Larry Siegle · Jeremiah 17:5-10
Link to sermon video: God’s Desire to Heal Our Hearts – L Siegle
The Heart Posture
“God’s DESIRE to Heal the Heart”
(Jeremiah 17:5-10)
Series: The Healing Heart Posture
Thesis: There is a “sickness” in the human heart that only God can heal.
INTRODUCTION
1. We begin a special series to identify and explore the depths our “heart posture” and why our hearts need God’s touch to heal and to restore us in every area of our lives.
2. The title of the series is The Heart Posture
3. The title of our message today is: “God’s DESIRE to Heal the Heart”
OVER TIME OUR EXPERIENCES IN LIFE LEAVE ‘SCARS’ BEHIND
1. A “grass whip” (sickle, scythe) is a tool designed to accomplish the task of removing of grass in areas where a mower is ineffective—and they can be dangerous!
a. At the age of twelve, my uncle sent me out to the isolated area behind the garden, near a fence on one side, and a wooden shed on the other, handed me a small, extremely sharp grass whip and told me to cut out all of the
excess weeds, grass, plants in the area.
b. Everything was moving along (for a while) until I swung the grass whip and caught the upper area of my pinkie finger of the left hand with it—creating a painful lesson and a scar that remains until this day and on occasion
when I bump it just right, reminds me of that painful moment.
2. The things we experience over the course of time, in our lives, leaves behind “scars” that testify of where we have been and the damage done to us (John 20:24-29).
1) To ‘push down’ our feelings about how others have hurt us only creates anger, resentment, pain, and bitterness on the inside—these areas must be acknowledged to allow God’s healing hand to touch these very tender areas
of our lives.
2) This series is about Heart Posture…remember when our parents and teachers used to tell us, “sit up straight!” pay attention to our posture!
3. The concept of heart posture involves “the inner attitude, motives, and orientation of our hearts”—the condition of our inner condition or stance…to find the alignment of ours hearts with the very heart of God.”
THE KEY ASPECTS OF HEART POSTURE
1. What is our attitude toward God?—The genuine heart posture reflects whether or not we approach God with complete humility, surrender, and trust—or is our heart full of pride and self-reliance (Prov. 16:18).
2. It is not simply what we DO, but involves our motives and intentions—Outward actions can be deceptive, but God looks closer into the innermost parts of our being (Prov. 4:23; Psa. 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11; 41:12).
a. Integrity takes place on the inside of us, it is defined as “what one does when nobody is looking”
3. The Heart Posture requires humility before God—This is not weakness, it is the demonstration of strength and spirituality that acknowledges dependence upon God rather than feeding self.
4. A healthy heart posture leads to qualities such as grace, compassion, and service toward others.
5. It is GOD who sees the heart posture we have (I Sam. 16:7).
HEART POSTURE AND BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS
1. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah in the OT (Jer. 1:4-10).
2. His message to the people was to remind them of the consequences of their willful rebellion and disobedient actions (Jer. 1:12-19).
a. God always “watches over His word to perform it” (Jer. 1:12).
b. Disaster was coming upon the people because they had forsaken God (Jer. 1:14-16).
c. God told His prophet “get dressed for work” (Jer. 1:17-19).
3. God was going to bring into the land a nation “from the North” (Babylon) as they would invade the land and siege the city of Jerusalem (597-586 BCE).
6. Jeremiah was “called” to be a prophet in about 627 BCE in the little town of Anathoth [answers to prayers]
a. A Levite city in the area of the tribe of Benjamin, almost 3 miles from Jerusalem.
b. Jeremiah proclaimed this message of coming judgment for about 40 years before Babylon invaded and destroyed the temple that Solomon had built (The events are documented in Jeremiah 52:1-34).
1) The “times of the Gentiles” began when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and removed the earthly king from David’s throne (Luke 21:24) that extended until the time when Jerusalem and the rebuilt temple was
destroyed by the Roman armies in 70 CE. Approximately 666 years that the “nations” trampled the kingdom of God “underfoot (Rev. 13:18).
2) When God’s Kingdom that was “at hand” in the days of John the Baptizer, Jesus and the apostles was fully established, the “times of the Gentiles” was over. Never again could the Kingdom of God ever be trampled
underfoot because the New Covenant Kingdom was “not from this world” (John 18:36; Col. 1:10-14).
7. Jeremiah is called ‘the weeping prophet’ (he wrote Lamentations to express the sorrow he felt for his people in their fallen condition before God (Lam 1:16; 2:11; 3:48, 49; Jer. 9:1; 13:17; 14:17). The prophet was devastated at the
events that had taken place.
a. But there was a positive side of the message of Jeremiah that after the destruction and “to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10).
THE HEART POSTURE OF THE PEOPLE MUST BE CHANGED FOR GENUINE HEALING TO TALK PLACE
1. It is far to too easy to look back and to remember the hardships and situations that created sorrow, sadness, anger, and resentment for how we were treated in the past.
2. Reconciliation moves to ‘restore within us’ what has been effected by the attitudes and actions of other.
a. Forgiveness of those who have broken our hearts in the past does not mean there are no consequences for what they have done (Gal. 6:7, 8; Rom. 12:17-21).
b. We are to stand in God’s “secret place”—the “shadow of the Most High” (Psa. 91:1-16).
THE NEWS CYCLE
1. This week was a difficult one because of the events taking place in our world today.
a. More violence and school shootings.
b. The assignation of Charlie Kirk (his wife and children are left to continue on).
2. So many people this week were angry, wanting revenge, to incite violence, make a terrible situation even worse.
3. But God has a way that is so very much better, so far above whatever we could ask or think and HE will see this through.
a. The heart posture of people all around us needs the redeeming work of God to bring about wisdom and understanding—People should not have to die over differences of opinion about various issues.
b. The prophet told his audience about the condition of the human heart (Jer. 17:1-10).
CONCLUSION
1. In this series we are going to dig deep into what is necessary for each one of us to experience the depth of God’s love in our own lives to transform how it is that we deal with people around us.
2. God does not just want to change our “outward” behavior but rather he wants to change our “inside” heart posture to transform our lives and to build and to plant His life within us.
3. God will remove the “root of bitterness” that forms within our hearts over time (Heb. 12:14-17).
4. Only God can heal our past hurts and restore HIS joy in the innermost depths of our being.
Outline (Word document): The_Healing_Heart_Posture.docx