What Going on in your Heart
Bob Seymour • September 2, 2021
Mark 7:1-8
Do you watch the TV news, listen to the radio or use social media to get your dose of local, national and international news. There is no shortage of voices who present their opinion like they’re solid facts. A news tape or grab as it’s called, runs and the individual speaks for less than 15 seconds, it then takes the news expert services 5 grueling minutes to tell us what we just heard.
But its not just the news services, its others, plenty of others who want to tell us what foods we should and shouldn’t eat, what’s been ethically sourced, which companies are to be trusted and how we should raise, educate and discipline children, old people, and refugees.
There are people who are largely self made and who are self promoters who are now referred to as ‘influencers’. These people don’t usually bother themselves with presenting facts, either historical, medical or scientific…there opinion is their influence.
Currently there is a large libel war raging in the federal courts over the effect one ‘influencer’ exercised over the fishing industry and the serious outcomes.
The influencer had been saying people should not eat Tasmanian Salmon because it gives cancer, its now been revealed in court the person made those statements just as an exercise to test the levels of her own influence in the social media. For many its all about sounding plausible and being believable and selling copy and advertising space. This is about polishing someone’s ego and nothing at all to do with eating these particular fish.
So, are you comfortable asking questions, examining a subject or having a strong expectation for people to be clear and precise and truthful when they deliver information effecting you?
Throughout the Gospels Jesus showed how comfortable He was with questions, both in answering peoples questions and by asking those same people questions. There were times when people designed a question to put to Jesus with the intention of getting Him to incriminate Himself, only to find themselves embarrassed by the question Jesus gave in reply.
In this Gospel report Jesus demonstrates how faith isn’t just about subscribing to a doctrine or particular religious traditions or a lifestyle. What is going on in the heart, He says, is as important as what is going on in your head. And the Scribes and Pharisees now sprung in their own clever trap weren’t happy to say the least…..they were outraged.
When working in the Drug recovery programme often people would relapse by returning to their old destructive habits and returning to Booth intoxicated.
Often they would say they had no idea this would happen, going into a pub and drinking was an impulse they had no control over. It’s hard to tell people sometimes their explanation and excuses were rubbish.
Every action we take, all we do, has in the very first place been considered and rehearsed in the mind, in our thoughts, and the longer we entertain and play with those thoughts we begin to feel it in our heart and that’s when we act ….the action we take has always been a choice, a choice we make.
This process of thinking, feeling and acting is never wrong, not with the religious leaders and their followers and the disciples back then and it’s still the same today. The idea of blaming others or refusing to accept responsibility is still alive and strong. It’s when we find those thoughts in our mind and thinking…..then is when temptation or rebellion need to be challenged and be pushed away. This is when courage needs to be woken up and that does take a lot of insight and practice followed closely by courage and faith in God. Sinners remorse only comes following the wrong. When you catch yourself asking why you made the mistake…be brave and answer yourself honestly.
‘Trust God’ is more than a catchphrase. Proverbs 3:5-6 written by King Solomon ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him (God) and He will make your paths straight.’
The old king is simply telling us if we don’t already know it…..Don’t rely on your own insight, acknowledge God’s supremacy. In order to be wise, you can’t be wise in your own eyes. Have your questions, look for answers, keep searching, embrace what you don’t get, let people know what you’re wondering about…..and you will find more of God than a few catchphrases and unexamined cliches.
Jesus shows what does and doesn’t matter when it comes to obeying the ways and commands of God. Jesus addresses the Scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem who have every intention of springing a trap to use the laws to condemn Jesus and His followers. Jesus knew He will meet this religious lot again, next time in Jerusalem when He will be tried and crucified……and they again will think they have won. Three days later Jesus rose from the grave but only some marveled at the power of God.
Back to Marks reading. After Jesus had spoken to the Scribes and Pharisees He turned His attention on the ordinary men and women and drew them in closer to Him. What you each need to understand, it is NOT what you take into your body, food and drink, and all of their dietary requirements that matters. Following the religious traditions and rules will not, and will never be what gets you ready for God’s Kingdom. All these things will simply pass through your system and leave you hollow and empty…just like the traditions….only useful for a moment.
Without condemning these people Jesus gently points out food consumption and the dietary requirements are grossly inadequate as a pathway to purity and fellowship with God.
Jesus then addresses the third group who were in His company that day….His disciples and says, to them, you guys don’t get either…do you?
Fellows listen to me, you know this, you already know the truth in what I’m about to say! It is from the heart that evil intentions come, it’s from your will, your unreasonable and selfish desires constantly corrupting you.
We each make choices and each one of those choices is followed by their natural outcomes and consequences. We have been taught there are things we can be consumed by that spoil us and our relationship with God and many others along the way. What we are consumers of can be distorted and find a place of power in our life by our desire for self satisfaction and self rule being allowed to run loose. We become insatiable consumers of the things, of pleasures, of other people, even our own energy, then what was once in our control switches us around and power is in the wrong hands.
The work of Salvation is and ever is Gods initiative and Jesus in this gospel story tells all those gathered around Him that day to reconsider what you think is essential to gaining a place in Gods Kingdom. God knows who we are and indeed He know who we should be and He makes the great offer of grace and mercy. If we apologise to God for this rebelliousness we have, He will accept us into His Kingdom.
Sermons For The Moment
New Year - Matthew 2:13-23
Do not be afraid - Matthew 1:18-21
Luke 2: 4- 15
Luke 1: 26-33
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Ruth Chapter 4
Ruth 3
Ruth 2
Commitment from Love, Ruth 1: 1-18
This is an interesting Psalm – another psalm of ascent. We spoke about these Psalms of Ascent a few weeks ago. They were songs the Jewish people sang as they made their way to Jerusalem to go to the temple, through the forest, along the tracks, camping by the roads. And I believe songs like this kept them focussed and kept their spirits up. I can imagine days of walking together, tiring, boring, hot and dusty. And singing some of these Psalms keep them focussed on the faithfulness of God. Much better then eye spy for the kids. Journeys are not all their cracked up to be even if the destination is worth it. As you know, when I was growing up we always holidayed at Bawley Point past Ulladulla, and in those days it was about a 4 hour drive from Sydney. We always left later than we meant to…and the last 20 mins was on a dirt road. One year when I was probably about 4 years old it was dark by the time we got to the dirt road, and half way along the dirt road, was a dodgy wooden bridge over a river. I think part of the bridge had been damaged and we had to wait a bit in the pitch black darkness before we could proceed. Dad was out with a torch ensuring the bridge was safe to drive on and mum and us 4 kids were sitting in the darkness – no street lights, no moonlight. Of course, you might be able to guess what I said to mum in that car, with fearful crying…you’ve probably heard it from kids before. I said ‘I want to go home’. Mum said to me, ‘we can’t go home Robyn, we’re almost there’. In truth, after the bridge we had the last 10 minutes of a 4 hours journey left. We safely crossed the bridge and we were OK. But I remember it. I remember the feeling of being scarred in the darkness. I remember not liking this journey at all. Even though I always loved the destination. Well this psalm celebrates the end of the journey and the arrival at the destination. Psalm 126:1-3, “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” Before we can understand the laughter and joy of the Israelites, we have to understand their journey. This Psalm looks back to when they arrived back in Jerusalem after 70 long years in Babylon. The captives had experienced great sorrow and mourning in exile. We read these heartbreaking words in Psalm 137: “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:1-4). Their tormentors demanded they sing joyfully, but they were like – that’s impossible, it doesn’t come from our heart. So they just sat by the waters of Babylon and wept. But now by an amazing work of God they were suddenly back in Jerusalem. And so their joy came from their heart. The wait was over, the journey was complete. “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” The journey is the hard bit though isn’t it? I was reminded of this, this week. An Officer couple I was speaking to, said that their teenager said some very hurtful things to them. Stuff like, ‘you make my life worse’. As they spoke to me, I did very little but listen and pray with them. They do have other supports in their life as well, already seeing a psychologist. But what I was thinking in my head as they were speaking was ‘oh the teenage years, I’d forgotten them’. Though we have 2 wonderful young adults in P and K, they were times when it was more than tense. K wears her heart on her sleeve, and to this day apologises for some of the things she said to me. And P, you wouldn’t know what he was thinking, and then all of a sudden all his thoughts and feelings for the last 3 years would come out like molten lava everywhere. A few days later I checked in to see how the couple and their teenager were going. I mentioned in passing about teenage years and very briefly about our experiences. I didn’t want to make it all about me. But I said teenage years can be painful and those years can really hurt everyone in the family. Teenager included. They know that we have a good relationship with P and K and they said to me, you know, this is helpful. It gives us hope. I was like, yep, this too shall pass. Because when you’re in the midst of the journey of pain and sorrow, you sometimes wonder if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ll laugh again or experience joy again. You begin to wonder, “Is this all that God has for me? Will I ever be happy again?” And here’s the promise in Psalm 126:4-6, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” When you are going through a time of deep sorrow, Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. It carries a powerful message of hope. It tells you that times of trouble and sorrow do not last. It tells you that God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter. If you are going through a challenging time right now, I pray that this psalm will speak to your heart this morning. Let me tell you right up front, whatever you’re going through, it will get better. God will change your tears to joy. This week I found something I wrote about 10 years ago. I had written it on a piece of paper and there was a whole reflection about my life. At the time we had my mum living with us, she had dementia, and mostly I remember the good times and the fun times with her. I was also the Corps Officer at Glebe and Bob was the manager at William Booth House. After a page of writing I had written something like this “I’m often anxious, I’m usually stressed, I have eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth. I always feel pressed.” I went out to Bob in the lounge room and I’m like, ‘oh my goodness, eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth’, often anxious, usually stressed. The thing is, my life feels a long way from that now, and I’d forgotten what that part of my journey felt like. I’m sure when I was there I couldn’t look ahead and see a time of joy…but the truth is that “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” This too shall pass. ‘Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!’ says verse 3. God is faithful – he does the healing, the restoring, he brings the streams in the desert that renews and brings fruitfulness. I don’t need to tell you – it takes time. Today, I’m praying for a work of healing in your life, a gradual restoration of joy, of laughter. Like me as a kid, sometimes we don’t like parts of this journey at all. Even though we know our destination is good. And ultimately, we have a destination like no other and that’s the promise of God. A home in heaven made possible through Jesus. May God bless you this week as you look to Him, listen to Him, find your hope in Him and find courage and healing in your journey.