"God Give Us A Heart!"
Ezekiel 36:26, 27
Intro. The Scripture speaks much about the hardness of man's heart, the stony heart of man, and the wickedness of man's heart. Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17:9, gives us the true condition of the heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” That's the true condition of our hearts before the righteous God. Jeremiah goes on to ask the question, "Who can know it?"
Your family doesn't really know. Your friends don't really know. Your pastor doesn't really know. But God knows! For God answers the question in Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
But, according to our text, something miraculous occurs when the sinner by faith accepts Christ as Savior. It says, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you..." God gives us a new heart! In fact, when one truly gets saved, all things change! 2 Corinthians 5:17, declares, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are new."
God takes away the stony, evil, deceitful heart and gives us a "new" heart. I want to title the message today, "God gives us a Heart!" I will be addressing believers today, in whom God has given a new heart. I'd like to appeal to each believer to search his own heart and let God's Holy Spirit show each of us today the kind of heart we should have because of Christ dwelling in us!
The "heart" I am speaking of today is not the physical organ that pumps blood, but rather, the Scriptures use it to mean the mind, soul, and spirit of the individual. So, considering this, What kind of heart should each believer possess?
A BELIEVER SHOULD HAVE:
(1) A Contrite Heart
*WHY?:
A. THE PRESENCE OF SIN. Because of the sin present in each of our
lives. The apostle Paul, realized the problem of sin, for in Romans
7:18-20, he affirms, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to
perform that which good I find not. For the good that I would I do not:
but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
David in Psalms 51:10, after his sin with Bathsheba, implored God;
"Create in me a clean Heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me."
To be contrite means “to be deeply and humbly sorry for one's sins.” We
must realize that we are still sinners. 1 John 1:8 tells us, “If we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” There
are only two kinds of people in this world: saved sinners and lost
sinners. If you are saved, you are still a sinner. The chorus of the
hymn, “Only A Sinner,” by James M. Gray speaks the truth of every
redeemed Child of God:
Only a sinner, saved by grace!
Only a sinner, saved by grace!
This is my story, to God be the glory—
I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!
B. THE PROMISE OF THE SCRIPTURE. We have a promise. In 1 John
1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Instead of
affirming that we are sinless we should confess our sins. If we confess
our sins the Lord will be faithful to his promise of mercy, and just in
requiring us to have the atonement of Christ, to forgive us our sins.
(The People’s New Testament Commentary).
*TO have a contrite heart we must realize that without Christ, WE ARE
NOTHING!
Galatians 2:20
THE BELIEVER SHOULD HAVE A CONTRITE HEART, but also the believer should have…
(2) A Consecrated Heart
A. THE DEFINITION OF CONSECRATION. Consecration means “the act
of setting apart and devoting to the service of God.” It means we
submit ourselves unto God and His service.
- We are to Yield our Minds (Romans 12:2).
- We are to Yield our Members (Romans 12:1; Romans 6:6-13).
B. THE DEMANDS OF CONSECRATION. When we are consecrated to
God our lives are His to do as He pleases. Why? 1 Corinthians 6:19-
20 tells us, “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God’s.” Paul understood the demands of
consecration. In Philippians 1:21 He wrote, "For me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain." That was the motto of his life! Oliver B. Greene in
his commentary on Philippians wrote: “the whole desire of his soul was
to first glorify Christ, and then be a blessing to others. Such a spirit
gave Paul happiness such as no selfish believer can ever know!” (Oliver
B. Greene. The Epistle of Paul The Apostle to The Philippians. p. 28).
THE BELIEVER SHOULD HAVE A CONTRITE HEART, THE BELIEVER SHOULD HAVE A CONSECRATED HEART, and finally the Believer should have…
(3) A Compassionate Heart
A. RECIPIENTS OF HIS LOVE. Every believer should possess a
compassionate heart. WHY? Because of His great love bestowed unto
us. Romans 5:8 tells us, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And 1 John 3:1
declares, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
B. REFLECTIONS OF HIS LOVE. The Believer should shine brightly in
this world the love of Christ. Who should we love?:
1. The LORD
John 14:23--tells us how!
2. The Lost
Psalms 126:5, 6--Tells us how!
Matthew 9:36--The Compassion we need (Christ's Love)!
3. The Lord's People
1 John 4:7, 20
John 13:34-35
How Should We Love? Paul prayed for the Philippians, in Philippians
1:9, "…I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment." The believer’s love should abound and
be abundant!
CLOSING: God Give us a Heart: A CONTRITE HEART, A CONSECRATED HEART, A COMPASSIONATE HEART. How is your heart this morning? Are you letting Christ live through your life?
Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, “The LORD direct your hearts
into the Love of God...” (2 Thessalonians 3:5). This is my prayer
for you today! If God is dealing with your heart today, will you
heed God’s call to you?