The Malnourished Heart

Let's title the sermon, The Malnourished Heart. Subtitle, Nourish the Heart and Live. Momentous events continue to unfold on the world scene as humanity seems to plunge deeper into a state of frantic anxiety as they try to cope with a world that has lost its way. The UN hosted an international conference on racism in Geneva, Switzerland this past week. The US and Israel boycotted the meeting because they knew that Israel would be condemned for her treatment, so-called, of the Palestinians. True to form, my movement, Amandina Jod, the president of Iran, made an inflammatory speech condemning Israel and her allies. European delegates walked out of the meeting. Amandina Jod was attacked by two French protesters who had this clown kind of wig on their heads, and they threw something at him, sort of like the Iraqi guy who threw his shoes at President Bush. Also this week, an insurgent force of Taliban fighters got within 60 miles in the capital of Pakistan. The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. Suicide bombers continue to kill innocent people in Iraq this week, with one bombing killing over 30 people. There was a suicide bombing in Afghanistan within the recent hours, killing five. The US is drawing down its forces in Iraq and sending them to Afghanistan. Now, the consequences of this will probably be deadly because you leave a vacuum in Iraq, see, Iraq has three conflicting factions. The main faction in Iraq, 80% or more, are Sunnis who supported Saddam Hussein. Then you have maybe 15% or so or less of Shiites. And Shiites, of course, compose the population mainly of Iran. Iran is the only, quote, Shiite republic on the face of the earth. And Iran wants to move in to Iraq, and as soon as the US leaves, they probably will. But there's a tiger sitting on the northeastern border of Iraq, and that's within the borders of Iraq, and that's the Kurds. The Kurds have been fighting the Turks and the Iraqis, and to some degree the Iranians, for decades and decades. And they are waiting for their opportunity as well. So who knows what will happen as the US begins to evacuate its forces from Iran and send them to Afghanistan. The Middle East peace talks, as I mentioned in the announcement session, are back on, basically with the agreement that was reached at Annapolis during the days of President Bush a couple of years ago, the two-state solution. And they're going to be having, from Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu, from Egypt, Mubarak, from the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Abbas, who is the president, and some other Middle Eastern leaders.

Of course, the great bone of contention remains Jerusalem, and probably Jerusalem will be internationalized as called for in the original resolution that set up the Israel in 1948. Actually, resolution 181, UN resolution 181, was passed in November of 1947, which called for, at that time, two independent states, that is a Palestinian state and Israeli state, with Jerusalem being under the governmental auspices of the UN. And as you know, in Revelation chapter 11, eventually Jerusalem is going to be divided. It says, measure the inner court, but don't measure the outer court. It's given to the Gentiles for three and a half years. This week was also the 10th anniversary of the Columbine School Massacre back on April the 20th. I believe it was the 20th of 1999. Those two young men walked into the high school at Columbine and opened fire. One of the fathers of a young lady who was murdered at Columbine spoke before a congressional committee this week, and I'm now going to read excerpts from her speech. I'd like to thank Mr. Siever and also Mr. Henniger for passing this on. I surfed the net a lot, and I did not see this. You did not hear it. At least I didn't, and I doubt that you did from any major news source. One of the most powerful speeches that has been given in this nation in a long time. On Thursday, Darryl Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he had to say, and they did not receive it very well. But this needs to be heard by every person in the land. In fact, this needs to be heard by every person in the world. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert.

These courageous words spoken by Darryl Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt. It seems, and of course you could debate this, but he seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness, a voice that we should be crying as well as a church and as a people.

I'm going to read a portion of the transcript, the main highlights from his speech, and so this will be quoting him. Since the dawn of creation, there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher and the other 11 children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used, neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I'm not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I'm not here to represent or defend the NRA because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore, I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believe that they had anything to do with Rachel's murder, I would be the strongest opponent. I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy. It was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies. Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs. Your words are empty air. You've stripped away our heritage. You've outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms and precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere and ask the question, why? You regulate restrictive laws through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand that God is what you need.

Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our makeup, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact, even Harvard. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs, politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts, and hence the title of the malnourished heart. As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right. I challenge every young person in America and around the world to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School, prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA, I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone. My daughter's death will not be in vain. The young people of this country will not allow that to happen. The end of his speech. Did you hear this speech reported on Fox? Did you hear this speech reported on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, or any of those major news networks? Did you hear Limbaugh, Hannity, or the other one, I can't think of his name now, Rant about it?

No, I didn't hear anything from any of them.

Mr. Scott is to be commended and congratulated for his bold and brave speech. It probably only had one error in it. The last line in which he said that the young people would not let the victims of Columbine die in vain. Will it be the young people's fault or will it be the leaders of this nation? Will it be the religious leaders, political leaders, the educators? Will it be the parents of the land? Will it be the teachers?

Young people have to have leadership and direction. Who will teach the youth? Will it be parents, teachers, political leaders, or their peers? The only hope they have is their parents. It won't be political leaders. It won't be their peers. It won't be their teachers in this world's educational system. If it's going to happen, it will be with the parents. Because of the spirit of the time, it swallowed up the heart and will of teachers, politicians, and peers. Let's go to Ezekiel 22. Ezekiel 22. Ezekiel, a captivity in Babylon, having been one of the earliest ones taken. In warfare at that time, in ancient times especially, they would try in the first wave to take away the young people who showed the greatest promise. Sort of like the Baroque Scholars of the day. Ezekiel was taken early on. So was Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Nebednego, and others. Ezekiel prophesied from Babylon to basically the people back in Jerusalem, and at times addressing the whole nation of Israel.

Ezekiel 22 verse 23, The Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her, You are the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They devoured souls, had taken the treasure in precious things. They have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, have profaned mine holy things. When you profane holy things, you treat them as commonplace, not as sacred, not as holy. They have violated profane my holy things. They have put no difference. And here's one of the main problems. They have put no difference between the holy and the profane. You see, anything goes. Toleration is the watchword of the day. Who are you to condemn anybody? Don't we all have freedom to make up our own minds? They have put no difference or shown no difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. I mean, you cannot read a more graphic description of the conditions of this nation today than what you will find here in Ezekiel, in Isaiah, and in Jeremiah. And if prophecy is dual, of course, you know what that means. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves raving in the prey to shed blood, to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. Her prophets have dobbed them with untempered mortar. Of course, you have the media playing their role, and the media is owned by the corporate people, and the corporate people are in league with governmental officials, as we're seeing more and more today. I mean, what is facing us in the next few months economically is frightful to contemplate, because probably General Motors and Chrysler are going to declare bankruptcy.

There's a chain reaction from that that is unbelievable. Both Chrysler and GM depend on basically the same suppliers of many of the various components that go into making up an automobile. And then, so if they're not making cars, then these various suppliers, and it goes all the way down to the very raw material itself, all these people will be out of jobs. GM has already announced that they're going to, even if they don't declare bankruptcy, Chrysler is talking about liquidation, of selling what they have at probably 50 cents on the dollar or less.

So, one of the things, of course, that has happened to us as a people is that beginning in the 1930s, when Mr. Armstrong began to do his radio broadcast and the Plain Truth magazine, that we had been warned over and over again. And it's almost like the story. You've heard the story of a little boy who tended the sheep, and he wanted to test whether or not he would get help if he cried wolf wolf. Well, he cried wolf wolf several times just to test him out, see if they would come. And sure enough, they would come. Then, one day, the wolf came. He really came. He cried wolf wolf, and nobody came. And so, we are somewhat in that position today as a people, I believe, in the Church of God because we've cried wolf for a long time.

And we, you look at it one way, and it's no time at all. The 1930s to the present time, let's say 80 years, and you heard in the sermonette where Noah, in a sense, was crying wolf preacher of righteousness for 120 years. We were prima ture in a lot of our projections and so on. The booklet, 1972, in Prophecy. Those of you who've been in the Church for many years, you've read the booklet. Maybe some of you younger people never even heard of it.

But it was there. So it makes it even more incumbent upon us to try to get us going in the right direction and understand that it's not going to always be like this.

Verse 28 again, her prophets adopt them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, dividing lies unto them, saying thus as the Lord God, when the Lord is not spoken, the people of the land have used oppression, exercised robbery, have vexed the poor and needy. Yes, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully, and I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Today, those who step outside that which is considered politically correct commit political suicide and, depending on the circle that you run in, social suicide as well. You'll be treated as a pariah, as an outcast. And eventually it talks about, and we'll probably read this later in Matthew, that you shall be hated of all nations for my namesake. Verse 31, Therefore I have poured out mine indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, says the Lord God.

Another event that I've mentioned in the announcement session, Iowa did away with the words bride and groom and the marriage license and put in party A and party B. The Attorney General warned state officials, you perform same-sex marriage or go to prison.

California's Miss USA Carrie Prejean, maybe it's Prejean, however they pronounce J-E-A-N, probably Prejean, Miss California's USA candidate, Carrie Prejean, was attacked for saying that she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Here's a news brief headline Miss California declares, Gay marriage cost me Miss USA crown. Miss California says, candor cost her crown in Sunday's Miss USA competition. Carrie Prejean, 21, probably knew she was in trouble when she acknowledged her opposition to same-sex marriages in response to a question from openly gay judge Perez Hilton.

Quote, In my country and in my family, I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Prejean replied later she lost to Miss North Carolina. It is possible that America has so entered the realm of the days of lot. We'll turn there in just a moment. That a candidate who was leading by all counts in the U.S. Miss USA pageant would have lost simply because she affirmed the Bible teaching on the same the Bible teaching on marriage between a man and a woman. Promoter Donald Trump is quoted as saying that Carrie probably lost because of her politically incorrect marks and also the judge Perez Hilton thought so. In fact, openly gay Perez Hilton is shown on a video which is airing all over YouTube as calling Carrie a dumb starts with a B and denigrating anyone who would mention the name Jesus Christ.

Hilton went on to say that she gave the worst answer that had ever been given in the history of that kind of pageant. He also said that if she had won, he would have rushed to the platform, seized her crown from her. Of course, if you put this on the other foot and if this had been a quote straight person who had said this about a gay person, then it would be like the end of the world. America is clearly nearing the prophetic marker where her mainstream acceptance of homosexuality is becoming identical to the manner in which Sodom accepted the gay lesbian lifestyle. Let's go to Luke 17 now, verse 26.

This is part of those last few days that Christ was on the earth when they were going up to Jerusalem for those last few days before He was crucified. Luke 17, verse 26. As it was in the days of Noah, shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man?

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also, as it was in the days of Lot. Lot was given the opportunity to get out of Sodom because God had revealed Abraham what was going to happen to Sodom and Lot began to plead or Abraham began to plead with God over how many people would be destroyed and finally it got done. We can find ten righteous people there and down basically it was just lot. So as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. And of course Sodom became the watchword like of the label of homosexuality, the word Sodomy. Sodomy was outlawed in virtually every state in the union. At one time, I'm not 100% sure, but I think there was a law in every state in the union against Sodomy. And basically, all of those laws have been reversed. I think Georgia might still have it on their books, but if it were to be challenged in the courts and go to the Supreme Court, it wouldn't stand in today's world. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thy shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. It says here, that's the way it's going to be when Jesus Christ comes again. That's what's happening. There's more here in just a moment.

In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away. He that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. This is not the time for self-preservation, as it were, in any dimension of life. This is a time for truth. This is a time to be of a good courage and to be very bold, as you heard in the sermonette. Hate crime legislation is working its way through Congress at the present time, and genuine true Christians are the main target. A thorough legislation that directly threatens the freedom of Bible-believing Christians will be voted on, and I think it was voted on on Thursday by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. If you know, this kind of legislation starts in these committees, and it has to go grind its way through the committees before it comes before the whole Congress. In just a moment, I'll give you the House Bill number.

One of the people, I'm surely not a fan of his, but many of these Protestant Christian fundamentalists are leading fights against this, that is, against this bill, such as Kennedy Coral Ridge Ministries in Florida.

And a lot of these ministries are asking you to call your congressman. The law is called Hate Crimes Act of 2009, H.R.1913. The proposed hate crimes legislation is so dangerous because it threatens our First Amendment right to free speech. Hate crime laws have already been passed in Britain, Sweden, Australia, Canada to assault the rights of Christians to free speech. There are people in jail in Europe right now who, and whether or not it's a true fact or not, I guess all facts are true, but anyhow, like there's a Holocaust denier, you can't deny the Holocaust publicly in Germany. You go to jail. You go to prison. You don't have that right to believe that.

The law now before Congress will place pastors or anyone else who speaks out against homosexual conduct at risk of federal prosecution. Representative Louis Gohmert, Republican Texas, he's from the Tyler area. I've seen him on television up there many times. Representative Louis Gohmert, Republican Texas, a former judge, said that under this bill, clergymen and others could be charged with encouraging or inducing a hate crime if they preach against homosexuality. So the big threat that the government holds on this is the tax-exempt status, what's called the 501c. The 501c tax-exempt status, and the government is moving to control you and your church by threatening that. Now, a lot of churches, and I think a lot of people are under the impression that you have to be a 501c to be tax-exempt in the religious sense, but that is not true. You do not have to be a 501c to be tax-exempt in the religious sense. Of course, the worldwide Church of God was a 501c, and so is the United Church of God, a 501c. The federal takeover of the banking industry, of insurance, auto industry, is only the tip of the iceberg. The government already has a legal right to control any 501c. There are certain things that you have to meet, and especially if this hate crimes law passes, then churches would, who, for example, churches and the ministries who would refuse to perform same-sex marriage, could be prosecuted, and you could lose your 501c. The plan eventually, if it's taken out, would be sort of like what happened in Germany during the days of Hitler, a Reich Church, formed on similar lines, and fundamental pastors would be under ultimatum to conform to state edicts or go to prison. This is the direction that this nation is headed. Now, who stands in the way of this? I saw it for a man to stand in the gap. There are not many people who stand in the way. Eventually, the kind of boldness that we've seen by the people that we mentioned earlier, Mr. Scott, father of Rachel Scott at Columbine, and Carrie Prejean, who had the courage in a beauty contest pageant to say, I believe that marriage should be between a man and woman on national television. I don't know what was in her thoughts or whatever. Did she think, well, this may cost me the crown, but I'm going to say it. Eventually, that kind of boldness will be required of all of us. Our medal will be tested. Let's go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24 and verse 4. In Matthew 24, the first three verses that the disciples in Christ are talking privately, and they want to know about the signs and the end of the age.

They want to know about the time and the signs. In Matthew 24 and verse 4, Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed, and no man deceive you. Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ shall deceive many. You shall hear wars, rumors of wars, see you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There should be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in different places. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. Why will they kill you? Because of the testimony that you might give. And you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended. How many will try to save themselves? As we've already read from Luke 17, you know, he that seeks to save himself is going to really lose himself. Many shall be offended, betray one another. Exactly what happened in Nazi Germany.

And shall hate one another. Many false prophets shall rise, shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound. What we see round about us today, the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist, that which envelops, consumes, saturates, penetrates all of the minds and beings it seems of our people, and especially that of political leaders, religious leaders, the media. And of course, Satan the devil is the one who is ultimately behind it. Sees on his insatiable quest to be worshiped. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

I was somewhat amazed. I was shocked. I was to some degree very disappointed. The attendance figures for Feast of Unleavened Bread released yesterday.

The attendance, and these are in round numbers, the attendance on the first Holy Day Feast of Unleavened Bread, this year, 200 less than last year in the U.S. And on the last Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we had about 18 more than last year. So the Church is barely, barely holding even and in some ways not. Now the offerings for both days, both Holy Days, were a little more than last year.

Verse 13, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. In Luke 21, verse 9. In Luke 21 and verse 9.

Luke 21, verse 9. Luke's account of the Olivet Prophecy. But when you shall hear wars and commotions be not terrified. For these things must first come to pass, but the end is not yet. Different wording from Matthew, but same message. Basically, though Luke adds some details, in some cases Matthew does it and vice versa. Then said he unto them, nations shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, great earthquakes in different places, famines, pestilences, fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these. Now this is an interesting part here. I've had some pretty intense discussions with people over this word before.

We're looking at this word before. I'm not talking about this word before. It has to do with it can be that which happens before something happens or it can mean above.

I believe the principle meaning it is above as opposed to a mark in time. Now what is the significance of this? And I don't know for sure. The word before is epi in the Greek and it can mean up to this point or it can mean above other things.

So some say well before all these things, that is before the earthquakes, the famines, the pestilence and all that, you're going to be called up to give your testimony. I tend to believe it means above all these things. In addition to and above this, I mean the greatest test, I think, for each one of us will be if we are called on to give the testimony. But either way you go, in a sense the lesson is the same, verse 12 again, but before all these things, either in time or it's above and beyond, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, the prisons being brought before kings and rulers for my namesake, and it shall turn to you for a testimony.

See it turned to Carrie Prejean as a testimony in a beauty contest. She professed before the whole nation that which was political suicide, social suicide, career suicide, and it will haunt her till the day she dies in this world.

It shall turn to you for a testimony, settler therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain, say, nor resist. You shall be betrayed both by parents, brethren, kinfolk, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all men for my namesake. Now verse 18 seems to be a contradiction, but we're speaking in the eternal spiritual sense, but there shall not in hair of your head perish. Now even if you're put to death, just like Abraham knew that if he had to sacrifice Isaac, that Isaac was as good as alive in resurrection. And so shall it be with any of us.

But there shall not in hair of your head perish, and your patience possess you your souls. That gets into the endurance once again. He that endures to the end.

So there's never a time to quit. Now in Revelation 12, and I'm hitting the highlights on this, of course you could give many sermons on most of these aspects I'm mentioning here today. In Revelation 12, verse 9, who's behind it all? Satan the devil.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Notice where he's cast out into the earth. Verse 10, I heard a loud voice saying, in heaven now is come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God. And the power of his Christ, the accuser of our brethren, is cast down, who accuses him before our God day and night. Satan now has access to God's throne. As you read about in Job 1, it was a day when the sons of God came before God. Satan came among them. God said, what have you been doing? He said, well, I've been walking up to and fro on the earth. And then the discussion about Job, and God gave Satan permission to try Job. God does not test or tempt James 1.13 in the sense of tempting with evil.

Maybe we should hold our place there just a moment. James 1 and verse 13. Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither tempts any man. Now God does chasten, and God does allow. Satan is the author of sin and death. God does chasten, and he does allow trials and difficulties. And as it says in Hebrews 12, he chastens every son that he loves. Let's go back here.

The accuser of the brethren, which accuses them before God day and night, is cast down. Verse 11, which ties in with Matthew 24, 9 through 13. The Luke 21 that we have just read. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Other words, they were not afraid. They were bold. They were courageous. They did not seek to save their lives.

They didn't go tattle on somebody else. They said, oh, I know them over there. They loved not their lives until the death. That's how they overcame. That's according to what the Bible says. We go back now to Isaiah 1. We have read from Ezekiel the description that Ezekiel gives of the land and the challenge for a man or a woman, anybody, to stand in the gap. Notice what Isaiah says. Isaiah 1.1. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amaz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hero heavens give hero earth where the Lord has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his owner, the ass his master's crib, but Israel does not know my people do not consider. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with the nicotine, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors. They are forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel, and anger, they're gone away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Yes, we have malnourished hearts. And if the hearts of our people are going to be nourished, it's going to be through the parents, it's going to be through the church of God, it's going to be through the Word of God, and it's going to be through all of us doing whatever we can together to help each person to stand in the days that lie ahead. The Hebrew word for heart is L-E-B, and in most languages other than English, ea usually has an A sound, so it's pronounced labe.

It's spelled L-E-B in Hebrew, it's pronounced labe, L-A-B-E. Now, here's what Strong says about heart. Enter man, the mind, the will, the heart, the understanding, the mind, the knowledge, the thinking, reflection, memory, inclination, resolution, determination of will, conscience, moral character, seat of appetite, seat of emotions and passions, seat of courage. You hear about, well, he has a lot of heart. Or you hear, he has a good heart. You know, I grew up next door to me.

My neighbor had four children, two boys, two girls, and I went there very often to play. And the father was a binge alcoholic. He may go seven or eight months, not touch a drop, as they say, and then he may binge for a month. One of the things that I always say about him was, he has a good heart. He'll give you the shirt off his back. But did he have a good heart? You see, as time went on, his children left him. He was left only with his wife. In the days when I first started going out there, they owned hundreds of acres of land, several houses.

But he began to lose everything, and now he was down to his older years. He and his wife alone. So one day, he goes and she goes out in the front yard, takes a 12-gauge shotgun, stands up, takes her toes, and blows herself away. Oh, he had a good heart in one sense. He didn't have a good heart. He had an evil heart, a heart of an alcoholic, when all is said and done, which will destroy any person.

And of course, the Bible very clearly says that no drunkard will inherit the kingdom of God. So in the Scriptures, the word heart, both in the New Testament and in the Greek, the word is cardia. We talk about electrocardiogram or that kind of thing, the word cardia, cardiac. The definition is the same as the Hebrew word. So in the Scriptures, the word heart is used figuratively to represent the central part of one's being, including all of his desires, affections, emotions, passions, purposes, thoughts, wisdom, perceptions, imaginations, knowledge, skills, belief, reasonings, memory, and consciousness.

Now, that's according to the Journal of the Society of Biblical Literature in Exegesis. It's like the whole package of what you are. The heart. The heart is not limited to the seed of affection, motivation, and intellect. In Jewish literature, the heart referred to all that was peculiar to man in the category of feelings as well as intellect and will. So the heart is in some total of the inner man, the interior man, as opposed to the mechanistic flesh, which is the exterior, tangible man. We all know what the Bible says, that God looks on the heart. So what has happened to the heart of the peoples of the world?

The Islamic radicals are killing their countrymen, and the name of Allah, this situation happened in Iraq this past week, was at a religious shrine. So the Sunnis are blowing up the Shiites, and the Shiites are blowing up the Sunnis. In this country, the peoples of the western world, they're killing each other, at least is the way it sounds, because they feel like their life is hopeless. You know, if your life is hopeless, why on earth kill your family first before you kill yourself? So many of these mass murderers, they go kill their family, then they kill themselves, and they say, well, he had been depressed for a while, he'd lost his job. He's never been really that well adjusted socially. It just seems like he was a lost soul out there.

But both of these motives are straight out of the perverted heart and mind of Satan the devil. So if we want to fix our hearts, we must first of all desire God's heart. And now we go to Psalm 42. We sing it here. Somebody even said it was their favorite hymn.

I think he gave special music today. Psalm 42 and verse 1. As a heart, we could get a doobly on tandray here. We can spell it H-A-R-T. Here's talking about the deer or the heart, but we could spell it H-E-A-R-T. As a heart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O God, or my heart. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Parents must desire a heart of God for their children. They must desire it before themselves or for themselves. You know, even before a child is born, and especially after they're born, we have to do everything we can to prepare the heart of the child. The human heart, left undisciplined, left uneducated, unloved, will go its own way.

And that's why we are where we are, because we're not educating the heart. We're somewhat educating the mind, and there are all these kinds of marvelous, the way they portray them, new discoveries in the field of science and medicine, and life expectancy has been extended by about 10 years, and we sort of cripple along those last 10 years, most of us.

And what's happening to the heart in the figurative sense? Jeremiah 17.9, probably everyone could quote it, but let's go read it. Jeremiah 17, verse 9.

The heart is deceitful above all things. That's the uneducated, unlearned, unloved, unnurtured, undisciplined heart. It's the kind of heart like this so-called Craigslist killer that is discovering more and more things about this person. And once again, it's this shock, he even has a live-in fiancée who lives in the same apartment with him, and she's shocked out of her gourd. Can't believe it's true. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? So the heart has to be prepared from conception to seek God. So let's note the contrast between two well-known Bible characters. Here, let's go to Ezra 7, verse 10. That didn't seem right. That's my notes. I'm thinking it's Nehemiah.

I'll look at Ezra like quick. It is Ezra. And Ezra 7, verse 10.

In Ezra 7, verse 10, this is Israel coming back to the land after being in captivity in Babylon. Ezra wasn't among the original ones that returned. He wasn't in the contingent led by Zerubbabel and Joshua initially. Ezra was at the priestly line. Ezra 7, verse 10. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statues and judgments. And that, of course, is one of the main reasons he's chosen to go back there. Now, in contrast to that, let's go to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles, back just a few pages, chapter 12. 2 Chronicles, chapter 12. 2 Chronicles, chapter 12, verse 13. This is Solomon's son.

He's king of Judah and Benjamin after the kingdoms are divided upon the death of Solomon. 2 Chronicles, chapter 12, verse 13. So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was 41 years old. When he began to reign, he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem. The city which the Lord had chosen out of the tribes of Israel to put his name there, in his mother's name, was Nehemiah and Ammonites. And he did evil because, why? Because he prepared not his heart to seek God. How many people in the land today are preparing their heart to seek God?

Very few. How do you prepare your heart to seek God? Let's go now to Psalm 19.

Along about the time when God was removing the blinders off my eyes, I was teaching and coaching in the public schools. In the newspaper, each day on the front page, they would have the verse of the day. The verse of the day. So I cut this verse out and I put it on my desk. This is what I would look at every morning when I came into my classroom on my desk with Psalm 19 verse 14.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Now, if you're going to meditate on the Word of God, you've got to have the Word of God stored within you. So we look at Psalm 119 in verse 97. The simplicity that is in the Bible, how do you prepare the heart?

We sing it, we read it, but do we do it? In Psalm 119 verse 97, O, how love I thy law, it is my meditation all the day. See, that prepares your heart.

Your heart and your being becomes what you meditate on. If you meditate on X, Y, or Z, X, Y, or Z becomes what you are.

Can I document that from the Bible? Look at Proverbs 4 verse 23. Proverbs 4 verse 23.

This will lead to why Israel was instructed by Moses, what is called the Shema, which we'll read in just a moment. Proverbs 4 verse 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, or out of it are the issues of life. That's what it's all about. So whatever you fill yourself up with, what you put in there. Now to Proverbs 23 verse 7. You know, there was a great movement, and a man made a lot of money, but I think he also helped a lot of people. His name was Norman Vincent Peale. Norman Vincent Peale came out with a book, I don't know if it was in the 50s or in the 60s, I think it was in the 50s, titled The Power of Positive Thinking. The Bible is a book about positive thinking. It's not bootstrap kind of thing, and that's a lot of what Norman Vincent Peale's methodology was about, but there is power in positive thinking. This verse here proves it in Proverbs 23.7, For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. How do you want to think? You want to think about the power that is contained within God, His Spirit, His Word, be of good courage, let not your heart be troubled, go and do, and you can overcome. He who seeks to save his life is going to lose it.

The heart has to be instructed in righteousness. So we go back now to Deuteronomy 6 in verse 6.

Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, see, God knows a little bit more about the human mind, the human heart, than any psychologist. No matter what the research of the day is, to a large degree, the research of the day when it comes to the mind and the heart will exactly conform to what the Bible says. Just like to a certain degree, Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. Deuteronomy 6, verse 4, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. That phrase there of loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul is repeated several times in the Old Testament and then as part of the summary that Christ gave in Matthew 22, verses 37 through 39 when asked what's the greatest commandment in the law? Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. They're not going to be in your heart unless you put forth the effort to get them in there. And the reason why the world is the way it is and so malnourished in heart is because they haven't put them there. And there's no one standing in the gap says, put it there. You shall teach them diligently under your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you shall lie down, when you rise up.

What are you? Some kind of religious nut? Some kind of religious fanatic?

Well, God says He is a jealous God. He also says you shall have no other gods before Me. You shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them upon the post of your house and on your gates. Oh no, we can't display the Ten Commandments in a public place in America. Oh no, we cannot call upon God. We can't even now recite a simple little prayer publicly.

And it shall be when the Lord your God shall have brought you into the land which He swore unto your fathers to Abraham, and to Isaac to give you great and goodly cities which you bill not. Houses full of good things. But there's always the verse 12, Then beware, lest you forget the Lord which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

So the heart has to be instructed in righteousness. The heart is the seat of conscience. And if you don't do what you know to do, your heart will condemn you, and it will rob you of your joy. You know, Satan the devil sows the seeds of doubt and discouragement, but he can be defeated, and we must never give in to him. Brethren, I hope that we never lose heart, and I hope we never just go through the motions. I believe that loss of heart is another way to describe the Laodicean. Neither hot nor cold, no heart, no enthusiasm, yet ostensibly doing what everybody else is doing. You know, I'm going to church. I've got my Bible. You know, I might follow along in the Bible today.

The heart is the center of motivation. Keep your heart with all diligence. The condition of our heart is reflected by our disposition and attitude. Do we love or hate? Are we proud or humble? Sad or glad? Calm or anxious? You know, Christ said of Himself, come and learn of me. I am meek and I am humble.

Lay down your burden beside me. Cast all your care on me, because I care for you. My burden is light and my yoke is easy.

So what is going to be the outcome of those who serve God with a pure heart? Please go to Matthew 5, 8. Matthew 5 and verse 8.

In Matthew 5 and verse 8, these last three or four scriptures here pay close attention. What about three? In Matthew 5 verse 8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

In Psalm 16, beginning in verse 8 to the end of the chapter, seems to be a lament, a prophetic lament of the Messiah. Some of His thoughts that He's thinking as He faces crucifixion. Psalm 16 verse 8. We're talking about what's your reward, what's going to happen to those who are pure of heart. It says they shall see the Lord.

Psalm 16 verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me. So you keep that in the frontlets of your eyes. I've set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul, my life essence, in shield, that is the grave. Neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption, quoted by Peter in Acts 2 concerning Christ. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Now, quickly to Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3. Shall we sit with Christ on His right hand as He has sat down with His Father on His throne?

In your presence are joys forevermore.

In Revelation chapter 3, verse 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will suck with him and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also am overcome, and am sat down with my Father in His throne. He that hathn't near let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches.

Brethren, let's not be the victims of a malnourished heart as the peoples of this world are. Let us be bold and courageous, as you heard in the sermonette. Let us be bold as Mr. Scott was, as he gave his address before the judicial committee, or bold as Carrie Prejean, candidate for Miss USA. Let's be bold as the apostles were in the days of the early church.

So now is the time to prepare our hearts.