#44 Growth of the Divine Seed of the Kingdom in the Human Heart for God’s Building (6)
Scripture Reading: Heb. 2:10-11; Psa. 139:23-24
IV. In order to be those “who are being sanctified” in living a holy life for the church life, the kingdom life, we must cooperate with the inner operating of the One “who sanctifies” by dealing with our heart—Heb. 2:10-11; Psa. 139:23-24:
C. God wants our heart to be loving:
1. A loving heart is a heart in which the emotion loves God, wants God, thirsts after God, and yearns for God, having a personal, affectionate, private, and spiritual relationship with the Lord—42:1-2; S. S. 1:1-4.
2. We must turn our heart back to the Lord again and again and have it continually renewed so that we may have a new and fresh love toward the Lord—2 Cor. 3:16; Hymns, #546 and #547.
3. All spiritual experiences start with love in the heart; if we do not love the Lord, it is impossible to receive any kind of spiritual experience—cf. Eph. 6:24.
4. Our love for the Lord qualifies, perfects, and equips us to speak for the Lord with His authority; if we love the Lord to the uttermost, we will be filled and overflowing with Him— John 21:15-17; Matt. 26:6-13; 28:18-20.
D. God wants our heart to be at peace:
1. A heart at peace is a heart in which the conscience is without offense, condemnation, or reproach—Acts 24:16; 1 John 3:19-21; Heb. 10:22.
2. If we confess our sins in the light of God’s presence, we receive His forgiveness and His cleansing so that we may enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with God with a good conscience—1 John 1:7, 9; 1 Tim. 1:5.
3. The result of practicing fellowship with God in prayer is that we enjoy the peace of God, which is actually God as peace mounting guard over our hearts and thoughts in Christ, keeping us calm and tranquil—Phil. 4:6-7.
4. We need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts by forgiving one another to put on the one new man—Col. 3:13-15.
V. As our hearts are being established blameless in holiness by the continual renewing of the sanctifying Spirit, we are becoming the New Jerusalem (the eternal kingdom) with the newness of the divine life and we are becoming the holy city with the holiness of the divine nature—Rev. 21:2; 1 John 5:11-12; 2 Pet. 1:4; Heb. 2:10-11.
