A Perfect Heart

“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” (1Ki 8:61 AV)

 

How apropos.  Our church concluded a Bible Conference wherein we hosted Bible College upperclassmen and recent graduates.  We call it our Timothy Conference.  From last Sunday to Wednesday, we enjoyed the preaching of seven different young men.  They did a really good job.  For men who are as young and inexperienced as they were, I was impressed with how seasoned they comported themselves behind a pulpit.  Usually, when a preacher opens his pulpit to younger men, there is a bit of damage control he does following the event.  Praise the LORD but this wasn’t the case last year or this.  What was equally, if not more impressive, was the continuity of the preaching even though these men did not converse with one another regarding what they were preaching.  The Holy Spirit directed these seven men to preach on different aspects of the heart.  Sunday morning started perfectly.  Our own Jon T preached on breaking up the fallow ground.  He encouraged us to yield our hearts to a force greater than ourselves and the earth yields to the blade of the plowman.  Then we heard about the sincere heart.  The childlike heart followed.  Monday night we were challenged to keep our hearts full with the living waters of Jesus Chris lest it becomes a broken cistern.  Tuesday was followed up with the heart of access.  A heart that thinks it needs more.  When in reality, less is more.  The Spirit concluded Wednesday with continuing heart.  He used Paul’s admonition to Timothy to continue steadfastly in the things we have learned.  Then our own Ryan H perfectly concluded our conference with a message on a heart that loves Jesus by walking in obedience to all that we heard that week.  It was truly incredible.

Such was the case with the dedication of the temple.  It was a great meeting.  It lasted fourteen days.  There was special music, sacrifice, and a dedication; concluding with a prayer from Solomon.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime meeting.  No doubt the people felt invincible.  They experienced a spiritual high they would never again feel.  Their enemies were subdued.  The city of David was complete.  The royal palace was erected.  There was wealth untold coming into port.  Solomon’s reputation of wisdom was becoming world-renown.  And to cap it all off, the magnificent temple for the one true God was second to none.  All the heathen around them could not compete with the temple at the holy city.  The glory of the LORD filled the temple to such a degree no one could enter.  The priests exited quickly as they could when God, in all His glory, took up residence.  This had to be a sight.  One that no one would ever forget.

The thing is, this experience was temporary.  Once the event was over, life got back to normal.  The mundane took precedence over the miraculous.  The drudge of everyday life became the pattern.  There were flocks to tend to, fences to mend, children to feed, and properties to manage.  There were vineyards to work, seed to plant, and crops to harvest.  Except for the priests, no one could live in the high of that experience for very long.  Regular life encroaches and the feeling of the event soon fades.  Solomon’s encouragement was to remember that day and continue as though that day could be every day.  Or, at least remember the sense of love, dedication, anticipation, and determination that felt that day and continue with God in the same.  This is difficult to do.  For most, almost impossible.  But all it takes is a little bit of time.  For the N.T. saint, we can meet with God anytime and anywhere.  We do not need a building.  We do not need a temple.  In short, we need a perfect heart.  A heart that remains is it did the moment God dealt with us.  That perfect heart is the heart we are after.