We have talked a lot about the heart and unity. At this time I would like to explain some things about our hearts and how they function. Then we can understand how to change them through spiritual principles so that our motivations will be right and our hearts will not continue to deceive us.
In my studies I came to realize that the spiritual heart of man is actually what psychiatrists call the subconscious mind. We will now look at what is said about the subconscious mind and compare it to what the Bible says about the heart.
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Your subconscious mind is like a huge memory bank. Its capacity is virtually unlimited. It permanently stores everything that ever happens to you. By the time you reach the age of 21 you’ve already permanently stored more than one hundred times the contents of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:43-45
Jesus said that both good and evil are stored up in the heart.
In Matthew 15:19 Jesus said “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander”. These thoughts are rooted in the rejection, rebellion and pride that we were born with. They are stored up in our hearts and are influenced by the sin principle (nature) in our flesh (Ephesians 2:1-3). These negative emotions continue to grow and get stronger in an evil person who does not love his enemies and pray for them. The evil person reacts out of the evil that is already in his heart and it becomes deeper rooted and stronger.
Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 4:12 states that the Word of God is alive and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Psychiatrists say that what is in our subconscious mind controls our conscious mind. Jesus says the same thing about our hearts. Luke 6:45 For out of the overflow (abundance) of his heart his mouth speaks.
When we are hurt or angry or under pressure, whatever evil is in our hearts is going to come out in the words that we speak. This is also true even when we are not under pressure concerning jealousy, lust, negative self image, unforgiveness, etc.
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else guard your heart for it is the well spring of [your] life.”
Your heart is like a huge memory bank that has stored up everything you have ever heard, ever seen or ever happened to you.
Your (memory bank) heart has been programmed by everything in your life from your physical heritage to the society and family you grew up in, to everything that you have seen, everything you have experienced, everything you have heard and believed, everything you have done and has been done to you. Your heart has also been programmed by all the bad or good habits that you have developed because of all these things and how you reacted to them.
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Under hypnosis, older people can often remember, with perfect clarity, events from fifty years before. Your unconscious memory is virtually perfect. It is your conscious recall that is suspect.
These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 14:25-26 (NKJV)
When we rightly understand the truth for each situation then the Holy Spirit can guide us by the Word we have put in our hearts. On the other hand, the devil will quote the Word and twist the meaning to appeal to the carnal desires of our hearts. (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15)
My purpose is not to have you think of yourselves as a machine called a computer, but to give you a practical understanding of your heart and how it works.
