Sermon Central
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Heart Conditions: Heavy Hearts Series
Contributed by Jason Cole on Feb 18, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: what is God’s message to those with hearts that are heavy, broken, and torn apart by pain and loss?
Heart Conditions: Heavy and Troubled Hearts
Introduction:
This week I want to look at the message that the scriptures have for those with heavy and troubled. We live in a time and in a world full of people who are brokenhearted. I can guarantee that there are even people here today who are brokenhearted. I don’t know what has broken your heart lately, but there is a message in scripture for you. Jesus wants to cure your broken heart this very hour. We all are burdened by different things, and I know that we all have broken hearts about something that has taken place over the course of our life. Those with broken hearts are wounded soldiers. Satan work hard to ensure that Christians are hurting so that they cannot be as effective in the Kingdom. There is a twist though; if we would simply come to Jesus we can find a cure for that broken heart. What is it that is burdening you? What is troubling your heart?
We know that when Jesus lived here on this Earth 2,000 years ago he had a special concern for those with heavy and troubled hearts. Remember Jesus with the Woman at the well, a woman who no other Jew would have associated with; he had compassion on her. She had a broken heart from many failed marriages, and Jesus wanted to heal that broken heart. Remember Jesus with the woman caught in adultery, everyone else wanted to stone her and have her killed; but Jesus had compassion on her, Jesus wanted to heal her troubled heart. Remember Jesus with the man born blind, the tax collectors, the sinners, those people who no one else cared about; Jesus cared for their troubled and broken hearts.
Part of the good news of the gospel, and salvation in Christ is our broken hearts can be healed. Jesus is concerned about the broken hearted. When Isaiah was speaking of the role of the coming Savior he mentioned that the Messiah would bind up the broken hearted.
A man was walking on the beach one afternoon kicking up the sand, disgusted with
certain things and problems of life. There on the beach was a bottle and as he walked he kicked the bottle into the surf. POP Out of the bottle came a mysterious being... a Jeannie. “Because you
have freed me you are granted three wishes...but be advised that with each one your
mother-in-law will receive double what you ask for.”
Thinking seriously the man responded, “I would like $10,000,000.”
“Granted and your mother-in-law will received twenty million.”
“Next wish”.....I would like 10 new cars, Corvettes, Ferrari, Vipers,
“Granted but you know your mother-in-law will receive 20 new cars.” Great.
“This is your last wish now so think about it seriously”.....
The man thought and thought and finally he responded, “I wish you would beat me half to death
This man was hoping to find healing of his problems here in this life, but they cannot be found in material possessions or anything else, but in Christ. Jesus wants to heal you of your troubles. I want to this morning look at reasons why we should not be troubled, burdened, and discouraged.
Text: Matthew 11:28-30
I. Do not loose heart pain in only temporary
One reason that we should not loose heart and one reason that we can heal our troubled hearts is to realize that our pain and our hard times here are only temporary. Though we may be burdened and going through tough times here in our life we can rest assured that they are only momentary. Paul echoed this idea when he spoke of his hardships.
We live in a fallen world, in which sin has its effects. As a result of that sin, we all have to face the trouble and the hardships that come along with this life. We all get burdened; we all get troubled over things that take place. We live in a world where people are broken because of their own sin, and this sin of others. People are broken and troubled because of divided homes. More than half of marriages end in divorce, and that is a reason for much of the heartache that comes here on earth. We live in a world full of people of broken hearts. When we are out in the world and at work we cross so many people with broken and troubled hearts.
The good news is that our troubles will all pass away; they only last for a season. Our troubles will pass away. Our troubles and hard times can really pin us down can’t they? When emotionally we are drained it is sure hard to be the person of God that you need to be. Those who are troubled and have broken hearts are wounded and are not as effective servants of God, which is why Jesus offers to take that burden from us. He wants us to be effective, so he offers to carry our burden and our yoke for us. One reason why we should not loose heart is because though the outer circumstances are difficult and hard to deal with in life, we have a Spirit that as Paul says is being renewed day by day. Life is tough at times and we need to realize that we are in a spiritual battle. Our hard times are not going to last forever, they only last a season. Because we live in this fallen world we all must face the hardships that come along with that. Our pain in only temporary, we all must go through the valley at times. Perhaps you are in the valley spiritually, and emotionally; do not loose heart you pain is only temporary.
