A Sincere Heart
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 7320 |
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June 18, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22).
We were forgiven of sins by the precious blood of the Lord and became God's children. Then, we should become sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5). And, if our heart is cleansed from an evil conscience and have a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, we can receive answers to whatever we ask (Hebrews 10:22; 1 John 3:21-22).
Today let's look into how to achieve a sincere heart that God wants us to have.
You Must Not Have Falsehood.
Colossians 3:9-10 says, "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him." We must not lie either on purpose or without knowing it.
Some speak or make a report as if it were true even though they did not check its validity. Some talk like something is a fact, even though it's just their speculation. Some say they will do something but forget about it very soon. They also give irrelevant answers as often as they lack truth in them.
Suppose a mission president asked one of leaders to check the number of members who attended the meeting. But the leader did not check everyone and just made a report. It is not truthful. Later her report was revealed to be incorrect. She feels embarrassed having to confess that she didn't check the attendance properly. She justifies herself, thinking to herself, "It's all in the past." In this way she becomes insensitive to lying.
If she follows that way often, other workers around her may become discomforted and may not want to work together with her because she does not obey. Suppose the president asked to others about the leader, and other workers say as if they were waiting for the question.
"The leader always lies. No one wants to work with her." Is it true? No, it isn't. She said the result but she said she did what she had not checked.
Thus, we should always pray to have a sincere heart and check if there is any untruth in our words and actions all the time. If we find even a little bit of falsehood in us, we should cast it away by fervent prayer.
You Must Not Have a Changing Mind.
The truthful God also wants His children to have upright heart. If you once learned the truth, your belief in it must not be shaken. If you make up your mind to do truth, you must not change your attitude according to situations.
A changing mind is a representative attribute of the flesh. At one moment their tears pour down by the love of God who gave His only begotten Son and the love of the cross of the Lord. But in another moment they look at the world and commit sins again. There are also so many people who left God even after being saved from terminal diseases or great disasters.
Some others felt the sacrifice of the shepherd and said with tears of thanksgiving they would change into spirit. And they tried hard but they get disheartened because it seems they are not producing any results. It means that they do not have a sincere heart.
Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." The less changing mind you have, the more certainly you can believe the love of God and the Lord and the shepherd never changes. If you find a changing attitude within you, you must try to make it a habit to practice your determinations.
Suppose you made up your mind to pray unceasingly and to attend Daniel Prayer Meeting every night. But, if you have a changing mind, you sometimes come late or leave early or even miss one. If you realize you are doing that, you can just make up your mind once again. If you miss it once again, you shouldn't give up there. You can just attend all of the rest. At the moment you realize you changed, you can just start again. If you change, you can start again and again. Then, you can become a person who can keep your heart.
Perhaps you decided to attend a certain meeting, but when the time comes you might change your mind. You think like; "Do I have to go there? I don't have any duty there, and I have many other things to do." In this kind of situation, you can just go to the meeting just for the sake of keeping your decision. Suppose you decided to help a certain person. But as you are about to make a donation, you become reluctant. In this case, too, you can just do what you decided to do in order not to change your mind. As you keep on casting away cunningness and a changing mind this way, you can more quickly cultivate a sincere heart.
You Must Not Seek Your Own Benefit.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 reads, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor."
Today many people do not seek others' benefits but only follow their own benefits. They discard their beliefs or values and may commit immoral acts or even inhuman crimes only for the sake of their benefits.
As written in 2 Corinthians 11, Apostle Paul was put in jail, beaten, and was almost killed many times while preaching the gospel. He was shipwrecked and he suffered perils of his countrymen, Gentiles, and false brothers. He was sleepless, hungry, and thirsty, and he suffered from cold and exposure. He thought about accomplishing God's kingdom ahead of his own comfort and safety. It's because he rejoiced to deliver the gospel to the souls.
If you throw away self-seeking mind and seek only the glory of God like Apostle Paul, God will rejoice and guarantee you. He will bless you to achieve a sincere heart in full assurance of faith and give you the power so that you can lead countless souls to the way of salvation. Moreover, He will bless you to be called a great person in Heaven.
In this way, when you seek only the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and others' benefits, you can achieve a sincere heart.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is not by your personal efforts that you can achieve a sincere heart that has no falsehood, no changing, and no seeking of your own benefits.
You can achieve it only through fervent prayer and the armament of the Word and by the grace and strength of God and by the help of the Holy Spirit. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will achieve a sincere heart, have full assurance of faith, and thereby enter New Jerusalem that houses God's throne.
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