The Heart of the Disciple of Jesus Christ.

Do you see your need in Jesus Christ?  CHURCH!  DO YOU SEE YOUR NEED FOR JESUS CHRIST?!!!  How about every moment of everyday?

Isaiah 40:3-5

 “Listen!  I hear the voice of someone shouting, “Making a highway for the LORD through the wilderness.   Make a straight smooth road through the desert for our God.   Fill in the valleys and level the hills.   Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots.  Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all the people will see it together.  The LORD has spoken!”

These are the conditions of the heart- for the Lord's glory can not be revealed in his people unless the heart is right.  Look at these conditions of the heart.
1. Wilderness:  A heart this is sees and is filled with only the matters and concerns of this life. 

2.  Desert: The heart that is thirsty and dry and hardened. Little if anything good grows there.

3.  Valleys:  The heart filled with doubt and/or discouragement.
4.  Hills: The heart of pride and stubbornness. 

4.  Curves: The heart of inconsistency. 

5.  Rough spots: The heart that has good intentions but is captive to religious thought and routine.

In order for God to work there must be an access of faith- a highway.  That highway of faith we must provide time for and keep well maintained.  For through faith God changes and matures the heart and manifest himself in our life
  

Faith Changes and Matures the heart:
Hebrews 10:14 (NLT) says,  “For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy. ”

Jesus, being the Holy offering, is "making" us holy if we are living in faith and seeing our need in Jesus.  Notice, God says, “make a highway for the Lord through wilderness”?  God just needs you to surrender, humble yourself to him, acknowledge him, show that you need him in order to work in our heart.   That is the highway of faith BUT if there is no highway of faith and no maintaining then how can GOD work in your life if you don’t give him the access that he needs to work in your life?

Remember Romans 1:21 “Yes they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.  And they began to think up foolish idea of what God was like.  The result was that their minds became dark and confused.”

When people don’t acknowledge God, he can’t work in their hearts and minds.   And when I say "acknowledge", I don't mean just a little bit but with your entire life.)  Notice in 2 Peter 1:3-10 what happens when we do acknowledge our need for God/ Jesus Christ in our lives.

2 Peter 1:3-10 

“As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life.  He called us to receive his own glory and goodness! 
 

(We can’t receive God’s goodness and power to glorify him if we don’t allow him to work in our heart (where faith and love live).   

“And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises.  He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.”

(God working "in" our heart (not just our mind) gives us a conviction to do what is right despite or regardless of influence of evil, human opinion, materialism, and circumstances around us.)

“So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life."

(Apply God's glorious unlimited resources in your life, which give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit!) Ref. Eph 3:16

"Then your life will produce a life of moral excellence.  A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better.  Knowing God leads to self-control.  Self-control leads to patient endurance and patient endurance leads to godliness.  Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.   The more you grow like this the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or at least very shortsighted.  They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.”

(Salvation isn’t just about giving your life once to Jesus Christ and doing nothing to maintain it.

Salvation is your relationship with Jesus.  It's meant to be lived in.  You can't buy salvation.  Can you buy a relationship?  If you did, I would wonder if was really a relationship at all.  Jesus' relationship with us is to enrich our lives with his goodness and godliness.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Out of the abundance of the heart actions are done. 

 “And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so.  First he says, “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord:  I will put my laws in their hearts so they will understand them, and I will write them on their minds so they will obey them.” Hebrews 10:15

Proof that our relationship with Jesus is being maintained:

1.He is speaking to us.

2.Our words AND actions reflect and glorify Jesus.
3.God stimulates us with his wisdom, grace, mercy, love, hope, power and in return we stimulate by sharing what God has or is doing in our life. 

4.We humbly and lovingly remind other Christians how "we" ought to and should act and live.

5.We are well aware that there is punishment and judgment for those who don’t obey God for God is not just a loving God but also a God of righteousness, justice and judgment.

Hebrews 10: 21-23

“And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him.  For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  Without wavering, let us hold tight to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

(“True” hearts “fully” trusting him.  Holding on tight to the hope that lives in the mind, which stimulates the living faith and love from God in the heart.)

“But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.” 1 Thess 5:

Hebrews 10:24-31

²⁴ And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,

²⁵ Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.

²⁶ For if we go on deliberately and willingly sinning after once acquiring the knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice left to atone for [our] sins [no further offering to which to look forward].

²⁷ [There is nothing left for us then] but a kind of awful and fearful prospect and expectation of divine judgment and the fury of burning wrath and indignation which will consume those who put themselves in opposition [to God].

²⁸ Any person who has violated and [thus] rejected and set at naught the Law of Moses is put to death without pity or mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

²⁹ How much worse (sterner and heavier) punishment do you suppose he will be judged to deserve who has spurned and [thus] trampled underfoot the Son of God, and who has considered the covenant blood by which he was consecrated common and unhallowed, thus profaning it and insulting and outraging the [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God)?

³⁰ For we know Him Who said, Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the meting out of full justice rest with Me]; I will repay [I will exact the compensation], says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge and determine and solve and settle the cause and the cases of His people.

³¹ It is a fearful (formidable and terrible) thing to incur the divine penalties and be cast into the hands of the living God!

As a disciple of Christ what are our words and actions stimulating in others? 

A love of God? A trust in God? A commitment to God? A reverent fear of God?  It should be all these.

Hebrews 10:35-39 (NLT)

“Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised.  ‘For in just a little while, the Coming one will come and not delay.  And a righteous person will live by faith.  But I will have not pleasure in anyone who turns away.’ Ref (Hab 2:3-4)  But we are no like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate.  We have faith that assures our salvation.”

Your actions say who is and isn’t your God.

Galatians 6:1-9

Notice in the chapter 5 of Galatians, Paul points out those who "will" and "won’t" inherit the Kingdom of God.  It’s not just big things but what some may consider small things. 

He then continues into chapter 6 with this: “Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are “godly” should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”
 

(In a certain aspect you are your brothers’ and sisters’ liability partner.  Pay attention to what is being spoken in your conversations with people and what is being discipled to you and what you are discipling to others by your words and actions.   (Do they reflect the word of God? or are they something else like rolling your eyes, sighing, murmuring, gossiping, and complaining.  What is your posture?) If what is being said is not right tell them the truth in humility and love, encourage them in right thinking, don’t lie or compromise.  Encourage them in the love of God.   You are accountable in what you say and act in your actions and that is a reflection on God.)

“ Share each other’s troubles and problems, (and in this way obey the law of Christ.  If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself.  You are really a nobody.”

(We all have troubles and problems but have some discernment about who to share them with and have self-control in sharing your troubles and problems.   Be careful of the “quality” and “quantity” of the dumping and sharing.)     

 “Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.  For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 

(Notice when you have done everything according to the Holy Spirit you don’t feel guilty or lesser of a person, there is no justification that needs to be done and you don’t have to compare yourself to anyone else.) 

(Skip 6.  Because you should tithe to your church which gives a salary to your pastor and staff and pays for the utilities and needs of the church.)

 Galations 6:7 “Don’t be misled.  Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it.  You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death.  But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life.  So don’t get tired of doing what is good.  Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

Again, what your stimulating in those around you?   What is coming out of and living in the heart?  Are you allowing Jesus to meet your need to live and love in a good and godly manner?

Ephesians 4:25-32 GOD’S WORD

 ²⁵ So then, get rid of lies. Speak the truth to each other, because we are all members of the same body.²⁶ Be angry without sinning. Don’t go to bed angry.  

 

(Hate the sin not the person.   Hate what the sin is doing to that person God created in his image. 

  ^{Love 6} It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 1 Corinthians 13:6 (AMP).   It takes God’s love and faith in your heart to do what is right and true.  Don’t bow to sin or compromise but offer in humility and in God’s love what is right and true.

²⁷ Don’t give the devil any opportunity to work. ²⁸ Thieves must quit stealing and, instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they’ll have something to share with those in need.

(I thought this was a strange place for this sentence but God gave me another aspect of this sentence.  We must work hard not to steal the message God is placing in someone’s heart and building in someone’s heart with our own words and actions.  Don't be a thief.  Just think if someone heard you and saw you murmuring and complaining or acting rudely, I can assure you the devil will remind those folks/ people not of the message they received from service but your words and actions.   Again I am reminded of Psalms 4.  "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.  There are many who say, 'Who will show us any good?'  LORD, lift up your light of your countenance upon us.  You will put gladness in my heart, more then the season that their grain and wine increased.") 

²⁹ Don’t say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you. ³⁰ Don’t give God’s Holy Spirit any reason to be upset with you. He has put his seal on you for the day you will be set free from the world of sin.

(God says not to stifle his Holy Spirit.  God says not to bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.  Holy Spirit brings supernatural power to your soul so you can live righteously.   Micah 6:8 says what?  I don’t know about you but first I have to walk humbly with God in order do what is right and love mercy.)

 ³¹ Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. ³² Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ.

The Heart of the Disciple of Jesus Christ knows the word of God in his heart- which makes him aware of his speech.

James says 1:26: “if you don’t control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”

James 3:8-11 “No one can tame the tongue.   It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.  Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.  And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.  Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!  Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?”

The tongue has power!   It can start a uncontrollable fire with just a little spark can it not?    It can bring about division in families and in the body of Christ.   Instead of healing they can cause more trouble.  With the tongue you can speak blessings or curses into other people’s lives.   Just by thinking the worst of someone you can reap the worst in someone because actions follow thoughts.   Control the tongue with a reverent faith in God.   Realize it hurts your relationship with God when you don’t control your tongue.   You are either building up or tearing down with the tongue and actions.  Just think what one comment of light brings in a dark conversation.  

Wisdom in the Heart.
Proverbs 3:9 says we are to honor God with our wealth.  God has entrusted and bestowed and given us great wealth in his wisdom and we are to honor God in that wealth of wisdom not just with lip service but with wisdom that needs to live in our heart and shown in action.  

We are not people who honor God with only our lips but honor God in our hearts as well.   We are “His” people and “His” people know him in their heart because they know what God’s word say and Spirit has a open access through our faith to remind, counsel, and give us direction and discernment.

The Heart Living in the Light 
1 John 1:5-10 “This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.  So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness.   We are not living in the truth.  But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.   If we say we have not sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.

But if we confess ours sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 

The Heart that Loves

Jesus says “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35

Your measure of commitment to the Lord will determine the measure of commitment you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Is the burden heavy or is it light?

A disciple of Jesus Christ sees a need everyday for Jesus, not out of some sin conscious, but to be empowered by his love, goodness and godliness.

Do you see a need for Jesus?   

Those transformed by Jesus Christ can’t fill up with what world fills up on because it won’t satisfy them.  Born of the Spirit we need to be feed by the Spirit.

John 3:5-6 “Jesus replied, ‘The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.”

Jesus gave those who believe in Him the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gives us new life from heaven not just once but everyday as we seek and acknowledge the Lord in our life.  He manifests his goodness and godliness in our life but if we look to ourselves we are lost and we won’t live in God’s goodness and godliness.

"Then he said to me, 'This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel:  It is not by force nor by strength, but my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.'"  Zechariah 4:6

I need Jesus everyday.  I sit and read God’s word until I receive a quickening in my spirit, which is full of God’s goodness and godliness. 

 

“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.”   “God blesses those whose hearts are pure for they will see God.” Matthew 5:3,8

You can only be salty and light if you are in his (Jesus) light .

John 7:38 Jesus says  “If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within.”

Do you believe in him?  If you do, come and drink from him.

For God to manifest him self in our lives Jesus must live in our hearts and fuel our souls. 

God manifests himself in individuals but he wants to manifest himself in the body of Christ (the Church) as well and in order for that to happen our hearts must have a clear pathway for him to work.  We must be living in Jesus Christ.

(NKJV) Acts 2:1 says “And when the day of Pentecost was ‘fully’ come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

“Fully”… it wasn’t just the disciples it was all of them and they were all in one accord in the Spirit of God in one place.

The heart of the disciple is to see your need in Jesus Christ everyday and live in Him.   So don't turn God's glory to shame.  Put away your love for worthlessness and falsehood and draw from God and live the life God's wants you to experience and live.