Sermon Tone Analysis

Give Me An Undivided Heart

Updated: Wed, 08/17/2016 - 18:31 By admin LORD, GIVE US UNDIVIDED HEARTS

()Integrity is derived from "integer" (a whole number as opposed to a fraction) and speaks of the quality of being undivided.

O, to be men and women of integrity, lights shining in the midst of the darkness in such a way that the world might see our undivided hearts and this would bring glory to our Father Who is in heaven.

(-note, cf -note).

A great prayer to pray (daily) would be David's words..."Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth.

UNITE MY HEART to fear Your Name."

(-note)The NIV has "Give me an UNDIVIDED HEART."

Pastor Ray Pritchard paraphrases "Put me together, Lord, because right now my life is scattered in a thousand directions!" (from The Undivided Heart)An UNDIVIDED HEART, O Lord,

Is what we need each day,

For we are prone to compromise

And wander from Your way.

-D De HaanThe men of the tribe of Zebulon "helped David with an UNDIVIDED HEART" (literally "without a double heart" = undivided loyalty) (-note) They were "all in," of one heart, all the time, nothing held back.Spurgeon commenting on -note said "Having taught me ONE WAY, give me ONE HEART to walk therein, for too often I feel 'a heart and a heart' (In -note "double heart" in Hebrew literally = "a heart and a heart"), two natures contending, two principles struggling for sovereignty (-note).

Our minds are apt to be divided between a variety of objects, like trickling streamlets which waste their force in a hundred rivulets.

Our great desire should be to have all our life floods poured into one channel and to have that channel directed towards the Lord Alone.

A man of DIVIDED HEART is weak (cf -note), the man of one object is the man.

God Who created the bands of our nature can draw them together, tighten, strengthen, and fasten them, and so braced and inwardly knit by His uniting grace, we shall be powerful for good, but not otherwise.

To fear God is both the beginning, the growth, and the maturity of wisdom (-note, -note), therefore should we be undividedly given up to it, heart, and soul (cf -Spurgeon's sermon)."Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

(Play Fernando Ortega's great vocal)May we all be motivated and enabled by the Spirit (:13NLT-note) to imitate men like Paul (-note, -note) who said "this ONE THING I DO.

forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

(-note)And remember that "the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."

(-Spurgeon's sermon)Lord, by Your amazing grace and enabled by the power of Your Spirit, give us undivided hearts to fear Your Name, in the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names (-note).

AmenListen to Rich Mullins' great song "MY ONE THING" that speaks of an UNDIVIDED HEART.JESUS' DESCRIPTION OF

AN UNDIVIDED HEARTJesus describes an undivided heart in the Sermon on the Mount“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. " (-note)In -note the Greek word for pure is katharos which describes a heart that is pure in motive and which exhibits single mindedness, undivided devotion and spiritual integrity.

The idea is "This one thing I do" (as Paul said in  [note]).

So although, "pure in heart" includes the ideas of moral purity or freedom from sensuality, that is not the primary idea in the word katharos.

Pure (katharos) has to do with attitudes, integrity, and singleness of heart as opposed to duplicity and double mindedness (cf -note).

Thus, one might paraphrase Jesus' words in this beatitude as…"I desire a heart that is unmixed in its devotion and motivation."SPIRITUAL

"TUNNEL VISION"The word undivided means not divided, separated, or broken into parts, not mixed with other feelings or intentions.

The idea in -note is that it is a heart that is concentrated on or devoted completely to one object, specifically the true and living eternal God not the idols of this fallen, temporal world.

To use an medical term from my days in medical school, it is a heart with "tunnel vision" which is literally a defect of one's vision, but which has a spiritual application.

Wikipedia writes that tunnel vision "is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision."

Look at this depiction of literal tunnel vision which helps understand that while physical "tunnel vision" is a bad thing, spiritual "tunnel vision" is a good thing because it describes a heart fully fixed on the object of its devotion, specifically on God Himself!See also the description of "Vertical Vision" which is the type of vision associated with an undivided heart.Another description for an undivided heart is a single-minded heart, one having but one aim, a heart that is dedicated to God, a heart having one driving purpose which is to live pleasing to God, a heart whose attention is fixed on God alone and does not allow itself to be distracted or influenced by the passing pleasures of sin.

MacArthur adds (commenting on  "pure in heart") explains that in secular Greek usage katharos "was often used of metals that had been refined until all impurities were removed, leaving only the pure metal.

In that sense, purity means unmixed, unalloyed, unadulterated.

Applied to the heart, the idea is that of pure motive-of single-mindedness, undivided devotion, spiritual integrity, and true righteousness.

(MacArthur, J: Chicago: Moody Press)SPIRITUAL

"DOUBLE-VISION"In a similar sense Jesus said that "double vision" will radically impact your inner spiritual man, especially your heart (cf ) teaching that...The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other.

You (ABSOLUTELY) cannot serve God and mammon.

(-note, -note)The phrase "if your eye is clear" is translated variously as - "if therefore thine eye is single" (KJV), " If then your eye is healthy" (NET, ESV), " If your eye is good" (CSB), " if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect" (Young's Literal).

The key word Jesus used is the adjective "clear" (NAS) which is the Greek word haplous which strictly speaking means single (as rendered in the KJV) or without folds which came to mean simple, sincere, innocent, healthy, clear ("clear vision" - cp spiritual vision discussed above) and finally conveying the sense of generous.BDAG says haplous "pertains to being motivated by singleness of purpose so as to be open and aboveboard, single, without guile, sincere, straightforward i.e. without a hidden agenda."

Marvin Vincent a respected Greek scholar says "The picture underlying this adjective (haplous) is that of a piece of cloth or other material, neatly folded once, and without a variety of complicated folds.

Hence the idea of simplicity or singleness (compare simplicity from the Latin simplex; semel, once; plicare, to fold).

So, in a moral sense, artless, plain, pure.

Here sound, as opposed to evil or diseased.

Possibly with reference to the double-mindedness and indecision condemned in -note."Wiersbe

suggests that we "Compare Abraham and Lot in  for an illustration of the “single eye.”

The eye here speaks of the outlook of the heart.

A single eye means one that is fixed on the spiritual (Ed: cp an "undivided heart").

It is the opposite of the double-minded person in -note; -note, -note.

(Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament)Zodhiates adds that "Haploús stands in contrast to diploús (double or many).

Even though we have two eyes, they are designed to pick up a single object, preferably the Lord Himself, as David counseled.

Jesus connected the purity of the body with the holy character of an eye that does not vacillate between treasures on earth and treasures in heaven.

Similarly, in -note we read that the "double minded [dipsuchos] man is unstable [akatastatos from a = without, not; and kathistemi = to settle] in all his ways" (cf.

-note).

A circularity of "unsettling" effects exists between the soul and the physical eye.

Just as double-minded ("two-souled") persons can direct their physical eyes between good and bad objects, so physical eyes can transmit good and bad signals into the soul (Ed: And I would add into our heart).

If we think about the blurred and conflicting (double vision) messages our brains attempt to process when we merely cross our eyes, we can understand how our physical eyes can destabilize our souls (Ed: hearts) when they receive and transmit conflicting data.

The "eyes of [our] understanding" (-note)-our spiritual eyes-work in conjunction with our physical eyes to our good or to our detriment.

(Exegetical Commentary on Matthew)William MacDonald  applies the truth about haplous - "The good eye belongs to the person whose motives are pure, who has a single desire for God's interests, and who is willing to accept Christ's teachings literally.

His whole life is flooded with light.

He believes Jesus' words, he forsakes earthly riches, he lays up treasures in heaven, and he knows that this is the only true security.

On the other hand, the bad eye belongs to the person who is trying to live for two worlds.

He doesn't want to let go of his earthly treasures, yet he wants treasures in heaven too.

The teachings of Jesus seem impractical and impossible to him.

He lacks clear guidance since he is full of darkness."

(Believer's Bible Commentary-excellent).It follows that a single eye is necessary for an undivided heart.

Do you need to schedule an appointment with the "Divine Optometrist" for a checkup of you spiritual eyesight.

Perhaps you've been having "double vision" and are in need of a new "prescription" from the Spirit of Jesus Christ!

He and He Alone can give you the desire and the power (:13NLT-note) to obey Paul's command to "Set your mind (your heart) (present imperative = command to make this your daily delight!) on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

(-note) Truth be told we all still have fallen flesh and therefore daily wrestle with "spiritual diplopia" and thus are continually in need of casting off our natural tendency to rely on self (e.g, in a vain attempt to obey Paul's command in -note) and instead to wholly lean on Jesus' blood and righteousness, trusting wholly in His Holy Spirit to correct our daily "diplopia!"

Are you arising each morning firmly convinced that YOU by yourself cannot continually set your mind on the things above throughout the day?

If you think for a second you can succeed, you are already deceived and will soon be defeated!

If you think you are immune to "spiritual diplopia" then here is a little test - take a look at this picture - how many watches do you see?

If you see more than one watch than you are afflicted with spiritual diplopia and must daily depend on the Great Physician to enable you to see with single vision ()! Brethren the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick () and the same can be said of our spiritual vision!

So it follows, dear fellow follower of Jesus, if we desire an undivided heart, we need to resolve to arise each morning with the words of David's prayer on our lips "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth.

UNITE MY HEART to fear Your Name." (-note)SINGLE HEART

PURE HEART

Two songs for your heartTake a moment to listen to this song, one of my favorites from Craig Smith, entitled Single Heart...He had only one aim

In placing us here

This is His domain

And His message is clear.

Single heart, Single mind.

My eyes forward all the time.

Single heart, purified.

Undivided, unified.

Single heart, Single mind.May You find in us,

Solitary trust

May you find a single heart!Here is another song Pure Heart -- take a moment to ponder your life in light the words sung by Craig Smith and make it your prayer to the Father today:Over and over I hear it again

That the Father desires pure heart

Not to seek earthly treasure or the favor of man

But to be found with pureness of heartChorus

Pure heart is what the Father desires

Holy heart purified by God's holy fire