Four-Part Harmony (Part 2): Internal Conversations, The Pantry of the Heart

The peace the absolutes afford is deep and long.  Questions are resolved with answers. Inner discord is replaced with four-part harmony, and doubts are replaced with a certain expectation that will not be denied.  The promises of God are big and beautiful, even legal proclamations, that are the yea and amen unto the glory of God by us.  II Corinthians 1:20:

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

When we walk in childlike faith, we rest in God’s absolutes.  Romans 8:28:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When I rest in God’s absolutes—even where my absolutes are absolutely absolute—then His Word becomes true and righteous altogether in my mind and heart, even to the saving of my own soul.

When I wield the promise of Romans 8:28 in childlike faith, it is a devastating weapon against Satan’s strongholds, and it will show itself to be absolutely true.  All things will work together for my good, especially the dark and contradictory ones.

If you have not yet been BORN AGAIN, then you have not yet discovered God’s marvelous absolutes, but that can all change for you today.  In a moment, I will ask you to follow me in a simple prompt, and if you follow from your heart, everything will change for you—EVERYTHING!  It begins with a new Father, a new name, and a new birth certificate.  Today, all your sin and shame will be washed away by Jesus Christ’s saving blood.  Today, all of the devil’s bondages in your life will be broken—the bigger, the better.  Jesus said you must be BORN AGAIN to see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).  Here is the simple prompt I promised:  Click onto “Further with Jesus”  for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Romans 12:1-2:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 4:23:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

GOD SAID, James 4:8:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  

MAN SAID: Actually, if I’m being truly honest with myself, I love sex and pornography! I love parties, booze, and dope!  I love sports, clothes, and cars!  I love to “follow the science!”—well, unless it points to God, then it’s junk.  Oh yes, I really love myself, and my phone makes it all so easy!  So, hit the road, Jesus!  Do excuse me now, I’m off to my mindfulness class. 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 1072 that will, for the 1072^nd time, certify the supernatural inerrancy of God’s Holy Bible.  All of these faith-building features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the blood-bought and as bait for the fishers of men.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.

Thank you for coming. May God’s grace be multiplied unto you.

This is the second installment in a short GodSaidManSaid series whose revelation will prove to be transformative spiritually and physically.  We will quickly learn to participate in Holy Spirit power at a much greater level than we have enjoyed in the past.  A sharpening of Holy Ghost skills is at hand, creating in us what God calls “…a new sharp threshing instrument.”  Isaiah 41:15-16:

15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

We will labor in this final harvest of the lost sons and daughters of Adam with gloriously expanded Holy Ghost skills. 

Jesus identifies four parts of man in Mark 12:30:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

These four parts—the heart, the soul, the mind, and the strength—stand separate and apart from one another, but function as a team.  Bringing these parts into four-part harmony with God and His Word will eliminate all inner conflicts and unlocks the door to amazing Holy Ghost enhancements. This series will concentrate on the practical application of God’s Word that will take us to this amazing harmony and keep us there.

There’s a reason we talk to ourselves.  There is an ongoing silent and audible dialogue that transpires between the individual’s heart, soul, and mind.  In feature one, we focused on the heart.  Until recently, science ridiculed the Bible’s assertion that the heart had its own brain, mind, and will, and that often, the heart’s will can dominate the brain between our ears.  To carnal science, the heart was just a sophisticated pump.  Now, the ridicule has ended.  Biologists now know that the heart does indeed have its own brain, along with the attributes mentioned.  Imagine this: The heart’s brain actually sits on a table of the heart, the top of the heart, just as God’s Word declares numerous times.  For example, Proverbs 3:3:

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

II Corinthians 3:3:

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 fleshly tables of the heart.

One is directed in the Scriptures to keep the heart. Proverbs 4:23:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

One is directed to write the Scriptures on the table of his heart.  Proverbs 3:3:

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

One is directed to purify the heart.  James 4:8:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

That one to whom is given the charge that dictates where he or she will spend eternity is the mind—and not just any mind, but the regenerated and transformed mind of the child of God.  Note: The brain is not the mind.  Until just this past decade or so, science had mocked the Biblical declaration that the mind lives on after the brain is dead.  Consider Luke 16:19-26:

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man''s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham''s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

The rich man’s body is in the rich man’s tomb; his eyes are in his tomb. The rich man’s tongue is in his tomb; his brain is in his tomb.  Yet, in Hell, the rich man’s eyes look up; in Hell, he asks for water to cool his tongue; in Hell, he begins to reason with Abraham, whom he sees afar off.  The rich man’s body was in the rich man’s tomb, returning to dust, but in Hell, his soul was in torment. His mind lived on after brain death.  Note that death is separation from the God of life and not oblivion, as some suppose.  We have a physical body and a spiritual body.

Scientists now theorize that the mind does live on after the brain is dead, and call it the “quantum mind.”  What caused this dramatic about-face was the extensive research into NDEs, near-death experiences.  People who have died and have been resuscitated have returned with stories and accounts that the brain-dead should not know, driving the conclusion among scientific theorists that the mind is separate from the brain.  An unintended side effect of their conclusion was yet another affirmation among the childlike that the Bible was, of course, right all along. 

Conversations are going on internally—and, yes, externally—between the heart, the soul, and the mind.  They are separate and apart from one another, and they must be brought into four-part harmony.  Consider these verses on the heart (💚) and soul (🕀), and as you do so, ask the question, who?

💚 Deuteronomy 1:28: Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.  

💚 Psalm 4:4: Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

💚 Proverbs 4:23: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

🕀 Psalm 31:9: Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

🕀 Psalm 42:5: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

🕀 Mark 14:34: And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

🕀 Luke 12:19: And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

In the camp of the redeemed, the “who”  that is conversing with the heart and the soul is the Holy Ghost transformed mind.  The BORN AGAIN mind is given the charge to interface with the heart and the soul, and to bring these separate parts into harmony with the Word of God and to purify them.  These amazing verses tell the story.  Romans 12:1-2:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The renewing of the mind transforms the entire body, heart, soul, and, of course, the mind.  It also harnesses the fourth factor, strength.  This is accomplished by the Holy Ghost that dwells in the belly.  John 7:38-39:

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

As the believer immerses himself in the Word of God, the Holy Ghost—the physically onboard, supernatural and inerrant teacher—instructs, and this instruction separates the child of God from the world’s hurtful lusts.  John 14:26:

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.

There is a washing—a purifying—that takes place as the mind is being renewed by the Holy Ghost’s instruction in the Word of God that transforms all the internal parts, and it is called “…washing of water by the word.” Ephesians 5:25-27:

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  

To accomplish a whole-man transformation, the heart, soul, and strength must be brought into a four-part harmony by the renewed mind.  Consider II Corinthians 10:3-5:

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The mind, the heart, and the soul all think independently, and they must be brought into harmony with the Word of God.  I Thessalonians 4:4:

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

The renewing of the mind, which is a totally spiritual procedure, actually transforms the rest of the body at the cellular level in a myriad of ways.  The power of the placebo is harnessed, the harm of the nocebo is destroyed, and the actual, physical brain even changes form.  This changing of the brain is known in neuroscience as neuroplasticity. The following excerpt is from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “The Plastic Brain:”

The big news in the field of neuroscience is that the brain is plastic—it changes form over time, and words and experiences are central to this process. Thousands of years before neuroscience was even conceived, God declares this principle over and over again in His Word. Romans 12:2:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Godly renewing of the mind—making new the mind—actually transforms your entire being: mind, heart, body, soul, and spirit. This process, through a very dramatic life-changing experience, is what Jesus Christ calls "born again." John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

The Words of God renew the mind and we are transformed. Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines transform: "To change the form of; to metamorphose." Metamorphoseis defined: "To change into a different form." Again, Webster defines it in theology as follows: "Change the natural disposition and temper of man from a state of enmity (war) to God and His law, into the image of God, or into a disposition and temper conformed to the will of God." [End of quote] The Greek dictionary used in the Strong’s Concordance also defines transform as metamorphose. The call to the mind of Christ is the call to be transformed into the likeness of God—back to Paradise where only one voice, one Word, was heard. Imagine: God changes our entire being with words—His!

So, neuroscience now understands that the brain can be transformed. The Word of God, the foundation of all that is true, proclaims this revelation thousands of years ago. [End of quotes]

The following paragraphs are from the GodSaidManSaid feature “Meditation Rebuilds Grey Matter in 8 Weeks (My Soul is Continually in My Hand):”

All through the Scriptures, you will find strange groupings of words that, when meditated upon, yield the treasure trove of revelations—revelations recorded thousands of years ago—insights only the Maker would understand.  Today’s neuroscientists have arrived at the Book.  God’s Word speaks of the brain and the renewing of the mind that transforms or causes the changing of form—a concept neuroscience now knows as neuroplasticity.  Dr. Andrew Newberg, whose list of accreditations is long, and M.R. Waldman, co-author of the book How God Changes Your Brain, write about the amazing phenomenon that occurs when one meditates and focuses thought on God:

Contemplating God will change your brain, but I want to point out that meditating on other grand themes will also change your brain.  If you contemplate the Big Bang or immerse yourself in the study of evolution—or choose to play a musical instrument, for that matter—you’ll change the neural circuitry in ways that enhance your cognitive health.  But religious and spiritual contemplation changes your brain in a profoundly different way because it strengthens a unique neural circuit that specifically enhances social awareness and empathy while subduing destructive feelings and emotions. This is precisely the kind of neural change we need to make if we want to solve the conflicts that currently afflict our world.  And the underlying mechanism that allows these changes to occur relates to a unique quality known as neuroplasticity: the ability of the human brain to structurally rearrange itself in response to a wide variety of positive and negative events. 

If we combine all of the research on neuroplasticity, we must conclude that neurons do not have fixed properties or positions.  Instead, they are changing all the time, triggered by competition, environmental changes, and education. 

So, what does neuroplasticity have to do with God?  Everything, for if you contemplate something as complex or mysterious as God, you’re going to have incredible bursts of neural activity firing in different parts of your brain.  New dendrites will rapidly grow, and old associations will disconnect as new imaginative perspectives emerge. 

Our research has led us to the following conclusions:

1. Each part of the brain constructs a different perception of God.  

2. Every human brain assembles its perceptions of God in uniquely different ways, thus giving God different qualities of meaning and value. 

3. Spiritual practices, even when stripped of religious beliefs, enhance the neural functioning of the brain in ways that improve physical and emotional health. 

4 Intense, long-term contemplation of God and other spiritual values appears to permanently change the structure of those parts of the brain that control our moods, give rise to our conscious notions of self, and shape our sensory perceptions of the world. 

5. Contemplative practices strengthen a specific neurological circuit that generates peacefulness, social awareness, and compassion for others.

“…be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

Children of God are directed to meditate on God and His Word on a daily basis, and promised that these meditations will transform  their entire person.  Science now knows these directives given thousands of years ago to be true.

The headline on FeelGuide.com reads “Harvard Unveils MRI Study Proving Meditation Literally Rebuilds the Brian’s Grey Matter in 8 Weeks.”  Excerpts from the article follow:

Test subjects taking part in an 8-week program of mindfulness meditation showed results that astonished even the most experienced neuroscientists at Harvard University.  The study was led by a Harvard-affiliated team of researchers based at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the team’s MRI scans documented for the very first time in medical history how meditation produced massive changes inside the brain’s grey matter.  “Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” says study senior author Sara Lazar of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology.  “This study demonstrates that changes in the brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.” 

Sue McGreevey of MGH writes: “Previous studies from Lazar’s group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration.  But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.”  Until now, that is.  The participants spent an average of 27 minutes per day practicing mindfulness exercises, and this is all it took to stimulate a major increase in grey matter density in the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” says Britta Hölzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.  “Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change.”  [End of quotes]

Four-part harmony, accomplished by the application of the Word of God, takes us into the secret place of the most High.  Here, all inner conflicts are gone, and oneness with the Father and the Son by the ministry of the Holy Ghost is achieved.  Here, all good things are magnified and maximized.  Psalm 91:1:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 24:3-5:

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

The book of Psalms identifies one of the requirements to enter the secret place of the most High: Being a pure heart. Much of the time, the Christian resides outside this holy place of power because of heart issues.  The charge of discovering and correcting these issues is the Holy Ghost renewed and transformed mind. Again, Proverbs 4:23:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

At the place Jesus calls BORN AGAIN, a major four-part transformation begins.  For one, a heart transplant takes place as prophesied in Ezekiel 11:19-20:

19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

At the same time, the soul is saved, and the Holy Ghost enters in and begins renewing of the mind.  Then, the conversation begins.

The Holy Ghost renewed mind must inspect the heart frequently in order to keep it pure.  A pure heart is required to sit in God’s secret place, but you’ll be surprised at how doable a pure heart really is.  The following four steps will demonstrate how beautifully simple it is:

1. Get before God and bring praise and thanksgiving.  Maybe even sing a godly song.  Then, ask Him to reveal the problems in your heart one at a time. 

2. Imagine your heart as a walk-in pantry with its shelves stocked with various spiritual things.  Walk in and turn on the light. 

3. You will have Holy Ghost eyes.  Consider what is on each shelf and take inventory.  One shelf may hold bitterness.  Bitterness is an evil spirit, a serpent, the devil.  Someone has harmed you, or offended you, and this bitter spirit (which has lips, hands, teeth, and feet) has found a place in your heart.  Bitterness is deadly, always justifiable in the natural mind, but NEVER with God.  If you have found bitterness on the shelves of your heart, your heart is not pure, and you are not sitting in God’s secret place of great joy. 

4. It’s time to start speaking.  Hosea 14:1-2:

1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Everything is literally made out of words—God’s Words.  Proverbs 18:21 reads:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.  

Romans 10:10:

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Note: It is the heart that “believeth unto righteousness,” and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

It is time to speak to the heart.  Your Holy Ghost renewed mind will transform the situation as you speak to your heart the Word of God mixed with faith.  Here is a demonstration of the process of heart purification and it ALWAYS works:

Thou spirit of bitterness in my heart, by the power of Jesus Christ, I charge you to come OUT and DO NOT RETURN. It is written:

🎔 Hebrews 12:14-15:

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

It is written:

🎔 Matthew 6:14-15:

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

It is written:

🎔 Matthew 5:44:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

It is written:

🎔 Mark 11:25-26:

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, after suffering the ultimate deadly evil at the hands of man, said in Luke 23:34:

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

I forgive (name/names).  In Jesus’s name, I even LOVE my enemies!  Thank you, Father, for the power and authority of your Word that purifies my heart.  HALLELUJAH! I am CLEAN!!!

You have destroyed that deadly serpent of bitterness, hatred, and unforgiveness from the shelves of your heart’s pantry.  You have cleansed the area of your heart by the washing of the water of the Word.  Do note that if you do not forgive, you are not forgiven, and you do not sit in the secret place of God.  In the secret place is mercy, grace, and forgiveness.  It is where all good things live, and here, they are magnified to the max.  Other evils such as covetousness, fear, slothfulness, depression, lust, and more are eradicated just as demonstrated. 

Four-part harmony makes us one with the Father and the Son, and all by the quickening power of the Holy Ghost.  Here, your inner conflicts end.  Here, your absolutes will be absolutely absolute.  This is the secret place of the most High. 

GOD SAID, Romans 12:1-2:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 4:23:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

GOD SAID, James 4:8:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 

MAN SAID: Actually, if I’m being truly honest with myself, I love sex and pornography! I love parties, booze, and dope!  I love sports, clothes, and cars!  I love to “follow the science!”—well, unless it points to God, then it’s junk.  Oh yes, I really love myself, and my phone makes it all so easy!  So, hit the road, Jesus!  Do excuse me now, I’m off to my mindfulness class. 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, “Meditation Rebuilds Grey Matter in 8 Weeks (My Soul is Continually in My Hand)”

GodSaidManSaid, “The Plastic Brain”

GodSaidManSaid, “Wicked Thoughts and How to Deal with Them”

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