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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/allan-christopherson/losing-heart/
Book of Proverbs, please, chapter 23, Proverbs 23, reading at verse 26. My son, give me a thine heart. Perhaps that is maybe one of the reasons why the Thessalonians were as they were, is that their heart was in it.
There's something about the springtime of the year that always gives mankind a little bit of a hope. I think spring has arrived. And we can appreciate to look back and to think that the winter blast is over.
A springtime brings a little bit of a revival in your own soul that you get outside and you do some spring planting. And I found myself up until just a couple of years ago, I found myself at the nurseries and every spring of the year you go to the nursery and you look at the various bushes and the plants and the trees and you think to yourself, we really need to do this.
And it'd be nice to put these little flowers around under this tree and perhaps maybe we need to put an extra bush out here. And I mentioned one time about putting a wall up in my front yard and that's when she spoke up and said there will be no wall.
But I did get a wall in the backyard one time and I put a couple of layers of block and they looked real nice. I thought it did and the flowers were coming and you could sit out there on the porch and you could look at the things and appreciate.
But today, there's a bush that's right in our front lawn or close to the front door and she says to me the other day, somebody has to do something with this bush. The next time we come through the front door, she says somebody has to do something with this bush.
And of course, I was raised with the notion that the man does the work outside and the woman does the work on the inside and I'm sure she's waiting and wondering when I'm going to get out the pincers or the chainsaw or something to remove the bush.
It doesn't look that bad but it doesn't look that good either. Frankly, maybe this is going a little bit too far but she's not here today so I can say this but I really don't care whether you plant a statue of an elephant there or take out the bush.
What's my problem? I wonder if it's the problem that the Thessalonians didn't know anything about. You see, my problem on that issue is I've just lost heart. I don't care about the bush. To me, there's so many other things to worry about than that bush.
So I would like to speak to you just for about 15 minutes today about if there's any here today, I don't know if you've ever talked to yourself or not but I've been talking to myself lately and so when I'm speaking this message today, I'm talking to myself and hopefully it will help others.
But there's times, dear Christian, that I personally, and maybe you would have to agree, we lose heart just a few too many times. So spiritually, spiritually I can't come to the realization, come into the close realization that I can look at my spiritual life like I can look at that bush.
I can't stoop, I should not stoop to the point where I can think that way. I don't want to think that way. Satan would have me. Satan would whisper into my ear and he would say, give me a little time.
The world would crawl into my heart and the world would say there's something that I need from you and self wants to give himself plenty of credit and allow the things that self wants to do. But spiritually, I cannot come to this realization that I am about the bush.
I can't get there not to pay any attention to it. Even in the normal routine of life, if I let things go in the neighborhood, I'm going to get myself into difficulties. Of course the neighbors are going to start to talk and so on and if I let myself go spiritually, there's going to be ramifications that perhaps I can't retrace.
So today, I admit to you, I've lost heart too many times. And today am I speaking into a crowd that you know what it is to lose heart. It's easy to lose heart. Just get a little bit older mentally. I understand now why some of the older preachers that are gone, they're all in heaven so we can talk about them.
I don't think they'll hear us, but some of the older preachers used to... We used to hear a lot of messages from some of the older men. I can understand why. It's a lot of the same messages and I can understand why.
It's difficult to study as you get a little older. It's difficult to put things together. And so it would be easy to lose heart. It's easy to lose heart, isn't it, dear Christian, when your children aren't getting saved?
It's easy to lose heart when there's so many things that you'd like to see better, stronger. It's easy to lose heart when there's difficulties that just seemingly won't run away and troubles that are there always looking at you.
It's easy to lose heart at those things that cannot be changed. So have I lost heart in giving away refrigerator magnets? Have I lost heart in witnessing? Have I lost heart in visiting the shut-ins? Do I know what it is to have that same vim and vigor for the gospel?
Have I lost or have I lost just a little bit of heart in the things that I should be pushing for? Colossians chapter 3 suggests, verse 16, that let the words of Christ dwell in you richly. So if I can let the words of Christ dwell in me richly, then if I let them dwell there, there's going to be a response and as a result that I'll be able then, according to Peter, I'll be able to sanctify the Lord God in my heart.
So I'm setting the Lord God in my heart, I'm setting Him apart. So if I take Colossians 3, 1 Peter chapter 3 and 1 Samuel chapter 12, and 1 Samuel 12 would suggest to serve Him with all thy heart and consider how great things He has done for you.
So I'm now thinking about serving. Who wasn't mentioned this morning about serving? I'm now thinking about serving and sanctifying and being able to be supported by that Word that's dwelling in me. But you see, I'm going to forfeit that.
I'm going to, I'm not going to enjoy that and I've experienced it as of late. I'm not going to enjoy that if I lose heart, if I lose heart in the things that I should not lose heart in. I read Proverbs chapter 23 for the simple reason that the word or the phrase, my son, my son is mentioned 22 times in the book of Proverbs.
And yet, it was interesting to see that only one time does the writer to the Proverbs ever ask for anything. My son, my son, my son, 22 times over. And yet when I come all the way, Proverbs is almost finished, and when I come all the way to chapter 23, there's something that now grabs me by the heart.
Because there's one time that he asks, and that is, my son, give me my heart. And Satan wants my heart, and the world wants my heart, and self wants my heart, and there's so many things that are cramming for my heart.
But today, it's a challenge to my own soul that God wants my heart. And He wants all of my heart. And if I have the word set apart, if I have the word in my soul supporting me, sanctifying the Lord God in my heart, and of course, having the word able in my heart that I can serve, I'll be able, I'll be able then to enjoy, enjoy serving Him.
Now, there's just a couple of different kinds of hearts that I'd like to leave with you before we finish. I was thinking of a revived heart, because I believe that the heart needs to be revived. I believe that I got my heart revived at Stout, and my heart was revived at the close of one day of ministry, to the point where I have thought about the ministry all week as a result of the Stout ministry that I received on Saturday.
You know what it done? It has revived me. It has made me to understand a few more things. I'm thinking of that verse in Isaiah chapter 57, Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy.
I dwell in the high and lofty place. But it doesn't stop there. Not only does He dwell in the high and lofty place, but He dwells within the contrite and the humble ones. I'm thankful that He can revive the contrite and the humble.
I'm also reminded that the first part of that chapter that we have read, or that we have made notice in Isaiah 57, that the first part of that chapter, the people are given themselves to idolatry. They're even looking for new ways to be stooped in idolatry.
And their idolatrous fashion, even falling down to trees and worshiping the trees as far as worship is concerned. So they went to increasing steps to see their idolatry. When you come down to verse 15, is it?
Yes. Come down to verse 15 of Isaiah 57. He says these beautiful words, Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and lofty place, but in the heart of the contrite and the humble ones.
The contrite, of course, is the one that's been bruised. It's the one that's been crushed. And the humble one is the one that's been depressed. And after years and years of idolatry, he still wants to come to the contrite and to the humble ones, and he still wants to revive us.
I couldn't help but be richly encouraged by Isaiah 57 to the point where I thought, thank God. What a God we have. What a God we have. To bearing with Israel, to bearing, you think, how could he stand to bear with Israel?
I'm thinking to bear with you and I, to think of so much that we could possibly admit that we have come short. I'm thinking also of Psalm 34 and about verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them. The Lord is nigh unto them that have that broken heart and saves them that have a contrite spirit.
So the Lord is nigh, and he come can nigh, and he wants to revive us, and he wants to give us that warming spirit again, and to have that revived heart that I'll be able to appreciate the things that the Thessalonians, the progress that we would have been reminded at the beginning of the personal progress and then, of course, the assembly progress.
I like what is that Asaph says in Psalm 85 and about verse 6, will thou revive us again? Will thou not revive us again? What's the most important word in that verse, dear Christian? It's the word again.
And again and again. Don't I look back? Don't you look back in the times when we've been touched, we've been revived, and we've been now put back, perhaps we could say, on a straight path. The song has filled our heart again, and there's a little bit of a step into our, a little bit of quickness into our step, and a bit of joy into our own souls, and the gospel is there again.
And there's a word ready for the unsaved on the tip of our lips, tip of our tongue. And again, we can be appreciative of being revived. If I am not revived, then I'm going to lose heart as far as requesting.
My second heart, a requesting heart. Philippians chapter 4, let your requests be made known unto God. In fact, be careful for nothing in verse 6. Likely you, brethren, were talking about this at your Bible readings, but be careful for nothing.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God shall, the peace of God that passeth all understanding. And it just struck me just a couple of days ago.
If I lose heart, and if I will not approach my God as far as prayer is concerned, and I forget the prayer life, and I lose heart, I ignore, I cannot come into the good of the peace of God that passeth all understanding.
Because the peace of God that passeth all understanding follows. Let your requests be made known unto God. Nehemiah chapter 2 and verse 4, the cupbearer. He goes into the king, and as he approaches the king as the cupbearer, what is it that is upon your mind, the king says.
Nehemiah says, that I might return unto Jerusalem, the city of my fathers, to build the walls. What is in, what is in my heart as far as the king is concerned? So he asked Nehemiah, of course, how long that he would be, how long he would be gone.
I like what Nehemiah does, for what dost thou make request, the king says. And so he says these words, so I prayed unto the God of heaven. It's almost like God is giving, was giving Nehemiah a blank check.
It's almost like the king was giving Nehemiah a blank check. Fill it in, what dost thou request? And he tells him, and as he tells him, not only does the king grant him, he grants letters that he wanted for the officials.
He grants him, he grants him an armed escort, and then he makes him governor. Think of it, dear Christian, if he hadn't asked. Think if he had lost heart and hadn't asked. Think of it, dear Christian, if I lose heart and some of our families aren't saved, and some of them perhaps need to, need to be discipled, and some of them perhaps need to be restored and so on.
But if I lose heart, I'm going to miss out. I'm going to miss out on seeing it. I can't lose heart. I can't let it go. I can't forget it. I have to know what it is to be revived that I might have a heart that is laying hold of, laying hold of God and requesting in prayer.
Much more could be said about the requesting in prayer. Heart number three is suggesting the rejoicing heart. And here again in the book of the Philippians, joy and rejoicing, 16 times those two words is mentioned in the book of the Philippians.
There must have been a, they must have loved, it must have been a beautiful atmosphere, a delightful atmosphere in the Philippian epistle, in the Philippian church. Their language was of heaven. Their loyalty was of heaven, and their, and their lives were directed by heaven.
You couldn't help but, can't help but notice that the loyalty that they had for the Lord Jesus, for our citizenship is in heaven. Their lives were directed by the principles of heaven, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
But dear Christian, what happens when I lose heart? What happens when I just let it go and I fold the hands and I just lost heart? Is it possible that when I lose heart my life could possibly take a wrong turn?
Is it possible that when I lose heart my life could take a wrong turn for the, for, for negative and I could end up like them that go down to the pit? Because I lost heart, and if I lose heart I could end up becoming a spiritual statistic.
Did you hear? They quit praying. Did you notice? They quit coming. Did you notice? Did you notice? Did you notice? And all the time it all can go back to the fact that I just lost heart, lost heart. Dear man, I know very well, lost heart.
He just got occupied with the little bit of the, the little foxes, the little things that he was majoring in minors. He just lost heart and he quit praying. Dear, dear Christian, let's not lose heart.
Let's, let's try to maintain that spirit of fervency and joy if we can. That I, if I lose heart I'm not going to be that rejoicing heart that we have. A rejoicing heart, a rejoicing heart that I watched the Christians for all my life growing up.
There's one thing that I can testify and see, that they had a joy. They had rejoicing in their heart. Heart number four and last one, that if I have a revived heart, if I know what it is to have being able to lay hold of God with a requesting heart and have that rejoicing heart, there's going to be that rewarding heart.
Because 1 Corinthians chapter 4 tells me that the counsels of the heart is going to be revealed. And then, I like this next phrase, dear Christian, and then shall every man have praise of men? No, and then shall every man have praise of God.
So there's a praise of God that's going to be received to the heart, to the person that has, to the person that has enjoyed. And I stand at the judgment of the great white, I stand at the judgment of Abima and I stand there and he goes into my life and oh there's one thing that you and I want and that is that well done.
If I have the counsels and if the counsels of the heart, the motives, the motives, oh how searching that is, if the motives are right and I'm doing what I am doing because of right motives, then he's going to be able to maybe give me a little nugget at the judgment seat of Christ.
Preacher's Manual says we're not supposed to tell the same story at the same place with the same audience, but I'm going to go against the Preacher's Manual. Little Rachel is two, she's the student, she's the teacher, I'm the student.
We're going through the animal book, she says, Grandpa, what's this? And she's got her finger on an elephant and I said, Rachel, that's a giraffe. She doesn't say a word of complaint, she doesn't say anything, just looks down.
She puts her finger on the dog and she says, Grandpa, what's this? And I said, Rachel, that's a mouse. And she doesn't say a thing in criticism. And so the poor thing is, I'm testing her patience I think, so the third time she says, she puts her finger on an alligator.
She says, Grandpa, what's this? And I said, Rachel, that's an alligator. And she looks up at me and she says, good job. You know, dear Christian, there's something that wouldn't it be thrilling to hear from him who bears in his body the wounds of dark gothish tree, wouldn't it be marvelous to hear, good job.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to go through life and it's, mine is three-fourths done and to think that as I go into the past and you think of the future, knowing that that day is soon and nigh at hand when we shall stand, when we're going to hear the shout and we're going to rise together and we're going up to the sky and then soon to stand at the bima and then to be able to hear, good job.
Or is it, dear Christian, are there going to be too many elephants in my life where I really didn't care, where I just lost heart? I don't want that to be. Neither do you, dear Christian, dear believer.
May we go on, may our hearts be revived and may we get a fresh look today of what we once were and where we're going and who we belong to and what we are that we too will appreciate again, growing in grace as we've been reminded from our two brethren, growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Lord just bless his word to all our hearts for his name's sake.