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This is the audio from the July 9, 2023 sermon, “Called By God: A Matter of the Heart”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Amos 6

Today I continued a sermon series which is based from the Old Testament book of Amos.  If you’re wondering how applicable the message from this book of the Bible can be today, consider the following description of the world in the days of Amos.  See if this sounds familiar at all to the world we currently live in.

“A spirit of self-sufficiency and smug complacency thrived on material prosperity.  The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer.  Idolatry, hypocrisy, moral corruption, and social injustices were everywhere.  The nation was truly on the brink of disaster.”  (Irving Jensen)

As God speaks to His people through the prophet Amos, He makes it clear that simply going through the motions or being born into the right family is not enough to be right with God.  As God looked at the people of Israel and Judah, and as He looks at us, it is the condition of our heart that is most noticeable.  The difference between a heart that will fall and a heart that is full can be seen in the single letter that is different between fall and full.  A heart that will fall is a heart with arrogance at its core.  The heart that is full is one with understanding being its central feature.  God sees through all of our facades and pretenses and looks directly into the heart of the matter — our  . . .

• Head: (Colossians 3:2)

  • While it may seem strange to talk about the head being involved in a matter of the heart, it is important to note that when the Bible talks about our heart it generally refers to the very core of who we are and why we do what we do.  Our head is definitely involved in our decision to love God with a whole heart or not.  The matter of the heart being right with God requires that we set our mind on things above so that we move from a heart of arrogance to a heart of understanding.

• Emotions: — (Jeremiah 17:9)

  • Of all the characteristics we’ll talk about today in regard to a matter of the heart, the matter of our emotions is likely the one that most corresponds to our cultures view of heart.  We use the heart symbol to express a love that is based on feelings of good toward someone else.  While we need to be aware of our emotions and pay attention to how God uses them to guide and direct us at times, we must also recognize in this regard our heart can be deceitful and lead us into making poor decisions.  The matter of the heart being right with God requires that we put our emotions in submission to God as we move from a heart of arrogance to a heart of understanding.

• Actions: — (Matthew 12:34-35)

  • A matter of the heart will always be reflected in our actions.  Whether it was the people of Israel and Judah in the days of Amos, the religious leaders in the days of Jesus, or you and I today, God makes it clear that what is in our heart will eventually come out to reveal who we are.  The condition of our heart is what produces our words and actions not only in our relationship with God but also in our relationships with one another.  The matter of the heart being right with God requires that we pay attention to our actions so we make the appropriate adjustments to move from a heart of arrogance to a heart of understanding.

• Response: — (1 Peter 3:15)

  • I suspect that most of us have had times when our response to others, or even to God, has not been what it should have been.  There are a lot of factors in that, but at the core of it is an overflow of the heart at the moment in that we become defensive rather than learning.  God’s desire is that our heart would be completely filled with Him so that our response to others is one filled with gentleness and respect.  The matter of the heart being right with God requires that we pay attention to how we respond so that we can make the adjustments necessary to move from a heart of arrogance to a heart of understanding.

• Time: — (2 Corinthians 6:2)

  • While we often don’t recognize it, or even feel like it is true, time is the great equalizer.  Each day that God gives us contains the same 24 hours no matter who we are or what we do.  When we’re honest with ourselves, we realize that the only time we really have is the moment that is now.  Because our responsibilities and commitments vary greatly from person to person and between stages of life, it can be easy to lose sight of what is really important when it comes to time.  The time to be right with God is always right now.  The matter of the heart being right with God requires that we examine this very moment of time so that today we move from a heart of arrogance to a heart of understanding.

Today, what will you do with your HEART?