Having to Deal with our Heart In the Light of the Lord Presence

HAVING TO DEAL WITH OUR HEART IN THE LIGHTOF THE LORD’S PRESENCE FOR THE GROWTHOF THE DIVINE SEED OF LIFE WITHIN US UNTO OUR MATURITYIN LIFE; THE HEART BEING THE CONGLOMERATEOF MAN’S INWARD PARTS,MAN’S CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE, HIS ACTING AGENT

We must deal with our heart in the light of the Lord’s presence for the growth of the divine seed of life within us unto our maturity in life; the heart is the conglomerate of man’s inward parts, man’s chief representative, his acting agent. Our heart is the conglomerate, which means composite or corporation, of all of man’s inward parts. What constitutes, makes up, our heart is all our inward parts. Moreover, our heart, this conglomerate of our inward parts, is our chief representative. Our heart represents us, our person. Whatever our heart thinks is what we are thinking. Whatever our heart is emoting, we are emoting. When our heart is making a decision, it is we who are making that decision. When we express good things, it is because our heart is filled with good things, but when evil things are expressed, it is because our heart is filled with evil things. Furthermore, our heart is our acting agent.

Our Heart Being a Composition of All the Partsof Our Soul—the Mind, the Emotion, and the Will—Plus One Part of Our Spirit—the Conscience

Our heart is a composition of all the parts of our soul—the mind, the emotion, and the will (Matt. 9:4; Heb. 4:12; Acts 11:23; John 14:1; 16:22)—plus one part of our spirit—the conscience (Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:20). It is clear that to deal with our heart means to deal with our soul, that is, to deal with our mind, our emotion, our will, as well as our conscience. Whether or not we want to or have time to, we need to deal with all these inward parts. We cannot avoid this, and there are no shortcuts to this. We have a choice. If we do not let the Lord deal with us in our inward parts in this age, He will deal with us in the next age. We should tell Him, “Lord, deal with me now, not later.”

The Exercise of the Spirit Working Only When Our Heart Is Active; If Man’s Heart Is Indifferent, the Spirit Being Imprisoned Within and Being Unable to Show Forth Its Capability

The exercise of the spirit works only when our heart is active; if man’s heart is indifferent, the spirit is imprisoned within and is unable to show forth its capability (Matt. 5:3, 8; Psa. 78:8). We may have the thought that the spirit takes the lead; however, this point shows that even the exercise of our spirit will not work if our heart is not active. We often encourage one another to turn to our spirit. If we turn to our spirit by calling on the Lord, but our heart is inactive, indifferent, dispassionate, or absent, we will not sense anything; hence, our calling is hollow. In 2 Corinthians 3:16 Paul speaks of the turning of our heart. Our heart must be active, turn to, and love the Lord. When our heart is activated, and we say, “Lord Jesus, I love You,” the exercise of the spirit works. 

Our spirit is powerful. The law of life that is in our spirit is amazing. We often say that the switch is our spirit and that we need to switch on the spirit. Now we realize that we also need to switch on our heart. There are two “switches” to our inner being. We need to switch on our spirit, and we need to switch on our heart. One switch will not work properly without the other. Hence, the heart is important. In fact, if our heart is not exercised properly, the spirit is actually imprisoned. Our spirit is very capable but only with the cooperation of our heart. This spirit cannot show its power or capability if our heart is closed.

The Soul Being the Person Himself,but the Heart Being the Person in Action;the Heart Being the Acting Agent,the Acting Commissioner, of Our Entire Being

The soul is the person himself, but the heart is the person in action; the heart is the acting agent, the acting commissioner, of our entire being. According to the Bible, the human being is a soul (Gen. 12:5; Acts 2:41; 7:14). Deuteronomy 10:22 says, “Your fathers went down into Egypt as seventy souls.” A soul is a human being, a person. When we are doing nothing, the soul is there, but when this soul acts, it is the heart that is doing it. The heart is the person in action. Anything we do spontaneously engages and involves the heart.

If our physical heart is not working, we will have to be resuscitated. However, if our psychological heart is not working, we will also have to be resuscitated, figuratively speaking, for it means that we are spiritually dead. Our spirit is there, but it is nonfunctional because our heart is not activated. When our heart is active, especially doing something in a positive way toward the Lord, the spirit follows. The heart is the acting agent, the acting commissioner, of our entire being. Our whole life and being is directed by our heart. Everything related to us is directed by our heart. For example, what we say and how we react to something in our marriage are all directed by our heart.

The Activities and Movements of Our Physical BodyDepending on Our Physical Heart;in like Manner, Our Daily Living,the Way We Act and Behave,Depending on What Kind of Psychological Heart We Have

The activities and movements of our physical body depend on our  physical heart; in like manner, our daily living, the way we act and behave, depends on what kind of psychological heart we have. In this message we are clearly not talking about our physical heart but about our heart in the psychological realm, which affects everything in our daily living. Our actions and behavior depend on what kind of psychological heart we have. Most of the fallen human hearts are not good at all. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, / And it is incurable; / Who can know it?” For example, when the valves in our physical heart are blocked, we cannot function in a normal way in our daily human life. However, when our heart muscles, chambers, and valves are working well, we will also live well. Likewise, when our psychological heart is proper and healthy, our spiritual life will also be good and healthy. If our heart is wrong and unhealthy, whatever we try to do will not work.

For our salvation the Lord gave us a change of heart. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord said, “I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” When we were saved, not only was our spirit regenerated; we also had a heart transplant. The Lord took out our heart of stone and put a new heart of flesh within us. Like a physical heart transplant, our new heart needs to cooperate and coordinate with our spirit so that we can live a new life in Christ.