The Heart

Trust in the Lord with all your heart... --Proverbs 3:5

The Heart is mentioned more times in the Bible than faith, hope, and love combined. As children of God, we are who we are because of our believing hearts.

God says,
"I will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you, and remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." --Ezekiel 36:26

Moreover, Satan is who he is because of his prideful heart.
Ezekiel 28:17, says, speaking of Satan, "your heart was lifted up because of your beauty." and in Ezekiel 28:2, "Because your (Satan's) heart is lifted up and you have said, I am a god."

In the Bible, the heart is often referred to as the soil which receives God's word (the seed). Two people hear the gospel and one says yes and the other says no.

Often times, people's hearts (the soil) are hardened and cannot receive the truth of God's Word (the seed).

Hosea 10:12 instructs us to "Plow up the soil" to receive God's word.

God is a God of grace and mercy. He gives us opportunity upon opportunity to receive a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Indeed creation itself shouts of God's Glory:

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

---Romans 1:20

God is also a God of faithfulness. As we pray for those around us who are lost, God prepares the soil of their hearts to receive the "Wisdom of God" who is Jesus Christ. God works through the prays of His people.

God is a God of perseverance and as we pray for people God perseveres in preparing their hearts.

He tills the soil of hearts primarily by two methods: Lovingkindess and Tribulation

Lovingkindess:

"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" ---Romans 2:4

Tribulation:

"I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me". --Hosea 5:15-6:1

"When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice." --Deuteronomy 4:30

God allows heartache in some people's lives to bring them to the end of themselves and to a place called "there":

"But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul." --Deuteronomy 4:29

Above all, God is a God of Love. Rain and the sun foreshadow in the physical what God does in the spiritual.

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." --Matthew 5:45 (KJV)

"and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." --Acts 14:17

God uses the gentle rain and the pouring rain; the warm sunshine and the scorching sun to soften and harden the soil of our hearts.

So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. --Romans 9:18

And that is why it is so very important that:

"Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." --Hebrews 4:7

The same fire that melts wax, will harden clay. In the Bible, David wrote

"...My heart is like wax; It is melted within me." --Psalms 22:14

Read Jesus' parable about the heart:

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,"Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. "He who has ears, let him hear." --Matthew 13:3-9

Bible Verses About
THE HEART:

(Torrey's Topical Textbook)

Issues of life are out of the Heart Proverbs 4:23.

God:

Tries. 1Chronicles 29:17; Jeremiah 12:3.

Knows. Psalms 44:21; Jeremiah 20:12.

Searched. 1Chronicles 28:9; Jeremiah 17:10.

Understands the thoughts of the Heart. 1Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 139:2.

Ponders. Proverbs 21:2; 24:12.

Influences. 1Samuel 10:26; Ezra 6:22; 7:27; Proverbs 21:1; Jeremiah 20:9.

Creates a new Heart. Psalms 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26.

Prepares. 1Chronicles 29:18; Proverbs 16:1.

Opens. Acts 16:14.

Enlightens. 2Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 1:18.

Strengthens. Psalms 27:14.

Establishes. Psalms 112:8; 1Thessalonians 3:13.

The Heart should be:

Prepared to God. 1Samuel 7:3.

Given to God. Proverbs 23:26.

Perfect with God. 1Kings 8:61.

Applied to wisdom. Psalms 90:12; Proverbs 2:2.

Guided in the right. Proverbs 23:19.

Purified. James 4:8.

Single. Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22.

Tender. Ephesians 4:32.

Kept with diligence. Proverbs 4:23.

We should:

Believe with the Heart. Acts 8:37; Romans 10:10.

Serve God with all our Heart. Deuteronomy 11:13.

Keep God's statutes with all our Heart. Deuteronomy 26:16.

Walk before God with all our Heart. 1Kings 2:4.

Trust in God with all our Heart. Proverbs 3:5.

Love God with all our Heart. Matthew 22:37.

Return to God with all our Heart. Deuteronomy 30:2.

Do the will of God from the Heart. Ephesians 6:6.

Sanctify God in the Heart. 1Peter 3:15.

Love one another with a pure Heart. 1Peter 1:22.

No man can cleanse the Heart Proverbs 20:9.

Faith, the means of purifying the Heart Acts 15:9.

Renewal of the Heart promised under the gospel Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Hebrews 3:10.

When broken and contrite the Heart is not despised by God Psalms 51:17.

The pure in Heart shall see God Matthew 5:8.

Pray that your Heart may be:

Cleansed. Psalms 51:10.

Inclined to God's testimonies. Psalms 119:36.

United to fear God. Psalms 86:11.

Directed into the love of God. 2Thessalonians 3:5.

Harden not your Heart against God Psalms 95:8; Hebrews 4:7.

Harden not your Heart against the poor Deuteronomy 15:7.

Regard not iniquity in your Heart Psalms 66:18.

Take heed lest your Heart to be deceived Deuteronomy 11:16.

Know the plague of the Heart 1Kings 8:38.

He that trusts in the Heart is a fool Proverbs 28:26.

The Character of the Renewed Heart.

Prepared to seek God 2Chronicles 19:3; Ezra 7:10; Psalms 10:17.

Fixed on God Psalms 57:7; 112:7.

Joyful in God 1Samuel 2:1; Zechariah 10:7.

Perfect with God 1Kings 8:61; Psalms 101:2.

Upright Psalms 97:11; 125:4.

Clean Psalms 73:1.

Pure Psalms 24:4; Matthew 5:8.

Tender 1Samuel 24:5; 2Kings 22:19.

Single and sincere Acts 2:46; Hebrews 10:22.

Honest and good Luke 8:15.

Broken, contrite Psalms 34:18; 51:17.

Obedient Psalms 119:112; Romans 6:17.

Filled with the law of God Psalms 40:8; 119:11.

Awed by the word of God Psalms 119:161.

Filled with the fear of God Jeremiah 32:40.

Meditative Psalms 4:4; 77:6.

Circumcised Deuteronomy 30:6; Romans 2:29.

Void of fear Psalms 27:3.

Desirous of God Psalms 84:2.

Enlarged Psalms 119:32; 2Corinthians 6:11.

Faithful to God Nehemiah 9:8.

Confident in God Psalms 112:7.

Sympathising Jeremiah 4:19; Lamentations 3:51.

Prayerful 1Samuel 1:13; Psalms 27:8.

Inclined to obedience Psalms 119:112.

Wholly devoted to God Psalms 9:1; 119:10,69,145.

Zealous 2Chronicles 17:6; Jeremiah 20:9.

Wise Proverbs 10:8; 14:33; 23:15.

A treasury of good Matthew 12:35.

The Character of the Unrenewed Heart.

Hateful to God Proverbs 6:16,18; 11:20.

Full of evil Ecclesiastes 9:3.

Full of evil imaginations Genesis 6:5; 8:21; Proverbs 6:18.

Full of vain thoughts Jeremiah 4:14.

Fully set to do evil Ecclesiastes 8:11.

Desperately wicked Jeremiah 17:9.

Far from God Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8.

Not perfect with God 1Kings 15:3; Acts 8:21; Proverbs 6:18.

Not prepared to seek God 2Chronicles 12:14.

A treasury of evil Matthew 12:35; Mark 7:21.

Darkened Romans 1:21.

Prone to error Psalms 95:10.

Prone to depart from God Deuteronomy 29:18; Jeremiah 17:5.

Impenitent Romans 2:5.

Unbelieving Hebrews 3:12.

Blind Ephesians 4:18.

Uncircumcised Leviticus 26:41; Acts 7:51.

Of little worth Proverbs 10:20.

Deceitful Jeremiah 17:9.

Deceived Isaiah 44:20; James 1:26.

Divided Hosea 10:2.

Double 1Chronicles 12:33; Psalms 12:2.

Hard Ezekiel 3:7; Mark 10:5; Romans 2:5.

Haughty Proverbs 18:12; Jeremiah 48:29.

Influenced by the devil John 13:2.

Carnal Romans 8:7.

Covetous Jeremiah 22:17; 2Peter 2:14.

Despiteful Ezekiel 25:15.

Ensnaring Ecclesiastes 7:26.

Foolish Proverbs 12:23; 22:15.

Froward Psalms 101:4; Proverbs 6:14; 17:20.

Fretful against the Lord Proverbs 19:3.

Idolatrous Ezekiel 14:3,4.

Mad Ecclesiastes 9:3.

Mischievous Psalms 28:3; 140:2.

Proud Psalms 101:5; Jeremiah 49:16.

Rebellious Jeremiah 5:23.

Perverse Proverbs 12:8.

Stiff Ezekiel 2:4.

Stony Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26.

Stout Isaiah 10:12; 46:12.

Elated by sensual indulgence Hosea 13:3.

Elated by prosperity 2Chronicles 26:16; Daniel 5:20.

Studies destruction Proverbs 24:2.

Often judicially stupefied Isaiah 6:10; Acts 28:26,27.

Often judicially hardened Exodus 4:21; Joshua 11:20.

Become a person after God's own heart.

Begin by praying this prayer every day:

Holy Father,

Thank you Father that you have said in Your Word that "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward apearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Create within me a humble heart, a clean heart, a faithful heart, a contrite heart, a believing heart, a submissive heart, a pure heart, a servant heart, an obedient heart, a wise heart, a truthful heart, an understanding heart, a tender heart, a heart sensitive to Your voice, a willing heart, a surrendered heart, a forgiving heart, a waiting heart, a heart that is recklessly adbandoned to Your will.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen