Sunday 07:07:13

Colossians 1:13, 14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We are taught at an early age behavior modification We are taught to filter our words and behaviors Matt 15:10-20 Jesus said the mouth speaks from the heart What lurks there in your heart will at some point come out You'll want to say that's not like me. But it is, it's from your heart Int he context of marriage, we have a hard time maintaining our filter Something will come out in our words and behavior that we've been careful to keep from coming out. In relationships, if you spend enough time around someone, your filter will break down, you'll do or say something that will shock you and the people around you. You have a heart problem. Slander, jealousy - I don't feel good about me, when I'm around you, I really feel it. So I say something about you, to tear you down a notch so I feel better about me. Women tend to do this about looks. Men tend to do this about competence or strengths We try to fix our filter. The words aren't just a slip up, they reflect whats in your heart. Studies prove this out, if people knew there would be no consequences, the majority would do terrible things Until we deal with our hearts, our relationships will suffer and we'll remain in that darkness. Solomon wrote on all kinds of things, with wisdom for all kinds of aspects of life. Prov 4:23 guard your heart above all else The heart drives relationships, handling money, raising children, your married life The filter never heals the heart. It never deals with the real issue - I have evil in my heart. The reason I'm messed up, is because of my hurt. We would all say, yes, I'd be messed up too Will you learn to guard, take responsibility for your own heart? how long you're going to let those things control you? Pick the date Giving breaks the power of greed. Write a check. Fix my heart first - it doesn't work backwards Andy Stanley began something with his kids when they were little: Is everything ok in your heart? Mad at anyone? Anyone break a promise or hurt your feelings? Want kids to guard their hearts not just their behaviors, to monitor their hearts Stand guard over what goes in and what comes in. Christianity is not about behaving, but about having your heart cleansed David prayed to God, "create in me a clean heart" Why? Because he knew his heart wasn't clean. He needed God to create it within him Your heart is your responsibility. It is yours to work on with God. I know you've been hurt, bad things happen to people in this life and they have a tendency to lodge things in your heart. We need the self-awareness to know when our hearts need cleansed by God Is everything ok In your heart? Has someone hurt you? R u waiting for someone to come to u to make things right? R u having extended conversations? Have you secretly celebrated someone's failure? Lied to someone you love? Do you find yourself saying negative things about people? Criticizing or picking out their faults? Teach me to guard my heart, it is the wellspring of my life. Do your work to create in me a clean heart? Help me pay attention to my heart, help me to guard it.