Be Prepared: The Heart, Conclusion

So how do we prepare our hearts?

• Meditate on your state.

"Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah."

Psalm 39:5

• Meditate on the awesome God!

"Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

Psalm 40:5

• Commit yourself to Him that judges righteously.

"Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:"

1 Peter 2:23

• Prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only.

"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

1 Samuel 7:3

Be Prepared: The Heart, Part 3

To prepare our hearts, we can't be critical of ourselves or God. The next thing?

Don’t be critical of others!

"Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."

James 4:11

We are blessed beyond measure and yet we complain.

• Complaining about the price of Christian things.

I don't want to get off track here, but why do people often think that Christian things should be cheap? We pay full price for quality things of the world and then want Christian things to be a bargain. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

• Complaining about who does what and who doesn’t.

"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;"

1 Thessalonians 4:11

I used to repeat over and over to my children, "You answer for you. Don't worry about them." Too any times we find ourselves cheering Martha on: "Yeah! Why isn't Mary working?! I'm busting my chops here and she's just taking it all in!" This isn't a lesson about Mary vs. Martha, but too often we identify ourselves with Martha in more ways than just the working.

You answer for you. Don't worry about them.

• Complaining about . . .

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"

Philippians 2:14-15

If all you knew of the Christian life was the words that came from your own lips, would you want to be a Christian? Do you know that your own complaining can affect you? If you complain enough, your own heart will become discouraged.

Instead of complaining, suffer yourself to be defrauded! Esteem other better than yourself! Give up your way and live for others!!

"Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?"

1 Corinthians 6:7

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Matthew 5:39

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

I Peter 2

Instead of complaining, commit yourself to Him that judgeth righteously. It's good for your heart.

Be Prepared: The Heart, Part 2

In preparing our hearts to serve the Lord, the first thing is to not be critical of ourselves.

Then, don’t be critical of God!

Now, you might say, I would never be critical of God. Most of us cringe at the very idea, but we have our ways.

• Sometimes it takes the form of “Well I don’t see why…”

You know what? We never will understand why. I have a four-year-old grandson. Any of you who have ever had a four-year-old will know that his favorite word is "why."

This is how the conversation goes:

"Elisha, it's bedtime."
"Why?"
"Because you need your sleep."
"Why?"
"Because you are a little boy."
"Why?"
"Because that's what God made you."
"Why?"
and so on and so on…

And when we ask God "why" it's the same conversation.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

• Sometimes, our criticism of God takes the form of “I just don’t think that (a loving, a just, a fair) God would. . .” Thank God we ain’t God! We try so hard to define the God who created us. Isn't that backwards?

"Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

Romans 11:31-36

Instead of being critical of God, meditate on the awesome God!

"Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

Psalm 40:5

Be Prepared: The Heart, Part 1

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

Mark 12:30

In order to serve the Lord, we need to prepare our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our bodies.

This week, we are going to begin by looking at how to prepare our hearts. First, let us look at some things the Bible has to say.

"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

1 Samuel 7:3

"Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God …"

1 Chronicles 22:19

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments."

Ezra 7:10

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise."

Psalm 57:7

David said, "I’m READY! I’m PREPARED!"

Sadly the Bible says of Rehoboam, "And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." 2 Chronicles 12:14

How do we prepare our heart?

To begin with, don’t be critical of yourself! Far too often, it is our own view of ourselves that stands between us and loving God with all of our hearts. Some of the things we think are:

• "I’m not worthy to serve God in that capacity." Of course you aren’t! None of us are! God does not use us because we are able, He uses us because we are availABLE.
  
• "If people really knew me . . . " Listen, we know some really bad stuff about King David. We've got some real dirt on the apostle, Peter. In spite of what we know about those people, God used them. And regardless of what people may or may not know about the deep dark secrets of our hearts, God wants us to draw nigh to Him.
  

Instead of being critical, meditate on your state.

"Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah."

Psalm 39:5

"What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?"

Job 15:14

And yet, in spite of our state, God loves us and wants to be close to us!!! Begin to prepare your heart by meditating on that instead of being critical of yourself.