the heart

please open your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 8, verses 4-15.

hahaha okay just kidding, i just wanted to see how it felt to sound "authoritative" like speakers do :) i'm done now, i've got it out of my system.

today we'll be talking about the heart.

HA - okay, for real, i'm done. on to just being real ---

i'm sure most anyone who reads this is familiar with the passage in Luke 8 where Luke relays the parable Jesus told about the sower. a farmer scatters his seed and the seeds fall on 4 different types of soil? if you're not trekkin' with me yet, go get your Bible and skim thru the passage again.

the seeds fall on 4 different types of soil/terrain and it represents 4 different types of hearts that hear the Gospel.

Heart #1 - the hard heart.
this is the 1st type of heart, mentioned in verse 12. they hear the Word but the devil comes and takes the Word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. the hard heart is typically easy to identify in people. a lot of times it's because they've become calloused to the Word thru certain situations (parents professing to be Christians yet are abusive and/or hypocrites; witnessing a church splitting; hurt by relationships).

Heart #2 - the shallow heart.
comes from verse 13. those who hear the Gospel and receive it excitedly at first, but quickly fade away when a time of testing comes because their faith is not rooted in the Word. clayton king (the speaker) brought up a very real point - "rededication" of hearts has become a cure-all pill for sin. some people rededicate their lives time after time because they don't actually repent of their sins. i agree with him on that, but he also made it clear (and i want to, to) that rededication isn't necessarily bad - it can be a very real, very life-changing thing ---> as long as it is coupled with repentance of sin and turning from the sin. it seems that the shallow heart would most oftened be found in people who have an emotionally-based faith. they get all pumped up for awhile, but then the excitement fades and they drift away. the truth is - it's human nature to let the excitement fade. if you're not eagerly seeking after God, if you're not making a whole-hearted attempt to be nearer to God, when that excitement fades, it's going to be hard to keep going. our faith needs to be authentic, it needs to be real, it needs to be deep.

Heart #3 - the crowded heart.
found in verse 14 (and the vice is squeezing harder on my head right now, so if it seems like i'm wrapping this up quick and not explaining myself, i'm sorry and i'll come back and edit this if i need to:) oh the not so-joys of getting sick). this is the heart that accepts the Word and goes along great for awhile, but then finds itself crowded with things. it essence, it's being too busy for Jesus. packing our day-to-day lives so full of activities (including the danger of doing too many ministries) that we don't make time to spend with our Savior each day, getting to know Him more. if you find yourself often late, rushing around, and/or constantly trying to please people, this might be you. the clincher - Jesus doesn't want to be 1 god out of many in your heart. He wants to be the ONLY God.

Heart #4 - the open heart.
the heart we should all be aiming to have. verse 15. it's the heart that hears the Word, retains it, and produces a crop (share the Word with others). it's the heart that desires to be immediately obedient to Christ. it's the heart that posseses true brokeness & humility before the Lord.

so now it's inventory time. figure out what kinda of heart you have. personally, i feel like certain parts of my heart go into different categories, if that's possible. my goal then, is to have my whole heart in that 4th category. it's not an easy thing to do because of my human nature, but it IS possible.