God is MOST Interested in the Condition of Our Hearts

God is MOST Interested in the Condition of Our Hearts

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – Written July 6, 2013 – Published July 18, 2013

Particularly around patriotic holidays, we tend to hear references to 2 Chronicles 7:14 tossed around in conversation.  You are likely familiar with this verse, even if you don't know the reference.  It has become quite popular in our culture among many who are seeking political change, as well as, those who are genuinely seeking God's will.  Here is what the verse says:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

 

We usually hear about prayer in the context of a change in Washington DC, but we never hear about what the verse itself actually says and we never hear about its actual Scriptural context.  For example, when is the last time you heard one of these political activist types talk about confessing their own sin and the sins of our nation before the Lord?  Or have you heard of any political group who is specifically courting Christians through their use of the Bible, to actually hold prayer rallies where they are humbling themselves before God for the purposes of seeking His will, WHATEVER His will might be, regardless of their own personal or group political agenda? 

 

This brings us to our application today.  God is not interested in our politics.  God is interested in the condition of our hearts.  The condition of our heart determines our politics.  Does this mean that God has no interest in the governmental affairs of mankind?  Absolutely not.  God has ordained government and allows those in power to be there.

The political agenda is not God's agenda.  If you have gotten sucked into to the political fray, I would encourage you to get "unsucked" so you can evaluate the truth of Scripture.  Am I telling you that there is no merit in political activism?  No.  I am telling you that there are greater and more important things at stake than a political agenda.  Please allow me to start with this thought:  God is MOST interested in our hearts.  Our hearts determine our politics.  

 

It is my contention that America's greatest problem is truly not political in nature, but spiritual.  We will never return to the political structure of our founding if we don't first return to our spiritual roots with the Lord.  America was never great because of its politics.  She was great because of her faith and trust in Almighty God!  The Bible talks about the importance of guarding our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 (AMP)

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

What you allow into your heart, in other words, what you allow into the center of your being, will flow out into the rest of your life!  We know this is true.  We become like the things we surround ourselves with.  We take on the traits of the people we associate with on a regular basis.  We become like the books, magazines, blogs, and other things we read.  Why do you suppose David wrote:

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

We are no different than a computer:  GIGO – Garbage In, Garbage Out!  We must guard our hearts and minds to prevent trash from being deposited there.

A strong America patterned after the plan our founders used is a good thing, right?  I would agree.  But is that the best thing...the way God would have it now???  That is an interesting question.  One for which I have no answer to give you today.  I ask it for this specific reason:  Are you willing to seek God's face?  Literally to seek out His will above all other considerations and accept it regardless of any preconceived ideas you may have?  Do you really want to see the Lord's Prayer enacted literally?  Remember, what it says:

Matthew 6:9b–13 (NKJV)

^9b Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This is not a trick question.  Are you willing to sacrifice your idea of America to have God's will for America?  It's a VALID question that, I think, far too few of us have actually considered. 

Please allow me to put this into an easier context to grasp.  Let's talk about the the refining process and the refiner's fire.  What is the purpose of the refining process?  Its purpose is to remove impurities from metals.  How is it done?  Usually through a process of adding heat, pressure, and a catalyst to separate the material being purified from the impurities imbedded within the material.  

Let's look at gold as an example of the refining process.  Do you know what the number one impurity removed from gold would be?  It is silver.  A mineral that is also very precious, but not nearly as precious as the gold.  In the refiner's fire, God often removes precious things from us to leave us with what is most precious and most important.  Who wouldn't keep silver if given the opportunity?  But will you sacrifice some silver to have more pure gold?  Can we trust God enough to desire His will over our own will?  Can we trust Him enough to refine out the things that may be good to leave us with His best?

I want you to read 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the Amplified Translation:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP)

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

When it comes to living out 2 Chronicles 7:14, are we willing to humble ourselves before God and pray to confess our own sins, as well as, the sins of our nation, so that we can be clean before the Lord?  Do we have a broken heart and contrite spirit before God's throne? 

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

Do we seek God's will with a true craving, a true desire to know it and fulfill it?

Matthew 7:7–8 (NKJV)

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

When we humble ourselves before God and pray to Him seeking His face and His will, the Lord promises to hear us from Heaven.  As it says in Psalm 40:1:

Psalm 40:1 (NKJV)

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.

As the rest of 2 Chronicles 7:14 goes, so goes Psalm 40:2:

Psalm 40:2 (NKJV)

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

 

If God weren't interested in our hearts, He would not have sent Jesus to save the souls of mankind.  There would be no John 3:16:

John 3:16 (NKJV)

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

Let's look at 2 Chronicles 7:14 again:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP)

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Now that the Lord has addressed His concern for our heart's condition in the first half of 2 Chronicles 7:14, He is now willing to hear us from Heaven, to forgive our sins, and heal our land.  This is a tremendous verse, but it is a single verse that is part of a much larger context.  I would encourage you to read the context surrounding the Lord's words to Solomon so that you can grasp the impact and importance of why God said the things that He said.  You can gain a good perspective of the context by starting your reading at 2 Chronicles 5:11 and reading through 7:22.  This is the story of the dedication of the Temple Solomon built for the Lord in Jerusalem, Solomon's prayer to the Lord before the people, and God's response to Solomon.  God wants a personal relationship with you and with me.  All that is required is a heart relationship with Him by receiving salvation though the finished work of Jesus!

 

God's paramount concern for you and for me is the condition of our heart.  Do we, in our hearts know His Son, Jesus, as our Savior?  All of history has been focused upon that question.  All of the Bible has pointed toward God's supreme interest in each of our hearts.  Don't you think we should also be interested in them too?  That is why Jesus' last words before He ascended into Heaven concerned telling others about the Gospel...looking out for their heart condition!

Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Knowing Jesus as YOUR Savior is as easy as A-B-C!

A-Admit you are a sinner.  Repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

B-Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Romans 10:9–10, 13 (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Stand on the TRUTH as Truth

Stand on the TRUTH as Truth

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – July 17, 2013

"Sometimes Christians have had to rethink the priorities of the Gospel in the light of experience"-Rt. Rev. Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury – What a fool!  Since when do we judge God's priorities by our own experiences?  Truth IS NOT RELATIVE and cannot be discarded when it no longer suits us.  Rev. Holtam's statement was made in reference to homosexual marriage and the continued blocking of the homosexual lifestyle.  He likened the current state of affairs for homosexuals as equal to those who endured slavery in centuries past.  It is no wonder that Dr. Francis Schaeffer decried the falling away of the mainline Christian denominations as the "failure to stand upon truth as truth."  David Platt, author of Radical and Radical Together, said in an article last week: "We have set our minds on the things of the flesh, which is hostile to God, and we exchange God's Word for our experience."  ln other words, we exchange the immutable truth for a lie, the eternal for the temporary.  Romans 1:20-32 speaks to this issue and other related issues.  The rejection of God and truth has consequences.

I ran across the article quoting the Rt. Rev. Holtam and could not remain silent because he is supposed to be a man of God.  He should stand upon the truth of God's Word, not try to twist it to suit his or society's whim.  I am significantly more interested in the TRUTH than in single issues like homosexuality because if you are willing to stand on the TRUTH, the issues will fall into line in their proper place and context.  I don't often call out a man (or woman), but I stand by my earlier comment that the Rt. Rev. Holtam is a fool who is leading people away from the Lord by preaching something other than His Word.  I would call on him to be more interested in what God thinks than what his constituency thinks. Remember Jesus' words of caution in Matthew 10:28 (NKJV) "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

References:

Rt. Rev. Nicholas Holtam article:  'Reinterpret your Bible': Bishop bashes gay marriage opponents

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/403768/Reinterpret-your-Bible-Bishop-bashes-gay-marriage-opponents

Rev. David Platt Article:  In 'sex-crazed culture,' Bible makes 'no exceptions'

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40719

Joy to the World –The Message of Christmas

Joy to the World –The Message of Christmas

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

 

Luke 2:8–20 (NLT)

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.  “Don’t be afraid!” he said.  “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign:  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem!  Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.  And there was the baby, lying in the manger.  After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.  It was just as the angel had told them.

We have a lot to celebrate this time of year.  The commemoration of the birth of our Savior Jesus is a reason for great joy. Joy is the message of the third week of Advent.

Can you imagine being a shepherd sitting in a field watching over your sheep when all of a sudden an angel appears before you and declares, "Don't be afraid!"?  Is there anyone here who wouldn’t be startled by that?  Terrified?  But this angel was on a special mission from God the Father.  This angel was sent to the shepherds to declare the birth of God's one and only Son, Jesus, the long anticipated Savior of the world.  This very special birth announcement burst the very seams of Heaven with God's joy.  God the Father had finally revealed His plan for man's salvation to the world in the form of a newborn babe.

Jesus, the very son of God, had been revealed in flesh, on Earth.  The angel declared, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people."  Yes, there was excitement in Heaven, God the Father's joy spread to the angels, and the angels declared God's good pleasure to the shepherds.  The birth announcement of the King of kings and Lord of lords was made to the lowest class of society, lowly shepherds sitting under the stars keeping watching over their sheep.  The angel brought “Good news that will bring great joy to all people!” Indeed, Jesus not only brought salvation to the Jews but to all people.  People of every class and of every background.  God's gift, His joy was to be shared with all people everywhere and for all time!  Can I get an "AMEN?"

To further emphasize the point, the angel was joined by a great Heavenly host.  Legions of angels joined with the announcing angel and began singing praise to God for sending His son, Jesus, to earth.  It was a truly joyous occasion in Heaven and on earth.  What a startling, terrifying, overwhelming, and reassuring moment it must have been for those shepherds.  They were witnesses to something wonderful that had never happened before and it moved them to action.

After the angels departed and returned to Heaven, the shepherds talked amongst themselves and said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem!  Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.  And there was the baby, lying in the manger.”

Everything the angel had told them was true.  This event changed their lives.  It so impacted them that they told others about their encounter with the angel and about the legions of angels that also appeared glorifying God and singing praises to Him.  They told others about God's one and only Son who'd been born in Bethlehem as their Savior.  They told all the folks they met that everything was just as the angel said it would be.

The shepherds shared in the joy of Heaven when they sought out and found the Christ child, when they glorified God, and when they told others what God had done.  We too can share the joy of Heaven.  We can and should do the same things that the shepherds did that night long ago in Bethlehem.  God has revealed His Son, Jesus, His special Christmas gift to us!  He has done this through His Word. 

John 1:1–3 (NKJV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

He has done this through nature. 

Psalm 19:1 (NASB95)

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

He has done this though the circumstances of our lives.  Jesus wants to know us in a real and personal way.

Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost

The first thing we should do upon hearing the good news, just like the shepherds did, is to seek out and find Christ.  What I am really talking about here is developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Why?  Jesus loved us so much that He left the comforts of Heaven and set aside His divine prerogatives to die for our sins.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus being fully God and fully man specifically came to Earth to restore the relationship between man and God that had been broken apart by sin.  Jesus, by His sinless life, by His substitutionary death on the cross for us, by His burial, and by His resurrection from the dead; has become the final atoning sacrifice for sin, for all time, for all mankind.  The joy in Heaven at Jesus' birth was because God's plan of grace for mankind was finally revealed.

Jesus is the name that is above all names.  Jesus, as God's only Son and as the second member of the Godhead, is worthy of all honor, all glory, and all praise in His own right.  But, because of His atoning sacrifice to make our salvation from sin and eternal death possible, God the Father has elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor. 

Philippians 2:9–11 (NKJV)

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

All of creation will bow to Jesus and confess Him as the Lord of lords and King of kings, in this life or the one to come.  The difference is will you be staying in Heaven with Him afterwards, or will you be departing in shame for the eternal torment of Hell for rejecting Jesus' free gift of eternal life?

Receiving God's gift of salvation is as easy as A...B...C!

A-Admit Admit you are a sinner.  Repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord

B-Believe Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.  This is an 18-inch decision.  You have made the mental acknowledgement, now you transfer that knowledge to your heart and confess it with your mouth.

Romans 10:9–10, 13 (NKJV)

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This is not about praying a "sinners prayer."  It is about developing a real and lasting relationship with Jesus, the Creator of the universe and Savior of the world.  It is about repenting of your sins, receiving forgiveness from God, and confessing Jesus as your Savior with heartfelt knowledge and conviction.  This is about opening the gift of joy that God the Father has given to you for Christmas.  How will you respond?  Don't leave here without receiving God's Christmas gift to you, the joy of Heaven, Jesus Christ.