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The Traffic Of Your Heart
What
kind of traffic does your heart experience each
day?
Is
it trampled by evil thoughts, corrupt
affections, pride, anger, jealousy, bitterness,
unforgiveness, or deep-seated hatred?
Or
is it frequented by God's Sanctifying and
Transforming Word?
The
particular traffic that you allow determines the
condition of your heart - whether it be a stony
heart or a heart of flesh.
John F. MacArthur, Jr., a
renowned Preacher and Author, once made this
insightful remark concerning the heart -
"Our Lord warns that
the human heart can be so pounded and beaten
down with the traffic of sin that it becomes
completely insensitive to the gospel. This is
the heart that knows no repentance, no sorrow
over sin, no guilt, and no concern for the
things of God. It allows itself to be trampled
by an endless procession of evil thoughts,
cherished sins, and ungodly activities. It is
careless, callous, indifferent, never broken up
or softened by conviction or sorrow for
wrongdoing. This is the heart of the fool
described in Proverbs..."
O Saint of God, stop a
minute and ask yourself -
What is the condition of
your heart?
Is it sensitive or
insensitive to God's Holy Word?
Is it calloused through
indifference to sin or is it softened through
conviction for sin?
It all depends on what you have been allowing to
pass through your heart on a Daily Basis.
Let's study for a moment the two
conditions of hearts discussed
in the Bible
Matthew 13:15 refers to the
Hard Heart as one that
"waxed gross."
What does this mean?
It is a heart that is callous, cold, unfeeling,
uncaring, insensible, inattentive, and
untouched. It is marked by sensuality and
corruption. It causes the individual to respond
to the call of the Holy Spirit as though he is
half asleep and to be stubbornly resistant to
the Truth of God's Word.
The Prophet Zechariah described it this way -
"hearts as an
adamant stone"(Zechariah
7:12).
These were hearts that were as hard as a
diamond.
It is no wonder that they were so unyielding,
causing the people to stop their ears from
hearing the Word of the Lord.
In Matthew 13, we read about
the "way
side." This was one
condition of the heart that was likened to a
hard beaten path or highway which knew no plow.
It also makes reference to the
"stony places"
as the condition of the heart being hard and
rocky.
Such hearts either hear the Word and understand
it not, or else they hear it but don't take heed
to it. They do not allow themselves to
be changed or ruled by it. It makes no
impression on them. It doesn't profit them at
all.
The Prophet Ezekiel referred to a people in such
a condition as being
"impudent"
and "stiffhearted"
(Ezekiel 2:4).
They were incorrigible, self-willed, and
rebellious. Their hearts were
"stony"(Ezekiel
11:19), meaning that they wouldn't or
couldn't receive any impressions from the Holy
Spirit.
The Book of Job refers to a hardness towards God
whereby one stands in total opposition toward
Him, resisting or withstanding Him on every
turn(Job 9:4).
The Psalmist described such a hard heart in this
way - "Their
heart is as fat as grease..."
(Psalm 119:70).
This is a heart which is
sensual, at ease, full of the world and its
pleasures, and given over to vile affections.
Because it is so, it is not sensitive in any
way, shape, or form to the touch of God's Word
or Spirit.
A heart that is
"waxed gross,"
hard "as an
adamant stone," likened to
a "way side"
or a "stony
place," or
"as fat as grease"
- This is the heart that allows itself to be
pounded and beaten down by the traffic of
Sin. Hence, it is completely insensitive to the
moving or touch of the Holy Spirit. It is deaf,
blind, and dead to the things of God.
Stop a minute
here, O Christian, and ask yourself a few
questions -
Are you
sensitive to the wooing and drawing of the
Spirit?
Does the Word
of God have a lasting impression on you every
time that you hear or read it?
Have you
allowed it to change you?
Are
you stronger in Faith and Love and in your
convictions than when you first got saved?
Are you more
obedient?
Can you easily
recognize God's Voice directing you in your
everyday affairs?
Do you take
correction easily?
Does the
slightest sin bother you?
Are you quick
to repent of any wrongdoing?
Do you avoid
at all costs anything and everything that would
be classified as being displeasing to the Lord?
If you cannot answer "YES"
to all of the above questions, then there is a
good chance that your heart is hardened due to
the "unchecked"
traffic that you have allowed to go through it
over the past days, weeks, months, or even
years.
How can you know if you
have a "good heart"?
How can you know if you
have "kept your heart
with all diligence"(Proverbs
4:23) against any unclean, wicked, or evil
traffic?
According to Matthew 13, a Good
Heart hears God's Word and
understands it. It receives its Truths and
conforms to them.
.
The Prophet Ezekiel called it a
"heart of flesh"(Ezekiel
11:19), meaning that it was
entirely for God - not divided or wavering in
its commitment. It was capable of receiving
impressions from the Holy Spirit that were
lasting and life-changing.
One who has a
"good heart" has an intense
love for the Scriptures -
"O how love I Thy law"(Psalm
119:97).
All day long - whether while alone or in
business with others - he opens his heart's door
to the traffic of God's Holy Writ -
"...it is my
meditation all the day."(Psalm
119:97).
He easily receives its promises, commands,
threats, or warnings, because he has a correct
view of things, derived from his study of the
Word -
"Through Thy precepts, I get understanding..."(Psalm
119:104).
He rejects the "endless
procession of evil thoughts, cherished sins, and
ungodly activities."
His testimony is that "...I
hate every false way"(Psalm
119:104).
He has taken God's
"judgments"
as his rule of life. There is no rebellion in
his heart. Hence, he can boldly declare -
"I have not
departed from Thy judgments"(Psalm
119:102).
Rather than entertaining the traffic of Sin, his
heart and soul is filled with God -
"How sweet are Thy
words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to
my mouth!"(Psalm
119:103).
The Word is his guide, steering him away from
the paths of destruction and danger to his soul
- "Thy word is
a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"(Psalm
119:105).
Unlike the Hard Heart which is
"careless, callous,
indifferent, never broken up or softened by
conviction or sorrow for wrongdoing,"
his heart is
turned toward the Lord and spiritual things. He
is resolved and determined to
"perform" the law and to
"keep Thy
righteous judgments"(Psalm 119:106).
In other words, he has bound himself
with a vow to love and serve the Lord only and
to defend the Truth.
What a striking Contrast
this "heart of flesh"
is to the Hard Heart which knows no -
...love or hunger for
God's Word or spiritual things
...obedience
...departure from all Sin
...receptivity or
flexibility in allowing the Word to guide its
life.
Because those who have a
"stony heart" do
not derive
"understanding" from the
Scriptures, they resultantly have a perverted
view of things.
O Saint of
God, it is imperative that you stop everything
and allow the Holy Spirit to do a search on your
heart this day.
Do you have a
"stony heart" which
is resistant to the Holy Spirit?
Are there
areas in your life where you are fighting God?
Are you
hardened in demanding things your way?
Or is your
heart soft and tender in His loving hands?
Have you
willingly surrendered all to Jesus?
Is He truly
Lord over all?
The answers to these questions definitely depend
on the type of traffic that you have been
allowing to pass through your heart.
Stop the traffic
of ungodliness and allow only that which is
godly to enter.
Keep a diligent
check on its visitors.
And you
will notice immediately that your heart will be
inclined toward the things of God like never
before.
You can be
assured of it.
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
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