“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” Deut 4:2 NKJV
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater that our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 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.” 1Jn 3:18-23 NKJV
‘But if the seed is the word, then every preacher must make sure he uses good seed. “It is a high offense against God to change the Master’s seed, mix it, or to sow bad seed in the place of it.” (Clarke)
There is never a day we don’t need Truth…
There was a day that King David did the thing…
– He stayed at home when he should have been out at battle
– He saw Bathsheba and decided to take her, which set in motion a course of adultery, murder, and a way in opposition to God.
– Yet in 1Sam 13:14 God is looking for a man after His own heart, and later in Acts 13:22 David is declared by God to be that man “after My own heart, who will do all My will.”
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Prophet Nathan is sent to King David to confront him and speak truth.
– Nathan presents a story of a small precious lamb which gives David understanding of his despicable role when Nathan declares, “You are the man!” (Not in a good way!)
– Nathan further confronts David by inquiring, “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?”
– Nathan then shares with David the cost of his actions
– David recognizes his sin…and repents
– He is forgiven, but the consequences of his sin will persist
— War will forever be in his house
— His child with Bathsheba is taken in death
— His sin and its repercussions will be known
— Adversity will be towards David from his own family
— It will all be seen by all of Israel (what David did in secret now God will do before all Israel)
— David reveals the depth of his repentance and brokenness in Ps 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart…”
Brokenness and Heart conviction usher in new heart soil…
Your heart becomes a heart after God’s when the nature of the soil in your heart is renewed in truth by the Word of God, and you now see truth and believe truth in the way God intends through His Word. Old things have gone, behold all things are new. But you have to work to keep them new…
When you plant new plants, I have found it is not good to use old soil. It is generally depleted of nutrients, and probably contains bugs and fungi that will gladly attack your garden plants (been there, done that, got the tee-shirt).
Like the parable of the sower in Mark 4 shows, the thing that is different between the situations is the soil…not the seed.
The seed is the Word of God, and it is ever constant… ever the same. It is settled in heaven. However, that is not true if you are receiving seed (concepts, doctrine, teachings as truth which are not part of God’s doctrine.
So again, in the parable of the sower the soil differs greatly: soil of the wayside; soil on stony ground; soil among thorns; soil of good ground.
Only the soil that is described as good ground is able to yield any crops at all. Likewise, only the believer’s heart that has soil which is continually being replenished and enriched by the Word, which is also subject to brokenness and willing to be humbled to confess sin, is soil that will yield crops for the Kingdom of God.
This is not a one time deal either. This is a way of a lifetime…
– a time of composting and turning the soil of your heart
– a time of weeding out lies, deception, bad doctrine, and consecrating the ground of your heart for God’s purposes
– a time of purifying your heart soil by being sensitive to the finger of the Holy Spirit indicating problem areas in attitude, disposition, or behavior.
– a time of reseeding your heart with truth that no bad seed of the enemy can take hold without notice
So, this is why we are called to guard our hearts above all that we guard, for out of it (the heart) spring the issues of life. (Prov 4:20-23) The soil of our heart is God’s garden of truth that nourishes us and our brethren.
Once we become a believer, God gives us a new heart. He takes away the heart of stone. But the quality of the soil of our heart will determine our productivity and fruitfulness for the kingdom of God. The more responsive I remain to the Word of God, and to the correction of the Word or the Holy Spirit, the more I will cultivate a heart after God’s own heart. Cultivating is something I am responsible for…
A heart after God’s heart is a heart that is tender to hear and does not harden itself into a place of pride and resistance, where I believe no error can be hosted in me.
Rather, this heart after God’s own heart sees the ease with which a heart can embrace faulty, soulish or even worldly thinking. It is one that continues to view itself cautiously, asking God to know it, try it, and to see if there be any wicked way it it. This is why we need to be constantly in the Word, and having the Word constantly flowing through us.
Should there be a day that dawns, where I no longer actively guard my heart (and the quality of its soil), or I no longer am careful about the quality of seed that is sown in my heart (the unadulterated seed of the Word of God) – it is only a matter of time before I become open to sin and error.
It is what I truly believe in my heart, what attitudes and notions I believe are true that comprises the crop that I bring forward. Sooner or later, the truth of what I believe will be known and observed.
David believed he could take a season off. He became indulgent in his thinking. Then he began to take notice of things around him, when he should have been on the battlefield.
This is Truth. You are never not on a battlefield. Even when touring the thoughts of your own heart, only a diet rich in the word and God’s presence will alert you to danger in the indulgence of your own thinking. I cannot police myself, but rather I submit to the searching and results of the Holy Spirit.
We each need to also become watchman of the walls of our heart, but not trusting in my ability or understanding – honestly this is a place where you never arrive. You are never qualified to do open heart surgery on your own heart. Only the Holy Spirit can perform that. You can either cooperate, or resist. But you cannot do…
The Heart After God’s own Heart
Loves!!! And is moved by God’s love!
Is truly teachable!
It is also tender, able to be moved.
It is accountable first to God, but also others that are God’s authorities.
None of us is an island to ourselves.
Look at King David – he listened to Nathan. Be open to Nathan’s in your life. There will never be a day when you have arrived and are all that…don’t kill the messenger, or harden your heart.
Look at the cost to King Uzziah when he became prideful. Great King, but dire consequences entered in when he forgot his position and presumed himself qualified to offer sacrifice to God. Leprosy sprung upon him.
Here is the warning from the word of God about remaining open and especially humble concerning your own understanding.
Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:24-25
What is the size of the entrance that the light of Christ has (wisdom, spiritual knowledge) to enter in and change your thinking? I’m not talking about a novel idea here, I’m talking about the ability of the Word of God to make entrance and change your perspective. To bring forth a spirit of repentance…to to turn you from dark to light. Is the Holy Spirit still given access?
The quickest way to start a downward trend of erosion in your relationship with God is to become closed to greater light. We have to learn to hold the reigns of control and self-confidence in our understanding lightly. None of us ever corner the market on Biblical truth and understanding. God is ever desiring to take the edge off our dullness, off our small grasp of His perspective, His bigger plan, and His even bigger heart.
You may be seeing in a glass darkly, but God can bring illumination that is needed to represent Him.
What to Trust
Today, increasingly, we are seeing the product of bad (seed) doctrine cropping up in the Body of Christ. Worldliness, indulgence, hard attitudes, self-importance, and entitlement are invading the Body. Some of this doctrine is subtle in its error, other is not.
In the next few posts I will examine some error coming to the surface which threatens our understanding of God and even Who He defines Himself to be…according to the Word.
Stay tuned. Ask God to check your soil…
Insolomonsporch's Blog 