We need a healthy heart for healthy longevity. The bible gives some wonderful advice concerning keeping our heart happy and healthy.
Sermon Transcript:
Healthy Heart 14th May 2023
Proverbs 17:22
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”
Proverbs 4:23
“Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Psalm 119:111
“Your laws are my heritage; they are the joy of my heart.”
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
Proverbs 21:2
“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD examines the heart.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
” Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Give out the Mother’s Day chocolates!
Let us pray –
Heavenly Father, for the good of your kingdom in this place, I pray that the words of my mouth are acceptable to You as I deliver this sermon. Help us all to pay attention to Your Word because Your Word is our inheritance and therefore, should be the absolute joy of our hearts. Psalm 119:111 Amen
I’ve had a fitness watch now for over 8 years. Mother’s Day 2015 was when I first started to wear one. And boy did it change my life 😊
Many of you know that I enjoy wearing my fitness watch (it really suits my personality; I’ve always had this affinity with numbers so a watch that’s full of stats is perfect for me). Get this, it tells me how many steps I’ve taken each day, how many calories I’ve burnt, how many floors I’ve climbed, how many hours I’ve slept (and the quality of those hours), it tells me how much weight I need to lose (that’s not a nice one), it tells me how many kilometres I’ve walked, it even gives me a number for my stress level and how much body battery I have left…
But most importantly, it gives an indication of the health of my heart by letting me see how fast and regular it’s beating throughout the day & night.
And I’ve noticed, the more I exercise and get my heart rate up with cardio training, the more my heart rate goes down when I’m resting.
All the exercise I’ve done since 2012, has grown my hearts capacity to pump the blood more efficiently around my body.
The health of my heart is extremely important to me.
In Proverbs 4:23 it says,
“Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Ain’t that the truth!?
The heart pumps the goodness, we need, to every organ within our body.
If the heart malfunctions, we get sick, things don’t work properly.
On my mum’s side of the family there’s a genetic tendency to high cholesterol. One reading, I had once, showed my cholesterol to be 9.8, that’s pretty high when it’s supposed to be around 4.5.
Mind you, the jury’s still out on the relevance of cholesterol, we really don’t know if it is the leading cause of heart attacks. Nevertheless, my cholesterol has gone down dramatically with exercise and a good diet. And the stats from my fitness watch have proven that my heart is certainly pumping much more efficiently.
In 2017, after a short-term mission’s trip to Cambodia, I came down with full blown influenza. It was awful! When you get as sick as I was, believe you me, you thank God for your health when you recover. Never take good health for granted – it’s one of the greatest blessings in life. But during my bout of influenza, it was fascinating watching the virus’s effect on my heart.
Listen to this, on the worst night of the flu, when I was hallucinating and my bed was saturated with sweat, my heart rate shot up so much so that it was like I’d been running all night long.
Truly, my heart used a lot of energy that night, I lost weight without exercise (that’s the only good thing about the flu!)
And the continued stats, from my Fitness watch, overwhelmingly proved to me the virus put a strain on my heart. Because my resting heart rate took at least 3 months to return to normal after the viral attack.
The Bible says,
“Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Another thing I’ve noticed on my fitness watch, and this is a confession, I (quite a while ago now) spent a whole day being very angry. I felt justified in my anger, as we all do, I suppose, when we get angry. Proverbs 21:2
“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD examines the heart.”
“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD examines the heart.”
I felt I was right in my anger, I was justified! But let me tell you, GOD examined my heart during my bout of anger, and He found me to be wrong. Because throughout day, I experienced a strong Holy Spirit conviction which told me in no uncertain terms, that my attitude stank – my heart was wrong. And get this, my fitness watch agreed with God. :-)
My watch showed me something that totally surprised me. My heart rate was noticeably elevated the whole day from my anger.
It was high when I exercised (actually it was extremely high) and it was high when I rested. My negative emotion was obviously taking its toll on my heart.
Later, when I dealt with my sinful, angry state. (And I forgave my husband 😊) My resting heart rate immediately responded by dropping back down to normal.
The truth is when I got right with God, He gave me a reason to laugh and be joyful again. I forgave and I ‘Let it go, let it go. ’ And boy did it feel good in my heart, it felt good all over to let go of my anger!
Proverbs 17:22 says,
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”.
Proverbs 17:22 says,
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”.
When you’re in a state of anger, when you’re grieving, when you’re jealous/lustful, when you’re depressed, when you’re living in fear. It takes its toll on your body because a crushed spirit saps the life out of us, it literally places undue stress on the heart. But a cheerful heart is good medicine for the whole body because its rhythm is without stress.
I really gave this some thought a couple of years ago, and this is what I believe.
THE ACTION OF THE HEART STAMPS or APPROVES WHAT YOUR MIND BELIEVES.
THE ACTION OF THE HEART STAMPS or APPROVES WHAT YOUR MIND BELIEVES.
If your mind is in a state of fear – your heart pumps faster. If your mind believes you have reason to be angry – your heart pumps faster.
If you’re depressed it takes its toll on your heart!
Because your heart echoes the thoughts of the mind.
There is a very close relationship between the mind and the heart.
The heart needs the mind in order to function, and the mind needs the heart in order to function.
Whatever your mind really believes, your heart’s action stamps it with a seal of approval.
I have a distant friend whose adult daughter was in love with a nice young man. The couple went to a night club one evening, after a few hours of drinking and dancing this young man happened to brush against the girlfriend of another intoxicated guy in the club.
The intoxicated guy took extreme offence to this and waited with his brother outside the night club with the motive to teach ‘the offender’ a lesson.
When my girlfriends’ daughter came out with her boyfriend both men pounced on him. From what I can remember of the story, they hit him just a few times.
But the surprise and the degree of threatening violence that came with the attack, caused the young man to slump to his knees and fall face down on the ground dead. His heart had experienced such extreme shock that he died. The horrific fear he experienced caused his heart to stop.
It’s a very sad story,
Jesus said in John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God.” Let not your heart be TROUBLED, believe in God.
The Greek word for heart in this scripture is KARDIA we still use this word for heart today. E.g. He went into cardiac arrest. He had a heart attack! The Greek word for Kardia means the seat and centre of circulation and therefore of human life.
Why did Jesus say, “let not your heart be troubled”?
Remember, Jesus is God.
God created mankind. He knows everything there is to know about us in a physical, spiritual and emotional sense.
And God is saying, “let not your heart be troubled.”
I believe there are TWO reasons why He said this,
Firstly, HE KNOWS that our biggest fight in life is NOT TO BE TROUBLED.
This world, and its demonic powers at play, wants to sap us of our joy by giving us trouble. There are many many many reasons to be troubled!
Who’s had at least ONE reason this week to be troubled?
Okay,
So, Jesus knows it’s incredibly easy for humans to be troubled. Doesn’t take a degree to work that one out.
Secondly, He said ‘Let not your heart be troubled’ because Jesus knows that a troubled heart is a sick one.
It effects the whole body.
A troubled heart makes you feel sick and eventually may lead to an early death.
What’s the remedy for a troubled heart?
Jesus said,
‘Let not your heart be troubled,
Here’s the solution – this is from our Creator!
-Believe in God, believe also in ME!’
They’re the words of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
We must believe GOD; we must believe in the power of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
To believe Him is to know Him and to know Him is to see Him.
And if you’re really seeing Him in everything you experience then your heart is absolutely pure, healthy, good and untroubled.
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they see God.”
I think we can say this Scripture in reverse, those who really see God, have a pure heart – because our faith in HIM makes it that way. Let NOT your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe in Me – said Jesus.
I believe Christians should approach their faith holistically. We’re not just spirits, we also have a body, we also have a mind, a soul, the three function as one, they’re all interconnected.
We need our body for our spirit to operate. When we die, our spirit will go to a resting place, where we will wait for the great Judgement Day. On that day, God will give all those who are His, new perfect bodies for our resting spirits.
But right now, we have what we have, and we need to look after what we have. Because our bodies, our soul, our spirit are a temple of the Holy Spirit.
We need to look after the whole package, it’s all tied in together.
In the third letter of John it says, “I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes well with your soul.”
I’d say there’s not a person in this place that doesn’t want good health.
Good health helps us to serve the LORD more effectively.
Good health desperately relies upon a healthy heart and a sound mind.
Now listen to my final point because this is the pivotal point of this sermon.
One of the best observations, I’ve made with my fitness watch is this. On a Sunday morning, before the service begins, particularly those mornings when I preach.
An outsider would easily observe that I am mentally, physically and emotionally stretched.
I’m connecting with people, I’m singing, I’m doing lots of things, wearing many hats.
Let alone preaching the word, which by the way is the most important part of my week.
In truth, on a Sunday morning my heart is pumping in the Fat burning/cardio region because I’m busy/I’m flat out emotionally, physically and spiritually. But the minute I walk into the prayer room and begin to pray my heart plummets into the deepest resting place. It’s amazing. I regularly observe it on my fitness watch app. My heart rate goes right down into a deep rest. And by the way, I haven’t fallen asleep, I’m praying emotionally often with passion and volume and sometimes I move my hands and feet.
But my heart plummets.
And it’s not the only prayer meeting in which it happens…
I’ve noticed my heart does the same thing in all our prayer meetings!
Doesn’t matter how rowdy or passionate we get in prayer – my heartrate drops! It also does the same thing when I’m reading the Bible, meditating and praying on my own.
When I go out for a walk or run, and I put my Christian music on in my little hearing aid, my heart settles at an incredibly happy pace while I pray & worship as I move.
Why, why does this happen to me?
It’s because when I pray,
I get all that stuff in my mind that may be a tad troubling, and I give it to Jesus.
And I leave it there. My MIND truly believes He’s going to deal with it, and my heart immediately responds with the stamp of approval by settling down.
Faith filled prayer settles the heart.
There’s a lot of talk online about Yoga and meditation, and how important it is every day to empty your mind of everything and think of nothing and this will bring you peace. I’m going to tell you, as a Christian pastor that that is absolute rubbish!
True meditation was first spoken about in the Bible, and it takes this form. Empty your mind of everything and fill it with God and His WORD!
Please turn with me to
Philippians 4:4-7 (NASB)
I’ve preached this scripture many times, probably because it’s one of my favorites.
But I NOW have the personal scientific data to totally validate the truth of this scripture.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Well rejoice means you’re celebrating, you’re happy, you’re joyful in God.
That’s good for the heart. (thumbs up)
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. Not a frantic out of control spirit – your gentle spirit – this implies a mild, reasonable attitude which springs from a heart at rest.
The Lord is near. Hallelujah! He is near to all those who love Him and are obedient to His Word.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication (supplication is letting God know your needs and desires)
with thanksgiving (this means we’re thanking God in anticipation of His goodness) let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension (or transcends all understanding), will guard your (what brothers and sisters?)
Your hearts – kardia and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Rejoicing, having a gentle disposition, praying and thanksgiving guards, protects your hearts and minds.
I think this scripture tells us that prayer is better for the heart than walnuts, avocado, coconut oil, fish oil and even exercise.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
So, if you’re thinking about bad stuff, or mean stuff, the God of peace isn’t with you.
Don’t fill your mind with junk and then expect God to give you peace. That’s stupid.
Let me tell you,
I physically prove Phil 4 every day.
This is why my heartbeat settles down when I pray.
God’s peace floods my soul every time I commit every problem or care to His attention.
I stop worrying, I empty the toxic rubbish out of my mind which controls my heart’s pace. And the amazing peace of God floods my whole being.
God’s presence heals your mental state.
God’s presence heals your emotional state.
He literally brings peace to your heart.
AND GET THIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
IF WE CONTINUALLY PRAY WITHOUT CEASING HAVING A DISCIPLINE OF HANDBALLING EVERY CARE TO HIM ALL THE TIME. Then we will never have cause to be anxious about anything.
Phil 4 was never meant to be a dream- a dream too good to be true!
The peace of God should be guarding your hearts and your minds every day.
It should be a reality.
But you’ve got to discipline yourselves to have faith to believe it.
Why don’t you begin disciplining yourself today? Why don’t you make a stand today to stop worrying? And start filling your mind with God.
If you feel God has been speaking to you today and you want to make a stand for peace in your heart. I want to pray for you. You know, you can’t control what goes on in other people, but you can control what goes on in YOUR heart. YOU CAN control what goes on in YOUR heart, in YOUR mind.
Please stand, don’t delay. Stand if you are determined to live in God’s peace. Stand if you are determined for YOUR heart not to be troubled.
This is the day where you say, “God I’m doing it YOUR way, I’m not going to worry, I’m not going to fear, I’m not settling for depression, I’m not looking for revenge, I’m not feeling jealousy or hurt… I’m simply looking at YOU Jesus, and when I see You I see that You love me, and You died to take my hurt and pain away. My heart is a healthy heart because I’ve given it to You. My mind is a stable mind because it rests in YOUR PERFECT PEACE. Every time worry comes my way, I’m handballing it to You. And I fill my mind with YOU!”
Let us pray,
Heavenly Father,
We stand in Your presence declaring Your goodness towards us. We thank You that You want what is best for us, and You want us to live in Your peace. Father, I pray that every heart in Cityview Church, EVERY HEART will be a healthy heart. That our hearts will be joyful because they beat for YOU. Lord I ask for good spiritual health, good physical health, good emotional health in this church. Help us LORD to discipline ourselves to constantly look to You in all circumstances. And NOT WORRY.
Amen