Heart & Soul - - God's People

 

Psalm 7:9

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7451

Wickedness: badness, evilness, adversity

From the Hebrew word 'ra'' (pronounced rah).

REPENTANT PEOPLE

    In this part of David's prayer, he prays for the end of sin in his own heart and in others' hearts. He prays, "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end."       Here, too, the Christian desires the same thing: I turn my heart and my face to You, Lord. I turn my back on the unlawful things I have done and I commit to obeying Your Word and following Your ways. I repent of the wickedness of my heart and ask that You remain in me and clean Your tabernacle, that I might be made presentable to God. 

    "We pray that adversity towards God be overthrown and that our hearts be made clean and pure for His Name's sake. We determine in our hearts and our minds to be steadfast and sure, not moving from our foundation of faith in God through Christ."

ESTABLISHED PEOPLE

    David asks that God establish the just, that He build a firm immovable foundation in the believer. The deeper we dig into the Word of God, the longer and deeper our roots will be. As oaks of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3) we need to know this. We are the planted of The Lord. We plant (read and study our Bibles) ourselves in His Word and He plants (John 15:4, 5) His Word in us. 

    Being both planted in Him and built up in Him we are stronger than many of us realize. Just before The Lord ascended into heaven, He gave instructions  to His disciples (and to us):

Matthew 28:18-20

Mark 16:15-18

Luke 24:45-49

John 20:21-23

Acts 1:8

    Being planted in Christ through His death and His resurrection, we are now being built up in Him through the power of His Holy Spirit. As long as we trust God and obey His Word and live a holy life, we will see God and remain with HIm when we die. God is holy. His holiness demands a holy people, for sin cannot be present where God is. 

    1 Peter 2:9 tells us that as believers, as God's people, we are not like the people of the world, the people who still live in darkness. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. The chosen generation is the generation of they who seek Him (Psalm 24:1-6). 

    He has called us to be His royal priests. We are a holy nation. Though we are to pray for the leaders who rule over us in this world, that they may be saved and sanctified, our allegiance is to our God. His laws are higher than men's laws. When the law of the land is lawlessness, the law of God must still be obeyed. Know you that we are living under such laws even now? It's only going to get worse.

PECULIAR PEOPLE

    We are a peculiar people. Strange. Odd. Weird. To many people God's people are foolish. Why? We believe God. It is more than believing God's existence, it is believing God's Word is Real, Faithful, Truth. It is a knowing and an understanding. 

    But to the people who live outside of God's reality we are unusual. And so we should be. We should shine as lights in a dark world, shining with the light of God's love bursting through us. Radiance lights up our faces from the Joy that is within us: the love of God in Christ which we received when we believed. 

    For "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the strong." (1 Corinthians 1:27). To quite a few folks, God's plan of salvation is foolishness. Unable to recognize their own sin they refuse to believe that God's Son would die in such a shameful manner, if they even believe that God has a Son. 

POWERFUL PEOPLE

    We are fools for Christ, as Paul says to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:10). We choose to live in obedience to God's Word and God's commands. We choose to share Christ, the Light of God's Love, with everyone whom God places in our path. We choose to live a life that glorifies God. 

    And we are able to do these things because Christ is our foundation, the Chief Cornerstone upon Whom our lives are built. We are trees whose roots are planted near a living flowing water, and whose strength is in Him. We are the established of God. And we have overcome the wickedness of this world.

    Unless a person is a born again, Spirit-filled believer they will not be able to fully and faithfully serve God in the way in which He has ordained His people to serve Him. Every organization, whether small like a club or large like a nation, must have a set of rules by which to live in peace. So it is with God. He has set up the ways in which His people should walk, should live, should serve. 

    It takes an immense amount of power to live God's way. This power is only available from God and it is in the form of His Spirit living and moving through His people by faith. If you don't have His Holy Spirit, just ask God for it. He knows what we need and He's waiting for us to ask because He's not a pushy overbearing God who rams His way into people's hearts and lives. He's a patient (longsuffering) God who waits to hear from us. 

    Now is the time to talk with God. And remember, a conversation is a two way street, not a monologue. 

     

GOD'S PEOPLE 

Heart & Soul - - Alive With Christ

 

Ephesians 2:4, 5

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4806

Alive: to make alive together with

From the Greek word 'suzóopoieó' (pronounced ood-zo-op-oy-eh'-o): I make alive together with; new moral life is referred to; reanimate conjointly with, quicken together with.

THE PENITENT'S CRY 

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

ALIVE IN CHRIST

Colossians 2:12-14

And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

John 11:25

Jesus said unto her, "I am The Resurrection and The Life, he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

FORGIVEN

    Our souls are eternal. When these bodies the Lord God has placed our souls in fail and die, the soul leaves for its destination. If the soul has believed that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, then that soul leaves for the eternal presence of God in heaven. If the soul who has chosen to not believe dies in its unbelieving state, then that soul leaves for the eternal damnation (eternal separation from God) in hell. 

     Nothing that we can do, in and of ourselves, can save us from the eternal punishment due us for the sins we have committed against God by disobeying and disbelieving His Holy Word. Having been born with a sinful nature, we are all unclean.

    Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." We need the righteousness of a Savior, of The Christ, to cover us.

    Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

    We need to seek out the Lord, repent of our unrighteous ways and be forgiven by a Merciful God.

    Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 

    Paul referred to himself as a wretch (Romans 7:24). David revealed himself to be a sinner (2 Samuel 12:13). How do we refer to ourselves when confessing to God that we are sinners? We must approach God with humble hearts, not proud or prideful (pride-filled) hearts. God hears the sinner's prayer when the sinner is truly repentant. 

    To be Alive in Christ is to be forgiven and live a forgiven lifestyle. Now that we have been washed in the blood of the God's Lamb, and the sins we repented of are washed away, we learn how to live holy and righteous lives: lives that don't include deliberately sinning. 

    We are not forgiven so we can keep on sinning. This is a false teaching. The born again believer chooses not to sin, knowing that sin is what kept us separated from God. Now that we have recognized God for Who He Is, and that His Word Is Faithful and True, we do not want to do the things we used to do before we became to Christ.

BLESSED

    1 John 3:9

Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

    To be Alive With Christ is to live in Christ as He lives in us. We are the born again: the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted for His Name's sake, the reviled (Matthew 5:3-11). For as He was treated in this world, His people are also treated. 

SUFFERERS FOR CHRIST

    Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

    1 Peter 4:1

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

    1 Peter 2:21-23

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 

ALIVE WITH CHRIST

    Remember, this Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a worthwhile life. Our goal is to live with God forever. Salvation is the first step to getting there. This holiness lifestyle is all the other steps. For our journeys are of indefinite length, as our days are numbered by God (Psalm 39:4; 90:12). Whether we live a long life or a short life, it is not length of life that is rewarded: it is how we lived the life we were given.

    We did not get saved just so we could "live the good life" here and now. Salvation is a gift from God (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8). Sanctification is the work of The Holy Spirit .

    Now we are Alive With Christ. What a miracle that we have become part of the body of Christ. Look to the cross! See the body of Christ. It is not beautiful. If we are honest with ourselves, no one wants to look on Him, for He is hard to behold. Isaiah 53. 

    Romans 6:22  

Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 

    Without the sin-bearing Savior on the cross, there could be no resurrection of the dead to a new life in Christ! Look, now, and see Him there: dying for you, for me. Once and for all Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself. Hebrews 9:12 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

    I am Alive in Christ, I am Alive with Christ. If it were not for my recognition of Christ Jesus as my Savior and the Lord of my life, I would not be alive at all, but I would be dead in my trespasses, in my sins. I have a Savior and His Name is Jesus Christ. Come near to the heart of God. Come, be alive with us. 

REPENTANT, FORGIVEN, CHANGED  

Dead Man (Carry Me) - Jars of Clay

Ocean Floor - Audio Adrenaline

God Be Merciful to Me - Jars of Clay

Lay It All Down - Will Reagan

Come As You Are - Crowder

I'm Not Alright - Sanctus Real

The Hard Way - DC Talk

Nothing But The Blood - Jars of Clay

Forgiven - Crowder 

Redeemed - Big Daddy Weave

Less Like Me - Zach Williams 

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Simple - Various Artists

Simple Truth - Ryan Ellis

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Brokenness

 

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7665 & 1793

Broken: to break, break in pieces, shattered

From the Hebrew word 'shabar' (pronounced shaw-bar') 

Contrite: crushed

From the Hebrew word 'dakka'' (pronounced dak-kaw')

THE SPIRIT OF CONVICTION

It is not we ourselves who break our hearts for God, but the Spirit of God who breaks the hearts of the believer to receive the good things God has prepared to fill the broken hearted with. It is the Holy Spirit, after all, who convicts the heart of sin (John 16:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

John 16:7-11 Jesus tells His disciples that He needs to go away and why:

7. But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8. And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

9. in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10. in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;

11. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

The Spirit of Conviction  pricks the hearts of they who hear the Word (Acts 2:37). In order to be restored into a right relationship with God in Christ, we must take the next step after the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts to believe.

THE NEXT STEP: CALLED TO REPENTANCE

Repentance:  I repent, I change my mind and think differently afterwards. (After what? after I believe.) Changed after being with God.

I repent. God forgives. Jesus Saves. The Holy Spirit restores.

Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 15:10; Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 3:19.

Acts 2:38, 39

38. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO SALVATION

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:40

For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies."

THE PROMISE PROMISED 

Isaiah 44:3

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

Joel 2:28, 32

28. And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

32. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

THE GUARD

    We need to guard our hearts which have been broken not only by God but for God. We need to remain so close to Him we can hear His whispers and He can hear our prayers. For the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous, the cries of the brokenhearted, the longing of the heart to be with Him. 

    How do we guard our hearts with this purpose in mind? Stay in His Word: Read it, Live it, Breathe It. Yes, it's a very hard thing to do, isn't it? But we who repent of our sins are forgiven by the forgiving God Who forgives sins. And when we have repented, the Spirit of God restores us to God. 

    It is a good way to end the day before falling asleep, for tomorrow is not guaranteed to us. it's better, do you not agree, to fall asleep knowing we are forgiven than to fall asleep in our sins? It is also a good way to begin our day. O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! The words spring from our hearts to our tongues and leap off of our lips into the ears of a hearing God. 

    We guard our brokenness, when we remain in a humble state of mind, remembering who we were before we believed in God's Christ for our salvation and how we came to be where we are now after receiving Christ and His Holy Spirit. 

     We guard our brokenness, when we remember that we are nothing without God. Nothing without His grace. Nothing without His mercy. Nothing without His lovingkindness. Nothing without His presence. Nothing. Nothing without His Christ. Nothing without His love. 

    We are maggots (Job 25:6). We are dust (Genesis 3:19). We are unclean (Isaiah 6:5). We are sinners (Luke 18:13). We need God. We need His Christ to save us: to wash away our sins. We need His Spirit to restore us to Him: make us holy and useful for His purpose. 

    Let us come near to God (begin to, and continue to, walk in His direction) and He will come near to us (see us coming and run to meet us). As in the parable of The Prodigal Son, which you may want to refresh yourselves with. (Luke 15:11-32)

GUARD YOUR BROKENNESS MEDLEY

 

 

The Repentant Heart

 

REPENTANT HEART

Psalm 25:17-18

The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress.

Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.

The Spirit of God is evident in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, for it is the Spirit of God that convicts a person of the sins in their heart. It is the hardened heart, the heart which refuses to acknowledge the Holy God and God's Holy Word, that turns away from God. Only the repentant heart listens to the Holy Spirit of God and turns to Him in distress, seeking forgiveness and mercy.  

It is the Spirit of God who turns a sinner's heart to God. It is the Spirit of God who leads a person to see God and God's Son. It is the transformative power of God by His Holy Spirit through His Holy Son which changes the heart of the sinner into the heart of the redeemed. This is amazing Grace. 

Listen to that Spirit and turn to God this day.