It is a Matter of the Heart

The message "Think About Such Things" dealt with the Mind - It was from that perspective that we learned what we think about can bring our greatest blessing... God's peace. To sum up this point, let us read Romans 8:5-8 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

This study will continue using base scripture Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. We will focus on "It is a Matter of the Heart."

The heart is used in the Bible sometimes symbolically to mean the center as in

·         Mt 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

and sometimes as the actual organ

·         1 Samuel 25:37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.

The majority of the time the Bible uses heart to mean the core and essence of the whole person.

·         Pr 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

·         Pr 27:19 As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.

The New Testament also uses heart is the same way. It is the governing center of person's will (Mk 3:5), intellect (Mk 2:6) and feelings (Lk 24.32).

However, the Bible demonstrates to us that the heart is not always as it should be and should be changed

·         Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

·         Malachi 2:2 If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.

Therefore, a new attitude of the heart is required and begins when it is broken

·         Ps 51:17a The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, . 

·         Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments.

A hard and stony heart will not submit to God

·         Ezk 11:19 & 20 (Ezk 36:26-28) I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

God searches our heart

·         Ps 139:23 & 24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

And then he cleanses it

·         Ps 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

·         Jeremiah 31:33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

For the Bible tells us that only a pure heart will get to see Him

·         Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.