The Heart - Part 2 — Stephen Kaung

The Heart and God’s Desire for His People

We do thank thee for gathering us together here as one family. Thou has put us In this family of God, and we are glad we are grateful to thee for making us members of this great family. Our father we do come together to offer to thee our praise and our worship.

Because thou art the one who makes us so. There is no merit in us. We do not deserve it. But we praise and thank thee because thou has Given this privilege to us. We are thy children. Thou has given us thy life.

Even in thy son our Lord Jesus. We praise and thank thee because we are accepted in the beloved. We praise and thank thee because He is the vine and we are the branches. He is in us and we are in him.

Teach us how to abide in him that he may abide in us that we may bear much fruit. To the father's glory. For our heavenly father we do praise and thank thee for This time together. We do claim thy presence with us.

And thy Holy Spirit revelation and operation in each of our heart. That thou may be able to Gain something for thyself in all of us. Lord our Desire is not what we can get from thee Lord thou has given us, but our desire this morning is Thou may gain something for thyself in all of us.

Unto thee be the praise and the glory in the name of our Lord Jesus. Last night. We started out With this matter of the heart. God does not want to maintain a superficial Relationship with us. He wants to have a heart-to-heart Relationship With his people.

It is the heart that God looks into not the outward period. It is the heart That God will deal with us. He is looking for a perfect heart. He is looking for a Love that we may love him with all our heart.

This is what God wants. Now this morning we will Probably use some of the scriptures that we used last night but try to Look it from another angle and in connection with this matter of the heart. Now will you please turn to Hebrews?

The New Covenant and the Law Written on the Heart

Hebrews chapter 8 we will just read one one verse verse 10. Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10 it speaks to us of the new covenant. Because this is a covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days says the Lord.

Giving my laws into their minds. I will write them also upon their hearts and I will be to them for God and they shall be to me for people. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 verse 2 for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death.

The gospel according to John chapter 20 17. Jesus says to her that's Mary touch me not. So I have not yet ascended to my father. But go to my brethren and say to them. I ascend to my father and your father and to my God and your God.

God Is God and Wants to Be Our God

God is God In the beginning. He is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end from eternity past through time until eternity to come. He is God. This is a Basic fact In the universe. Nothing can change that.

Nobody has made him God. He is God by himself. He does not depend upon any circumstance. He is not subject to any reason in order to be God. He is God from the very beginning to the very end. That's what he is.

Nothing can change him. No matter what happens. He is God. The archangel which he made Might rebel against him, but that didn't change him as God. He is still God. The man that he created May disobey him, but he is still God.

Nothing can change his position as God. Absolutely nothing. Well, you may think This is too elementary. This is too simple. Everybody knows but you know sometimes in our Christian life We are tempted and we are tested on this point.

Sometimes we are tempted to dethrone him as God of our life. That's the temptation. And sometimes we are tested in our life As to whether we really believe that he is God. So I think it is Good for us to be reminded from time to time that God is God.

No matter what God is God. I think one man put it in a very nice way. He said usually, you know When we are tempted or when we are tested. Well, of course, we will not give up our faith in God. And yet somehow we will say God.

What? Yes, God. Things do not seem like God is God. God. And this brother put it in a very nice way. He said it is not God, but it should be but God. Yes, everything seems to be Unfavorable everything seems to be upside down, but God is still God.

There is no change in him. He rules and over rules. Over everything he is on the throne and his throne never shakes. Is God. Brothers and sisters, this is an eternal fact. Never changes, but there is Something that we will like to fellowship this morning.

God is not satisfied just to be God. God wants to be your God and my God. The purpose of God with man is That he may be our God and we may be his people. Now you'll find it is a little bit different here.

God is God that speaks of what he is in himself. And this never changes. Nothing can change him. Nothing can change that. But to for God to be your God and my God. For God to be our God. And for us to be his people.

You'll find it is a relationship Which needs to be arrived at. And it is subject. So I do hope brothers and sisters. You can see the difference here. God is God, but the question is God does not want just to be God.

Adam, Obedience, and the Fall

In an absolute Unrelated way he wants to be your God and my God. He wants you to be his people and that is God's desire. You look at the story of the garden of Eden. God created Adam. And God put him in the garden of Eden and God gave him order he was to kill the ground and To guard the garden that was his work.

And God gave him a commandment of all the trees in the garden. He may freely eat. Because that will be his food. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he shall not eat. Because on the day that he shall eat thereof he shall surely die.

Now brothers and sisters so far as the act of God's creation of man is concerned finish. God had created that man and when God looked at him God said very good. But why did God put him in that garden?

Why did God give him a commandment? Because in that commandment God was to make Adam his people. And he was to be Adam. So far as the act of creation is concerned God is God over Adam. No question about that because Adam was created by God but God does not want to be Adam's God just on the right of creation.

God wants something deeper better. God wants Adam to desire to be his people. By obeying him. By taking his place as man by honoring God as God. And by foredoing he will be God's people out of his choice out of his free will as it were and By this God will be his God.

And the relationship will be established. But Adam was tempted. You know, what is the meaning of temptation? Satan came in the form of the serpent. Satan the evil spirit entered into the serpent and came and tempted Eve and said Did God really say?

That you cannot eat any fruit of the tree. In other words men at that time did not eat meat. Fruit was their food. Did God say you should not eat any any of the tree that is to say God wants to starve you to death?

Oh certainly not. We can eat any fruit of any tree the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So if we should eat of it we shall Die, we should not only eat it, but we should not even touch it.

And Satan said well, it may not be so. If you should eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then you will know good and evil as God. You will be as wise as God. In other words in that temptation Satan tried to move men away from the position of a man and try to inflate his ego To desire to be God.

You do not need God. You do not need anyone to be above you. You can be your own God. Act on yourself. And you will be your own God. And by doing so eating the forbidden fruit the result was Rejected God.

He thought that from then on he will be God himself. He didn't know that he had given himself over To Satan and Satan became the God of this world. But then God is still God. How do we know? Because God came and judged him God cast him out of the garden of Eden.

Now in all these actions, you will see that even the rebelling of Adam didn't change God a bit. He is still God. But one thing was frustrating. The purpose of God was frustrating. Nothing changed in God himself.

But what God was after in man was lost in a strict sense. Was not an Adam. In the strict sense was not. So you see in the very beginning The desire of God Is to have a people that will honor him Respect him.

Israel as God’s Redeemed People

His desire is that he may be God delivered his people Israel out of Egypt. And in Exodus chapter 19 you will find God said I have delivered you out of Egypt out of the land of bondage. I have brought you as on eagles wing Unto myself.

Now if you will hearken to my voice If you will keep my covenant Then I will make you a possession of my own All the people of the earth. But I will make you a kingdom of priests and the holy nation. Here you'll find again as the God had Delivered Israel out of Egypt and brought Israel to himself.

Then God began to reveal his mind his heart to his people. And God said now, do you know why I redeem you? Do you know why I bring you to myself? I Want to make you a peculiar people a people of my own possession.

It is true all the peoples of the earth are mine. By my right of creation that too. But I'm not satisfied with that. I Want you to be my peculiar people. You will hearken to my voice And keep mine. Then you can be a kingdom of priests to me and a holy nation.

Now God give them the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments, of course, you know They were written on two tables of stones. The first table probably Had the second table probably had six commandments.

The first table defined Our relationship with God and the second table described the relationship among ourselves. So you'll find in the first table God declared his mind to his redeemed people. Remember when God gave the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel.

He did not give them The law on the ground of creation. He gave them the law on the ground of redemption. Because you'll find he In introducing the law to them. He said now I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of Egypt of the land of bondage?

So here God was not dealing with them on the basis of creation. God was really dealing with them on the ground of redemption. Now you are redeemed. What is the purpose of redemption? I want to be your God.

I want you to be my people. Not just as the peoples of the earth. They are all mine by act of creation, but they do not honor me. They do not respect me. They do not pay me homage, they do not worship me.

Now I have redeemed you. So Here on thou shalt not have any other God. Brothers and sisters. Do you see that? The first law tells the people that God is their God and none else. You should not have any other God.

I'm your God the only God and If you read Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 13, which our Lord Jesus quoted When he was tempted in the wilderness thou shalt have no other God. Thou shalt worship God alone and serve him.

God is your God. The second commandment says thou shalt not make any graven image or worship the image. God is God. The third commandment is thou shalt not call upon the name of the Lord in vain. Thou shalt honor and respect him as God.

And the fourth commandment keep the Sabbath. Thou shalt Accept the finished work of God. So you'll find in the four commandments when you gather these four commandments together you see one thing and That is God wants to be the God of the people of Israel.

And if the people of Israel will keep these commandments then truly they become God's own people. That is the reason for the giving of the law but unfortunately Before the law came to their hands, they already broke it When Moses was in the mountain receiving the ten commandments You remember the people of Israel made a golden cup and worshiped The law was broken.

So the weakness of the flesh the law Could not make anyone perfect. The one thing that caused the people of Israel To be taken the thing of idolatry. That's the abomination In the nation of Israel idolatry.

Because God is a jealous God God has redeemed his people. He wants to be their God. He wants them to be their people. But here they are. They go after other gods They enter into idolatry. It's an abomination in the sight of God and for that sin They were taken as captives to Babylon to be cured of idolatry.

Jesus’ Temptation and the Meaning of Salvation

But then the promise of God was fulfilled. In the coming the world became flesh tabernacle of a man full of grace and truth. The Lord Jesus came upon the scene And here you find a man. But before he came into public ministry, he was tempted in the wilderness.

And do you know what a temptation is? The temptation is, is God His God. It's he. Satan came in tried to tempt the Lord to act Independently. If you are the son of God Well, you can turn the stones into bread.

You're hungry, are you? And the answer of the Lord is men shall not live by bread alone But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words He was tempted to act on his own, but he refused.

He said I have my God. If God has not spoken I will not turn the stone into bread. I will rather be hungry than to be full. You see, our Lord Jesus when he was tempted he kept the position of man. He honored God.

Satan tempted him at last Showed him all the things of this world and said now if you worship me If you make me your God I will give everything to you. And the Lord said thou shall worship the Lord thy God and serve him alone.

So you find in the temptation of our Lord Jesus It came down to one thing To one issue and that issue was is God his God. Satan tried to take God away from the Lord Jesus, but the Lord insisted That God is his God and he is.

Throughout the life of our Lord Jesus you will find this principle working. Throughout his life our Lord Jesus can do many things. If we can do something surely he can do many many more things. But he said I can do nothing by myself.

I have my God. I am his people. I Have to do what he does. Otherwise, oh when he went to the cross He was sorely tempted. He cried out my God my God why has thou forsaken me? I have made you my God throughout my life.

I'm your people throughout my whole life on earth. And why has thou forsaken me? It's a quotation from Psalm 22 verse 1. But if you read on that psalm you'll find even though he was so tempted sorely tempted.

Still you'll find he said but you have put a trust In me for my wounds Mother's wounds from my mother's womb you are my God. And this cannot be changed. You are my God. No matter what you do, even if I don't understand you are still my God.

I am still your people Brother than his dreams. Before the Lord can bring his salvation to us He must prove in his own life That this is true God is his God and he is what is the salvation of the Lord That he has brought to us.

It is more than just having our sins forgiven. Thank God for that. Because of the finished work of the cross of our Lord Jesus our sins are forgiven. Not only forgiven but forgotten by God, that's great but dear brothers and sisters that is just the beginning of things.

What is the salvation of The Lord that he has brought to us the salvation of the Lord is That we may be like him. It is more than just having our sins forgiven. That means we may be like him. Like him as he is so shall we be.

That is the meaning of salvation. Throughout his life you'll find that God is his God and he is God's people and this shall be done. Same with you and me with all of us who are redeemed dear brothers and sisters.

We are saved. That God may be our God and we may be. And the Lord has made it possible in the Old Testament time under the law you'll find the law of Moses. You'll find even though the people cried out said all that God has said we will do.

And they said honestly We cannot doubt their sincerity. But it didn't work. They were not God's people. Awkwardly yes, but really no. Awkwardly the people of Israel were God's people. But in actuality they were not.

Why? Because they did not keep God's commandments. They did not hearken to God's voice. They broke God's covenant with them. They worship idols. They did not only respect God as God they acted on their own.

But thank God through the finished work of our Lord Jesus on the cross He has made this possible. So here you'll find in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10 and this is a covenant now, of course. According to the prophecy this will happen yet to the people of Israel, but today We are already in the good of the new covenant.

Why? Because our Lord Jesus on the night of his betrayal he took up the cup and said this is the cup of the new covenant and He has given that so you'll find in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10. It says Giving my law into their mind I will write them also upon their hearts and I will be to them for God and they shall be to me.

Why does God? put his law into our mind and Write them upon our heart that he may be our God and we will be in other words By writing his law upon our heart. He can be our God. And we can be his people and there is no other way.

The Law of the Spirit of Life

So the question now is How can God be our God and we be his people? In reality. Not in name not superficially. Not just in the sense of God's purpose but in the sense of Real experience. How can God be your God?

And my God. How can you be God's people and I be God's people in real? In reality how you may want to let God be your God. You may desire to be his people if you do not know how. If you do not know the way or if you do not know the secret you won't be able to enter into it and That is the glory of the New Covenant.

How is God to be your God? And how are you to be his people? Notice the secret is here Giving my law Into their mind. I will write them on their heart. Now that is the way, is the law That can be written upon the heart.

You cannot write the Ten Commandments upon the heart. The Ten Commandments were written on stone. Why? Because they were letters. The very nature of the Ten Commandments were letters and Because they were letters they could only be written upon stone.

Rules and regulations These are letters. These can only be written On stone or on paper. These are external to you. That's the very nature of These rules and regulations. But there is one law That can be written upon the heart.

The letter killed Spirit. There is only one law that can be written upon the heart and That is the law of the Spirit. So brothers and sisters here you'll find God said I will write my law upon their heart.

Now, what is this law? In Christianity there are no rules and regulations Or laws being whole number. In Christianity, there is only one law. It is the law of the Spirit. Under the Old Covenant You have Ten Commandments and these Ten Commandments only the basis of a whole system of law.

Because even if you read Exodus you read Deuteronomy or you read Leviticus. You will find that on the basis of the Ten Commandments lots of statutes and ordinances and precepts and Rituals and ceremonies have been built upon these Ten Commandments.

It has become a whole system of law. You do not know how many articles there are and it delves into lot of details. They are all written in the book. It's hard to memorize all these things you have to refer to the book and You have to be taught but even so You do not know everything and Being adversely you may violate some of the laws and if it comes to your knowledge you have to sacrifice.

Because you have offended the law and not to say you do not have the power To keep the law. Now that is the Old Covenant. But here you'll find God is doing a new thing in Christ Jesus with us. He does not give us a thousand and one laws to keep.

He gave us only one law only one law. And by that one law he is to be your God and you are to be his people. It is the law of the Spirit and that law can be written upon your heart Christ because it is not letter it is spirit.

So the very nature of that law is different. Dear brothers and sisters. Do you know that when you believe in the Lord Jesus? God has put his life and that life which is in you is a law to you. God has not given you many laws many rules.

God has only given you a life. But that life of his, how do we know life is a law? Because every life has its own nature and the nature of that life is law. If you follow the nature of that life. You are following the law and everything is natural spontaneous free Peaceful.

But if you do not follow the nature of a life and you try to act against that nature. You will be struggling unreal painful. The life of Christ in us has his nature and this nature of life is a law. God has put that life in you and as if it were God that now follow this life.

Obey this life. This life in you is a law. He does not give you many laws many regulations. Written on the wall or inscribed in paper. You have to memorize them. No, it has been proven that this doesn't work.

The whole people of Israel is evident. It's an evidence that it fails. But now God put his life in all of us and if you follow life. If you follow the nature of this life. Then brothers and sisters you can live naturally.

Or Supernaturally natural because this life is supernatural, you know. There is one thing which we have to see and that is today in Christianity. We live so unnaturally. Now in one sense, yes, we cannot live by our natural life.

But we misunderstand it. We think that's not to live by our natural life means that we shall live unnaturally. And you'll find Christians are living so unnaturally. We are all acting. Good actors and actors.

We try to act as if we are Christians. We try to keep all kinds of rules and regulations and we are making them all the time. We feel that by doing these things. By being a natural the more unnatural you live the more spiritual you'll become.

But you know It doesn't work. We should not Live by the natural life to be natural in that sense. It should be on the cross our natural life Is crucified with Christ? On the cross. But dear brothers and sisters, we forget that God has given us a new life a supernatural life.

Now when that supernatural life is in us then God and I live supernaturally natural. It is natural. You do not act you do not perform. No. You just live naturally according to the law of this supernatural life.

A bird Does not need to act in order to fly. It's natural. He is just following the nature of a bird's life. A Christian Does not need to act unnaturally in order to live Like Christ if he follows Christ he is natural if he doesn't he is unnatural.

There is only one law in us. Unfortunately most Christians live by the rules and regulation people prepare for them that's why you'll find we Christian live so unnaturally and It's always on a string.

If we only know that God has put a law. Just one law very simple the law of life as you are in touch with God. This life is a law to you. This life will tell you what God's will is and this life will give you the strength to do it.

A law is not only a knowledge a law is also a power. It is wisdom as well as power so that's why Paul said The Greek seeks for wisdom and the Jew seeks for signs, but he said Christ is God's wisdom and Christ is God's power.

This life in you will not only tell you this life in you will also Help you the law of the spirit. Then a question will be raised. Do you have this law of the spirit of life in you? Or you don't how can you say you do not have this law of the spirit of life in you if you are a child of God.

If you say that it's almost like saying that you do not have life in you. Because this life is the law. So you'll find that every Christian has. He who is in Christ Has life in him. Every Christian has life and this life is law.

God has Put this law in us already. We all have the law of the spirit of life. No problem about that. Do not question that. Do not doubt that you have life in you if you believe in the Lord Jesus he has given you life.

This is very basic. And this life in you is a law. It's a law it has not only knowledge but it has power in you and this is the way that God is to be your God and you are to be his people. But Why is it?

The Heart as the Place of Spiritual Operation

That the law of the spirit of life does not seem to work. As it should. What is the problem? You'll find the problem is not with life. The problem is with your heart. It's with your heart. Why? You read Hebrews you'll find it is said I will put my laws into their mind.

I will write them upon their heart. We mentioned last night in Jeremiah 31 33. You'll find the law there is singular in number. I Will put that my law in their inward parts. I will write them upon their heart write it upon their heart.

You'll find there it is singular in number. The law is singular. And we just explain why is it singular because as Romans 8 1 2 It is the law of the spirit of life. It cannot be proven. So far as the light is concerned it is singular one life.

It is God's life. It is the life of Christ that is given to us. It is eternal life. So you'll find in Jeremiah 31 33 it is singular. I will put my law singular in their inward parts. I will write it upon their heart.

But in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10 and chapter 10 verse 16, you'll find the law is plural number. I Will put my laws Into their mind. I will write them upon their heart. The reason is this the law of the spirit of life is one but When this law operates it operates in the various parts of the heart.

And as it touches the various parts of the heart it becomes plural. It develops into many laws. For instance the life of God is in our spirit. We mentioned last night the law of the spirit of life and when this life begins to operate.

You know it operates in the area of the heart first because the heart is The passage if the law of the spirit of life can get through the heart. Then it will be expressed and manifested in our lives. If it is blocked up in the heart, then you have the law of the spirit of life, but It doesn't work.

Because there is a block in the heart. For instance as we walk with the Lord you will find sometimes the spirit of life the law Begin to operate in the area of your conscience of your conscience. Somehow God is speaking to your conscience.

That is one area of the heart we mentioned last night. And when the law of the spirit of life comes to your conscience You will find it touches Things matters. And in one thing You notice what God is speaking as if it is a law by itself.

In another thing you'll find God is speaking as if it is still another law. That's why you'll find a plural number here. Actually, it is from the same life, but as life touches different things of your life touches different matters.

You'll find each becomes a law to you, and that's why it says laws in the plural number. When it touches your conscience if your heart Is turned towards the Lord. That is to say if you love God Then this law of the spirit of life Is able to get through your conscience.

And by getting through it You'll find you grow spiritually. And as the law operates it always carries with it two aspects. One is the death aspect, one is the life aspect. It's always like that. You'll find when the law of the spirit of life works in your conscience It will bring you to death, but at the same time it will bring you to resurrection.

And if your heart is turned towards God If you love him It operates very naturally. Smoothly and it accomplishes its work and the result is you are transformed from glory to glory. According to the image of God's Son.

Now if your heart is close to God If your heart turns away from God If you do not love God, then when the law of the spirit of life operates in your conscience You'll find there will be a struggle. The more your heart is turned away from God the greater will be the struggle and Sometimes it cannot get through.

And when it cannot get through the result is You remain where you are spiritually. Or even you go backwards. So this is the reason why you'll find when this law of the spirit of life begins to operate.

It reaches into the inward part of your being that is your heart and it becomes law. There is no end to it. But the difference is it is not something that is come from outside. It is something that comes from within.

And it carries with it a power. You know, it not only gives you the knowledge it gives you the power. Gives you the power to do it. That's the difference sometimes our mind Is occupied. Our mind is set on certain things.

Then the law of the spirit of life begins to operate. The eyes of our heart, our being. We begin to see as God sees. And here again you'll find death and resurrection. Every thought is brought into captivity and to the obedience.

And when that is brought into captivity Immediately you will discover you have the mind of Christ. That's resurrection. We have this life in us. This life is Christ. He has no problem. No problem. Our problem is the heart.

It's the heart. The life is already in you. The life is a law by itself. You don't need to worry about it. Now today people always worry. I have been asked Places I go people ask me now How can I know the will of God?

As if to know the will of God is the hardest thing in the world. How can I know the will of God? Well You know it. You know it. This life within you is the law. You know it. But why don't you know it?

It's your heart. It's your heart. Something is wrong with your heart. If you go to the Lord you will find invariably something is wrong with your heart. And when your heart is corrected Immediately you know the will of God.

No problem. Let me use a illustration my own experience when I Began to serve the Lord. Well as a matter of fact it was a year and a half later. I was in South China. A new work was started there and a few of us went down to that place and the Lord began to gather his people together and After Sometimes All my fellow workers left and I was left alone there In a sense.

Yeah, there's another sister who is a native there. She stayed there and I I was there for five months. I could not adjust to the climate there. I came from East China and this was South China. The climate was different And I couldn't adjust myself to that so I was sick, weak and A sister, elderly sister who was newly saved Took me to her home and I was so restless.