The Eyes of The Heart
Into the Ancient Texts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
We have been studying that the goal of bible study is true worship (True worship involves putting God first in one's life and valuing Him above all else). That is the end goal of all of my knowing of the scriptures, is that this is how proper worship comes to me. (How it gets to worship is by the revelation/understanding that God gives).
What does that mean? My bible study would eventually cause me to walk in both all that God has done for me, and all that I am to do with and for him.
We see this pattern often in the bible;
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.” 6 With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Verse 4-5 — What he has done for them;
Verse 8 — What he wants from man.
Hence, my worship is not only what I do; but also remembering , believing and walking in light of what God has done; The things we do as believers are to flow from a proper knowledge of what God has done.
Paul captured this beautifully,
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The NIV puts it beautifully;
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
What do we owe God? “In view of God’s mercy … offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). The sacrifice that belongs to God is our whole lives. How do we rob God of his glory? By not giving him the worship of our lives. Or by taking credit for what God has done.
Tim Chester
Hence, the act of the believer are “in view of God’s mercy”. They flow from a proper understanding of God’s mercy and act.
True worship is therefore both the acknowledgment and walking in the knowledge of what God has done. We can only give true worship “in view of God’s mercy”.
Hence, my bible study will seek to ground me in the truth of what God has done, and what my response to his act is.
Right interpretation
Right interpretation
Since, my worship is dependent on my understanding of scriptures, it is therefore important to discover the writers intent, not mine, why? The writer is either presenting to me the act of what God has done, or my response to what God has done.
Nehemiah and Ezra knew this; hence;
8 So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.
The read the law of God, making it clear and void of ambiguity, and giving the meaning; we said therefore, in my reading of the bible, a few guide;
What is the writer’s intent?
What did his audience understand?
Revisiting an example
Revisiting an example
18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
How did the uncovering in his tent happen? verse 22; Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father.
Ham, saw the nakedness of his father; Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness.
That might sound quite innocent, but to understand the implication, we have to understand the surrounding culture and hear the idiom here.
We find exactly thesame phrase in Leviticus 18:6-11
6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Uncovering of nakedness is a phrase which signifies sexual relation. Now in Leviticus 20, that phase was used within thesame conversation of sexual relation and it even drives it home more;
Leviticus 20 helped us cos it was re-used there;
16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. 17 ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.
If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness.
It means that seeing the nakedness which is about lying with one another, sexual relation, is thesame as uncovering nakedness.
This is exactly what Ham did, in that he uncovered their fathers nakedness, he saw his nakedness.
This is the writer’s intent, to discover the severity of what Ham did, in that he either went in to his father, or went in to his father’s wife.
Now, this becomes my admonision and yours that this is a wicked act in the eyes of God, to violate another sexually, Paul will say thesame thing, yet with different words;
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, just as also the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 not to transgress and to exploit his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the one who avenges concerning all these things, just as also we told you beforehand and testified solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Not to transgress and to exploit his brother in the matter.
This is getting to the writer’s intent, what his audience understood, and that becomes an admontion to us today, not to defraud or take advantage of someone that way.
So, this is the third thing and most vital in our framework;
What is the voice of God’s Spirit from the text?
What does that mean?
It means what the text teaches that will transcend time and culture. This will flow from the original author’s culture, and context, but will go beyond his culture and context.
“So, whilst the culture and immediate context of the writer will help me to discover the intent of the writer, and what his audience understood, the voice of God’s spirit will be the eternal voice of God through those words. It will be that same spirit who inspired the text, speaks through it to every generation and every believer, and also comes with the ability and willingness to do it”
It means, while the meaning of a text is singular, we can have pletora of application from thesame story, but the truth is, none of them will and cannot betray the original context in which it was written.
How does voice of God spirit come?
How does voice of God spirit come?
We said, same Spirit that inspired the text, will speak through it to every generation and every believer. It means therefore, that it is BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, or easier to say, it is GIVEN BY GOD.
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
Know — γινώσκω (ginōskō): vb. to know, understand, acknowledge. Refers to having knowledge or understanding regarding a subject.
Notice it has been given to you to know… This speaks of a knowledge or understanding that is given, not the one in my mind.
Verse 12; notice, “Whoever has (THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN), more will be given to him”.
Whoever does not have (does not have the KNOWLEDGE OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN).
Verse 13;
“Seeing they do not see”, “Hearing they do not hear”, nor do they understand.
It is possible to see and not clearly be seeing what the word says, it is also possible to be hearing something but it doesn’t lead to understanding.
Understand — Συνίημι (syniēmi) : vb. meaning to "set together" or "understand," but it signifies a deeper comprehension that involves spiritual insight and a willingness to act in accordance with that understanding.
Now this differs greatly from intellectual knowledge. A common word used for that is;
νοέω (noeō). vb. to grasp, comprehend, understand. Expresses one’s ability to come to a presumably obvious conclusion based on presented data. It emphasizes the act of using one's mind to comprehend or reflect on something.
Notice the difference here;
Noeo — involves grasping with my mind, based on the presented data,
Syniemi — involved, a deeper comprehension that involves spiritual insight (which simply means understanding that God gives by his Spirit), and it will also come with a willingness to act in accordance with that understanding.
Both are understandings, yet, vital is the distinction between the intellectual faculty of a man and God-given understanding.
We see Paul saying this to Timothy;
7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Consider — noeō
Understanding — syniēmi
So, while it is with man to Consider i.e. to grasp intellectually based on the fact and data presented, the understanding is God who gives that. It comes with also a willingness to act in accordance with that understanding. My mind cannot give me this. It is God given.
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Comprehend — Syniemi involved, a deeper comprehension that involves spiritual insight (which simply means understanding that God gives by his Spirit), and it will also come with a willingness to act in accordance with that understanding.
Understanding — νοῦς (nous): refers to the mind, intellect, understanding, and spiritual faculty of perception and judgment. It is the human capacity to grasp spiritual truth, perceive divine insight, and form purposes.
Notice, he opened up their faculty of perception and judgement. He opened it for them to grasp spiritual truth, perceive divine insight.
Again, this is something done supernatually.
Whilst I might look into the scripture and see a dying messiah, and God restoring of his world, it doesn’t become an actionable thing for me, why? My understanding has not been opened up.
My mind (i.e capacity to grasp spiritual truth) needs to be opened up, for me to “have insight that God gives” and the will to act in that direction.
So, whilst dealing with the bible, I can have an idea of what I have to do, I can think of it in my mind, I can base it on the data presented, know that yes, this is the right thing to do, but, the understanding and willingness to do, only comes by God’s spirit.
Look at Colossians 1;
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Hence, Paul said we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and understanding that God’s spirit gives, this is what causes us to walk worthy of the Lord.
For example, the love walk is God-given. It is God’s will for my life. Yet, I find myself not forgiving, generous, consecrated to the things of God, I find it boring, dull. This is because, I have an idea of the will of God, but I do not know (i.e. have an understanding that God spirit gives) regarding a matter.
Hence, beginning with my faculty, I must know that neither my mind or idea of what is right, is how I end up doing it, it comes by the understanding that God’s spirit gives.
“He that has doctrinal knowledge and speculation only, without affection, never is engaged in the business of religion. The devil has a great deal of such knowledge. But to have the heart strongly impressed with the divine excellency of the things of God, and to have a sense of their glorious sweetness, is the very life of religion.” - Jonathan Edwards.
Where does this understanding take place?
Where does this understanding take place?
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’
They Hear with the ear to the end that they understand, they see with the eyes to the end that they understand, but the understanding is within the heart.
Hence, the understanding happens in my heart. It goes beyond my head, my faculty, my mindset, and my ears and eyes are doorways to my heart.
What I see, and what I hear, eventually shapes my life, hence, if I am given to reading the word of God and listening to it prayerfully, eventually it gets to my heart, i.e. I will have a supernatural insight that God gives, and also the willigness that comes with that knowledge.
Understanding is not in my head, it is in my heart. That is where God puts the revelation of his word.
Today, we close with prayer;
16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
Since the understanding takes place in the heart, it is crucial that my prayer often is that my heart is flooded with light. That God give me spiritual wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
If that heart is flooded with light, WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT I AM NOT VOID OF BOTH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT GOD GIVES AND THE WILLINGNESS TO DO IT.
Are you bored with the things of God?
Are you unyielding to God’s word?
Are you all about yourself?
It is a sign that revelation knowledge is missing, hence, as we pray, evaluate your heart and see where you are lacking, where you aren’t functioning accordingly, ask God to open up the eyes of your heart, that the eyes of your heart are flooded with light! No darkness anywhere!
In Summary:
The voice of God’s spirit will signify both the insight and also the ability to do what the spirit reveals. It will be what is left, when the culture, the
Let me give you an example, I have always known that anger is not of God, yet, I was given to much anger. Then, I started praying that God would open my eyes, my mind to comprehend what he says about me and anger. I was reading Ephesians 5:1-2 someday, and it was as though I was led to go back to verse 32 of Ephesians 4:32, read it, and saw, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
I have read it a long while before then, yet, this is my heart flooded with light. It has gone beyond my head, I am now walking in the very reality of it.
