The Vision
In June 2014, God awakened me from a much-needed nap with singing. Before laying down I asked for God’s rest because I was extremely fatigued. Awakening prematurely I turned over selfishly in a futile attempt to return to my slumber.
I shifted from my stomach to my back, closing my eyes again only to see an image…it was a pierced heart. Trickling down from this heart was a red substance that changed to a golden yellow liquid flowing down into a glass underneath. I immediately got up.
Using oil pastels I quickly drew the image, which left me puzzled, because I’d experienced more in dreams than visions at the time and the figurative content I’d seen was out of my sphere of thinking.
I emailed my leader for insight with the following:
I woke up this morning hearing, “Serving the needs of others in love through the grace God has given us.” I went to sleep and woke up to a song playing on my phone called Wind of the Spirit, which is a song beckoning the wind of God to blow. As I woke up I heard myself singing two simple lines of a song. I didn’t record what I was saying quick enough to remember, but I believe whatever I was singing may have been about a heart. I turned over trying to go back to sleep and saw a faint image of a heart and oil being released into a jar. I tried to draw what I saw. The heart was pierced and I believe it represented God’s heart. I don’t really understand what it was.
I know my heart is flawed as most people’s hearts can be. I also understand that things that are within our heart can translate to our minds/thoughts and eventually come out of the mouth. There is an obvious connection to the heart and mind. Matthew 15:18-19 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. NASB I don’t understand this or where to start because I have several different ideas. Like something from God’s heart being given to cause change…but I don’t know. Does any of this mean anything? Please respond if you have time, Thank you
The Overflow of God’s Heart
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34b NKJV
I never received a response from my pastor, but soon received a response from God through a familiar channel…a dream! In the dream, I was standing in the front of my church, with two others, speaking about God’s heart.
Sure enough, shortly thereafter, at the first night of a revival service, an exhorter opened the floor for anyone that had “a Word from God,” As he prompted for someone to come forward I looked around like I wish whoever has the Word would get up. My apostle looked at me, made an audible reference to the email and nodded for me to get up. I rose reluctantly thinking how humorous God can be because He’d shown me this yet I still was unprepared because again this was foreign terrain. I love how God puts us in situations that require complete reliance on His wisdom. I stood with two others, spoke of what I’d seen and the interpretation.
The Interpretation
God promised to give His chosen people, the Jewish nation, new hearts as a part of the new covenant. This promise can be found in the prophetic writings of Ezekiel, chapter 11 verse 19 also chapter 36 verse 26.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV
What does this have to do with me?!
In Genesis 12:3, God first promised Abram that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Him. In Genesis 17, God changed his name to Abraham meaning father of a multitude or many nations, as it stands. As a non-Jew, or Gentile, EVERYONE has access to the blessing God has given to His chosen people!
Further text encourages non-Jews to remain humble, having been grafted into the promise and the inheritances of Israel, through our acceptance of Christ! (See Romans 11:11-24)
Again, what does this have to do with me?!
Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalsPhotos.Net
So having confirmed that all people, without discrimination, are candidates of this new agreement and are eligible for this exchange to receive a fleshly, pliable, and moldable heart …yet there is still an issue. The betrayal exists in the flesh of our hearts. The heart is recorded to be “deceitful above all things,” according to Jeremiah 17:9. Look at the irony here, the very thing that gives us the ability to love can also lead us to hate.
It’s imperative to guard the heart to prevent it’s descent back into deceit.
Anything that happens begins with a thought, so it’s important that our thoughts remain pure, in turn, those thoughts are translated into actions. I will go further to say that before the thought is conceived the breeding ground for the very thought lies in the heart. The issues, concerns or “overflow” of our hearts translate to thoughts, the thoughts then manifest into words, actions and deeds.
As a believer in Christ, there is work for all of us to do…and I mean ALL, but it requires a purification of the heart…a changing of the heart.
Last year, as I spoke God revealed the heart I saw represented His heart. God was revealing His plans to share His heart with the Body of Christ. The blood that flowed out represented the issues and concerns of the Father. These things include His love for humanity, His compassion, His mercy and even those things that grieve/hurt God. The blood changed into an oil…anointing oil to be precise, which represented an outpouring of His heart into the body of Christ and empowerment to do His will. Only when we have His heart will we be able to express His love and compassion to the world advancing His Kingdom, as well as encompassing a true desire to do so!
Our Responsibility
- Confess Any Unforgiveness – Ask God to reveal any unforgiveness and confess it! We must forgive others of their shortcomings to receive forgiveness of our offenses against the Holy One. Admitting it doesn’t make you weak, it actually expresses strength when you maturely tackle issues head on! Proverbs 28:13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. NLT
- Forgive and Forgive Quickly – The longer you hold onto a hurt, the deeper the roots go and the harder it becomes to forgive. Don’t allow the root of bitterness to have any place in your life & capture your liberty. Colossians 3:13 Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. The Message Bible
- Clothe Yourself With Love – Love is the greatest gift that we have been given and it’s also our greatest strength (1 Corinthians 13:13). Don’t forfeit your love for anything! Colossians 3:14 And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. The Message Bible
- Guard Your Heart – God is entrusting us with His heart, it’s imperative to guard it and what He’s sharing to prevent any descent back into deceit. Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. NIV
- Guard Your Thoughts – Keep your thoughts on things that are pure (Philippians 4:8), if anything contrary enters your mind meditate on 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV
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