Are You Left or Right Hearted?
May 18, 2026
Think about if you’re a born-again Christian. Think about the day you got saved. I’m talking about the day you admitted, “Hey, I’m a sinner, I need a Savior. Jesus is my only way.” You called on Him to be your Savior. Now think about that day. In all those sins—okay, don’t think about all—think about your sins, and they’re all gone. I mean, the amazing thing is your sins were placed on Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ’s righteousness was put on your account. Wow. God the Father, if you’re a born-again Christian, He looks down on you right now and He says, “Forgiven, cleansed, redeemed, my child.” He sees you. Here’s the amazing thing: He sees you as perfect. Wow. Let’s talk to your spouse about that right there.
That’s amazing, all because of Jesus and His shed blood. So I hope those songs sink in your heart. And they should. Great, great words for those songs.
So rich, take your Bibles, if you would, and turn over to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs, chapter number 23. Brother Tim, if you give me just a little bit more volume, please. I appreciate that. I don’t think I’ve been up to preach this early in a long, long time. 11:05. Wow. And uh, we… good announcements in the bulletin. And no special today. Brother Adam is going to sing, but he’s been sick. And um, so we’ve got all kind of time, so that just gives more time to preach. I mean, come on now, you know? And I appreciate your kindness there on those things. But we’re—let me just say this: Once you find Proverbs 23, if you look right here for just a minute here, Proverbs 23. If you’re there, if you’re there, would you say, “Amen?”
This subject—now here’s the subject. It’s a little interesting. The subject is, are you left or right, not hand, but hearted? Are you left-hearted or right-hearted? And this subject is—well, that’s a funny title, but can I just say this subject, the teenagers over here, this subject could help you in life. We have a young man that just turned 18 this week. And it could help Ethan so very, very much because he needs a lot of help is the truth now. I’m teasing with him. But it could help all of us. If you’re going to be in Christianity, living for the Lord in church over the long haul, this could be a great message for you. Not that it’s a good preacher and all that, but the truth: it can keep you from making a lot of bad decisions, and it can help you through tough times. I hope you just, “Lord, speak to my heart.” I hope I’ll deliver it like it needs to be delivered. But it’s a great truth, and I want God to speak to your heart from this great, great truth this morning: Are you left or right-hearted?
For just a bit, we’re going to start here in Proverbs 23 and verse number 19. Proverbs 23 and verse number 19. If you’re able to, would you please stand as we read God’s Word together? Proverbs 23 and verse number 19 of God’s Word. He says there, he says, “Hear thou, my son, and be wise.” And would you read the last phrase with me out loud? Here we go: “And guide thine heart.” Well, boy, that doesn’t sound like what the world says out there. I hear a lot of “follow your heart.” Well, that’s not what God said. “Guide thine heart in the way.” Well, that’s a little different.
Look over, if you will, in Ecclesiastes, the next book of the Bible—Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Look in chapter number 10. Ecclesiastes chapter number 10. This is a very interesting verse, and I’ve looked at it for years. And I think the Lord, maybe a little while back, showed me the meaning of it. And I want to just kind of use this to get us going here on the truth we’re looking at. But please look in chapter 10. Look in verse number two right there, if you would please. Verse number two: “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart is at his left.”
I’m going to take that here in just a minute and try to dissect that, just try to get the meaning of that here in just a minute. But you pray that God—because this thing could apply to different areas and ways of your life—pray that God would apply it to your life the way it needs to be applied. Would you do that? Pray with me about that.
Father, I do believe You have led us to focus on this truth. Lord, help me to present it properly; help me rightly divide. And then, Lord, I do ask that You send Your Spirit, Father, applying it to every person. Lord, let the teenagers grow up remembering this truth and being benefited by it. Lord, help us as adults to grow and become wiser for You through it. Apply it to our lives as needed, Lord. And we’ll thank You for what You do. It’s in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
Oh, maybe nine months ago—I meant to look up the date, I did not do it—but I had surgery on my left elbow. There was a spur there on the back part, and it was sticking out pretty good. You could see it in the X-rays and MRI and all that stuff. And he got in there, and he said, “Well, it was a little bit more than I thought,” and it was kind of coming through ligaments and tendons and muscles, so that’s why the pain and all that, and he got it all out of there. But I came out of surgery in my arm—by the way, I’m left-handed—my left hand. First of all, he gave it a numb me up, of course, put me to sleep, you know, and then he gave me a nerve block. Do you know what I mean when it says a nerve block? So for the next couple days, I could not feel anything. I mean, he gave me a lot. It was in a sling a lot, but if it wasn’t in a sling, I could not—you know, you’re just like your arm just dangling. You feel like it’s somebody else’s arm attached to your body because I could not move it. And, you know, and it was in a sling, and so I had to use my non-dominant hand. Now here’s the bad part for me: my non-dominant hand, that’s already a problem, you know. They only got three fingers on my non-dominant hand. I mean, you know, it’s tough to get those ones that are way up in there, you know. I mean, at least you got your listening now, you know.
But isn’t it funny, have you ever tried to throw with your non-dominant hand? Yeah, I see that right there. You know, you feel like you’re—don’t take offense, ladies, at this—but you feel like you’re throwing like a girl. Of course, nowadays, some girls can throw better than guys, you know. And, but, you know, you ever tried to brush your teeth? There was a video out for a while saying, “Do these three things and it’ll help you rewire your brain.” I thought, “All right, well, you know, we’ll try.” And one of them was brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. You ever wear toothpaste all over your face?
I can’t write with my dominant hand, my left hand, you know. I mean, I can’t write where you can read it, you know. You ever try to write with your non-dominant hand? When you’re mad at someone, you want to write them a letter, write it with your non-dominant hand. They can’t read it, amen. It’s a good thing, you know. I mean, you’re just awkward. I remember me and a guy, we were playing pickleball. I haven’t played much since my elbow thing, but we were, you know, I was playing, and I was all right, and he was a good player, and the people we were playing against—don’t tell them—but they stink. They were no good, and they couldn’t play. And so we’re like, you know, we think we’re all that, so he said, “We’ll play with our non-dominant hands.” Well, the stinking people started beating us. I mean, it’s just hard; it’s awkward and hard to play and do something with your non-dominant hand, you know.
Not only that, now take that in effect here, all right. Typically, most people by far are right-handed. They say most will say about 10%, some will say 12, some will even go up to 13, but that’s very—most will say around 10% of people are left-handed people. Now, by the way, how many of you are left-handed in church here? Good, we got some. You know left-handed people are in the right mind. You know, you understand that. That’s our one, you know, claim to fame there, you know. But, you know, here’s interesting: they say like in 1900, you know, the year 1900, they said then three and a half percent of people were left-handed. And the past was a lot less. They say, probably not because of the way. Just back then, if you were left-handed, then, no, no, you’re going to use your right hand, type thing. How many of you left-handed people when you were young, they tried to make you write with your right hand? Did you? There, all right, good. I had a little bit of that. Well, Brother Josh, we had some of that going on. And especially years ago, and go even back to Bible time, it was fewer people that they would allow to be left-handed. And there are some special things about left-handed people in the Bible, but we won’t go there.
So, by far the majority of people are right-handed. And so in the Bible speaking here, it’s kind of like He’s speaking to left-handed people. So let’s just, for these things here in our mind, let’s go back and read this verse: Ecclesiastes 10 and verse number two. And He says, “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,” or, if you will, his dominant, his skillful hand. How many of you men have you ever tried to shave? I’m not talking about an electric razor; I’m talking about, you know, a hand razor. How many have ever tried to shave with your non-dominant hand? You come out with toilet paper all over your face, you know, because you’re bleeding all over him. And He said, “Now the wise person,” the wise person here, “their heart is at their skillful hand.” But a fool’s heart is at his left, typically that’s your non-dominant hand. Can I word it this way: A wise man is skillful with handling his heart, but a fool is clumsy, awkward in dealing with his heart. Y’all get me? You understand what God’s trying to say there?
Now let’s give you a couple thoughts along that line. We’re in Proverbs a lot. We’ve been in Proverbs on Wednesday nights; it just seemed like our hearts and minds are going that way. Look over in Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28 and look at verse number 26. We’re going to give you three points on this truth here. A wise man is skillful with his heart, but a fool is clumsy or awkward with his heart. Proverbs 28, look down in verse number 26. Proverbs 28:26. If you’re there, would you say, “Amen?” Proverbs 28:26. He says there, he says, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a what?” Wow. Man, that blows the philosophy of the world out of water for sure. “Whoso,” or he, excuse me, “he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. But whoso walketh wisely…” That’s the opposite of trusting your heart. “Whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Now that leads us to our first point here: Don’t let your heart control you.
I think of a lady years ago; we were in a storefront, and she was having problems with her marriage. And I asked her about her marriage—not about, or I already knew about her parents’ marriage—and I was trying to see, you know, what’s typically their default, where’s she coming from, what’s she seeing? And she said, “You know what’s amazing, Pastor?” But she said, “My parents seem like they fussed and fought for years.” That’s what she said. And she said it just seemed like they came to a point where just, you know, they decided to accept each other like they were, and they had a—it seemed like they had a great marriage. Now here’s the thought. Here’s the thought. During those years of them fussing and fighting—all remember this morning we’re going somewhere—during those years of fussing and fighting, I promise you there were times that the heart said, “Fully on them, I’m walking away from this thing.” They fussed and fought. But look, praise the Lord, they didn’t follow their heart. They were wise. They were skillful with their heart. And that daughter, an adult daughter now married, said, “Pastor, I’m telling you, they had a great.” And by the way, it seemed like they did have a good marriage. I ended up preaching his and her funeral, her parents’ funeral, both of them. And it seemed like they did have a good marriage, but I’m saying if they would have just followed or let their heart control them, they would have divorced and never had all those years of a good marriage. Now, I’m saying the world’s philosophy is, “Follow your heart, follow your heart, follow your heart.” But the Bible says the wise man is skillful with his heart. So don’t let your heart control everything.
You know, it’s so very important that your heart, it goes through seasons. Remember what Paul, Apostle Paul, said to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to Timothy, that young preacher—that preacher boy? He wasn’t even a preacher boy; he was an older man, maybe in his 20s or 30s, and he was a preacher. But he said, “Hey,” he said, “Timothy, I want you to preach the Word, be instant in season, and what?” So your heart, the core of you. There’s going to be times that it’s your—you’re flying high, you’re doing good, you’re just on fire for the Lord. I mean, God speaks to your heart, you have tears welling up in your prayer time, you love it all. And then there’s going to be seasons that you’re a little cold-hearted. You’re not excited as you used to be. There are problems maybe; there are issues going on that drain your heart. And if I follow my heart, I promise you—this is the truth—if you follow your heart, you will not be serving God for years and years and years and years because your heart is up and down. Jeremiah 17:9 says it’s desperately wicked above all things. Wow. Your heart.
Look, you’re in Proverbs already. Look over in Psalms—it’s the book before Proverbs. Look over in Psalm 69, and look in verse number 20. I was just going to read this one for you, but you’re close to it. Psalm 69:20. Just talking about don’t let your heart control you. And look at this verse here. I want you to see, because if you let your heart control you, boy, your heart… Wow. Look at this, Psalm 69, verse number 20. He says, “Reproach hath what?” So if your heart’s controlling, you’re making decisions on a broken heart. “Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforts, but I found none.” You know, there’s a whole lot of people that have made some horrible decisions. They’ve stopped reading their Bible. They’ve stopped praying for their loved one to get saved. They get out of church. They did this and the other. They went back to the bottle down the line when their heart was broken. I’m saying, friend, don’t let your heart control you.
A wise man is skillful with his heart. A foolish man is unskillful. It’s just—I mean, it’s like shaving with your non-dominant hand. Just not a pretty sight when you come out, you know. I mean.
Number two. Number two. Go back over, if you will, to Proverbs 23. Number one, we said, don’t let your heart control you. Number two, right here, Proverbs 23, and look in verse number 19. Proverbs 23, and look in verse number 19. Proverbs 23:19. When you’re there, would you say, “Amen?” Good, good. Look at verse number 19. What does he say? “Hear thou, my son, and be wise.” Here it is again: “And guide thine heart in the way.” Can I—can I confess here a little bit? If I followed my heart, I would say a whole lot of things I never should. I would regret saying some of those, for sure. Any of you out there like that? Oh my goodness, because my heart says to say, “Wow, I want to say it.”
Look, if I let my heart, if I let it guide me, you know, honestly—and it’s—you know, I praise God where I’m at. I love where I’m at. I love this church. I love the people. I’m excited about God allowing me to have a part in His work. But you know the honest truth is if I followed my heart, I’d have quit. I’m just being honest with you. There’d have been a couple times. I mean, and look, you’re not supposed to let your heart guide you; you’re supposed to guide your heart.
How many people—listen to me, this could be so helpful for some people here—but if you allow your heart to guide you, you’re going to be in debt up to your ears, eyeballs, hair, if you have any, whatever, or over. Don’t let your heart tell you what to buy and what not to buy. Okay? If you got like a little bit of a spending addiction, okay, go buy some ice cream, four bucks, it’ll be all right, you know. But just because your heart wants it doesn’t mean it’s the right decision to buy that, and you’re not supposed to let your heart guide you; you’re supposed to guide your heart.
I think of a young couple. I had the privilege of marrying them, and I love them. I’m not sure—I think maybe I did, I don’t know—leading to the Lord, but I love them. They’re a good young couple in the beginning days of the church, and they got married, and they were financially strapped a little bit, and they got to my house, and they just had to have this fancy furniture in that house. And their heart said, “You know, I’m going to be happy. I need this furniture, and we’re newlyweds, and we’ve got a house, and we’ve got this furniture.” And they got so stressed out—I don’t know if there was everything about their marriage—but they were so stressed over money. They couldn’t see each other, and the love for one another. All they saw when they looked at each other was bills. And the heart said, “I got to have that. I got to have that.” Friend, don’t you let your heart be the deciding factor whether you’re going to buy or not. The Bible says, “Guide thine heart in the way.” Not going to have a part of the equation, but a wise man is skillful with his heart.
He didn’t let his heart just control him. He can use it skillfully. He can move it quickly. You know, it was a good day for me when in Bible—'cause I still remember this. I still remember the man that said it. He’s in heaven now. But he said, he’s talking to his young preachers, and he said, “Hey, learn to shift gears.” You know, the Bible says weep with those that weep and rejoice for those that rejoice. And, you know, sometimes you’ll be dealing with someone, and they just have a major heartbreak, and I’m to weep with them. And you’re going to turn around as soon as you leave the office, you’re going to walk out on the sidewalk, and so-and-so is coming by, and they just got a raise, or they just got a new house or a new car, and you’re supposed to be able to rejoice. And you have to be able to shift gears. And a foolish man, he doesn’t have any control over his heart. His heart takes him, just drags him along through the mud and through the mire and through the problems, and it just controls him or her. But a wise man says, “I’ve got control over my heart. I’ve got some skill. I can move it wherever I want.” He’s skillful with his heart.
And I’m saying, I’m saying if we’re going to be wise, look, but friend, I’m supposed to guide my heart. You know, if I did whatever my heart wanted it to do, there’d be a whole lot of people that I didn’t—I wouldn’t witness to. I mean, there really would be. I’ve had the privilege, and I mean the privilege, I praise the Lord, of leading some people to the Lord in this room right here. And you know what? Unfortunately, if I follow my heart, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have witnessed to you. Because my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Who could know it? My heart’s here and fearful, it’s all the rest of that. But my heart is not supposed to guide me; the Holy Spirit’s supposed to do that, friend.
Oh, the philosophy of this world is so—you ever learn this term? This is a technical term; it’s called “cattywampus.” Look that up in the dictionary, amen? And it is. And it’s a mess-up world, and I said, “No, no, no, no, no.”
You know, the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.” That rejoice, it doesn’t mean you just boom right here. You wouldn’t have to rejoice. It’s you—you got joy, and then it goes down, like all of us, because we’ve all got leaky baskets, if you will. But you rejoice. And then you get on top side, and then boom, something else happens, so you’ve got to go get a little bit more ice cream and get back up rejoicing again, right? You know.
I’ve been noticing this here lately: 36 times the Bible uses these two words together: “Be glad.” Be glad. The majority of them are God talking to me and you: “Be glad.” And if I’m going to be glad, I’ve got to have some control over my heart. Don’t want me out there? Isn’t it amazing? He said, “Hey, wise people, they have some control. They’re crafty. They’re gifted at it.” Learn to guide your heart. It takes time.
Okay, you say, “Preacher, the honest truth is I’m horrible at guiding my heart. My heart leads me here, there, yonder.” And you say, “All right, I want to get dominant hand with my heart of you. I want to get skillful at it.” Can I just say this? You know, if you’re going to try to use your non-dominant hand, it’s going to take time. The first couple times you brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, you’re going to have toothpaste all over you. Come on now. I want you to try it tomorrow morning, all right now. Before you come to church tonight, try it, but wipe off when you’re done, all right? We don’t want to see all that white on your face there, you know. I mean, it is. And if you try to throw it, it’s going to take time.
And you say, “Oh, I get it. I need to be more skillful at guiding my heart.” Don’t expect perfection. It’s going to take time. You got to work at it. And at some, it’s stronger, you know, naturally or not, but all of us have to work at it. Learn. Here’s a very popular verse. You’ll know it: Proverbs 3:5. One of the most popular verses in our day and time. What does it say? Help me out if you know it. “Trust in the Lord with all thine…” Yeah. You know what we’re doing our day in time? Trusting in our heart. And that’s not what God says. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” You see the difference? And friend, if I’m going to be in it, because there’s going to be times your heart is not here. There’s going to be time. You’ve heard the story about the fellow that woke up one Sunday morning, and he told his wife, “I don’t want to go to church.” And she said, “Well, why don’t you want to go to church?” He said, “Those people, they talk about me at that church.” And she said, “Well, you know, he’s supposed to be going for the Lord.” And she said, “Give me another reason.” He said, “Well, those people at church, when I talk, they never listen to me,” you know. And just on and on, filing. He said, “Well,” he told his wife, he said, “Give me one good reason why I ought to go to church.” He said, “Because you’re the pastor.”
And I’m being facetious, but there’s some truth to it. If a pastor follows his heart, he’s human; he’s up and down all over the place. No, he said, “No, guide thine heart.” So when your heart—by the way, when your heart is not into it, there are times—my heart’s not into it like it ought to be. And I don’t—I’m not perfect at it, but there are times I’ll say, “Lord, I’ll just pray this throughout the day: Give me my desire back. My desire is gone, Lord. I’m sorry. It’s my heart, my sinful flesh. Give me my desire back.” But you learn to guide your heart, not your heart guiding you. There are principles in the Bible that can help you with it.
What is this over there in Lamentations 3? He says, many of you know this verse. Help me out. “Mine eye affecteth my…” You know, sometimes if I’m not content where I’m at, because my eyes have been seeing so-and-so’s truck, and there’s always so-and-so that’s got a bigger, better truck than you do. I mean, you get yours a little bit jacked up more, somebody else’s going to have it jacked in. You’ve got big tires, they’re going to have bigger tires. Those are Ford, so you don’t have to worry about them, though, you know. Brother Kevin just said we just woke up there now, you know. I’m teased with him. Hey, when I’m not content, typically, you know what’s affecting my heart? My eyes. You know what? Listen to me, friend. You know something we have in our day and time? You know what I’m doing right here? Yeah, just scrolling. Oh, my goodness. What’s wrong with my heart? My eye affected my heart. I’m just telling you, it’s true. And you learn these principles from God’s Word. No, I don’t want my heart guiding me everywhere. I want to guide my heart.
It’s so very important. This is an interesting principle about our heart here. But David, that great, great Christian David—I think there was one point—yes, we think of David when he backslid with Bathsheba and Uriah, and then later on numbering the people. But I think before all that, I think David had about a year or so when he backslid. He went over there, the Philistine country, and he lived over there. He even told the king of God, he said, “Hey, we were over here in Israel-like Judah territory.” He wasn’t. He was in Philistine country, and he slaughtered villages. I’m talking about man, woman, boy, and girl—everybody. God didn’t come, and he did that, and he did that so the Philistine king wouldn’t know where he’d been at. I say that to say I think he backslid for a while in his younger days, and this is where I think he started going down here. Let me just read it for you. It’s in 1 Samuel 27:1. “And David said in his heart…” The Bible uses that phrase about ten times. Some of the times it’s God saying something in his heart. Twice since the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” But here, David said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.” The honest truth is David knew better. David had been anointed to be king over Israel. God said, “I’m going to take care of you. Saul’s not going to get you, David.” But David started saying in his heart, “Saul’s going to get me,” and he backslid. So I’m saying it’s very important what you say in your heart. What are you saying in your heart, the core of you?
Look, a wise man, his heart—his heart is not at his non-dominant hand. I’m not coordinated with this hand. I just—you know, it’s just—but a wise man doesn’t have his heart in his non-dominant hand. A wise man has his heart in the skillful hand. If I’m going to be wise, young people, if you grow up learning to be wise with your heart, man, you’ll be way ahead of the ball game.
What are you saying in your heart? Just some principles from the Word of God about guiding your heart. The Bible says this one twice, in Matthew and I think in Luke, but He says this, you’ll know it, but it’s easy to kind of get it mixed up. Let me see if I get it right. It says, “Where your treasure is, there where your what?” Heart be also. We think of, “Where my heart is, there where my treasure be,” but God says twice in Scripture, He said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
There’s a man in the beginning days of our church. He’s a very wealthy man. And he supported us at the beginning days of our church. He would send us typically, I think, $100 a month or maybe more. I can’t remember. Most of them were set. Maybe he fluctuated. I can’t remember. Maybe it was the same. Anyway, he sent us some money at the beginning days of the church. So I got to know him a little bit. He’s a wealthy man. He owns a… a Greyhound Bus Company. Some of you probably know him. If you see some buses around, tour buses, they don’t have a certain name on it—he owns that. And he doesn’t run it anymore. But anyway, he owns that company. He’s a very wealthy man. And now he’s got some nice things. He does. He had back in the day a nice Mercedes, one of those when you go over 100, it would go down the air shocks and it lowers. I tried to let—you know, if he let me drive it, he didn’t see him my way. He wouldn’t let me drive that. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, you know. But anyway, he had some nice things, but honestly, if you got to know him, he made good money, he worked at his company because he supported around 300 missionaries. And if you got to know him, man, his heart was in it.
At one point, I remember I was talking with him. He said, “Paul,” he said, “I’m going to give you this list,” and you could tell that was kind of his baby, that list of missionaries he supported, some of them more than $100 a month. But imagine 300 missionaries. I’m not talking about his church; I’m talking about him personally. We support 50,000, 60 missionaries, whatever. He supported 300 himself. And you could tell that was this, and he said, “Paul, I’ll give you this list if you pray for them.” It was his baby. Now, why was his heart into that list? Because his treasure was there. And that’s a viable principle: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I don’t want my heart to guide me because it’s up and down all over the place. Guide thine heart in the way. Number one, we said, don’t let your heart control you. Number two, we said, guide thine heart in the way. Number three, number three, you know all still want me out there? Ask God to change your heart, to work on your heart.
David, we’ve already mentioned David. David, we mentioned a little bit of bad way, his heart, but overall his whole life, David had a great heart. But you remember when the preacher Samuel went by, he was going to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the king. Eliab, the oldest one there, big old strong boy, you know, coming out looking all buff and all that, you know. And Samuel said, “That’s the one. He’s big like Saul was.” And God said, “No, don’t look at his countenance, the height of his stature. That’s not it. Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh at the what?” That’s very important. Overall, David had a pretty good heart. I think David understood how important the heart was. But you know there are times that David backslid. Look over in Psalms, Psalms 51. We often call this the repentant Psalms where David’s getting right with the Lord after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. And David’s—he’s just trying to get right by God. And notice what David says, Psalm 51, and look in verse number 10. Psalm 51:10. Look at what David, through the inspiration of God, he says, “Hey, Lord, create in me a what?” A clean heart. Oh, friend, this old world and our flesh, it dirties up our heart. It did my heart. It just so prone to wander. And if you’re going to have a right—and by the way, you can have a right kind of a heart—but you’ve got to bring it to the Lord.
Some of us, some of us, listen to me, some of us this morning, we need to bring a heart to an old-fashioned altar and say, “Lord, my heart is far from where it ought to be. Create in me a clean heart, oh God.” God does that. A very core, they’re a sinner of you. God changes. He creates in you. Oh, my friend, it’s a good day. We say, “Hey, Lord, do Your work in my heart.”
Look over, if you will, in Psalms 139. David here speaking. And turn to Psalm 139. Look at the very—look down in verse number 23. Psalm 139, and look in verse number 23 right there. Just talking about David. And God said, “Hey, he’s a man after God’s own heart.” I want to use that guy right. His heart’s right. Well, let’s look and see what David did with his heart. We’ve already seen at one point he says, “Hey, Lord, create in me a clean heart.” Look at this, verse number 23: “Search me, O God, and know my what?” Oh yeah. David knew what he was doing. “Search me, O God, and try my heart; test me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Hey, how long is it being? Let me just ask you. Just look right here. When’s the last time you’ve seen God in your life? I was talking to a man a couple years ago, and God had done something around here—I can’t remember what it was—and he said, “Paul,” he goes to a different church, lives in a different state. He said, “Paul, I wish I could see God like that.” And what did Jesus say? He said, “Blessed are the what?” Pure in heart, for they shall see God. You know, sometimes why we don’t see God is our heart. And you’re going to have to bring your heart, “Lord, search it. Get my heart right.” I don’t know much, but I feel like I walk with the Lord a little bit, and I go to bed somewhat right with God. I wake up in the morning, my heart’s out in left field, and it just continued to bring it back to God. God, do work in my heart. That’s what David’s doing. Don’t let your heart control you. You control your heart.
Let me say this, this may be surprising to you, but if your heart is not in the best season right now, that doesn’t mean you’re sinning. What you do with the heart that’s not in season—that determines whether you’re sinning or not. Timothy, instant in season. It doesn’t mean Timothy’s sinning, but if Timothy acts on his heartless, cold-hearted, now that’s the sin. What did He say to the church at Ephesus? Remember that church at Ephesus? Remember over there? Revelation 2, the church in the good church. But he said, “I got one thing against you.” He said, “You have left your first love. You’ve left it.” Your heart. Well, God gave him the three-part remedy. Remember: “From where you’re falling, repent, and do your first works.” And why? He said, “Your heart will come back.” It’s a sad day when someone comes and says, “Pastor, I don’t love my spouse anymore. I need to divorce. God wants me to divorce him.” No, your heart wants to divorce him, but your heart’s desperately wicked. God gives grounds for it, but friend, half the time, it’s not anywhere close to that; it’s just your heart. No, friend. My friend, your heart—don’t let it control you.
What a sad thing. I’m going to be done, but this is true. This is a sad thing. I think of a young man that visits our church every once in a while, every maybe year or so, and he’ll come for seasons. He’ll come more faithful. But he’s a likable young man. I think he’s a hard worker. I think he makes decent grades. He’s a good boy. But he’s not saved. And this is what he tells me every time I talk about it. He said, “Hey,” he’s good to me. But he says, “I’m waiting for God to just do something inside of me before I get saved. I’m waiting to feel it. I’m waiting for something to happen inside.” No, no, no, no, no. Don’t you follow your heart. You follow God’s Word. And God’s Word says, “Today is a day of salvation.” You’ll follow your heart all the way to hell, and I don’t say that; I say that sadly. Hang that way for a certain feeling. Friend, you make the decision: Christ is my only way to heaven. I’m going to put my faith in Him. Who cares? My feelings will follow, friend. They’ll say, “You know what? Jesus is the way.” I’m calling on Him to be my Savior.
Hey, what is it they say? A wise man, his heart isn’t at his non-dominant, clumsy, awkward hand. That’s not where his heart is. A wise man, he puts his heart—it’s like skillful. He can shave without having cuts all over, you know. He can ride, and it looks good. He’s skillful with his heart. Hey, how about let’s just grow? I don’t want my heart to control me. I want to guide thine heart in the way.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Our heads bowed, our eyes are closed. You’re there this morning and say, “Preacher, I would like to grow in being more skillful with my heart. God spoke to me about that. I’d like to grow in being more skillful with my heart.” If that’s you this morning, just lift your head up. “Preacher, I’d like to grow in that.” By the way, my hand’s up, I’d like to grow in that. That’s so vital, so important. Life throws some hard balls out sometimes, and it’s so important that we learn to be skillful with the heart. God bless you. Many, many hands. Thank you so much for letting the Lord work in your heart.
Maybe here this morning, and you say, “The honest truth is my heart’s not the best right now.” Maybe you just got a heartbreak. Maybe just weary. Maybe life’s just drained it, but my heart’s not there. But I want to bring my heart to the Lord. I just want to bring my heart to Him this morning. “Lord, my heart—I’m admitting it’s not where I want it to be, but would You create a clean heart? God, work on that in me this morning.” That’s you this morning. You lift your hand up. “Preacher, that’s me. That’s me.” Oh, my friend, we all are there from time to time. I don’t think it’s a sin to be there. Now, what we do with it is so vital. Good. Let’s bring them to the heart—let’s bring our hearts to the Lord, excuse me. Let’s bring them to the Lord.
Maybe you hear this morning, and maybe you’re like that young man, maybe you’re kind of waiting for something to happen. Thank you so much. You put your hands down. But maybe you’re just kind of waiting for something to happen, your heart to get saved. Can I encourage you: all today is a day of salvation. Your heart will follow. You’ll be so happy. But can I encourage this morning just say, “You know what? I’m just going to accept Jesus.” I’ve heard the truth of the Bible. Jesus said it: He’s the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father but by Jesus. I’m just going to follow what God says. Maybe that’s you. I’ve just been waiting for my heart, but I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to accept Jesus as my Savior. If that’s you out there this morning in the church or online, wherever, if that’s you, you say, “I know I’m a sinner. I understand there’s a punishment, death and hell, but I know Jesus died for me. He rose again, and I’m just going to accept Him right now. I’m just going to step out and accept Him right now.” If that’s you, right wherever you may be, would you call on Him in your heart? Something along this line: “Dear Lord, my heart’s here, there, and yonder, but Lord, I’m just going to make the decision to accept You. I know You’re my only way to heaven. Would You come into my heart? Would You be my Savior? Thank You, Jesus. Would You help my heart to get right? I’m looking to You, Jesus, to save me, and then to grow me and grow my heart. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
Our heads bowed, eyes are closed. You said, “Preacher, I just asked Jesus to be my Savior.” But I just asked Jesus to be my Savior. Anybody like that? Slip your hand. Anybody like that? Anybody like that? Oh, friends, let’s bring our hearts to Him this morning. Would you please stand? We’re going to have a word of prayer. Let’s just bring our hearts to the Lord. Help me to grow in being skillful with my heart. Lord, I bring my heart to You. I want You to put my heart back where it should be. Heal my broken heart. Tell Him that. Father, thank You for being so good. Lord, help us to grow and be like the wise man who is skillful with his heart. Grow us that way. And Lord, we thank You for what You do in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Original File: 2026-05-18 - Pastor Paul Chisgar - Are You Left or Right Hearted？ - Sunday AM - 05⧸17⧸2026