Title: Above all else
Sunday 10.8.2024
Bible reading: Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. God is concerned with our hearts and always desires our hearts; to be connected to His heart. The work of the heart is to connect everything. The heart is like a basket. The word of God says, Fill that heart with good things. From where we are seated, there are many things in this world that pull us from one side to the other. But the word of God says, Guard your Heart.
There is a songs that says ”Linda linda moyo wako kuliko vyote ulindavyo maana ndiko zitokako chemichemi za uzima…………….. https://youtu.be/Y1iJX-oHELg …………”
God is more concerned with your heart. Whatever you have collected and then you put in your heart since the heart is like a backset, similar to an instance where you go to the market, you will buy things putting in the basket, so it is the same way you put things on your heart. If you fill your heart with bitterness, if you fill your heart with anger, the time that you will meet with any person, it shall be noted that you are a person who is tempered with anger. The Swahili men once said ”Hasira hasara”. You will put a lot of things in your heart, but the Lord tells us to guard and protect your heart. It is an individual thing, and no one will come to help you. It might not be evident to the eye, but they are sinful. Let us take for example, when you allow anger to be in your heart, and it gets rooted there, when you meet anybody, it will be seen that you are a person tempered with anger and gripped by a lot of bitterness.
As a Christian, get rid of these things;
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- Laziness and pride where you treat other people like they are not human beings because you are richer than they are
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- Greed-Putting gluttony in your heart saying to people, this is mine, that is mine, without any regard for your neighbor. Greed is a sin.
We can see that when God created human beings, they were perfect, and their heart was pure without sin. Our hearts are paramount to God and He is the one who can look what is our hearts. As Human beings, you can look at someone from the outside, but God will look at us from the inside of our hearts. If you fill your heart with sin, it will become a burden to you. That is why we are told by Jesus Christ, when you are overlaid with burdens, bring it to me and I will give you relief. (Matthew 11:28-30)
We can see that even if your heart is clean and your heart is without sin but because of the sin of nature from Adam, and the devil’s plan, The devil doesn’t want good things in your life, so the devil came to destroy the life of Adan and therefore we inherited that sinful nature. Even though things change, because of the devil’s plans there is a resolution.
Our hearts become attracted to evil and we can put evil things in our hearts. God is the only one who knows us and so do you no one else knows you but they only see you and that is why God looks at your heart and what is in it. Even that which is hidden to the core of your bones He has the power to see what it is. God is a good God!!!
The word of God was designed to heal you, to cover you, and to restore you. If you are lost, the word of God will guide you. The word of God will multiply you. The word of God will multiply you in every area of your life. The word of God is good and therefore let us receive it wholly.
A human being has three parts
1. The mind
2.The body
3. The spirit.
This physical body which we are seeing, Jesus said while in heaven “God you have given me a body on earth.”That’s the reason why when you die, the soul goes back to the lord but the body is left here on earth. When that body is going to be buried, it is declared, dust to dust and ash to ash. The body is the one that carries the spirit that returns to God. The heart fits perfectly in the human body and the soul is a full being in itself. How you look is how your soul resembles you. That is why the word of God tells us, ABOVE ALL ELSE, PROTECT YOUR HEART. The word does not tell us to guard our body or your mind it says GUARD YOUR HEART.
Your heart is important to God and when He looks in that Heart, it is similar to how you see things in a basket. There may be many things in that basket but when God will look in your heart let Him find that you have filled it with good things.
Moving forward, even in the church, rumors might pop up because they are in someone’s heart. If you fail to guard your heart, then that sin of spreading rumors will find root within your heart. If you have anger in your heart, thereafter what will come out of your mouth is what is from within. Your actions, feelings, and the way you move all these come from deep within your heart.
The heart is attached to the soul and is what sustains the soul. If you fill your heart with good things, God will accept you. Love each other and God will do the same for us. Concerning the mind body and spirit, we find that the Bible, specifically in the book of Thessalonians, talks about your heart and its essence. When your heart is clean and clear from evil, as God told David His heart was like His in comparison.
Meditate upon it and know how you the state of your heart.
When I came to this church today I noted that this congregation is filled with hospitality and I told myself that these people love God. After 30 years I Have come back to this church once again. So this church was started by God himself through my parents Mr. and Mrs Sirawa. I remember waking up at the crack of dawn to wash and tidy this church. My father never wanted to tell the congregation to do that work. God has loved us since that time until now.
About Thessalonians 5:23, let us look and reflect on it keenly that God is concerned with our hearts. Even if we have passed through what circumstances, The book of Ezekiel states that God will put a new heart in you evenit is damaged. People might forsake you saying it is none of their concern but God will always be with you. He calls us His sons and children and He will never forsake us till the end of the world. Take His word, walk with it, word for word and when you receive it, sleep with it, and awaken with it,
God will never forsake you. He will love you. I repeat that God loves you and you are important in his kingdom. When these good things find refuge in your heart, they will grow roots that cannot be uprooted and that is where God comes in because you are His child.
There is nothing impossible to God so tell him what you are going through. He has the power and might for any miracle.
In conclusion, we see how our hearts are important, and God can do successful surgery on any heart. Every time there is no happiness, and a person is filled with insecurities, Only God can transform that, Heart. Let us continue studying and reflecting on the word of God. Let us hold it tight and without drought, God will be there with us.
Follow the word of God as He says and when you have the word of God in your heart, the devil will try to tempt you, but he will fear you. When the devil tested Jesus, he was told “It is written”. It is like he was being told by Jesus, to go and read. When you have the word of God with you, the devil will fear you. He will be trying to bring in something, but he will always retreat in failure because you have the word of God.
Open your hearts to the word of God
Planting trees for the next generation was and is always a good move
Cheers
Thank you