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.
II Corinthians 4:16-17
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.
We can look forward to a time when our pain and troubled hearts do not have to face the pain of this life. Heaven in coming! Many people live their lives troubled and burdened, but those troubles are not permanent. Do not loose heart, keep your faith, serve God wholeheartedly, though you may have burdens now, they will not last forever.
II. Do not loose heart we can trust God
John 14:1
Do not loose heart, we can trust God. God is faithful to His promises. Sometimes it is not easy to trust God because we do not see the possibility of Him being faithful to His promises. I love reading stories of people who trusted in God.
I think of Noah, who was a man that walked blamelessly in a time when everyone was wicked. God told Noah it was going to rain. I would love to have seen Noah’s facial expressions when God told Him that. “It’s going to what?” Before that time there had never been rain. God told Noah to start building a big boat because everyone was going to be destroyed. Noah trusted God, and built an Ark, despite the jeers and mocking of the people around. Noah did not understand what God was asking him to do, but nevertheless Noah trusted in God.
God told Abraham to leave all his family and move away from his land. He trusted God and moved. God told Abraham in his old age that he would have a child. I wonder what was going through Abraham’s mind. “I am almost a hundred years old, there is no way”. Nevertheless he trusted God, and God proved faithful.
God has proven through history that He is trustworthy, and he is faithful to His promises. The Bible is filled with promises of God for His people, and God has never failed on His promises. God never promises freedom from pain, he never promises that we won’t have tough times, but he does promise His presence through that pain and tough times. We do not have to loose heart in our difficult times because God is trustworthy. We can rest assured that God will deliver us from our trials.
I Corinthians 10:13
Do not loose heart; trust in God, He will deliver you from your trials. We must completely trust God. I know that sometimes it is not easy to understand why, or how things will work out, but for the troubled heart, the message is do not loose heart, trust in God.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know “thus saith the Lord”
Jesus, Jesus how I trust Hi
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus O for grace to trust Him more
III. Do not loose heart God is the giver of peace
We do not need to loose heart during our troubles and when our heart is troubled, because God gives peace to His children when they need it. It is awesome to be a Christian because God cares for us, and he gives us a peace that cannot be explained when we are troubled and upset.
Philippians 4:7
The peace of God is not a peace in which troubles are absent, but is a reminder that God is with us. I have been in many uneasy situations, I have been distressed and troubled and then I felt the peace of God and knew that God was with me.
I think one of the things that make life easiest knows that God is with us. The Bible assures us that Christians have his presence.
First of all Jesus promises wherever two or three are gathered in His name he is present with them. Secondly, all who obey Jesus, and are immersed in water receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence indwelling us permanently. He does not leave us; he does not leave during our hard times. Jesus in fact called the Holy Spirit the comforter.
God gives us peace that shows His presence during our hard times. I do not know of any thing that could help more during times of trouble then simply knowing that God is with us. He gives us peace that transcends understanding.
Do not loose heart when you are troubled, God is the giver of peace, and He wants to give you peace for your troubled heart. He wants to comfort you; He wants to heal your brokenness so that you can more effectively serve Him.
IV. Do not loose heart there is better to come
When your heart is troubled and heavy do not loose heart because there are better times to come. This life may hold a lot of disappointment. People will always disappoint us, but God won’t ever. We will have hard and tough times here on Earth, but we are awaiting a better life to come.
John 16:33
Jesus has been victorious over this world. Because of His victory, we have the promise of eternity with God in Heaven. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to go, I am excited about my home in Heaven. I am excited about a place where there is no grief and no suffering. Revelation promises us that in Heaven, there will be no more death or crying or pain.
As I watch the television I am painfully aware of the world that we live in. The world is full of hurting people, people without hope, people with many troubles, and people with heavy hearts. Those people seek to find relief in many ways. They medicate themselves, they do all sorts of things, but the only way to find relief and a cure for our troubled and heavy hearts is to look towards a life that is to come in Heaven.
Revelation 21:3-4
This world will chew you up and spit you out, Satan wants to wound you. He wants you to be so emotionally torn down by the cares of this world that you cannot serve God. He wants to drag you down, but God wants to bring you peace and comfort. God wants to take your burdens from you, God wants to give you hope of a life that is to come in Heaven where our hearts will never be troubled.
If anyone was to say that their hearts are never troubled they would not be telling the truth. We all have things that burden us. Perhaps today your heart is troubled because of sin in your life. Perhaps today you heart is troubled because of family problems or marital problems, perhaps today your heart is troubled because of other cares that you have. We do not need to worry any longer. The message that Jesus gave is awesome, do not loose heart, I have overcome the world.
I know what’s going to happen. I know the future, because I have read the end of the book. We win! The church is victorious. Those that were faithful to Jesus will have their tears wiped away and their burdens removed. We are going to Heaven, where pain cannot affect us. Aren’t you excited about a better life to come? Do not loose heart, do not let your hearts be heavy and troubled, there is a better life to come, unaffected by the grief and despair in this world, but eternal life with no pain in the presence of God. Don’t you want to go there?
Conclusion:
Ezekiel 36:26
Perhaps today you need a heart transplant. God is offering to create in you a new heart. He is offering to remove your burdens, if you will come to him. Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest for your souls.
