Whole Heart
The Lord wants our whole heart to be healthy and alive, so he shows us to seek after him with our whole heart. Then he can address any and every part of our heart that needs more life. The Lord wants to share with us with his whole heart and his whole soul also. Since we are made in his image, we look just like him on the inside if we have the raised from the dead Christ spirit. He really wants to love us. Love is a deep emotion that cleans out other less important things. We will see many examples where the main underlying focus of father God and Jesus is where our heart is, because that's where their heart is.
2 Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
The Lord is looking over the whole planet continually to see who he can bless. He does this for the individual, to have relationship with that individual. This also shows others how to have a relationship with the Lord.
2 Chronicles 15:12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
When people seek the Lord with their whole heart, he will be found of them. Not finding him is death. Finding him is rest.
Deuteronomy 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. 28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
If anybody thinks this is just talk, consider the history of the Jewish people for the last almost 2000 years. They have experienced exactly this. And it can happen to them again if they forget their covenant with father God.
Deuteronomy 4:39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
The Lord doesn't want us to have mental assent that he is there somewhere. He wants us to feel it in our heart that the Lord is God and is everywhere.
Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
The Lord is requiring of us what is good for us. He is trying to tell us what is good for us. He would love that it would sink in that what he wants us to do is good for us.
Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. 16Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. 18Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
If our heart becomes deceived into not believing the Lord is the most high God then the Lords wrath will be kindled against us. He will withdraw his blessings from us. The Lord will not allow it to look like we can be worshiping other gods and have blessings that should be attributed to him. He reserves these blessings to his followers to show everyone that he is real and present and active on the earth. We must keep his words in our heart and in our soul.
Psalm 9:1 To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
The Lord will do marvelous works in our lives that we will appreciate with our whole heart.
Psalm 119:1 א. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
We can be a blessed people if we follow the Lord with our whole heart. His word, or law, or teaching will keep us from iniquity which leads to death.
Psalm 119:9 ב. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Doing the Lords word, law, teaching with our whole heart will clean our lives so we will not sin.
Psalm 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. 33ה. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. 34Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken (enliven) thou me in thy way.
We can avoid a life of vanity and instead have understanding and delight in our life if we follow the Lords law with our whole heart.
Psalm 119:57 ח. Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words. 58I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. 59I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
We inherit the Lord through the relationship of keeping his words and commandments with our whole heart.
Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. 68Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. 69The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. 70Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law. 71It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Some affliction from the Lord will get our whole heart to focus back on the Lord and his precepts. Remember, this is for our good and our relationship with the Lord.
Psalm 138:1 A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. 3In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
Father God has put his word above his name. He is declaring that if he said it, what he said is fully backed with all that his name represents. For father God's demonstrations of his loving kindness, truth, his word and his strength in our soul we should praise God with our whole heart.
Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 7Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. 10Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Sin and corruption is the big deal that angers the Lord. It makes us sick in ourselves and it makes the Lord mad that we make ourselves sick. The Lord isn't expecting us to make money or win a race or gain a prize for him. He's expecting us to behave and mature. He gave the children of Judah guidelines to go by in the form of appointed feasts and sacrifices. Judah was to be the tribe of priests to the whole world. They were to be his special close people. These appointed feasts are held on sabbaths different from the weekly rest day sabbaths. They were types and shadows of things to come as were the sacrifices the Lord ordained. Because Judah had so much sin on their hands, even if they did these special sabbath assemblies and sacrifices, they did not indicate that the people were serious about the relationship aspect. Notice how upset the Lord seems to be about the whole relationship. Regardless of the amount of mechanical things Judah was doing, their heart was too involved with sin. The Lord was disregarding their prayers and sacrifices and telling them to stop sinning, clean themselves up, put away evil, learn to do well. The Lord is stating that his people can eat of the good of the land because he can make it so. He has the power to do that, but whether he does or not is based on relationship. He doesn't want his special people to be sinning. He wasn't just condemning or criticizing his people. He was giving them the way out. He could make their sins as white as snow. But, they had to take the way out. He won't impose it on us. We have to take it, with emphasis on take it.
Jeremiah 3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
The Lord knows the difference between sincere and fake, like an adult would know from their child.
Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
The theme comes back to relationship. It isn't like we need to stand on our head all day long. The Lord wants fellowship, and he draws contrast between the people that follow him with those that don't. The Lord made us to be able to put our whole heart into something. That something is the relationship with him.
Psalm 119:139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. 140Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. 141I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts. 142Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. 143Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights. 144The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live. 145ק. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes. 146I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 147I anticipated the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
No matter how small we are, we can still keep father God's precepts. We take on the largeness of the value of the precepts because they are from father God. His precepts help us dominate our adversities. He promotes his righteousness on earth by standing behind the people who regard his righteousness.
Psalm 111:1 Praise (celebrate, glorify) ye the LORD. I will praise (thank) the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. 2The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. 3His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. 5He hath given meat unto them that fear (revere) him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. 6He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. 7The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. 8They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. 9He sent redemption (deliverance) unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and revered is his name. 10The fear (reverence) of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise (laudation) endureth for ever.
Father God wants us to thank him with our whole heart. Father God does great works for us, so we have a reason to thank him. Part of his works is his deliverance. His deliverance is in his covenant. Father God honors his covenant and sends us deliverance when we revere him. It is wise to revere the Lord to invoke his covenant to acquire his salvation.
Deuteronomy 6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2That thou mightest fear (revere) the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
What exactly does he want us to do? In the Tanakh, or Old Testament, we see God starts with "Love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our might". God wants somebody to love him. Fear (revere) God is very close to the top of the list. This helps keep our focus on him. When everything we do is done with the thought that he is right there all the time, we can always integrate him into how we do it. When the blessings come rolling in, keep the fear factor in mind so we don't make God mad by giving credit to other gods or turn the blessings into our gods. God will get jealous and destroy people who forget him and the fact that he is in control and that the blessings come from him. We should voluntarily keep enough fear to cover the blessings so the blessings don't kill us. Father God can give us lots of blessings if we always match them up with enough fear because he knows the blessings won't ruin us.
Jeremiah 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
In the past, God has destroyed people who have departed from him. When we are in relationship with God, he will do us good. God wants to rejoice over us. He wants to be invested in us with his whole heart and soul. The time frame that transpires from driving his people out to bringing them back may be generations, so the lessons learned are more accumulative than immediate. We don't have time to go through the hard lessons as we won't survive the driving out part. We want to miss the driving out part if we can, so we do better to reverence the Lord up front for our own good and our children's.
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30And 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 commandment. 31And the second is similar, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
In the Brit Hadasha, or New Testament, Jesus said the same thing as in theTanach, or Old Testament. Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Next is love your neighbor as yourself. Notice Jesus agreed with this scribe that following these commandments is more important than all the laws pertaining to burnt offerings and sacrifices. Following these commandments brings us close to the kingdom of God.
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
After Jesus died with nothing against his soul, he was able to be legally raised from the dead. Now he can be made unto us a raised from the dead human spirit. The first commandment from God is to believe on Jesus' name-nature-character-authority. Upon receiving/taking this raised from the dead human spirit, our spirit is raised from the dead and lives in us. We can love one another with this raised from the dead spirit where it might have been pretty hard to do otherwise.
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
God's carefully hand crafted raised from the dead human spirit, made through the person of his son Jesus, raises our spirit from the dead so we have eternal life. This spirit is alive, not death natured, and comes from God who is eternal, so it is eternal life and not eternal death. We can now believe on this raised from the dead spirit and have eternal life. Before Jesus came to earth and became this raised from the dead human spirit, no one could believe on him. Nothing and no one could raise our spirit from the dead before Jesus came. Not even Jesus. Not until he earned the right to raise us from the dead. Now, it is all about getting our spirit raised from the dead and having eternal life.
John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
This is the nature of the raised from the dead Christ spirit that we receive/take from Jesus to enter into God's family. We lay down our old life to receive/take this new life just as Jesus laid down his life to become this new life to us. Then as we are made aware of Jesus' love through keeping his commandments we can share Jesus' love with others.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure (clean) in heart: for they shall see God.
How clean in heart do you think we need to be to see father God? How much contamination can we have in our heart and still see father God?
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman (specifically a wife) to lust (set the heart upon) after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
If we allow ourselves to desire someone else's wife we have committed spiritual adultery in our heart. The male/female relationship is spiritual in nature and affects our heart. Father God made us to live out of our heart. Most things that are important affect our heart.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
We have to watch out about treasuring things in the natural more than the Lord. Every decision we make where there is a choice between keeping the Lord first or compromising our relationship with him on behalf of something material tests where our treasure is and where our heart is.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus' heart is meek and lowly. He is telling us it is easy to copy him because he is meek and lowly. This makes it easy for us to follow him.
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A 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.
Our heart is our source. It is where we are motivated from. Whatever is in our heart comes out of our mouth. If we fill our heart with good things, we will talk about good things. We should fill our heart with good things. The Lord has plenty of them.
Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart is [waxed gross](rendered callous), and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; [lest at any time](not ever) they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
We should not let our heart to be callous. It is important that we relax that part of ourself in our solar plexus and be sensitive to it. Father God will want to communicate with us there.
Matthew 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth (lambano - take) it; 21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
We have to know our heart. If father God puts something in there, that's exactly where the devil will go to steal it from us. He'll leave it in our mind because there is no spiritual power in our mind. We may "think" we still have it but it will be gone from our heart where it could do us some good. All our mind can do is fake it, like shadow boxing. Our mind will create a whole fake life for us with no spirit in it. We have to know the difference between our heart and our mind. We have to understand our heart is to be our source. When our mind wants to do its own thing, we can reach into our heart and pull out inspiration to flood our mind with to dominate whatever is in our mind. Illustratively speaking, we can wash our mind out with what we can make flow out of our spirit. When our mind seems to take over, we can turn on our spiritual faucet and wash out whatever is in our mind. Our thoughts will change immediately. Even mid-sentence. That can sure come in handy some times. Our mind will start to wind up again, and again we can flood our mind with our spirit, continuously operating out of our spirit and keeping our mind in subjection. Over and over.
Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
The Lord knows exactly when we are faking something out of our mind or whether we are talking to him out of our heart. He knows if our fake mind person is in charge or if we operate out of our heart in a life oriented way.
Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
We are defiled when our heart is not right. We have to focus on our heart being right to be a clean person.
Mark 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
How hard of heart can we be? Very. As humans we can creatively kill people in too many ways. These people were expecting this person to be healed. Go figure. They questioned who Jesus was but they knew he could heal somebody. They were fixated on whether he would do it on the sabbath. They didn't get the part about the sabbath that it was for man to have a day off from chores to meet up with father God. Here this man is meeting up with father God through God's figurehead, Jesus, and what they are getting out of it is whether they can use it for an excuse to accuse someone of something sinful. Compared to being childlike, that's a hard heart. These leaders were supposed to be the people that were preparing the people to receive/take Jesus once he accomplished becoming the raised from the dead human spirit. They failed at this.
Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Doubt can be in our heart. It displaces faith. If we have faith in our heart we can create miracles.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Our heart can be troubled. We can believe in father God and Jesus so we are not troubled.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Jesus' peace in our heart will push out trouble and fear from our heart.
John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive (lambano/take) of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Jesus can be sensitive to our heart and show us where the blessing is that will replace our sorrow. The Holy Ghost is our up close and personal guide now that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of father God. The Holy Ghost will take what is Jesus' and show it to us.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent (change your mind), and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive (lambano - take) the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward (perverse) generation. 41Then they that gladly received (apodekomai - take fully) his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46And they, continuing daily with one accord (mind) in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness (simpleness) of heart, 47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
We are invited to change our mind from desiring death to taking Jesus and his gift of the raised from the dead human spirit. Then we can take the gift of the Holy Ghost, the comforter that will be our personal guide for the rest of our life. The wonders that were done by the apostles had to have been powered by father God through Jesus through the Holy Ghost. They considered all things common. This is how close knit we can become if we are far enough into the "spirit" aspect of our relationship with father God. We can be of one mind and have a glad heart with a single focus. Sounds relaxing. Father God wants his kingdom run that way.
Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
If we had one heart and one soul with our local spiritual brethren, under the counseling of the Holy Spirit, the "body" of Jesus would be working very powerfully.
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
The Holy Ghost tried to help the people that lived before Jesus' time but they wouldn't take it. Their heart was too fleshy.
Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
It is so easy to believe with our whole heart that Jesus is the Son of God. We become a child of father God just that quickly because we take a spirit of the Son of God into our spirit making us a son of God too.
Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
The Lord can open our heart.
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish (without understanding) heart was darkened.
We can have a heart that is without understanding, or unintelligent. If we aren't recognizing who father God really is, there is a problem with our heart. Then we won't be glorifying or thanking father God. We will be in our fake person mind and our thinking will be vain and disconnected from father God.
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5But after thy hardness and impenitent (unrepentant) heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
The goodness of father God is what makes us want to repent from what we are doing. When we want more of the good things he is doing in us and for us we are more willing to give up the bad things we are inclined to hold onto. If while father God is blessing us with the good things we still don't want to let go of the bad things due to our unrepentant heart then we are storing up wrath against ourselves.
Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
We can fake on the outside being holy and regenerate but it is what's going on in our heart that really defines us. What we do naturally out of our heart reflects more our spiritual maturity. If we were able to be spiritually right by the letter of the law, we could praise ourself. We have to rely on the spirit that father God makes available to us through Jesus. Then father God gets all the praise for what value the spirit of a raised from the dead son is to us.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
We will serve sin or righteousness. If we dig into our heart and agree with father God that he can make us right standing with him by receiving/taking his sons spirit then we can very easily live out of our heart and not sin. We don't have to have a fake shadow person in our mind to live through. We can be the way that father God designed us to be.
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9That 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. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
We can have father God's word in our heart. We can have in our heart that father God says we can believe that he raised his son from the dead. We can have in our heart that father God says that we can have that same raised from the dead spirit in us. We can have in our heart that father God says that this spirit of his son in us raises us from the dead and makes us a son/daughter too. Our mind can only think or hope this but we can believe this in our spirit. We don't have to earn becoming a son/daughter. We can take it for ourself because it is offered to us freely by the most high God. We do have to take it though. It is not automatic.
1 Corinthians 7:36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. 37Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
We can be steadfast in our heart. We can decree in our heart and have power over our own will.
2 Corinthians 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
We can have a veil on our heart and the veil can be taken away. The more we turn to the Lord with our heart the more we will leave the mind oriented law behind and the more we will move towards the heart oriented understanding of what father God has done to make us his children.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end (goal) of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere):
Part of the end goal of father God's commandment is a pure heart filled with love. Father God wants us to use our whole heart to love.
2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow (diōkō - pursue) righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
If we call on the Lord with a pure heart we can pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. We have to purify our hearts first so we have to give up youthful lusts, no matter what age we are.
Hebrews 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
The word "unbelief" in verses 12 and 19 and "believed not" in verse 18 have a usage that means disobedience or disobeying. If we are unbelieving we are disobedient or disobeying. If we are unbelieving and disobedient we are departing from the living God. Sin will deceive us into hardening our heart and disobeying or not believing father God. This is an "evil" heart. Father God has a place of spiritual rest that we can enter into where he has done all the work and we just walk in the work done for us. This is the place to be because father God made it just for us. He meant it to apply to us. If we just use our heart/spirit to agree with and believe father God we enter into his rest. By stepping from what we see in the natural into what father God promises in the spiritual we switch to using faith to accomplish what we are needing to do. The spiritual power is much easier to use than doing something in the natural. God provides the power.
Hebrews 10:22 Let us [draw near](worship) with a true heart in [full assurance](entire confidence) of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
We can have a true heart. Father God wants us to worship him in truth. When we have a true heart we can approach our spiritual father with confidence in our faith.
Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers (various) and strange (foreign) doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
We should not put our hearts into fake doctrines. Our hearts foundation should be from the aspect of the grace given to us and not works.
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
We can deceive our own heart. Being "religious" out of our minds is just living out of that fake mental person we create and not living out of our heart. "Unspotted from the world" is a big bite. That is a hard test. Try to think of anything we do that doesn't involve constantly discerning if what we are doing has any influence from the world in it.
1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
We can love fervently with a pure heart. Our pure heart comes from the incorruptible seed of the word of God, Jesus. We can use our pure heart to purify our souls/minds. When we operate from our spirit outward through our mind, our spiritual nature is imposed upon our mind. Our mind may not understand everything, but sometimes all our mind needs to do is be in subjection to our spirit and be quiet and wait for the next inspiration from our spirit. That part of our inspiration that applies to our mind can be put into our mind while the rest of the inspiration just stays in our heart.
1 Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Our heart is the hidden man and not the outside man. Our fake mind person on the outside may dress itself up in different ways but they are costumes. Our inner person is our spirit person. Father God loves seeing us apply our spirit in a meek and quiet way.
2 Peter 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
We can exercise our heart with covetous practices. We do not want to be cursed children. Notice father God still recognizes them as children. Just, they are not his children. They will receive the reward/wages (same greek word "misthos") of unrighteousness.
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
Our hearts can be assuring and our hearts can condemn us. We can approach father God and look for anything that condemns us and remove it. If when we approach father God our hearts do not condemn us it is because we have a clean heart and a clear conscience. Father God will love that. When all the bad things are gone, we can confidently approach father God. We can share with father God with our whole heart and he can share with us with his whole heart.