MATTERS OF THE HEART
Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
Ephesians 3:17 - That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love,
The Bible is our only source that can tell us about our heart. Psyschology has a theory, but only God knows the truth. The heart is not only essential, but the very essence of man.
Proverbs 4:23 tells us to be diligent in keeping our hearts from being defiled. For out of it flows the issues of life. We have to keep our hearts from doing hurt and getting hurt.
Psalms 27:3 says though an hose encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, because the Lord is with us.
Let me tell you something. What we go through reveals who we really are. You will go through trusting God or you will complain because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak faith or unbelief and all unbelief is sin.
Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us it is the heart that determines what the brain is thinking. That is why we are told to guard our hearts.
How can we guard our hearts? We guard our hearts by not allowing junk talk, ungodly communication to clog your own hearts and mind. What would be the outcome of flushing cotton materials, objects and all kinds of garbage down the toilet bowl? It doesn't pay to listen to nonsense all the time. Guard your heart.
When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is describing the real you - the inner man. The first mention of the heart is in Genesis 6:5 - God said that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was evil continually. Wickedness, then, is great when great men and women are wicked in the government, in top positions in all areas of the business world, in high positions within the church. Many of these women and men have fallen, publicly, because of infidelity, homosexuality, stealing from God. All of this wickedness is a matter of the heart.
Proverbs 22:15 says foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. In other words, the heart is bad from birth. Babies know how to manipulate you with the tears, a smile, their eyes, etc. I know they are cute, but they grow up. What the devil meant for evil the parents can turn around to good by prayer and bringing the children up in accordance with the ways explained in the Bible.
Matthew 15:8 says the people draw near to me with their mouth, honoureth me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. What defiles us is not what goes in the mouth, it is what comes out in our speech. The tongue is the index of the heart.
The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.
Matters of the Heart continued: Lesson II
Jeremiah 17:9-10 - The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Psalms 139:23-24 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
The human heart is a witness that cannot be trusted for spiritual guidance. Our guidance must come from the Holy Bible, which is our source for righteous living. His Word is spirit and life.
Hebrew 10:22 says let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water. We need to draw near by conversion - Water Baptism. This refers to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, cleansing us from the filthiness of the flesh as we walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk and learn habitually in the Spirit because the talk without the walk is not good. People want to see real Christians. Most of us are content with the outward part of religion. We display outward correctness, outward pretenses, but the eyes of the Lord look much further. They look at the heart.
Proverbs 16:2 says all the ways of man is clean in his own eyes. Why, because the flesh never tells the truth. Flesh exaggerates. Nobody will stand in the midst of the congregation and say ' I've been lying all week and I need to repent.' Matters of the Heart!!
Jeremiah 17:10 says the Lord searches the heart. He is the tester of every thought. He tests your moods. Some Christians have mood swings - inconsistent, unstable. We shift from one attitude to another. It is called bi-polar and it is not of God. That is why we need the mind of Christ.
Proverbs 23:26 says my son give me your heart; not your song,; not your religion; not your loud amen. Give me your heart. Without your heart, your worship is vain.
Matthew 15:8 says this people draw near to me with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. It is like singing a song without realizing what it is saying to you - just going through the motions alienated from your source.
II Kings 10:31 reports that Jehu was against idolatry. His zeal in pulling down strongholds and idols brought him many rewards. But there was something in his character that spoiled everything. He did not walk in the Laws of God with all of his heart. He had an ego problem. God wants our heart, not our ego.
This message is not for everyone. If you have dreams and goals of doing God's will, it is for you. A person can live for a year with terrible wounds and loss of limbs and arms, but not with an injured heart. Did you ever wonder how people can go to the house of God for years and never change? Read - Ezekiel 33:31-32
It's the Matters of the Heart