Changing what you Believe (5 of 6)

Mike Connell

The trouble is then we have so much that we know about in the head, I've got to get it from the head to the heart. It's the getting it from the head to the heart, see? So let's give you an example. We'll read a verse and then we'll just give you a couple of questions, see what [you do. 00.30.50] Romans, Chapter 10 and Verse 10; with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. So you notice now there's a confessing with your mouth, believing in your heart. Now what part of you must believe? What part of me believes? It didn't say if you believe with your head. It says if you believe with your heart; that means an experiential knowledge. See in Paul in writing to the Corinthians said I don't want you to be ignorant of how to flow in the gifts of the spirit. In other words he's saying I don't want you to be without experiential knowledge how to do this - so here's the challenge. How can I get it from my head knowing about the scripture into my heart?

So I'll ask a couple of questions. How many believe that scripture? Let's start off with that scripture there, that with the heart man believes unto righteousness, how many believe that's true? Okay, believe the word's true. How many then have said man, I believe [what Jesus Christ has saved me. 00.31.56] I believe and now I'm righteous before God. How many believe that? Okay, that's a fair few. The others think it's a trick question and you're not righteous before God at all, you're in real trouble. [Laughter] Okay, now here's the question I want to really ask see - how many feel righteous? See, that's where the dilemma comes because what you feel is what you're experiencing in your heart and your life and so what happens is you have many and there'll be many of us here today and this is what the struggle will be: I know that scripture, if I will believe in my heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and was raised from the dead I'll be right before God. I believe that scripture but I don't feel righteous. I feel something missing and lacking. I feel incomplete. I feel as though something is not right, so when I come to stand before God, when I come to worship then I don't feel quite right and I don't know what to do. Perhaps I'll sing louder, perhaps I'll clap louder, perhaps that'll do it.

But the real struggle is the internal one, see? When shame cloaks us we're disconnected. When shame is removed and we are righteous before God we can connect and so when we come in to worship we come the Bible way which tells us enter His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise, and then it says know, know this, that the Lord is your God and you are His people and reminds us who we are, our identity and then it says and now if you'll hear His voice don't harden your heart and talks about worshipping Him. So there's a progression of how to access the presence of God. Now the problem is everyone can clap and sing songs, that's the easy bit. We can all sing the songs. We can all shout and clap our hands and do that part, but the real key part is the connecting intimately with God. If there is something in your heart that causes you to doubt, if there are accusations, if there's shame, if there's anything in your heart that's resident there and has a hold there, when it comes to access the presence of God you won't do it. You'll feel I'm not right, I just had a bad week this week. I had this, I had this, this - all kinds of stuff comes up instead of being able to enjoy the presence of God.

So services become shortened because the majority of people don't know how to stand and stay in the presence of God. Moses, the people said they saw the cloud. They said Moses, you go there, talk with God, you just come and tell us something. This is not what we're called to do. We're called to be intimate with God and out of intimacy with God, then we overflow in our life, we have an incredible life. But this issue of intimacy with God, now if you have shame you are clothed with something's wrong with me, you can't be intimate so when you stand before God do you feel there's something wrong with you? Do you constantly remember things that are wrong? What things are going through your conscious awareness? What are you feeling? Well, I need to know that I'm righteous. If I know that I'm righteous I can stand there and I can feel absolutely accepted and in His presence and I can enjoy Him, so to get it from the head to the heart there's a key. The Bible's very clear on how to shift things from the head to the heart. I have to meditate in the truth.