Sermon for 8/11/2003
My Heart, Christ’s Home
Idea and portions adapted from Robert Boyd Munger’s My Heart Christ’s Home
Introduction:
A. Wanted: Fishers of Men. You catch them and the Lord cleans them.
B. Cleaning fish or getting them ready to eat is a disgusting job.
C. Took the boys fishing and we caught 4 catfish. I took them home and tried to clean them. The knife was too dull to fillet them so I had to do it the old fashioned way and gut them and then clean them.
D. I am so thankful that when we are fishing for men, the Lord takes those who are saved and cleans them up.
WBTU:
A. Many people have a misunderstanding when it comes to church and Christianity. “When I get my act cleaned up, then I will come to church.”
B. We need to understand that without Jesus Christ no one will be clean. No one will be able to clean up their act. (2 Pet 1:3 NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
C. When the blood of Christ washes our sins away, Christ also begins the process of removing the junk from our hearts.
D. When we were baptized, several things occurred. We usually emphasize that through our faith in Christ, our sins are forgiven, our slate is wiped clean and we are on our way to heaven. We have been pardoned through the blood of Jesus Christ. We made Christ our Savior.
E. However, when we are baptized with faith in Christ, we are making Jesus our Lord. What does the term Lord mean? It comes from an old English term which refers to the “lord” of the manor. Still use that term in Europe. This person is the Master of this manor, of this property.
F. (Rom 10:9 NIV) That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
G. When we were baptized, we made Jesus our Savior but we also made Him our Lord. He bought us with his blood and we are His.
H. Also when we were baptized, Jesus Christ came and began living in our hearts. Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I. (John 14:23 NIV) Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
J. Jesus Christ is living in our hearts; He has made our hearts His home. (John 14:17 NIV) the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Thesis: This morning I want us to compare our hearts to the rooms in our houses and see how Jesus would view each room. (Idea and portions adapted from Robert Boyd Munger’s My Heart Christ’s Home)
For instances:
1. Let’s take our Friend Jesus into the study- the Library.
A. This is the room of our minds. It is the room that controls the other rooms.
B. Jesus enters with us and looks around at the books in the bookcase, the magazines upon the table, the computer on its desk, and the pictures on the walls. As we follow His gaze we become uncomfortable.
C. Strangely, we had not felt self-conscious about this before, but now that Jesus was there looking at these things He is embarrassed.
D. Some books were there that His eyes were too pure to behold.
E. On the table were a few magazines that a Christian had no business reading.
F. The computer has internet sites, e-mail’s, programs and documents stored that are not wholesome or family friendly.
G. As for the pictures on the walls- the imaginations and thoughts of the mind- some of these are hideous.
H. Red faced, we turn to Jesus and say, “Master, we know that this room needs to be cleaned up and made over. Will you help us make it what it ought to be?”
I. “Certainly!” Jesus says. “I’m glad to help you.”
1. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and looking at which are not helpful, pure, good and true, and throw them out!
2. Put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible, my Word. Fill the library with Scripture and meditate on it day and night. Fill the computer with the same things.
3. As for the pictures on the walls, you will have difficulty controlling those, but I have something that will help. He gives us a full-size portrait of Himself. “Hang this in the center,” He says, “on the wall of your minds.”
J. As we follow Jesus instructions, we discover that when our thoughts are centered upon Christ himself, His purity and power cause impure thoughts to back away. He will help us to bring our thoughts under control.
K. (2 Cor 10:5 NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2. The Dining Room
A. From the study we go into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. We spend a lot of time here trying to satisfy our wants.
B. We say to Jesus, “This is our favorite room. We are quite sure You will pleased with what we serve.”
C. Jesus seats Himself at the table with us and asks, “What is on the menu for dinner?” “Well,” we say, “our favorite dishes: money, academic degrees, stocks and possession, with articles of fame and fortune as side dishes.” These are things that we like- secular fare.
D. When this food was placed before Him, He said nothing, but we observe that He doesn’t eat a thing. We say to Him, “Master, don’t you care for this food? What is the trouble?”
E. Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you do not know of. If you want food that really satisfies you, do the will of the Father. Stop seeking your own pleasures, desires, and satisfaction. Seek to please God. That food will satisfy you.”
F. Jesus goes into the kitchen and brings out a dish that really satisfies! What flavor! What a joy to do the will of God! There is no food like it in the entire world. It really satisfies.
3. The Living Room
A. We go into the living room. This room is intimate and comfortable. WE all liked it. It has a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere.
B. Jesus said, “This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet, and we can fellowship together.”
C. Jesus promised, “I will be here early every morning. Meet me here, and we will start the day together.”
D. So the next morning, we get up and go into the living room and some of us watch TV and others of us read the morning paper. We do this for about a week and we notice that Jesus is off in a corner all by himself, looking very lonely.
E. We go over to him and ask, “What’s the matter Jesus?” Jesus says, “I want to be with you and talk with you and all of this noise makes that impossible.”
F. So we turn off the TV and Jesus takes a book of the Bible from the case. We put down our newspapers and read it together. He unfolds to us the wonder of God’s saving truths. We come before Him and talk about our troubles and He gives us advice and strength to go through life. He hugs us and tells us everything will be fine.
G. However, little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time is shortened. After a while, we begin to miss whole days of going down into the living room with Jesus. We are just too busy. After all, we moved the TV into the rec room and we spend more time there.
H. One morning we rush out the door and we notice that Jesus is in the living room. We come back and say, “Master, have you been here all these mornings?” “Yes,” He says, “I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you. Remember, I love you. I value your fellowship. Even if you cannot keep the quiet time for your own sakes, do it for mine.”
I. Don’t let Christ wait alone in the living room of your heart!
4. The Workroom
A. Before long, Jesus asks us, “Do you have a workroom in this home?”
B. Out in the garage of our hearts we have a workbench and some equipment, but we are not doing much with it.
C. We lead him there. He looks over the workbench and says, “Well, this is quite well furnished. What are you producing with your life for the Kingdom of God?” He looks at the one or two toys that we have thrown together and he holds up one for inspection. “Is this the sort of thing you have been doing for others in your Christian life?”
D. “Well,” we say, “Lord, we know it isn’t much, and we really want to do more, but after all, we don’t seem to have strength or skill or time to do more.”
E. “Would you like to do better,” Jesus asks. “Certainly,” we say.
F. “All right. Let me have your hands. Now let my Spirit work through you.”
G. We give up our hands to him and he makes wonderful and useful things.
(Eph 2:10 NIV) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
5. The Rec Room
A. He asks us about a rec room where we go for fun. We were hoping he would not ask about that. There are certain associations and activities that we wanted to keep for ourselves.
B. He asks one day and so we reluctantly take Him. He sees the TV and asks to see our favorite programs. After a few minutes of this, He grows uneasy and asks, “Is this how you spend your free time?”
C. Then he notices a Game Cube and asks, “Can we play some games?” Jesus looks at the games and we are quite embarrassed. It is nothing but violence. Jesus doesn’t want to play those. Then Jesus asks, “Can I have something to drink?”
D. “Well, Jesus what do you like?” “What do you have?” “Well, we have Vodka, Wild Turkey, Jim Bean, and Jack Daniels.” Jesus says, “Just a few drops of this will make me drunk. Do you get drunk? Is this how you spend some of your free time?”
E. We tell Jesus, “We shouldn’t have let you into this room.” In a hurry, we leave the house and go out with our friends. It is some of the most miserable hours we have ever had.
F. We come home and there is a light in Jesus room, so we go and talk it over with Him. We say, “Lord, we have learned our lesson. We know that we cannot have a good time without you. From now on, we will do everything together.”
G. Then He takes us down into the rec room of the house. He transforms it. He brings new friends, new excitement, and new joys. Laugher and music have been ringing through the house ever since.
6. The Hall Closet
A. One day we found Jesus waiting for us at the door. An arresting look was in His eye. As we enter, He said to us, “There is a peculiar odor in the house. Something must be dead around here. It’s upstairs. I think it is the hall closet.”
B. As soon as He said this, we know what he is talking about. There is a small closet up there that has just a few things from our old life that are dead and rotting.
C. We have no where else to store them. We don’t want them out in the open for that would be terrible.
D. Jesus asks for the key to the closet door and we are quite reluctant. We have given him everything else. We say, “This is too much. We are not going to give You that key.”
E. “Well,” Jesus says,” if you think I’m going to stay up here on the second floor with this smell, you are mistaken. I will stay out on the porch.”
F. He has been such a good guest, we had to give in. We give him the key and tell him to clean up the mess.
G. He opens the closet and throws all the garbage away. Then He cleaned the closet and painted it. It was done in a moment’s time. What victory and release!
H. (Heb 9:14 NIV) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death!
7. Transferring the Title
A. We have an idea. “Lord, is there any chance that you would take over the management of the whole house and operate it for us as you did that Closet? Would you take the responsibility to keep our lives what they ought to be?”
B. “I’d love to. But I am just a guest. I have no authority to proceed, since the property is not mine.”
C. Running as fast as we can to safe, we take out the title deed to the house. We eagerly sign the house over to him alone for time and eternity.
D. Things are different since Jesus Christ has come and lived in our hearts.
Conclusion:
A. When Jesus comes into a person’s heart, that person will change. Some changes will be immediate, others will take time. However, Jesus will make changes.
B. What about those people who claim to be saved but there is no evidence of changes in their lives?
C. Many people want a pardon from hell, but they do not want the Governor living with them. When Jesus pardons us, he comes in and lives with us.
D. Jesus is not our get out of jail free card; He is our Savior and our Lord.
