Revealing the One who Reveals (Part VI) – “Come Into My Heart”

Sermon Title: Revealing the Rise, Fall, of Jesus in our Heart

Good News Statement: Jesus encourages us to live by our heart

Preached: Sunday, February 16^th, 2025 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSVUE): Luke 2:22-35 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke who introduces us to a man named Simeon who not only presents the new born Christ to the Lord, but reveals him to all people. May we find ways in 2025 to reveal who Jesus is in our life. Our scripture reading is Luke Chapter Two, Verses Twenty-Two thru Thirty-Five. May the hearing and understanding of this scripture add a blessing to your life.

Jesus Is Named

²¹ When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵ so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”

 

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

The announcement has been made, Mary has given birth to her firstborn son and has wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger. The  heavenly host of angels have sung, “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14). The shepherds have received “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10), they have traveled to Bethlehem to witness what took place, and they shared with Mary, before “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20), news that she treasured and pondered in her heart (Luke 2:19). Now the Magi have arrived and left gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh, and have travelled home going a different way and avoiding King Herod. Christ has been born, in the city of David, to a people that need to be transformed.

To commemorate that special day, we lit the Christ Candle. That candle is more than just a symbol of hope, peace, joy, and love: it represents a source of light that no amount of darkness can prevail over nor cover. Through this Candle, Christ has entered our life: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” (John 1:14). With this candle we have been given a gift, a name above all names. With Christ now fully present in our life, we must not wait to reveal who Christ is to us. We must not wait to reveal who Christ is to our church. We must not wait to reveal what Christ is calling us to do. We must not wait to find ways to keep his light shining as we enter a New Year: a year filled with accomplishments, successes and failures, joy and pain, new beginnings and setbacks, and good news and doubt. We must not wait to pass along the “good news of great joy to all people” through what we do and what we say.

Today, we look forward to the future as individuals and as a church. Today, we find ways to reveal who Jesus is and what Jesus does for us and the church. Today, we think about how we will reveal Jesus Christ in 2025 by spending time with Simeon—actually several weeks—with a priest who waited his entire career for the day when he would bless the one who would in turn bless him. Luke is the only Gospel writer—writing about the year 85 CE, approximately 50 years after the death of Christ—to mention this moment in Jesus’ life. A moment that revealed the one who reveals us. We continue the story by simply asking ourselves, “What has been revealed to us?”

 

Body:

How many of you have a heart? Good, all of you do! How many of you know where your heart is? Good, all of you do! How many of you know what is in your heart? How many of you have ever followed your heart to make a decision? The heart is a fascinating, amazing, muscular organ that is powerful enough to help us make decisions and is necessary to live. Doctors have been researching the heart for hundreds of years. As a matter of fact, history has shown that Aristotle took particular interest in the anatomy of the heart and documented his research in great detail in the 3^rd Century B.C. Additionally, Oxford Academic published an article in 2020 that put shown a spotlight on Charles University. In this article, it notes, “In 1929, P. Gregor carried out the world’s first diagnostic cardiac catheterization of the human right heart.”[1] Recently, in 2009, researchers presented study results showing that Egyptian mummies, some 3,500 years old, had evidence of heart disease.[2]

The heart is not just a fascinating and amazing muscular organ that has been and continues to be studied, it also is a creation of miraculous wonder that leaves us in great awe. For example, according to UnityPoint Health, you heart can weigh between 7 to 15 ounces; a newborn’s heart rate is around 70 to 190 beats per minute; your heart is located in the middle of your chest but is tilted to the left which is why you can feel your heart beating on the left side of your chest more than on the right side of your chest; the average healthy human heart beats around 100,000 times a day; and it pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood which travels about 12,000 miles through your body each and every day as it passes through about 60,000 miles of blood vessels.[3] Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, sneezing does not stop your heart nor does it make it “skip a beat” although it could briefly change your heart’s rhythm; and laughing is good for the heart causing your blood vessels to relax which sends 20% more blood through your body.[4] The heart is truly a miraculous wonder!

Today, the text we are focused on doesn’t directly mention the word heart. However, providing for us a glimpse into the future of Jesus, Luke tells us that Jesus will have the power to make humanity reveal its inner thoughts—essentially, revealing where one’s heart lies. So, today, we are tasked with considering what is in our heart; and how through our heart our faith and belief, our doubt and worry, our pain and hurt, our blessings and joys, are revealed. What happens in our heart is known by Jesus because it’s Jesus that we ask to enter our heart. What is in your heart today?

 

Movement One: What does the Bible Say about the Heart…

The word heart appears in the Bible approximately 717 times. Depending on the translation of the Bible, the word heart is read about 553 times in the Old Testament and 164 times in the New Testament. To put this into perspective, the word love is only mentioned 640 times in the Bible—and love is the foundation to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the word heart appears more in the Bible than the word faith, the bedrock to our belief in God and Jesus Christ, appearing about 484 times. “Heart” is important to work of the Lord, the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the life upon which we live.

In the story of the exodus, we repeatedly read how the heart of Pharaoh was hardened because Pharaoh didn’t believe Moses. Numbers 15:39 informs us that we “will remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes.” The author of the Book of Psalm mentions heart 131 times: Psalm 4:7 says, “You have put gladness in my heart…”; Psalm 9:1 says, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart…”; and Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” Proverbs tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own sight” (3:5) and “Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up” (12:25). In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi wrote, “He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse” (4:6).

In the New Testament, we read similar passages. Matthew quotes Jesus in saying “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (6:21). Prior to this, we read from Matthew when Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (5:8). Luke tells us in the book of Acts that the Lord knows everyone’s heart (Acts 1:24). The Apostle Paul tells the people of Philippi, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Finally in the last book of the Bible, we hear these words, “And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve” (Revelation 17:17).

Again, the word heart is at the heart of the Bible, the works of God, the teachings of Christ, the ways of the Holy Spirit, and it is a means upon which we are called to live our life. But, do we give our heart—specifically what is inside our heart—the same attention that scripture does? Our heart should allow us to be glad, to give thanks, to trust, to being lead to God. Our heart should be filled with blessings, with peace, with our true treasures, with the will of Christ. And at times, our heart will be composed of sadness, pain, doubt, and sorrow. What is in your heart today? What do you carry with you as you come to worship the one who searches your heart?

After Jesus has been blessed by Simeon and his parents are left in amazement at what “was being said about [Jesus]” (Luke 2:33), Simeon now reveals the truth about what Mary and Joseph should expect of their son; and what they are told will live within their heart. Luke 2:34 and the beginning of verse 35 reads, “Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed….”

There is no question about what Simeon has just said to Mary. Simeon has just revealed the fate of Jesus. According to Charles R. Swindol, “After blessing the couple, Simeon prophesied the future of the Christ child. He would be both a blessing and a curse to individuals, depending on how they regard him.”[5] Jesus would bring some to their fall as a stone of stumbling (Isaiah 8:14-15), while to others Jesus would be a cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16) on which to build. Jesus would become the means of destruction for those who oppose God’s redemptive plan, and the source of salvation for those who submit to him.

If you think about this, what Simeon has just shared is unlike the news that Mary received almost ten months ago when the angel Gabriel appeared to her with the news that she is with child. Gabriel told Mary, “[Jesus] will be great, will be called the Son of the Most High, will be given the throne of his ancestor David, will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end” Luke 1:30-37). Nowhere in Gabriel’s proclamation to Mary did he reveal that Jesus will be destined for the “falling and rising of many” (Luke 2:34). All Mary knows is that Jesus, the Son of God, will be great; therefore filling her heart with joy. Before, Mary was in amazement at the blessing of her son, now she is stunned to hear the news that people will oppose her son. For those of you that are parents put yourself in the shoes of Mary. How would you feel if someone told you something about your child that you didn’t want to hear, that you didn’t believe was true? I’m sure Mary is also trying to figure out who is going to fall and who is going to rise? There is a lot of pondering happening in Mary’s heart: pondering of uncertainty, worry, confusion, and so much more.

When Jesus begins his earthly ministry, what he does will cause people to oppose him, to push back against his teaching, and to question everything that he is doing so much so that he will be tried and crucified and put to death—for you and for me. His teachings will cause people and nations to crumble because he will point out their flaws, their sins, and their miss-teachings. (Just think about the six out of seven churches from the Book of Revelation which all had flaws and were falling away from Christ.)[6]

He will try to help them, he will invite them to the table, he will hear them out, he will give them the choice to follow him, but they won’t accept his invitation. They will fall. Their heart will become like stone. Those who fall won’t allow Jesus to enter their heart and sin will continually lead them down the wrong path, and they will be tempted and temptation will win. And let me tell you, there is a lot of people out there that have turned their heart away from Christ because they would rather fall than follow in someone who knows them better than they know themselves.

On the contrary to those falling, there will be people who will rise, who will become a cornerstone, a source of hope for the blind, the poor, the captive, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18). In the words of Isaiah, those who rise will “renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Jesus will be the cause of many people turning their life around—returning to God as Malachi would say. Jesus will be the reason why many people will walk toward God instead of away from him. Jesus will be the one who changes the heart of stone into a heart of warmth and love. People will come to worship the one who will die for their sins and in return give them eternal salvation. Jesus will be the reason, the cause, for people rising to heaven instead of falling to hell.

And above everything, Mary is told that Jesus will reveal the “inner thoughts of many” (Luke 2:35a). Simply put, Jesus will be the one to reveal what is truly on the hearts of the people. Jesus is the one who knows our heart; and now Mary, after being in amazement, has to deal with this news. She now has to ponder in her own heart who her son is and what it is her son has been called to do. If Jesus revealed what was on your heart today, would you be the one to fall or would you be the one to rise?

 

Movement Two: The Text Explained – Outside to the Inside…

Before Simeon ends the blessing of Jesus, he reveals to Mary what we all need to ponder: Jesus knows our heart. Luke 16:15 states, “…God knows your hearts…” When Jesus said, “God knows your heart” in Luke 16:15, he was speaking to the Pharisees—men who lived double lives. Outwardly, they sought public approval. They made a point of following all the religious rules and worked hard to impress people so that they would appear to be godly and wise. But God knew their hearts. He saw through their phony, pious displays to what was on the inside.

Luke called these Pharisees “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14), and Jesus said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15, NLT). Jesus had just finished teaching about wealth and possessions (Luke 16:1–13). Through a parable, he showed that genuine kingdom followers obey God and His Word rather than pay homage to those things the world values like money and status. He closed with this piercing caution to people who attempt to live dual lives: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13).

God called out these religious leaders for their greed, self-indulgence, and hypocrisy: “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. . . . You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:25–27).

The Pharisees proved that appearances can be deceiving. Their actions were inconsistent with who they really were in their hearts. In the Bible, “the heart” refers to a person’s inner moral and spiritual life. This is explains why Samuel writes these words, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Later on in Jesus’ ministry, he talks about how an inner spiritual change is needed to follow him. He tells the Pharisees that it is absurd to use new garments to patch old garments (Luke 5:36), and that they shouldn’t want to put old wine in new wineskins but instead but new wine in the new wineskins (Luke 5:37-39). Prior to this moment Jesus tells a paralytic man to stand up and walk but only after he forgives the paralytic man of his sins. Jesus is concerned about the heart because it is the heart that is going to lead us to change our life. It is what is going on inside of us that truly matters to Jesus. We need to focus on cleaning up the inside of our spiritual houses, dealing with our sinful attitudes and misguided motives. If the inner person is righteous, “the good treasure of his heart produces good” (Luke 6:45, ESV). The inner treasure of righteousness will flow out to produce external holiness as well. Our moral and spiritual character will automatically be revealed on the outside; but it begins from the inside. As Ezekiel tells us, “I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).

Jesus will reveal our inner thoughts because he cares about what is happening within us. He cares because he understands that we are capable of newness. It’s almost as if he wants us to experience a “spiritual heart transplant” before we find ourselves falling. I came across a story this week about an individual who had a heart transplant and the ending of his story is something to consider.

At only 37 years old, Derek Fitzgerald received a heart transplant that saved his life. Derek shared, “About ten years ago, I wasn’t feeling well so I went to the doctor. After a series of tests, they found a large grapefruit-sized tumor in my stomach.” At 30, Derek was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After the tumor was surgically removed, Derek began chemotherapy. A few months after his chemotherapy ended, he began to have trouble walking uphill and breathing was difficult. “Chemotherapy saved my life. But unfortunately, it killed my heart,” Derek said.

Derek wound up in the emergency room again and again, until an echocardiogram finally revealed that he had dilated cardiomyopathy – a condition that reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently. His ejection fractions – the level at which the heart pumps oxygenated blood through the body – were at 18%. A healthy person’s ejection fractions are at 50 or 60%. As bad as his condition was, Derek didn’t meet the requirements for a heart transplant, which mandates an ejection fraction of 17% or lower. So the doctors put Derek on medication, and ultimately they put in a pacemaker. “For six years,” stated Derek, “I lived with heart failure. I often felt like I was in the twelfth round of a heavy-weight fight.”

Sometimes, I think that’s how we all feel. With everything going on in our life, we sometimes feel as if we are in the twelfth round of a heavy-weight fight either waiting to be knocked out or for the bell to ring so we can catch our breath. And the fight that we are in takes a toll on us, to the point where our heart feels heavy, laden with burdens, falling away at each beat. If we were the ones being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, we would give in before he finished his first request: we would turn stones into bread and bring forth water from the rocks. I’m sure we have all been there. Something has happened in our life by which has left our heart depleted of motivation, the will to keep moving forward was absent. At that point, we need a “spiritual heart transplant” just like all those whose life was changed by Jesus. But how?

 

Movement Three: “Into My Heart, Lord Jesus…”

When it comes to receiving a “spiritual heart transplant,” there are several things you can do. You can pray—let God know what is truly on your heart and mind. You can surrender all to Jesus—give to Jesus everything that is weighing you down, that you are concerned and worried about and leave it at the foot of the cross. You can seek peace rather than anxiety by trusting in him. You can worship him—giving him thanks for the blessings in your life. You can choose to follow him more deliberately, with meaning and a purpose. You can find ways to do good, to be there for someone, to offer your support and help in a situation. You can ask for forgiveness of your sins. You can receive his salvation without question. You can read and study scripture more frequently and more deliberately. You can choose to be more involved in the church. You can simply read daily or weekly devotionals. You can do something during the day that allows yourself to experience peace. There are hundreds of ways to receive a new heart in Christ. But the one that comes to mind is something that I sang in front of my home church probably around the year 2000.

At my home church, growing up, I was involved in the children’s choir, which was directed by my mom. Around Easter time, the choir sang a song titled “Into My Heart.” Take a listen… Here are the lyrics again in case you couldn’t hear them: “Into my heart, into my heart; come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” If you need a new heart in Christ, I invite you—no, I encourage you—to allow Jesus to enter your heart today and allow him to stay. Don’t just receive him now and kick him out tomorrow. Keep him in your heart. Make sure you do what you can so that he stays there.

To receive Jesus into your heart means that you are surrendering your life to him. You are allowing Jesus to guide you, to nurture you, to strengthen you, to comfort you, to transform you. You are allowing Jesus to calm your storms. You are allowing Jesus to turn your five loaves of bread and two fish into twelve baskets of left overs. You are allowing Jesus to help you get back up and to walk again. You are allowing Jesus to breathe life into you and to be a source of living water in your life. You are allowing Jesus to fight for you in the twelfth round of any fight. You are allowing Jesus to change your life. Your ability to acknowledge that Jesus is in your heart is half the battle; the other half is keeping him there today and every day.

Church, friends, if you feel like your heart, your spiritual heart, needs a transplant, then don’t wait. Ask Jesus right here, right now, to come into your heart so that you can be changed. So that you can be made new. So that you are filled with grace, salvation, and unconditional love. What would this world look like, what would our church be like, what would our walk with Christ resemble, if we allowed Jesus to come into our heart, to live within us, to always be with us? What do we need to do to make sure Jesus stays in our heart? What do you need to do to allow Jesus to come into your heart today?

 

Conclusion:

I end this message by sharing with you the ending to Derek Fitzgerald’s story. Eventually, Derek’s health and heart deteriorated to the point where he qualified for a heart transplant. He chose Penn Medicine, because he wasn’t about to settle for anything less than the best care. Derek’s Penn Medicine Transplant Team was led by Dr. Mariell Jessup, who told Derek, “Up to this point, with your poorly performing heart, you’ve had the luxury of having all these other organs that were functioning well and supporting your heart. But one day — one day very soon — those organs will no longer be able to sustain your poorly performing heart. And when that happens, your health is going to be like falling off the edge of a cliff. But don’t worry. When that happens, we’ll be here to catch you.'”

Shortly after being put on the heart transplant list, Derek collapsed in the exam room during an appointment with his cardiologist. He was immediately taken to Penn Medicine, and waited for a new heart. “Friends and family, doctors and nurses, would come in and check on me, but I could barely tell that they were there. I was in bad shape,” he said.

Then, the news came: a heart for Derek had been found. His Penn Medicine Transplant Team sprang into action immediately. Derek was rushed into the OR, and when he woke up after the surgery, he had a new heart. At only 37 years old, Derek received a heart transplant that saved his life. After that day, Derek made a promise to himself, and to the donor he would never meet. He would be his best self. He would strive to make himself better. And he wouldn’t take one second of his good health for granted

We are thankful for all those who perform miracles like this: who save people’s lives and give them a new chance to live. But unlike the case of Derek, we don’t have to wait to receive a new “heart.” We can ask today, and Jesus, because he searches and knows our heart and the inner workings of what doctors have been studying for many decades, will give us new one so that we don’t fall but instead rise to follow him. However, the choice is yours. Are you ready for a “heart transplant”? Are you ready to say, “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus?”  Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, come into our heart today; come into our heart to stay. O Lord, we are in need of a new heart—a new spiritual heart that puts our trust in you, that builds our strength, that blesses our church, and that guides our life toward your light. We are ready for a new heart. In your precious name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

One is never too old or too young, too broken or too worn down, to imperfect or too worried to receive a new heart in Christ. This week, don’t just invite Jesus into your heart, but invite him to come into your heart and to stay. May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go forth seeking ways to reveal your new heart in Christ. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

 

[1] Oxford Academic, European Heart Journal Supplements, Volume 22, Issue Supplement_F, July 2020, Pages F1–F5. https://academic.oup.com/eurheartjsupp/article/22/Supplement_F/F1/5871375

[2] https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2016/02/18/heart-disease-was-common-ancient-egypt-too-0#:~:text=In%202009%2C%20researchers%20presented%20study,which%20thickens%20the%20artery%20walls.

[3] https://www.unitypoint.org/news-and-articles/16-surprising-facts-about-your-heart-infographic

[4] https://www.unitypoint.org/news-and-articles/16-surprising-facts-about-your-heart-infographic

[5] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012. Pg. 74.

[6] Revelation 2-3:22