Total Surrender for Intimate knowledge of God

Total Surrender for Intimate knowledge of God

• • With All Of Your  Heart

With  Rev. Brian Moseley

Matthew 22:37-40

New American Standard Bible 1995

37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great

and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your

neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole

Law and the Prophets.”

 

Romans 10:9

Contemporary English Version

9 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you

believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.

 

Introduction

In the words of Jesus, He stated the two most important things we are to do in this life. First and foremost was to “love God with all of our hearts, souls and minds”. The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote that to be saved we must “honestly say that Jesus is our Lord and to believe with ALL OF OUR HEARTS that God raised Him from death”.

Do you? Do you believe with ALL OF YOUR HEART? Do you Love God with ALL OF YOUR HEART?

To understand what this means; we must first examine what our heart really is according to scripture. Traditionally, most of us were raised and taught with the understanding that we were a body and a soul, but scripture tells us in   1 Thessalonians 5:23 that we are three parts. We are Spirit, Soul, and body.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

“23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

There are other scriptures that confirm this such as John 4:24,  1 Samuel 16:7, John 3:3-6, and John 6:63. NASB 1995

John 4:24

24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1 Samuel 16:7

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

John 3:3-6

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 6:63

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

 

• Being in Christ and baptized in the Holy Spirit, we are new creatures 2 Corinthians 5:17.
• Our Spirits, being dead at our conception and corrupted by sin Ephesians 2:1-5
• were resurrected, sealed, protected, and made perfect. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Hebrews 12:22-24. NASB 1995
• 2 Corinthians 5:1717 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
• Ephesians 2:1-52 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
• 2 Corinthians 1:21-2221 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
• Hebrews 12:22-2422 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
• Our Spirit (being one with the Holy Spirit), is what God sees and relates to. It holds all truth and knowledge. It gives us Life. When God looks at us, he only looks upon the Holy Spirit in us. John 4:24 NASB 1995

John 4:24

24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

So, we know what scripture says about our Spirits.

What about our bodies? Our bodies are simply our physical vessel. It is our external selves that is dominated by what we can see, touch, hear, smell, and feel. It is the part of us that will wither and die. Once perfect at the time of creation Genesis 1:31, our bodies were made corrupt by sin with the fall of Adam and Eve. Since that moment, we have all been born with this curse of death upon us and unfortunately, we enter life only knowing and reacting to the physical world around us by default. Only by accepting and receiving the atonement of Jesus’ Sacrifice by Grace, have we been saved!

Genesis 1:31

31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

 

We have discussed the Spirit and the body.

That just leaves the Soul and the point of this message. Our Souls are our Hearts. It is composed of our minds, our emotions, our will, our imaginations, our personalities, and our memories. 1 Chronicles 29:18, Deuteronomy 4:9, 4:23, 6:12, 8:11-14, 8:19, Proverbs 23:7 and Romans 8:6 (NASB 1995)

1 Chronicles 29:18

18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You;

Deuteronomy 4:9

9 Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

Deuteronomy 4:23

23 So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you.

Deuteronomy 6:12

12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14

11 Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Proverbs 23:7

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

Romans 8:6

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

In the Bible the heart is considered the seat of life or strength. Therefore, it means mind, soul, or one’s entire emotional nature and understanding. The heart also is the primary source of such bad behavior as adultery, hatred, lust, mischief, pride, and rebellion as well as such neutral or good behavior as desire, doubt, fear, gladness, love, obedience, and sorrow. The heart is said to have the ability to reason, question, meditate, motivate, and think, showing the link between the two.

 

God can know, search, enlighten, open, examine, strengthen, and establish one’s heart. One can have a clean, contrite, perfect, pure, or wise heart.

The following are biblical examples from the King James Bible, of emotional states or mental connections of the heart.

…he will be glad in his heart… Ex 4:14

…he will harden his heart… Ex 4:20

…hate thy brother in thine heart… Lev 19:17

…For as he thinketh in his heart, so is… Prov 23:7

…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness… Mt 15:17-20

 

Today we may ask, “How did I get this thought in my mind?” Not once does the Bible attribute having thought(s), thinking, understanding, considering, meditating, or pondering as coming from the mind.

These mental processes generally are cited as coming from the heart. For example2:

…consider in thine heart, that the… Deut 4:39

…understand with their heart, and convert… Is 6:10

…thine heart shall meditate terror… Is 33:18

…and pondered them in her heart… Luke 2:19

…perceiving the thoughts of their hearts… Luke 9:47

One example exists of thoughts coming into a person’s mind:

“…thy thoughts came into thy mind…” Dan 2:29.

 

But this “thoughts-mind” association is immediately followed in the next passage by an explanation of where the mind is:

“…that thou might know the thoughts of thy heart…” Dan 2:30.

 

Reasoning (questioning), which is a mental process that is generally associated with the brain or mind, is also clearly defined as coming from the heart. For example:

…and reasoning of their hearts… Mark 2:6

…Why reason these things in your heart… Mark 2:8

…What reason ye in your hearts… Luke 5:22

 

Being wise, having wisdom, knowing, or having knowledge or learning are also normally considered as mental processes occurring in the mind or brain, but these qualities are associated in the Bible only with the heart. For example3:

…He is wise in heart, and mighty in… Job 9:4

…ye know in all your hearts and in all… Josh 23:14

…and apply thine heart unto my knowledge… Prov 22:17

…I applied my heart to know wisdom… Eccl 8:16

 

The process of learning and acquiring knowledge and wisdom, therefore, in the Bible is an application primarily of the heart rather than the mind.

In one place in the Bible the word “mind” is associated with the word “wisdom,” “…and here is the mind which has wisdom…” Rev 17:9.

Our hearts and minds are connected to the natural realm by default and start out carnally based. Even after we are saved, our hearts and minds must be renewed by learning and meditating on the Word of God Ephesians 4:20-23, Romans 12:2 NASB 1995

Ephesians 4:20-23

20 But you did not learn [a]Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old [b]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Romans 12:2

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Our hearts are swayed between the natural and the spiritual based on what we focus on and recognize. The part of us that grows, is the part we feed! Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 23:7, Romans 10:17, Jeremiah 29:13, Colossians 3:16, John 6:63. We must prepare, “fix” our hearts on the Lord Psalm 57:7 NASB 1995

 

Proverbs 4:23

23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 23:7

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

Romans 10:17

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Jeremiah 29:13

13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Colossians 3:16

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

John 6:63

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Psalm 57:7

7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

 

To Know Christ is to believe! To Know Him is to Love Him! Do You believe Him and Love Him;

– with ALL your Mind? (Keeping your Thoughts on Him)

– with ALL your Soul? (Positive emotions)

– with ALL your Will? (Surrendering your Life for His)

– with ALL your Imaginations? (Hopes and expectations of His promises)

– with ALL your Memories? (Testimony)

We can know by following His Word. Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Timothy 1:7.

This is the greatest command of the New Covenant!!

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.