Proverbs 22:17
A MERRY HEART
I have two specific goals for us tonight in relation to the message.
1. That you leave this building this evening with a merry heart.
2. That you will maintain that merry heart throughout the whole week.
Our text this evening is a very brief and well-known one. We are not even going to consider the whole verse.
Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…
We think of the heart as the "real us".
We think of the heart as the center of our lives.
Proverbs 23:7 says of a man For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…
A merry heart is not reflected by a person constantly telling jokes or a person that laughs when things go wrong or at evil.
A merry heart is not reflected by a person who makes light of the things of God.
A merry heart is a joyful heart.
Joyful on the inside because of what God is doing and because of who God is.
Joyful to a point of singing, even when circumstances are not what they should be, or what we want them to be.
I would make a distinction between a merry or joyful heart and a happy heart. I think of a happy heart dependent on happenings. When things go well, I'm happy!. When things don't go well, I'll unhappy.
A joyful or a merry heart finds its joy in Jesus Christ, no matter what the circumstances.
It says in our text that a merry heart does good like a medicine.
What does medicine do?
A medicine often soothes. Ben Gay, for instance, will soothe aching muscles.
A medicine often reduces pain. That's why we take Tylenol, Advil, or aspirin for a headache. We want pain reduced.
Medicine also makes one feel better. When there's infection, an anti-biotic is administered to kill the infection. When the infection is gone, we feel better. I was on an antibiotic a couple of weeks ago. After the first pill, my symptoms started to get better.
How does a merry heart work like a medicine?
· A merry heart soothes our nerves, so we don't get bent out of shape so quickly.
· A merry heart soothes our attitudes, so that we respond properly to people.
· A merry heart reduces the pain of hurt feelings, failed expectations, and misunderstandings.
· A merry heart makes one feel better about the situations they find themselves in.
Personally, I'm convinced that if we had more merry hearts we would have fewer stomach disorders, headaches, and sleepless nights.
A merry heart is not only good medicine for you, but when you have a merry heart it is good medicine for others!
· Your merry heart will soothe the nerves and attitudes of other people.
· Your merry heart will reduce the pain that could come with hurts and misunderstandings.
· Your merry heart makes others feel better, when they see your joyfulness. I, for one, would rather hang around a joyful person than an old grump! Merry people help my own attitude.
A merry heart doeth good, like a medicine:
So, how do I get a merry heart?
And, what is a merry heart like?
This evening, let's consider 6 qualities of a merry heart!
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART OF PEACE.
I have found it very difficult to have a merry heart when I am upset about something, or when there is inner conflict or turmoil.
We can't control our circumstances, but with God's help, we can control our hearts' condition.
You can probably guess what way our heart first needs to be at peace! Yes we need:
· THE PEACE OF CONVERSION
Most, if not all of you know the Lord tonight, so I'm not going to start preaching to the choir.
Let's just remember that an unsaved man cannot have a merry heart, because he cannot have a peaceful heart.
Isaiah 59:2 is true of unsaved folks - But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Unsaved people need to hear what Christ as done for their sins as Isaiah 53:5-6 describes, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Unsaved people need to put their faith in Christ and his work on the cross in order to experience peace with God, and the beginning of a merry heart.
Romans 5:1 - Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who do you know that needs a joyful heart? Maybe you need to help them find the joy that comes from finding peace with God through Christ.
A peaceful heart has found the peace of conversion and
· THE PEACE OF CONFESSION
We as Christians are not perfect.
We allow sin to get into our lives.
We do things we shouldn't do.
We don't do things that we should've done.
And we are often unhappy, lacking a merry heart, because things are not right between God and us.
In it is hard to be joyful in the presence of another human being when there is some unresolved conflict between us. It is hard to be joyful in the presence of God when there is an unresolved conflict between us.
Psalm 66:18 - If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Ephesians4:30 - And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
1 John 1:8-10 - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
If you, as a born again Christian are not merry, perhaps God is withholding his peace.
Fess' up!
Make it right!
There's joy in tears of repentance because they are followed by the comfort of forgiveness.
The peace of conversion
The peace of confession
· THE PEACE OF CONCENTRATION
What you think about will either help you have a peaceful, merry heart, or it will rob you of a peaceful, merry heart.
Isaiah 26:3 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
The root meaning of this word "stayed" carries the idea of leaning upon. I think of being stayed here as leaning on Him, holding on to Him, concentrating on Him.
Examine the amount of time that you think about God, talk to Him, talk about Him, or listen to Him through His Word.
We have not learned to concentrate on Him.
Perfect peace comes from concentrating on Him.
Most of us spend more time concentrating on the television set than we do concentrating on God. Other than Christian programming, the television helps us very little to concentrate on God.
But the television offers much to distract you from Biblical thinking, and to unteach what God is teaching in His Word. How can we have peace when our minds are filled with dirty comedy, off-color jokes, humanistic commercials, sexual misbehavior, murder, lying and cheating?
When I was especially liking the murder programs on Television, Dottie reminded me of Psalm 101:3 - I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Learn to concentrate on Christ.
Learn to say with the psalmist, in Psalm 119:97, O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
A merry heart is a heart at peace.
The peace of conversion
The peace of confession
The peace of concentration
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAISES
God is deserving of praise and adoration.
He is especially deserving of the praise and adoration of His children!
As his children, we have more to thank God for than anyone else. We have forgiveness. We have assurance of salvation. We look forward to eternal life. God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside of us. We have the promise of answered prayer. We have a God who loves us, and wants us to feel loved by Him!
Praise is to be a continual part of our lives.
Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 47:6-7 - Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Hebrews 13:15 - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
William Cowper wrote this hymn: I Will Praise The Lord at All Times
Winter
has a joy for me,
While the Saviour’s charms I read,
Lowly, meek, from blemish free,
In the snowdrop’s pensive head.
Spring
returns, and brings along
Life-invigorating suns:
Hark! the turtle’s plaintive song
Seems to speak His dying groans!
Summer
has a thousand charms,
All expressive of His worth;
‘Tis His sun that lights and warms,
His the air that cools the earth.
What!
has autumn left to say
Nothing of a Saviour’s grace?
Yes, the beams of milder day
Tell me of His smiling face.
Light
appears with early dawn,
While the sun makes haste to rise;
See His bleeding beauties drawn
On the blushes of the skies.
Evening
with a silent pace,
Slowly moving in the west,
Shows an emblem of His grace,
Points to an eternal rest.
Beloved, may we not stumble and bumble through this week without giving praise and thanks to God for everything!
Let's lift up our voices in songs and words of praise.
It's time to occasionally turn off the car radio and to perform our own sacred concert!
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAISES
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAYS
Folks, our cares and worries rob us of a merry, joyful heart.
And we have many legitimate concerns. I could itemize a whole bunch that I know of, right in this room!
Life is full of burdens, worries, hurts, fears, and dangers.
Life is not fair.
Life is not always kind.
Life is not usually what we want it to be.
God understands all of this. So, he says to you and I, "My child bring the burdens, the cares, the worries, the hurts, the failures, to me. Cast them on my broad shoulders, and let me carry them 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. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
"As Sarah Smiley was preparing to descend a 5,000 foot Rigi Mountain peak in central Switzerland, her guide told her that she should let him carry her load. She agreed to give some of it to him, but she kept a few items. As they made their way down the mountainside, Sarah felt hindered by her load. Soon she had to stop and rest. When she did her guide demanded that she give him everything except her Alpine walking stick. This time she agreed and transferred the load to his strong shoulders. Without the extra weight, she made the rest of the trip with ease.
It was as if her Lord was trying to say to her, "O foolish willful heart, have you indeed given up your last burden? You have no need to carry them, or even the right."
God means it when He says in 1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAYS
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRACTICES OBEDIENCE
As a
parent, the greatest gift I've ever been given by my children is willful
obedience. The gift of good behavior meant many positive compliments when the
children were younger.
And that early gift of obedience has resulted in continuing compliments about
our children as adults.
The greatest gift I can give my Heavenly Father is the gift of obedience. This is a gift that Jesus gave to the Father when Jesus walked the earth as a man.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus, Hebrews 10:7 quotes Him as saying, Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
"Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then Lord Chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, “Neil!” Not daring to question or disobey the “command,” the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!"
We find this story amusing, but there is a point here. Whatever God says, we should do as quickly as those people did at a perceived command.
And there is joy in obedience. When we do what we know to be right before God, we will experience great joy!
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRACTICES OBEDIENCE
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT HAS A PURPOSE
What is your purpose for living? Why do you exist?
As we just saw, one purpose for living is to obey God.
There are some more purposes for living that will make us joyful if they are ours.
Micah 6:8 - He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Here are three things which we Christians should purpose to do with our lives.
· Do Justly
To do what is right no matter what the cost, no matter what the obstacle, no matter what the time.
· Love Mercy
When Jesus saved you, He showed you mercy.
Whey you tell an unsaved soul about the Lord Jesus, you are showing mercy. You want that person to find the mercy you've received.
· Walk Humbly With Thy God
The daily walk of communion, of fellowship, of closeness to God will bring about remarkable joy!
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART WITH A PURPOSE
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART OF POWER
Nehemiah 8:10 - …for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
The strength to stand in trial
The strength to be a good testimony in bad times
The strength to endure comes from being joyful in the Lord!
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART AT PEACE
THROUGH CONVERSION, CONFESSION AND
CONCENTRATION
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAISES
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRAYS
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT PRACTICES OBEDIENCE
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART THAT WITH A PURPOSE
A MERRY HEART IS A HEART OF POWER