GOD SEARCHES OUR HEART AND EXAMINES OUR MIND

Proclamation:

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  'I, The Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.' " Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote these words under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Jeremiah was primarily concerned with the judgement of Judah.  He told the people that God would judge each of them by examining their hearts and thoughts to determine their motives.  They would then be rewarded or punished by God based upon what they deserved according to their thoughts, words, and deeds.

Application:

This same truth applies to us today.  Man can only evaluate the words, actions and outward appearance of a person.  The Lord God can search the heart and mind of a person and judge their true inner nature.  God sees each of us like no one else can see us, twenty-four hours of each day for seven days of each week.  He sees all of our actions, hears all of our spoken words, and He knows all of our thoughts.  When we say 'God knows my heart,' He really does.  We tend to use those words as an excuse when our behavior and our words are inconsistent, as if to say that we should be judged by our intentions which only God knows.  What we do not realize is that our heart is much more deceitful than we want to admit.  Our thoughts, motives, and intentions are not always honorable or Christ-like.  We should remember this when we pray and ask our Heavenly Father to forgive us of our sins.  We should also ask Him to create within us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. (Psalm 51:10)

Judgment Begins With The Family Of God

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"  1 Peter 4:17 (NIV)

After presenting a description of how believers should live in his discourse on living for God, (1 Peter 4:7-11), the Apostle Peter told them that it was time them to suffer for being a Christian.  He said that the world would judge them now, but The Lord God would judge them and the world soon. (1 Peter 4:7)  He said judgment would begin with the people of God.  

The unsaved worldly people cannot understand why we believers have stopped doing some of the sinful things that they used to do. (1 Peter 4:2-3)  Because they do not understand, they think that we are strange and they speak evil of us. (1 Peter 4:4)  They are judging us now, but they will have to give an account for their behavior and their unbelief to The Lord Jesus at The Great White Throne Judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15, Romans 3:19, and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)  We will also be judged, in fact, we will be judged first.  On Judgment Day we will meet up with the dead in Christ, all of those believers who died beforehand, and join with then and Him in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)  Those who do not have their name written in The Lamb's book of life, (Revelation 21:27), shall not be in that number for they are not worthy and will be left behind.  The Church should purify itself and clean up its act before The Lord comes to judge it and to judge the world.    

We All Have Become Corrupt And We Need Jesus

"The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."  Psalms 14:2-3 (NIV)

In this psalm King David talks about the sad state of man.  He states that when God looks down from heaven, He sees that all men are corrupt, all have sinned.  He ends the psalm stating that the salvation of man can only come from The Lord.

It may be hard for some people to accept this, but all of us are sinners.  There may be a difference in the nature of the sins that we have committed, but we all have sinned. (Romans 3:10 & 3:23)  However, the biggest difference between us is that some of us believe in Jesus Christ and have confessed our sins, and some have not.  The Bible states that if we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart, then we shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)  Those of us who confess and believe will be saved, those who don't, won't.  God gave us a free will, we can choose to accept Him, or to reject Him.  The salvation of our soul depends upon our choice.

Believers Will Be Judged First

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"  1 Peter 4:17 (NIV)

The Apostle Peter, writing to the scattered Christians who were being persecuted, said that God's judgment, with rewards and punishments, would begin with the believers.  According to the Bible scholars John MacArthur, Matthew Henry, and Finis Dake, this would not be condemnation but a purging and purifying of the Church.  The suffering by God's people refines them.  This thought is also stated by King Solomon (Proverbs11:31)

Believers will suffer now and in the judgement, but our salvation is assured.  While others may not appear the suffer now, there will be greater suffering, without salvation, for the non-believers in the future.  Make sure that you are in the family of God.

Doing What Is Right

"All a man's ways seem right to him, but The Lord weighs the heart.  To do what is right and just is more acceptable to The Lord than sacrifice."  Proverbs 21:2-3 (NIV)

King Solomon said that everything that a man does seems right to him, but The Lord judges motives and intent as well as words and actions.  Doing the right thing is only acceptable to The Lord when the heart of the person is sincere, not when one goes through the motions without believing.

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason does not impress God.  Going through the motions of doing good, including going to church and worshipping, is not acceptable to God if one's heart is not right.  If one does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and accept Him as their personal savior, then everything else that is done is a waste of time.

The Word Of God Judges Our Hearts

"For The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."  Hebrews 4:12-14 (NIV)

Here the author of the book of Hebrews describes The Word of God and explains what it can do.  The author also makes it clear that all that God is aware of all that we think, say, and do.  God knows everything and one day we must give an account for everything, including our thoughts and attitudes.

The people who have heard The Word of God and did not believe it, will not enter into His kingdom. (Hebrews 4:2-3)  "While The Word of God is comforting and nourishing to those who believe, it is a tool of judgement and execution for those who have not committed themselves to Jesus Christ." (John MacArthur)  Faithless disobedience to God's Word will not go unpunished.  The same is true for pretenders who go through the motions of religious rituals but have not given their lives to Christ.  It is not enough to say that we believe, our walk and our talk should reflect our belief and faith.  "Our actions speak louder than our words."  God is not fooled, He even knows our motives and our intentions.  We need God to cleanse our minds and hearts, and to create a right spirit within us. (Psalms 51:1-15)

Didn't Get The Position Or Promotion You Wanted?

"No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man.  But it is God who judges; He brings one down, He exalts another."  Psalms 75:6-7 (NIV)

The Psalmist makes the point that God is the judge.  It is He that can exalt a man or put him down.

A lot of us complain because we did not get the position or promotion that we feel that we deserved.  We fail to realize that God is in charge, that is who we are working for, and He is the one who judges us.  He decides who He wants to promote or demote.   Maybe we need to please Him more and "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 (NIV)