Kingdom's Keys Fellowship
Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
Advent 9 Tuning Up the Heart
Advent 9 Tuning Up the Heart
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer.17:9)”
In a passage that describes the devil’s heart, Isaiah 14:13-14 records, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” Here you ask why would God declare such a fall? His answer is clear, “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly…I will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the most High…” Not the emphasis on “I.”
In these two passages the ultimate enemy of God has contemptuously declared his position. He doesn’t want God, he doesn’t need God and he is going to replace God and be in control of everything. The echoes of Henley’s Invictus ring here, “Out of the night that covers me, black is the pit from pole to pole…I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul…” And the poet concludes his poem with the same contempt proclaiming “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” Everything is about me, myself, I and mine.
In essence what the devil is pronouncing is that he intends to replicate himself, his self-centeredness, in every human heart. Sin is his spirit. Deceit, hiding, fear and pride are his modes of operation. He has a stable of spirits to trip up the unsuspecting and temptation is his strategy. He has centuries of experience and knows that the heart is our most vulnerable access point.
Jesus knows the heart without God and lays it out for us, (Mk.7) 20“"What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
The heart is where our mind introduces its beliefs and there we ponder and make choices and decisions. It is the heart that feels alone, senses alone, is peaceful or distraught, depressed or elated and stable or unstable. Sometimes it is whimsical and impetuous while other times relaxed and patient. Regardless of principle and ethic it will respond to the fear of the moment, live by its perceived needs instead of real needs and have a hard time discerning the difference. The mouth may speak in bold belief but the heart may respond in total contrast when acting out unspoken inner drives. Paul, in Romans 7:19 confirms this when he says “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
But the antidote for the sinful heart starts with Paul’s clear affirmation, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom.10:9).” It is the belief in the mind that must penetrate the heart. If you can say Jesus is Lord it is the heart and the heart alone that can embrace that Jesus is risen from the dead and present in the heart. Paul emphasizes this when he talks about being a Jew. “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.”
Jesus promises power for the heart, “"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! (John 14:15-17)”
So much more can be said about the heart but if you really look at the Bible as a whole you will find that it is a heart book about the heart, written from the heart of God for each individual heart.
Next, the spirit needs a tune-up as well……..stay tuned……..
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer.17:9)”
In a passage that describes the devil’s heart, Isaiah 14:13-14 records, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” Here you ask why would God declare such a fall? His answer is clear, “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly…I will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the most High…” Not the emphasis on “I.”
In these two passages the ultimate enemy of God has contemptuously declared his position. He doesn’t want God, he doesn’t need God and he is going to replace God and be in control of everything. The echoes of Henley’s Invictus ring here, “Out of the night that covers me, black is the pit from pole to pole…I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul…” And the poet concludes his poem with the same contempt proclaiming “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” Everything is about me, myself, I and mine.
In essence what the devil is pronouncing is that he intends to replicate himself, his self-centeredness, in every human heart. Sin is his spirit. Deceit, hiding, fear and pride are his modes of operation. He has a stable of spirits to trip up the unsuspecting and temptation is his strategy. He has centuries of experience and knows that the heart is our most vulnerable access point.
Jesus knows the heart without God and lays it out for us, (Mk.7) 20“"What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
The heart is where our mind introduces its beliefs and there we ponder and make choices and decisions. It is the heart that feels alone, senses alone, is peaceful or distraught, depressed or elated and stable or unstable. Sometimes it is whimsical and impetuous while other times relaxed and patient. Regardless of principle and ethic it will respond to the fear of the moment, live by its perceived needs instead of real needs and have a hard time discerning the difference. The mouth may speak in bold belief but the heart may respond in total contrast when acting out unspoken inner drives. Paul, in Romans 7:19 confirms this when he says “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
But the antidote for the sinful heart starts with Paul’s clear affirmation, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom.10:9).” It is the belief in the mind that must penetrate the heart. If you can say Jesus is Lord it is the heart and the heart alone that can embrace that Jesus is risen from the dead and present in the heart. Paul emphasizes this when he talks about being a Jew. “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.”
Jesus promises power for the heart, “"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! (John 14:15-17)”
So much more can be said about the heart but if you really look at the Bible as a whole you will find that it is a heart book about the heart, written from the heart of God for each individual heart.
Next, the spirit needs a tune-up as well……..stay tuned……..
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