Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Prov 4:23 NKJV

One of the great subjects of the Word is the heart of man. In literally hundreds of usages the Bible describes the heart of the unsaved and of the believer, and challenges us to know the heart of God. In almost every page from Genesis to Revelation you see this subject being defined, explained and played out. Man gets deceived when he looks on the outward appearance. But God, who is never deceived, looks on the heart. If we are going to learn to walk with Him, we must learn to look and think the same way.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God… Heb 3:12 NKJV

The love of God is so pure in that He never asks us to do anything other than that which will benefit us. This is true from Genesis to Revelation. When He says, “Beware!” He is acknowledging our free will to make choices that will be destructive to us and perhaps others. He is encouraging us, like a father to a child, to make the right choice that will allow us to continue to enjoy His goodness. Beware, indeed!

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another… Eph 4:32 NKJV

The heart is the innermost part of anything. You are a threefold being of spirit, soul and body, and each part has a heart. It’s interesting to note that in a lecture I was taught that part of your physical brain is in your physical heart. Your physical heart is the key organ, along with the brain, in your physical body. If the physical body is to live, the physical heart must be healthy. Same thing with the soul and spirit!

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:21 NKJV

Another interesting point to consider is that in many contexts in the Word the words ‘heart’ and ‘spirit’ are synonymous, meaning the same thing. “…Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart… – your spirit man, the ‘real you’ as opposed to your outward façade. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. When the unsaved one hears the Word and connects with Him through the Holy Spirit, his heart believes and his mouth confesses leading him to a new life, bless God forever.

…in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Eph 1:13 NKJV

Now the innermost heart of the born again one, the spirit of man, is sealed forever by the Spirit of God, and thus we receive the gift of eternal life, right now when we confess and believe. But there is another heart – the heart of our souls – that must still be ‘kept’, guarded, against an enemy that would seek to harden and break it, thus ruining our testimony for God, and our lives this side of Heaven. This heart must be kept healthy to enable us to live for His glory, fulfil our calling and enjoy the more abundant life.

Let’s look at some of the secrets of a healthy heart…

Therefore give to Your servant an understanding ( SHAMA: hearing ) heart…1 Kings 3:9 NKJV

God gave Solomon a blank check, and said, “Here! Fill it out! What do you want?” Solomon, understanding his own heart, and the immense inherent value of a healthy heart, said, “Lord, give me a hearing heart!” – a heart that hears You and Your Spirit, that hears Your Word, that understands and applies it faithfully as You intend. Solomon had that heart for many years, but sadly, he did not heed the warning about guarding his heart! So, he lost it in the end of his life.

Seek the Lord. Sit before Him at His feet, and at the right time, ask for a hearing heart.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Eph 4:31-32 NKJV

The secret of a tender heart is forgiveness. When you are tenderhearted, it is easy to do God’s will. The basis of all continuing relationships is forgiveness out of the love of God in Christ Jesus. You can’t walk with anyone for very long at all without needing to forgive them, and they to you. The reason my wife and I have been happily married for thirty seven years is because we have forgiven each other in love for thirty seven years. When the forgiveness stops, the relationship is over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Ps 23:6 NKJV

Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking all come out of hurt, out of unhealed wounds. Malice is premeditated punishment of others. When you forgive you are ministering mercy. They deserve to go to hell for what they did to you, but you are saying, “I release you from hell. I release you from punishment. I minister mercy to you…and I love you.” The great paradox of mercy is that the more I give it away, the more I receive and have. When God tells you to forgive, He is instructing you how to live FOR YOUR BENEFIT.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13-14 NKJV

There is much that we struggle with in our souls that God just wants to burn up.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire… but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matt 3:11-12 NKJV

If you will speak much in tongues, the Spirit of God through you will burn up the old unsavory habits of the heart. Through the Spirit, by praying much in tongues, you can put to death the deeds of the body. You talk about grace! There is perhaps no more gracious thing that the Spirit of God can do but then when you simply speak by the Spirit of God in prayer, He releases the fire that frees your soul. When you pray much in tongues, you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you are burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Another secret of a healthy heart – praying in tongues much!

…to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22 NKJV

I have preached this so much since I heard about it that you would think that I got the revelation myself. But, I didn’t! My friend Paul did! He asked the Lord, “How do I become a man after Your own heart?” The Lord said, “Preach and proclaim the acrostic sections of Psalm 119 over your self daily, one section per day.” It sounds so simple…but what you confess and believe about yourself will come to pass! It’s the law of faith…

Now, let me show you how to do this so that you become a man or woman after God’s own heart.

Here is the first acrostic section, the aleph section, of Psalm 119.

Ps 119:1-8  ALEPH NKJV

1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord!

2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!

3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.

4 You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.

5 Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!

6 Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.

7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.

8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

I would personalize this and proclaim it over myself this way, inculcating New Testament truth.

I, Kevin, am blessed because I am undefiled in the way because I walk in the law of the Lord.

I, Kevin, am blessed because I keep His testimonies, and I, Kevin, seek you, Lord Jesus, with my whole heart.

I, Kevin, also do no iniquity. I walk in His ways.

You have commanded me, Kevin, to keep your precepts diligently.

Lord Jesus, direct my ways to keep your statutes!

Then, I, Kevin, will not be ashamed at your coming (1John 2:28), because I have looked diligently into all your commandments, and abide in You.

I, Kevin, will praise you, Lord Jesus, with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments.

I, Kevin, will keep your statutes. You, Lord Jesus, will never leave me, nor forsake me.

Certainly, being a man or woman after God’s own heart is the definition of a healthy heart. You can have a healthy heart with all of its attendant benefits – mercy, grace, abounding physical blessings, and so much more. The Lord will answer your prayer for a healthy heart, and He may move you in some of these secrets to bring it to pass. Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…