Good morning. Our sermons of late at NLCC are focused on bringing greater insight to some of the more challenging things that Jesus said publicly. Jesus frequently amazed, confounded, irritated, and challenged people with the things He said. This was true of the people He spoke to face to face and continues to be true for all who read His words in scripture today.
It wasn’t unusual for the words of Jesus to amaze His followers and at the same time anger the Pharisees. He did this on one occasion by saying, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:10-11
While the Pharisees were completely preoccupied with ensuring that all outward appearances were maintained, Jesus warned them with these words that the truth of what was happening inside a person is far more important. Jesus goes on to explain that what we eat is with us only a short time but what we say is indicative of the truth of what is happening within us. He put it this way, But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. Matthew 15:18-20
To persons of either Jewish or Gentile backgrounds their understanding of “the heart” was the same. They didn’t see the heart purely as the place of romantic love (the bowels were given that distinction). The heart was recognized as the seat of all things pertaining to “the inner person”. The heart was considered the place where emotions, prejudices, opinions, desires, affections, perceptions, imagination, conscience, personal will, all matters of faith, and much more came together.
That is why we are commanded in Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else guard your heart, for the heart is the well-spring of life.”
Sin was considered first and foremost to be a failure of the heart. But courage, wisdom, charity, and love were also seen to be victories of the heart.
So, when Jesus tells us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 He was revealing a far more important truth than we may have first considered. Jesus, with those words, tells us that our inner self in its entirety is going to be focused and fixated on, as well as directed by, where and how we see our treasure. Therefore, Jesus tells us to be sure that our “treasure” is entrusted to God and in keeping with His will.
Our thought for today is to guard your heart. Protect your inner self, because that is where the enemy finds you vulnerable. Entrust your heart to God and He will keep you in the right place, inside and out.
Vern