,339 –> 00:19:39,260 a thing like that. 383 00:19:40,380 –> 00:19:41,739 They had been brought up of course 384 00:19:41,739 –> 00:19:42,560 in the same home. 385 00:19:42,560 –> 00:19:43,979 They’d been brought up with the same faith, 386 00:19:43,979 –> 00:19:48,560 but their hearts were not given to the Lord. 387 00:19:48,560 –> 00:19:51,920 But Joseph had given his heart to the Lord. 388 00:19:51,920 –> 00:19:55,160 He truly loved the Lord, 389 00:19:55,160 –> 00:19:57,420 and he lived in what the bible calls 390 00:19:57,420 –> 00:20:00,099 the fear of the Lord. 391 00:20:00,099 –> 00:20:01,920 Which is a wonderful expression 392 00:20:01,920 –> 00:20:04,900 of what it really means to love the Lord. 393 00:20:04,900 –> 00:20:06,660 That phrase, as you may know, 394 00:20:06,660 –> 00:20:07,939 occurs often in the bible, 395 00:20:07,939 –> 00:20:10,180 and especially in the book of Proverbs. 396 00:20:10,180 –> 00:20:12,040 And you’ll find it in our chapter 397 00:20:12,040 –> 00:20:13,319 in verse 17, 398 00:20:13,319 –> 00:20:14,160 where it says, 399 00:20:14,160 –> 00:20:15,760 you might at your heart envy sinners, 400 00:20:15,760 –> 00:20:19,040 but continue in the fear of the Lord 401 00:20:19,040 –> 00:20:20,260 all the day long. 402 00:20:21,739 –> 00:20:22,579 And he gives you 403 00:20:22,579 –> 00:20:24,739 the simple definition of the fear of the Lord 404 00:20:24,739 –> 00:20:25,680 that we’ve used before, 405 00:20:25,680 –> 00:20:26,880 I find it very helpful. 406 00:20:26,880 –> 00:20:28,280 The fear of the Lord 407 00:20:29,280 –> 00:20:31,739 is so to love God 408 00:20:31,739 –> 00:20:35,680 that his frown would be your greatest dread, 409 00:20:35,680 –> 00:20:38,439 and his smile would be your greatest delight. 410 00:20:38,439 –> 00:20:39,579 That’s what fearing God is. 411 00:20:39,579 –> 00:20:40,739 That’s what Joseph did. 412 00:20:41,660 –> 00:20:44,119 He so loved the Lord 413 00:20:45,219 –> 00:20:50,219 that God’s frown would be his greatest dread. 414 00:20:50,420 –> 00:20:52,660 How can I do this against God? 415 00:20:54,219 –> 00:20:55,640 And God’s smile 416 00:20:57,119 –> 00:20:58,900 would be his greatest delight. 417 00:20:58,900 –> 00:21:00,099 That’s what it’s like 418 00:21:00,099 –> 00:21:02,859 when you have given your heart 419 00:21:04,020 –> 00:21:05,900 to the Lord. 420 00:21:05,900 –> 00:21:08,699 You live in the fear of the Lord, 421 00:21:08,699 –> 00:21:10,660 his frown, your greatest dread, 422 00:21:10,939 –> 00:21:12,300 his smile your greatest delight. 423 00:21:12,300 –> 00:21:15,040 And you do it all the day. 424 00:21:15,040 –> 00:21:18,160 Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 17. 425 00:21:18,160 –> 00:21:20,079 In other words, what I’m saying to you is this, 426 00:21:20,079 –> 00:21:21,060 very simply, 427 00:21:22,140 –> 00:21:24,239 that giving your heart to the Lord, 428 00:21:24,239 –> 00:21:28,060 what we’re being asked to do and called to do today 429 00:21:28,060 –> 00:21:30,479 is your very best defense against sin. 430 00:21:31,760 –> 00:21:33,079 It’s your best defense. 431 00:21:34,660 –> 00:21:36,079 So let me try and bring this down 432 00:21:36,079 –> 00:21:37,540 and earth it a little bit. 433 00:21:37,859 –> 00:21:39,439 But as a Christian young person, 434 00:21:40,500 –> 00:21:41,400 seriously, 435 00:21:42,540 –> 00:21:44,959 what do you think will keep you 436 00:21:45,979 –> 00:21:48,500 from sliding into 437 00:21:49,819 –> 00:21:51,439 the drugs culture? 438 00:21:53,160 –> 00:21:55,040 The drink culture? 439 00:21:56,500 –> 00:21:59,780 The experimentation in all kinds of ways with sex 440 00:21:59,780 –> 00:22:02,660 that may be all around you amongst hundreds of people 441 00:22:02,660 –> 00:22:03,979 on a college campus. 442 00:22:03,979 –> 00:22:05,800 What is your best defense 443 00:22:05,880 –> 00:22:08,160 against being sucked into that? 444 00:22:08,160 –> 00:22:10,079 What do you think your best defense is? 445 00:22:11,760 –> 00:22:13,060 And I’m telling you, 446 00:22:14,319 –> 00:22:19,040 your best defense against sin is 447 00:22:19,040 –> 00:22:22,400 to give your heart 448 00:22:22,400 –> 00:22:23,319 to the Lord. 449 00:22:25,180 –> 00:22:26,599 Or let me put it another way, 450 00:22:27,459 –> 00:22:29,260 Christian in business, 451 00:22:30,599 –> 00:22:32,699 what is going to keep you faithful 452 00:22:33,239 –> 00:22:38,180 as you move from city to city and hotel to hotel, 453 00:22:38,180 –> 00:22:41,859 like Joseph, anonymous and often lonely? 454 00:22:43,579 –> 00:22:44,979 What will keep you faithful? 455 00:22:44,979 –> 00:22:47,520 Do you think it’s gonna be common sense? 456 00:22:48,479 –> 00:22:50,500 Do you think it’s going to be willpower? 457 00:22:51,880 –> 00:22:54,380 Do you think it’s enlightened self-interest 458 00:22:54,380 –> 00:22:57,500 that’s going to keep you from the power of temptation? 459 00:22:57,500 –> 00:22:58,660 I’m telling you today, 460 00:22:58,660 –> 00:23:01,500 here’s your best defense 461 00:23:01,500 –> 00:23:04,680 as you move from city to city and hotel to hotel 462 00:23:04,680 –> 00:23:06,859 against all the temptations that beset you, 463 00:23:06,859 –> 00:23:10,040 your best defense is to give your heart 464 00:23:10,040 –> 00:23:11,760 to the Lord Jesus Christ. 465 00:23:11,760 –> 00:23:13,739 My son, give me your heart. 466 00:23:16,020 –> 00:23:17,880 Well, let me turn it again and put it this way. 467 00:23:17,880 –> 00:23:20,239 Another example, let me speak to the Christian 468 00:23:20,239 –> 00:23:21,420 who has been wounded. 469 00:23:22,819 –> 00:23:24,680 Now, great injustice has been done to you, 470 00:23:24,680 –> 00:23:27,800 you’ve been terribly disappointed, you’ve been let down. 471 00:23:28,800 –> 00:23:31,380 Now, I’m asking you today, 472 00:23:32,819 –> 00:23:37,819 what is going to keep you from descending into bitterness 473 00:23:38,839 –> 00:23:43,839 and into self-pity and ultimately into hardness of heart? 474 00:23:44,479 –> 00:23:46,599 What will keep you from these temptations 475 00:23:46,599 –> 00:23:50,000 that assail you in the particular circumstances 476 00:23:50,000 –> 00:23:52,140 in which you find yourself today? 477 00:23:52,140 –> 00:23:53,140 What’s gonna keep you? 478 00:23:53,140 –> 00:23:55,040 Do you think it’s gonna be self-discipline 479 00:23:55,040 –> 00:23:57,400 that will keep you from sliding into self-pity? 480 00:23:58,640 –> 00:24:00,939 Do you think it’s gonna be a sense of duty? 481 00:24:00,939 –> 00:24:03,959 Do you think it’s gonna be working harder? 482 00:24:06,199 –> 00:24:07,839 I’ll tell you what your best defense 483 00:24:07,839 –> 00:24:10,959 against the sins of self-pity and hardness of heart 484 00:24:10,959 –> 00:24:13,300 and bitterness encroaching into you, 485 00:24:13,300 –> 00:24:16,000 I’ll tell you what your best defenses against these. 486 00:24:16,000 –> 00:24:19,800 You give your heart to the Lord. 487 00:24:19,800 –> 00:24:24,420 My daughter, my son, give me your heart. 488 00:24:25,260 –> 00:24:26,699 See, giving your heart to the Lord 489 00:24:26,699 –> 00:24:30,479 is ultimately the only way to guard against 490 00:24:30,479 –> 00:24:35,479 the reckless life that breaks all the boundaries 491 00:24:37,000 –> 00:24:39,520 and then leaves you with the miserable fruit 492 00:24:39,520 –> 00:24:41,880 of impurity and indulgence. 493 00:24:43,800 –> 00:24:45,959 And equally giving your heart to the Lord 494 00:24:45,959 –> 00:24:48,979 is ultimately the only way that will guard you 495 00:24:48,979 –> 00:24:53,280 from a shriveled life that lives within the boundaries 496 00:24:54,199 –> 00:24:57,359 and leaves you miserable because you stayed there 497 00:24:57,359 –> 00:24:59,780 only out of fear and out of caution. 498 00:25:01,219 –> 00:25:02,859 The first, of course, is the prodigal son 499 00:25:02,859 –> 00:25:04,660 and the second is the elder brother. 500 00:25:05,819 –> 00:25:08,260 And what both need is to hear the father say, 501 00:25:08,260 –> 00:25:10,219 son, give me your heart. 502 00:25:13,180 –> 00:25:16,219 Where will your sinful heart lead you this week 503 00:25:16,219 –> 00:25:18,540 if you do not give it to Jesus Christ today? 504 00:25:19,540 –> 00:25:24,000 The only safe place for your heart, 505 00:25:24,000 –> 00:25:28,219 for your affections is in the hand 506 00:25:28,219 –> 00:25:32,739 of the savior who loved you and gave himself for you. 507 00:25:32,739 –> 00:25:37,739 My son, my daughter, give me your heart. 508 00:25:40,219 –> 00:25:42,099 Here’s the third thing. 509 00:25:42,099 –> 00:25:45,099 The first, an established relationship, my son. 510 00:25:45,979 –> 00:25:50,979 The second, an essential priority, your heart. 511 00:25:51,099 –> 00:25:55,280 Third, I want you to notice that there’s an action 512 00:25:55,280 –> 00:25:57,819 that’s called for in this verse. 513 00:25:57,819 –> 00:25:59,140 It’s an intentional response. 514 00:25:59,140 –> 00:26:03,479 My son give me your heart, give. 515 00:26:06,540 –> 00:26:07,380 Now we saw last time that the heart 516 00:26:07,380 –> 00:26:10,160 is the command and control center of the life. 517 00:26:10,160 –> 00:26:14,500 In other words, the inclination of any heart 518 00:26:14,500 –> 00:26:19,219 will set the trajectory of that life. 519 00:26:20,500 –> 00:26:23,739 So where your heart is today is an indicator 520 00:26:23,739 –> 00:26:26,599 of where your life will be tomorrow. 521 00:26:27,920 –> 00:26:32,920 Now, Woody Allen summed up where the culture today 522 00:26:33,560 –> 00:26:37,020 goes with this when he said famously 523 00:26:37,020 –> 00:26:39,260 on one occasion as a justification 524 00:26:39,260 –> 00:26:41,979 for an extraordinary unfaithfulness. 525 00:26:42,979 –> 00:26:46,900 He said the heart wants what it wants. 526 00:26:48,520 –> 00:26:49,979 The heart wants what it wants. 527 00:26:52,020 –> 00:26:56,140 In other words, the heart controls the life 528 00:26:57,479 –> 00:26:59,479 and there’s nothing you can do about it. 529 00:27:01,500 –> 00:27:05,239 Now, that’s where the world goes with this truth 530 00:27:05,239 –> 00:27:09,119 about the heart being the controlling center of the life, 531 00:27:09,859 –> 00:27:12,939 but what I want you to see in the Bible today 532 00:27:12,939 –> 00:27:14,819 is something very different. 533 00:27:16,420 –> 00:27:21,420 God says to his children, give me your heart. 534 00:27:23,479 –> 00:27:25,359 If you look back at verse 19, 535 00:27:25,359 –> 00:27:28,560 you will see that God says there, 536 00:27:28,560 –> 00:27:32,079 direct your heart in the way. 537 00:27:33,079 –> 00:27:36,199 Both of these phrases indicate some responsibility 538 00:27:36,199 –> 00:27:39,400 that is given in regards to your own heart. 539 00:27:39,400 –> 00:27:41,920 Direct your heart in the way. 540 00:27:41,920 –> 00:27:44,640 Here’s what you are to do with regards to your heart, 541 00:27:44,640 –> 00:27:45,699 and here’s what you’re to do. 542 00:27:45,699 –> 00:27:49,859 Not only direct it in the way, but give it to me. 543 00:27:49,859 –> 00:27:53,079 Now please notice this very important difference. 544 00:27:53,079 –> 00:27:56,439 It is key to understanding at this point 545 00:27:56,439 –> 00:27:58,699 the big difference, the vast difference, 546 00:27:58,699 –> 00:28:00,119 between what our culture is saying 547 00:28:00,119 –> 00:28:03,199 and what God is saying to us in Jesus Christ. 548 00:28:03,199 –> 00:28:06,599 The world says the heart controls the life 549 00:28:06,599 –> 00:28:09,239 and there is nothing you can do about it. 550 00:28:09,239 –> 00:28:10,800 The heart wants what it wants. 551 00:28:10,800 –> 00:28:12,199 The heart goes where it goes, 552 00:28:12,199 –> 00:28:13,479 and you have to go with the flow 553 00:28:13,479 –> 00:28:15,119 of whatever you find in your own heart. 554 00:28:15,119 –> 00:28:16,680 That’s what the world says. 555 00:28:18,239 –> 00:28:22,880 But God says the heart controls the life, 556 00:28:22,880 –> 00:28:25,040 so give it to me. 557 00:28:25,939 –> 00:28:28,400 Not so there’s nothing you can do about it, 558 00:28:28,400 –> 00:28:33,260 but the heart controls the life, so give it to me. 559 00:28:35,079 –> 00:28:36,859 And you know, if you’re a child of God 560 00:28:36,859 –> 00:28:38,400 you have the ability to do this 561 00:28:38,400 –> 00:28:41,140 and this is exactly what you will do. 562 00:28:41,140 –> 00:28:43,300 My son, give me your heart. 563 00:28:45,760 –> 00:28:47,660 Now, what will God do with your heart 564 00:28:47,660 –> 00:28:48,599 when you give it to him? 565 00:28:48,599 –> 00:28:51,000 The answer, of course, in the Bible is very wonderfully 566 00:28:51,000 –> 00:28:52,020 he will fill it. 567 00:28:53,479 –> 00:28:54,800 He will fill it with peace. 568 00:28:54,800 –> 00:28:56,180 He will fill it with love, 569 00:28:56,180 –> 00:28:57,900 and he will fill it with joy. 570 00:28:59,280 –> 00:29:02,439 Romans chapter 5, being justified by faith, 571 00:29:02,439 –> 00:29:04,859 we have peace with God. 572 00:29:04,859 –> 00:29:09,599 He fills with peace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 573 00:29:09,599 –> 00:29:11,920 If you look to Jesus Christ in faith 574 00:29:11,920 –> 00:29:14,300 and he will go on giving you peace. 575 00:29:15,400 –> 00:29:17,420 And not only that, we rejoice 576 00:29:17,420 –> 00:29:18,959 in the hope of the glory of God. 577 00:29:18,959 –> 00:29:20,199 You are in Christ. 578 00:29:20,199 –> 00:29:22,239 He will go on renewing your joy, 579 00:29:22,239 –> 00:29:24,859 especially as you look at all that he is 580 00:29:24,859 –> 00:29:27,420 and all that he has in store for you. 581 00:29:28,819 –> 00:29:30,699 And he will fill your heart with love. 582 00:29:30,699 –> 00:29:34,739 God’s love is poured out into our hearts, 583 00:29:34,739 –> 00:29:37,739 the apostle says, by his Holy Spirit 584 00:29:37,739 –> 00:29:40,939 who he has given to us. 585 00:29:43,500 –> 00:29:48,420 But most of all, God will fill us with himself. 586 00:29:50,119 –> 00:29:52,699 You give your heart to the Lord, what does he do with it? 587 00:29:52,699 –> 00:29:55,160 He fills it with himself. 588 00:29:55,739 –> 00:29:58,959 And this is the most wonderful thing 589 00:29:58,959 –> 00:30:01,660 that Paul prays for in Ephesians, in chapter three. 590 00:30:01,660 –> 00:30:04,219 You remember that you may be strengthened 591 00:30:04,219 –> 00:30:07,839 with power through God’s Spirit in your inner being, 592 00:30:07,839 –> 00:30:12,160 that Christ may dwell in your hearts 593 00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:15,520 and that you may be filled to the measure 594 00:30:15,520 –> 00:30:17,760 of all the fullness of God. 595 00:30:18,739 –> 00:30:20,520 So here is something very, very wonderful. 596 00:30:20,520 –> 00:30:23,619 God says, now give me your heart and here’s what I’ll do. 597 00:30:23,619 –> 00:30:24,760 I’ll fill it. 598 00:30:26,099 –> 00:30:30,540 I will come and make myself present in your heart. 599 00:30:30,540 –> 00:30:33,099 I’ll fill you with my very self 600 00:30:34,119 –> 00:30:36,579 in as much as the heart has given over to me, 601 00:30:36,579 –> 00:30:37,579 it will be filled. 602 00:30:37,579 –> 00:30:39,319 And the more it is given over to me, 603 00:30:39,319 –> 00:30:40,780 the more it will be filled. 604 00:30:40,780 –> 00:30:42,939 As it is freshly given over today, 605 00:30:42,939 –> 00:30:44,560 it will be freshly filled. 606 00:30:44,560 –> 00:30:46,819 I will come and I will bring with me 607 00:30:46,819 –> 00:30:50,959 these wonderful gifts of peace and of love and of joy. 608 00:30:51,739 –> 00:30:55,300 Now, friends, here we come to something very important 609 00:30:55,300 –> 00:30:57,520 and very practical indeed. 610 00:30:57,520 –> 00:31:01,260 Some may be saying as you’re hearing these words, 611 00:31:01,260 –> 00:31:04,239 now here’s the Lord and he says, give me your heart, 612 00:31:04,239 –> 00:31:05,619 and you may say, well, wait a minute, 613 00:31:05,619 –> 00:31:07,280 my heart’s already been given. 614 00:31:08,540 –> 00:31:13,540 I’ve given my heart to my wife, my husband, my children. 615 00:31:14,540 –> 00:31:15,800 My children. 616 00:31:17,439 –> 00:31:20,979 Well, think about this, 617 00:31:20,979 –> 00:31:25,400 if you are going to love another person really well 618 00:31:26,579 –> 00:31:28,520 over the longterm, 619 00:31:29,859 –> 00:31:34,099 your heart itself is going to need to be filled. 620 00:31:35,359 –> 00:31:36,739 So who’s gonna fill it? 621 00:31:38,959 –> 00:31:41,359 Well, you may say, well the person I love 622 00:31:41,359 –> 00:31:43,520 is going to fill it. 623 00:31:44,020 –> 00:31:45,400 But here’s where that leaves you. 624 00:31:45,400 –> 00:31:47,599 It leaves you in a place of saying well now, 625 00:31:47,599 –> 00:31:49,979 I will love you and I’ll be able to do that 626 00:31:49,979 –> 00:31:51,780 as long as you go on loving me. 627 00:31:53,300 –> 00:31:55,540 But if you’re no longer able to fill me up, 628 00:31:55,540 –> 00:31:56,979 then I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able 629 00:31:56,979 –> 00:31:58,459 to go on filling you up. 630 00:31:58,459 –> 00:32:00,000 And friends, that of course, 631 00:32:00,000 –> 00:32:02,239 is the fastest route to marital 632 00:32:02,239 –> 00:32:04,000 and relational disaster, isn’t it? 633 00:32:05,780 –> 00:32:07,819 There ain’t any stability in that. 634 00:32:09,819 –> 00:32:11,160 So I’m saying to you today, 635 00:32:11,180 –> 00:32:13,939 the best way for you to be in the position 636 00:32:13,939 –> 00:32:16,199 where you can really love another person 637 00:32:16,199 –> 00:32:18,099 is to give your heart to the Lord. 638 00:32:19,780 –> 00:32:21,920 So that the Lord will fill your heart 639 00:32:21,920 –> 00:32:24,640 with his love and his peace and his joy 640 00:32:24,640 –> 00:32:26,900 so that you will then have something to give 641 00:32:26,900 –> 00:32:28,979 to someone else and be able to give it 642 00:32:28,979 –> 00:32:31,699 even when you’re not getting very much back in return. 643 00:32:33,979 –> 00:32:35,699 And maybe you’re wondering today 644 00:32:35,699 –> 00:32:37,680 if you actually have the capacity 645 00:32:37,680 –> 00:32:39,140 to love another person well. 646 00:32:39,260 –> 00:32:43,119 Well, you look at your own life and you say, 647 00:32:43,119 –> 00:32:45,640 well I’m wanting to be loved. 648 00:32:46,900 –> 00:32:49,839 But at the back of my mind I do have this question, 649 00:32:49,839 –> 00:32:53,219 do I actually have a deep well 650 00:32:54,579 –> 00:32:59,079 that’s able to love another person deeply? 651 00:33:00,739 –> 00:33:04,140 What actually is the capacity of what I have to give 652 00:33:04,140 –> 00:33:06,560 and what I have to offer? 653 00:33:07,319 –> 00:33:10,040 And I’m saying to you this and let this 654 00:33:10,040 –> 00:33:11,680 be a wonderful encouragement to you, 655 00:33:11,680 –> 00:33:16,319 the more you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, 656 00:33:16,319 –> 00:33:18,959 the more your capacity to love 657 00:33:18,959 –> 00:33:21,900 another person well will increase. 658 00:33:23,319 –> 00:33:26,479 My daughter, my son, 659 00:33:27,880 –> 00:33:31,900 give me your heart. 660 00:33:32,699 –> 00:33:34,540 Give me your heart. 661 00:33:36,020 –> 00:33:38,400 Then here’s the last thing, 662 00:33:38,400 –> 00:33:40,699 and I simply called it a glorious invitation 663 00:33:40,699 –> 00:33:42,140 because I want just to draw your attention 664 00:33:42,140 –> 00:33:45,180 to who it is that’s making this invitation. 665 00:33:45,699 –> 00:33:49,099 My son, give me your heart. 666 00:33:49,839 –> 00:33:51,979 This loving Father, 667 00:33:51,979 –> 00:33:53,900 this glorious King, 668 00:33:53,900 –> 00:33:57,500 this sovereign Lord wants your heart 669 00:33:57,500 –> 00:33:59,020 and lays claim to it. 670 00:33:59,920 –> 00:34:02,719 Now, every heart is given somewhere. 671 00:34:03,140 –> 00:34:04,760 If you don’t give your heart to God, 672 00:34:04,760 –> 00:34:06,300 you will give your heart to something 673 00:34:06,300 –> 00:34:08,139 or to someone else. 674 00:34:08,540 –> 00:34:11,719 And so the question that’s posed for us today 675 00:34:11,719 –> 00:34:15,000 is who will receive the gift of your heart? 676 00:34:15,000 –> 00:34:17,540 On whom will you lavish your affection? 677 00:34:17,540 –> 00:34:20,520 You may give your heart to your work, 678 00:34:20,520 –> 00:34:22,540 you may give your heart to your family, 679 00:34:22,540 –> 00:34:24,699 you may give your heart to some cause, 680 00:34:24,699 –> 00:34:26,479 you may give your heart to yourself. 681 00:34:26,479 –> 00:34:31,139 But every heart is given somewhere 682 00:34:31,139 –> 00:34:33,060 and wherever you give your heart, 683 00:34:33,060 –> 00:34:35,540 that will have growing importance 684 00:34:35,540 –> 00:34:37,699 in all of your life. 685 00:34:39,659 –> 00:34:43,739 People who don’t give their heart 686 00:34:45,580 –> 00:34:47,820 actually turn in on themselves, 687 00:34:47,820 –> 00:34:50,139 so that’s actually where the heart is given, 688 00:34:51,139 –> 00:34:56,139 and sometimes end up giving their hearts to despair. 689 00:34:56,479 –> 00:34:58,120 That’s a Bible phrase, by the way, 690 00:34:58,120 –> 00:34:59,979 and it’s an extraordinary phrase. 691 00:35:01,280 –> 00:35:04,659 It comes in Ecclesiastes chapter two in verse 20, 692 00:35:05,719 –> 00:35:10,719 I turned about and gave my heart up to despair. 693 00:35:13,560 –> 00:35:15,479 Every heart is given somewhere, 694 00:35:15,479 –> 00:35:17,600 and if it’s not given somewhere else, 695 00:35:17,600 –> 00:35:19,179 it probably will be given here. 696 00:35:19,179 –> 00:35:20,479 It’s given up to despair, 697 00:35:20,479 –> 00:35:22,520 and the person who says this says it 698 00:35:22,540 –> 00:35:27,399 because over all the toils of my labors under the sun. 699 00:35:27,399 –> 00:35:29,840 In other words, he is a person who is miserable. 700 00:35:29,840 –> 00:35:31,820 They look at their life, they’re not happy. 701 00:35:31,820 –> 00:35:34,040 They look at their work and it’s not fulfilling. 702 00:35:34,040 –> 00:35:35,919 I look at my toil, I look at my life, 703 00:35:35,919 –> 00:35:37,060 I say, what’s the point? 704 00:35:37,060 –> 00:35:39,520 And I give my heart up to despair. 705 00:35:39,520 –> 00:35:43,540 Every heart is given somewhere, every heart. 706 00:35:47,080 –> 00:35:50,860 And if you’re in a place where you could 707 00:35:50,899 –> 00:35:53,199 easily give your heart up to despair, 708 00:35:53,199 –> 00:35:54,260 I want to say to you today, 709 00:35:54,260 –> 00:35:55,580 don’t give your heart to despair. 710 00:35:55,580 –> 00:35:57,699 Give your heart to Jesus Christ. 711 00:35:59,219 –> 00:36:00,580 That’s where you’re gonna find hope. 712 00:36:00,580 –> 00:36:03,379 That’s where you’re gonna find peace, and love, and joy. 713 00:36:05,459 –> 00:36:09,060 And the Lord says to you in your discouragement 714 00:36:09,060 –> 00:36:11,540 and in your gloom, give me your heart. 715 00:36:11,540 –> 00:36:14,139 Give it to me, I can do something with it. 716 00:36:16,820 –> 00:36:18,199 What would compel you, then, 717 00:36:18,459 –> 00:36:22,439 in these last moments, to give your heart, 718 00:36:22,439 –> 00:36:26,300 fully, freely, joyfully to Jesus Christ today? 719 00:36:28,760 –> 00:36:31,479 I’ve given you some practical reasons. 720 00:36:31,479 –> 00:36:33,280 It’s your best defense against sin. 721 00:36:35,340 –> 00:36:37,000 Giving your heart to the Lord 722 00:36:37,000 –> 00:36:39,679 is going to be the way that increases your capacity 723 00:36:39,679 –> 00:36:40,879 to love other people well, 724 00:36:40,879 –> 00:36:42,919 these are wonderfully practical reasons, 725 00:36:42,919 –> 00:36:45,300 but they’re not, of course, the supreme reason. 726 00:36:46,179 –> 00:36:49,739 I want to end with this. 727 00:36:49,739 –> 00:36:53,500 He says, give me your heart. 728 00:36:53,500 –> 00:36:55,939 The supreme reason for giving your heart 729 00:36:55,939 –> 00:36:57,800 to the Lord is the Lord himself. 730 00:36:59,500 –> 00:37:04,500 We love him because he first loved us. 731 00:37:07,260 –> 00:37:11,780 And this is the loving father who is calling out, 732 00:37:11,820 –> 00:37:15,860 my son, give me your heart. 733 00:37:17,379 –> 00:37:19,979 It’s knowing the love of the Lord, 734 00:37:19,979 –> 00:37:22,659 who he is and how much he loves you 735 00:37:22,659 –> 00:37:25,399 that will lead you to place your heart 736 00:37:25,399 –> 00:37:27,340 freely and fully and freshly 737 00:37:27,340 –> 00:37:30,379 into the hands of Jesus Christ today. 738 00:37:31,459 –> 00:37:33,639 Now I’m telling you, if you carry within you, 739 00:37:33,639 –> 00:37:36,600 and I think this is true of a lot of Christians actually, 740 00:37:36,600 –> 00:37:40,780 if you carry within you this lurking suspicion 741 00:37:40,820 –> 00:37:44,300 that God has it in for you in the end, 742 00:37:44,300 –> 00:37:49,060 you will hold back from really giving your heart to him 743 00:37:49,060 –> 00:37:51,659 because you’ll be afraid of what he might do with it. 744 00:37:53,699 –> 00:37:56,459 And here’s your thinking, you’re saying God’s just, 745 00:37:56,459 –> 00:37:58,020 I know that God is just, 746 00:37:58,020 –> 00:38:00,020 and that means he’s gotta punish sin, 747 00:38:00,020 –> 00:38:02,500 and I know that even at my Christian best, 748 00:38:02,500 –> 00:38:04,179 I am still a sinner. 749 00:38:04,179 –> 00:38:07,100 And if that’s the way that you’re reasoning, 750 00:38:07,260 –> 00:38:08,540 the conclusion has to be 751 00:38:08,540 –> 00:38:13,060 best stay safe at a certain distance from Him. 752 00:38:13,060 –> 00:38:15,520 Loyal, yes. 753 00:38:15,520 –> 00:38:17,379 But you never get to my son, 754 00:38:18,300 –> 00:38:20,100 give me your heart from there. 755 00:38:21,659 –> 00:38:25,939 But here is why you can feel completely safe 756 00:38:26,979 –> 00:38:29,699 in giving your heart into the hands 757 00:38:29,699 –> 00:38:32,260 of this father God who loves you. 758 00:38:32,800 –> 00:38:37,800 He has already dealt with all of your sin at the cross. 759 00:38:41,399 –> 00:38:45,500 Justice has been satisfied, done, 760 00:38:45,500 –> 00:38:49,040 as far as you are concerned in Jesus Christ 761 00:38:49,040 –> 00:38:51,580 so that now the father is free 762 00:38:51,580 –> 00:38:56,580 to lavish his love over you. 763 00:39:00,020 –> 00:39:01,679 And today he says to you 764 00:39:03,040 –> 00:39:06,360 my son, my daughter, 765 00:39:07,719 –> 00:39:11,719 give me your heart. 766 00:39:14,100 –> 00:39:17,939 Oh to grace how great a debtor, 767 00:39:17,939 –> 00:39:20,739 daily I’m constrained to be. 768 00:39:22,040 –> 00:39:25,120 Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter 769 00:39:25,120 –> 00:39:28,879 bind my wandering heart to thee. 770 00:39:29,879 –> 00:39:33,139 Prone to wander Lord I feel it. 771 00:39:34,379 –> 00:39:36,780 Prone to leave the God I love, 772 00:39:36,780 –> 00:39:39,479 so take this heart. 773 00:39:39,479 –> 00:39:41,979 God take and seal it. 774 00:39:43,159 –> 00:39:47,459 Seal it for your courts above. 775 00:39:48,860 –> 00:39:50,719 Let’s pray together, shall we? 776 00:39:52,719 –> 00:39:54,959 Father, please bring us to the place 777 00:39:54,959 –> 00:39:58,560 where we feel that if we had a thousand hearts, 778 00:39:59,719 –> 00:40:01,520 we could do nothing better than 779 00:40:01,520 –> 00:40:05,679 give every one of them fully and freely to you. 780 00:40:07,899 –> 00:40:12,159 So dear Lord, take this heart and seal it today. 781 00:40:12,159 –> 00:40:16,139 Make it your own, as gladly I place it 782 00:40:16,139 –> 00:40:19,620 as best I know how, afresh into your heart. 783 00:40:21,899 –> 00:40:26,899 And Lord, may I so be filled with the fountain 784 00:40:27,080 –> 00:40:31,719 of your love that in receiving your love 785 00:40:31,719 –> 00:40:34,199 from a heart placed into your hands, 786 00:40:34,199 –> 00:40:37,459 I may learn better to love others 787 00:40:37,459 –> 00:40:40,699 and to pursue a life that honors and pleases you 788 00:40:41,699 –> 00:40:43,139 in these days that lie ahead. 789 00:40:43,139 –> 00:40:45,820 For Jesus’ sake, amen.