The Heart

Job 23:16: “For God maketh my heart soft, And the Almighty troubleth me:”

Have you ever gone an a heart-softening expedition? Is it really possible to affect life-change in someone by softening their heart?

Or maybe you’ve set out in vain to soften your own heart…so, you sit with it…pondering,

“Why do I feel the way I do?” “Why am I so angry and bitter?” “Why can’t I just let things go?”

“Why don’t I love church or scripture anymore?”

So, we become very demonstrative— THIS IS WHAT I’LL DO. I’ll start caring again…loving again…forgiving again…I’ll stop drinking…I’ll stop being unfaithful…yet, there are two dangers to address here:

1. There is nothing that can be done. How can we say Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” without expecting the absolute worst from people at all times? Why even try if the heart is in a tragic, static condition?

2. That I can be the decisive force in softening my heart. Yet, shouldn’t we assume that “the deadness that goes with it really haven’t ruined me morally and that I can be the decisive cause of unhardening my heart.” Was it not my own sin and bitterness and hate and indifference that led me into this desperate condition of hate? How can I be both the disease and the cure?

The fact is, this is what the gospel is for! It transforms us. God becomes the power, but I must yield to that power, and in this work of softening, I am laborer together with God.

Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paradoxical

2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In other words, the brazen serpent can save you— but you have to look!

The Great Physician can cure you— but you have to come as you are!

Jesus is the door to Heaven— but you must answer when He knocks!

Job is reminding us here that God is at work, as I am at work. He is softening and I am yielding to Him.

2 Kings 22:19: “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.”

2 Chronicles 13:7: “And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.”

Ephesians 4:32: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

What is the Heart?

Stowell defined it this way: “The heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as “the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,” “the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,” and “the center of a person. The place to which God turns.”

1st mention- Genesis 6:5: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Here, the word is lev and means, “one’s inner self; inclination; disposition; determination; courage; will; intention; attention.”

THE INNER MAN— THE REAL SELF.

God is said to have a heart, too.

Genesis 6:6: “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

When we speak about man we speak about three entities: SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY. And we know all of this without really knowing it. We know there is something material about us and that there is something immaterial about us.

Are you just a biological entity?

Richard Dawkins, the famed British atheist, noted,

“We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their “our genes” throwaway survival machines.”

But we are more than just animal selves. We are image bearers of God, and, as such, we are not just a brain we are a mind. And we are not a beating heart— we are a spirit. In other words, there is something material and immaterial about you. And that strikes at the heart of what Mr. Dawkins just said. The machine will someday decay; yet, we care for that body, even in death, because we as Christians understand that it held something mightier than just flesh and bones. It encased a spirit and an eternal soul. That body, though beautiful on the outside might be putridly grotesque on the inside. It might be adorned, festooned, and bejeweled, but it might enflesh the most horrific demon of Hell.

You are more than a body. You have a body; you are a soul. And what I am talking about this morning is the condition, not of the body, but the condition of the heart and soul. IS YOUR HEART RIGHT WITH GOD?

Psalm 90:17: “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: And establish thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”

Proverbs 31:30: “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”

Rachel- beautiful

Leah- tender-eyed

Rachel wanted to make Jacob, Old English word, “sport.” He wanted that “Big Smack Attack,” but Leah is narrated throughout the story as a woman with an inner life.

What is the heart, then? IT IS YOU.

Proverbs 4:23: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23 (KJV 1900)

Keep thy heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life.

What Doest It Mean to have a Soft Heart?

it means to look for God even when you cannot find Him and to do what is right even when it appears that God is hiding

Job 23:7-9: “There the righteous might dispute with him; So should I be delivered for ever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; And backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:”

it means to trust the plan of God

Job 23:10: “But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

Job 23:13: “But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.”

He is unchangeable; He alone is God— undeterred; unrivaled; unimpeachable

it means to stay on the path God has laid for us

Job 23:11: “My foot hath held his steps, His way have I kept, and not declined.”

it means to value and honor His word

Job 23:12: “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”

it means to tremble at His presence

Job 23:15: “Therefore am I troubled at his presence: When I consider, I am afraid of him.”

it means to be in fear at Him; to stand in awe

Psalm 4:4: “Stand in awe, and sin not: Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.”

Where Can our Hearts Find Rest?

John 13:23: “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.”

John 13:25: “He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?”

The word used here is in the Greek kolpos. A place of rest. Did you ever read in Luke 16 of κόλπος Ἀβραάμ? The kolpos/breast of Abra’am/Abraham?

Like John, drawing close to the heart of Jesus:

Dr. Matthew Sleeth makes an interesting observation:

In the forward to the excellent book, Subversive Sabbath, physician and author of 24/6, Matthew Sleeth describes the process of listening to hearts as part of his medical practice. While speaking specifically to the need for rest in a over-worked, over-tired culture, the metaphor could be extended to a variety of areas, including our longings, our desires:

As a physician, I’ve listened to thousands of hearts. During prenatal exams, I’ve heard the rapid swish-swishing of babies still in the womb. Often, moms and dads burst into tears when they hear their child’s heart for the first time. I’ve smiled at the strange murmur those thumb-sized hearts make when they are born into the great big world, fetal shunts closing of their own accord as the baby breathes independently for the first time.

I’ve listened to the chests of three-year-old children as they inhale deeply—and then wonder whether the man in the white coat can hear their thoughts through those tubes attached to his ears. I’ve listened to athletes’ strong, slow hearts. I’ve heard asthmatic hearts pounding away in fear and the muffled sounds of failing hearts.

I’ve listened to the hearts of saints and of murderers. I’m in the first generation of physicians to ever listen to the heart of one person after it has been transplanted into the body of another. Doctors and nurses listen to patients’ hearts using a stethoscope.

Although this is convenient, it’s not necessary. In fact, the stethoscope wasn’t invented until a generation after our country became a nation. For thousands of years, physicians listened to heart sounds without the aid of a stethoscope. They simply laid their ear on the chest of their patients. Now it is only children who lay their heads on the chest of their parents to listen to beating hearts.

Taken from Matthew Sleeth in A. J. Swoboda, Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World, Baker Publishing Group, 2018, Kindle Location 76-83.

Have we come to learn that the soul’s ultimate rest is near to that divine heart?

it was Cleland McAfee who was grief-stricken at the news that two of his nieces died of diptheria. Attending both funerals on the same day, McAfee then wrote a song which he sang outside the home of his brother, Howard:

There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest…a place where we our Savior meet…a place where all is joy and peace…O Jesus, blessed Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, hold us who wait before Thee near to the heart of God.

1. Broken Heart ——— Psalms 34:18, 51:17, 69:20 2. Contrite Heart ——— Psalms 51:17 3. Grieved ——— Genesis 6:6, Psalms 73:21 4. Willing ——— Exodus 25:2, 35:5,29 5. Discouraged Heart ——— Numbers 32:7-9, Deuteronomy 1:28 6. Obstinate ——— Deuteronomy 2:30 7. Proud Heart ——— Deuteronomy 8:14, Psalms 101:5, Ezekiel 28:5,17 8. Wicked Heart ——— Deuteronomy 15:9, Proverbs 6:14,18, Jeremiah 4:14-18 9. Trembling Heart ——— Deuteronomy 28:65, Isaiah 66:2 10.Perfect Heart ——— 1 Kings 8:61, 1 Chronicles 29:9 11.Double Heart ——— 1 Chronicles 12:33, James 4:8 12.Tender Heart ——— 2 Kings 22:19, 2 Chronicles 34:27, Ephesians 4:32 13.Soft Heart ——— 1 Samuel 24:5, Job 23:16 14.Pure Heart ——— Psalms 24:4, Matthew 5:8, 1 Peter 1:22 15.Upright Heart ——— Psalms 32:11, 36:10, 64:10, 97:11 16.Clean Heart ——— Psalms 51:10, 73:1, Proverbs 20:9 17.Fixed heart ——— Psalms 57:7, 112:7 18.Subtle Heart ——— Proverbs 7:10 19.Froward or Perverse ——— Proverbs 11:20,12:8 20.Wise Heart ——— Exodus 28:3,35:25, Proverbs 10:8, 11:29 21.Merry Heart ——— 2 Chronicles 7:10, Proverbs 15:13-15, 17:22 22.Sorrowful Heart ——— Proverbs 14:13, 15:13 23.Haughty Heart ——— Proverbs 18:12, Jeremiah 48:29 24.Fretting Heart ——— Proverbs 19:3, 24:19, Psalms 37:1-8 25.Heavy Heart ——— Proverbs 25:20, 31:6 26.Unsearchable Heart ——— Proverbs 25:3, Psalms 64:6 27. Despiteful Heart ——— Ezekiel 25:15, Romans 1:30 28.Bitter Heart ——— Ezekiel 27:31, Hebrews 12:15, James 3:14 29.New Heart ——— Ezekiel 18:31, 36:26, 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 30. Stoney Heart ——— Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26 31.Flesh Heart ——— Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26 32.Uncircumcised Heart ——— Ezekiel 44:7, Jeremiah 9:26, Acts 7:51 33.Meek and Lowly ——— Matthew 11:29 34.Honest and Good ——— Luke 8:15 35.Overcharged heart———  Luke 21:34 36.Troubled Heart ——— John 14:1-3, 27 37.Single Heart ——— Ephesians 6:5, Acts 2:46 38.Foolish and Darkened ——— Romans 1:21 39.Impenitent Heart ——— Romans 1:21, 2:5 40.Circumcised ——— Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3 41.Evil Heart ——— Jeremiah 3:17,7:24,11:8,16:12, Hebrews 3:12 42.True Heart ——— Hebrews 10:22, Matthew 22:16 43.Melted Heart ——— Joshua 2:11, 5:1, 7:5, 14:8 44.Deceitful Heart ——— Jeremiah 14:14, 17:9, Mark 7:21-23 45.Hard Heart ——— Deuteronomy 15:17, Psalms 95:8, Hebrews 3:8 46.Whorish Heart ——— Ezekiel 6:9, Hosea 4:12, 9:1 47.Mischievous Heart ——— Proverbs 28:14, 22:15, Romans 1:21 48.Diabolical Heart ——— John 13:2, Acts 5:3 49.Covetous Heart ——— Jeremiah 22:17, 2 Peter 50.Compassionate Heart ——— Psalms 55:4, Jeremiah 4:19