It's wonderful to be here with all of you today to worship, God
in spirit and in truth and this morning for just a little while.
I want to talk about a passage that's found in the Book of
Joel, the second chapter and verses 12 and 13.
Where the Bible says, now therefore says, the Lord turned
to me with all your heart, with fasting with weeping and with
morning. So, Rend your heart and not your
garments return to the Lord, your God for, he is gracious and
merciful slow to anger, and of great kindness.
And he relents from doing harm, our passage basically brings the
title before us. And that is Rend your heart, and
not your garments. We're going to talk about what
that means. Practically and just a minute.
But in ancient times, you remember in the near Eastern
lands, when individuals wish to show their morning or deep sense
of Sorrow, they would tear their garments.
That was a custom that they did. In fact, we go back to the Old
Testament and we realized when Jacob mourned for Joseph, the
Bible says that he tore his clothes he put on sackcloth, on
his waist and he mourned for his son many days.
Also we find when job, you remember?
When he lost his family and he lost all of his possessions.
In the Bible says, in Job chapter 1 and verse 20, then job
arose and he tore his robe and shaved his head and he fell to
the ground and he worshiped when King David, you remember mourned
of the passing of King Saul and he mourn the passing of his dear
friend Jonathan and Jonathan's brother's.
We find that this is this is what David did.
They were there for David took, hold of his own clothes and tore
them and so did all the men who were with him and they mourned
and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for
Jonathan, his son for the people of the Lord and for the house of
Israel because they had fallen by the sword.
Now, the custom of tearing, the clothes was an external way of
expressing. What they were feeling on the
inside. In other words, it was an
outward show of an inward. Anguish another thing that they
would customarily did in our minds, go back to the Pharisee
and the Publican that prayed you remember that the public enter
tax collector smote his breast that was an outward.
Sign of an inward, anguish the tearing of the clothes was an
outward sign of an inward anguish We don't have that
custom today. I thought about that this
morning when I went into my closet, I wanted to my closet.
I saw all these clothes in fact clothing is easy to come by.
In fact material is not that expensive, but in Bible times,
it was very expensive. So clothing was scarce and
people really had to take care of what they had and I look at
my claws and I thought, you know how many times have I purged my
closet and giving things away and I've been there cyprian of
that to where somebody else Purge their their closet and
gave me their things. It's easy to hit clothing today.
So if we had a custom of tearing our garments as an outward, sign
of an inward, anguish it really would be meaningless.
But what if your garments were hard to come by?
What if the material was a very expensive?
That's exactly what we're talking about.
We're talking about a custom and a time.
It was there would be under such great anguish inside they would
rent or they would Are the clothing and it meant something
in the day of Joel, do the fickle people of Israel.
Had a history though of acting one way and being another and
further sins, God's prophets proclaimed, that God would bring
judgment upon them. And Joel was one of those
profits. Nevertheless, there was time for
repentance and what Joel is doing in this passage that we're
going to notice. And just a moment again, he's
emphasizing that it had to Be the people's heart that changed
and not just the outward appearance.
It has to be the heart and this is the passage.
We noticed this in our introduction, Rend your heart,
and not your garments. Now, in this passage, we realize
it is all about the heart first. They're hard had to change and
not merely the outward appearance.
And so the phrase Rend, your heart, and not your garments.
You know, I think the message of Joel Rings true today.
God has always demanded your heart.
God wants desires and demands your heart.
Look at the words of the psalmist.
David. I'm going to notice several
passages here but notice this passage in Psalm 51 in 17.
The sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit, a broken and
contrite heart, these o God, you will not despise couple of
things about this. Now we know when it comes to our
sins, right? Jesus was the propitiation, and
that's a fancy word for meaning. This, he paid the price or paid
the fine, the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
And as our brother prayed about Jesus and all that, he means to
us and our brother. We're waiting on the table and
mention about Jesus. We would have no hope without
Jesus. He paid the price, he paid the
fine, he was the Supreme sacrifice for the sins of the
entire world. Okay?
We get that. What about the sacrifices that
we make under the law of Moses? They had to bring the blood of
bulls and of animals and that would be a sacrificial offering
to the Lord or to God for the sins of the people.
What's David talking about though?
Jesus did his part and died to shed his blood for the Salvation
of the world to take away sin? But what's your responsibility,
your responsibility and my responsibility?
If we're going to have the proper sacrifice to God, is to
come to God with a broken and contrite heart.
I'm going to tell you what people don't like this word
broken, and they sure don't like the word contrite.
We live in a society today where people don't want to be
responsible for their actions. What the Bible says have a
contrite heart. That's what the got.
That's what God wants. And by the way, contract means
this, a feeling of remorse affected by guilt.
You know, I understand about guilt.
If we don't have guilt or guilty conscience we wouldn't change
anything so when it comes to sin, Jesus made the Supreme
sacrifice of shedding of his blood.
But when we sin in our life, after we have come after we have
realized that we have to do. So with a broken and contrite
heart, we have to come to God with that kind of a sacrifice.
And David said these o God, you will not despise Psalm 51 and
10. Create in me.
A clean heart o God and renew a steadfast Spirit within me.
In Proverbs 4:23, keep your heart with all diligence for out
of it Springs. The issues of life, you know, I
got to thinking about this concept.
Of all the things that are produced by the heart.
The heart is what? God desires from man and it's
from that heart that either good, things are wicked things
come. I don't know if this is popular
or not. Really don't care.
I think it's true. There are people in the world
that are wicked and bad people. There are, and there's a
difference between somebody that makes a mistake or somebody
that's week and somebody that is wicked.
I've known some people in my life that were truly wicked mean
people, you know, why? Because their behavior is
demonstrated outwardly. But it comes from me, nor a
wicked heart. The Bible says, In this passage
that what comes from the heart, are the issues of life, whether
good or bad weather, evil, Or good.
Big difference. So, it matters.
But what about Jesus? What did Jesus say?
Jesus said this, in Matthew, chapter 12 and verse 35.
A good man out of a good treasure.
Of his heart brings forth, good things and an evil man out of an
evil. Treasure brings forth, evil
things in Matthew chapter 15 and verse 8, I'm going to notice two
passages here that Jesus said these people draw near to me
with their mouth and honor me with their lips but their heart
is far from me, then verse 9. So in vain, they do worship me
teaching as doctrines the Commandments of men come.
I love things about this Jesus in context, was talking to
scribes and Pharisees. I'm not going to go into the
context or the history behind what he's talking about.
I want to make one point. He said this, he said their
heart is far from me and he also said they worship me.
You know, what this tells me it tells me that it's entirely
possible for someone to be going through the acts of worship and
going through the motions. But their heart is far from God.
Have you ever stopped to consider?
You can be in the assembly? You can be going through the
items of worship. God has you in the Pew but he
doesn't have your heart. You know what God wants, he
wants your heart. And if you only are occupying a
seat and punching a Time clock, that's not good enough.
God wants to Heart. He wants you, he wants all of
that. And by the way, the heart that
word heart, that Greek word is found 158 times, I believe in
the New Testament. And it's defined in a figurative
sense, in some things and a literal sense and other things.
But, listen, when it is not used in a metaphorical sense, it
means this it means the mind or intelligence.
So in these passages were finding that are the mouth says
one thing, but they don't mean it.
We can praise God. But our hearts far from God,
what's the Bible say about that Old Testament?
Passage Isaiah 29:13. Therefore, the Lord said in as
much as these people drawn, with me, draw two men near me with
their mouth and honor me with their lips.
But have removed their hearts from me.
And their fear toward me is taught by the Commandment of
men. Notice this, what are they
doing? They're drawing nigh to me with
their mouth, they're honoring me with their lips but they've Move
their hearts are far from me. I think it's brilliant at the
new King James renders that with the word removed because it
talks about a choice. In other words, you're doing
that. It's an act of the person.
It's an act of the person that is honoring God with their lips
but they removed their heart from God, God wants your heart,
have you given him your heart, you know, in the days of Joe and
Joe wrote these things, God's call to them to repent for their
sins. Went unanswered.
But you know, there's still time there still time in our life to
repent of things that we do wrong.
And that's what we're talking about here by the way.
And there's time to do that, there's time to be forgiven and
there's time to be better in the future than we've been in days
gone by as our brother parade But oftentimes the call of God
for repentance and change in our life goes on answered, just like
it did in the day of ago. God wants your heart.
One preacher said it like this. He said, will we give our hearts
to God so that he may make of them?
What he Wills? Will we in humility kneel before
the father of all men, and give him?
What is due to him? All right, in summary and in
conclusion in this little sermon the phrase randhir hearts and
not your garments. Let me tell you, first of all,
what it doesn't mean it doesn't mean that your outward Acts of
service to God don't matter. Some people look at this passage
and they say what this means is, it doesn't really matter what
you do. Outwardly all that matters is
that you have a good heart inwardly and have some sort of
relationship inwardly to God. That's not what this passage
means. What this passage is talking
about. Means this, the phrase render
hearts and not your garments. It means we must look inward to
make changes to our hearts before our actions on the
outside. Can be seen as a legitimate
exercise to serve. Get a change on the inside.
Got to change on the inside first.
Sometimes people struggle, they do.
In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 21 where your treasure is there,
your heart will be also. And let me just say this, if
you're having a problem with your heart, And you're
spiritually speaking, you're having heart trouble, maybe it's
because you're having a treasure problem.
If your treasure is worldly things, if your treasure is the
pleasures of life, if your Treasures are the sinful
pleasures of life, if your treasure is things from this
world and not spiritual things, you know what, you're going to
have some problems, Jesus brilliantly said where your
treasure is there, your heart will be also.
And by the way, if your Treasures are in heaven and
we're laying up for ourselves, Treasures in Heaven, and
spiritual things mean more to us than anything else.
Everything else falls into place by way of her outward action.
So if we have a heart problem, We got to fix where the treasure
is. Where is your treasure?
And what's important to you in your life, I'm finished.
Now I just want to say this and final one, final remark I
understand that we live in a time, that is difficult, and I
understand there's distractions all around us.
I get it. I understand that and maybe
there's distractions around our young people that are worse than
ever before and harder on them than maybe it was for me or you
or at any other time that we grew up, I get that and we may
be having some difficult times moving forward that even makes
it more difficult. I don't know how it'll be for my
grandkids one day, I don't know, but I will tell you this, the
pattern is true in the pattern Rings true today and it's the
same thing that we talked about all the way back in the Book of
Joel. If you get your heart right, and
you get your treasure right. Jesus said your heart will be in
the right place and you'll be able to make those proper
decisions in your life that you need to make.
And you'll be able to stand up against The Temptations and
distractions that are all around you.
And you can live successfully The Christian Life, all the days
of your life. And you know what?
One day and one day, it'll be worth it when we make Heaven one
day. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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