17TH MAY, 2023
PASTOR OLUBI JOHNSON
KEEPING YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE
Mark 7:18-23 NIV
“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man “unclean.’”
Here, the Lord Jesus teaches us that sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, envy, slander, arrogance are spiritual forces that come out of the sinful nature of the human heart. The Scripture calls these same things the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).
These lusts of the flesh and the mind are spiritual forces which originate from Satan, the prince of the power of the air, and work through the air. They are then incident on the human wills, minds, emotions and bodies causing men to do evil, as it were by ‘remote control’ (Eph. 2:2-3).
These lusts cannot be overcome by physical religious acts or ceremonies, like washing your hands and feet, wearing a certain type of garment, or attending some religious ceremony or feast. Doing these things cannot make you holy and approved of God!
How then do we overcome these lusts of the flesh and cleanse our hearts from within?
By the cleansing of the Blood of Jesus (Heb. 13:20-21).
By filling our hearts with God’s life and Word and then releasing the power of the Holy Spirit, by speaking God’s Word (Dt. 30:14).
By then praying in the Spirit with tongues and travail (Eph. 6:18).
We then keep our hearts with all diligence (Prov. 4:20-27) by our thoughts, words and actions by:
1. Attending to God’s Words by listening regularly (weekly) to anointed teaching and preaching.
2. Inclining our ear unto His sayings through personal, daily balanced bible reading and study.
3. Letting them not depart from our eyes (minds): meditating on the Word day and night (Josh. 1:8).
As we practice these things, we will keep God’s Word in the midst of our hearts, which will give life and health to all our flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-27 KJV
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with ALL DILIGENCE; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand or to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
For more on today’s study visit:
https://bit.ly/3W4PvNH
Follow Pastor Olubi Johnson on Twitter, Facebook, IG, and YouTube: spcconlineoj
Web: www.spcconline.org
Get the new SPCC Mobile app on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku – https://get.theapp.co/nx25
Listen to our podcasts on any of your favourite podcast app: search for Olubi Johnson