The Point of Purity Podcast
The Point of Purity Podcast
Getting to the Heart of the Matter - #198
In today’s episode I want to talk about your heart. Not the muscle in your chest that goes thumpity-thump thump, but the core of your being. Who you really are. You see, we do what we do because, in our heart, we want what we want. If you want victory over your sinful habits, you must first do battle with your heart.
Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at http://www.thepuritycoach.com
In today’s episode I want to talk about your heart. Not the muscle in your chest that goes thumpity-thump thump, but the core of your being. Who you really are. You see, we do what we do because, in our heart, we want what we want. If you want victory over your sinful habits, you must first do battle with your heart. This is because, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (NASB’95)
Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #198 entitled “Getting to the Heart of the Matter”
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “… the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (NIV’84)
Mark 7:21-22 declares that it is “from within, out of the hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness” (NASB’95). This is why it is so critical as you daily seek to faithfully live for God that you, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV’84) You see …
· “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)
· “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” (Proverbs 27:19 NLT)
Hebrews 4:12 is telling us that the word of God cuts past all the fluff and junk in your life and pinpoints the thoughts and intentions of your heart. This is why choosing daily to invest time in God’s Word is such a key element in actually living a life of victory and freedom. That is how God speaks to the heart of the matter. Your godliness is directly connected to God’s Word. You will be, and stay, faithful to God only as you guard your heart with Scripture.
Imagine for a moment that you are inside a fortified castle, protected on all sides by an impenetrable wall. No matter what the enemy outside is throwing at you, he cannot touch you. Those walls are solid, reinforced, and unyielding. Consider the amazing freedom you have within those walls of protection; inside that fortress you have nothing and no one to fear. Through Christ you can experience just such freedom.
· “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” (Psalm 18:2 NLT)
· “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:6 ESV)
· “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV’84)
· “He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.” (Psalm 144:2 NLT)
· “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7 ESV)
Oh I hope you didn’t miss the truth declared in these verses I just quoted to you. God is your fortress, your stronghold, and absolutely nothing and no one can ever or will ever penetrate His protection of your soul. Furthermore, think of Scripture as being the mortar between the rock-solid stone (Christ) reinforcing that impenetrable wall. All the arrows of the enemy, every lie he throws at you, every deception he sends your way, every attempt at misdirection and subterfuge, bounce harmlessly off those fortress walls.
This is why I will always press you hard to read God’s Word every day for the rest of your life. This is why I want you to see Scripture as your oxygen tank. You cannot live, you cannot function without it.
Fact: your soul needs to be fed daily. It will always feed upon something. This is why it is so vital that you develop the discipline of feeding it the Word of God.
· “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 ESV; compare Deuteronomy 8:3)
· “I have not departed from the command of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12 NIV’84)
· “When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.” (Jeremiah 15:16 NLT)
OK. So, I have an interesting question for you. How often do you eat? Seriously. How often do you eat? Although that answer may vary to some degree from person to person, I think I am safe in assuming that if you can, you eat on a regular basis. I submit: it should be the same with feeding your soul upon Scripture. You should be consuming God’s Word daily. In fact, may I suggest, multiple times throughout the day.
In Matthew 6:11 Jesus encourages us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” David says the blessed man is the man whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates [chews on it] day and night” (Psalm 1:2 ESV). He then exclaims, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation [I feed upon it] all the day” (Psalm 119:97 ESV).
Now, let’s face it, although our soul desperately needs solid spiritual food, sometimes life happens and you “skip a meal or two.” You allow yourself a few days of grace, arguing, “I’ll start reading the Word again tomorrow. I’ll even double up on my Bible reading.” I’ve been there. All too quickly those days turn into weeks, and before you know it your ability to resist temptation has become weak because you are spiritually famished.
If you are not feeding your soul with the Word of God, you are feeding it on something else. What are you feeding upon? What are you actually feeding your soul every day?
· “Study this Book of Instruction [God’s Word] continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” (Joshua 1:8 NLT)
As you read God’s Word daily, feeding upon His truth, and as you meditate on it throughout the day, chewing on what He has revealed to you, you will not only gain a greater understanding of who God is, but you will also begin to see the path He wants you to walk through life.
· “[God’s] word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 ESV)
· “The teaching of [God’s] word gives light, so even the simple can understand.” (Psalm 119:130 NLT)
Reading God’s word is vital. But it is also worthless if you do nothing about it. Think about being outside in the dead of night under a cloudy, moonless, starless sky. There are no streetlamps; no external source of light except the flashlight you are holding in your hand. In order to navigate your way safely, in order to ensure you do not injure yourself, you are going to turn on the flashlight. Once that light is turned on, once the path ahead of you is illuminated, you are then able to move forward with confidence. However, you must choose to take the first step.
When you read your Bible, you turn on the powerful light of God’s Word. After you finish your reading and you close your Bible, what was accomplished? What message did the Holy Spirit speak into your heart? When you open the Scripture and read God’s Word, what lesson is He wanting you to learn? What fruit is growing and developing in your life as a result? What steps are you taking to apply what has been revealed to you?
Another way to put it is this: What are you currently doing about what you have read in Scripture?
· “You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 18:4-5 ESV)
· “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord”. (Leviticus 19:37 NLT)
· “Keep my commandments and follow them. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 22:31 NIV’84)
· “Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding.” (Deuteronomy 4:6a ESV)
· “Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. ” (Deuteronomy 29:9 ESV)
· Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” (Luke 11:28 NLT)
· “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:17 ESV)
You see, God expects more from us than just reading His word for five minutes a day. James commands us to “humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:21b-22 NLT)
“For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.” (Romans 2:13 NLT) Man’s counsel, man’s advice, man’s way of dealing with the struggle is worthless if God is not in the center of it. Whether it’s 10 Sensible Steps, 8 Powerful Promises, or 5 Practical Principles of Godliness, if God’s Word is not central to the “counsel” being given it is empty, hollow, and insignificant advice.
· “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30 NIV’84)
· “Like newborn infants, [you are to] long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV)
Along with the need to read on a daily basis, I also strongly urge you to daily work on memorizing God’s Word. “Oh, c’mon, Steve! Memorize? Are you kidding me? I can’t memorize! Believe me, I’ve tried, and it wasn’t pretty.” Can you relate? I have a quick exercise for you. It’s a two-parter, and it’s easy.
1. First, state your phone number out loud. Seriously. I want you to speak your phone number, complete with area code, out loud right now. Go.
2. Now, state the physical address of your current home out loud. Speak out your house number, street, city, state, and zip. Ready? Go.
Did you forget your phone number? Did you forget your address? Of course not, because you are intimately familiar with those things. You have them memorized perfectly and can instantly recall them because they are important to you. They have great value. It also helps that you use them frequently.
It is the same thing with memorizing God’s Word. When you discover the essential value of having Scripture memorized, when you understand how important each verse is to your success in this battle for godliness, and when you choose to daily review them, you will find it easier to memorize.
Let me emphasize the necessity of having the verses memorized “word-perfect.” I know, I know. Think about this: What happens if you have your phone number only partially memorized? What if you are off by just one number? What happens if, in sharing your shipping address with a manufacturer, you spell the street name wrong or mess up the house number or zip code? What’s the big deal? At least you got the main gist of it. Every word of God, including every letter that make up the words of Scripture, are inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is why I emphasize the necessity of having these verses completely memorized.
Are you ready to take the next step in your journey to godliness? I am assuming your answer is a hearty “Yes!” which is awesome. However, before you begin, I need you to take a few moments to prepare for what you will be hearing in the upcoming episodes. I challenge you to invest time right now to talk with God about what He wants you to learn. Ask Him for wisdom. Thank Him for His truth, and be ready to receive and respond.
OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.
In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com
One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is the recently updated, 2nd edition of my book entitled “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” This newly released 2nd edition is rich with hundreds of Scripture references, scores of practical illustrations, and each chapter now ends with a study guide full of questions and discussion points.
“Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you on a journey through the Bible to examine what God has to say about how your thoughts, words, and actions influence and impact your heart.
If you’ve followed this Point of Purity Podcast for any length of time, then you’ve heard me emphasize the fact that what you think becomes what you do. When you train your mind to think godly thoughts, the things you say and do day in and day out will be godly. On the flip side, when you allow your mind to think sinful, fleshly, ungodly, King Me centered thoughts, the result (your daily attitudes and actions) will be ungodly. So, how do I change the way I think? How do I change the things I do? How do I successfully and effectively guard my heart? This book, “Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you into God’s Word to help you answer those questions.
So head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Extreme Mind Makeover” today.
And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!
So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional MentorTM and Purity Coach Steve Etner for the Pure Man Ministry - reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.