Surrender
Your Heart
By Gary E. Hinson
A
policeman on patrol one fine sunny day noticed a car up ahead of him veering
from side to side, speeding up and slowing down. The car would cross the center
lane, and then veer back and almost jump the curb. Of course the first thing
the officer thought was that this person behind the wheel of that car had to be
drunk or on drugs. He had to get him or her off the road now before they killed
their self or someone else and so he pulled in behind the car with red lights
flashing and turned on his siren. The car slowly pulled to the side of the
street and finally stopped after quite sometime. As the officer approached the
car he could see that the one driving this car was a little old lady with a
wonderful smile on her face. She obviously had no idea that she had done
anything wrong. The policeman kindly asked for her license and proof of
insurance and after quite some time of fumbling around she finally found them and
handed them to the officer. After looking them over he handed them back to her
and asked the woman if she knew why she was pulled over and the woman said that
she did not. He explained to her that she had been bobbing and weaving in
traffic and that she might want to consider having a taxi take her places or
even a bus. The little old lady said, “ oh no young man, everything is alright,
God is my co-pilot!” To which the officer without hesitation said to
her, “Well maam, I think maybe it would be a good idea if you just let Him
go ahead and drive.”
I have most likely said go where your heart leads to
someone myself years ago before I began to understand the seriousness of such
thinking. I have since found that this can be dangerous advice. The human
tendency is to sometimes act on impulses, or feelings that we can harbor within
our hearts, even if they stand in direct opposition of God’s will. This is a
trait that we as Christians have to constantly work on.
The word “heart” is used in
Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is
the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has
been described as “the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,”
“the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires,
passions, thought, understanding and will,” and “the center of a person.
The place to which God turns.”
Fan The Flame, J. Stowell, Moody,
·
That
Bible explanation of the heart is about as good and true as any that I have
ever heard. Where a person’s heart lies so is that person of such. And of
course this can be good or it can be bad. And the Bible gives us many examples
of both the good and bad of the heart of man all through its pages.
I. Contrast the
physical heart with the spiritual heart.
·
The
human heart is the life “central” to the physical body. It has been said that
the heart is the first that lives and the last that dies.
·
The
heart must be strong in order for the body to function, as it should.
·
If
the heart shuts down or is blocked, the body will die, slowly or in a seconds
notice.
·
The
human heart needs exercise so that it can be, and remain strong.
II. The
spiritual heart bears a remarkable resemblance to the physical heart.
·
This
heart is central to the spiritual body.
·
It
too must be strong in order for the spiritual life to grow and function, as it
should.
·
If
the spiritual heart is blocked the spiritual body is in danger of dying a
spiritual death, and again slowly or at a seconds notice.
·
The
spiritual heart needs exercise too. In the form of study, prayer and daily and
continual meditation upon God and His word.
· There is a difference between the physical heart and the spiritual heart though. The spiritual heart never dies! It will live in eternity.
We read of an example of a wayward heart not in harmony with God In the book of I Samuel.
But now your
kingdom shall not stand. Jehovah has sought Him a man after His own heart,
and Jehovah has appointed him to be leader over His people, because you have
not kept what Jehovah commanded you.
Saul had neither pleased God nor relied upon Him for
direction. So much so that Samuel the prophet went and hid himself… for he knew
the price that was about to be paid. Even after being told by God what to do,
Saul thought that he could play by his own rules. And so we see that an
obedient heart connects with Gods own heart. Saul trusted his own heart and
cared not for pleasing God, but only cared for his own misguided feelings and
desires. He elevated his own heart above God’s heart. He thought more about
what people thought than what God had commanded. This incident is also spoken
of in the book of Acts.
And when He had removed
him, He raised up David to them to be their king; to whom He also witnessed and
said, I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after My own heart, who
shall fulfill all My will.
David’s heart was of such
that he was pleasing to God because of his obedience and love for God. Yes,
David made mistakes. He was not perfect. But he strove within himself and with
every fiber of his being to follow Gods directives. He also was quick to admit
his sins and ask God to forgive him. We were made in God’s own image. He has
given us a spirit just as He has a spirit. We can think and discern between
good and evil just as He can. We can think on heavenly things or on worldly
things and we have the freedom to pursue good or evil. We have freedom to say
and act in whatever fashion we want to. But we need to be reminded that because
we are indeed made in God’s image we should strive to think and act in such a
manner to befit this truth.
Now,
we can mess things up by trudging through life doing our own thing. We may
think that what we are doing is pleasing to God while in reality what we are
doing is only pleasing to others or ourselves. This was Saul’s downfall, which
gave rise to David’s reign. In this day of pride and self-fulfillment it is
hard for folks to admit that they need direction. That is why many will not
turn their lives over to God. Because in so doing they feel a sense of
weakness. They also know and understand that they would have a responsibility
to God to live, as He would want them to. What does the Bible say about such
thinking?
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool; but whoever
walks wisely, he shall be delivered.
We are to look to God as our guide and not ourselves.
Of course that means we must study His word to do so. There is no other way. We
could not even know what pleases God if we did not study His word. We would not
know of God without His holy and divine word. We should be very thankful to God who wrote this book
through he Holy Spirit that we might know the will of God that we might indeed
know Him.
To walk
wisely is to know God through His word and what pleases Him.
Study to show thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II
Tim. 2:15
So
as we study the Bible and the word “heart,” it is interesting to note that we
can also happen upon examples of the heart within the Bible where the actual
word “heart” is not even found but clearly alluded to. I want to show you what
I mean. Please consider this example.
I have hidden Your Word
in my heart, so that I might not sin against You.
God’s word is indeed a treasure to be stored. And once
again we see that we must obey God from our heart that we sin not against Him.
David cared for and nurtured his heart so that he might not offend the Lord. He
cared and took great pains to see to it that he might know God’s will so that
he would not displease Him. And after knowing what God would want, David
purposed in his heart to obey God. He did so out of the love of his heart for
God, this is plain. He had a tender and loving heart.
Mark 12:28-34
This
scribe or “lawyer” I believe was not trying to make Jesus look foolish although
if Jesus answered wrong the scribe would have been satisfied with that outcome.
But it seems as we study this incident that he seems genuinely interested and
intrigued by Jesus because of His discourse with the Sadducee’s. I also feel
through the reading and study of this account that he just may have been trying
to determine if Jesus was the Messiah or not. The scribes were trained in the
law and the scriptures and so it could follow that this scribe was indeed
looking for the Messiah. Maybe just one of the few such men of rank to actually
believe the prophets and their written foreknowledge of Jesus. I truly believe
that in general more than a few of them did not believe Old Testament
prophecies concerning the Savior.
The Jews are said to have
divided the law into “greater and smaller” commandments. Which was of the
greatest importance as a whole they had not determined. Some held that it was
the law respecting sacrifice; others, that respecting circumcision; others,
that pertaining to washings and purifying, etc. Jesus said of them, “they
honor me with their lips, but their hearts was far from me.”
This
scribe knew without a doubt which of the Laws was greatest. And this should
give us a clue as to where this Dr. of the Law stood in respect to an understanding
heart. In front of those Sadducee’s and Pharisee’s this scribe agrees and
affirms that Jesus was right on the money with His answer. The scribe was not
afraid to affirm among his ecclesiastical peers that Jesus had answered
correctly and that He (Jesus) demanded attention. Who knows, he may have been
part of the company of priests who obeyed the gospel that we read of in Acts
6:7.
If you think about it, if one were to truly love God, all
the other items would naturally fall into place. Obedience to God on every
front and every way possible would be preached and practiced. There would be no
discussion of which so-called Laws of Moses or now in this age the Law of
Christ are the greatest.
And so what does Jesus tell this lawyer of the Law? This is the
important part folks. Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom!
He implied that this scribe was standing right at the door of salvation! Why?
Because of the truthful answer he gave? Or was it something of more importance?
Jesus could see into this mans heart! You can believe that Jesus had searched
his heart long before this discourse. After this it says that no man asked Him
any more questions. I guess not! I think this would have been enough to
convince me of just who Jesus was. And I think the scribe at this point knew
also.
Pro
4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are
the issues of life.
What are the “issues of life?” Just what does this
verse mean? Jesus came into the world of the Jews and proceeded to turn their
world upside down. These men of God were totally unmovable in their way of
acting and thinking. And this is proved by their reaction toward Jesus. They
were on a high horse of Abrahamic linage. Why, they were God’s chosen people
don’t you know? And now here comes One who would in no uncertain terms relate
to them that there was more to spirituality then just being Jews. They as a
whole and in general could not fathom this concept of inner good that results
from a serious restructuring of the heart! Their rigid formalities and
self-absorption had blinded them to any such thoughts that they could be
ultimately outside looking in. Sometimes I think that we too in a way are like
those Pharisees. Especially those of us who were raised in the church. We
sometimes go through the formalities of worship while our hearts are far from
our God Jehovah. We sometimes have a cavalier attitude that because we are
within the body of Christ that all we must do is attend church services once a
week and we have fulfilled the “Law of Christ.” Always remember that when it
comes down to it in the end it is our hearts that either set us free or convict
us. Consider what the apostle John says:
And in this we shall
know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him,that
if our heart accuses us, God is greater than our heart and knows
all things.
Beloved, if our heart does not accuse
us, we have confidence toward God.
Our hearts seal our fate so
to speak. If in our hearts we have hatred of our brother for example, it then
is a matter of deadly sin that will, if to go unchecked, accuse us and as a
result will send us to eternal damnation. This is what the apostle John says.
This is some pretty profound stuff folks. It shows us just how important a role
our hearts do play in our salvation.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know
my thoughts, and see if any wicked way is in me; and lead me in the way
everlasting.
Again, we see that David was
worried about his heart. He knew that there might be something in it that did
not set well with God. David prays that God will reveal to him those things in
his heart that were offensive to God so that he might root them out of his life
and stand righteous before Him. Like David we want to know if there is any
hidden sin within our hearts. We must then appeal to His word in order to know
if we are pleasing to Him. David appeals to God to help him see his wrongs. We
too should appeal to God in this quest through prayer, meditation, and study.
This can only help us stand righteous before God. And this is what we would
want is it not?
For Jehovah knows the way of the righteous; but the
way of the ungodly shall perish.
Which will it be for us? Will we store up in
our hearts God’s words of life or will we be as Saul and live for ourselves?
The writer of the book of
Hebrews appealed to the Christians at Jerusalem to remain faithful and to grow
in the knowledge of truth. He tells them to not be as their relative’s
generations earlier who never received the “promised land.” He even calls their
unbelief “evil!”
Are we growing in Christ?
Are we ever learning and nurturing our hearts toward that Promised Land above
that has been promised to those who obey from the heart Christ’s commands?
Read “A Servant’s Prayer.”
I said earlier that the heart never dies, and
this is true. But the Bible also says that a heart that has not obeyed God and
does not follow Him is dead while it lives. Yes this person of the world will
spend eternity somewhere, but if that somewhere is in hell separated from God,
he is truly dead.
If
there is nothing else I can do at all, it is my hope and prayer that I through
the gospel of Jesus Christ can help you see your need for dependence upon God.
If
you have not obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine, which will unite you
with God and put you in a loving and saved relationship with Him, I would encourage
you to do so. You are here this morning and because of this fact I will tell
you that you that I expect that you are not far from the kingdom of God.
You
would not be here this morning if you were not searching in your heart for the
truth. What will it take for you to do what is good and right in the sight of
God?
But thanks be to our God that you were the slaves of
sin, but you have obeyed from the “heart” that form of doctrine to which you
were delivered.
Do
you have a tender heart? A loving heart? A receptive heart that can accept the
truth of Christ’s gospel? Or is your heart indifferent and rebellious? Is your
heart hardened as that of Pharaoh? Who would not hearken to God’s word? He paid
the price for his deeds. Will you pay this heavy price also?
I
will tell you that you need to know that Jesus who is God’s Son died on the
cross for you and truly believe that fact with all your heart. He made it so
simple.
I
will tell you that you must repent of your past sins which means to recognize
that you are a sinner and you must turn away from your present lifestyle of
darkness.
I
will tell you that you need to confess before men that you believe that Jesus
is the Son of God.
I
will say that you need to be baptized for the remission of sins and be buried
with Him rising up out of that watery grave you can walk in newness of life, a
new man or woman.
If you choose to remain in your
present state, I have to tell you that your spiritual heart is dead and
therefore killing your soul as I speak.
Jesus says, Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am
meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is
easy, and My burden is light. (Mat 11:28-30)
Today
is the day of salvation tomorrow may be too late. Won’t you please consider the
loss? The Word says that we are losers if we gain the whole world and lose our
souls eternally. I cannot think of an eternity separated from God in torment.
The thought just petrifies me. It should be enough to convince everyone here
this morning.
If
you are already a child of God and need our help we are here for you as well.
If you need us to pray with you and for you, or whatever your need may be,
won’t you come as we stand and sing.