A New Heart (2)

A Heartfelt Mission

Having grown up in the church and attended countless Sunday School and youth meetings, the idea of having Jesus in my heart is easy to understand. Afterall, I was asked that question a lot. What makes this strange is that nowhere in the Bible does it ever say those words. The closest that we get to the phrase is in the book of Ephesians

Ephesians 3:16–17 NIV

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

At the same time, the fact that it is never mentioned does not make it untrue. Afterall, there is a powerful connection between what we call ‘our hearts’ and what Ephesians calls the ‘inner being’.

The Hebrew word “heart” refers to one’s inner self; inclination (leaning/liking), disposition (character/personality); determination, courage; will, intention; attention, consideration, reason. Those are a lot of really important concepts located in our inner being (what we call the heart) and these are the things that God is really interested in.

The Promise of a New Heart

I was working my way through the book of Ezekiel recently and noticed the promise of God that He wants to give His people new hearts. It happens several times but the first two I want to look closely at are in chapters 11 and 18:

Ezekiel 11:19–21 NIV

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel 18:30–32 NIV

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

God says that He wants to give an undivided heart, a heart of flesh instead of stone to people. As we as a church take time to really think about the importance of missions, I think that we really ought to think about God’s desire for every man, woman, and child and that is to put a new heart and a new spirit in them.

Isn’t that what missions is all about?

Having a New Heart Changes Everything!

Little Jessica Fletcher was born in 1983. Unfortunately, the left side of her heart wasn’t fully developed. The Cleveland Clinic replumbed her heart at 5 days old. No one had ever survived the surgery before, but her parents believed in the Great Physician and Jessica grew stronger. The truth was that the doctors didn’t expect her to live beyond a few years. However, the family believed God had a plan and Jessica grew up with no brain disabilities and progressed to normal levels.

In 2012 Jessica eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts in children’s ministry from the University of Valley Forge and took a position at a church in Ohio. Having her heart repaired meant the opportunity to have life, to have meaning, and to have purpose.

Having a new heart changes everything!

It Unites You

What is it like to have a divided heart? Obviously it sounds terribly painful. But, perhaps, maybe we can remember what it was like. One writer put it this way, “It is a terribly painful and threatening thing to be faced with sins of the past, to hear or to fear their being exposed. It is a devastating encounter with reality, a ruthless wrenching away of our masks of pretence.[1]

But God offers wholeness, an integrity of the heart…

Ezekiel 11:19 NIV

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

God reaches out to man – the broken, the divided, those in pain – and says, “I have a newly minted heart that I want to give you. All you have to do is accept it.”

People are broken all over our world. Europe is filled with the shuttered churches and cathedrals of the Protestant revival. China is burdened by the oppressive atheistic government that believes itself to be god. The Islamic world is led by thugs who steal freedom from women and children.

“Of all religions, Islam is the least focused on relationships, even though it gives the appearance of being a community. And the result is law, authority, and power over the community. These become the rationale for Islam. Thus, it is not surprising that the very word Islam means “to submit.” – Ravi Zacharias.

The rest of the world throughs their hands into the air and says that everything and everyone must be divine so they sweep the sidewalks so as not to kill a bug and build millions of idols for deities that no one knows.

These are the reasons that missionaries travel around the world to tell people that there is a God, a living God, who can give them a new heart.

It Empowers You

Our miracle baby, now an adult and working in children’s ministry began to notice atrial flutters in 2018. She was 35. Her heart began to deteriorate. She felt a heavy feeling in her chest. She tired easily and simple things became hard. It even affected her ability to think and problem solve. They tried to stop and restart her heart. It didn’t help for long. By January 2019 she needed a pacemaker. That, too, only marginally worked. She needed a new heart.

Our old hearts can cause us a lot of problems.

· The fool says, “There is no God” (Ps 14:1)

· The old heart does evil (2 Chron 12:14)

· The old heart rages against the Lord (Prov. 19:3)

· The old heart does not love God (Jn 5:42)

· It becomes hardened (Je. 18:12)

· It is spiritually ignorant (Eph. 4:18)

· The old heart is filled with pride (Ps 73:7)

The Bible is filled with descriptions of the old, corrupted heart. We need new hearts!

Take Heart

There is a fable that some of you may have heard. It is called “The Heart of a Mouse”. A mouse was playing under the bushes when a cat spotted it and chased it all the way to the fields. The mouse was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and asked that it be transformed to a cat. So, the mouse became a cat. One day, the same cat was bobbing in the prairie when a dog spotted it and chased it all the way to the woods. The cat was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and requested that it be transformed to a dog. So, the cat became a dog. One sunny day, the dog was searching for food in the woods when a tiger spotted it, and chased it all the way to the river. The dog was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and begged that it be transformed to a tiger. So, the dog became a tiger. One morning at sunrise, the tiger was prowling in the hills when a couple of native hunters spotted it, and chased it all the way to the jungle. Natives make use of tiger skin and fur as their clothing. The tiger was so scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and demanded that it be transformed to a native hunter. The fairy godmother firmly replied, "I have transformed you from a mouse to a cat, from a cat to a dog, from a dog to a tiger, and now you want to be transformed from a tiger to a native hunter. I can make you whatever you wish to become, but if your heart remains to be a heart of a mouse, you will always live in fear".

The mouse continued to have the same problem over and over again – he had a different body but still had the frightened heart of a mouse. Remember the words of Jesus as He encouraged the disciples,

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We don’t have to keep the old heart, we can have the new!

Be Determined

Another benefit of the new heart that God wants to give is that with it comes determination.

Jeremiah 29:12–14 NIV

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Romans 10:8–10 NIV

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I think of the story of Jacob as he wrestled with the angel. He said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The woman with the issue of blood pressed through the crowd to see Jesus. Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see Him.

It Gives You Purpose

Let’s go back to the story of Jessica. Finally, in May a heart came available. The surgery went well. So well, in fact, that her new heart began beating immediately without the necessary shock doctors normally give. With a new heart Jessica says, “My life isn’t just about living with something,” she says. “It’s about living for something. And I have a lot of that left to do.”

Jesse and I were traveling back from New York State on Friday, and we were listening to a popular comedian/MMA/podcaster talking to a psychiatrist about obsessive behaviors. For a time they discussed what would be the desired outcome of life. In reality, they were discussing the ultimate meaning and purpose of life. As we were listening, we realized that they were drawing blanks because neither of them apparently believed in God. For them the ultimate reward was being generally happier in life. Jesse and I pointed out that they found no greater purpose or meaning. The OLD HEART fails to find purpose and meaning. However, the NEW HEART can be determined because there is purpose and meaning – to love God and to love others.

Having a new heart changes everything!

You Can Be a Part of Making New Hearts Available!

You and I have a responsibility to share the good news about NEW HEARTS being available. You enable missionaries to share about the availability of new hearts by supporting missionaries who are going around the globe to change lives!

Missions 2021 video – (9 min)

As that line bounced from place to place I thought about the desire of each of those missionaries to see the Holy Spirit place NEW HEARTS in people of every race, religion, and nationality.

You can be a part of making new hearts available!

God Wants to Remove Stony Hearts

Each of us had a different experience when we received our heart of flesh instead of stone. Heart ache, pain, meaninglessness, anger, inferiority, and more left for hearts of peace, love, and joy.

We understand having heavy hearts but for the Israelites it had an even greater meaning. Their neighbors, the Egyptians, believed that the heart was weighed at judgment to see if they could achieve the afterlife. Heavy hearts, or hearts of stone, that were weighed down with guilt and sin couldn’t enter the afterlife.

The other thing the Egyptians did was remove the heart in the mummification process. This protected them from their hearts betraying them at the judgment. In the place of the natural heart, they placed a stone carved like a dung beetle. In Egypt this insect was the symbol of eternal life.

In contrast, Yahweh is going to bring his people back to life by returning to them hearts of flesh that will not betray them. The imagery of an unhardened heart would be apt in that verses 17–20 suggest a new exodus and a new covenant.[2]

With that in mind, imagine how they would have understood these verses:

Ezekiel 36:26–30 NIV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.

A NEW HEART changes everything!

[1]Wright, C. J. H. (2001). The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit. (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.) (p. 126). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press. [2]Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., Eze 11:19). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.