Sermon Notes - 6.29.22
MATTER OF THE HEART
PART 1
I. INTRODUCTION
ILLUSTRATION - Tony Evans' Book Illustrations
A MAN had a clock hanging on the wall of his office. The hands on this clock could never seem to keep the right time. Something was always off with the hands. He put a little sign under it that said, “When you look at this clock, please don’t blame the hands. The problem is on the inside.” (“A lot of our hands are off track, and a lot of our actions are off track, but the problem lies with a bad heart. This means that if you change the external without fixing the heart you haven’t fixed the root of the problem; you’ve only addressed the fruit of the problem. If you address the fruit and miss the root, you will only have a temporary fix.” – Tony Evans)
“Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the heart.” – PROVERBS 21:2
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” – PROVERBS 14:12
A.Remember the context of James’s discussion on Wisdom is verses 1-12
B.These three verses reveal the ROUTINE, the ROOT, and the RESULTS of heart disease in the body of Christ.
II. IT’S ROUTINE (v14)
“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth” (v. 14).
Notice -- James says that wisdom from the world leads us to harbor "bitter envy" and "selfish ambition."
A. BITTER ENVY
1. The wisdom that is of the world leads every believer to first Bitterness
2. Defined: Bitter (4089)(see above for pikros) means sharp, prickly, pointed, piercing, pungent as that which sharply "pierces" or penetrates one's senses, used literally in James 3:11 of bitter water.
3. MacArthur explains that "Those whose lives are based on and motivated by human, ungodly wisdom are inevitably self-centered, living in a world in which their own personal ideas, desires, and standards are the measure of everything. Whatever and whoever serves those ends is considered good and friendly; whatever and whoever threatens those ends is considered bad and an enemy."
4. This should challenge us daily. It should cause us to step back and evaluate things. Here are some guiding questions:
a. Are we sincerely happy when others succeed? What about in areas where we haven't?
b. Are we frustrated when we don't get the "appreciation" we feel we deserve?
c. Are we questioning of others' motives when they are nice?
d. Are we genuinely excited about friends being promoted?
e. Are we quick to find fault without offering a solution?
5. Which leads to ultimate questions of us trusting God. Do we trust God? Do we really trust God's sovereign work in us?
6. I really like what John Piper says about this, "Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ’s love for us in our sin. If you are struggling with bitterness then it may be that the Lord is letting the very sin that is flowing from your inability to see Christ be the means by which you come to see him. In other words, perhaps this season of rage, anger, and a fed-up “I’m out of here and don’t want anything to do with you” spirit is where you have had to come in order to see the greatness of your sin as a forgiven and justified saint. And the Lord has done it so that you would be stunned at his grace in a deeper way than you’ve ever been stunned by the grace of God before. And now, out of that experience can flow grace towards others."
7. But that’s not the end of it. Bitter envy leads on to selfish ambition.
B. SELFISH AMBITION
1. Defined: The word originally referred to gaining office by dishonest means. It describes someone whose desire to get ahead leads them to abandon all morality, break all the rules, and do whatever it takes to get ahead.
2. Now comes the tricky part. James says the problem starts on the inside. To “harbor” something means to give it a safe place to stay. Because this is a problem of the heart, it’s hard to spot.
3. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
4. Matthew 12:34: “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Whatever is on the inside will eventually come out—whether good or bad.
5. Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
6. Quote: "Individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue selfish ambition for the purpose of self-glorification." - CJ Mahaney
7. Quote: "Furthermore, what profit was it to me that I, rascally slave of selfish ambitions that I was, read and understood by myself as many books as I could get concerning the so-called liberal arts?...I had turned my back to the light and my face to the things it illuminated, and so no light played upon my own face, or on the eyes that perceived them." - Augustine
ILLUSTRATION - Tony Evans' Book Illustrations
A MAN had a clock hanging on the wall of his office. The hands on this clock could never seem to keep the right time. Something was always off with the hands. He put a little sign under it that said, “When you look at this clock, please don’t blame the hands. The problem is on the inside.” (“A lot of our hands are off track, and a lot of our actions are off track, but the problem lies with a bad heart. This means that if you change the external without fixing the heart you haven’t fixed the root of the problem; you’ve only addressed the fruit of the problem. If you address the fruit and miss the root, you will only have a temporary fix.” – Tony Evans)
“Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the heart.” – PROVERBS 21:2
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” – PROVERBS 14:12
A.Remember the context of James’s discussion on Wisdom is verses 1-12
B.These three verses reveal the ROUTINE, the ROOT, and the RESULTS of heart disease in the body of Christ.
II. IT’S ROUTINE (v14)
“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth” (v. 14).
Notice -- James says that wisdom from the world leads us to harbor "bitter envy" and "selfish ambition."
A. BITTER ENVY
1. The wisdom that is of the world leads every believer to first Bitterness
2. Defined: Bitter (4089)(see above for pikros) means sharp, prickly, pointed, piercing, pungent as that which sharply "pierces" or penetrates one's senses, used literally in James 3:11 of bitter water.
3. MacArthur explains that "Those whose lives are based on and motivated by human, ungodly wisdom are inevitably self-centered, living in a world in which their own personal ideas, desires, and standards are the measure of everything. Whatever and whoever serves those ends is considered good and friendly; whatever and whoever threatens those ends is considered bad and an enemy."
4. This should challenge us daily. It should cause us to step back and evaluate things. Here are some guiding questions:
a. Are we sincerely happy when others succeed? What about in areas where we haven't?
b. Are we frustrated when we don't get the "appreciation" we feel we deserve?
c. Are we questioning of others' motives when they are nice?
d. Are we genuinely excited about friends being promoted?
e. Are we quick to find fault without offering a solution?
5. Which leads to ultimate questions of us trusting God. Do we trust God? Do we really trust God's sovereign work in us?
6. I really like what John Piper says about this, "Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ’s love for us in our sin. If you are struggling with bitterness then it may be that the Lord is letting the very sin that is flowing from your inability to see Christ be the means by which you come to see him. In other words, perhaps this season of rage, anger, and a fed-up “I’m out of here and don’t want anything to do with you” spirit is where you have had to come in order to see the greatness of your sin as a forgiven and justified saint. And the Lord has done it so that you would be stunned at his grace in a deeper way than you’ve ever been stunned by the grace of God before. And now, out of that experience can flow grace towards others."
7. But that’s not the end of it. Bitter envy leads on to selfish ambition.
B. SELFISH AMBITION
1. Defined: The word originally referred to gaining office by dishonest means. It describes someone whose desire to get ahead leads them to abandon all morality, break all the rules, and do whatever it takes to get ahead.
2. Now comes the tricky part. James says the problem starts on the inside. To “harbor” something means to give it a safe place to stay. Because this is a problem of the heart, it’s hard to spot.
3. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
4. Matthew 12:34: “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Whatever is on the inside will eventually come out—whether good or bad.
5. Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
6. Quote: "Individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue selfish ambition for the purpose of self-glorification." - CJ Mahaney
7. Quote: "Furthermore, what profit was it to me that I, rascally slave of selfish ambitions that I was, read and understood by myself as many books as I could get concerning the so-called liberal arts?...I had turned my back to the light and my face to the things it illuminated, and so no light played upon my own face, or on the eyes that perceived them." - Augustine
No Comments