GOD
… Reconciling the world unto God …
The Scripture used throughout this study is quoted from the King James Version. Any explanatory insertions by the author within a Scripture verse are enclosed in brackets [ ]. |
© 1995 by Vincent C. Finnegan
P.O. Box 3098, Latham NY 12110, USA
| Preface — The Heart |
| Chapter One — The Source of All Life |
| Chapter Two — Not Always Visible |
| Chapter Three — How to Change the Heart |
| Chapter Four — Where Your Treasure Is |
| Conclusion — Heart Prayers |
The Heart
God wants your heart. He sees, not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance. God looks on the heart and deals with man accordingly.
"After the race, I thought my heart was going to explode." "If it takes all night, we are going to get to the heart of this matter." "The nurse had heart for people like few I've ever seen!" "When everyone else quit, he kept on going. That boy has heart."
The physical organ in the human body, cause, compas sion, and endurance out of intestinal fortitude are all very different uses in today's spoken language of the same word: "heart." The context tells us its meaning. In like manner, the word "heart" in the Bible has different usages, determined by its context. This study concerns itself with the heart as the center of your personal life, the heart of your mind which determines the issues of your life. This heart is the control center, the cause which influences all the effects of life.
A Christian receives many great spiritual realities with the gift of holy spirit. Galatians 4:6 states, "...God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts...." This aspect of the gift and all other aspects received with the new birth are ours to use. However, what is ours spiritu ally does not automatically come into manifestation in our lives. We have the responsibility by our free will to evidence the gift in our lives.
The spirit of His son in your hearts has no automatic impact on the heart of your personal life. The heart is always determined by your freewill believing. To have your heart be Christ-like is your responsibility. The heart of your personal life is the source of all life.
Chapter One — The Source of All Life
Proverbs 4:23:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
The very issues of life come out of the heart. The New English Bible gives this translation, "Guard your heart more than any treasure for it is the source of all life." The New Interlinear Bible says, "Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." The Compan ion Bible reads, "Guard the heart as the great citadel (a fortress that commands a city), for out of it are the source and outgoings of life." The heart is the source of all life, the wellspring of life, the great citadel from which are the source and outgoings of life. The heart is the control center of your life.
That which is in your heart is that which is in your life. What is in the heart of your mind, the seat of your personal life, determines the issues of your life. When you plant tomato seeds in the ground, the end result will be tomatoes. No one expects to plant tomato seeds and then reap cucumbers. If one wants cucumbers as the final result, one must plant cucumber seeds. In like manner, the issues of your life are determined by the "seeds" planted in your heart. If you had a tomato plant and wanted cucumbers, would you cut the tomatoes off the plant and try to glue cucumbers onto the plant? Certainly not! How silly this would be. Yet, people try to do exactly this with the issues of their lives. When they have an undesirable issue of life, they strive to change the outside, when all the time the changing that is needed is in their hearts. If you want to change to cucumbers, you must plant cucumber seeds. If you want to change issues of your life, change that which is being planted in your heart.
The deception we face is thinking that by changing circumstances, situations, or associations, we can change our lives. The truth is the heart is that which must be altered to change our lives.
As we study the heart, we will see why it is the source of all life.
Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Your thoughts (from the Greek enthumesis - motives) and intents are housed in your heart. They help to determine the issues of your life.
Romans 10:9 and 10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Believing is in the heart. The actions taken in your life result from the believing in your heart.
Mark 12:30:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first command ment.
Love is housed in the heart. The love in your life is the progeny of the love in your heart.
Matthew 12:34 and 35:
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Good and evil are in the heart. To turn from the evil in your life to good, you must replace the evil in your heart with good. The good or evil in your life is the offspring of the good or evil in your heart.
Matthew 5:27 and 28:
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Sin is a matter of heart. Sin's outcome or manifestation in our lives should not be mistaken for the cause. That which is seen is a result of the sin in the heart.
The examination of these few scriptures shows us clearly why the heart is the citadel of our lives. The motives, intents, believing, love, good, evil, and sin are all housed in the heart of our personal life. No wonder Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence!
A reality about our hearts that is not easy to bear, but must be accepted as true, and action taken to change. This truth is communicated clearly in Jeremiah 17:9.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desper- ately wicked: who can know it?
The nature of each person's heart is deceitful above all and desperately wicked. No one is born with a "good heart." Even a Christian who has the spiritual heart of Christ (received when born from above) still has to contend with his own personal heart which by nature is wicked. With the new birth the personal heart is not automatically changed. To change the personal heart to line up with the spiritual heart of Christ takes a deliberate decision of will and a faithful application of the Word of God.
Jeremiah 17:10:
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.
Another truth to realize is that God looks on the heart and deals with us accordingly. Therefore, again we are confronted with the clear, stark reality that the heart is that which governs our lives. We must concentrate on the heart to live a godly life. It is imperative to keep this truth clear and not to allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking "outside-in" rather than "inside-out." No person other than you determines your life. Do not allow yourself to think others are the cause of the issues of your life. Circumstances, such as where you live or where you work are not the root cause of the issues of your life. Situations or the way in which you are placed in relation ship to your surroundings are not the cause of who you are. THE HEART OF YOUR PERSONAL LIFE IS THE SOURCE OF ALL YOUR LIFE'S ISSUES.
Chapter Two — Not Always Visible
Perhaps you have heard the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover." This is very good advice when it comes to people as well, because that which you see with your eyes is not necessarily a reflection of their hearts. God's Word clearly shows you cannot determine that which is in a man's heart by the way he looks, or even acts.
Mark 7:1-9:
Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
To look at the Pharisees, with all of their religious traditions, activities, and apparel, one could easily think their hearts were completely lined up with the things of God. Jesus Christ saw through the outside into the inside, the heart. God wants the heart, and the heart is that which He looks upon.
Proverbs 23:7,26:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Once again we see that the thoughts of the heart are what a man really is, even if the actions of his life reflect something different. God wants the heart. Some people can smile with seemingly little cause. Their facial expres sions may be bright and cheery, and give the impression that they are happy. Perhaps, you have spoken to people like this, only to find out that they are "smiling on the outside and crying on the inside."
My thoughts were completely focused on what the teacher was communicating in a fellowship I was a part of many years ago. The words he was speaking seemed directed right to me personally. As I listened I remember having thought, "I can almost feel my life changing." Apparently, the look on my face did not communicate the joy in my heart to hear these great truths. The teacher came up to me afterwards, and asked if I were angry or bothered by something. I said, "Why do you ask that?" He said, "The way you have been looking at me as I taught, I thought, perhaps, you were angry at me." Oh my! The face truly is not always a mirror of the heart.
Romans 2:13-29:
(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circum cision is made uncircumcision.
Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteous ness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circum cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
The word "spirit" in verse 29 is used figuratively and is referring to one's inner being. God looks at the heart because the heart is truly what a man is all about. These records in Mark, Proverbs, and Romans show clearly that the heart is not always visible to the eye. These verses also show us how foolish judging another is at any time. We are definitely not qualified or capable of making judgements. Only the Lord is the true judge. You may want to review Romans 2:1-5, and Romans 14 to see that which is stated about judging others.
Chapter Three — How to Change the Heart
The obvious questions are: How do I change my heart; and how do I guard my heart?
Psalms 119:11:
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
There is absolutely no way to change or guard your heart without hiding the Word in it. There is no other way, no substitute, no short-cut! We could now look at hundreds of scriptures which would show the need for hiding the Word in your heart. As food is to your physical life, the Word of God is to your spiritual life. Daily you eat food to sustain your physical life; DAILY you must "eat" the Word of God to sustain your spiritual life. If you eat the wrong food, you become physically weak or sick. Likewise, eating the wrong spiritual food (something other than God's rightly divided Word of truth) will cause weakness or sickness of your heart. No one can do this for you. By choosing daily to hide God's Word in your heart, you will be determining the issues of your life.
What I have just described is the first step in the process called the renewed mind.1 The renewed mind is the "how" of changing your heart. The next step in renewing the mind is to put into operation the Word of God which you have placed in your heart. Do it! Live it! You must realize that the renewed mind is your responsi bility and not an involuntary action done for you by God. Understand your responsibility is essential. However, hiding the Word in your heart, praying, renewing your mind, etc. were never intended to be done with the exclusion of God.
These very essential aspects of our Christian life can become nothing more than "works of the flesh" if we try to do them on our own without the help of God. The truth is that any of us who have tried to change our hearts on our own by reading, studying, memorizing, etc. have failed miserably. We cannot change our hearts without God's help. We cannot hide the Word in our hearts without God's help. We cannot renew our minds without God's help. We do nothing of any spiritual profit without God.
The psalmists knew full well the need for God's help. In reading you can hear the plea of their hearts for His help.
Psalms 10:17:
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
Humility is the realization you cannot do it on your own, but He can! Humility is "I can't, You can. Lord, help me."
Psalms 27:14:
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.Psalms 73:26:
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
We can and should hide the Word in our hearts, but only God can make that Word have its impact in our hearts. Only God can strengthen the heart. "Lord, help me, strengthen my heart."
After David was confronted by Nathan for the incident with Bathsheba and for having had Uriah killed, he repented. David knew his sin had been against God, and no possible work that he could have done would change his evil heart. He cried unto God to take away his sin. Then he prayed:
Psalms 51:10:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
David had no illusions about his heart and knew full well God only could clean it and give him a new heart.
Do you want a clean heart? "Lord, help me. Create in me a clean heart."
Psalms 86:10-12:
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
Oh, how we yearn continually to love and respect our wonderful Father, God. Oh, how weak and wavering and unsuccessful we are. "My God, help me, unite my heart to reverence Your name." We so want to love God and to be faithful to Him, but we fall so short. Only He can help us, but not without our asking, praying.
Psalms 119:32-36:
I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
We hate sin, yet we continue in it. "Father, help. Incline my heart unto Thy Word, not to covetousness. Deliver me from evil and temptation. Help!" He will help us to change our hearts. As we hide the Word in our hearts and trust in Him, He will guard our hearts.
Psalms 141:3 and 4:
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
Have you ever come to the place in your walk with God where you felt the life of your personal relationship with Him sifted away?
Isaiah 57:15:
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
God can and will revive your heart as you go to His Word and ask His help. God can change the heart. God can guard the heart.
Chapter Four — Where Your Treasure Is
Matthew 6:19-20:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
The treasure of your life is that which is most important to you. The exhortation is not to have treasure on earth because moth and rust do corrupt temporal treasures. Is it not true that as soon as you buy the beautiful, new car it decreases in value? As time passes, the engine needs repair, the tires wear out, the paint gets chipped, etc. All material things are subject to moth and rust. And if corruption does not get to them, then thieves break through and steal. Even human relationships are subject to corruption and thievery.
The heavenly treasures are not corruptible because they are spiritual. Your righteousness, justification, sanctifica tion, holiness, eternal life, etc. are not subject to moth or rust. No thief, not even "the" thief can break through and steal.
Matthew 6:21:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Whatever you deem most important in your life is your heart's true treasure. Remember Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...."
How does one know what his treasure is?
Matthew 12:33-35:
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
The way you look and the actions you take do not necessarily reflect your heart. However, these scriptures do say that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." That which comes out of your mouth most often is a reflection of that which is in your heart. If you find yourself speaking frequently about the most current movies and the various celebrities, then a part of your treasure is movies. That is not to say that any mention of a movie reveals or indicates your treasure; but if movies are your predominate thoughts, they are your treasure. This could be true of your work, family, sports, or many other things. What do you think about most and what do you talk about most? This is your treasure. Back in Matthew 6 is an important truth on determining God to be our lives' treasure.
Matthew 6:22-24:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Each person must make the deliberate decision of will to have God be his treasure. The Word of God states that you cannot serve God and the world. If God is to be the treasure of your heart, then your thoughts must be single. You must keep your thoughts focused on God. If you want your heart to be Christ-like, determine that your treasures are the things of God.
Psalms 119:162:
I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
As you rejoice at His Word as a great treasure, your heart will be focused on Him and the things of God.
Conclusion — Heart Prayers
We have no real, direct power over outer things, because those outer things are the consequences, manifes tations, resultant pictures of the heart.
James 3 talks about the tongue, and how evil and out- of-control it is.
James 3:6-8:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of ser pents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Since the tongue is so evil and untamable when dealt with directly, how do we control it? Again, we must change the cause, the heart. Remember Matthew 15:18?
Matthew 15:18
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
We really do not have control over the outer without controlling the heart. If we could possibly affect outer things directly without changing our heart, then we could think one thing in our hearts and produce another in our lives. This is impossible.
What you think in your heart, you produce in your experiences, as within, so without.
You cannot think one thing and produce another. We should consider and pray this prayer from II Thessalonians.
II Thessalonians 3:1-5:
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
Ephesians 1:16ff and 3:14-21 contain heart prayers to consider.
Matthew 5:8:
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
Footnotes:
1 Ephesians 4:17ff; Colossians 3:1ff
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