“Our Heart at Work”

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

This is the last in our series of messages regarding the ways that the Lord works within our lives. We’ve considered the power of the Holy Spirit, the glory that comes to us by grace, the ways that faith in Jesus Christ can work in mighty ways, and how living a life of righteousness can make incredible differences for us. And today, we consider the changes that occur within our heart when we trust in the Lord.

The apostle Paul, as we know, experienced one of the most dramatic changes of heart that we read of anywhere in scripture. It wasn’t by his will, it wasn’t by his worthiness, it wasn’t even of his own making – it came about when God’s love filled the heart of the persecutor Saul. (Acts 9:1-19) And it seems fitting that the passages that we have been studying during these past 5 weeks were all written by the “new man” Paul.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11- 12

Paul cuts right to the chase – his changed heart has led him to “fear the Lord”, and he can do nothing else but share his joy with all who he meets. We need to understand, though, that the word “fear”, in this context, does not imply terror or fright. It is an expression that proclaims the worship of God, of honoring the glory and wonder, the power and majesty that describes the very nature of our Lord. And when we understand this context of “fear”, we realize that sharing the gospel, living a life that can convince others of the worthiness of God, should be our only true response.

And why not? God has never kept us from knowing his grace and glory – so why, once we feel that love, should we ever try to keep it to ourselves? Sharing Jesus with others is what comes from heart-felt faith, and it is, very possibly, the greatest compliment we could ever show to our almighty God! When we “fear” the Lord, and encourage others to do the same, it means that we hate the wickedness of the sin in our lives, and that we are willing to join with others, to hold each other accountable to the Lord’s life and ways and word.

Paul wants each of us to know that our hearts are open books as far as God is concerned. He knows our heart, he knows our thoughts, he knows our ways, and the apostle’s desire is that we come to know God’s heart and thoughts and ways just as well. Unfortunately, he isn’t so sure that the Corinthians do. He isn’t looking for their praise of him – he is simply looking for their joy in the Lord’s message that they have now received. And what does he hope they do with their newly refilled heart? He wants them to be able to respond in truth, and to stop putting their trust and hope in what they “see” – in those worldly ways and thoughts that he has been speaking against for the past 5 chapters!

It’s all about a change of heart, from one that loves worldly ways, into one that loves the ways of Jesus. And the Church of today? What do we love? Where is our allegiance? Are we still caught up on the world’s ways, in those things that are “seen”, or do we look beyond them to the “unseen” ways of God? This is the primary problem that our denomination is going through today – letting the ways of earth to begin defining what we are to believe and proclaim, instead of trusting in the word and Spirit of God to guide us in life.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:13-15

Paul says that sometimes he is “out of his mind”, and that other times he is “in it”. We could take this as an indication that he needs to see a psychologist for split personality issues. But the truth is that he is more likely describing his being in or out of touch with the people. “Out of his mind” would mean that he is totally focused on the Lord, whether in prayer, in meditation, in vision and revelation, or “in his mind”, sharing the word and message of God with those around him. For Paul, this is the proper balance that we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, must display.

Now understand - this not a compromise, not a “fence sitting” condition! It places us in the exact position that we are called to be in. In 1 Peter 2:1-5, we read that we are to come to the Lord as “living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are to be a holy priesthood, with all that this entails. Priests, in a general sense, are go-betweens between their congregations and our glorious Lord. They share the word of God, they encourage folks to live a moral and upright life, they enable the people to be all that they can be as God’s children, and they seek and proclaim the desires of God for the Church. Whether “in” or “out” of the mind – in faith and in heart, it always works.

And it works because God at work in our heart compels us to reach out into the darkness of earth, to share the light of Christ with others. And it always comes back to what we believe – in Paul’s instance, it all centers on the torment, the condemnation, the death and the resurrection that Christ accepted and endured on our behalf. And where is our part in all of this? Paul writes that we should put our self-centered approach to life behind us, and to live in the Christ-centered life that Jesus has won for us.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-19

Paul begins with the same issue that we struggle with – how do we see Jesus? Do we willingly claim him to be the Son of God and Son of Man? Do we believe that he is the Savior of all who believe and trust in him? Do we acknowledge that our life would one day end abruptly, if it wasn’t for the eternal life that Jesus lives and invites us to live with him? Do we live a Godly life, one that reflects and follows the ways that he has commanded us to live? Or do we see him as the world sees him – that he was a good man, maybe a prophet, one who did great things and who had some good ideas about loving others in this life? Falls a bit short, doesn’t it.

This is Paul, possibly speaking about his own life, except that his former view of Jesus was far worse – he saw him as a heretic, as one who was about as far from God’s truth as anyone could possibly be! But when Jesus touched his cold, hard heart, and warmed it up in the light of Truth, he became a new “creation” in the life of his Lord. And he writes that in Christ, everything will, and has, changed. Not only does our life become renewed, but the Day of Judgment has taken on a whole new face.

In Paul’s previous life, the Judgement was about condemnation. We would be judged, based on our good works and on how closely we followed the law. But now, judgment had been simplified to the point of faith – whether we have given our lives to the Lord, and shared his grace with others. No longer would it be about perfection on our part, but rather about the perfection of Jesus Christ that was working in our hearts. Where it used to be about us, it was now all about Jesus, and that is the message that we must bring to the lost of earth.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

And now we come back to that concept of our “priesthood”, and how we live out the call of Christ on our lives. It isn’t a difficult message to remember, and it isn’t one that should cause us to hesitate. It is all about becoming united with God once again! Jesus has already done all the hard work, and we just have to accept him as our Lord and Savior, immersing ourselves in his grace and way. And Paul reminds us that in our surrender to Christ’s glorious work, we take on the exalted and righteous nature of our Redeemer.

How can we possibly keep such a marvelous truth to ourselves? The world, of course, doesn’t know how much they need Jesus yet, but the Lord is patient and will wait until our love for them fills their lives, and the life and truth of Christ begins to change their heart. Paul knew that change – the one that touched his mind, his heart, his faith, his understanding of God, and ultimately his entire life. We know that same change, the one that gave us an entirely new outlook on faith and life, and in our love for others, we want them to know the reconciliation, the restoration, the true heart-love that all can have through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we need to show them what it’s all about through the new heart that we have received by faith.

Not such a tough call – if we give our heart for Christ a chance to work.