[Music] follow your heart it's a phrase you've probably heard many times it sounds so appealing so inspirational doesn't it don't follow a trend follow your heart or you can do anything as long as you don't stop believing when it is meant to be it will be you just have to follow your heart these are the kind of messages we hear over and over in our world today it's everywhere in motivational speeches in movies in social media posts people say it with such conviction as if following your heart is the secret to happiness and success but
here is the truth the Bible never tells you to follow your heart in fact it says the exact opposite one of the greatest lies the world has ever told you is that following your heart is the key to happiness success or fulfillment this dangerous lie has led countless people down Paths of Destruction today we're going to look at why this idea is contrary to biblical truth and how it can wreak havoc in our lives our key verse is Jeremiah 179 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it this is
a clear and sobering warning about the human heart yet people often act as if follow your heart is a Bible verse they quote it with authority as if God himself commanded it but scripture never encourages you to follow your heart instead it warns us over and over again of the heart's deceitfulness let's break down why following your heart can lead to some of the worst decisions of your life how many people have made life-altering decisions because they followed their heart instead of seeking God's wisdom one of the most common examples is choosing a spouse think
about how many people marry based on the idea that they are following their heart they feel intense emotions maybe they experience physical attraction and they assume that these feelings must be right I'm in love they say my heart tells me this is right but love or what we often call love can sometimes be just a fleeting emotion if we rely on our hearts alone to make this critical life decision we could be setting ourselves up for heartache and disaster you've seen it I've seen it maybe you've even experienced it someone decides to marry a person
despite the warnings from family friends and even God's word everyone around them sees the warning signs maybe the person they want to marry doesn't share their faith or they have character flaws that would make marriage difficult but but the one getting married doesn't want to hear it I'm in love they say brushing off any counsel they go ahead walking down the aisle with someone they should not be marrying and the heart that deceitful heart has blinded them to all the issues that will later cause pain and suffering over the years as a pastor I have
witnessed so many cases where people against all advice follow their heart straight into disaster they ignore why counsel they ignore the lack of Godly character in their partner and they end up in a marriage filled with strife and regret and then as the years go by they suffer the consequences of that decision divorce heartache broken families and deep wounds the Bible doesn't say follow your heart it says Proverbs 3:5 trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding this is the way we are called to live not by relying
on our feelings but by trusting in the wisdom of God the heart can mislead us but God's word is sure and steadfast not only can following your heart lead to wrong marriages but it can also lead to impulsive Reckless decisions I've seen people make huge financial decisions life-changing moves or career choices on a whim because their heart told them to they didn't pray about it they didn't seek God's will they didn't insult the scriptures they simply followed their emotions people have left stable jobs because of temporary dissatisfaction not because God was calling them to something
greater others have made Hasty Investments chasing after riches only to fall into Financial ruin they didn't pause to seek the Lord's guidance to ask if this decision was in alignment with his will no they followed their hearts and their hearts LED them astray why because the heart can be deceived it can make you think that the grass is greener on the other side it can lead you to believe that something is good even when it is harmful when we make decisions based solely on what we feel in the moment we are trusting in a flawed
guide our emotions fluctuate our desires change what feels right today might feel wrong tomorrow but when we make decisions based on the solid foundation of God's word we can have confidence that we are walking in truth Proverbs 14:12 warns there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death many people have followed What seemed right in the moment only to discover later that it led to destruction this is why following your heart can be so dangerous it may feel right for a time but the heart is deceptive
and wicked when people follow their heart they often find themselves in sinful situations the heart can be filled with desires that are not of God people enter into ungodly relationships indulge in sinful behaviors and chase after the pleasures of this world all because their heart leads them there I've counseled people who have destroyed their lives because they followed their heart into adultery I remember one case vividly a woman had been working closely with a colleague for some time and their relationship slowly became more than just professional she confessed that she had fallen into an affair
and when I asked her why she said I followed my heart her heart led her into adultery and the consequences were devastating her marriage was hanging by a thread and her soul was weighed down by guilt and shame the Bible is clear about the destruction that comes from adultery Proverbs 6:32 says but who so committeth adultery with a woman lackthe that doeth it destroyeth his own soul adultery destroys lives I've seen the sorrow it brings the broken families the shattered trust the Deep regret but it all starts with following the heart let's return to our
key verse in Jeremiah 179 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it this verse was written in the context of judah's sinfulness despite all the blessings God had given them even though God had been faithful to them their hearts had led them into idolatry rebellion and sin the human heart in its natural state is not trustworthy it is corrupted by sin and prone to deception you may think you know your heart but the truth is none of us fully know the depths of our own hearts we don't know how
we will react in every situation life can push us to our breaking points and we can find ourselves doing things we never thought we were capable of there are people sitting in prison today because they followed their heart in a moment of anger or desperation there are people who have ruined their lives because they acted on an Impulse they thought was right in the moment I guarantee you that if you were to look at the photos of some of the people in prison today you would never never have guessed from their childhood pictures that they
would end up there the heart is deceitful above all things we don't know the evil our hearts are capable of that's why we must not trust our hearts but instead trust God's word and his wisdom we must not let our feelings lead us we must let the spirit of God lead us one of the most dangerous ways the Heart deceives Is by twisting scripture to suit its desires I've seen people interpret the Bible in ways that justify their sinful actions for example I once spoke to a man who was convinced that the Bible supported his
desire to have multiple wives he had Twisted the stories of men in the Bible who had multiple wives to justify his own lustful desires he pointed to characters like David and Solomon who had many wives and used these examples to argue that he too should be able to do the same but just because something is recorded in scripture doesn't mean God condoned it the Bible is an accurate record of history but that doesn't mean everything in it is meant to be emulated God's design for marriage is clear one man and one woman United for Life
the human heart is so deceitful that it can lead a person to justify their own sins using the Bible they can misquote and misinterpret scripture to suit their desires but that doesn't make it right so what's the alternative to following your heart follow God's word Psalm 119 105 says Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path God's word is the truth and it will never lead you astray the world tells you to follow your heart but God tells you to follow his Commandments the world says your feelings are the
ultim Ultimate Guide but God says his word is the ultimate Authority Satan wants nothing more than for you to trust in your own deceitful heart rather than in the Living God he knows that if you follow your heart you'll end up making decisions that will lead to destruction but God calls you to follow him he calls you to trust in his word to submit to his will and to allow his spirit to guide you Ezekiel 3626 says a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I
will take away the Stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of Flesh when you follow God he transforms your heart he gives you a heart that loves what he loves and hates what he hates remember it's not about following your heart it's about following Jesus
