SUBJECT - GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART!!
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The message for this month, both states a fact, and asks a question.
The fact is, since He [God/Christ] is our Creator, and
through Him, we live and move, and have our being[Acts 17:28], then obviously, He knows us, inside and out.
Now if you think about it from the simple standpoint that says, 'the only entity that knows a product, how it works, and if something goes wrong with it, is the most capable to fix it, is the manufacturer of that product.'
If you own a car, especially if it is new, and something goes wrong with it, your best course of action, is to take it back to the manufacturer. Oh, you could take it to some mechanics that know how to fix many different makes and models of cars, but, you run the risk of having a repair job that may fail in the near future, because the problem was outside of that mechanic's expertise.
That is especially true today!!
Back in the late 60's through the 70's, when I was a certified auto mechanic, it was easy to be able to fix almost any problem in any car, because they all functioned about the same. If it wouldn't start, you could follow the same procedure on the problem, and find the problem. If it was running roughly, the same procedure for that problem could be used to fix it.
Today, unless you have the equivalent of a technical background, and a computer, you are going to be limited in what you can do to remedy either of the above problems because of the intricacy of the design of relays, sensors, and such, as well as the onboard computer, all working to start and run the vehicle.
This is why all manufacturers say you should come back to them, to have your vehicle serviced.
With literally thousands of different systems in the thousands of different vehicles, it is literally impossible for any one mechanic to know every vehicle's system function, and how to fix it correctly. If they did try to fix it, they may inadvertently cause something else to go bad, or make the problem, worse.
If you can understand that, then you can understand the facts of this message.
Throughout history, there has been an ongoing battle between Christianity, and social scientists, which I call
'the new gods' which include psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists, as to what is wrong with mankind, and the best course of action to take, to fix it.
While Christians say, God/Jesus is the answer, the 'new gods', say that they have a better solution.
Many of them will go on record as saying 'religion[more specifically Christianity], is at the root of man's problems!! Get rid of it, and that will be a major step in solving the problem!'
If you will notice, this is a subtle attempt to remove any recognition of Jesus Christ from the picture.
They don't necessarily reject God, because other religions acknowledge God, or a god/ or gods.
Christianity, however is different, in that it is the only religion, they say, that essentially proclaims that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. This, in their eyes, is putting others religious beliefs, underneath theirs, which in their minds, is belittling their beliefs.
They will claim most wars the world has seen, which cost millions of lives, have been over religion. Therefore, in their minds, get rid of it, and 'whammo', no more wars.
What they fail to realize is one major fact, and that is, the subject verse which essentially says, 'because of a heart, that is both corrupt and therefore deceitful, it causes them to believe something that is not only not true, but dangerous/deadly!!!
The fact of the matter is, God knows our hearts, which is our core. Therefore, He deals with us, according to that condition. It is what's in a person's heart, that God looks at, when determining how to respond to our prayers.
The vast majority of the problems individuals face, I don't care who they are, has to do with the condition of their hearts towards God. Just as you wouldn't do things to help someone who hated and despised you, neither would God. And it is this reality that most people tend to overlook.
They have in their minds that because all those bad things that are happening in their lives, then God doesn't exist, otherwise He would solve their problems.
This brings about the question that the subject verse addresses, and it is this!! What exactly is your core relationship with Christ???
Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that you may not be as acceptable to Christ, as you thought???
What makes you think you are in a favorable position with Him??? What makes you think you are on your way to Heaven, and, in the mean time, God is right there to give assistance to you whenever you call on Him???
The what, is your heart!!!
A person's heart will get them to believe anything it wants them to believe, whether it is true, or not!!!
Why does it do this??? Because it is connected to your flesh. And as such, tends to align itself with it, so that you can have a false sense of safety and security!!
Have you ever said, or heard someone else make the statement that 'God, knows my heart!!'
Almost all of the time, it is in response to you or someone else being questioned or warned about something they are doing that is sinful. This is a person's built-in defense mechanism, to keep the person from having to face the possibility that they are doing something wrong!
The deceitful heart will justify anything that you are doing by giving you Bible scripture that removes any sense of wrongdoing, on your part, and find someone else to blame, if possible.
What this deceitful heart is doing, is keeping you from doing the first major thing Christ requires of any individual that is walking contrary to His direction, and that is repentance.
When the Bible tells us that
'the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man, avails much'[James 5:16], and that we are to 'be Perfect, even as God is Perfect'[Lev 20:7, Mat 5:48,1Peter 1:16], that carries with it the need for repentance, on our part, when we get out of line. And notice, these are not suggestions!!! They are Commands!!!
Our hearts will tell us that it wasn't our fault, that we did what we had to do, to solve the problem.
This is what is called 'the blame game!!' Nothing is ever our fault. The 'new gods' give us leave from guilt by affixing blame to someone, or something else, and
we acted as any normal human being would act in that situation.
The thing is, that is true but, since
all human beings are wicked in their core[Rom. 3:10], then we need to get rid of that condition through the act of being Born-Again, which starts with the act of confessing our sin, and repenting. The 'new gods', formulate their solutions from the standpoint of the natural human nature of the unrepentant human being.
We only have to look at how this played out in the beginning when God confronted Adam and Eve about their disobedience, and how each responded with an excuse. It was always someone else's/thing's fault! If you will notice, Adam blamed God, because he said, 'the woman that You gave me....'
Yes, that's right, we will blame Him if we can't blame someone else. Think that's ridiculous?? How about the excuse that gay community has, that God, made them that way??
This removes any sense of guilt on their part, and puts it squarely on another entity, even God Himself..
The result of this type of behavior is that in the eyes of Christ, they remain unrepentant, and as a result, their prayers become useless. And as a result, the individual comes to the conclusion that God, must not be Real, because He isn't answering their prayers.
This goes to show how that the wicked heart, will deceive an individual with the idea that,
'if God is Real, and you are a good person, doing good things, He would certainly answer your prayers!!'
The thing is, what is considered good person' and 'good things', is by whose standards?? Man's or Christ's??? Man's standards are far below what is acceptable to Christ
[Isa. 55:9], and as such, he will never be Righteous/Perfect, in His sight, unless he repents, and changes his ways!!
But, he doesn't want to do that because his heart is telling him, 'there is nothing wrong with you, God made you like this, you are grown, everyone else is doing it, it's no big deal!!!' Nobody's perfect!!!
Notice, it is always making the person to feel comfortable in their condition, so that they will see no reason to change!!
When a person listens to one of these 'new gods', they are listening to the equivalent of a devil, because they are just as under his[the Devil's] control, as they are.
Now, just how deceitful can a person's heart be?? Deceitful enough to get saved, sanctified, Spirit-filled, tongue talking Christians to fall in line with this foolishness.
That's right, I said it!!! A large percentage of my brothers and sisters in Christ, have bought in to the notion that certain things can be overlooked because 'everybody sins, and no one's perfect!!
And just who is at the top of the list??? Preachers with degrees in psychology, and sociology, and even other degrees from institutions whose curriculum is built on these ideas.
The point being, if the preacher says it, and he has degrees from a university, or other institution of higher learning, then he must know what he is talking about.
And where do the majority of Christians flock??? To churches pastored by these followers of the Antichrist!!! Why??? Because their sermons [messages], are soothing to the flesh!!
The apostle Paul tells us that,
2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Tim 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
In basic English, people will refuse to hear the Truth of God's Word, for no other reason than they feel more comforted by lies. The fact that they are guilty of something, and may possibly have to pay the price, is totally out of the question. They would rather die, and go to hell, than have to admit to wrongdoing!!
Now, what type of person would take that position?? A person whose heart is playing them for a fool!!
It seems hard to believe it, but it's true. Your own heart, the core of your very being, will, if not changed by the total Word of God, will cause you to destroy yourself, over time.
How well do you know your own heart?? I would dare say, most of you would think you do, when in reality, you don't.
Here is a simple test.
If you have read this entire message, and you feel I am being too critical in what I am saying, then, the chances are very good that, you are one of those I am talking about.
If you will look at the letterhead of this, ministry, you will see the scripture that is its foundation. And, one of the things it says is that the uncompromised Word of God, among other things, is a twoedged sword that pierces down to the core[heart] of an individual, and makes them react in a way that will reveal just what is in their heart.
You can talk about how much you love the Lord, you can speak in tongues, run down the aisle, and sing praises to His name. But, if you refuse to hear His Words of direction for your life, then you are a fraud, and a liar!!!
Quit letting your heart play you or a fool. Time is running out!! You don't know when your number will be up. And, if you leave here in your present condition, you will go on to your eternal reward, and it won't be Heaven.
And, think about this! Those that you have a great influence over, may very well follow in your footsteps.
Is that what you want?