OUR WICKED HEART

Jeremiah knew something about his heart (by the Spirit) that we all need to know and that is, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Here the LORD answers Jeremiah's question, "who can know it?" (in verse 10 starts) "I the LORD search the heart" and adds some critical insight to help us understand our wicked heart. I am glad the LORD searches my heart and not someone else because we can count on God being righteous in truth giving us what we need and not what we want which is true mercy. Our heart always wants mercy without the benefit of judgment. Open ended, boundless mercy no matter the offense, but this is not grace as most Christians believe from wrong teaching. And in fact our (I include myself here at times) desire for open ended mercy instead of righteousness and justice is a sign of selfishness and self-centeredness at the heart of our flesh and wicked heart. For grace to operate there must be judgment (either by God or us) to determine the amount of mercy to apply to the wound. I m not sure why we shy away from judgment so. Maybe because we do not have the spirituality to handle judgment or maybe our wicked heart does not want to be told we are guilty. Even God's grace is not open ended. As powerful as God's grace unto salvation is towards man and as much as God desires no one to be lost, sadly many people will make a judgment saying they have no need for God and will be lost and perish. So too as forgiveness is not open ended. Jesus told the disciples, "as you forgive you will be forgiven." (see Mark 11:25-26) God always operates as the same measure. Please see Luke 6:38. As we love others we shall be loved. As we give we shall receive. We do not give God $10 and He gives us back $100 as most "name it and claim it or blab it and grab it" TV charlatans teach. Oh no God operates at the same level. So too in our heart. God knows our heart, make no mistake here my friend we cannot fool God, oh we think we can, but in the end, "I the LORD search the heart." One of the greatest revelations God can give us is the revelation of just how wicked our heart is. The older I get the more often I find myself saying where did that come from? Or I cannot believe I said or did that. Now I can do what most Christians do at this time and blame the devil or someone else, but no we must have enough God in us and put the blame for our actions and words where they belong in our flesh. Paul like Jeremiah knew this when he told the Christians in Rome, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18) Please notice Paul was thinking some of this verse. The "(that is, in my flesh)" is a parenthetical thought. In other words as Pal was speaking, but in his mind he thought, "(that is, in my flesh)." Paul put the blame right where it belonged on his flesh which is his wicked heart. Our flesh is powerful and it can control our spirit easily if we do not feed our spirit with the things of God. After all it is our flesh (and it eats at our soul) and not our body or spirit that is addicted when we get over into areas such as unnatural desires, compulsive distractions in life, and especially alcohol and drugs . All we have to do is look at the opioid addiction the world deals with today. Yes the body suffers due to the chemicals dependency (and no God has not made of this way as some folks have said), but the addiction is in the flesh it fills the large hole it leaves in our heart from their lack of relationship with God. Something must fill this void, the flesh screams to be satisfied. The struggle of our will to serve God in any meaningful way is not light against darkness as much as it is our flesh against the work that God as been able to build in our spirit. Light against darkness is the position we as believers must live in this world, we must be the light in the darkness, but we can only do this if our spirit has been enlightened and our flesh has been put down. If we have not allowed the LORD to work in our lives to any degree then we are only a fleshly (if we have only asked Jesus to save us from our sins) carnal Christian. Remember confession and repentance of our sins is not spiritual growth and development. Spiritual growth and development comes by way of God's dealings and judgments in our lives as He reduces us, as He molds us, as He is able to break us, and as we allow Him to build His character and image of His precious dear Son Jesus Christ in us which is God grand goal in our lives. Without God's building program in our lives the only response we can have especially when bad things happen (like the death of friend or family member or when we lose all of our wealth, etc.) to us suddenly is our flesh comes alive, our wicked ole heart takes control of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions (because of the lack of God's work in us) and we move outside what God's word has told us to do. Our selfishness, our self-seeking comes alive and begins to control our mind and heart. Now we can respond in many ways, but unfortunately not in a Godly way because we have not allowed God to build in us His strengthen in our inward man. The art is to have God's work built in us before the bad things or loss happens. How can we be more than conquers in all situations? By having the work of God built in us by His dealings and judgments before the test. Most mainstream denominations reject God's working in us and in our lives and depend on traditions and rituals to help us cope with loss, but it is our flesh (our emotions, feelings, and thoughts) that drives us to hyper-anxiety, despair, depression, and other mental confusion. Oddly enough it is the personal loss we feel that makes our selfishness come alive. It is not really the loss that makes us feel bad and depressed, but it is our selfishness that makes us feel bad when we experience loss and the greater the loss the greater our selfishness comes alive. Now here is where our wicked heart really comes into the picture (in a greater way) to lead us away from the truth. If there was a lack in the relationship (in any way) or we feel we could have done something different or better or if we feel we are to be blamed (in some way) in the loss then our own heart will heap condemnation in us if we have not allowed God to work in our lives. Guilt and condemnation will fill our heart and life and we will beat ourselves up grasping at every little thing to ease our pain. And if we use worldly remedies, practices, techniques, and psychology to satisfy our flesh well, then our burden may be lifted somewhat, but the heart of the issues (our wicked heart) has not been dealt with properly and we will continue in the mourning process for months, years, maybe the rest of our lives. We must allow God through His Spirit to touch our mind and heart. John said, "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. (1 John 3:20-21) John tell us twice in these two verses, "if our heart condemn us" now this is not conviction, but condemnation my friend and "God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things." Now I have lost a sister, a father, a mother, other relatives, and countless friends in my life time. But I learned (and still learning) of my selfish, wicked heart and how it can move me out of God back in 1967 during the Arab Israeli six day war. With all of the tensions in the middle east it was the perfect time to push from the pulpit the possible rapture of the church. Well I came home from school one day and usually the first word out of my mouth was "mom?" Now my mother was the perfect Believer! Those who knew her would agree and say amen. I always said if Beverly Stahl does not make it to heaven then no one will. Well, "mom?" No answer. Again, but louder, "mom?" No answer. So a third time, "mom?" No answer. I thought Jesus had come and I missed the rapture. My flesh (my selfishness) came alive and my emotions and thoughts, my feelings kicked in, woe is me I missed the rapture what am I going to do? I starting feeling sick to my stomach and sweating my loss was unbearable until I found the note on the kitchen table that said she went to the store and would be home soon. My friend our heart is desperately wicked and it was the thinking I missed the rapture that magnified my feelings and emotions. Mistakenly people say the more we love someone the greater the grief we will have when we mourn, but in reality that is not true. What is true is the greater the love for our self, friends, or family member we may lose the greater our flesh will come alive (unless God is holding us) and the greater the condemnation and guilt we will experience to where we will need to take medicine to calm our thoughts and feelings, or go to some shrink for therapy, and most assuredly put on our religious rituals and traditions to salve our heart and mind. Again the goal is to allow God to really work in our lives though His dealings and judgments before we experience loss. How could our wicked heart overcome God's work? Paul again in Romans, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:10-14) We are not to live after the flesh for if we live after the flesh we shall die. Now that is now spiritually and if we never allow God to build in us His works then it will be forever. The word "mortify" in verse 13 means "to put to death." We must through the Spirit "put to death" the deeds of the body (our flesh, our wicked heart) if we desire to live the life God desires for us to live to where we will be called "the sons of God." And the only way we can put to death the deeds of the body, through the Spirit, is to allow God's dealings and judgments in our lives before our wicked heart rears its ugly head. Written by David Stahl