True of Heart

9 September 2015

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: All glory, laud and honour

Theme: Spirit of Life

Topic: True of Heart

Reading: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
   and favour is better than silver or gold. 
² The rich and the poor have this in common:
   the Lord is the maker of them all. 
⁸ Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
   and the rod of anger will fail. 
⁹ Those who are generous are blessed,
   for they share their bread with the poor. 
²² Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
   or crush the afflicted at the gate; 
²³ for the Lord pleads their cause
   and despoils of life those who despoil them.

Introduction

In our previous studies, we discussed the importance of having the right motive in making decisions.  Continuing on the same discussion, today we will be looking into the role our hearts play in Christian living.  The heart is generally connected with health, as it is vital for a healthy normal living.  The heart is also linked to good/positive and bad/negative emotions.  For example, people that are generous are generally described as having a ‘large heart’.  To be true or pure of heart is a powerful and necessary attribute to have as a Christian.  This quality comes through a willingness to love and to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.  True of heart does not mean being perfect, flawless and so on, but implies that the individual does not harbour ulterior motives in his or her dealings.  As Christians, we are called to be the light and salt of the world.  This requires, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that we are true of heart in our dealings with God, our community and the people in our lives.

Questions/Discussion

How will you describe the phrase ‘true of heart’? 

Psalm 125:1-5

Refrain: Those who trust in the Lord stand fast for ever.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.  The hills stand about Jerusalem; so does the Lord stand round about his people, from this time forth for evermore. R  The sceptre of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, so that the just shall not put their hands to evil. R Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good and to those who are true of heart. As for those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers; but peace be upon Israel. R

Matthew 5:8, 13-16, 42-48

 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

¹³ ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. ¹⁴ ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6:1-8

‘Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ⁵ ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ⁷ ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

What are the lessons for us in Mark 7:24-37 regarding being true of heart?

Mark 7:24-37

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ ²⁸But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ ²⁹Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. ³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then Jesusordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

3. Discuss some of the factors that influence our ability to be true of heart.

Jeremiah 17:5-10

⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
   and make mere flesh their strength,
   whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
⁶ They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
   and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
   in an uninhabited salt land. 

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
   whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water,
   sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
   and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
   and it does not cease to bear fruit. 

⁹ The heart is devious above all else;
   it is perverse—
   who can understand it?
¹⁰ I the Lord test the mind
   and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
   according to the fruit of their doings. 

Luke 6:41-49

Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? ⁴²Or how can you say to your neighbour,“Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye. ⁴³ ‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; ⁴⁴for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. ⁴⁶ ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. ⁴⁸That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’ 

James 2:1-10, 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? ²For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, ⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? ⁸ You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

As Christians, we are called to be the light and salt of the world.  This requires, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that we are true of heart in our dealings with God, our community and the people in our lives. 

Closing Prayer (Collect for Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that richly bearing the fruit of good works, we may by you be richly rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.