APRIL 1, 2025
Topic: “THE HEART OF THE MATTER”
Text: Mark 7:14-23
Memory Verse: “Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.'” Mark 7:15.
Man is a tripartite being. He is essentially a spirit who has a soul and who dwells in a physical body. The soul again comprises of the mind, the will and the emotion. The mind which is the seat of a man’s personality is sometimes referred to as the “heart”. The heart is the engine room where the entire life of a person is being controlled. Therefore, the outcome of a man’s life is a function of his heart. No wonder the Bible says: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Jesus, when teaching his disciples in our text today established that, a heart not purged, purified and sanctified is a heart that will be full of all manners of sins and corruptions which include evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. Mark 7:21-22.
Unfortunately, this is the condition of several people’s hearts. Solomon must have understood this when he instructed that believers should Guard their hearts above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23). Paul when writing to the believers at Colossae admonished them to Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). This is the secret of keeping our hearts clean as believers.
Beloved, if I may ask, what is the condition of your heart? Are you so careless and porous with your heart that you fill it with all kinds of immoral images, ungodly music, videos and entertainments? You need to repent today. Bow your head and talk to God
PRAYER: Commit your heart to God and ask Him to cleanse you from every form of uncleanness. Ask God to give you a new heart and renew His steadfast spirit within you.