THE HEART OF MAN
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Once again our Heavenly Father has granted us the privilege of gathering around the table of our Lord to
remember the love of our Heavenly Father in giving His Son and the obedience and love of our Lord Jesus in
submitting to the will of His father. That we might all be one with each other and with our Lord Jesus in submitting
to the will of His Father. That we might all be one with each other and with our Lord Jesus through whom we are
able to be one in spirit with our Creator.
We do this week after week for years on end and still we don't get too much of this example. No matter
how old we are, we still are amazed and humbled by reliving this sacrifice that means so much to us.
It is strange that we can feel so dedicated and changed after a Sunday memorial service and then in just
a few days it seems to be wearing off. There is something that tries to keep us from accepting the lesson
of this sacrifice. We all know of course that it has nothing to do with the superhuman devil of the churches. It is
in fact a completely human devil. This thing that hinders our perception and memory is the same thing that the
apostle Paul talks about in the 7th chapter of
Romans starting at the 14th verse, 21st century King James Version.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do, I approve not. For what I would do, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Or maybe we could say that we dwell
in the sin, sinful flesh that is.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but
how to perform that witch is good, I find not.
19 For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do.
20 Now if I do that which I would not do, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. We see two laws. One the law of God, which
can dwell in the mind, here called the law of my mind. And the other the law dwelling in the body
members the law of the flesh, or the law of sin.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the law of sin.
So, here is our problem, the adversary, the thing that hinders from becoming like Christ is our own flesh.
We don't have a convenient outside agency that we can blame for our sins. But that doesn't mean that we have
any less of an enemy. We do have an enemy, and that enemy within us is just as diabolical as any demon
conceived in the minds of pagan priests and philosophers. In
Genesis chapter 6 verse 5 we read,
5 And Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagining of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.
Here is our enemy.
The word translated as heart here indicates the center of a thing and is sometimes translated as midst.
So, what we see here in the 6th chapter of Genesis is that the imaginations of the thoughts that come from the
center of man are evil. Now this is talking about the inner man not the artificial outward show that we put on
for others, but the real self, the innermost seat of intellect and emotion.
In Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 3 we read;
3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun: that there is one event that happeneth unto
all. Yea, also the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they
live; and after that they go to the dead.
Is it any wonder we see so much insanity in the world around us? Madness or insanity is a basic part of
our nature. What could be more insane than to disobey the will of the almighty king of creation?
Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
The literal meaning of the word translated devil is slanderer. What could be more of a slanderer than our
own heart that is deceitful above all things?
In Mark 7 verses 20-23 we read;
20 And He said, "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within and defile the man."
So we can't blame our evil upon anything else it comes from us, from our heart.
When I was a young lad it seemed that the culture in this country was undergoing a change. All laws,
rules, and regulations were suspect. It was a time when young people had a great distrust for institutions.
It seemed that the exploitive materialistic society had come to a head and everyone saw that there was no
satisfaction in the acquisition of goods or in the exercise of power over others. Instead everyone was trying
to find their real self. Almost any kind of antisocial behavior was explained with "oh, he is just trying to find
himself".
So, for a while a large portion of the population gave itself over to introspection. People thought that by
turning into themselves they could find God. The churches, the grug culture, and the psychiatrists all supported
this theory. Then it seemed like almost overnight the whole movement just died out. I think the reason for this
is obvious. All these people looking inward to find themselves succeeded, but instead of finding God they found
the devil. Once we recognize the enemy we can fight it. Lets look at
Mark 10:15
15 "Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not
enter therein."
So the way to overcome our heart which causes the things of defilement has something to do with being
like a little child. Does a child have a different heart than we do?.........Not at all.
Genesis 8:21
21 "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil
from his youth;"
Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound into the heart of a child,
No, it isn't the nature of a child's heart that makes him different; it must be something else.
Matthew18: 2-4
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
It is the humility of the child, he trusts his parents. His parents are bigger, stronger, and have more
knowledge than he does and he trusts them to make the right judgments. What better example of this do we
have than our Lord Jesus Himself?
Luke 22: 41-42
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done.
He told His Heavenly Father His will, but He trusted in His Father's will more than His own. This is the way
to life eternal. Jesus showed us how to overcome the devil, the animal nature that competes with God for our
obedience. The animal nature works from instinct to protect the animal. It is always me first, I'm the most
important. But Jesus' way is God first, and don't worry about our animal existence.
Hebrews 2: 14
14 Therefore, since human nature is the common heritage of "the Children," Jesus also shared it, in order
that by death he might render powerless him whose power lies in death-that is, the Devil-(human nature)
15 and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.
Since the Bible has showed us plainly that the devil is our own human nature, the word devil in this quote
can be substituted human nature. Jesus in His sacrifice showed us not to fear death, and Yahweh, by raising
Jesus back to life showed us that we can trust our lives in His hands. I will finish up with one last quote, and to make it easier to understand I
will substitute the words human nature for the word devil.
1st John 3: 8-9
8 He who lives sinfully belongs to the human nature, for the human nature has sinned from the first. It
was for this that the Son of God appeared, that he might undo the human nature's work.
9 No one who has received the new Life from God lives sinfully, because the very nature of God dwells
within him; and he cannot live in sin, because he has received the new Life from God.
Yahweh's nature in His Holy Word, and His Holy Word made frlesh dwells in our mind and has the ability
to counteract the human nature in our members. We are reminded of this each Sunday.
An Exhortation given by
Bro. Jim Lemmon
March 20, 2001
At the Westville Indiana Ecclesia