TABERNACLE: HEART
INTENTION:
Our heart is alive.
It is the basis for where and what we believe; and can positively or negatively
affect our experiences in life.
I have found that I
used to live my life as a lowly “sinner saved by grace”. This sin-conscience
dwelt on my heart, often condemning me. But once I believed that I was
Righteous, not a sinner, that religious heaviness on my heart
lifted—transforming my heart from that sin-conscience to a
righteous-conscience.
We can let go and
clear those “unbelief” filters from our heart; allowing us to receive and
accept so much of what the Lord has gifted us in life.
I.
TOPIC (PART 5 – HEART):
In the continuation of our series “Tabernacle: Body, Mind,
Soul, Heart, Spirit” we want to focus on Heart.
Like our minds, we can put barriers (filters / veils) over
our hearts (Mark
12:30). These filters and hardenings of our own heart keep us from
accepting (believing) in Jesus Christ—both for salvation, and for believing on the
Holy Spirit.
Additionally, our minds get bombarded with false beliefs
about ourselves that become rooted in our heart. This troubling reality affects
not only how we view ourselves, but also our view of the Lord—hence why we are
told to cleanse our heart from an “evil conscience” to instead have a
“righteous conscience” (that we are not troubled by a “consciousness of sin”).
So much of what we do stems from the unbeliefs we have
about our own self. It thus becomes less about retraining / fixing our actions,
but healing the areas of our core being that cause us to do the things we do.
When we see ourselves as “sinners”, we reject Christ’s
gifted righteousness as our true identity. And, moreso, reflect that belief
back to our own self and into our relationships. We become condemning of
ourselves as we focus more on our faults (what’s wrong with me / others)
instead of focusing on all that is good about myself /others.
All of this shows the complexity of the heart and how it can
affect: a person’s belief in Jesus Christ, a believer in their relationship
with the Lord; the miracles we seek in life, the way we view ourself, and our
relationships with others.
When we cleanse (purify) our heart from false-beliefs (of
ourself, the Lord, or others), the Spirit within can flow freely out through
us; and we can experience the Abundant Life Christ has given us (for ourselves
and for others)!
This looks like me recognising my own value, trusting that
the Lord is only Good to me, knowing that nothing can change God’s Love for me,
and that, no matter what happens in my life, the Lord will never leave me nor
forsake me.
·
Refer also: https://cbadenhorst.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-law-written-on-our-heart-is-love.html
II.
READING: Hebrews
10:1-23 (NMB) {PoG}
For the law, which has but the shadow of good things to
come, and not the real things themselves, can never, with the sacrifices that
the priests offer year by year continually, make those who come to it perfect.
2 For would not then those sacrifices have ceased to be offered, because the
offerers, once purged, would have had no more conscience of sins? 3 But in
those sacrifices, mention is made of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible
that the blood of oxen and of goats should take away sins. 5 Therefore when he
comes into the world he says: Sacrifice and offering you would not have, but a
body you have made ready for me. 6 In sacrifices and sin-offerings you have no
pleasure. 7 Then I said, Lo, I come! In the chief part of the book it is
written of me, that I will do your will, O God.
8 Above – when he said sacrifice and offering, and burnt
sacrifices and sin-offerings you would not have, neither have accepted (which
yet are offered according to the law), 9 and then said, Lo, I come to do your
will, O God – he takes away the first in order to establish the latter. 10 In
accordance with this God’s will, we are sanctified by the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once and for all.
11 And every priest is ready daily ministering, and
repeatedly offers one manner of offering that can never take away sins. 12 But
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the
right hand of God, 13 and from henceforth waits till his enemies be made his
footstool. 14 For with one offering, he has made perfect forever those who are
sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us of this, namely
when he foretold: 16 This is the testament that I will make unto them after
those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their
mind I will write them, 17 and their sins and iniquities I will remember no
more.
18 Now where there is remission of these things, there is no
more offering for sin.
19 Seeing, brethren, that by the means of the blood of Jesus
we may be bold to enter into that holy place, 20 by the new and living way that
he has prepared for us through the veil (that is to say, by his flesh), 21 and
seeing also that we have a high priest who is ruler over the house of God, 22
let us draw near with a true heart, in full {assurance of} faith, {our hearts
sprinkled clean} from an evil conscience, and washed {blameless} in our bodies
with pure water. 23 And let us keep the profession of our hope without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Heart-believing:
Mark
4:14-20 (NMB)
The sower sows the word.
15 And those who are by the wayside where the word is sown are those to whom,
as soon as they have heard it, Satan comes immediately, and takes away the word
that was sown in their hearts. 16 And likewise, those who receive the seed on
the stony ground are those who, when they have heard the word, at once receive
it with gladness, 17 yet have no roots in themselves. And so they endure but a
time, and once trouble and persecution arise for the word’s sake, they fall
immediately. 18 And those who receive the seed among the thorns are such as
hear the word, 19 but the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches,
and the hunger for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it is made
unfruitful. 20 And those who received the seed in good ground are those who
hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit: some thirtyfold, some
sixtyfold, some a hundredfold.
Acts
8:36-38 (NMB)
And as they went on their
way, they came to some water, and the chamberlain said, See, here is water.
What is to keep me from being baptized? 37 Philip said to him, If you believe
with all your heart, you may be. He answered and said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And
they both went down into the water, both Philip and also the chamberlain, and
he baptized him.
Romans
10:9-13 (NMB)
For if you acknowledge
with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and believe with your heart that God
raised him up from death, you will be safe. 10 For the belief of the heart
justifies, and to acknowledge with the mouth makes a man safe. 11 For the scripture
says: Whoever believes on him, will not be ashamed. 12 There is no difference
between the Jews and the Gentiles. For there is one Lord over all, who richly
blesses all who call on him. 13 For: Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord,
shall be saved.
Question: We believe through the heart—have you
believed in Jesus Christ to be saved?
B. Our
heart has a “mind of its own” and is affected by emotion:
Matthew
9:4-7 (NMB)
When Jesus saw their
thoughts, he said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier to
say: Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk? 6 But so that you
may know that the Son of man has power to forgive sins in earth—Then he said to
the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go home to your house. 7 And the
man arose and departed to his own house.
Luke
9:46-48 (NMB)
Then there arose a dispute
among them, who should be the greatest.
47 When Jesus perceived the thoughts of their hearts, he took a child
and set him close by himself 48 and said to them, Whoever receives this child in
my name, receives me. And whoever receives me, receives him who sent me. For he
that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
John
14:27 (NMB)
Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your
hearts be troubled, and do not fear.
John
16:6,22 (NMB)
But because I have said
such things to you, your hearts are full of sorrow. And you now are in sorrow.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take
your joy from you.
Question: What do you sometimes think and feel
in your heart?
C. It’s
not God that hardens our heart; but we can harden it through our own doubts,
unbelief, and deception:
Matthew
13:15 (NMB)
For the hearts of this
people have grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and
understand with their hearts, and should turn, so that I might heal them.
Mark
6:49-52 (NMB) {PoG}
When they saw him {Jesus}
walking upon the sea, they supposed it was a spirit and cried out. 50 For they
all saw him and were afraid. And immediately he spoke to them and said to them,
Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. 51 And he went up to them into the
boat, and the wind ceased; and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond
measure, and taken aback. 52 For they did not remember about the loaves,
because their hearts were blinded {hardened}.
Mark
11:23 (NMB)
Truly I say to you that
whoever says to this mountain, Take yourself away and cast yourself into the
sea, and who does not waver in his heart, but believes that those things which
he says will come to pass – whatever he says will be done for him.
Hebrews
3:7-13 (NMB)
Therefore as the Holy Spirit says: Today if you hear his voice, 8 harden
not your hearts, as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9
where your fathers tried me, proved me, and saw my works forty years long. 10
Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do ever err in
their hearts; they have not acknowledged my ways. 11 So I swore in my wrath
that they would not enter into my rest. 12 Take heed, brethren, that there be
in none of you an evil heart in unbelief, that he should depart from the living
God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you
grow hard-hearted through the deceitfulness of sin.
Question: What are ways you harden your heart to
the Lord?
D. Our
conscience is connected to our heart: hence, why we should always have a clean
(righteous) conscience:
Acts
24:16 (NMB) {PoG}
And therefore I strive to
have a clear conscience {without offense, not troubled by a consciousness of
sin} toward God, and toward man also.
Philippians
1:9-11 (NMB) {PoG}
And this I pray: that your
love may increase more and more in knowledge and in all experience, 10 that you
may accept the things of most value, that you may be pure {without offense, not
troubled by a consciousness of sin} until the day of Christ – 11 filled with
the fruits of righteousness, which fruits come by Jesus Christ for the glory
and laud of God.
1
Timothy 1:5 (NMB)
For the end of the commandment is love that comes of a pure heart and a
good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.
Question: Do you find you focus on your faults
and sins? Do you feel you offend God?
E. It
is our heart-conscience that condemns us (1
John 3:19-24):
John
8:1-11 (NMB) {PoG}
And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, 2 and early in the morning came
again into the temple. And all the people came to him, and he sat down and
taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in
adultery, and set her in the midst, 4 and said to him, Teacher, this woman was
caught in adultery, even in the act. 5 Moses in the law commanded us that such
should be stoned. What therefore do you say?
6 And they said this to bait him, to have something to accuse him of.
Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. 7 And while
they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them, Let him who
is without sin among you, cast the first stone at her. 8 And again he stooped
down and wrote on the ground.
9 And as soon as they heard that, they {being convicted by their own
conscience} went out one by one, the eldest first. And Jesus was left alone,
and the woman standing in the centre. 10 When Jesus lifted up himself again and
saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are they, your accusers?
Has no one condemned you? 11 She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do
I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.
Question: What mental or emotional remembrances
bring about shame or guilt feelings in your heart?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. 1
John 3:19-24 (NMB)
For by this we know that we are of the truth, and can quiet our hearts
before him. 20 But if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts,
and knows all things. 21 Beloveds, if our hearts do not condemn us, then we
have trust before God – 22 and whatever we ask, we shall receive from him,
because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his
sight. 23 And this is his commandment: that we believe on the name of his Son
Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave commandment. 24 And he who keeps
his commandments dwells in him, and he in him. And by this we know that there
abides in us of the Spirit that he gave us.
Thoughts: Sometimes when we make a mistake
(fault / sin) we can feel the weight and heaviness of it on our heart—in that
we weren’t perfect or good enough to not make that mistake. This guilt
(condemnation) clouds our heart and belief to whom we really are—righteous. And
this righteousness and holiness that we actually are, cannot change, no matter
what or how many mistakes we make.
Often, when we do sin, we
have some fear in us that God is upset with us. This is where we need to
remember all our sins have been forgiven even before we commit them—and moreso,
the Lord already knows and plans around those mistakes. This is how we can have
“trust before God”, because we know He is not holding anything against us, and
we can still freely ask Him for anything! This is how “God is greater than our
heart”, because our heart is not the judge of if we receive or not from Him,
God’s Grace is (whose Grace does not allow Him to refuse)! And if we have
condemned ourself in the heart, we can easily ask the Lord to help clear it
out.
And if you do ask Him for
forgiveness of your fault, He will always cheerfully reply, “I already have!”
We can even perpetually
sin (whether by action or choice) and it cannot change your relationship with
the Lord!
B. Hebrews
4:12-16 (NMB)
For the word of God is
alive and mighty in operation, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and enters
through even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and judges the thoughts and intents of the heart; 13 neither is there
any creature invisible in the sight of him. For all things are naked and bare
to the eyes of him of whom we speak.
14 Seeing then that we
have a great high priest who has entered into heaven (I mean Jesus, the Son of
God), let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who
cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one who was in all points tempted
like we are, but yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore go boldly to the seat of
grace, so that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Thoughts: This passage (like many) used to
condemn me. It scared me actually; because I had believed God knew everything,
not to help me or empathise with me, but to point His finger at my mistakes.
That He knew everything about me to shame me.
But it was my own
religious guilt and condemnation that did the finger-pointing and the shaming.
Just like each Pharisee's heart condemned them when they each turned away from
stoning the adulteress woman. Their sin-conscious heart was like mine, a guilt
strengthened by the destructive power of the Law—one also compounded by my
upbringing that interpreted that love only came by being good.
I didn't trust God, I
never learned I could. Because all I knew was the misconception of the Law, not
the Loving Grace of a Father in Heaven. The Lord (Father, Son, Holy Ghost) know
all things because they understand why I do all I do...not to harm me, but to
help me to both understand and to become free.
And never does He guilt me
or condemn me. And if He were ever to point His finger at me, all He would say
is, "you, Chris, are My wonderful child; righteous, honourable, and
valuable. I truly Love you with My whole Being."
So instead of running from
Him and trying to hide my faults, I lay open myself to share with Him all He
already knows. So I can (from my perspective) be the open and honest person He
is to me. Relationship. Never fearing Him anymore! But now, with a big smile
and attracted heart, run into His Throne Room for a big hug and time spent on
lap, being in comfort and peace.
C. Matthew
13:44-46 (NMB)
Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like treasure hid in a field, which a person finds and hides, and for
the joy of it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant who seeks good pearls, 46 who, when he found one
precious pearl, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Thoughts: Sometimes
the hardest thing to overcome is the programming we get from the literal and
perceived rejections from others—whether our parents, caregivers, family,
friends, peers, or authority figures. The negative-nurturing devalues us to
whom we really are (valuable and unique). And these abandonment-wounds carry on
the doubts we have about ourselves and our worth for love.
We are the treasure and
precious pearl that the Father sold His All (His Son) for; for us—solidifying
even more that He will NEVER: abandon us, forsake us, desert us, leave us
surviving, nor leave us helpless (Hebrews
13:5b).
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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