TEXT: JEREMIAH 17:9-10
TOPIC: THE HEART OF A MAN
The study will be done with the following outline:
Background to the study
Foreword
The nature of the uncircumcised heart
How to purify the heart
Outro
Background
to the study
The book (Jeremiah)
is named after prophet Jeremiah who alongside his disciples authored the book
(as generally agreed in theological circles), he was an unmarried Prophet from
the Southern kingdom of Judah. He began his prophetic mission in the thirteenth
year of King Josiah (about 627 BC) and finished in the eleventh
year of King Zedekiah (586 BC), "when Jerusalem went into exile in the
sixth month." During this period, Josiah changed the religion of Judah, Babylon destroyed Assyria,
Egypt briefly imposed vassal status on Judah, Babylon defeated Egypt and made Judah a Babylonian vassal (605 BC), Judah revolted but was subjugated
again by Babylon (597 BC), and Judah revolted once more. This revolt was the
final one: Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and exiled its king and
many of the leading citizens in 586 BC, ending Judah's existence as an
independent or quasi-independent kingdom and inaugurating the Babylonian
exile.
The hard-heartedness
of God’s people as revealed in the book of Jeremiah manifests itself not only
vertically (towards God) but also horizontally (toward other people). “This
people has a stubborn and rebellious heart,” and as a result “they have grown
fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with
justice the cause of the fatherless . . . (Jer. 5:23, 28).The book of Jeremiah teaches about God’s tender heart towards the
oppressed, it also unveils His desire for his own people to be mediators of
mercy to those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Indeed, knowing God
includes, by definition, the defence of “the cause of the poor and needy” (22:16). It also teaches the importance of the
great mission to make disciples of all nations (Matt.
28:18–20), this can be done
by recognising the need for God to do a deep, cleansing work of the heart in
creating new people for himself, and being yielded vessels to be used for such.
Foreword
The nature of the
heart is not a matter of how long one has been in church. It is possible to be
in church and not be in sync with Christ, to be in total oblivion of what He is
saying, doing or thinking, for the heart to be really far from God.Is.29:13,Matt.15:8,Mark
7:6. It is possible to be to be a devil
in the gathering of the sons of God. Job 1:6.
The nature of the
heart is not a matter of duty (ies) performed in the church. There is a popular
saying that a lot of men of God were never/are not child of God. Little wonder
our Lord and Saviour prophesied that He will clearly disown them at the end of
the age. Matt 7:21-23.It bothers the mind each time the parables of the Good
Samaritan is been read that the two other persons who turned away from the man
robbed and severely injured had affiliations to clerical duties. Luke 10:30-37.
The
nature of the uncircumcised heart Act 7:51
The following are the
characteristics of an uncircumcised heart:
v Cheat/deceiver
Col 3:9-10
v Greedy/Selfish
1 Tim 6:9-10
v Rude
and mean
Ps 92:6
v Always
thinking and planning evil
Gen 6:5
v unloving
1
John 4:8
v Far
from God and godliness Matt 15:8,Mark
7:6
v Say/preaches
something and does the opposite
Matt.23:3
v Desperate 2 Sam 17:23 as
graced as Ahithophel was the fact that
his counsel was rejected was what made him to kill himself, what a desperate
man he was.
How to purify the heart
v By the word of God Psalm
119:11
v By prayers
Matt 7:7
v By
Godly association Ps
1:1
v Godly
books
Prov.13:20
v Guiding
the heart
Prov. 4:23
Outro
The great cry of God is to have our heart
filled and controlled by Him by this we will represent Him on earth and be
guaranteed of eternal bliss. Prov.23:26, Rev 3:20
Shalom.
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