5 And GOD saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually. (Gen
6:5)
The preacher of Ecclesiastes correctly observed that there is nothing new under
the sun. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that
which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the
sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been
already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former
things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with
those that shall come after. (Eccl
1:9-11) The Word of
God bears the same nature as its Author - it is therefore timeless being both
historic, contemporary, and eternal in meaning and application. The heart of
man has not grown more naturally righteous since God uttered those words back
in Genesis 6:5. In fact, we have grown more ingenious in our wicked ways.
There are fundamentally only two kinds of the heart man - the natural heart
that thrives on darkness; and the new heart that has come under the sovereignty
of Almighty God. A new heart
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
(Ezek
36:26) We will
examine these two very different hearts in today's devotion, and ask the
question: "Which kind of heart do you have?"
THE
NATURAL HEART:
1)
The Heart is Naturally Wicked:
As we saw in Genesis 6:5, the natural heart of man is bent on evil continually.
Like the jungle lion that tears at its prey without mercy, it is the nature of
the heart of man, inherited from our ancient father, Adam, to always devise and
enact wickedness. There is nothing that a man need do to deserve hell. That is
the place to which he is going without a super-natural rebirth of the heart in
God.
2)
The Heart is a Gatherer of Evil.
If the evil of its nature is not enough, it goes about to gather more
wickedness to itself. "he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity
to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it." Psalms 41:6 (KJV) His
mental and conscious faculties are constantly devoted to improvising more evil:
"every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually."
3)
The Natural Heart is of Little Worth:
"the heart of the wicked is little worth." Prov 10:20 (KJV) It
is worth even less than a little since a heart that remains apart from God will
suffer an eternity of misery.
4)
The Natural Heart is Perverse:
How well we know this truth when we witness our own beloved nation, for the
first time in human history, dignifying homosexual marriage by its laws. "A
man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse
heart shall be despised." Prov 12:8 (KJV) Despised not only in the
annals of history, but despised by himself, too, America is today engrossed is
a great self-hate. The desires of the nation have become suicidal, and that is
what our national policies lead to today. We stagger as drunken men!
5)
The Natural Heart is Proud:
Pride is the greatest of all sins for it is the parent of all others. Of the
seven sins that the Lord hates, pride comes FIRST! "These six things
doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a
lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that
speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (Prov
6:16-19) What was
the great sin of Lucifer that led to his being cast down from Heaven? "How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
(Isaiah 14:12-15)
6)
The Natural Heart is willingly Deceived:
"a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his
soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah
44:20) Many nominal
Christians run from one name-it-and-claim-it church to another with itching
ears to hear a new thing; but that new thing is not a new thing at all - it is
merely the same old lies and errors that God warned us about. "Little
children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."
(1 John 2:18)
Our Church (AOC) is particularly acquainted with the charlatans who have often
claimed allegiance to God and our Church, and then tried to still away our
treasure. These are the antichrists made reference to above and here: "They
went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of us." (1 John 2:19)
7)
The Natural Heart not only is Deceived, but Deceitful:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?" (Jer
17:9) Not only does
the natural heart deceive others, but it deceives also itself. "And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess
2:8-12) There is a
growing pleasure in America even in the unrighteousness of others!
THE
NEW HEART:
1)
The New Heart converted to Christ
is, first of all, a BROKEN HEART!
It was broken once by its own shame ere coming to Christ, but continues to be
broken by the wickedness in the world about it. "The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise." (Psalm 51:17) If we deposit our treasures in
Heaven, our hearts will also attend those treasures. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
(Matt
6:21)
2) The New Heart is a Clean Heart:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
(Psalm
51:10) We can, in
no wise, clean our own hearts of the filth that has gained mastery therein; but
the Holy Ghost can clean house and vanquish the evil that was there. That right
spirit that is renewed in us is the Holy Spirit that comes to dwell in our
hearts.
3)
The New Heart is a New Creation!
The natural heart is already dead (as dead as a door nail), and can do nothing
to renew itself - it is a work of the Grace of God that imparts life.. "A
new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart
of flesh." (Ezek 36:26) Instead of a condemnation under
the Law written on Tables of Stone, God's Law is written in the tender flesh of
the New Heart in the ink of Love.
4)
The New Heart is filled with the Love of God:
"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5) Reminder lest you may begin to
think that you have earned that love that is shed abroad in your heart - a gift
cannot be EARNED! It is placed in our hearts free gratis by the Holy Ghost.
5)
The New Heart is a Heart of Abundant Peace:
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are
called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Col
3:15) Walking into
many churches today, we might wonder at the lack of the rule of peace. But if
we are One in Christ, we will be One with one another, and peace will rule in
our churches without division.
6)
God Places a Melody in the New Heart:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Col 3:16) By the way, there are no rock
or heavy metal tunes that can identify as a melody. According to the Oxford
Dictionary, a melody is defined as "a sequence of single notes that is
musically satisfying:" Most
modern music does not have a "sequence of single notes that is musically
satisfying." They are comprised of a series of multiple, contrasting notes
that are both deafening and sensuous. Unholy desires are aroused by unholy
musical scores.
7)
The New Heart is the Temple of God:
God will not live in the natural heart because it is laden with sin, and God
will tolerate no sin. However, He comes to abide in the New Heart to become its
Sovereign and Ruler. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;
that ye, being rooted and grounded in love," (Eph
3:17) The New Heart
is His Temple: "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
(2 Cor 6:16)
The New Heart is no longer conformed to the world, but transformed by the
renewing (making new) of the mind. "And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans
12:2)
After
a sober self-examination, which Heart do you have - Natural or New?
