Luke 6:45 - IT'S UNAVOIDABLE

LUKE 6:45

IT'S UNAVOIDABLE!

Many years ago, while pastoring in Sweet Valley Pennsylvania, I was driving on an icy road. A tree jumped out and hit me! Conditions were such, that when the car started to slide, hitting the tree was unavoidable.

One day a special lady came into my life. She was and is so perfect for me that falling in love with her was unavoidable. And I'm so glad I did, and that she fell in love with me.

Last fall I went hunting and shot at a dear. I missed. Later Brad Farster figured out that the deer I was shooting at was about 200 yards away. No wonder I missed. You might say that missing that dear was unavoidable, especially for me.

As you go through life, you will find that there are some things that are just unavoidable. And when we look in the Word of God, we find that God tells us that there a certain things that are definitely unavoidable.

The most obvious thing that is unavoidable is death.

The old saying is that there are two things you can't avoid, death and taxes. I've seen people avoid taxes, but never death.

Hebrews 9:27 - And as it is appointed unto men once to die,

Have you ever considered that you have an appointment with death? It may be soon, or it may not be for years, but unless the Lord

Jesus returns, each one of us sooner or later will pass through the veil of death.

There is another unavoidable thing according to God. That's judgment. I only quoted part of Hebrews 9:27 a moment ago. Here's the whole verse - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

No matter who you are, you will be judged after you die.

You personally will appear at what is called "The Great White Throne Judgment" or "The Judgment Seat of Christ".

Those who have failed to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin will be present at the Great White Throne.

Revelation 20:11-15 - And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. [14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Just think, if you don't know Christ as Savior, the Great White Throne Judgment is unavoidable. If your friends, your loved ones, your neighbors, your co-workers don't know Christ as Savior, this judgment is unavailable.

Things go better for the ones who know Christ as Savior.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

We shall have eternal bliss with the Lord, but there will also be an unavoidable time of reckoning, of judgment.

Romans 14:12 - So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11a - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men;…

Of course, there are other unavoidable things in the Bible, and our memory verse for this week tells us of one of them.

Luke 6:45 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Eventually and inevitably whatever is in your heart will be revealed by your lips. For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

It's unavoidable!

If you are worrying in your heart, your words will be worried.

If you are trusting in your heart, your words will be trusting.

If you are disturbed in your heart, your words will be disturbed.

If you are peaceful in your heart, your words will be peaceful.

If you are angry or bitter or unforgiving in your heart, your words will be angry or bitter or unforgiving.

If you are forgiving in your heart, your words will be forgiving.

If you are vile and impure in your heart, your words will be vile and impure.

If you pure of heart, your words will be pure.

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Do yourself a favor. This week, listen to the words that come out of your heart. Whether they be the words you think or the words you speak listen to them, and ask yourself, "What do these words say about my heart." After all, the words that I say will be one of the things judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

So if a good man brings forth good things out of a good heart, and if an evil man brings forth evil things out of an evil heart, and it's unavoidable. What then, should be our desire and our goal?

Our desire and our goal should be to have a good heart!

How can we accomplish that?

In the time remaining for this message, let me share with you some facts about a good heart. If you apply these facts to your life, you will have a good heart, and your good heart will be reflected by your good words. It's unavoidable!

Proverbs 4:23 - Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

A GOOD HEART IS A SAVED HEART

The trouble all of us have is that none of us begin with a good heart! In fact, Jeremiah 17:9 is very uncomplimentary when it says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Romans 3:10-12 - As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Ezekiel 18:4 - …the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

That death is the death of eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.

So we need a "heart transplant". We need a new heart, a saved heart, because the old heart is rotten.

Enter the Lord Jesus, God's Son.

You and I deserve eternal punishment. Instead, Jesus took that punishment upon his own shoulders on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

All we need to decide is to transfer our sin to Jesus' account.

That is, we trust that He has taken care of it.

We do that by trusting Christ as our Savior.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

And when we put our faith in Christ we receive a new heart, a saved heart!

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

A new creature, or a new creation includes a new heart!

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site.

Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball.

When we become God’s, the old life is over (2 Corinthians. 5:17). He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and the permission to build.

Ian L. Wilson, Source unknown http://www.bible.org/illus/nt/nt-523.htm#TopOfPage

Don't expect to have a good heart until you have a new or saved heart!

A GOOD HEART IS A SAVED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SANCTIFIED HEART

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

The word "sanctify" means to "set apart".

I like the wording of the New American Standard in the first part of this verse, 1 Peter 3:15 - but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,

My friend a good heart, after being saved, has solved the Lordship problem. The Lordship problem is simply "Who is going to run my heart and my life?"

For the Christian there is only one right answer to that question. The answer is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Someone has well said, "If Jesus isn't Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all."

Abraham Kuyper - "There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’" http://www.bible.org/illus/l/l-43.htm#TopOfPage

How many of us stop short of allowing Jesus to be boss in our hearts? How can hearts be entirely good unless Jesus is in control?

And look at this verse again. I saw something here yesterday, that I believe I never saw before, although I've gone over this verse hundreds of times.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Do you see it?

A good heart is a sanctified heart. Jesus is Lord!

A good heart is ready to give an answer for a reason of the hope that is in us!

The words of a good heart speak for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you wonder why you can't get up the nerve to witness to your family or friends. The reason very well be that you lack the goodness of a sanctified heart!

If our hearts aren't right, how can we effectively speak for Jesus.

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

So how do we get a sanctified heart?

Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Ye call Me Master and obey me not,
Ye call Me Light and see me not,
Ye call Me way and follow me not
Ye call Me Life and desire me not,
Ye call Me wise and acknowledge me not,
Ye call Me fair and love me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust me not,
Ye call Me Noble and serve me not,
Ye call Me mighty and honor me not,
Ye call Me just and fear me not,
If I condemn you, blame me not.

Resource, July/August, 1990 http://www.bible.org/illus/l/l-43.htm#TopOfPage

A GOOD HEART IS A SAVED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SANCTIFIED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SPIRIT-CONTROLLED HEART

This point actually follows the sanctified heart nicely.

If Jesus is truly Lord of your life, you will allow Him to control you through his Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

When the Spirit is in control of your heart, the mouth will reflect it. For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

What is in your heart when the Spirit is in control?

Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

A good heart is a spirit-controlled heart.

When the heart is spirit-controlled, the words coming out of the mouth will be:

Loving words

Joyful words

Peaceful words

Longsuffering words

Gentle words

Good words

Faithful words

Meek words

Self-controlled words

How do I make sure that I am spirit-controlled?

First, I must neither grieve the Holy Spirit by my sin, nor quench the Spirit by my unbelief. This means I must examine my life for sin and forsake it.

Second, being filled with the Holy Spirit is God's will. We are told in 1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: [15] And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Because being filled with the Holy Spirit is God's will, I must ask God to fill me with His Spirit.

A GOOD HEART IS A SAVED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SANCTIFIED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SPIRIT-CONTROLLED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SINGING HEART

Another result of being spirit filled is a singing heart.

Ephesians 5:19 - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Worship does not begin with the mouth. It begins in the heart!

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

True worship with the lips is a result of true worship in our hearts. I personally feel that we actually give little praise with our lips to the Lord, because our hearts are not praising Him from within.

Finally,

A GOOD HEART IS A SPEAKING HEART

Very often, the words that come out of our mouths are worried, anxious words. Listen to yourself this week to see how much of what you say is an expression of doubt or worry.

We need a confident heart if we are going to have confident words.

A confident heart comes from prayer, the words we speak to God.

1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Philippians 4:6-7 - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. [7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

If we want to speak confidently, we must speak to our God first!

A GOOD HEART IS A SAVED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SANCTIFIED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SPIRIT-CONTROLLED HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SINGING HEART

A GOOD HEART IS A SPEAKING HEART

Proverbs 4:23 - Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.