Follow Your Heart

Sermon Manuscript: Dumb Things Christians Say Message 6- Follow Your Heart  
Sermon preached by Dr. Rick Mandl, Eagle Rock Baptist Church, October 24 & 25, 2020   
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

 

It’s great to welcome you . . . We've been in a series called Dumb Things Christians Say. What we've been doing in this series is we're looking at some of the common myths, some of the Spiritual Urban Legends, that people believe are true and we've been seeing how they're really not. The DUMB THING that we're looking at this week, is one that some of you might take issue with because you might feel like it's not that dumb of a dumb thing, you might feel like it's a SMART THING. Maybe it's something that you were taught growing up and for that reason you feel like. . . You might feel like it's actually - - - "Good Advice." This idea that you should let your conscience be your guide.

 

Before we get into the merits of this old adage, it might be good to remind ourselves of where it came from. The saying "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" contrary to popular opinion doesn't come from the Bible. This piece of advice was made famous by an animated character in a Disney classic the movie Pinocchio. How many of you have ever seen Pinocchio? There is this guy little guy Jiminy cricket. . . Remember him??? Maybe this clip will help you . . . [video clip]

 

JIMINY CRICKET - - - GOOD DANCER, GOOD SINGER, GOOD WHISTLER. . . BAD THEOLOGIAN. . . He was out to lunch when he was talking about temptation and sin. . . Can you really rely on your conscience? Can you rely on your conscience to really be your guide? Everybody here knows what their conscience is everybody has one. . . It's that inner voice inside of you that tells you when you're about to do something morally wrong. It kind of sends off these signals saying "Don't go there. . . don't do that. . . Sometimes we call it our CONSCIENCE, other times we call it our HEART. . .  Whatever you call it, it’s that inner voice. And so what Jiminy cricket was saying was that if we obey that inner voice and avoid those things that our conscience tells us to avoid, it will all be good. Just let your conscience be your guide and you can live a life that is holy, and righteous, right? Sounds good, but it's wrong.

 

Do you know what should be your guide? God's Word. Why? 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” What is the ONE reliable, unchanging guide for our lives? What's the guide we can follow that will tell us everything we need to live a life that's pleasing to God? It's God's Word. Why isn't our Conscience a reliable guide? Let me give you three reasons. . . .

           

Reason # 1: Your conscience shouldn't be your guide because. . . Your conscience doesn't tell you when you're      breaking God's Standards it only tells you when you're breaking Your Own. And if your standards aren't in ALIGNMENT with God's standards, then no matter how you FEEL in your conscience you will be wrong. There's a lot of people in prison today, who let their conscience be their guide. There are a lot of people in prison who just followed their heart.

 

Take a look at what Proverbs 4:23 says. . . It says "FOLLOW YOUR HEART" Is that what it says??? No, it says . . . “GUARD your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Let me ask you something. What do you guard? You guard something that's VALUABLE. . . You guard something that's IN DANGER. What the writer, Solomon, is saying here is that what's going on on the inside, will affect what's going on on the outside, and for that reason you need to guard what goes into your heart. Your HEART is in DANGER and that's why you and I need to guard it. The Bible doesn't tell us to FOLLOW our heart, it tells us to GUARD it. Your heart isn't a good guide. You need to guide your heart.

 

Another reason that your conscience/heart shouldn't be your guide is because your conscience is being shaped by outside forces. Take a look at what Jeremiah says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and         beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Jeremiah is warning us. . . Don't follow your heart. . . Don't follow your conscience. . . Why??? Your heart is a deceiver. Your heart will con you into thinking things that are wrong, are okay, when they're not. And he says, "Your heart is beyond cure." In other words you can't fix what's wrong with it. You can't change it. You can't make it a reliable guide of truth and error on your own.

 

One of the reasons that your heart is not a reliable guide is because your heart isn't static, it's dynamic. It's not FIXED, it's constantly changing. It's evolving and being shaped and molded by forces all around it. What are some of the things that shape your conscience? Your upbringing shapes your conscience. You may still have the tapes of the voices of your mom and dad playing in your head any time you're about to do something that you know that they wouldn't approve of. When you were growing up they taught you certain things that were right and wrong. . . . “Finish all the food on your plate because there are kids starving in China.” (Oh yeah, well pack it up and send it to them.) They taught you do this and don't do that. The things they taught you may have been good things. . . But they weren't necessarily Biblical things. . . . Your conscience is shaped for GOOD or for BAD. By the tapes that play in your head from the way you were brought up.

           

A second thing that shapes your conscience is . . . Culture shapes your conscience. Music, tv, movies, social media. . . All these things shape the way we think . . . They shape the way that we view right and wrong. If you feed your mind with images, and ideas that are contrary to the things of the Bible it will affect you. It will mold you and shape you into this world's way of thinking. These things impact the way we think about things. They impact the way that we evaluate things as right or wrong. And they looked at you and said, "What's wrong with what I'm doing? EVERYBODY IS DOING IT. I don't know anybody who doesn't do this. Just because the majority of people are doing something, that doesn't make it right. Our consciences are shaped by the culture in which we live.

 

Your friends shape your conscience. Those who are close to us have a big influence when it comes to shaping our conscience. 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled:" What does it mean when the Bible warns us not to be "misled"? It means that it's easy for us to be "misled." Don't be fooled into thinking that this isn't so. . . Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). This isn't just talking about teenagers. You become like the people you hang with. Bad company will corrupt good character or a good conscience. From now, until the day you die, your conscience will continue to be shaped and molded.

 

Think about it this way. . . For some of you. . . there were things that you were doing ten years ago, that you thought were okay. . . Maybe you didn't know the Lord ten years ago. . And there were things you did without giving it a thought. And today. . . No way would you think of doing those things. On the other hand. . . maybe there were things that you would not have thought of doing ten years ago. . . and today you think they're okay. Why? Because over time, your conscience continues to change. It's not static, it's dynamic and ever-changing shaped by the forces that you allow to influence it.

 

Look at what Titus 1:15 says. . . "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and (WHAT?) consciences are corrupted." Titus 1:15 If you don't guard your heart. . . If you don't guard your conscience. . . It can become corrupted. . . .

 

And you know what's really scary. . . Do you know what is so deceitful about your heart??? Your conscience/heart can become hardened or corrupted just in a certain area. What I mean is it's possible for you to have a heart that is tender when it comes to GIVING, or HELPING THE POOR, or MINISTERING TO PEOPLE IN NEED. Maybe when it comes to handling finances at work. . . you are above reproach. It's possible to have a heart that is 95% committed to God. . . Except for this one area. . . As I'm preaching this message, you might be thinking "I'm so glad that we're looking at this this today . . . Because I know these other people really need this" And yet what you can be totally oblivious to, is that the spirit of God can be talking to you. . . about an area of your life. That's scary.

 

A third reason for not trusting your conscience as your guide and ultimate truth is because . . . Your conscience isn't always reliable. What do I mean by that? Well, think about it this way. I'll bet you know somebody right now, or have known somebody in the past who was engaging in SIN - - - I'm not talking about your opinion. I'm talking about something that the Bible calls sin. And if you tried to talk to them about it they could look you straight in the eye and they can tell you, "I'm not doing anything wrong." "I've got a conscience and it doesn't bother me at all." "I don't feel guilty or any remorse." "I feel fine." "I've got total peace about this." Reminds me of the words of the theologian, Debby Boone. 1977 - -  her song “You Light Up My Life” made it to number one on the Billboard charts and stayed at number one for 10 weeks. And here is what she said. . . [video here]. ]

 

It can’t be wrong, when it feels so right. That’s the motto that a lot of people live by. Let your conscience be your guide? No. Why? Because it's not a reliable guide. It will lead you astray. Just ask Eve. Remember, back in the garden. .. God had created the man and the woman He had placed them in the garden and he said to them. . . "You are free to eat from any tree in this garden. . . "Any tree at all. . . . "Except for this one. . . "If you eat from that tree, you're gonna die." Along comes the tempter and he says. . . "You know what. . . God's been LYING to you. . . "If you eat from that tree you will not die. . . "In fact the reason God told you not to eat from it is because he knows that on the day you eat from it. . . you're eyes are going to be opened. . . and you're going to be just like God, knowing good and evil." What did the woman do? She LOOKED at the tree. She SAW that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and was PLEASING TO THE EYE and desirable for gaining wisdom. And she looked into her heart and probably figured, I know what God has said. . . But this thing looks so good. . . "It can't be wrong if it feels so right" And so what did she do? She took a bite." And the rest is history.

           

How can it be wrong, when it feels so right? It's because sometimes your conscience gets it wrong. Your conscience isn't always reliable. The apostle Paul knew that . . . That's why he said, in 1 Corinthians 4:4 "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” Paul says "My conscience is clear. . . That's not the definitive thing. The main thing is what the Lord thinks.

 

Three things to remember about your conscience. . . Your conscience is . . . It's a great RED light. It's a great YELLOW light. It's a lousy GREEN light. Think about that. . . Your conscience can be a great RED light. . . When it tells you STOP you need to STOP. It can be a great YELLOW light. When it says DANGER, CAUTION, SLOW DOWN, If you keep going in the direction you're going in you may be headed off a cliff. When you get that RED light, or that YELLOW light it's a great time to slow down and check God's Word and make sure that what you're hearing isn't just tape playing from your parents, but that it's the Word of God And if it is the Word of God you'd be wise to pay attention to the warning. But what we need to remember is that your conscience is a LOUSY green light, because our world is filled with people who are thinking, "I don't feel bad about this, so it must be okay."

 

Just because you don't feel bad about what you're doing doesn't mean it's right. Flip your notes over. . . If the DUMB thing is to let your conscience be your guide. . . Then what's the . . . SMART THING? The Smart Thing is to . . . Always let what God says be your Guide. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  You are not the best judge of your own heart. I am not the best judge of my own heart. God's Word is the best judge. .  . When you come to a place where you're not sure what to do . . . You don't know if something is right or wrong. . . . Don’t try to figure out what the majority is doing, or what your friends are doing. . . Go to God's Word and see what He says. . . If God's Word says that something is SIN, then it's SIN whether you feel bad about it or not. God's Word is the judge and it should be your guide. Our GOAL should be to bring our consciences into alignment with God's Word. . .

           

Our MEMORY VERSE for this week comes from Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5-6 and here’s what it says . . . “Let your conscience be your guide. . . . Oh wait, it doesn’t actually say that? What it says is . . . “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." Don’t follow your heart. Don’t let your conscience be your guide. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Where do you find His will? You find it in His Word. Going back to where we started . . . “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 

I was reading this week the results of a survey that was done among regular church-going people to try and determine how their lives compared to people who did not attend church. What the survey revealed was that people in the church in America, in many ways reflect the same standards and values, as the people of the world. It revealed that there are a lot of people who go to church and yet the divorce rate in the church is the same as the divorce rate in the world. The same standards of integrity in business dealings seemed to exist among those who were in the church are those who had no connection with a church. The survey revealed that even though people may have a little Christian fish printed on their business card… In their business dealings they act just like the world. And the purpose of this study was to try to figure out, what it is that makes church people, or people who are in church who claim to be Christians . . . . what is the transformation moment - - - Or what is it that's causing them to transform into being shaped into the image of Christ and living by the standards of God's Word instead of  just attending church and still acting like the world

           

Basically what they set out to discover was "How does that transformation happen?" And they went in with the pre-supposition that it probably had to do with church attendance. That it probably had to do with involvement in the church. That the more involved you were, probably the more you were transformed. And they were surprised to discover that that was not what it was. What they found out was the key was how many times you've interacted and engaged with the word of God on a weekly basis. And what the study found was that the TIPPING POINT, the point where change and transformation began to occur was. Not one time, not two times, not three times. . . But  FOUR TIMES. If somebody read, studied, prayed, engaged with, and opened their heart to the Word of God four times a week, they started thinking different, living different, talking different, conducting their family and their marriage, there was a transformation.

 

Now for those of you who tuned in to worship with us right now and you’ve heard God’s Word, that’s great. You’re here with us, hearing the Word of God, that would be ONE. If you're part of a LIFE group and you're working through the small group questions and then joining your LIFE group by zoom this week that would be TWO, as you interact with God's Word there. The point is, if you're going to miss coming to worship on the weekend, you better make it up somewhere else during the week where you can engage with the Word of God. If you're going to miss your LIFE group you better find another time to engage with God's Word. If you do both those things, that's good, you're on the right path. . but you're only half-way (two out of four) to what it takes to see transformation take place. And I'm not trying to get you to come out to four meetings a week. . . or to increase attendance at church activities. What I'm trying to emphasize the importance of you getting into God's Word on your own. . . in order to see your life transformed. . . in order to see your marriages and your families changed. You need to be interacting with God's Word way more than once a week if you want to begin to see your heart and your conscience changed so they are aligned with God's Word so that you begin to THINK like God, LIVE like God, and talk like God.

           

You can nod your head in agreement. You can say "Great sermon Pastor, preach it!" But until you begin to engage with scripture regularly, you will not change. You have a deceitful heart that is impossible to cure except by the blood of Jesus and His Word. This is why the Psalmist cries out in Psalm 119 . . . "How can a young man keep His way pure?" By living according to the Word of God. My prayer for all of us is that we'll do that. Let's pray. . . .

 

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

 

 

 

Related Topics: Discipline, Faith, Faithfulness, Obedience, Strength | More Messages from Dr. Rick Mandl

From Series: "Dumb Things Christians Say"

People have a lot to say, these days. On social media and among friends and family, we share opinions and advice freely. But sometimes Christians toss around statements that aren't exactly helpful or even biblically true. In this six-week series we’ll look at some of those spiritual urban legends and contrast them with what God’s Word actually says.

Sermon Notes