Supernatural Transformation: Change Your Heart Into God’s Heart (6 page)

We have as much of God as we give to Him. Where we withhold from God, He withholds from us.

Receive a New Heart!

As we close this chapter, I want to give you the opportunity to receive a new heart and the gift of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus. As I wrote earlier, these changes are essential for experiencing genuine and ongoing heart transformation. If this chapter has opened your eyes to the corruption in your heart and your inability to reverse it, if you recognize that you need God to change your heart and are willing to surrender your life to Him completely, pray the following prayer. Trust that God will help you to give all the areas of your life to Him as He transforms you, for
“the one who calls you is faithful and he will do it”
(1 Thessalonians 5:24 niv).

Heavenly Father, I recognize that I am a sinner and that my sin separates me from You. My heart is in need of transformation, which only You can accomplish. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I repent of all my sins and break every evil covenant I have made with the world, with my sinful nature, and with the devil. Now, I make a new covenant of righteousness with Jesus. I ask Jesus to come into my heart and to change my life, filling me with the Holy Spirit. If I were to die right now, I know I would be in Your presence when I opened my eyes in eternity. In Jesus’ name, amen
!

2. www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/china-baby-saved-from-sewer-pipe_n_3344442.html.

3
. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/01/missing-11-year-old-starved-to-death-in-locked-bedroom-dallas-police-say/.

4
. http://www.lapoliciaca.com/nota-roja/violaban-y-filmaban-a-su-propia-hija/.

3

I
n this chapter, we will explore the various functions of the heart, as God intended them to be, so that we may cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit to transform our inner being.

1. The Heart Regulates the Flow of Life

As we have seen, everything in our life begins in the heart:
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life
[
“for it is the wellspring of life”
niv]
”
(Proverbs 4:23).
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil”
(Luke 6:45).
The condition of our heart determines the condition of our life. Just as God designed the physical heart to pump blood to the other organs in the body, distributing minerals and nutrients, He designed the spiritual heart to “pump” life to our entire being—
producing mental, emotional, and physical health.

Many people complain about their circumstances, wishing their lives were different. However, rather than grumbling about troublesome situations—whether they involve our business, marriage, social life, ministry, or other spiritual issues—we must examine our heart and start the process of change through repentance and the power of God’s grace to transform us. No matter what circumstance is causing us frustration, anger, or sadness, the key to transforming our life is our heart. That is where all transformation begins.

The spiritual heart was designed to “pump” life to our entire being—producing mental, emotional, and physical health.

Some people try to change their lives by sheer willpower. While the will is a participant in the process of transformation, it is not meant to function on its own. Many times, the will alone is unsuccessful in bringing about desired change, particularly when it has been allowed to grow weak. Moreover, it does not have the power to transform a person’s
nature
.

Suppose an individual has done something he knows is wrong. So, he decides, as an act of his will, “I will no longer do such and such,” yet he finds himself unable to change. He cannot uphold the decision of his will, because the sin he engaged in was conceived in his heart. The sin cannot be uprooted merely by his making a mental decision to reject it. Again, a work of true repentance and change must take place in our inner being—where the Holy Spirit reproves us, convicts us of sin, and prompts genuine contrition and a sincere desire to change. Unless our repentance comes from heartfelt conviction, there will be no lasting change in our behavior.

2. The Heart Is the Gatekeeper of Our Lives

The heart also functions as a gate, or door, that we open or close to external influences, all of which have the potential to affect our motivations, decisions, and actions. The devil desires to block the flow of God’s life in us, redirecting us away from our Creator’s original design. His goal is to destroy us or, at least, to derail God’s purposes for us—whether those purposes are connected to our ministry, vocation, marriage, family life, financial prosperity, or any other aspect of our life.

Consequently, Satan attempts to manipulate our heart by planting bad thoughts in our mind and enticing our sinful nature to rise up in the form of pride, lust, rebellion, and so forth. The Bible uses other terms for the sinful nature, such as the
“flesh”
(see, for example, Romans 7:5) or the
“old man”
(see, for example, Ephesians 4:22)—the “flesh” in this sense referring not to the physical body but to our sinful desires. Whatever term we use for the sinful nature, the devil wants our heart to be contaminated by it.

Satan often attacks in several areas of our life at the same time, because he wants to wear down our patience and take away our peace, making us vulnerable to sin—sin in our heart, and then sin in our actions. So, he introduces spirits of fear, anxiety, worry, discouragement, depression, sickness, and so forth, as he seeks to corrupt our heart with doubt, unbelief, bitterness, resentment, hate, guilt, or an all-pervasive conviction of failure and hopelessness.

This is why we must make a commitment to watch closely over our heart and to monitor its health. Allow me to share a word of advice from the Bible that is useful in protecting the heart: Be careful about what, and whom, you listen to. (See, for example, Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 4:29.) Don’t accept words of doubt or fear; don’t receive—or join in with—other people’s murmuring and complaining. As you guard the gate of your heart, grant admittance only to words that build and edify your faith, that bring you peace and joy, and that encourage truth, holiness, and a desire to seek God in a deeper way. “Listen” closely to God’s Word as you read and study the Scriptures. Your heart needs to be guarded in peace.

Your lifestyle reflects the condition of your heart.

3. The Heart Facilitates Intimate Relationships

As we discussed in chapter 1, Jesus cited the following as the greatest commandment God has given human beings:
“You shall love the L
ord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”
(Matthew 22:37). The Lord never requires us to do anything that He hasn’t enabled us to do. He may already have given us the ability to do it in the inherent makeup and gifts with which we were born; or, He may give us the resources directly through His Holy Spirit—or both. So, when we are commanded to love God with all our heart, we can know that this is something He will help us to do. We were created for intimacy with God, and we can have a deep relationship with Him through the grace and power of His Spirit.

Such a relationship with God arises from a love that is birthed in the heart and that surrenders completely to the Beloved. A similar principle applies to our relationships with other human beings. Every genuine relationship is birthed in the heart. Therefore, if a relationship that was established in love begins to die, it is because that relationship is no longer based in the heart; consequently, it grows cold and/or fades away.

God Pours Out His Love into Our Heart

When we are born again through Jesus Christ, one of the first things that is activated in our heart is a love for God; this love is evidence of the genuineness of our new birth. The Scriptures say,
“The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”
(Romans 5:5). After the experience of the new birth, we are often immediately able to love other people more freely, as well. We may find that certain relationships that had been lukewarm or strained are renewed, and we may suddenly discover a desire to share God’s love with other people.

Any action we take for God—praying, serving others, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, giving offerings, and so forth—should flow from our love for Him.
“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”
(Colossians 3:23). This lifestyle of love was designed by the Creator. Again, if we discern a motivation in our heart other than love—for example, one that is merely expedient—it indicates that some area of our heart is controlled by the corrupt sinful nature and needs to be transformed into the likeness of God’s own nature.

A true relationship with God arises from a love that is birthed
in the heart and that surrenders completely to the Beloved.

Openness of Heart Is Essential

Openness of heart is a necessary ingredient for any close relationship—whether with God or another person. Let’s consider an illustration of this principle. Suppose you have a positive working relationship with someone at your job. You never encounter any problems with this individual. He is a hard worker, cooperates with you, has a pleasant disposition, and contributes substantially to your department. Because you enjoy working with him, you think you’d like to develop a friendship outside the workplace. However, you find that you cannot cross a certain point in your relationship with him. His heart is closed to anything beyond interaction at the job.

This scenario indicates that even when a person is intelligent and has an open
mind
toward others, he may still have a closed
heart
toward them. For many people, it can take a long time to feel comfortable enough with another person to open their heart to a deeper level of intimacy—whether in friendship, romantic love, or the spiritual relationship between brothers or sisters in the body of Christ. These people may easily open up their mind to others while discussing plans, goals, and procedures, and while sharing tasks and responsibilities; but, for the most part, they will not reveal many of the thoughts and feelings of their heart.

We will not always experience a connection of the heart with the people with whom we work or with whom we share other types of responsibility. Yet, when a person’s heart is closed to us, our interactions with him can feel impersonal, sometimes even cold. While such an association may still allow us to function adequately in the workplace, it would be unhealthy if it occurred in a relationship with a member of our immediate family or a longtime friend. In these cases, the party who has closed his heart has likely built up a defense mechanism in order to protect himself from someone or something that he fears or that has caused him to take offense—whether that “threat” is real or imagined.

There is no relationship without an open heart.

Similar closed relationships can occur within the church. For example, suppose a believer decides he will just attend church services but then go home as soon as the service ends. He does not want to develop spiritually meaningful relationships with the pastor or other members of the community of faith. Such a believer may not recognize that
“
[Christians],
being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another”
(Romans 12:5). The effect of his decision to close himself off from other believers is similar to the business relationship described above. And, there are times when such closed behavior indicates that the individual simply wants to use other people in order to get something from them, rather than offering them the love of Christ.

When a person has constructed emotional barriers that stifle the normal functions of his heart as designed by God, leading to a closed heart, this means that others—whether they are members of his family, his church, or another group—will never truly know him or be able to develop a close relationship with him.

Some church denominations teach (or imply) that to show emotion is an act of the “flesh”; others may not go that far, but they still do not encourage the members of their congregations to display their feelings openly. God gave us emotions and feelings to enable us to connect with other people and to express ourselves; therefore, they are both real and necessary. Where churches have shut down the demonstration of emotion, they have sometimes squelched a genuine move of the Holy Spirit, because what the people were feeling in their hearts, prompted by the Spirit, could not be expressed and acted upon.

Is your own heart open or closed? Are you comfortable sharing your heart with your spouse, other family members, or friends? Or, are you afraid to do so because you have been emotionally wounded by someone in the past? In coming chapters, we will discuss some of the barriers we create from emotional wounds and sinful attitudes that prevent us from opening up our heart to God and others, and keep us from being healed, thus distorting our reflection of God’s heart.