What's in your heart? Part 1

  

This week, Michael writes: If God wanted to do something against the tradition of the church, would there be freedom for the spirit of God to move? If God can have His way with us as men and women of God in the church, then the framework of the church must be flexible enough to allow the spirit of the Lord to move freely. If the house is built on the foundation of the rock of Jesus Christ, the house may bend but it will not be moved. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has set you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Freedom within a framework helps us walk circumspectly according to the Word of God. A disciple is a disciplined follower. Discipline is a key to allowing the spirit to work in you and through you.  The final fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 is temperance or self-control. The liberty that we have is freedom to control our minds, hearts, and actions according to the Word of God. This Liberty also allows God to work in us and through us to will and to do of his good pleasure.  

In 2 Chronicles 30, good King Hezekiah reinstated the feast of the Passover.  The tribes of Judah had forsaken the Lord God Jehovah for many years but when Hezekiah took the throne, he tore down the old structures of pagan religions that Judah had embraced.  The people had a heart to repent and turn back to God. They wanted to keep the Passover and to serve the Lord.  However, the people did not keep all of the details of the Old Testament law of sacrifices. God is more interested in our heart of worship to praise and glorify Him than in keeping the letter of the law. When God's people return their hearts to the Lord, they give generously to the work of the ministry so that the church will flourish and the Word of God will be preached and ministered.  A pastor's main responsibility is to be devoted to the Word of God and to prayer. 

2 Chronicles 31:4, “Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord.”

When the spirit of God moves within the church, the harvest will be an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit. For the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance....against such there is no law. According to proverbs, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What's in your heart? To profess Christianity means that we're "professional" Christians. The profession means to "speak the same thing." Your profession means that you "practice what you preach" proficiently. It means that your heart and your mouth are coordinated with your actions according to the Word of truth.