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The Veil Upon The Heart
by Bernie Parsons
The
Veil Upon The Heart
Have you ever felt that you are having a
little trouble understanding the Bible? Have you ever read scriptures that seem to
conflict with what you have been taught? Some folks shrug and say, “But the church
leaders decided it is to be that way—who am I to question it?” So we content
ourselves with church tradition, commending ourselves for regular attendance and
faithfully following accepted rites and rituals. That is religiousness.
But have you ever desired true
righteousness? To get it right, the way God wants it done? Have you ever longed for the
“old time religion” of the apostles? Have you ever wished that you could sit at
Jesus’ feet, learning from the Master?
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Have you ever felt the gnawing pain of
hunger, or the raw burning of thirst? Has your hunger and thirst for righteousness ever
been so intense that it you found no relief until you satisfied that desire?
John 8:32 And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.
How badly do you want to know the truth?
Luke 10: 38-42 Now it came to pass,
as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha
received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus'
feet, and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving,
and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve
alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
And Jesus answered and said unto her,
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Are you careful about too many things? Is
your life so full of cares that those cares choke the word of God right out of your heart?
Are you like Mary, learning spirituality at the Master’s feet, or Martha, who worried
more about material service? We must beware lest our worries about this world choke our
spirits.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for
nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God.
Matthew 13: 22 He also that received
seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
We can lose our fruit-bearing abilities if
we let cares and worries cloud our understanding of what God would have us do every day of
our lives.
I Peter 5: 6-7 Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all
your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Maybe it’s time for you to unburden
yourself, and let bigger shoulders than yours assume your burdens.
Matthew 11: 28-30 Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
You may say, “That all sounds well and
good, preacher, but real life is different. I can’t seem to lay my burdens
down.” You know what the problem really is? It goes back to that hunger and thirst
for righteousness. Too many would-be Christians are wrapped up in religiousness, rather
than seeking righteousness. It’s time we took the veil off the heart, and turned our
heart to the Lord.
II Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin again
to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or
letters of commendation from you?
2: Ye are our epistle written in our
hearts, known and read of all men:
3: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared
to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of
the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
When we are born again of the spirit of God
Almighty, the Spirit of God writes the will of God upon our hearts.
1 John 2:20-21 But ye have an unction
from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto
you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the
truth.
1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide
in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have
heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son,
and in the Father.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing
which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any
man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
John told his listeners that they had an
unction, which is an anointing, or an application of a healing salve, that kept them in
the truth. Notice that in verse 24 he wrote that they had heard this truth
from the beginning. If you didn’t get flustered last night, and you
paid attention to the lesson, you caught that the Holy Spirit does not operate apart from
the word of God, which was revealed in Jesus. One of the problems that I addressed last
night was this very thing: we are so afraid that someone will mistake us for a
denomination, that we become denominational in our over-reaction in the opposite
direction.
John 14:25-26 These things
have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak,
not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
John 1:-4 In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In
him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and
the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:14 And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The word of God was not intended to be a
dead word, lifeless upon the pages of a book, but a living Word, quickened in the hearts
of believing men and women. Jesus was the Word of God embodied. He was the living Word,
and his entire life epitomized the will and the ways of God. That Word is to live in us.
II Corinthians 3: 4: And such trust
have we through Christ to God-ward:
5: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves
to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
6: Who also hath made us able ministers of
the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the
spirit giveth life.
Romans 7: 9 For I was alive without
the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10: And the commandment, which was ordained
to life, I found to be unto death.
11: For sin, taking occasion by the
commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom. 7: 21 I find then a law, that,
when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22: For I delight in the law of God after
the inward man:
23: But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which
is in my members.
24: O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?
25: I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of
sin.
We find that a law, when viewed only
through fleshly eyes, leads to death, but a law, that when viewed through spiritual eyes,
leads to everlasting life!
II Corinthians 3: 7: But if the
ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance;
which glory was to be done away:
8: How shall not the ministration of the
spirit be rather glorious?
9: For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10: For even that which was made glorious
had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11: For if that which is done away was
glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
12: Seeing then that we have such hope, we
use great plainness of speech:
13: And not as Moses, which put a vail over
his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which
is abolished:
14: But their minds were blinded: for until
this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which
vail is done away in Christ.
15: But even unto this day, when Moses is
read, the vail is upon their heart.
16: Nevertheless when it shall turn to the
Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8: For every one that asketh receiveth; and
he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
II Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is
that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18: But we all, with open face beholding as
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Denominationalism casts a veil
upon the heart. When religious people look at the Bible through denominational eyes, the
truth is not discovered. When truth-seekers look into the scriptures with open eyes, open
minds, and open hearts, they see the true image of Jesus, our Lord.
As
Christians are changed by the Holy Spirit of God we take on the image of Jesus, so that
eventually when we look into the mirror of the soul, we see not the men and women that we
used to be, but rather we see Jesus.
Acts
17:10 And the
brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went
into the synagogue of the Jews.
11: These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
John 8:
31: Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed;
32: And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33:
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest
thou, Ye shall be made free?
Sometimes we are like
that, we say, “We be the Church of Christ”, or someone in a denomination says,
“We be the Baptist church” or “the Methodist” church, or the
“Catholic church”, or some other. But
are we free? Have we God’s truth?
John
8:34 Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of
sin.
35: And
the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36: If
the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
37: I
know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in
you.
38: I
speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your
father.
39:
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were
Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40: But
now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God:
this did not Abraham.
42:
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and
came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43: Why
do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
45: And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46:
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47: He
that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Are we of God? Are we listening?
Matthew
13: 13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand.
14: And
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15: For
this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal
them.
16: But
blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Can you
see? Can you hear? Do you want to? Lest we become too arrogant, let us examine ourselves
whether we be in the faith.
2
Corinthians 13:5 Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own
selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
We should all constantly examine and
evaluate ourselves to see if we are listening to God, and doing what He says to do. A lot
of the problems in the body of Christ come from people following men, and not God. That is
the same problem that the denominations have. It is time that we remove the veil of
Catholicism, and the veil of Protestantism, and see the word of God as it is
intended to be seen. That includes shaking off “church tradition”, opting
instead for the pure, unadulterated word of God.
Are you a spirit-filled, born-again child
of God? Have you been born of water and spirit? If not, take the veil off your heart and
be free!
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them,
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16: He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
19: Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
