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Our heart helps us do what we do and is the root source of the direction our life is taking, how we respond to situations and circumstances, good or bad. The vocabulary and to some extent the very concept of transplantation finds its origin in horticulture. That is not to say that this argument is sufficient to justify transplantation, but there are similarities. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV). The cure: man needs a new heart that leads to a heart transplant if you will. If we are to please God, we need to allow The Holy Spirit to set us apart. We need to pursue a sinless life; we are to seek righteousness. We accomplish this through the teaching, guiding, convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. Like a sharp two–edged sword, the Word divides the inner man asunder to reveal the true condition and needs of our hearts. It is very interesting to note the way in which the Bible uses metaphors from this area. The problem is that man can’t change his own heart—only God can do that. We must receive a new heart and sometimes that will come with accepting a “heart transplant.” While, accepting Christ as Savior is the first and necessary step to life transformation, because living as a follower of Christ, you can apply these specific guidelines from the Word of God. Most people today want to be successful according to their own idea of success.
However, as you listen to the success propaganda of today, again and again the focus of attention is on one of two things. First, the vast majority of thinking, writing, and talk focuses on the outer self. “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them” Jeremiah 32:38–39 (NKJV). Very little that you read places any emphasis on the inner man, on the heart, the wellspring of our thoughts, motives, ambitions, values, and decisions. And second, when what you read or hear does place an emphasis on the heart, it generally does so in a completely self–centered way. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” Ephesians 2:1–3 (NKJV). When David’s heart began to fail, he was at home. At the very time when he should have been at war, relaxing and taking it easy; when he was supposed to be fighting. when he ought to have been getting it done, he was just sitting around doing nothing. There is a saying, “that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. This means an inactive and unmotivated heart is the breeding ground for the devil to use deceptive devices to lead and lure you into his evil traps and snares. Because, the heart and the mind are often mentioned in combination to one another. The apostle Paul exhorted the believers at Philippi that if they exercised their faith by rejoicing in the Lord, by being moderate or temperate in their lifestyles, and by releasing stress and discarding anxiety praying always that God’s peace would keep their hearts and minds.
Although, he had foresight and knowledge he was still suffering with a congenital heart condition, feasted his eyes and ultimately his lustful appetite upon Bathsheba; another man’s wife. He forsook the Word of God and desired to follow after his own lustful desires, wants and needs. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” Exodus 20:14–17 (NKJV). He became an immoral obstacle and stumblingblock for Bathsheba and brought a curse into his home; and against his family. David went from bad to worse when he tried to coverup and make excuses for his sin. He called for Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) and would have covered his sins by way of trickery. However, Uriah was a man of integrity. There is a lesson to be learned in this, that is, that each time we allow our hearts to lay dormant and out of fellowship and communion with God, we place it in the higher risk category to fall back into darkness (sinful nature). David’s heart went into self –perseverance mode, so he arranged the death of an innocent man to hide the fact that he was a man with a serious (wicked) heart condition. So, when David was confronted with his sins by the prophet Nathan, he finally came to the realization and recognized the seriousness of the situation.
After, his heart became filled with conviction and remorse, he confessed his sins before Nathan and the Lord. In every case, in order to receive a heart transplant, somebody has got to die. You need to know that you don’t have to wait for this clean heart because somebody has already died and made the sacrifice for you to receive this new heart. “Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite” 1 Kings 15:5 (NKJV). Despite David’s fidelity, he is also remembered as one of history’s greatest sinners. The progression in David’s sin reveals a callousing of his heart, a hardening that would make him unable to return to Yahweh without the work of the Spirit through the Word of God. God mercifully forgave David when he acknowledged his sin, but this does not mean his transgression had no consequences. David also worshiped the Lord even after these consequences were brought to pass, showing that He acknowledged his guilt and the justice of God’s verdict. Like David, we too must repent when the Lord pierces our hearts so that we may manifest that we are truly His. But as much as a lost person needs a new heart, most believers in our day need to have “spiritual bypass surgery” because their hearts have been clogged by all kinds of impurities. “In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you” 1 Peter 4:4 (NKJV). Our lack of commitment, our self–seeking, self–serving attitude, and the way we treat our fellow brothers and sisters all point to the reality of a heart issue.
To avoid hardness of heart, we must submit to God’s authority through His inspired Word. To seek healing, wholeness, and comfort, they ask Jesus about the cure. The cure is not a quick fix or a symptom-covering pill. The cure is not the self–effort of a great diet and vigorous exercise. The cure is not even a bypass. The human heart is sick and dying; it must be replaced. The natural human heart is incapable of forever beating spiritually, so it must be replaced by a heart that will beat forever. And the donor heart is God’s. A healthy heart is humble, dependent on God, unselfish, filled with and controlled by God, taking in the Word and things of God, and producing love for God and others. Do you want a healthy heart? Do you want to change? Are there areas in your life that need to change? Then come to Jesus, the Great Physician, for a new heart and let Him fill it with the Word of God and His presence. His office is always open, and no appointment is necessary! Let your heart feed on Him, depend on Him, and beat for Him and watch what happens. With your new heart and new spirit, you have been given the prognosis of “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus“. You are a “new creation”. That is definitely “good news” in the outcome of the heart transplant. Your spirit and soul have been given a clean bill of health. We must lose our hearts to gain the heart of God. In fact, the New Testament’s promise for the “meek” is that they will inherit all that God has wanted for them from the beginning of time. “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth” Matthew 5:5 (NKJV). Being a disciple begins with this radical transplant–the conversion of our hearts, the submission of our wills and the surrender of our lives. Being a disciple is a process of learning to hate our lives. We acknowledge our own inability to make ourselves well. We allow that fact to drive us to a sorrow that leads us to surrender our whole selves to God’s only cure for the problem: the cross of Jesus Christ. A healthy heart is humble, dependent on God, unselfish, filled with and controlled by God, taking in the Word and things of God, and producing love for God and others.