UNDERSTANDING THE HEART 2

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

Mark 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

In this article, I will share with you the heart. Doctors, scientists, and researchers believe that the heart is the best organ in the body. We believe humankind will cease to exist when the heart fails to beat. We hear people die of heart failure. We know the heart pumps blood through the circulatory system to every part of the body. 

The heart never rests because it revitalizes (supplies oxygen and eliminates waste from the body) the organs of the body to function effectively. Today, some surgeons can transplant a new heart. Such is the world. Technology to the highest level. Because of the advancement in technology, most people have become atheists.

There are some things scientists and researchers can never understand because it goes beyond research, experimentation, and observation. The scientist can never explain the workings of the supernatural because it is beyond explanation. 

The scientist cannot explain how sin entered the world. How the dead and sick receive an instant miracle. There are many things science can never explain because it is beyond their wisdom.

God allowed the researchers to discover what He permits. We must humble ourselves and seek the wisdom of God because His wisdom is above every wisdom. We must thank God for their discoveries. They (scientists and researchers) should not allow discoveries as a basis for rejecting the existence of God. 

Philosophers and Psychologists have made great discoveries about humankind. Their effort is great; we appreciate it because God allowed them to discover. Every discovery made by a man already existed (See Ecclesiastes 1:9). Every discovery that exalts evil is not from God.

There is nothing new under the sun. God knows the best, and He is the best Person we must enquire from. I am not against technology because it has helped us advance in various ways. We must credit our wisdom to God Almighty because He is the one who gave us the brain to study. If God takes away our minds, what will we depend on to study and make research? Our discoveries should never make us proud because God resists the proud (see James 4:6).

Humankind consists of three entities (See 1 Thessalonians 5:23). We are spirit beings with a soul that lives in a temporal body. The body will perish when the spirit and the soul depart from the body. We should not concentrate only on the material vessel (body) and ignore the spirit and the soul. Our material vessel (body) has five senses.

• Our eye enables us to see.
• Our ears enable us to hear.
• Our nose enables us to smell.
• Our tongue enables us to taste.
• Our body enables us to feel and touch.

Aside from these senses, there is another vessel that lives in the body. Get my book titled “How to Walk and Live in the Spirit” for a profound revelation on this topic (Human spirit, Holy Spirit, the soul, and the body). The heart is a central part of humankind. We can interpret it as the soul, the spirit, or the Holy Spirit in a different part of the scripture.

From the above text (See Matthew 7:21-23), we can see that Jesus Christ speaks about the heart, so the best word to replace the word “HEART” is the soul in the context of this scripture. The soul of mankind makes up our feelings, our will, desire, emotions, and intellect. Our soul makes us responsible for our actions. Animals use their instincts. 

Humankind uses its soul to make better decisions. Our soul makes us rational beings. With our soul, we rise above the standards of animals and other creatures. Our soul makes us liable for every decision we make in life. The Word of God further states that the heart of man is desperately wicked. The feelings, emotions, desires, will, and intellect of man (someone without the Holy Spirit) are desperately wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, AND DESPERATELY WICKED: who can know it?

This means that a man or a woman without Jesus Christ is disastrous. We should never put all our trust in humankind. The Word of God states that we are cursed if we put all our trust in humankind and reject the Word of God.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; CURSED BE THE MAN THAT TRUSTETH IN MAN, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Jeremiah 17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Why is God making these statements? God is making these statements because humankind can lie and deceive us (See Numbers 23:19). We should never trust ourselves because our own strength will fail us. We must always depend on the Holy Spirit because He is our helper and the Spirit of truth. Apostle Peter made a vow to follow Jesus Christ wherever he went. The same Peter cursed and denounced Jesus Christ when he was in danger (See Matthew 26:69-75). This is one of the reasons we must place all our trust in God and partially trust humankind.

Jesus said, out of the heart proceeds;

1. Evil thoughts (imagining something bad should happen to someone, thoughts that do not glorify God).
2. Adulteries (Extramarital affairs, engaging in a sexual act with other people you are not married to).
3. Fornications (Incest, gay, masturbation, lesbianism, oral sex, fondling, ungodly kissing, sexual intercourse before marriage, harlotry, womanizing).
4. Murders (Hatred, poisoning someone to death, killing someone physically)
5. Thefts (Stealing people’s properties).
6. Covetousness (Lusting after temporal things, greediness).
7. Wickedness (Plotting, planning evil to trap an innocent person).
8. Deceit (Pretense, craftiness, subtility).
9. Lasciviousness (Promoting ungodly activities, for example, night club parties and sponsoring ungodly programs, funerals).
10. Evil eye (Jealousy, discontentment, desire to get what belongs to someone).
11. Blasphemy (Speaking against God and his servants, challenging the Word of God, speaking evil of people).
12. Pride (Seeing yourself above everyone, looking down on the poor and the weak, despising the poor, dominating the weak, challenging God’s Word, obeying Satan and demons).
13. Foolishness (Lack of understanding, never accepting mistakes, not willing to learn).

People blame Satan and demons for the sin they commit. After the sin, they attribute the sin to the devil. We know that the devil sometimes manipulates people to sin. Some people will intentionally sin and ask for forgiveness. People will work wickedness against their neighbours and ask God to forgive them. 

Do you think God is a fool? You are active in the sin and you think God is a fool to forgive you when you know that you are working against your neighbour. Every sin has a penalty (See Romans 6:23). God may forgive you, but you can never escape the reward of sin. Get my book titled “Spiritual Keys for Life” for a profound revelation on sin.

God checks the motives of our hearts. He knows whether we are acting out of ignorance or we have desired in our hearts to tempt Him. God had mercy on Saul (later became Apostle Paul) because he persecuted the Christians out of ignorance (See 1 Timothy 1:12-13). God killed Ananias and Sapphira because they intentionally willed in their heart to tempt Him and His servants.

No man on earth should trust an unbeliever with all his heart because their soul is desperately wicked. They can kill for money. They can destroy anything they have purposed to possess. Even among the body of Christ, there are some wolves in the sheep's clothing. You need the gift of discernment to fish them out. God does not permit wicked people to live a longer life because they are abomination onto Him (See Proverbs 10:27).

PRAYER

Make restitution to the one you have intentionally offended before you pray this prayer.

Heavenly Father, I repent of my evil ways, please forgive me of my sins, and create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me in Jesus Christ name. 

Amen.

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