Taking Out the Trash Part 2

“A Man and His Heart”

Happy Father’s Day!

Intro

We are talking about the Heart

-         The heart is what the Bible uses to describe such things as personality, the intellect, memory, emotions, desires and will. 

o       We are unique from everyone else because of what lies within our hearts.

-         The heart is the part of us no one else can see (not even our wives)

-         The heart contains those desires and struggles that we hold back

Matthew 12:34.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 23:25-28. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

-         Everything we experience in life is processed through our hearts

-         Before something presents itself on the outside of us, it must enter within and become a part of the inside of us, the heart

-         Sometimes we know what we are doing to ourselves…

o       We fill our hearts with junk and out comes junk

Other times, things happen to us that effect the condition of our heart

(Remember, everything we experience in life, when allowed to take residence within the heart, will effect what comes out of us)

Some of us have experienced some negative things…

§        We may not have reacted to those negative experiences but we did sweep it under the rug….therefore allowing it  a place to stay in our heart

§        Our negative experiences got stuck in our heart (a long time ago) and now they are just beginning to surface (the can is overflowing with trash)

FOR EXAMPLE:           Your dad was a chronic liar… now you don’t trust anyone

Someone in your life hurt you when you were growing up, now every time you meet someone with a similar personality, the trash begins to be stirred up and spills out.

Most of us who have experienced bad things have developed coping mechanisms. 

o       Instead of dealing with the source of the pain and removing the trash within our hearts, we stuff it, we learn to cope, we learn to deal with it. 

§        We adjust our life so we don’t have to experience that bad thing again because if we experience any more of it, we will explode/ spill out!

All the while the inside of our hearts is rotting away. 

When someone manages to break through our barriers, the trash presents itself.

EXAMPLE:          Keep the lid on the trash can and the stink stays in, but…

What does this have to do with a man and his heart?

Many men are walking around the church with damaged hearts.  They have had some bad experiences and their hearts have been damaged. 

This is not good.

1 Timothy 3:1-10.

 1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,^[a] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

-         How can a man be all these things on the outside?

o       When His heart is right on the inside

o       All of the above behaviors are products of a healthy heart

 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)

-         We see men as given responsibility to lead their family and their church

A man’s family and his church eat the fruit from his tree, whether it is good our bad.  If the man’s heart is rotten, he will produce bad fruit and the people around him will eat rotten fruit.

 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. 8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

-         Why must they first be tested?

o       Because eventually, the inside of a man will present itself

o       A person may look good on the outside, but the Lord cares more about what is going on in the inside

What can we do about the inner hurt, the hurt from our past?

Luke 9:23-25.

 23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

The term in verse 24 for life is not talking about physical life versus death

It is talking about your heart… who you are on the inside.

In other words,

Those of you who think you are in control of who you are on the inside need to let go of that control.

A person who thinks they are in control will do things to protect who they are.  They will do things to try to become a certain kind of a person.

However, look again at this verse…

24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,

-         This passage is talking about a need to surrender every aspect of our lives to Jesus. 

o       When we decide to believe in Jesus, to let Him be in control of our lives, we are supposed to be letting Him be in control of every aspect of our lives….not just the responsibility of saving us.

This means…

-         How we manage, how we deal with the person inside us is not our job. 

o       We must also surrender that part of us to Jesus’ control.

When we try to protect our insides,

when we try to be in charge of the inner us, we end losing in the end.

We have to stop inventing coping mechanisms for the pain in our lives.  Instead, we have to give Jesus control of that area of our life.

1 Peter 5:1-7.

 1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

-         Once again we see characteristics of what makes a good leader in the church

4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

How is it possible to develop these character qualities?

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, (Surrender your life to his control…all of your life) that he may lift you up in due time.

We surrender to His control

Also, we

7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Give Him your hurt!  Give it to Him.  Let it go!

Philippians 4:6-7.

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How do you get anxious…? You allow hurt, stress, problems in this world live in your heart.

When we give it to God, He takes it away, and replaces it with peace.

Two practical things you can do:

1. Ask God to show you things in your heart that you need to let go of (hurts, etc.)

2. As things (hurts, etc.) come your way, let them go.  Give them to God.

An example of how this can work:

I think of Joseph’s life as found in the book of Genesis…

- Betrayed by his family

- Sold into slavery

- Wrongfully put in jail

- He could have allowed all the negative things that happened in his life effect how he lived his life

But He did not…

Genesis 39:2.  The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered,

Genesis 39:5.  the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

-         Is God able to use you to bless those around you or are you allowing your heart to get in the way?

Even after being wrongfully imprisoned…

Genesis 39:23.  The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Later in his life we find Joseph reaching out and caring for his brothers, the same people that inflicted pain in his life.

Joseph did not let the pain in his past damage the condition of his heart.

What are you going to do about your heart today?

If there is pain in their, you need to give it to God and replace it with peace.

Out of peace comes good things.

Out of inner hurt , others get hurt.

Men, its ok to admit we have been hurt.  In fact, we need to deal with it head on.  If we are going to lead our families and our church, we have got to deal with the hurt inside us.

Closing

Where have you been hurt.

What hurt inside your heart is effecting your outside behavior.

Get it out.  Let it go.  Give it to God.