Heart Condition

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

To begin with brothers and sisters, Christian Friends, Well Wishers, and Saints of God there are a Plethora of circumstances and incidents and scenarios that point out the Conditions of the Heart. God’s Word is foremost authority on matters of the heart. God’s Word will teach us about our hearts. Because in actuality God knows our hearts better than we know our own heart.

And so Jeremiah is speaking and writing the things that God is telling him to write and to speak. I looked up the people’s response to Jeremiah sermon in 16:10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

Why was Jeremiah having to say these things? First of all the bible says multiple times that the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and said thus saith the Lord. When God tell the Preacher to say it he has to say what thus said the Lord. And poor Jeremiah got tired of tell folk the truth and getting thrown in the dungeon for speaking God’s word. And Jeremiah refused to preach God’s word anymore and the bible says The word of God was just like fire shut up in his bones!!!

And so today I must teach talk and tell us about the Conditions of the Heart .Listen to me I found out that God is not talking about Heart Burn like when the human body sends up stomach acid and you get a burning in your neck and chest and you get what they call heart burn, But that’s not what God is talking about in the Jeremiah 17:9 text. no no no The heart is deceitful and desperately. God is not talking about Heart Trouble like when you have weak arteries and viens in your cardio vascular region and chest area and you began to have difficulty doing regular task and normal activities seem outrageously hard to do they called that Heart Trouble. but that isn’t what this Jeremiah 17:9 is saying because the bible says the Heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Listen God is not talking about a Heart Attack like when that muscle that pumps the life giving blood that go through out our bodies the heart refuse to work another year another month another week another day another hour another minute or another second and it quits pumping blood it’s called a Heart Attack !!! That’s not what God is talking about But God is saying through the prophet Jeremiah that The Heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and only God knows what’s in our hearts. I’m talking about “A Heart Condition” The Heart that the scripture is talking about is the one that carry our feelings our will our emotions and our intellect. It’s how we feel in the inner core of our life force. It’s the center around the circle around the circumference of what some people call our soul or our spirit. Which ever technical theological term you use your soul or your spirit God knows all about our hearts. Jeremiah 17:10 saying that 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to the fruit of his doings. Listen I might miss some things if I prejudge you, You’re going to miss some things if you prejudge me, but God sits up high and looks down low and God doesn’t miss anything!!!! Don’t forget that.

Second thing if our hearts are dirty then how do we clean up your hearts Psalms 119: 9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD:Teach me thy statutes. The bible is asking a rhetorical question in Psalm 119:9 Where withal shall a young man clean his ways… God already knows the answer but He teaches us in the second part of verse 9 by giving us the answer. He says Saints of God we cleanse our ways by listening to the God’s word and applying God’s word to our lives. In Psalm 119:10 David says Lord with my whole heart have I sought for thee, Lord don’t let me wander from your commandments..... David is saying because I know me… I know I’m going to slip up and do something wrong.... He says The sure way to keep yourself rooted and ground is if I do what verse 11 says “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee”. Listen Church if you want to keep your Heart right you got to keep God’s word in your heart. But that’s not all, David says Lord thy word have I hid in my heart In my (Leb)2x Leb the Hebrew word for heart. Let me teach you something Church, “we need to always find out what the original writing was so you can get an accurate definition to what ever word of God is saying in the bible. Leb or Heart In this case it means our feeling our will our intellect and the core or center of our thinking… Leb.

David the writer of Psalms 119:9-10 is saying that at the seat of my thinking in the center of the circle of the circumference of my thinking, I have hid God’s word in my heart. Then there is verse 12 that says “Blessed art thou, O LORD:Teach me thy statutes.” Pilgrim I am a teacher at heart and I’ve been sent to teach and preach and reach folk with the word of God without respect of persons. And I am fully aware of my assignment today. My assignment is to deal with our Heart Conditions … Not heart burn, not heart trouble, and not a heart attack but what God calls A Heart Condition....Let me prove it Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were all prophets and preachers and priests during the same time lines and what interesting about that is, that God was always dealing with Israel’s Heart Condition.

And too much of the time Israel’s heart went after other gods. Too much of the time Israel’s character was ungodly and too much of the time the Israelites were disobedient to God’s word And God had to tell them in Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. I have to stayed with the theme text because the scripture just keeps wrapping around to this central thought. We’ve got to get our Hearts right because we have A heart Condition. Ain’t no sense in denying it let’s just face it and get better.

Then thirdly I found out something new in Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;For out of it are the issues of life. I found out that everybody in here have issues. In all churches we have issues. My issues may not be your issues and your issues may not be my issues but everybody has got some issues. And all of us are on different paths at different times different paces different value systems and in different phases of life.

And God deals with all of us on the issues of life so that when some of us who have the tendency to think that we are better than somebody else because they are not doing things like you would do them and they are not quite up to our level or your standards… God has to remind us that he made us from the dust of the ground and that we all are just dirt!!! Nobody can’t honestly talk about nobody else.

Tell your neighbor:So get your heart right. It’s a Heart Condition. And somebody ought to be able to tell you something teach you something show you something? Let me prove it Proverbs 4:20 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thine heart. Listen brothers and sisters there are some things that I’ve been taught since I was a little boy that serve me well to this day. Things like do unto other as you would have them do unto you. Treat the elderly with respect and God will bless you. Honor thy Father and thy Mother that thou days will be long on the earth. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lead not to thine own understanding but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Love your neighbor as yourself and all will be well with thee. because you never know who you’re going to need. Listen to me If I can’t help you I sure won’t do nothing to hurt you 2 x

I’m asking If you’ll do me a great favor? I’ll certainly appreciate it very much. This is what I’m asking the church to do. I want us to love each other as Christ has also loved us and let go of the past and move forward towards the future. Let’s look, listen, and learn about new opportunities to do effective ministry. Let’s help the church grow in every area possible. Let’s make the the church look like the body of Christ. Lastly let’s make God look Good.... When we do right by God’s Church and God’s People we make God look good. Tell your neighbor: Let’s make God look Good

The devil doesn’t want God Church to look good.no no no because the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy but Jesus came that we have life and we have it more abundantly. God smiles down on us when we make every effort to make Him look good.

And when you’re Heart is in the right place with God you’ll do right by God’s preacher and God’s people. I know I’m right about it 2x

I don’t want to keep you too long but I want to say this and close “You’re either promoting a Loving Heart or a Hateful Heart” but not both … it’s a personal choice Which spirit are you feeding? Love or Hate? A great philosophical question arose for debate in one of the prominent seminaries in the country. There was much discussion and this is what was said. “There were two animals a white lamb and a black wolf. The question was which animal instinct will survive in the human soul the longest???? Most seminarians and the most well learned Rev Dr s said the wolf 3x and the old preacher who had been pastoring 50 years said no necessarily brothers and sisters 3x because it really depends on which animal instinct you feed the most. It depends on which Heart Condition you feed the most.

The Lamb is calm and kind and gentle and loving .The Wolf is mean and vicious, cunning and cankniving .. And brothers and sisters It’s which ever spirit you feed.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

I truly believe that every prominent, productive, and pristine Christian knows that in order to be a Child of God we have to have a right relationship with God We have to be Born Again. We have to be Regenerated and have a change of Heart and then we have to have a relationship that involves our heart being righteous towards our fellowman.

START CLOSING SLOWLY Let’s have true Koinia. Koinia is true fellowship with one another BY LOVING EACH OTHER because we are all One Father’s Children and He Loves us One and all .YES Um Um

God wants us to love one another . And As I close here today I’m reminded of a story that comes to my mind, Um Um. There was a man who moved to Chicago because he got mad with his kinfolk down south.

And one day he got low down sick . And he called home and told mama about it, Great God.

And mama said son I’m on my way, yes. And mama caught a ride down to the train station. and mama got on board the train going to Chicago. Oh Lordy

And the train pulled out of the station and after while the conductor came around to collect tickets,,, yes he did

And when the conductor came to get mama’s ticket, she said sir, I don’t have a ticket but my son is low down sick in Chicago, Illinois, and I got to go see about him Oh Lordy!

The conductor said I’m sorry mam’n but you can’t ride this train without a ticket . Pleas sir to have mercy

And the conductor pulled the cord and the train stopped.. The engineer called to the back of the train and said what’s the problem back there and the conductor said we have a stow away and I’ve got to throw her off the train.Oh Lord

And the conductor put mama off the train and called the engineer and said all clear..and mama was down on her knees praying by the railroad tracks. saying Now Lord2x come and see about your child

And the engineer blew the horn, release the brake, and pulled back the throttle but the train wouldn’t go nowhere 2x PLEASE SIR TO HAVE MERCY OH LORD Y

The engineer called to the back of the train and said Mr. Conductor go back and get that old lady and put her back on the train yes And mama got back on the train And I heard the engineer blew the horn released the brake pulled back the throttle and the train started chukling along the tracks.. yes they got to Chicago and the Conductor said old lady what you’re going to do on the way back . And mama said “I’m Get down on my knees and talk to God about again” Oh Lordy

And mama went to her son’s house and took care of him and MAMA said it’s time to come back home where everybody loves you at baby… And ALL I’M SAYING TO PILGRIM IS IT’S TIME TO COME BACK HOME WHERE GOD’S LOVE IS WHERE FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE. OH LORDY Let’s Love one another with God’s Love.