In my blog WHEN YOUR HEART IS FIXED IT IS NOT MIXED I made a statement that is revelation and that is that your heart controls your actions
Anytime that a person tries to act differently than the way that they are in there heart then those actions bring forth confusion, turmoil and actually brings forth an hypocrisy, a breeding ground for satan and all that he wants to do in your life
When you try to act differently from the way that you are in your heart it sets up a breeding ground for anything that satan wants to do.
So instead of the child of God dealing with behavior modification, instead of trying to monitor and change our actions we need to go to the root of the problem which is in our heart and get rid of the weeds that are growing there.
Take notice,
When you become born again you receive a new heart.
Ezek 36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
When you received that new heart it was not given to you in stone, neither was it set in cement, but rather was changeable.
In other words it was moldable and pliable, so that it can be formed and transformed and the reason that your new heart has to be changeable is because of the society that we live in because this society does not care about matters of the heart.
Our society is more in tune with performance, achievement and experience and because of that many things that we deal with on a daily basis are destructive to the heart
We live in a society where the things that take place around us, the things that present themselves to us, the people that we deal with on a daily basis are destructive to our heart and many of you who have a new heart still have heart issues within your heart that are very destructive to your Christian lifestyle.
The society that we live in has taken on this demonic attitude,
Many of you remember a couple of years ago when the president of the United States was found in adultery, and then when he lied to the entire nation concerning that action, a great number of people were not bothered by those actions because they said that his performance in the white house and running our country was most important and what he did in his personal life had no bearing on the job that he was doing as president
Hear me,
Actions always reveal character and integrity and they always reveal the confines of the heart.
For as you are in your heart so you are.
Prov 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
So what does For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: have to do with Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
The chapter explains the verse
Prov 23:1-6
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
What does all this mean?
It means do not be swayed by this rulers deceitful meat
Consider diligently what is set before thee
Do not be swayed by the food that he has, the influence that he has or his material possessions.
You need to understand that as he thinks so he is
The whole context of this passage of scripture is that you are not to judge this man by the food that he has. by the riches that he has, by the servants that he has, by the possessions that he has, judge him based upon his integrity.
Beware for as he thinks in his heart this is how he is going to be.
You are what you think and what you think your flesh follows.
Allow me to make a statement
The Academy award ceremonies take place in Hollywood but it could also take place in the church
We have many actors in the church and most of them should receive awards for their acting in church and in public and at the homes of friends
But how we really think shows up in our actions at home, with our spouses and children, with our neighbors and with our dog
For as a man think in his heart so that is what he is
It is that which is in your heart that is the real issue,
And you can not consistently be something differently than what is in your heart
What you have in your heart dictates who you are.
You can be the actor, you can play the part of the hypocrite and win an academy award for your performance around people, but that does not change the fact of who you are in your heart is how you are.
This is the reason why so many people fall and revert back to what they were delivered from and those in the church world say,
I would have never believed that they were like that
She was so angelic,
He seemed to be such a good man,
I thought he loved his wife
He treated her so well, they seemed so happy
I would have never thought that he would take up with this other woman, this is the reason that people drink, smoke, go to places that they should not, do things that they should not do, gossip, lie, have bitterness, unforgiveness and resentment
Issues of the heart
If you want your life to change then you have to change your heart and most people want nothing to do with this because after they have been born again they do not want to deal with their heart that has evil issues.
Prov 4:20
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Ps 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.It is in the heart that the word of God has to be hid in.
The word of God is not a head issue, it is not a flesh issue, it is a heart issue and it affects how you think.
Prov 4:22-23
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Everything that you are ever going to desire, everything that you are going to want, everything that is going to be life to you is going to come out of your heart.
Jesus himself said the very same thing in the book of Matthew out of the abundance of your heart the mouth speaks
Listen to me
When you have a heart that is filled with evil it can not produce good things, you may look good, talk good and you may have a story that is good but the end product will be the same as the heart from which it comes out of.
And when it is placed within the fire as stated in 1 Cor 3:12 then its true worth will be revealed
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
I will say it again
As your heart goes so goes your life,
If you want any area of your life to change then your heart in that area needs to change.
2 Chr 12:13-14
So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.
And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.
You may not want to, you may say that you will never turn away from God but you will if you do not prepare your heart to seek the Lord.