God Writes Upon Hearts
An all-creatures Bible Message

God Writes Upon Hearts
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
21 March 2021
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pasto

Scripture References

Psalm 51:1-12
Jeremiah 31:31-34
John 12: 34-50
Hebrews 5:5-10
 
God writes upon hearts is not a physical writing with a pen, it’s a spiritual writing upon our soul and spirit that is also implanted upon our brains so that it is always upon our heart and soul, even when we outwardly forget or allow the pressures of this corrupt world to interfere with our heavenly thinking.
 
However, the more we allow the corrupt ways of this world to interfere with our heavenly thinking, the more we mask or hide what God writes upon our hearts until it is difficult to retrieve.
 
The enemy, which includes the world system, wants us to forget about God’s heavenly will so that we just follow along with what the majority of people are doing in this world without thinking about the damage it is causing to us and others.
 
We are to be the peacemaking children of God, and not the followers of the devil.
 
In Psalm 51:1-12, we see the result of the conflict between the corrupt ways of this world and heavenly will of God upon David…
 
1. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.
 
David knows he has sinned here on earth and against God, and he pleads with God to forgive him by taking away his sins.
 
2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
 
He wants God to cleanse him of the evil that he has committed that has stained his soul and spirit.
 
3. For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
 
Not only had David taken Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, from him, but he had Uriah killed, and he clearly knew the evil he had done.
 
4. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned,
And done what is evil in Thy sight,
So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak,
And blameless when Thou dost judge.
 
David realized that all sins are really against God even though they hurt other human beings, and he knows that God is justified in punishing him in any ways he chooses, but he is still seeking the Lord’s forgiveness.
 
5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
 
Genetically, it appears like everyone born of woman had sin in their lives, but babies cannot discern the difference between good and evil, but they quickly learn from their parents and others around them.
 
And, David seems to recognize this fact.
 
6. Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom.
 
We believe that God does this with everyone, but most people don’t seem to use this wisdom very often, and David also forgets to do so at times in his life.
 
This is also a very important lesson for each and every one of us to remember, because the world system constantly pulls us away from using our God-given wisdom.
 
7. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 
We should all be able to understand that David is asking God to cleanse him from his sins, but we need to remember that this begins with our repentance and true desire not to sin any more, and to live in the heavenly will of God at all times.
 
8. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.
 
We believe that this mostly had to do with us, for it mostly has to do with what our minds dwell upon.
 
9. Hide Thy face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
 
If we are truly repentant then this happens to a greater extent, but if we are not, it doesn’t seem to happen.
 
And, we also need to remember that like with David, who had to live with the consequences of his sins, so do we.
 
10. Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 
This is what keeps us from sinning in the first place, but if we allow the corrupt ways of this world to entice us, we can easily enter the sin again.
 
11. Do not cast me away from Thy presence,
And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.
 
This is what happens when we are truly repentant, and we need to remember that God did take away His Holy Spirit from Saul.
 
12. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
NASB
 
God does seem willing to do this, but as we mentioned above, the results of our sins still stay with us, and sometimes these are the things that God writes upon hearts.
 
Keep these things in mind as we look at Jeremiah 31:31-34…
 
31. "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
 
In order to better understand what is being proclaimed here, we need to remember that Jeremiah’s prophecy was being proclaimed at the beginning of the time when Jerusalem was being led away into captivity in Babylon.
 
32. not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, "declares the LORD.
 
Israel had really broken a number of covenants and Laws over the years for they seemed to constantly go against the heavenly will of God, and do their own thing, which to a large extent they are still doing today.
 
33. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
 
We believe that this covenant and law which God writes upon hearts will be one of unconditional love, compassion, and empathy, and not one based upon the Law in the Bible; it will be one like existed in Eden.
 
34. "And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
NASB
 
This kind of knowing only comes with loving God with every aspect of our being, being filled with His Holy Spirit, living in His heavenly will, which is fulfilled with unconditional love, compassion and empathy.
 
As we look at John 12:34-50, think about how God writes upon hearts…
 
34. The multitude therefore answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
 
One of the important things to think about is why Jesus doesn’t answer these questions directly, even though on the surface they seem to be simple and innocent questions.
 
35. Jesus therefore said to them, "For a little while longer the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
 
Jesus and His teachings are the light that He is referring to, and He is explaining clearly that people need to be in the light, and even more to be one with the light to protect themselves from the evil darkness in the world that they might be saved.
 
36. "While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light."
These things Jesus spoke, and He departed and hid Himself from them.
 
The children of light are the believers who have become one with Jesus and His teachings.
 
Think about what has been said, and then think about why Jesus would depart and hide Himself from them.
 
37. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him;
 
Jesus was hiding Himself from them because they had refused to believe in Him for God writes upon hearts so that they are able to see the truth when presented to them, unless they deliberately choose not to accept the truth.
 
38. that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
 
This is another one of those Bible verses that we disagree with, for we don’t believe that God creates people to go to hell, which this verse implies.
 
God created us to have a free will, and He knew that some people will harden their own hearts and reject what He said and what Jesus would say or do, and these are the situations that fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.
 
39. For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
 
And again, we believe that this is all part of a person’s own free will.
 
40. "He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them."
 
This we strongly believe is all part of the people’s own hardness of heart, and not something that God directly did in the future.
 
41. These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
 
Yes, Isaiah did see these things, because he knew the ways of God, and that He had given everyone a free will, and that of their own accord, they would harden their hearts against the things that are in the heavenly will of God in favor of the corrupt and violent ways of this world.
 
42. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
 
43. for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
 
See, this was of their own free will; they chose to go along with the evil and violent ways in this world instead of doing what they knew was in God’s will.
 
44. And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me.
 
Because everything that Jesus did and said was in the heavenly will of God and was a direct reflection of God, so that people who saw and heard Jesus would also know the Father.
 
45. "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me.
 
For the one who sent Jesus was God.
 
Therefore, the more we understand Jesus and believe in what He taught us, the more we understand who God really is.
 
46. "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.
 
Jesus leads people out of the darkness that their own hardness of heart led them into, and this includes everyone who seeks Him.
 
47. "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
 
Those people have judged themselves by hardening their own hearts.
 
48. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
 
Everyone who hardens their own hearts and souls will have to face the Judgement.
 
49. "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.
 
And, if we are attuned to God, the Holy Spirit does the same thing for us, too.
 
50. "And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." 
NASB
 
This is true and I pray that we all hear it.
 
Let’s conclude our discussion about God writes upon hearts by looking at Hebrews 5:5-10…
 
5. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,
"Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee";
 
In other words, Jesus did not glorify Himself, but through what He did and said everything was meant to glorify His Father, God.
 
6. just as He says also in another passage,
"Thou art a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."
 
Since there is no record of any lineage for Melchizedek, it is believed that he is eternal as one of the angels or perhaps he is a Biblical symbol of God as our true high priest.
 
7. In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.
 
This is referring to Jesus, and…
 
8. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
 
9. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,
 
Only Jesus was made perfect, for all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, but we are to strive to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.
 
10. being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
NASB
 
And we are to also be a holy generation of priests of God.
 
God writes upon hearts, and we hope and pray that we all are included.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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