BREAKING FREE.. PART III
( WALLS OF MY HEART)
For the past two weeks we have been
following a series of teaching called, “Breaking Free: (Moving towards Wholeness)
We opened up the series by looking into our theme passage in Eph 4:12-13, “to
prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be
built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son
of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ.”
We all yearn for the fullness of
God in our lives, but at the same time we tragically realize that there is
something hindering us from receiving that fullness of God. In order to break
free from those hindrances we began a backward journey to find out what had gone
wrong in the beginning under which we covered the Origin of Man, the fall of Man,
and the consequences of sin. Last week we concluded that “Some things are out
of Line” by looking at God’s Measuring Standard. We tried to answer life’s most
basic questions such as what life is and how should I live it and the identity
question who am I? Finally we left with the understanding that each of us
respond differently to identity crisis, some respond passively while others
respond aggressively depending on their personality.
We also saw in the Bible that God
likens humans to a wall. It’s not the wall that’s the challenge. The real
challenge lies in changing the heart around which the wall was constructed. The
walls we build are not so much visible on the outside but are hidden in our
hearts. Whether we notice it or not without a doubt in my mind we all could be
hiding behind walls in our hearts. Today we will be looking into walls of my
heart where we will define what the heart is, what shapes our personality; we
will also look at the ultimate deceiver of our hearts. To begin with let’s read
Proverbs 4:20-23. Read.
Proverbs 4:20-23, “My son, pay
attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of
your sight, keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find
them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart for it
is the wellspring of life.” Here is a fatherly piece of advice which calls us
to pay close attention, why? If we keep God’s words in our hearts, and never loose
sight of them they bring health to our whole body.
The Bible said it long ago, and
science is proving it today. Dr. Cloud the author of Changes that heal this is
what he has to say about the connection between the heart and the physical
body. “Our emotional and psychological well-being depends on the status of our
heart, and the status of our heart depends on the depth of our bonds with
others and God.”[1] How does the Bible define the
heart?
I. THE “HEART”
DEFINED
In the Bible the word heart has a
much broader meaning than it does to the modern mind. In the Hebrew language,
two of the words used for heart are, “leb and lebab.” In reviewing the context
for the use of these words in the Bible, we can find 204 occurrences where
these words translated with an emphasis on the mind.
In 195 places with an emphasis on
the “will”, 166 times “emotions.” But the most frequent use of these terms, in
257 occurrences focuses on the whole of the inner person or the “personality.” The
Greek word translated “heart” is “kardia” which continues in common usage in
modern medicine, e.g. cardiac disease. From our brief study we understand that
the “personality” which is equal to the whole of inner person or inner self, that
thinks, feels, and decides. The Bible says all emotions are experienced by the
heart: love & hate (I Pet 1:22, Ps 105:25), joy & sorrow ( Ecc 2:10,
John 16:6), peace & bitterness (Col
3:15, Heb 12:15), courage& fear (Gen 42:28, Amos 2:16)
Why is it important that we must
guard our hearts above all else? Who we are on the inside often reflects on who
we are on the outside. In Prov 27:19, “as water reflects a face, so a man’s
heart reflects the man.” Before we learn how to guard our hearts we must
understand how our inner man or personality is developed. What shapes our
personality?
II. THE PERSONALITY
SHAPERS:
Bruce Thompson describes a true
story of Anne how she exploded in front of him about her husband saying, “He’s
a hypocrite. He tells lie after lie.” As she spoke, she released her pent-up
emotions of more than 30 years of marriage. Over the course discussion Bruce learned
that she was suspecting her husband with adultery. When she confronted her
husband about it he had reacted with hurt and anger, saying it was all in her
mind. But she knew.. just knew, he was having an affair and he kept lying to
her.
It became apparent to Bruce as he
talked with her that she had been deeply deceived and her fears of betrayal had
clouded over her perception of truth. Her self deception was robbing her of the
bliss of marriage. Her self talk, or the words she dwelt on inside her own
mind, had become a false prophet leading her deeper into deception and despair.
How could she ever be free? Only by recognizing her deception and adjusting her
life to God’s divine plumb line.
Likewise, in our search for
meaning and significance, it is imperative we be aware of the false plumb lines,
paths or prophets we may follow along the way. If we are not careful they can
lead us astray. That was precisely what happened to the nation of Israel Israel that
believed those lies. As a result of those lies, the Israelites built their
lives with flimsy, unstable walls covering them with whitewash.
God was not pleased with those
shaky, fragile falls walls. He was determined to send storms and knock those
walls to the ground. In figure 6 we see someone standing behind the fragile
wall of fear he erected to protect himself. This person has apparently
experienced inner trauma and no longer wants to be vulnerable. He lives behind
his wall, in fear, separated from God and others, unable to enjoy meaning full
relationships.
How did this person learn to build
these teetering walls? Who showed him the need for them, and how to use bricks
of negative qualities to construct them? In the like manner who are the false
prophets who showed how to build our lives? Here are a few!
A. PARENTS:
God’s original design for families
was that of a mother and a father raising children and instructing them in the
ways of God. The Israelites were commanded by God to watch themselves closely
so that they would not forget the thing God had done. They were to keep them in
their hearts as long as they live and to teach them to their children and to
their children after them. (Due 4:9) Unfortunately the Israelites ignored that
commandment and the result was a nation that moved far away from God and was falling
apart under its own weight of deception.
Parents play a key role in the
formation of a child especially from birth till the age six. The first false
prophecy in our lives may come to us through our parents. Even the best, all
too sadly misrepresent God and His truth by failing to talk and walk in His
ways. For example, what message a child will receive if parents always give
into his or her whims and whines, neither set boundaries nor correct them when
they do wrong? A false message of
entitlement isn’t it? What do two fighting parents communicate to their
children? What happens to a child who never sees his father pray or read God’s
word and provide leadership at home? How about a divorce in the family, what
does that communicate to the children?
We were meant to positively,
constructively impact our children through words and actions. However some words spoken to us by our
parents or elders may have negatively impacted us in as far as they did not
line up with the truth of God’s word. I
have talked to many people who heard little else than words as: you are good
for nothing, why can’t you be smart like your sister? You are a failure. You
will never make it in life. They become a false prophesy.
When it comes to predictions about
children’s abilities, looks, or future, children will receive these words
literally, especially coming from their parents the most important people in
their lives. Many parents do not realize they are as God to their young
children, who take their words as final and true. Unkind, harsh, cutting words can
cripple a child’s emotional development holding them back from a normal life.
Other false prophets are teachers.
B.TEACHERS:
If teachers so choose,
they may inflict deep seated wounding in the spirit of a child by false
accusations, unjust management or abuse of power. Some teachers who were
supposed to be teaching teach morals and live exemplary lives have acted like
beasts to satisfy their sexual appetites. A recent arrest of a veteran 61 year
old elementary school teacher, who molested 23 boys and girls ages 6-10 over a
period of two years, sadly depicts the betrayal of trust.[2] Can
you imagine the extent of the damage done to these young lives? What message does this incident communicate
to these children? Other powerful false prophets to deal with in school are
PEERS.
C.
PEERS:
Growing up we all have
experienced Peer Pressure but nothing like the pressure our kids have to endure
in this digital age. With the introduction of the Face Book that pressure has
only been compounded.
In search of
significance and love many teens are freely throwing their lives away. According to a survey conducted by the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, teenagers often learn risky
behaviors like drinking, smoking, use of illegal drugs, and getting into unsafe
sexual activities. Most of the time, an adolescent becomes vulnerable and his
peers would take advantage of his weakness and push him or her to try the said
dangerous activities.[3]
But
what these false prophets fail to give is, the whole message relating to
immorality. They don’t discuss taking responsibility for what could be theirs
in nine months later. Neither do they proclaim the possibility of a lifetime of
pain and discomfort through sexually transmitted diseases. Another powerful
false prophet who screams at all of us is the popular media.
D.
MEDIA
The media is perhaps
the most deadly of all the false prophets setting up its altar in almost every
home in the developed world. The whole family sits at its feet for daily
worship as it exalts lifestyles of lust, violence and crime in subtle ways. According to research done by Huston in
the year 1992, by the time a child is eighteen years old, he/she has already
witnessed 200,000 acts of violence including 40,000 murders on television. According to research done by Buchanan
in the year 2000, children who watch more television or even play more video
games are exposed to more media violence and tend to exhibit more aggressive
tendencies amongst their peers.”[4] Other devastating
affects of watching excessive TV among children is obesity. One survey
suggests, “Obesity rates
today have skyrocketed, particularly in children.
Our society is driven by fast food with
little nutrients; television and hand held games marketed towards children
starting at the age of 2 years that allow them to never get off of the couch.”[5]
These
are some of the false prophets prophesying lies and things that are
contradictory to God’s word. Many have blindly believed and followed these
seducing voices and build their lives accordingly. But there is one the
ultimate deceiver. Of all the false prophets, none is as cunning and deceptive
as Lucifer himself. Next week we will talk about the ultimate deceiver.
The Lord
may be showing areas in your life where you have received, believed, and acted
upon false messages based on a faulty world view or given wrong messages to
others. Do not despair; the desire of our heavenly Father in bringing His plumb
line alongside our hearts is not to make us feel miserable and condemned. The heart of God is to heal, restore and
reconstruct our broken lives so that we may continue to enjoy a stable and
secure life. I encourage you to continue to open your hearts to the work of God
in your life. Amen
** Part of the material is taken from
“Walls of My Heart” by Bruce Thompson.
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