Healing of the Soul

A Work of Heart

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“My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” (Psalm 45:1-2).

We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at his unspeakable love.  ~John Owen

I preached this Psalm in a message a very long time ago about a Christ I only thought I knew.  Since that time, God delivered me from false doctrine and now as he gives me strength I will not let him go but bring him into my mother’s house, the church.  I will attempt to write on this psalm for the next few weeks. So many groups only carry in their doctrinal flash drive a certain facet of Christ and church is only seen as a USB port to plug it into. Those who do not proclaim those pet doctrines enough are in their eyes lesser Christians or not Christians at all. The worst false doctrine is to exalt the distinctive of one group, it is imbalanced and will certainly lead to error.  We ought to exalt Christ alone. We must always insist that in Psalm forty-five as in the other scriptures we would see Jesus (John 12:21).  This is the goal of scripture, to reveal the living Christ, walking among his Church and conquering the world by a redemptive kingdom.

The first thing the songwriter mentions is his heart. He says, “my heart.” The heart think, feels and here it writes. This is a heart felt Psalm. Did you know that the heart is mentioned over nine hundred and fifty times in the scripture? So we are assured that the heart is a biblical doctrine. The heart is the nucleus of human affection, desire and thought. It is our inner nature. It is synonymous with “the hidden man” (1 Pet. 3:4) and “the inner man” (2 Cor. 4:16).

It is God’s goal to capture the heart, he calls to a person by His Word, thus the preacher ought not just appeal to the head but the heart.  Ah that men would preach and it would cause a blue flame that burns with a love for the words of Christ! That Christ would dwell in the hearts by faith and his word grow and prevail in their heart!

Psalm forty-five is not just a work of art, but “a work of heart” sweetly performed by the gentle Holy Spirit.  The Psalm instructs those who read and sing it regarding the husband/wife relationship between Christ and his church, much like the books Song of Songs and Hosea which should be used as an encouragement to the church when she is overwhelmed by trials and failure.

Here we see the heroic Savior, Christ the Beautiful, the Divine King of Kings, full of grace and blessing. He is God the Son, Supreme ruler over the church and the universe (Heb. 1:8). Here God the Son in his everlasting love  draws the Psalmist  into the inner chamber of his Word and we will run after him!

God creates by his command a pure and true heart in us (Heb. 10:22; 1 Tim. 1:5 ) as he did when “commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts.”  (2 Cor. 4:6). What is the light in our hearts?  It is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”  This is when we become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).  As light is to the eyes so is understanding to the heart, that is what we call illumination.  The heart of the psalmist is flooded with spiritual light (Eph. 1:17).  As Charles Spurgeon comments, “The eyes of a true heart see more than the eyes of the head.”  Here is the key to understanding Christ: grace, it is all of grace! 

Oh this it is this the priceless gift of grace that God has made to be stored in the hearts of his elect children. The heart that understands is a heart that has been opened by the presence of Christ (Acts 16:14) and has been set on fire  by the words of Christ (Luke 24:32).  

Can you hear the Holy Spirit today with a still small voice and if you hear his voice do not be stubborn and harden not your heart, “And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me.” (Gen 24:49).  Is there a work of heart yet to be done in you?

 

(c) 2011 Soul Health Care Ministries, If you share this article just let them know about us and where it came from.

Stuck on the Steeple

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Recently two men were stuck at a height of 122 feet in a construction bucket which stopped working and lodged against a New Jersey church steeple for hours before they were rescued. These men were working on a restoration project, according to the church’s pastor. Not even the fire department could help them.  As surreal as it seems, the New Jersey State Police dispatched two helicopters to assist those men! After about three hours, the men were taken down by a basket hooked to a crane. The Pastor was thankful and even prayed with those that helped.

I wonder what it would be like to listen to these men tell the story to their friends and family about the day they were stuck on the steeple.

I am not here to blame the pastor for that nightmare, and the breakdown of equipment.  I am not against church repairs. But for the sake of illustration, I wonder about pastors who are more like religious business owners and whose focus is on how tall the “steeple” of the church more than the souls of their people.  There is a sermon  here in fact, it is very possible churches and church goers are stuck on the steeple. I am prompted to advise pastors with the scripture,

“Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds.” (Prov 27:23)

This passage encourages the pastor to know the faces or the state of his sheep, to put his heart into the condition of those that God has entrusted to his care. The pastor has a job to know the condition of the souls of the people he pastors, nothing else is more important. Soul work is hard work and all the work done in a church should flow the condition of people’s hearts.

Pastors today feel the lure of the new models of religious marketing and church growth. That shining serpent beckons to them and promises them freedom from “old religious ways”  and to attract more crowds to church in the name of love and healing. I am concerned that they may have forgotten their true call, to care for their sheep.  I have seen pastors and churches advertise and market programs and go light on preaching. When they do preach, they are sloppy on the gospel.

There is a possibility of involving people so much in “God’s Work” that they get end up in a dangerous situation. In seemingly thriving churches I have seen adultery, drug abuse and financial controversy. How could this happen? They are stuck on the steeple. Pastors may be putting people  in danger, because their agenda has become their gospel.  We shuld love helping the poor, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry we should do it without a second thought but these things are NOT the gospel. Man cannot live on bread alone. Full stomachs can result in anorexic souls.

I have been part of churches where Sunday after Sunday they push small groups, leadership programs, denominational conferences so much that it becomes forced. It is like an arranged marriage to an ugly partner. The religious peer pressure kicks in and you either get left out or singled out.

The bottom line is not the project it is the condition of people souls! Their souls are more important than any agenda you may have. Is what you are doing, contributing to a dangerous situation for them spiritually?

Many of these pastors seem promote membership and Churchianity.  They preach with passion the importance of attendance and faithful tithing. If only they would preach the cross and exposit scripture with such fire! They quote Hebrews 10:25 and have the nerve to shake their finger at people for neglecting the fellowship. But I wonder, what is the sense of going to church when they nauseatingly preach a man centered message to a gospel hardened people?

I have heard messages that were not messages at all. I have heard pastors talking about sex until it bordered on soft porn. I have hjerad them use vulgarity when preaching. I have heard them preach on finances until you felt like you were going to work and they were about to sell you a new 401k plan. They act like stand up comedians who use the Bible as a punchline. Many look like slobs and act like slobs. They will show movies, plays and concerts in place of what used to be Sunday morning worship. This is a bad dream and “Ouch!” that pinch hurts when you realise you are wide awake.  It breaks my heart. When you confront these things all you hear from these same people is that you are “religious” “judgmental” or pharasaical! That gets old fast mainly because it is so unoriginal.

How many more churches and preachers must be exposed for their malpractice until they repent!  Some men see people problem and clear themselves of the blame saying it is this or that person’s fault. But they say that are praying for them. Oh you will pray for them? Ah, to little too late. 

Recently, the Michael Jackson wrongful death case was blazed in the media. Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty.  He gave drugs to this troubled man who was depressed, full of anxiety and despite all his success and charity was empty inside. The man that should have helped him heal, created the perfect storm in his body and killed him. We do not know all the wherewithal about this case still, but we know that a Doctor who was supposed to keep an oath to care for the welfare of his patient literally gave him the drip of death. We are aghast at this! Yet how much more those who give the drip of death to the soul.

You are being charged with malpractice by the Surgeon General of Souls! If you continue to go against the scripture or only use scripture as a garnish for the toxic candy you serve people God will remove your license to practice. The salt is in danger of losing its savor. Repent now, help those people stuck on the steeple you have made!

Imagine your people stranded to the point where the world has to come in and “rescue” them. We surrender our problematic people and flock to the programs of men, their philosophy, their psychology and counsel. We exalt the counsel of the wicked to help them and because we have laid aside God’s Word, his true grace, true love and true forgiveness. The repair of their souls cannot be found in the hands of those like Absalom who kiss them and steal their hearts from the Lord. People who call themselves Christians live dangerously close to the world and not for the gospel. I watch them dabble in all sorts of witchcraft, violence, idolatry of all kinds and I wonder what are they hearing in church? Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?

Stop using the pulpit for idiocy! You are endangering the souls of your people! Stop being an activities director, a marriage counselor or financial guru and start looking at the faces of your flock. Look at them burned out on the steeple, forced  to work in man-made vineyard and yet neglecting their own spiritual vintage. Start preaching and ministering to their hearts.  Look at your people, they are miserable, on the verge of spiritual collapse stuck on the steeple you sent them to repair. They trusted you as their pastor and you are more like a taskmaster.  Repent now, your candlestick is in danger of being removed!  Look to God’s Word for your guidance. He will show you the path and he will make it clear how to minister to your people. He loves them. He will rescue them. Let God’s glory and their spiritual welfare be your goal. Let God speak to them through you by his Word, and he will rescue them from being stuck on the steeple.

God is sending help to rescue these people from these taskmasters and their steeples. Just like in the Garden of Eden he will expose these lies for what they are and all your fig leaf suits and hiding behind your Bible won’t stop his presence from exposing it!

 (c) 2011 Soul Health Care Ministries, If you share this article just let them know about us and where it came from.

He Clothes You With Garments of Grace

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“Loose him and let him go.” (John 11:44).

Recently I spoke on John chapter eleven where we see Christ as the Resurrection and the Life, I felt like a tremedous vault of wealth was opened up to me. There were so many discoveries I had made about dealing with trial and it was a refresher course on Christ’s Mastery over death.  Well, I have heard preachers talk about getting rid of the grave-clothes all through the years. I will not claim to have greater insight than them but I think some may have overlooked that  not only was Lazarus wearing grave-clothes, but so was everyone else.  His sisters were wearing them, grief stricken with the loss of their brother. The disciples wearing burial clothes because they were worried Christ was going to be bludgeoned to death in a religious “rock concert” (11:8) and then they hear Jesus announced that Lazarus is dead (11:14). We admire their willingness to die with Christ (11:16)  but they have designer grave-clothes as well. In addition to all this where would we be if the professional mourners and comforters were not crying in their funeral wear (11:31)?

Some readers today have become used to wearing the old grave-clothes like their favorite pair of jeans, dress  or something that you keep in your closet that Stacey and Clinton from What Not To Wear would throw out!  Imagine if we could watch you on a video for a few days wallowing in depression or struggling with fear and guilt or  drooling with self-pity.  This is more than being “frump” man or “frump” woman. You get angry and upset because people criticize those death britches to which you are accustomed but for you, believer in Jesus, these clothes do not fit, they are ugly and they are out of date.  You are wearing clothes that have nothing to do with the life that God has tailor made for you.

When Christ saved you, he washed you with his own blood and it is his will for you to be rid of the filthy garments of the old life and behavior. Could you imagine working outside all day and then come inside take a shower and instead of putting on clean clothes you put on those same clothes that were dirty and sweaty? Yet you and I are so used to the clothes of the grave, the old ways of living; we wear them to church, work, home and bed. Is that not a picture of putting on the clothes of the old life after you have been saved?  The Bible says  to “put off” the old man (Eph 4:22; Col. 3:8-9), just like the grave clothes of Lazarus. Take off the old clothes, they represent a life you no longer live and put on the garments of grace! 

The Bible teaches that all feelings of fear, loneliness, anxiety and guilt all stem from the looming threat of death. We see these traits like fig leaves that covered the bodies of Adam and Eve  (Gen. 3: 7-10). The first fruits of sin were guilty feelings, isolation, fear  and throughout the years the effects of sin have made these filthy garments stained with the sins of old life  even more sophisticated and fashionable. We automatically reach into our closet for the old wardrobe when we believe our life, purpose and well-being is threatened. The deadly fashion designs are spun on the cursed looms of  trauma, exploitation and abuse and always seem to break out in trial. We revert so easily to the old ways!  We should not believe the lies of the old stinking, dirty old grave-clothes.

It does not take long to see that Christ continually confronts these burial clothes in his teachings. He shows faith in God as the antidote for these diseased garments. Only Christ can set people free who have, “lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” (Heb. 2:15). He calls you to start wearing some grace clothes: the clothing of forgiveness, acceptance and love.

Now Jesus may provide the clothes of life but the church must first help you to be stripped from the old bandages and  dress in the New Man Designer line. Notice that Christ did not take the garments off of Lazarus, his family and friends did. They unwound the bandages and set him free. Christ does not release you from these garments, your brethren in Christ do. They do so so because  are not only concerned about your look but your life. It does not seem approriate to be a living person dressed as a dead body.

I love Spurgeon’s comments from his message on the Unbinding of Lazarus. He says,  “A notable miracle was unquestionably worked, but it required a finishing touch. The man was wholly raised, but not wholly freed! Look, here is a living man in the garments of death! That napkin and other grave-clothes were altogether congruous with death, but they were much out-of-place when Lazarus began to live again! It is a wretched sight to see a living man wearing his shroud. Yet we have seen…hundreds of times, people quickened by Divine Grace with their grave-clothes still on them! Such was their condition that unless you observed carefully, you would think them still dead. And yet within them the lamp of heavenly Life was burning. Some said, “He is dead, look at his garments.” But the more spiritual cried, “He is not dead, but these bands must be loosed.” It is a singular spectacle—a living man hampered with the garments of death!”

You are not dead but you look drained, dying and dead when you allow fear, loneliness, anxiety and guilt to rule your life.  Ah, don’t you think that it is about time you let the pastor and the brethren help you with a new wardrobe? The church has some wonderful tailors who know about throwing out shrouds and new life clothing design.  Do you know someone whose spiritual quality of life  is being affected?  They are wound up too tightly you say? Brethren, loose them and let him go! Dear brethren are ready to peel that cheap death suit of you like an onion. Christ has made garments that belong to you. You are children of the king of kings. You are allowed to wear the garments of praise instead of the death clothes of heaviness. Lay aside the deeds of darkness, put on the armor of light. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:12-14).

One thing I noticed is that they did not strip Lazarus naked for all to see!  A bandaged dead man already put them on tilt, I think seeing Lazarus out there in his birthday suit…well you get my meaning. This would not be appropriate for a living man (Isa. 58:7). Like with old Mordecai you are the one the King of heaven delights to honor with his garments of saving grace! He says, “Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.” (see Esther 6:8-9). These are God’s garments  which he has worn and never grow old. They all have the divine scent  of salvation of produced out of the ivory palaces for Christ and his own people (Ps. 45:8). One day mortality will be swallowed by immortality and you will be clothed in heavens garments (2 Cor. 5:4).  He now promises to clothes us who have such little faith (Mt. 6:30) with the best robe, shoes and rings (Luke 15: 22). He will clothe your disgrace with a more abundant heavenly honor so that the shame of your nakedness does not appear (1 Cor. 12:23; Rev. 3:18).

Once you take off those filthy clothes… hear the God of the scriptures say, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.” (Zech. 3:7NLT).

A Healing Presence

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“Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” (John 11:36-37).

I have been studying John chapter eleven for a sermon that I will preach in the next few weeks.  Mary and Martha were shaken by the death of their brother Lazarus and the conspicuous absence of Christ. These sisters have so many questions, and only Christ can answer them yet, all they have is to turn to are those who I like to call the “uncomforters.”

One of the things that struck me is that the people who you want around in a time of problems are never there and those that you do not want around are always there.

 It is still is quite a picture how the comforters follow Mary and Martha around. They are like Job’s friends they are better at crying than counsel. I think most of us would have been better off born without the ability to have an opinion.

 This waiting  is the best and worst of times, yet we desperately need a period where we wait. It reveals if we are sincerely resting upon the Lord and leaning upon his promises or still looking to other people or things.  For it is in that time when there is no answer, no light, no activity that faith is born, built and strengthened. Faith is always born healthiest as an only child.

Sadly, the longer people go through something, there is more opportunity there is for insensitive preaching, weird advice and bad counsel. People going through the pain are like the lame man who was in the temple that Jesus passed by many times.  In Acts 3 Peter and John prayed for that man with empty pockets but full spirits and he was healed in the name of Christ. 

The truth is that we see people in our church in pain with chronic issues and we are tired of looking at them, or we think they don’t “get it.” whatever “it” is.  In reality we are the ones who do not  “get it” and they definitely do not “get it.” So we give “it” to them anyway usually in the form of cheap spiritual advice. Look, if you cannot heal or help the problem people have, then it is better you throw them a few bucks or some “silver and gold” than talk them to death.

When people get around the religious cheerleaders, spiritual quacks and misguided guru’s  people’s faith is confused and even paralyzed. When you are going through something you feel like moving to another state and changing your phone number. Everybody knows what you should do except you. You get around well-meaning people who treat you like a religious lab rat and experiment on you with all the latest and greatest stuff.  We learn from Job that you can have people quoting the Bible to you and they do it wrong and have no wisdom. Even the best medicine administered in the wrong dose and at the wrong time can cause ill effects.

We should not intimidated by pain. Jesus never shied away from confronting pain with compassion. If you are breathing, walking and talking then God can use you by filling you with the Spirit of Christ as you just are there for others.  Pain can make us a healing presence because God shows his tenderness and strength through us.

Love drives us to those in pain, because we have learned from experience that Christ is not intimidated by life’s problems. He stayed with us and strengthened us in our past trials. We know what hurt is. It hurts us to see them hurt. We are able to bring comfort to others in need because we have received comfort from the God of every comfort so we can comfort others. People who have not learned from their pain are uncomfortable.

The more pain the more comfort we receive. The comfort we receive the more we can give to others so they can patiently endure suffering (see 2 Cor. 1:3-7).

Today, instead of going to make something happen, or counseling people with some religious guesswork and theories we should just go with the love of Christ in our hearts so his loving smile and his healing presence could be felt by them through us.

 

© 2011 Stephen S. Gibney Soul Health Care

All material may be reproduced and distributed for edification, just leave a note that it was our article, please!

Take Out The Trash

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“Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.” (2 Chron. 29:4-5AV).

King Hezekiah has to clean up the mess left by his apostate father King Ahaz.  Ahaz had worshipped the revolting idol-demon Molech and set up golden images of the chief Phoenician idols or the Baalim (2 Chr. 28). He practiced idolatrous rites in God’s temple (2 Kings 16) and then prohibited the worship of Yahweh altogether. He refused to hear the prophets, led spiritual leaders astray and even killed the priests that did not compromise their faith in Yahweh. “For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.” (2 Chr 28:19).   We all know that an idol is something that is worshipped other than the true God. It is a substitute for God. It is anything that conflicts with the rightful rule and supremacy of God in any aspect of our lives. It is an idolatry that is not obvious. It is hidden. It could be a secret sin, defiant attitude, malicious thought or anything that disturbs our fellowship with God. God sees it as trash, spiritual refuse, heart garbage, spiritual pollution. We must take out the trash!

Hezekiah had no program of reform other than restoring true worship. The king’s focus was not on turning the heart of the people, but pleasing the heart of God. He is an example  to us that we must seek to glorify God, and in doing that we base our confidence. Our confidence is not in the flesh, or human ability, manipulation or ideas. Hezekiah like Enoch, “had this testimony that he pleased God” (Heb 11:5). The questions we need to ask are, “Lord is this my testimony? Is this not only what people see but what you see? Is this your witness of my life?”   The purpose of cleansing the house of the Lord is that we might glorify Christ. How different is this attitude from those who want to use the programs and ideologies of men and slap a sticker of divine endorsement on what they do. They love the praise of men more than the praise of God. They are deluded and need to take out the trash. It is God we want first and foremost and as we do what pleases Him he will do what he promised. When Jesus is lifted up, He will of His own will and power, draw all men unto Himself (Eph. 1:11).

Hezekiah grabbed hold of the remaining ministers and Pastors that had not been corrupted or killed by Ahaz and said, “Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.”  (2 Chr. 29:4-5AV).  The call to clean the holy place was not an option, it was a command. Take the trash out of the house of God! Throw out the filthy pollution and garbage out from the Holy Place. The Awakening that took place in Ephesus involved bringing garbage not only to the curb but the incinerator. “Many of those who thus believed came out of the closet and made a clean break with their secret sorceries. All kinds of witches and warlocks came out of the woodwork with their books of spells and incantations and made a huge bonfire of them. Someone estimated their worth at fifty thousand silver coins.” (Acts 19:18-19 Message). That music is trash-silence it! That heretical doctrine is trash-toss it!  That practice is unbiblical trash-stop it!

“So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord” (2 Chron 29:16). When the priests entered the holy place, they entered in secret before God. They were to remove those things which were defiling this sacred place. No one else had seen this desecration. They brought out the unclean things. What was unholy was exposed publicly and removed. It is our private, inner life which needs this deep cleansing. It is in this very place, this chamber of our deepest secrets that we must renounce those things hidden because of shame and, in humility of soul, receive Christ’s cleansing word (John 15:3).

This cleansing must become a way of life, but it does not have to take a lifetime. For Hezekiah and the people with him, it occurred in a matter of a few days. “Thus the service of the house of the Lord was established again. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly” (2 Chron 29:35-36).  The key here is this: the cleansing of the temple was the highest priority of  Hezekiah’s life. When we are fully engaged in the process of repentance, breakthroughs can come about suddenly. Indeed, the prophet Malachi tells us that the Lord “whom You seek, will suddenly come to His temple” (Mal 3:1). As we restore the house of the Lord to purity and cleanse the holy place of our hearts for Christ, He will indeed come “suddenly” into our midst.

When Jesus returns suddenly he will come for a, “radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:27NIV). He calls to us and says, “It is time to plant righteous living and harvest mercy. It is time to break up the hard ground of your hearts, it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and rains righteousness on you. Don’t just show outward regret or sorrow, rip open your heart and return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.” (see Hosea 10:12; Joel 2:13).

May He suddenly and wonderfully visit you today as you determine to take out the trash.

© 2011 Stephen S. Gibney Soul Health Care

All material may be reproduced and distributed for edification, just leave a note that it was our article, please

THE HEART WHISPERER

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God tells the prophet Isaiah to speak comfortably or literally to speak tenderly to the heart of his people (Isaiah 40:2).  The heart is the priceless human soul (Mt 16:26) the source of our affection and appetites and it is the divine target of redemption. I was pondering the verse where King David says, “No man cared for my soul.” (Ps. 142:4). That is no feeble accusation of today’s church. Many times we have failed to do this. We talk to people’s felt needs and offer life enhancement principles but we have such difficulty addressing heart issues and their real needs concerning Christ, sin, repentance, forgiveness and spiritual birth. Perhaps we fear turning them off to church and God? Maybe we fear not being “loving” enough? We can give dangerous superficial comfort to people in the name of being sensitive to their needs.

Christ sees past all the surface issues and looks into the inner recesses of the heart. This does not refer to the Son of God using a soft voice when he speaks. It refers to those who realize that God’s still small voice through the scriptures carried by the Holy Spirit speaks life to the wounded human heart and lifeless spirit. While we are to be those who tenderly and affectionately speak his truth, let us not be confused about genuine comfort! The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter and yet he functions in his office to convince “the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8NLT).  If that is what the Holy Spirit does-why don’t we do the same in our message?

HEARING CHRIST ABOVE THE NOISE

Popular preachers along with the mega-church phenomenon engage in marketing, religious entertainment, mushy self-esteem psychology and motivational speaking. There is a developing concern that droves of people will end up filling these religious stadiums and campuses that have never been saved or born again. These preachers and churches run the risk of being what Job called, “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2) and when it comes to the soul they could easily be called, “physicians of no value.”  (Job 13:4). God alone knows the heart; he alone knows its condition and cure! They do not preach the heart of God in the scriptures and thus do not reach the heart of people! 

There are so many religious salesmen crying for our attention today producing torrents of spiritual confusion and biblical error.  They try to sell you whirlwinds in their books, earthquakes in their seminars, and fire in a bottle. But few offer the free gifts of the still small voice in the scriptures as sufficient! Christ the Heart Whisperer has bent low to bring people out of this “horrible pit” (Ps. 40:2) or a “pit of noise” and wants to “set their feet upon the rock” of Bible promises. Christ’s still small voice in the scriptures will be lifted up above this racket and that voice that they were deaf to will become like the roar of the ocean waves in the new heart and in the real church (Rev. 1:15).

FOOTSTEPS OF THE HEART

What is God’s assessment of the human heart?  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). That is what God says about the heart-GOD! The word deceitful in Hebrew is two adjectives which form the phrase “footprints on a path.”  With every heart beat there is a footstep, it shows the direction the sinner’s life is going. They are heart-prints. In the scene of a crime footprints would serve as crucial evidence to showing the presence of a person who perpetuated the crime. God even now is tracking the criminal footprints of people’s heart or heart-prints and he acts in wrath against them (Rom. 1:18)!  He says, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The death sentence is the wage-or what the sinner deserves (Ezek. 18:4). Sin is dangerous and results in infinite crimes and an infinite penalty against an infinite God. The apostle Paul said the sin in his heart, “deceived me, and…killed me.” (Rom. 7:11). Every person who is not saved is dead spiritually (Eph. 2:1-3). That is a great problem and need.

 

CHRIST EXPOSES THE HEART

The heart was not hidden from the eyes of the Son of God. Jesus said, “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mk 7:20-23NLT). How can one preach self-esteem to those who should be ashamed that they have committed treasonous crimes against the crown of heaven? The only hope of the sinner is that his self-esteem is brought into the dust and he sees the glory of God. The Heart Whisperer exposes the real condition of the heart. 

THE HEARTPRINTS OF CHRIST

Christ whose heart full of love, made his way up to Calvary marking each step with heart footprints to pay for your sin and satisfy the anger of God against the sins of the heart. God only saw his footprints not mine, not yours. There his footprints were stained with blood as he bore our sins to the Cross. Now the evidence of our crimes and sins fell upon him! The justice of God tracked it all the way to Calvary.  Christ took my sin, gave me his righteousness and was judged on my behalf and I went away free. He who lighted the light of the sun and furnished the light of the night, he who made springs in dry lands, the Lord and of the heaven and earth, the sea and rivers, the sun moon and stars, the lofty mountains and the lowly valleys, the God of the heaven and in heaven and under heaven. Alas, we have seen the son of the living God stretched out on a cross. Alas, the body that possessed wisest dignity had been plunged into blood. A crown of thorns was placed about his beauteous head; the blood of Christ is flowing from his bleeding side; this cross is like the parting of the day from night!  The Heart Whisperer comforted me. He took the punishment I deserved. The Heart Whisperer spoke salvation into my heart of those who he calls and his heart-prints mark our lives forever.

TERMINAL HEART CONDITION

God’s says the heart is desperately wicked which refers to an incurable disease. The heart is injured by sin, it is bruised and broken. It has a life threatening illness. “This is what the Lord says: “Your injury is incurable, a terrible wound. There is no one to help you or to bind up your injury. No medicine can heal you.” (Jer. 30:12-13NLT). The Lord says again, “Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick. You are battered from head to foot-covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds-without any soothing ointments or bandages.” (Isa. 1:5-6NLT). It is not just life’s trauma, exploitation and abuse that broke your heart. It was already broken by sin when you were born (Ps. 51:5). The heart is helplessly sinful, it is broken beyond repair, it is wounded beyond relief, and it is beyond human treatment. Only Christ can heal the cancer of the heart! The Lord who sees the heart is the only qualified surgeon of the soul.  No psychology or religion can help you. Christ is the help of the helpless. Here is a novel idea: preach more about Jesus Christ! He is the Heart Whisperer he can only speak a word and they will be healed.

THE STUBBORN HEART OF ROCK

The Bible warns of the hardening that comes from the, “deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). Sin deceives the heart and hardens it, making it cold, brittle, and resistant to change.  When the message of the gospel comes to the hearts of some people, they are like Pharaoh (the poster boy of hard hearts) and in their hearts they say, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him …I do not know the Lord.”  (Ex 5:2). God’s reply to them is, “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Rom. 2:5).  Unless there is a one hundred and eighty degree change, the hard hearted person will face God’s perfect justice one day and their unrepentant soul will be smashed upon the rocks of his righteous anger. There is no safety outside of Christ. Their refusal to turn from sin is storing more and more wrath where only an eternity in hell will satisfy the justice of God against them.  That is a deep problem-a great need wouldn’t you say? Only the fire of the Holy Spirit can thaw a frozen heart.  Preach to meet that need. Only Christ can conquer the feral, untamed human heart, only he can save the soul! No methodology, no program, no other religion can help the hard heart. The Holy Spirit is speaking to hearts here though scripture, “Today if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts.” (Heb. 3:7-8NLT). The Heart Whisperer may be speaking to you tonight.

THE NEW HEART OF THE NEW BIRTH

God tells us in Ezekiel’s prophecy that he will take away the heart of stone and give us in its place a heart of flesh. Jesus tells us, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). Here is the most foundational, cardinal and essential truth the Heart Whisperer can speak! YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!  It at the very heart of the gospel message: regeneration must take place in order for a person to repent and trust in Christ for salvation.

W.A. Criswell comments, “How can you preach the gospel to a stone?  And how can you argue with a rock?  The man in his nature is hard.  He is indifferent.  He will pass by the sacrifice and the cross of Jesus without any repercussion in his soul at all.  He is lost.  He is hard.  His heart is like a stone.  And you can talk to him, and you can plead with him, and you can speak to him of the grace of the Lord.  He is impervious.  He is unmoved.  He is untouched.  His heart is like a rock.  He is lost. God must do something. 

God must give him a new heart if he is ever responsive, if he is ever teachable, if he is ever sensitive, if he ever repents. But when God gives a man a new heart, he is almost unrecognizable compared to what once he was.  You talk to him about the Lord Jesus and point to the cross and he will weep.  You talk to him about the grace of God, and his heart will overflow.  You speak to him about the Spirit, and the call, and the way of the Lord Jesus, and he is all attention.  He has a new heart that is the difference.”

HEART MEDICINE

Please stand. The Holy Spirit wants to introduce you to Jesus Christ who is the warm satisfying bread of life to those who are spiritually hungry (John 6:35) and he is cool running water to the spiritually thirsty (John 4:14).  I think of the scriptures that says, “Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.” (Mk. 10:49).  Only he can satisfy! What he has done for others he can do for you! You never need go, “hungry while the daily bread of grace is on the table of mercy.” (CHS). The Holy Spirit will be placed in your heart so he keeps fresh and alive in your new heart your desire to love and obey God.  Isaiah 53 asks who will believe the report about Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. You see him despised so you could be loved, rejected so you could be accepted, experiencing the depths of grief so you could have the heights of joy. He carried your weakness and the burden of your sorrows and was punished for your sins! You see him pierced for your rebellion, crushed for your sins, beaten and whipped so you could be whole. 

You must see this as the one and only remedy for sin. You must see that God will only accept one payment for sin and the propitiation of Christ to appease his justice against you.  You must see that Christ and his death is the one and only way to be saved. You must put your whole confidence in what Christ did in payment for sin. Lay aside your good works. They cannot save! Put down your sin and turn away from them and call upon the Lord to save you from the power of evil. !  Through a message like this it is my prayer that God will shoot a bullet of the gospel into some soul that triggers a wound that only he can heal. “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.” (Job 5:18).  Such is the way of the Heart Whisperer.

You Are Alive-For Now

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Ever ask a person how they are and they reply, “I am alive.”

King Solomon says being alive is much better than you realize.

“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”  (Eccl. 9:4-6).

That is the brutal staggering truth of the book of Ecclesiastes: the whole idea is that life itself is vanity-an unpredictable bubble that bursts. That is why it is useless to worry or be afraid of tommorow.  God has given you life today. Enjoy your lot in life, your family, your marriage or singleness, the food or lack thereof, the designer or second hand clothes.

Benefit from being alive.

Today you can breathe in fresh air, see sunshine or feel rain. Tommorow’s appointments  can be scheduled but never confirmed. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14).  The clock is ticking and time is up before you know it. It is a short, frail existence and when death comes it will brush you aside like an old cobweb, but for now you are alive.

The preacher is shouting from and pounding on his Old Testament pulpit  that to be alive no matter your station in life  is better than being dead.  Death is not only the great equalizer, but it humbles all its victims great and small.  A living undomesticated mangy dog compared to a living lion is lowest on the food chain. But a mongrel with his heart beating is better than the muted roar of  the dead King of Beasts.

No matter how insignificant you feel about your job, you are alive. Whether or not you like  your appearance-you are alive. No matter how little or much income you earn-you are alive.  It does not matter that no one knows you, or if everyone knows you.  

People may hate you, they may love you-but what does that matter when you are dead? Can you feel offended, insecure, jealous or even hate when you lie six feet under. Can you love, forgive and be generous when you are dead. You cannot see anyone’s smile or frown from the vantage point of a casket. You cannot! You come in naked you go out naked and nothing from this life is transferred into eternity. Live alive. Be alive. Today is here. Tommorow may never come for you if death gets there first.

You may be sick and in pain, but it is a sign of life. You may be lying on a hospital bed but you are alive. You may have lost the closest friend or relative and you live with heartache but you are alive. Why give up on life that has not given up on you? Life is your best friend right now. It is a gift from God. Count your blessings because no matter how you feel about your life you are alive and that is huge.

Today you have something you do not have when you are dead and that is opportunity. Today is the great mercy God has given you.

The reason this is important is because you know that one day you will die and you have the opportunity to prepare for death. Only those who are prepared to die are ready to live. You will face God one day and you must prepare. Hear the voice of the preacher today. “This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all.” (Eccl. 9:3a).  The KJV describes death as the one event. The death event is coming. It comes to all.  While you are alive do not ignore it. While there is breath there is hope.

Adam ushered in the death event with his sin in the Garden of Eden, “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12). You do not realize what a rebel and traitor to God you have been yet he extends another day of mercy toward you.  Isaiah said it well, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  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.’ (Isaiah 55:6-7).   Prepare for death by repenting of your sins, believing the message that Christ died for sinners to give them eternal life.  He was the Lion of Lions and yet he died for dead dogs like us. That may be offensive but what are our lives compared to the holiness of God?

Inside the sinner is dead. Their spirit is dead.  This person has no hunger or love for God in this state and all they think of is selfishness and conceit. In their religion they are dead. In their good deeds they are dead.  But even though they have despised their God he comes to them with the message that Christ died for sinners. God in his mercy has let you live up to this point-what will you do knowing one day you will die?

Jesus Christ rose from the dead so you would not have to lie in the grave. If you rely on anything: good works, religious affiliation, social activities, anything except what Christ transacted on the cross you will die in your sins and nothing will save you from the God you have offended.  You cannot follow your own path, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov. 14:12). While there is hope turn to the Price of Life Jesus Christ who will, “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb 2:15).

Revival

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“It is not surprising that the Puritan movement in England believed so firmly in revivals of religion as the great means by which the Church advances in the world…When the Holy Spirit is poured out in a day of power the result is bound to affect whole communities and even nations. Conviction of sin, an anxiety to possess the Word of God, and dependence upon those truths which glorify God in man’s salvation, are inevitable consequences….to the Christians of that era, however, the explanation was entirely different. They read in Scripture that when the Spirit is poured from on high then the wilderness becomes a fruitful field [Isaiah 32:15].

They read also, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts’ [Zechariah 4:6], and they attributed all the spiritual renewal of their age to the mercy of God. In taking this view they understood at once that all the successes of the Reformation were repeatable — as repeatable as the victories of the apostolic age — for Scripture places no limitation upon the Spirit’s work of glorifying Christ and extending His kingdom.

Thus there was recovered at the time of the Reformation belief in what may be called revival Christianity, and the attention which the Puritans who followed gave to this area of truth profoundly influenced the following centuries and gave to the English-speaking world what may be called the classic school of Protestant belief in revival.” (Ian Murray)

Some pastors teach that revival is not necessary since Christians are already alive in Christ.  But they forget that even Christians can very easily experience a decay in their passion for Christ that used to be like a great fire can become just smoking embers among the ashes of past experience. Their people are not There may be a great intermission or formality in the discharge of commanded duty. The mind, which once with delight and admiration, could meditate upon God and Christ, and the covenant, and things that are above, may come to lose its relish for these things, and to dote upon the transitory fading vanities of a present world. The common gifts of the Spirit, through carnal ease, and defect of employment, may be in a great measure blasted: and, which is worst of all, the saving graces, and fruits of the Spirit, may come to be woefully impaired as to their former degrees and acting. But now, this partial death of believers, again, is twofold: there is a deadness which is felt by God’s people, and a deadness which is not felt; “gray hairs are here and there upon them, sometimes, and they do not behold them.” The Lord was departed from Samson, and he wist not, Judg. 16:20. But then there is a deadness which is felt, when God’s people have a sense of their deadness, and are lamenting it. And it is an evidence of spiritual life, or of some revival, when the Lord’s people are beginning to cry out with the church, (Psa. 85:6:) “Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee? — Why hast thou hardened our heart from thy fear?” (Isa. 63:17).

 

 

For Whom Did Christ Die?

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“For whom did Christ die?” 

The nature of the atonement is not just a theological question. Are you interested in that question?  That is a good sign. A sign that grace may already be at work in your life, because you care about your soul. But there must be more you care about? Oh even now there is mercy for you.

It is the question you must ask after the first. “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? (Mt 27:22). Who is Christ? The second, “For whom did Christ die? There is a clear answer: “Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6).  The Bible teaches he died the as “just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18). The sinless one for sinners went eagerly to the cross to drink deeply the fathers cup of wrath and the damnation of sinners so he might save them. With all his energy and his mighty he went forth from heaven to earth to seek and save the lost!

He died for the impious: those who threw God and godliness out of their lives! All have sinned, all have fallen short of God’s glory. They have broken his laws and stumble into disobedience thoughtlessly. For them life is a bad movie. These ungodly who have no fear of God but they only have a contempt for God. They are destitute of any fear of God or love for God. DESTITUTE, impoverished, abandoned to sin!  They do not seek God but either coldly walk away, or wildly run in the other direction. They are hostile to God and his laws, they are profane, vulgar and harsh! It is clear they despise God.  This is such a sad, yet hateful condition. 

Some will say they do not despise God of the Bible, but they are so trapped by their idolatrous imagination that they think they love  the God of the Bible. No, they love another god they call God.  A god, an idol of their own thoughts. How wretched and miserable a condition! When in fact they love a god that is not the God of scripture. Introduce to them the God of the Bible and his Son Jesus and you get arguments and anger.  This is because the thrice holy God, and his awesome Son who are supremely and infinitely holy is their enemy. This God who gets in their face contradicts what they believe about God.

“The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” (Ps. 2:2-3NLT). It is the delusional aspect of the sinful nature that makes sin its most dangerous-the deceitfulness of sin that hardens the heart. They see themselves as slaves to God, and yet do not see that they are slaves to sin.  

Yet Christ died for us while we were yet sinners!  It boggles the mind. I weep before God that this thought. How I am such an undeserving sinner, only worthy of his anger. I was a child of disobedience and thus a child of wrath!  

I am amzed at god’s grace! I can only weep, while I was a sinner, at the point I was furthest from God, it was then that Jesus died for me!

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

Jesus died for you dear one! At your worst, beyond hope he saw you and he came to rescue you! Jesus saw you not for what you would become but for what you were. This is a love alien to any love we could ever know.

How can anyone believe the popular notion that Christ died on the cross without anyone in mind even “if anyone did not come to him” and be saved?  You and I are saved as a specific target of Sovereign grace!  For whom did Christ die? “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Tim. 1:15).

How can people assert John 3:16 and say he died with no one in mind? “God so loved the world”  insists that he specifically died for someone!  To say he only suffered is a violation of scripture. his death was a payment for sin and an appeasement of infinitely offended God.  “For this assertion is an insult to the wisdom of God the Father and to the merit of Jesus Christ, and it is contrary to Scripture. For the Savior speaks as follows: I lay down my life for the sheep, and I know them (John 10:15, 27). And Isaiah the prophet says concerning the Savior: When he shall make himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand (Isa. 53:10)…” (Canons of Dordt)

For whom did Christ die? “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement that brought us peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.!” (Isa. 53:5). I love what Charles Spurgeon said, “The gospel does not come to us as a premium for virtue, but it presents us with forgiveness for sin. It is not a reward for health, but a medicine for sickness.”