(3/16) Today, we are beginning a new message series together, embarking on a spiritual journey of going back, revisiting, and starting something new. The title of today’s message series is "Habits of a Healthy Heart." In this series, we are going to focus on cultivating practices and mindsets that promote spiritual health, growth, and transformation. We will explore ways to nurture our hearts to be resilient, compassionate, and faith-filled, completely aligned with God’s will.
This is extremely important because transforming your life requires changing your habits, and to genuinely change your habits, you must let God transform your heart. Therefore, we are not going to begin with external changes; instead, we are going to start from within by asking God to search our hearts.
Before we dive in, I want to outline our direction for the upcoming weeks as we journey toward the cross. Over the next six weeks, we will tackle some challenging issues that we face as believers, reflecting on the Word of God concerning these various subjects, while discussing how to implement habits for a healthy heart.
Next week, we are going to identify and recognize those unhealthy influences in our lives. The Scriptures have much to say about avoiding unhealthy influences: "Don’t make friends with a hot-tempered person" (Proverbs 22:24). "You must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral" (1 Corinthians 5:11). "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11).
In fact, Jesus talked about how easily we can be influenced in Matthew chapter six, saying the eye is the lamp or a source of light for the soul. He said,
"If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness" (Matthew 6:22-23, NIV).
Emphasizing the importance of what we focus on, think about, and allow into our lives through our senses. Understanding this is crucial because it influences our overall well-being and spiritual health.
In the third week, we will discuss unhealthy relationships and friendships that are harming our relationship with God. The Holy Spirit addresses this in the strongest language, warning us in First Corinthians chapter 15,
"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character'" (1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV).
Therefore, we must be mindful of our relationships, recognizing that some associations may be unhealthy. And so, we need to carefully evaluate how we manage our relationships, supporting others while maintaining our own well-being.
In the fourth week, we are going to discuss unhealthy words, not just what we listen to, but what we speak because the Bible says,
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21, NIV).
And so, we want to develop healthy habits, building up and not tearing down, avoiding negative and destructive conversations and environments.
Finally, we will discuss unhealthy religion because the root of the word "religion" means "to bind" or "to bind back." But how many of you realize that Jesus didn’t come to make us religious? He came to give us life. As Luke tells us, He came to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19). And so, when we fall into the trap of religion, we become legalistic, following rules rather than drawing closer to Jesus.
Therefore, we want to avoid things that make us spiritually sick and unhealthy and instead cultivate habits that promote a healthy heart. And so today, we are going to begin discussing the necessity of self-examination, laying the foundation for habits of a healthy heart. David provides the example in Psalm chapter 139 where he prays:
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV).
In other words, David trusts that God knows him better than he knows himself, and so he invites God to search him and test him to reveal any hidden faults or sins that he might not be aware of. He asked God to search him because he recognized as the Spirit of God told the prophet Jeremiah,
"The heart is deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV).
Therefore, we are skilled at self-deception, often flattering ourselves, and failing to see our own faults. The Spirit of God said it this way,
"In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their own sin" (Psalm 36:2, NIV).
And so, we need the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, because we often convince ourselves that we aren't so bad, and this self-flattery prevents us from recognizing our shortcomings and faults. This is why cultivating a habit of self-examination is essential. We must approach God in prayer like David and say,
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me" (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV).
We need to pause and allow God to search our hearts because we can’t see it. Test me and reveal any offensive way in me where I may be hiding, denying, or rationalizing sin.
David said, "Test me and know my anxious thoughts." This is important because we all struggle with anxious thoughts at times. In other words, there are positive and negative thoughts, as well as healthy and unhealthy thoughts.
Personally, I used to struggle with negative thoughts that played repeatedly in my mind. Today, I feel like I have made significant progress in capturing and replacing unhealthy thoughts with the truth of God. But years ago, every time I stood up to speak, my mind would be filled with doubts. This little voice in the back of my mind would tell me, "You’re going to say something wrong; you’re going to mess up, you’re not being relevant, or nobody’s even listening to you."
Now, the Holy Spirit has taught me to replace those lies with the truth, being assured that God’s Word is effective and will always fulfill his intentions and purposes. The Word of God is not static, but vibrant and powerful.
"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" (Hebrews 4:12).
Now, I recognize that it is not about me, but it is the Holy Spirit who is able to pierce deeply into your innermost being and reveal the true condition of your heart.
But if you think negative thoughts often enough and for long enough, you will eventually become a negative person. The Bible says,
"As he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).
It's easy to fall into a negative thought pattern, belittling ourselves by saying, "I hate how I look. I’ll never be good enough; I’m always going to be miserable." And what we think and dwell on really matters because many of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind.
Calling on the name of Jesus leads to spiritual transformation. Surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ initiates an inner battle. The apostle Paul describes this struggle by saying,
"For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:15, NIV).
This verse represents the conflict within a believer between our fleshly nature, which seeks its own desires, and our spiritual nature, which aims to please God.
Many of us lose this battle because our minds have been polluted with unhealthy thoughts and lies from our spiritual enemy. Therefore, we must learn through the power of God’s word to identify and reject unhealthy thoughts that can harm our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. These thoughts include any condition, behavior, or association that harms our overall health and wellness.
We must learn to recognize when we are being silently poisoned by the world with things that are unhealthy. These could be a poor diet, insufficient exercise, harmful habits like smoking or excessive drinking, stress, anxiety, or toxic relationships. Whatever those things are that are unhealthy for you, you want to be able to identify and reject those harmful thoughts, because a thought quickly becomes an action. And the Bible says,
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23, NIV).
We guard our hearts by filtering our thoughts, and so whenever something enters our minds that contradicts God’s word, we immediately shut it down. We guard our hearts by guarding our thoughts because the Bible says,
"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).
Therefore, instead of focusing on anything that is opposed to the word of God, contrary to the truth of God, we want to pause and guard our minds, protecting our hearts and not allowing it in.
As born-again believers, Spirit-filled believers, we can do this because we have Divine power. The Holy Spirit tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:4:
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV).
The Greek word translated as "power" is "dunamis," from which we get the word "dynamite." In other words, our spiritual weapons have God’s explosive power to demolish strongholds.
And so, maybe you ask, what are those "strongholds?" Well, "strongholds" refers to being locked up by deception, referring to those who are trapped in lies, deceived by lies about themselves, and who are not becoming who God intends them to be. Another translation says it this way,
"We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments" (2 Corinthians 10:4, NLT).
And so, we can rise above those strongholds, because with the mighty power of God, we are more than conquerors. By God’s power, verse five says, we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV).
Therefore, we will diligently guard our minds, and by rejecting those thoughts that are not pleasing to God and taking our thoughts captive, we maintain control over our mental and spiritual well-being, aligning ourselves with God’s truth and righteousness in Christ.
My prayer for you today is that as you learn to identify unhealthy thoughts, the Holy Spirit will remind you to reject them and replace them with God’s truth. For example, when we find ourselves thinking, "Everyone else gets all the breaks. Whenever something good happens, it always happens to someone else. Or, I’ve never been good enough, I just don’t have what it takes." We immediately recognize them as negative thoughts and what do we do?
"We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV).
And so, we learn to recognize them and guard our minds against them, for we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
You declare, "The devil is a liar; I am fearfully and wonderfully made. The Lord will make me the head and not the tail, always at the top and never at the bottom. Therefore, I can do all things through him who gives me strength. For he has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future."
Another area that we need to watch out for is fearful thoughts. It’s easy to find ourselves worrying because inflation is high, the economy is tough, and families are struggling. It is instinctive to worry about your job, your kids or your future, but the Lord said:
"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear" (Matthew 6:25, NIV).
How many of you often find yourself worrying and wrestling with fearful thoughts?
We need to be aware of this vulnerability and guard our minds against fearful thoughts. The Holy Spirit tells us in Philippians chapter four:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
Next, I want to encourage you to be aware of thoughts of discontent such as: "I don’t like my body, or the way I look, or the color of my hair." Others of you might think, "I’ll never be happy until I’m married." Some people think, "I wish we had kids," and others say, "I wish we had different kids." Some of you might think, "I wish I had a better job, a bigger house, or a new car."
We are also susceptible to having thoughts of discontent; recognize it and guard our minds. Learn as the apostle Paul did to be content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. He said, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13, NIV).
Finally, let’s discuss critical thoughts. How many of you often find yourselves being judgmental?
For example, sitting in church and thinking, "I would never wear that," or "Why are we singing that song again?" And we criticize programs, surroundings, leaders, and our own brothers and sisters. We must recognize critical thoughts before they become a stronghold because the battle is often won or lost in our minds. Ephesians 4:29 urges us to let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths but only what is helpful for building others up.
Today, as the body of Christ, we need to identify and reject every unhealthy thought. When such thoughts arise, reject that thought, take it captive, and replace it with the truth of God. The apostle said it this way in Philippians chapter four:
"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" (Philippians 4:8, NIV).
In other words, reprogram your mind to focus on what is true, noble, right, and pure. As we make this our habit, it will change our hearts.
You see, by avoiding negativity, fear, worry, criticism, or discontent, we are making room for the habits of a healthy heart. Then as we focus on what is true, right, excellent, and praiseworthy, God’s word will transform us by the renewing of our minds. And so we want to train our minds to reject lies and meditate on God’s truth until it becomes instinctive and until it becomes a habit.
I want to encourage you to stop giving into the unhealthy lies of this world. Reject them, take them captive, and instead saturate your mind with the truth that comes from God’s word. Allow the living word to consume you and transform your life as you make it your habit to feed on the word of God.
You will be amazed at how simply immersing yourself in the Scriptures allows you to find strength and clarity in every situation. Here's what will happen: Romans chapter twelve says,
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2, NIV).
In other words, it’s not about following 12 steps or repeatedly rededicating our lives, but as you align your thoughts with God’s truth, you will begin to experience a profound transformation.
"Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will" (Romans 12:2, NIV).
There are some of you who have people who love you and have been trying to get through to you for a long time, but genuine and lasting change will never happen unless you confront the issues at hand. And so, if God has your attention today, it is crucial to develop the habit of self-examination, praying as David did:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me" (Psalms 139:23-24, NIV).
We need to give God permission to show us what we need to hear so that we can do what we need to do. To change your life, you must change your habits, and you change your habits by allowing God to transform your heart.
Read Part 2
Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott
