"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you ; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep My laws." Ezekiel 36:25-27
The other night, I was watching a movie, and in the movie the main character was refer to as being like the "Tin Man." Why? Because they said he was a cold hearted individual, who's actions made him seem like he didn’t have a heart - just like the "Tin Man."
What these characters hadn’t known, was this man had lost his parents at a young age, and the girl he had fallen in love with walked out on him. These traumas are what caused his heart to become broken and hard, making him incapable of expressing love. Even though this was Hollywood's version, we all know and have experienced heartache that can and has led to this very painful and real life possibility.
Unfortunately, it's so difficult to recover when our hearts have been broken. It causes us to wonder, if we will ever be able to truly give and receive love. In another aspect of the "TIN MAN" syndrome, I met a 23-year-old man from Chicago in a Bible Study I was teaching in the prison. He shared with me how scared he was because he was a "cold hearted" person. His "cold heart" enabled him to climb the ranks of the gang that he was affiliated with and he said he was coming to the study in hopes that God would forgive him of all the horrible things he had done, and just maybe God could change him from being so "cold hearted." In this example, we see a young man who is the product of his environment, which caused him to develop a "cold heart” as a way to keep from being hurt (his mom left him when he was 3 years old, and his father was shot and killed in front of him at age 8.) If a person, gets hurt enough & often enough they run the risk of developing a heart that is cold and hard like a rock.
But you know what, our Father in Heaven grieves when He sees us falling into the “TIN MAN" syndrome. Because of this, He promises us, in today's passage of scripture, to change all that. As we read this passage of scripture, we see that God is going to completely and totally cure our "TIN MAN" syndrome. As we read through our passage of scripture, notice the "I Will" statements. This is God, Himself, telling us that He is personally going to heal us. Let's notice the process that God is going to use, to bring about our healing. God tells us that He is going to wash and cleanse us from all our impurities & idols by “sprinkling clean water on us." What impurities and idols are in our lives that need to be washed away? Hmm... let me think? How about our thoughts? If people could hear every thought we had, how would they respond or better yet, if Jesus were there with us - would we have those impure thoughts? Or what about the "impurities” that we allow into our bodies, whether it’s through our mouths or eyes - definitely, God's cleansing waters are needed. The idols… they are not statues, but things that we allow to take our time and focus away from Him. So as these areas in our lives become cleansed, the next thing God is going to do is- GIVE US A NEW HEART, but not just a new one but a HEART OF FLESH, and while He is installing that, He will reach in and remove our old heart - a HEART OF STONE. How awesome is that? As we submit ourselves to Him, and allow His "clean, cleansing water "to wash over us, we will be blessed to have a heart, that will allow us and enable us to give and receive love, the way that God had created us to give and receive love. Because God knows us so well, He tells us that He is going to "PUT MY SPIRIT" in us. By doing this, God is able to continue to work within us. By us following the leading, guiding, and directing of the Holy-Spirit, we can continue the healing and strengthening of our "new and fleshy heart," plus we can continue to grow stronger in our walk and our relationship with the Lord. So, praise God that He has personally taken an interest in ridding us of the horrible and painful "TIN MAN" syndrome.
Let's embrace God's cleansing waters and let's embrace life to the fullest with a "NEW FLESHY HEART", and let's give love to those around us, the way that God has created us to do. With Him putting His Spirit in us, we will be able to see people the way He sees them, and most importantly-love people the way He loves us.
Have a blessed day in the Lord,
Brother Rick
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