Sermon on Guarding your Heart

how to keep spiritually awake sermon

Main Point-Our hearts need to be ready for the coming of the king.

Awaken our hearts

Luke 21:33-36

33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away

34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

33 Heaven and earth will pass away

Intro to this text
- Immediate context of state of world before Jesus returns and it is all a wrap
- Whether we are here for this or not it 100% applies because the end result is being ready for His return, whether ready at His coming or ready at our death

Reminder of the temporal nature of life
- Describe some of the things that will pass away
- All of this stuff is temporary except your heart, and the Word

Heaven and earth will pass away , but my Words will not pass away

Jesus is telling us that everything is temporary except His Words
- In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…
As we talk about our heart, this statement is a pillar because His words concerning our heart strengthen us
- John 14:1-3
- John 10:27-28
- These are words to live by, because while every thing else falls, we can stand on Jesus’ words!

34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

- Watch yourselves, Warning!

Weighed down w/ dissipation, drunkenness and cares of this life

- - Dissipation-Excess of non-spiritual indulgences-excess media, excess social media, excess entertainment, excess times spent with unbelievers kicking it, excess time working
  - Drunkenness- too much alcohol, drugs, weed
  - Cares of this life-anxiety of being pulled away from Jesus and into the webs of our life
  - What is our life marked by?
    - This question is important because it points to the condition of our heart
    - The answer to this question is the fruit of our heart which either beats for Jesus or is weighed down and pressed into a cold hard heart…
    - Some of us are His and our heart is weighed down so much by the things of this world that we have very little fruit
      - Very little joy, very little peace, very little of His spirit, very little word, very little space to bring Him Glory

Mark 4:19

- - - - He is saying today to watch yourselves! Examine ourselves!
      - For some of us it is the warning to check our temperature to make sure that we are in the faith!

2 Corinthians 13:5

34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

It is all about the heart family
Watching ourselves against a weighed down heart
- If you don’t watch yourselves, your heart is vulnerable to weighed down
- Am I watching myself?
  - Take inventory of our hearts
  - “If its not pleasing take it away from me”
  - Jeremiah 17:9-10 the Lord searches the heart
    - Therefore pray to Him about this matter
  - Hebrews 4:12-13 gives us a tool to accomplish this task of watching ourselves and our hearts

34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

That day come upon you suddenly like a trap

Whether it be not ready because your heart is not right, or not ready because you have a life of regret

35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

So in light of this day coming suddenly, in light of our hearts having the potential to be weighed down by the things of this world….Jesus says to Stay Awake
Matthew 24:42-44
- Perfect picture of what it means to stay woke
  - Be present, be aware, be ready
  - We must watch and guard our hearts like the secret service watches the president or like the military watches our borders
  - In the case of our text, be present with jesus, be present in the spirit, be aware of God’s move in your life, be aware of what the Spirit is saying, be aware of what the Lord is saying in His word, be ready follow Jesus’ leading, be ready to do good, be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies with in you, be awake!
This idea of stay awake isn’t a new doctrine:
- Ephesians 6:17-18
- 1st peter 5:7-9
- Matthew 26:41

36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man

What inevitably goes with watching is praying
Why are we praying? Why are we watching? Why are we guarding our hearts from being weighed down by this world?
So that you may have strength to escape all these things…and to stand before the Son of Man

These spiritual things we are doing are the works that Jesus expects us to be doing with our life, it is the exercise that keeps our heart pumping for Jesus
Without these exercises our heart becomes dull and weighed down
It is through these things that we get our strength!
- We get our strength through this because these things bring us closer to Jesus who is our strength, who is our overcomer, who is our victory
- Talk about the only reason we are able to stand before the son of man\
  - Because of what He did, He expects our heart to beat for Him
  - This text is a warning for us to make sure that it is in fact beating for Him and not cold and hard