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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 24
8 November 2009
A Perfect Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Nov 8, 09)
Text: 1 Chron 28:9
We have learnt about the fruit of the
Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of those who acknowledge their sins
and then repent of their sins and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Saviour with trust, dependence and submission. It is by God’s
grace, mercy and power that the Holy Spirit has changed our hearts and
lives despite our deceitful, corrupt, sinful, and depraved hearts (Jer
17:9). Praise the Lord for His gracious and good work in His children,
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil
1:6). We have learnt about a loving heart, a joyful heart, a peaceful
heart, a long-suffering heart, a gentle and kind heart, a good heart, a
faithful heart, a servant’s heart, a meek heart, a Spirit-controlled
heart, a God-fearing heart, a broken and contrite heart, a humble heart,
a pure heart, a generous heart, a wise heart, a brave heart, and a true
heart. If you and I have a transformed heart with such fruit of the Holy
Spirit, we have a perfect heart before God. Then, if we lack the love
for God, truth and holiness of God, faithfulness and submission to God,
humility before God, goodness and wisdom from God, perseverance and
courage to follow God and His Word unto death, etc, our hearts are not
perfect before God. Do you and I have a perfect heart before God?
Be Perfect
In the Old Testament, the adjective
“perfect” in Hebrew is shalem, with 27 occurrences; and the KJV
translates as “perfect” 16 times, “whole” four times, “full” twice,
“just” once, “peaceable” once, etc. “Let your heart therefore be
perfect (shalem) with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to
keep his commandments, as at this day” (1 Kings 8:61). Another term
is tamiym, with 91 occurrences; and the KJV translates as
“without blemish” 44 times, “perfect” 18 times, “upright” eight times,
“without spot” six times, “uprightly” four times, “whole” four times,
“sincerely” twice, “complete” once, “full” once, etc. “Thou shalt be
perfect (tamiym) with the LORD thy God” (Deut 18:13), and “I am
the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (tamiym)”
(Gen 17:1). Another term is tam, with 13 occurrences; and the KJV
translates as “perfect” nine times, “undefiled” twice, “plain” once, and
“upright” once, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was
Job; and that man was perfect (tam) and upright, and one that
feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1).
In the New Testament, the adjective
“perfect” in Greek is teleios, with 19 occurrences; and the KJV
translates as “perfect” 17 times, “man” (1 Cor 14:20) once, and “of full
age” (Heb 5:14) once. Teleios means perfect, mature, complete,
“Be ye therefore
perfect (teleios), even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”
(Matt 5:48). The verb form of teleios is teleioo, which
means to make perfect, “And being made perfect (teleioo), he became
the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb
5:9). Another term is artios, and the KJV translates as “perfect”
once, “That the man of God may be perfect (artios),
throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:17). The verb form
of artios is katartizo, which means, be perfect, make
perfect, “Be perfect (katartizo), be of good comfort, be of one
mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you”
(2 Cor 13:11), and “Make you perfect (katartizo) in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his
sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen”
(Heb 13:21).
Then, having a perfect heart before
God means being blameless, undefiled, upright, mature, faithfully and
wholeheartedly loving Him, following Him and keeping His Word.
As God is perfect, He commands you and
me to be perfect, and there is no other choice, “I am the Almighty
God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (tamiym)” (Gen 17:1)
and “Be ye therefore perfect (teleios), even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Do you and I have a perfect heart
before God?
How to Have a Perfect Heart
Be Born Again:
Many are just naive and spiritually blind to worship a human being, even
a religious leader, whom they regard as “a perfect saint.” However,
“the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7) and He
confirms, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9). Then, you and I should not be
deceived by ourselves or by others by thinking that we are not so bad,
and we still have something good in ourselves, and we can improve
ourselves by our own efforts, and some day we shall be perfect and holy,
even without the Saviour Jesus Christ or without God’s Word! Neither
should we be deceived by thinking that as “no man is perfect” due to the
Fall of Adam and Eve, we can excuse ourselves for our shortcomings or
sins. Why? Because God requires and commands us to be perfect (Gen 17:1;
Matt 5:48), and “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout
the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose
heart is perfect (shalem) toward him” (2 Chron 16:9). Then, your
heart and mine must be perfect toward God, and the first condition is to
be born again or to be changed. For the brethren who do not have any
thirst for the Lord or God’s Word, please do not rest until you know for
sure that you are born again, and the first step is to repent of your
sins, come back to the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive Him as your Lord
and your Saviour with trust, dependence and submission.
Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ:
Looking at
men and comparing ourselves with them, we may be deceived by
thinking that we are better, holier or more mature. However, looking
unto our Lord Jesus Christ, our Perfect Example, the Author
and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) and comparing ourselves with Him,
we shall acknowledge that we are not yet perfect as we ought to be and
then humbly walk after Him, “Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect: but I follow after,… I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus” (Phil 3:12, 14). Looking unto our Lord Jesus Christ and
meditating on His love for His Father and others, His close fellowship
with His Father, His obedience and submission to His Father’s will, His
prayer life and ministry according to God’s Word, His motives for His
Father’s glory alone, His selfless and humble ministry to the needy, His
victorious fight of faith against Satan, temptations, worldliness and
wrong teachings without any compromise or tolerance, etc we shall be
encouraged and moved to follow Him, our Perfect Pattern, even though the
majority do not. As the Lord Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of
our faith, when we look unto Him, our faith will be inspired and
strengthened in Him as well as be completed by Him. Praise the Lord!
Then, when you and I fail to look unto our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, we cannot have a perfect heart before God.
Read God’s Word with Trust and
Submission: God’s
Word, the Holy Scripture, is divinely inspired or God-breathed, so we
have to trust in God’s Word, read God’s Word, live by God’s Word, and
keep God’s Word in order to grow in His grace and knowledge and to be
perfect and mature, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17) and “As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby” (1 Peter 2:2), and “But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now
and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). Do you and I wholeheartedly read
and keep God’s Word with a perfect heart? “Let your heart therefore
be perfect (shalem) with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and
to keep his commandments, as at this day” (1 Kings 8:61). If you and
I read God’s Word unwillingly or reluctantly, we cannot have a perfect
heart before God. If you and I fail to carefully and wholeheartedly keep
God’s Word, we cannot have a perfect heart before God. It is worse for
those who doubt, question, or criticise God’s Word!
Love God and Serve Him with a Perfect
Heart: David
instructed his son Solomon, “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the
God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect (shalem) heart and with
a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all
the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of
thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (1
Chron 28:9). David wanted Solomon to know God and to serve Him with a
perfect heart and with a willing mind. David even prayed to God for
Solomon, “And give unto Solomon my son a perfect (shalem) heart, to
keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all
these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made
provision” (1 Chron 29:19). But sadly, Solomon failed due to his
lack of separation from sins and heathen wives, “For it came to pass,
when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other
gods: and his heart was not perfect (shalem) with the LORD his God, as
was the heart of David his father” (1 Kings 11:4). That is Solomon’s
responsibility!
King Amaziah “did that which was
right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect (shalem)
heart” (2 Chron 25:2). Do you and I really love, seek and serve God
with a perfect heart? God commands you and me, “But if from thence
thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him
with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut 4:29) and “And
thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might… to love the LORD your God, and to
serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut 6:5;
11:13) and our Lord Jesus Christ confirms this great commandment in
Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. Then, if you and I fail to
love the Lord our God and His Name and His Day with all our heart and
with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength, we cannot
have a perfect heart before God. If you and I fail to wholeheartedly and
gladly worship Him and sing praise to Him, we cannot have a perfect
heart before God, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into
the house of the LORD” (Ps 122:1). Even our offerings to the Lord
must be from a cheerful and perfect heart, then they will be acceptable
before the Lord, “Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered
willingly, because with perfect (shalem) heart they offered willingly to
the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy” (1 Chron
29:9; cf. 2 Cor 9:7).
Conclusion
Dear friends, we should have proper
concern for our heart before God as God does. God neither looks on the
outward appearance nor is impressed by a large number of professing
believers, “but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). How
about your heart and mine before God? God still commands you and me to
be perfect, “Be ye therefore perfect (teleios), even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48) and God wants you
and me to spiritually grow in Christ and His Word, “Till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect (teleios) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ” (Eph 4:13), and “Whom we preach, warning every man,
and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man
perfect (teleios) in Christ Jesus” (Col 1:28). Dear friends, it is
our responsibility to humbly rely on and trust in the Lord to keep our
heart perfect, blameless, mature, undefiled and upright before God. May
God help you and me to look wisely unto our Lord Jesus Christ, read and
keep His Word, and love Him, seek Him and serve Him with all our heart
and with all our soul and with all our mind, and with all our strength
faithfully until Jesus comes again. Amen.
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