THE HEART continued…

Deuteronomy 12:20 “When the Lord your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.”

“Enlarge your border” is a promise to the Children of Israel in regard to the land and I believe a promise to us regarding the heart (mind).

The children of Israel had to come in and take over the land and conquer the enemies, so it is with us regarding the heart (mind). We too need to drive out enemies.

How do we do this? I believe the Children of Israel in taking over the Promise Land, gives us an example to follow.

Joshua 2:1 “Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.”

These two spies were to spy out the land and get to know the land; find out what they were up against and what they had to do to overcome. Getting to know the land, the enemy, fortress, etc. is half of the battle.

We read in Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart (mind); try me, and know my anxieties (thought, mind, opinion); and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

God will reveal: “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12

Just like the two spies that went ahead of Joshua and the rest of the Children of Israel to spy out the land in order to see where the vulnerable parts were, so it with us; where are we are weak and vulnerable and need fortifying.

Are we weak in patience? Then we need to strengthen that quality. God has His ways of not only revealing to us our weaknesses, but ways to strengthen us in areas. When my wife had her aneurysm, I found that I had to do things I never had patience for. The question would be is: How do I respond to what the Lord is allowing in my life? Do I rebel? Submit? Or, do I perceive that the Lord is teaching me something that I desperately need in my life to make me a better vessel for the Lord’s use?

We see this in other areas as well, like love. Often God will put us around what seems to us like unloving people in order to strengthen what is lacking in our lives.

What about faith? We know from what the Bible tells us – that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that our faith is more precious than gold. God will work out our circumstances to increase our faith. But what is our response? Do we complain about our circumstance? Do we question the goodness of God in allowing these things to come upon us? Or do we perceive what God is doing and learn the lesson that He is trying to teach us?

What do we have? We have the Word of God as well as the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (thoughts, feelings, mind).”

Often through messages and verses that we read, God has spoken to us and shown us our short-comings, and the way to go. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Some time back a survey was taken to try and find out why so many pastors were leaving the pastorate. One of the reasons why was because of biblical illiteracy. They did not know the Word of God as they should. We need to take heed to not only read Scripture, but obey God’s Word.

We learn that the Holy Spirit will teach us: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”  John 14:26

However sometimes we do not fully understand some of the ways that the Holy Spirit teaches us. For example, we are blind to our own sins or secret ways. “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12

So, what does God do? He brings our paths to cross with someone who we find exceedingly difficult and we find ourselves criticizing that person. God often uses others as a mirror for us to see ourselves. He is showing us our own secret error or blind spot; reflecting our own short coming and that is why we react as we do. Criticism brings out the ‘real’ me.

The spies went in to view the land. We also need to view the land to see what we have in Christ. “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:17-23

When we are overwhelmed with problems it is because Jesus is too small by our own thinking. Our heart (mind) needs to expand in the knowledge of who Christ is and our position in Him. Remember our mind controls our brain and our brain controls our body. MIGHT WE SEE AN EXPANSION OF OUR HEART (MIND).

How often we have prayed the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10 “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

There is no way that our territory can be expanded unless we also see the enlargement of the heart, or mind.

THE HEART – PROVERBS 4:20-27

In these next few letters, I want to concentrate on what the Bible calls THE HEART.

Since my wife’s brain aneurysm and consequent stroke, I have been doing some study about the brain and heart, and looking at it from a biblical point of view.

Another definition for the heart is the word ‘mind.’ Often ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ as well as heart can be translated as the mind. The mind is not part of the brain, but it controls the brain and the brain controls the body. The tree is often an outward expression of what the root is like. This is the same with the brain and mind. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

A man who makes the head the center – will become an intellectual,  but will not estimate things at all from the biblical view. For example, sin for the intellectual is a mere defect in which to over-look or grow out of.

Regarding the heart or mind, there are several things we can take under consideration.

THE POWER TO TURN FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER RESIDES IN THE HEART (MIND)

We can turn from deep anguish to deep joy in the midst of a trial.

“My soul (mind) is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon — from Mount Mizar.” Psalm 42:6

In other words, if circumstances are trying now then we remember when they were not.

We turn from deep anguish to joy through the process of remembering and memory resides in the heart (mind).  Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”

Acts 7:23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart(mind) to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart(mind) of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Our brain is a physical thing and will recall what the mind (heart) remembers. Memory is a spiritual thing. We read in Luke 16:25 “But Abraham said, ‘son remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.’”

The problem that we face is not the memory but the recalling, and this depends upon the state of the physical brain. Paul went on and said in Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

We know from 1 Timothy 1:13 that Paul never forgot what he had been, and we too will remember our past life, but, like Paul, also remember God’s mercy. 1 Timothy 1:13-14 “Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”

PERCEPTION LIES IN THE HEART (MIND)

Deuteronomy 29:4 “Yet the Lord has not given you a heart (mind) to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.”

Proverbs 14:10 “The heart (mind) knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy.”

What this means is that the ability to discern what I see, hear and read resides in my mind (heart). The more my mind is stayed on the WORD OF GOD the greater we can discern correctly what is happening around us.

We need to be able to discern the arm of the Lord working on our behalf. Jesus said that He saw His Father working so He did likewise. What do we see or discern the Father doing in our midst, family, community, city, town, village or nation?

In John 12:28-29 Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’”

In Acts 9:5-7 “’Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.”

God is speaking, but are we able to hear and discern what He is saying and doing in the world. What is He saying about the pandemic that we are now in, or the suffering that we go through, tribulations that we encounter, etc. It is important that we discern what God is doing and we discern through the heart (mind). How we need to be saturated with the Word of God.

FOR RIGHT ESTIMATION THE POWER RESIDES IN THE MIND (HEART)

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart (mind) plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”

In other words, we need to be able to reckon the value of what we have, or of life itself. We need God’s estimation. We read 2 Corinthians 4:18 “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

What do we see? My wife, because of her stroke, has lost some of her attributes that she had before. She looked into the mirror and what she saw was a shell of herself. I shared with her that what she was looking at was temporary and we need to see what is eternal. Looking in the mirror again she saw a young lady, with a new body and with far greater capacity than she had before.

Like I said, we need God’s estimation; we need to see that which is invisible but is eternal. This ability resides in the mind (heart).

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

I have been writing about the need for character. When we look at the business, political, educational as well as art world we see this need for character becoming more and more manifest.

A congressman yelled out, “You lie!” when the President of the United States was speaking to both houses. Now, that is not the right thing to do (we need more civility in our conversations with one another and this congressman apologized later to the White House), but it has been proven that there were several lies in what was being said.

I wrote about determination and I would like to mention a few more things about this. Besides men like Hudson Taylor, CT. Studd and women like Amy Carmichael being examples of men/women of determination, we also have in Scripture many examples of men with the same characteristic, men like Elijah and the first martyr of the church, Stephen. What are some of things that we can see from these examples to help us in building determination in our lives?

1. They were men and women who were filled with the Word of God. When Stephen was giving a message to the people who eventually stoned him, he quoted over 100 Scriptures verses from the Old Testament. He quoted from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Amos.

We also see with Elijah that the ‘word of God came to him.” They were examples of what Paul was talking about when he said, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly..” Colossians 3:16

Bakht Singh, a great man of India, was a Sikh convert. Brother Bakht Singh preached throughout India and saw fellowships established all over. In the face of much difficulty and opposition he was a determined man. What was his secret? No secret. He was a man just like us, but he had a great love for the Word of God. In every sermon he would quote 100 or more Scripture verses. At his funeral hundreds of thousands turned out to pay honor to the passing of this man of God, a great man of India.

It is interesting to see that after the command of Colossians 3:16 we have the same list of things after the command of Ephesians 5:18, to “be filled with the Spirit.” There is a direct parallel between being filled with the Word and being filled with the Spirit.

2. We see from the passage of Romans 5:3-5 that God uses adversity to build in us the character that He wants.

We see this also with Elijah and Stephen. Their lives were filled with adversity. Eventually Stephen lost his life by stoning and Jezebel was constantly trying to kill Elijah. However, we see that adversity instead of stopping them made them stronger.

This is what we must understand as well. Adversity can make us strong. After coming out from spying on the Promise Land Joshua told the people of God not to listen to the ten spies that said they could not take the land. Joshua’s comment was: “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” Numbers 14:8

“Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:9

Joshua’s comment was: They are food for us. This is what gives us our spiritual vitality. This is what can make us men and women of character; men and women of God; men and women of determination.

3. We also see that the Lord will test us. He will allow the testing to come in order to teach us trust. He will not allow any more than what we can bear although at times it might seem unbearable.

We see this in the life of Elijah. He was told to hide himself at the brook Kerith. There he could drink from the brook and God commanded the ravens to bring him food to eat.

Night after night when he laid down he could hear the water running in the brook. It must have been a reassuring sound to hear the water. However, he noticed that each night he laid down the sound was becoming less.

Eventually we read the brook dried up. Where was Elijah? He was still at the brook waiting upon the Lord. The Lord had not told him to leave. If we were in Elijah’s shoes or sandals most of us would probably be digging our own wells. Not Elijah. He was waiting upon God.

After the brook dried up God told him to go to a widow woman in Zarephath. And Zarephath was where Jezebel came from. God was sending him to Jezebel’s back yard. Here was a woman that was looking all over the world for this man and God sends him to her back yard. What a test, but Elijah goes. He was a man of determination.

4. Men of determination are men who are single-minded. Determined men are like the Apostle Paul who said: “This one thing that I do..” They are men of one objective and that objective is the “glory of God.” (Philippians 3:13-16)

When Elijah was fighting Baal worship, God’s glory was at stake. The people were leaving the worship of the One and Only God for something that was far less.

With Stephen we see that he was up against a corrupt priesthood. The priests were making money off of the people’s worship. What was the result of these men of determination? Elijah calls a nation back to God. The prophets of Baal are killed and Elijah is taken to heaven in a fiery chariot.

Stephen was stoned, but out of that stoning came a new advance of the Gospel. The gospel started to move into Samaria and later on into the uttermost parts of the world.

During the stoning there was a young man by the name of Saul who saw it all and it made an impact in his life. Through this young man the Gospel started moving into all the world. We all have been blessed by the letters that he wrote that are now part of the New Testament of the Word of God.

In the book of Isaiah there is a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ: “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:7) In the New Testament we read: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51

Jesus Christ was determined to finish the work that the Father had given Him to do. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4) Later on the cross he cried out: “It is finished.” A way was made for sinful man to approach a Holy God.

Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

We too have a job to do, a course to run. Will we finish the race? Will we complete what the Lord has given us to do? If we are to finish, not just somehow, but triumphantly then we need to learn the quality of determination.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY continued

“It is not a question of learning a thing outside, but of determination inside.” Oswald Sanders

I spoke in a church on John 4:34 where Jesus mentioned to His disciples that His food was to do the will of the Father. I brought out that one of the reasons (perhaps the main reason) we do not see more being done for the Kingdom sake is because of a lack of ‘will.’

Moving into the 21st century to not only meet the challenges that lie ahead, but to see the Kingdom of God advance will take men/women of character. I have been writing about different aspects of character. What we need today are men/women of determination.

A lack in the church of Jesus Christ today is determination. We have a tendency to quit, especially if the way is hard or not what we thought it would be.

A person who lacks determination in their character is like the man of Proverbs 22:13: “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside!’ or, ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’” How often the difficulties stop us. This means that we will never be able to accomplish much because we will always have problems and difficulties in life. Like Billy Graham said, “Life at its best is filled with problems.”

Church history is filled with men and women of determination. They left their mark for God. At the age of 21 Hudson Taylor went to China. Instead of staying on the coast like all of the other missionaries he decided to move inland. By doing so he started what missionaologists now call the second wave of missions, reaching into the inland parts of the world. New mission societies were started like the China Inland Mission that Hudson Taylor founded.

At the age of 52 C.T. Studd went to the Belgian Congo. He had already spent time in India and China. He had to leave his wife behind because of her illness and over the next 18 years he saw her for about two weeks. Praise God for the determination of C.T. Studd. The Gospel is going out in Africa today.

Charles Fuller was a man who preached for thirty or more years on the “Old Fashion Gospel Hour.” Every Sunday his voice was heard by over twenty million people. Fuller started the Fuller Theological Seminary that has been a blessing to thousands of students. The burden of finance was upon him. His wife heard him praying to the Lord to be taken home. The pressure was great. Could this be what the Apostle Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 1:8 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.” Yet God did not take him home at that time. Like the Apostle Paul, he instead became a blessing to millions of people. Praise God for his determination.

Amy Carmichael has been a real blessing to my wife and I through the reading of her books. We named our oldest daughter after her: Amy.

In the midst of real difficulties in India Amy Carmichael opened up an orphanage and rescued little girls destined to be temple prostitutes and gave them a new life. She did this at the peril of her own life because she was determined to see something done.

The last nine years of her life she was completely bed-ridden. If you were to go into the room where her bed was you would see the imprints of the bed posts in the stone floor. When my wife and I visited the orphanage we were told that Billy Graham wept when he saw those imprints.

Yet from the bed she penned some of her greatest books and poems relating her love to the Savior. One of her famous lines that I liked very much and in many ways my prayer is the same: “Make me Thy fuel o’ flame of God!” Dead and yet she speaks on through her writings. What an example of determination.

What of the 21st century? Do we have the Hudson Taylors, CT Studds and the Amy Carmichaels being raised up that will not be stopped? I think so.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY continued

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1) A good name and character go together.

When we see in our culture here in the West the surging moral relativism as well as our eroding value system, the family breakdown, sleazy television, movies and music that is poisoning the mind of our young people etc, we realize something of the challenge that is before us.

When we couple this moral breakdown with our subprime mortgages, fraud, corruption in our political system, lies that are being told, a media that report their own agenda rather than the truth, we realize the battle before us. Our public schools do not teach right from wrong, but only tolerance. Our young people as well as older people have no moral compass.

The following story illustrates very clearly what is happening in our culture, especially in the business as well as stock market world. The story is told about the farmer who left his prized cow with a friend so he could go on a trip. “The cow died while the farmer was gone, and he was distraught to learn the sad news upon his return. ‘I was going to sell the cow,’ he said. ‘I desperately need the money.’ Then he decided, ‘I will still sell the cow – by lottery.’ He sold 300 tickets at $2 each and presented the dead cow to the winner of the lottery. When the winner complained that he had no use for a dead cow, the farmer apologized and returned the $2 for his ticket – and retained the remaining $598!”

This is one picture of what has been occurring in the business world, particularly in the technology industry. Instead of bricks and mortar, investors have become shareholders in ideas and dreams, and in some cases, schemes. In the wonderful vision of hindsight, many, especially venture capitalists, are realizing they have been buying stock in “dead cows.”

When we think of character we must also give attention to ‘integrity.’ A man of character will also be a man of integrity.
The definition of integrity: unimpaired moral principles; honesty, soundness, the quality of being whole or undivided.  Some of the synonyms that go along with integrity are words like: virtue, honor, morality, principle, uprightness, righteousness and goodness.

Sometimes we can tell more about a word, not from the synonyms, but what we call the antonyms or words that have the opposite meaning. Antonyms for integrity: corruption, deceit, disgrace, dishonesty, disloyalty, double-dealing, duplicity and faithlessness are just a few.

What does Scripture say? The Hebrew word for integrity would be the word “tom:” it means completeness, simplicity, upright, integrity.

It is interesting that a root of the word ‘tom’ which is the Hebrew word for integrity is “Tummiyn.” The Tummiyn was one of the objects in the high priest breast plate. It was an emblem standing for complete truth.

Perhaps one of the ways to interpret the word integrity is complete truth.  This brings out the idea of several things. First, a man or woman of integrity is transparent. Secondly, there is no exaggeration with a man of or woman of integrity. And thirdly, a man or woman of integrity is a person that can be counted on. They mean what they say and they do what they say. They walk the talk.

The church is the institution that God has given to us to teach us what character really is. We need men and women of integrity.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – continued

When we think of character we must think about COMMITMENT.

When I look at the evangelical scene today I see a great lack of commitment. When I look at the lack of laborers out on the field especially in the difficult areas of the world with the Muslim, Hindu and Chinese world – I believe it comes back to a lack of commitment.

Where are God’s people who will go to these hard areas of the world and stick it out? We find very few who even respond to the call or the challenge. Out of those who do respond we see a great number dropping out after a short time. Those who make it to the field often do not go back again after the first term. Why? I believe there are a number of reasons, but a big reason is a lack of commitment.

Commitment is important. Webster dictionary defines commitment as “to bring together, join, entrust; to give in trust or in charge; consign for safe keeping.”  I commit my life to Christ Jesus. I join my life to His. I give my life to Him.

The same is true of marriage. Why are marriages falling apart? I know that we often hear of incompatibility, mental cruelty, etc. All of these things are often camouflage for the real culprit that tears a marriage apart,  a lack of commitment.

When we commit our lives to the Lord we are committed to His will. Jesus said, “If you continue in my word then you are my disciples.” The word “continues” brings out the idea of commitment. ‘To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’” John 8:31

However, we need to think through some of the reasons why we break our commitment.

1. It wasn’t quite what I felt it would be. This is one excuse that I hear quite often with people who break a commitment. Perhaps we didn’t count the cost.

Luke 9:57-58 “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'” When Jesus laid down the terms of discipleship we do not hear from these ‘would be followers’ again.

2. We don’t have a mind to suffer.
Peter 4:1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.”

This is part of our armor and is as essential to us as the armor we read about in Ephesians 6. Because we do not have that mind-set or mentality, we see that the enemy gets in and hits us just where we do not want to suffer. Consequently, we see what we can do to break our commitment.

When I was the director of our, Operation MObilization ship Doulos, a young lady joined our ship for two years. She had been very active in her church and had a responsible job. When she was on the ship she had to spend time washing dishes. Every night when she was in her room she was complaining about her dish-pan hands as she was complaining about how she did not join the ship to be a dish washer, etc.

One night while she was complaining to the Lord about her hands, how red they looked, etc. and thinking how she might be able to get out of her commitment – the Lord spoke to her and said, “Look at my hands…”

That was a turning point in her life. She realized how the Lord had suffered for her. She armed herself with the right mentality and stuck it out. She became one of our line-up team who have the responsibility of going ahead of the ship and lining up the program, a job that carries much responsibility, a job for people with commitment.

3. Wrong ideas of what it means to follow Christ.

We seem to think that following Christ there will be no problems, etc. We do not understand how the Lord builds in us character. It is not that we do not have problems because we do. As a matter of fact, we probably have more problems (because Satan is against us), but we also have solutions to our problems. And this is what makes the difference.

There is a tendency to think that by following Christ if things are rough and don’t seem to work them out that this cannot be of God. It is this type of thinking that leads into many erroneous ideas about discipleship.

How do we interpret Hebrews 11:35-38? “Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

What about these people mentioned here. Didn’t they have any faith? Couldn’t they believe God for deliverance? Yes, they had faith. As a matter of fact they probably had more faith. Here we see what real Biblical faith is. Biblical faith takes us through the problems. This is what commitment is all about.