My Whole Heart

[dave c]

simpletruth #138an Revisited 04SEP10 salicart@msn.com

HOSEA 10:12—Part Forty: My Whole Heart

by rev. dave c

Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).

According to the New American Standard Version of The Bible, we are directed by the Holy Spirit to “seek the Lord” twenty-nine times (28 in the OT/1 in the NT), “seek God” seven times (6 in the OT/1 in the NT), “seek Him” eight times (all in the OT), “seek You” five times (also in the OT), “seek My face” three times (OT); and “seek after…[commandments, etc.]” (2 OT/1 NT). Obviously, this directive for us “to seek” after Him is very important to God.

All of Scripture, however, indicates that it is not enough to seek God on a part time basis. With even a cursory reading of the Bible we soon discover that the Lord desires the devotion of our whole person all of the time. Furthermore, as discussed in Part 39, we are not only to seek God with all our heart, we are to love Him with our whole person. This makes sense on a fundamental level—if We truly love a person, or even a thing, we will be constant in our seeking after the object of that love. Jesus dramatically underscores this point in Luke 10:25-28, And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE" (NAS). To inherit eternal life, to live, we must love God with our whole person.

In Second Kings 20:3 we read that Hezekiah cried out to the Divine: "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly (NAS). Besides loving and seeking after God with all our heart, we need to walk before Him in truth and with our whole person—that is, our daily lives are to be a testimony to all of creation concerning our decision, commitment, and surrender to the will of God.

In First Chronicles 28:9 King David exhorts his son: "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever (NAS). Has greater advice ever been given from a natural father to his son? David is telling all of us that if we earnestly and honestly seek Him, God will let us find Him (!). This verse, however, would indicate that we must first come to know God, and to serve Him with our whole person.

In First Chronicles 29:9 we also read: Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the LORD with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly (NAS). Giving to God wholeheartedly is a source of joy both to ourselves and to those who surround us—including our leadership.

In Second Chronicles 15:12-15 we are told: They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side (NAS). It is not enough to sit in the serenity of our pews as we offer up our worship, our devotion, and our silent prayers. To find the Lord and His rest, we must join with our Christian brothers and sisters in a public commitment of our whole person to the proclamation of both our desire and our actions in seeking God.

In Second Chronicles 25:1-3 there is this warning: Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart. Now it came about as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had slain his father the king (NAS). “He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” Oh, my. On some levels the shadow of Amaziah bears an uncomfortable resemblance to that of Cain, to even Judas—and to me? Or to you?. I pray God protects us from the deception of half-hearted “works” (Mt 7:22&23).

In Jeremiah 24:7 we are offered this assurance: 'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart (NAS). We are to seek God with a whole heart, we are to love Him, to walk with Him, to serve, give, and to commit to Him—and should we stray, to return to God with our whole person. God, Himself, is our wisdom, our strength, and our certainty. First John 3:19-22 tells us, This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him (NIV). Amen.