마음에 두었나이다 ㅣ 시편 119:9-16 ㅣ I Have Stored Up In My Heart l 2026.9.20 ㅣ 최호년 목사

It's a very simple question, but what is the heart? What is the heart? It's an easy question, but it's hard to answer. In the Old Testament, the word "heart" appears many times. In Hebrew, it is "lev." Lev. In the New Testament, in Greek, it is "kardia," kardia. So, you have "cardiologist," heart doctor, right? But in the Old Testament, it is "lev." What is this heart? Biblically speaking, you can think of it as the innermost part of you, the core of your being. So, it is your existence. It is your identity. Yes, what is outwardly revealed is not your true identity. In fact, it is not. What is your essence? Your true, deep heart, your personality and emotions, and your spirituality, that is the heart. That is "lev." Do you understand?

Now, John Calvin, you know him, right? He is a very famous figure in the church who initiated the Reformation. John Calvin describes the human heart like this. Listen carefully. I will tell you in English. First, "The human heart is a perpetual idol factory." The human heart is a perpetual idol factory. I agree with that statement. As a pastor, sometimes I want to know, and sometimes I don't want to know what? The heart. Sometimes I want to know it, but sometimes I don't want to know what? The heart. Why? If I were to fully understand someone's heart, I wouldn't be able to handle it. There are good things, that passion for God, but there are also dirty things, ugly things, evil things, immoral things; if I knew all of that, I couldn't handle it. The human heart may be different, but one thing is the same: it is an idol factory. If I were to spice up John Calvin's words, it goes like this: Where is the factory that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without a single break in the production line? It is the heart's idol factory. That's right. That is truly the case. No matter how many idols are filled, there is no satisfaction. No matter how much you enjoy, there is no joy. No matter how much you have, there is no happiness. It is indeed an idol factory.

Solomon, who had everything, says this. Proverbs 4:23. Let's read it together loudly. "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Is this right or wrong? It is right. So, there is a saying in Korean, "It depends on your heart." That saying comes from this. The source of life is God. But does that life dwell in my idol factory, or has the idol factory turned into a temple, or is it just an idol-producing factory where God does not dwell? What is the source of life? What kind of heart is it? What kind of heart dwells with whom? What kind of thoughts does it live with? Solomon has experienced it all. He had so much. Among all the things to guard, what is the most important to guard? Kardia, the heart. Why? Because the heart is the source of life, Solomon knows this.