Peace Presbyterian Church

“Discipleship of the Heart”

In our sermon series, we are walking with Jesus through the Sermon on the Mount. As we do so, we are learning how to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Jesus makes it clear that our faith must flow out of our hearts, out of the core of who we are. How can we daily cultivate lives of discipleship of the heart?

Jesus reveals to us that God is concerned not only with what we do, but even more importantly with who we are, with all of our thoughts, dreams and feelings. For example, Jesus tells us that anger and insults are just as damaging to our soul as the actual act of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Jesus reveals that motivations, intentions and thoughts are just as important as what we end up doing. Purity and holiness must emanate from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and then flow outwards into our actions.

Jesus critiqued the Pharisees for overly focusing on external actions, saying in Matthew 23:25-6, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” Jesus was challenging the Pharisees to look beyond ceremonial purity, and to see their need to be morally pure, or to have pure hearts. The Pharisees were too concerned with acting and looking pure, instead of loving God with all of their hearts, and also loving their neighbors. Jesus knows and cares about the state and condition of our hearts and souls, and calls us to seek and to cultivate internal and moral purity. In fact, if we focus on becoming like Jesus in our heart and soul, if we welcome the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we will see a change in our actions as well.

Jesus calls us to love Him with all of our hearts, as we unreservedly pursue a life of discipleship. When queried of the essential and basic nature of the Law, Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-9, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

God demands a love from us that encompasses all of our lives and souls. Even though we often hold back some of our hearts from others in a desire to protect ourselves, we are called to trust God with our entire hearts, to hold nothing back from Him.

Paul tells us how to live daily with hearts that yearn for God. In Colossians 3:1-2, Paul tells us, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” We must set our hearts and minds on the things that are of God, that are from above, that are of the kingdom of God. We must be careful and cautious of who or what we set our hearts on. Do we dwell on what God tells us to or on what the world tells us to? Do we live for ourselves or for God? Does love for God or for ourselves motivate our lives, actions and behavior? May Jesus and His cross be at the heart and the center of our faith and lives.

Discipleship of the heart first involves conducting a spiritual and searching inventory of our hearts and souls. We can then honestly recognize and confess our areas of weakness or sin; whether it is anger, lust, a lack of forgiveness, being judgmental or having selfish motivations. We must then humbly seek God for His help in transforming our attitudes and hearts, for we simply can’t do it on our own. Discipleship of the heart involves following and surrendering to Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and learning from Him how to truly be alive and how to truly love God.

As we continue reflecting on and pondering the Sermon on the Mount together, let us continue to lift up our hearts to God, by thankfully lifting up to God all of who we are.

In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Brian

“...faith must flow out of our hearts, out of the core of who we are...”

“...We must then humbly seek God for His help in transforming our attitudes and hearts, for we simply can’t do it on our own...”

Archive of Pastor’s Pages: links to Pastor Brian’s newsletters and now his sermons, too.
View Pastor Brian’s Personal Statement of Faith.