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CHAPTER 18
YOUR HEART – CHRIST’S HOME
It says in Ephesians 3:16-17 says, “I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power
thru his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in
your hearts through faith.”
This is one of the most remarkable doctrines in the Bible. Imagine, Jesus Himself, through
the presence of the Holy Spirit will actually enter a heart, settle down and be at home there.
Our hearts can become His abode!
“If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Again we have the same principle
being stated. God does not live in the temple at Jerusalem, the church building, nor the Ark
of the Covenant anymore. He now dwells in human hearts! Our bodies are His temple.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (I Cor 1:27). “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:
21). Why? Because God lives there. Here, in our hearts, we welcome, serve, please and
fellowship with Him.
I had a fire one day, after having just cleaned my house thoroughly the week before. I was
so relieved because now my house was all caught up to par. Thus, I began a new schedule
of keeping it that way; then the kitchen had a grease fire. Smoke went everywhere
throughout the entire house. Much to my amazement, all the unseen cobwebs that hid in tiny
corners of each room all became exposed. The smoke had traveled to each room causing
the cobwebs that had been hidden, to turn dark black. I thought my rooms were all clean! I
was walking in complete confidence that each room was up to par.
So it is with our hearts. We invite Jesus into our hearts when we get saved, and He gladly
comes in. We say, “ all I am and all I have are Yours Lord. Come in and feel comfortable in
Your new abode. Let me show you around.”
The 1st room I take Jesus into is the Library or Study (let us call this room the Mind). It is a
very small room with thick walls but it is also a very important room because it controls the
rest of the house.
Jesus comes in and looks around at the books on the bookshelf, the magazines on the table,
the pictures on the walls; which are the imaginations and thoughts of our mind. The things
that we allow ourselves to see, to envision and to think about. Then, all of a sudden, we
realize we need a radical change in this room (our minds). We ask Him to make it what it
ought to be, because the Word says in II Cor 10:5, “bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ."
Jesus says sure, ”1st of all take all you are reading and all you are seeing which is not
helpful, pure, good and true and throw it out! Now, fill the library/study (our mind) with
Scriptures and, ““Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about
things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise”” (Phil 4:8). When our minds begin to think about these things, then all else
retreats as Christ Himself begins to be formed in us, causing us to begin to take on His
likeness. Our minds are very very important because this is the entrance point into our
hearts. In our minds we either receive something that goes into our heart or reject
something, so it won’t be allowed entrance into our heart. Also the Scriptures that come to
my mind are, “…For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7), and “out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt 12:34). We must be careful what we
allow to go into our hearts. And it gets there through our minds.
Next we go to the Dining Room (the room of our appetites and desires). This is a large
room and a lot of time is spent here satisfying our wants. We say, “come in Lord, I am sure
you will be pleased with what we serve here.” Jesus asks, “what is on the menu for dinner?”
“Leeks and garlic from Egypt” we answer. Worldly fare, there is nothing really radically
wrong with any one item, but it is not the food that should satisfy a real Christian. Jesus
said, “My meat is to do the will of my Father.” Doing His will is the only satisfying food we
can really enjoy and that lasts! There is no pleasure that we may pursue, no purchase that
we may make, no vacation that we may take, no friends or family members we enjoy, no job
or social status that we may climb to, or anything else that we may desire that can ever
satisfy us, because that empty spot in each of us, that we keep trying to fill with all of the
above, was only meant to be filled by only one thing, the Lord Himself!
Then we take Jesus into the Living Room (the place of our quiet time). This is the place
where we read and pray and fellowship with Jesus. Sometimes we go there out of a sense
of duty that we must perform in order for us to progress in our Christian walk. However, we
forget that Jesus is WAITING for us in that living room. It is because He loves us and has
bought us with such a great cost, and desires so very much to fellowship with us. If we
could only see that He is waiting for us so patiently, how our attitude would change when we
go to the Living Room to be with Him. No longer would it be out of a sense of duty, but out of
anticipation and joy to finally get away from the earthy duties of life. We actually have the
privilege of being with our Lord and Savior! He is the most important One in the whole world.
The next room we take Him into is the Workshop (Our Talents). This is the place where we
produce for the kingdom of God. You may think He doesn’t have very much to work with,
since you have very little ability to offer. But then He puts His strong hands on yours and He
begins to produce the work through you! So you must give Him all you have, no matter how
little it may seem (like the boy with the 2 small fish and 5 loaves of bread). Then just sit
back and watch to see how He produces through you.
The Family Room – where we go to relax with family members and friends, enjoying certain
activities and amusements. Here we need to be most careful because perhaps the Lord is
not always pleased with what we see or enjoy in the family room, especially concerning our
viewing habits. Perhaps they have become more tolerant than they should be. Have we
ever put on a video or watched something on TV that we felt was questionable but we
watched it anyway? We felt the Holy Spirit inside of us cringe, and we felt very
uncomfortable, but we just “had” to see how the movie turned out.
Maybe you get all ready to go out and Jesus says, “Oh, are we going out tonight?” You
say, “Well, Lord I don’t think you would really like this movie, party, fellowship gathering of
unsaved friends. I know, let’s go out tomorrow night, and we’ll go to a prayer meeting.”
Jesus looks sad and says, “That’s all right, but I thought that when I came into your home
(heart) we were going to do everything together! We were going to be ONE.” And we still
say, “Well, we’ll do something tomorrow.” I tried this when I first got saved, but soon I felt
convicted thinking, “what kind of friend was I to deliberately leave Jesus out while I went
someplace that I should not be.” I found out that I cannot have a good time without Him. So
He comes into the family room or the place where we take our recreation and He changes
things, making them honorable and pleasing to Him. He does not want to take away our fun
but to make our fun more pure and acceptable in His sight. Then when we go to bed at night
we don’t have to feel guilty that we watched something or did something that we know He
would not approve of. We go to bed with a clear conscious and know that we have been
pleasing to Him throughout our entire day, even in the family room.
The Hall Closet – The secret places, or things or people that we don’t want to let go of.
“There seems to be an odor in that closet”, Jesus says. Give me the key. We become
angry and don’t want to give it to Him. So He begins to go outside (withdraws His
presence). We think, “Oh no!” “I’ll go get the key Lord! But You have to open the closet
and clean it out. I haven’t the strength to do it.” Jesus says, “I know. Just give Me the key
(authorize Me to take care of the closet and I will).” Sure enough Jesus goes in and starts
cleaning it all out. He throws out all the garbage; He paints it, and fixes it all up and oh what
victory and release we receive! Having the things I’ve been hanging onto, that were not
good for me, but I didn’t have the strength to give them up, all cleansed away giving us such
peace. Having the destructive things that would eventually hurt me or hamper my walk with
the Lord, taken out of my life brings me great joy!
We can’t do it! We cannot keep our hearts clean for Christ. Once we get one room clean
another one gets dirty, and it becomes a vicious circle. We become very weary trying to
maintain a clean heart and an obedient life. We ask the Lord “is there any chance that You
will take responsibility for the entire house, just like You did the closet? I want You to
operate it for me, and to make my heart what it ought to be.” At that point, Jesus’ face
lights up! “Certainly child, He says, that’s what I came to do! You cannot be a victorious
Christian; that’s impossible! Let Me do it through you and for you. But, I am not the owner
of this house. I am just a guest, with no authority, since it is not Mine.”
We drop to our knees and cry out, LORD! “You have been a guest, and I have been the
host. From now on I am going to be the SERVANT and YOU are going to be the LORD!”
We get a piece of paper from across the room. It’s the deed that previously was in the desk
drawer. We sign it over to the Lord Jesus Christ for all time and eternity. “Here! Here it is
my Lord – all that I am and all that I have are YOURS forever. Now YOU run the house.”
Then in an instant, we find a deep sense of peace, a sense of pure joy and contentment, like
we’ve never known before. These blessings begin to fill our hearts, when the King of Hearts
is seated rightfully on His throne!
Is Christ seated in the throne room of your heart? Have you totally given every area of your
life to Him totally? Can He ask anything of you and you will do it? Will you go anywhere He
wants you to go, or do anything He wants you to do? Have you turned over completely your
finances, your money, your children, family and husband? Have you turned over your job,
your career, your plans for the future and your own will to Him? Is there any room in your
heart that He cannot take complete control of? If the answer is yes, you can ask Him right
now, from this time forth to take that area and become Lord, enthroned in all the rooms of
your heart, so that there is nothing you haven’t surrendered to Him. He does such a beautiful
job when we hand it all over to Him, giving Him the keys and just “letting go.” Then, we get
the most wonderful benefit of all, we can become “conformed to the image of Christ” which
is our goal in life!
YOUR HEART – CHRIST’S HOME
It says in Ephesians 3:16-17 says, “I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power
thru his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in
your hearts through faith.”
This is one of the most remarkable doctrines in the Bible. Imagine, Jesus Himself, through
the presence of the Holy Spirit will actually enter a heart, settle down and be at home there.
Our hearts can become His abode!
“If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Again we have the same principle
being stated. God does not live in the temple at Jerusalem, the church building, nor the Ark
of the Covenant anymore. He now dwells in human hearts! Our bodies are His temple.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (I Cor 1:27). “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:
21). Why? Because God lives there. Here, in our hearts, we welcome, serve, please and
fellowship with Him.
I had a fire one day, after having just cleaned my house thoroughly the week before. I was
so relieved because now my house was all caught up to par. Thus, I began a new schedule
of keeping it that way; then the kitchen had a grease fire. Smoke went everywhere
throughout the entire house. Much to my amazement, all the unseen cobwebs that hid in tiny
corners of each room all became exposed. The smoke had traveled to each room causing
the cobwebs that had been hidden, to turn dark black. I thought my rooms were all clean! I
was walking in complete confidence that each room was up to par.
So it is with our hearts. We invite Jesus into our hearts when we get saved, and He gladly
comes in. We say, “ all I am and all I have are Yours Lord. Come in and feel comfortable in
Your new abode. Let me show you around.”
The 1st room I take Jesus into is the Library or Study (let us call this room the Mind). It is a
very small room with thick walls but it is also a very important room because it controls the
rest of the house.
Jesus comes in and looks around at the books on the bookshelf, the magazines on the table,
the pictures on the walls; which are the imaginations and thoughts of our mind. The things
that we allow ourselves to see, to envision and to think about. Then, all of a sudden, we
realize we need a radical change in this room (our minds). We ask Him to make it what it
ought to be, because the Word says in II Cor 10:5, “bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ."
Jesus says sure, ”1st of all take all you are reading and all you are seeing which is not
helpful, pure, good and true and throw it out! Now, fill the library/study (our mind) with
Scriptures and, ““Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about
things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise”” (Phil 4:8). When our minds begin to think about these things, then all else
retreats as Christ Himself begins to be formed in us, causing us to begin to take on His
likeness. Our minds are very very important because this is the entrance point into our
hearts. In our minds we either receive something that goes into our heart or reject
something, so it won’t be allowed entrance into our heart. Also the Scriptures that come to
my mind are, “…For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7), and “out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt 12:34). We must be careful what we
allow to go into our hearts. And it gets there through our minds.
Next we go to the Dining Room (the room of our appetites and desires). This is a large
room and a lot of time is spent here satisfying our wants. We say, “come in Lord, I am sure
you will be pleased with what we serve here.” Jesus asks, “what is on the menu for dinner?”
“Leeks and garlic from Egypt” we answer. Worldly fare, there is nothing really radically
wrong with any one item, but it is not the food that should satisfy a real Christian. Jesus
said, “My meat is to do the will of my Father.” Doing His will is the only satisfying food we
can really enjoy and that lasts! There is no pleasure that we may pursue, no purchase that
we may make, no vacation that we may take, no friends or family members we enjoy, no job
or social status that we may climb to, or anything else that we may desire that can ever
satisfy us, because that empty spot in each of us, that we keep trying to fill with all of the
above, was only meant to be filled by only one thing, the Lord Himself!
Then we take Jesus into the Living Room (the place of our quiet time). This is the place
where we read and pray and fellowship with Jesus. Sometimes we go there out of a sense
of duty that we must perform in order for us to progress in our Christian walk. However, we
forget that Jesus is WAITING for us in that living room. It is because He loves us and has
bought us with such a great cost, and desires so very much to fellowship with us. If we
could only see that He is waiting for us so patiently, how our attitude would change when we
go to the Living Room to be with Him. No longer would it be out of a sense of duty, but out of
anticipation and joy to finally get away from the earthy duties of life. We actually have the
privilege of being with our Lord and Savior! He is the most important One in the whole world.
The next room we take Him into is the Workshop (Our Talents). This is the place where we
produce for the kingdom of God. You may think He doesn’t have very much to work with,
since you have very little ability to offer. But then He puts His strong hands on yours and He
begins to produce the work through you! So you must give Him all you have, no matter how
little it may seem (like the boy with the 2 small fish and 5 loaves of bread). Then just sit
back and watch to see how He produces through you.
The Family Room – where we go to relax with family members and friends, enjoying certain
activities and amusements. Here we need to be most careful because perhaps the Lord is
not always pleased with what we see or enjoy in the family room, especially concerning our
viewing habits. Perhaps they have become more tolerant than they should be. Have we
ever put on a video or watched something on TV that we felt was questionable but we
watched it anyway? We felt the Holy Spirit inside of us cringe, and we felt very
uncomfortable, but we just “had” to see how the movie turned out.
Maybe you get all ready to go out and Jesus says, “Oh, are we going out tonight?” You
say, “Well, Lord I don’t think you would really like this movie, party, fellowship gathering of
unsaved friends. I know, let’s go out tomorrow night, and we’ll go to a prayer meeting.”
Jesus looks sad and says, “That’s all right, but I thought that when I came into your home
(heart) we were going to do everything together! We were going to be ONE.” And we still
say, “Well, we’ll do something tomorrow.” I tried this when I first got saved, but soon I felt
convicted thinking, “what kind of friend was I to deliberately leave Jesus out while I went
someplace that I should not be.” I found out that I cannot have a good time without Him. So
He comes into the family room or the place where we take our recreation and He changes
things, making them honorable and pleasing to Him. He does not want to take away our fun
but to make our fun more pure and acceptable in His sight. Then when we go to bed at night
we don’t have to feel guilty that we watched something or did something that we know He
would not approve of. We go to bed with a clear conscious and know that we have been
pleasing to Him throughout our entire day, even in the family room.
The Hall Closet – The secret places, or things or people that we don’t want to let go of.
“There seems to be an odor in that closet”, Jesus says. Give me the key. We become
angry and don’t want to give it to Him. So He begins to go outside (withdraws His
presence). We think, “Oh no!” “I’ll go get the key Lord! But You have to open the closet
and clean it out. I haven’t the strength to do it.” Jesus says, “I know. Just give Me the key
(authorize Me to take care of the closet and I will).” Sure enough Jesus goes in and starts
cleaning it all out. He throws out all the garbage; He paints it, and fixes it all up and oh what
victory and release we receive! Having the things I’ve been hanging onto, that were not
good for me, but I didn’t have the strength to give them up, all cleansed away giving us such
peace. Having the destructive things that would eventually hurt me or hamper my walk with
the Lord, taken out of my life brings me great joy!
We can’t do it! We cannot keep our hearts clean for Christ. Once we get one room clean
another one gets dirty, and it becomes a vicious circle. We become very weary trying to
maintain a clean heart and an obedient life. We ask the Lord “is there any chance that You
will take responsibility for the entire house, just like You did the closet? I want You to
operate it for me, and to make my heart what it ought to be.” At that point, Jesus’ face
lights up! “Certainly child, He says, that’s what I came to do! You cannot be a victorious
Christian; that’s impossible! Let Me do it through you and for you. But, I am not the owner
of this house. I am just a guest, with no authority, since it is not Mine.”
We drop to our knees and cry out, LORD! “You have been a guest, and I have been the
host. From now on I am going to be the SERVANT and YOU are going to be the LORD!”
We get a piece of paper from across the room. It’s the deed that previously was in the desk
drawer. We sign it over to the Lord Jesus Christ for all time and eternity. “Here! Here it is
my Lord – all that I am and all that I have are YOURS forever. Now YOU run the house.”
Then in an instant, we find a deep sense of peace, a sense of pure joy and contentment, like
we’ve never known before. These blessings begin to fill our hearts, when the King of Hearts
is seated rightfully on His throne!
Is Christ seated in the throne room of your heart? Have you totally given every area of your
life to Him totally? Can He ask anything of you and you will do it? Will you go anywhere He
wants you to go, or do anything He wants you to do? Have you turned over completely your
finances, your money, your children, family and husband? Have you turned over your job,
your career, your plans for the future and your own will to Him? Is there any room in your
heart that He cannot take complete control of? If the answer is yes, you can ask Him right
now, from this time forth to take that area and become Lord, enthroned in all the rooms of
your heart, so that there is nothing you haven’t surrendered to Him. He does such a beautiful
job when we hand it all over to Him, giving Him the keys and just “letting go.” Then, we get
the most wonderful benefit of all, we can become “conformed to the image of Christ” which
is our goal in life!
| Women for the Lord www.WomenfortheLord.com "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10 |
