Idol of the heart

[jingle52]

Hello
I would just like to ask the forum's thoughts on my greatest sin, i.e.

Idol of the heart LOF part VII
Then Jesus beholding him LOVED HIM [how many times have you read this verse and never saw those two little words 'loved him?'], and said unto him, 'One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and FOLLOW ME."
Many have failed to see in this verse that Jesus offered this young man the opportunity to not only inherit the kingdom of God, and to have eternal life, and to have treasure in heaven, but to be Christ's apostle right then and there! Would you have taken Jesus up on such an unbelievable opportunity—to be His very apostle? They wouldn't have needed to cast lots to replace Judas with Mathias—Jesus would have already had the 'twelfth man.' But the young man sadly turned Jesus down. Oh yes, it was 'sadly,' but he did turn Jesus down. He said, "Thanks ... but no thanks ... the cost is too great!"

Now, I am very guilty of having an idol of the heart and I pray to God often to release me from this diabolical situation I find myself in, wishing – hold on – you have all guessed!!!
-wishing quite often to win money so that I can pay off my bills (2 in particular)
-so that I can have the money to enable me to quit working for a boss who is soooo manipulative and crappy (we cannot make the slightest error or forget the smallest thing) I know that I am lucky to have a job.....
-have enough money to systemise my eldest daughter who is a single parent
-and dare I say it? – visit my family in S.A. as often as once a year – I especially get quite nostalgic during our long winter months

This is the idol of the heart that I am battling against and although I have stopped buying lottery tickets, I still think how wonderful it would be to be in a situation whereby things would be easier if my wish were to come true...I know that if it was predestinated for me to have these things, then God will cause it to happen, but I still have these wishes persistently roaming through my mind!

"In Whom [GOD] also we have obtained ['obtained' not 'earned'] an inheritance, being PREDESTINATED [our 'destiny' was 'pre' arranged by God, not us] according to the PURPOSE OF HIM [not the free will, OF US!] Who WORKS ALL THINGS [EVERYthing] AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL [not OUR OWN WILL]" (Eph. 1:11).

And yet again we read Ray's teaching on Free Will part A

"The heart is deceitful above all things, And it is EXCEEDING WEAK—who can know it."
God did not create man's heart "desperately wicked" as the KJV suggest, but rather He did create the human heart, "exceeding WEAK."
The seat of emotions and desires is the HEART. And God made the heart "exceeding WEAK." Man did not sin because he "freely willed" to sin, but because his heart was so exceedingly WEAK. That is why it takes next to nothing to persuade the heart of man to DESIRE SIN.

God's Richest Blessings!

[Deborah-Leigh]

Hi jingle52

Thank you for your invitation to share our thoughts and discuss what we have Learned from the excerpts you have posted. As stated in the General Discussions Board the purpose for this Board is TO DISCUSS what we have learned though it quote: DOES NOT necessarily represent the views of L. Ray Smith or Bible-Truths.com. Forum Rules Apply.

Then Jesus beholding him LOVED HIM [how many times have you read this verse and never saw those two little words 'loved him?'], and said unto him, 'One thing you lack:

Ray has expounded further on this Scripture elsewhere in his writing that the One Thing Lacking is JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. With Christ, nothing more can be desired. It reminds me of Paul who witnessed to this fact also when he said to gain Christ was....

Php 3:8  But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I may win Christ

go your way,

Again, as Ray expounds, can anyone save themselves? No. The work of God is to save, redeem and restore. Without Him we can do NOTHING, we can't even go our way.

sell whatsoever you have

,

We know that the sale of everything has spiritual meaning. Whatever we have, we have to know is not ours.

Rom 11:18  do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, it is not you that bears the root, but the root bears you.

Rays expose on the King of Babylon not knowing that God had given him everything, also exhibits the requirement to be humble before God. Ray brings to focus that the King had an arrogant and "stout" heart that shows self aggrandizement, self reliance and arrogance before God who Provides everything to everyone. What is amazing is that God did not correct King Nebuchadnezzar for killing and pillaging but for his stout and arrogant heart that falsely assumed that from his own excellence and not God's,  he had acquired his empire and greatness.

Many have failed to see in this verse that Jesus offered this young man the opportunity to not only inherit the kingdom of God, and to have eternal life, and to have treasure in heaven, but to be Christ's apostle right then and there!

Amo 2:16  And the stout-hearted among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, says Jehovah.

and give to the poor,

Esteeming others better than you is how we lower ourselves and humble ourselves before God. We have to know that the most wretched of us, could have been us had God so authored. Pride and vanity has to go but it can only go in the purging fire of Gods Spirit that repents us to conform to His Image and His Spirit.

and you shall have treasure in heaven:

Of course we shall have treasure in heaven once the purging, cleansing Spirit of God has conformed us to the image of His Son who IS the Treasure in Heaven.

and come, take up the cross, and FOLLOW ME."

Only God can MAKE anyone take up the cross and follow His Son. We need and require His Spirit to follow anything spiritual because our carnality is in deep seated hatred against God.

And the same will happen to you and I over and over again until we are brought to recognize the temporal world does not compare with the spiritual Kingdom of God. Unless we know the value of the pearl of great price to cause us to go sell everything in exchange for it, we will all be distracted by other agendas, other motives and false hopes and an artificial sense of security that pays tribute to idols of the weak heart,  as did the man who in bondage to the world, could not come free of the world even when offered by God, to receive appointment in His Kingdom!
 

That is why it takes next to nothing to persuade the heart of man to DESIRE SIN.

We think we need money, the job, the exotic holidays, liberty from those who Lord it over us, in order to find peace. NO. We need to OVERCOME our false dependence for happiness on money, holidays and externally based pleasures dependent also on our associations and approvals and agreements we assume we have from the people or family in our lives. Jesus did say

Mat 10:35  For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

We need to overcome oppressors in whatever form they emerge in our lives and emerge they do! God makes sure of it so that our false reliance on anyone or anything other than Him will be purged corrected and made right. Try drinking sea water and see how much that will quench your thirst! God will show you! We all have to experience evil in order to come to know and appreciate God for He is good.

All our wrong desires, leaning on our own understanding that causes us to believe false teachings and blasphemies, following after illusions in our desert wildernesses,  have to be repented. The Spirit of God is the living water. He is our thirst quencher and our soul provider.

By contrast, the only kind of peace we need, is what God provides and not what the world offers to the lust of the eyes, flesh and pride of life.  We will repent if not in this life in Judgment now, then in the next, in the Day of Judgment.  God will teach us all that no peace can come from worldliness just as Ray shows us that nothing spiritual can ever be attained physically. Same thing.  It is not worldly comfort that produces love, joy, peace, kindness,  goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience and endurance.   These attributes can only come from the Fruit of HIS SPIRIT.  

Regarding your desire to see your family in SA. This is not a sin. Paul also ached to be with his brethren for reasons of fellowshipping with like minded believers. I personally have NO ONE who is like minded in my family. It has hurt so much to be purged to the realization of that fact. It has liberated me but as the man who went away sad, I could not have agreed to the purging or the consuming fire of God. God had to make me and sustain me as He does in each of our circumstances according to His Plan and Purpose Timing and Wisdom and Love.

It is good that you are grateful for your job. Be grateful that you are healthy and that God is providing you what you need and purging you of what you want. That is a privilege of great value and merit in the work He is doing in you to prepare you for His Kingdom.

God's Will always and everywhere, BE Done! May you and I and all, always prefer to will His Will as did the Son of God in Gethsemane. We all have to go through that garden of circumstance in some of the most heart agonizing conditions where our pain also bleeds out of our minds in anguish and hurt from our experiences authored for us to experience and only through God's Mercy, endure. It is appointed to us all, to experience evil that few will overcome. The one thing we need IS Christ who has overcome the world.

Perhaps God is teaching you to eat the Fruit of His Patience for now jingle52.!

Thank you for the Thread

Arc

[jingle52]

Dearest Arc,
Your words are always such a comfort to all those you reply to. Thank you for taking the time and effort to show me that patience and faith (I thank our Merciful Father for giving me the gift of Faith) is what I should be grateful for as well as my health, and everything He has blessed me with.
I also thank our Lord for Ray's teachings, for without which, I would still be groping in the dark for answers and clarity!

"All our wrong desires, leaning on our own understanding that causes us to believe false teachings and blasphemies, following after illusions in our desert wildernesses,  have to be repented. The Spirit of God is the living water. He is our thirst quencher and our soul provider".

I'm getting better as time goes by, to overcome  these idols of the heart, I am content with much less now than what I was used to in the past. I do believe that God is changing/purging me for the better and I can see all the changes I've been going through.
I have absolutely accepted that All is from the Lord our God and that His Will Be Done in His Own Time.

Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the whole world and I sincerly hope with all my heart that He is teaching me the Fruit of His Patience

Blessings!

[lauriellen]

wow-wow-wow....it never stops amazing me how God has me studying and thinking on a certain subject and then eventually it will show up as a post on this forum, and shows me God has put the same subject on alot of peoples minds at the same time!  this has happened so many times in the last year.....
anyway, this has been on my mind ALOT lately...i feel like God is trying to show me that there is NOTHING in this physical world that is more important than following Him...and believe me, i have been catching some flack over it, too! ha....believe me, you are not popular when you tell someone who has alot of pride in  their accomplishments, that all that they have has been given them by God!....get ready to hear about the hours & dedication & sacrifice they have invested to get where they are.....and when you reply, 'well, it was God who gave you the drive, ability and circumstances that got you were you are".....ahhhh, the fight is on.....lol....  and they really don't understand why you couldn't care less anymore about money, physical beauty and possessions!
are you depressed? do you need a Xanax? snap out of it!...=)
i read a quote today that said "THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE ARE NOT THINGS AT ALL."....so true....it is all about finding and knowing the true God.  great insight Arc, as always. was blessed by this post......just my two sence worth.
lauriellen

[aqrinc]

Amen. try to take away a person's idols, even your own beast's, you could be in real trouble. Learn to wait on Christ Jesus, or get your nose bloody many times.

Best wait until they are sent to you asking a question, we are a work in progress, and that darn fire gets ever hotter, thank GOD. But this too is necessary to burn out the deeper rooted idols of the heart/mind.

Php 1:6 (GNB)
And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.


george .

[soberxp]

'One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and FOLLOW ME."

1.IF I sell whatsoever I have,and give to the poor, the poor will became rich than me,i'm lost.

2.we live in the world,if we talk GOD to unbeliever,even believer. people often say:".Stop it, soberxp. Be realistic!",and sometimes I lost... Lost... friends,even I thought may be I should stop it.

3.sometimes what I said:"I've seen who".I must be crazy in any other eyes/i know from the outside.

[Kat]

Hi soberxp,

Mat 19:21  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;

If you get rid of everything you have you may be physically poor, but don't forget about the rest of the verse "you will have treasure in heaven." So this is saying you can't have it both ways, either you are rich in this world or you are rich in heavenly things. It's like the parable of the rich fool.

Luke 12:16  And He spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
v. 17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room in which to store my fruits?
v. 18  And he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and I will store all my fruits and my goods there.
v. 19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat drink and be merry.
v. 20  But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul shall be required of you, then whose shall be those things which you have prepared?
v. 21  So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Mat 19:24  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Mat 10:37  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

But what else does He say if we lose family and friends for the sake of this truth?

Mat 19:29  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE.

It is true that God must come first in everything, absolutely no physically desire can come before Him. We must seek Him first and be content in whatever He provides.

Mat 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
v. 34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

1Tim 6:6  There is great gain in godliness with contentment;
v. 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world;
v. 8  but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
v. 9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
v. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.
v. 11  But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
v. 12  Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The narrow way may not be an easy path to take, but it is all so worth the effort, as Paul says;

1Co 2:9  But as it is written:
       "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
       Nor have entered into the heart of man
       The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[soberxp]

yea,thank you KAT.
I can take up the cross,
but I live in this real world,called Capitalism,so I don't think I can sell what I have and give to the poor, even I truly know I will have treasure in heaven,I don't think I can out of the real world,cuz I live in this world,called Capitalism,Meaningful.


mercy, peace and love
soberxp

[Kat]

Hi soberxp,

I really don't think we have to sell all of our physical belongings. It is a spiritual thing, we must know that God comes before everything and if anything we have gets in the way of that loyalty to Him then it must be removed. That is what Jesus means in the parable about plucking out your eye or rather anything that will keep you from obeying God.

Mat 18:9  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell (gehenna/judgment) fire.

So keep your stuff, but love and serve God first and foremost.

Mat 22:37  Jesus said to him, ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[soberxp]

Idol of the heart .........I know,not the money,that should be only god.
I'll take your advice.thanks again,Kat.

[Marky Mark]

Mat 19:21  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;

Spiritually speaking, if we sell  (ie;acknowledge His Truths to others)  what has have been given to us concerning the Truths of the Spirit to those who are poor in His truths,we then will become more like Jesus the Christ who is that perfect treasure in heaven.


Peace...Mark

[soberxp]

Mat 19:21  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;

Spiritually speaking, if we sell  (ie;acknowledge His Truths to others)  what has have been given to us concerning the Truths of the Spirit to those who are poor in His truths,we then will become more like Jesus the Christ who is that perfect treasure in heaven.


Peace...Mark

WOW...I feel better now.good point.

[HoneyLamb56]

Thank you Jingle52 for opening this discussion.  These posts have made me realize what a hypocrite I am;  my husband is addicted to lottery/scratch tickets and others in my family who aren't doing well financially;  I preach and tell them that we are not meant to win as we are to depend on God for our needs etc.  Then I blasphemy God by buying tickets for them for birthdays etc. thinking if they win, great.  I guess they are laughing at me.  There was a time when I wouldn't do this (buy tickets),  I have certainly been humbled and need to get back to trusting God and setting an example of my faith.