John 6:65-66 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

These disciples were followers of Jesus. This is not in dispute. Why did they follow Jesus? Miracles, wisdom, personality, logic, or maybe just being one of many hiding in the crowd, we will never know because each man has his own reason for following Jesus. Why did they stop following Jesus?

I can see at least one important issue as to why they left. They left because they realized that God the Father had not knocked at the door to their heart. This whole issue of believing with the mind or the heart is a tricky issue. No one that is convinced in their mind wants to admit that they were not called of God. “See the Word, it is written right here, all I have to do is accept that the Word is true and I am saved.” Those in John 6:66 saw the Word, heard His speech, saw His glory, yet left.

2 Corinthians 3:6 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.

If I have to have the spirit to live, how can I receive the spirit if I have never heard the spirit?

Think of your house. You know it well. It is after all your house. In that house is a hidden door which you never knew existed. The only way that you could ever discover that hidden door is if someone came and knocked on that door. That is the door to your heart.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ 3:6 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

By virtue of first use, heart here in the Hebrew is leb pronounced lāv. There is a rather long list of definitions for this word and I would like to focus on the places of the heart to understand what I asked yesterday, do we love God with mind or heart.

The seat of appetite.

The seat of passions and emotions.

The seat of courage.

I have chosen these three to focus upon because they are identified as seats, a place within us that implies residence or to rest upon, i.e. seated on the right throne of God in Christ.

We all were born with appetites and those have not been taken from us. I do not have to label those appetites for you, you all know them personally. Those in Christ also thirst and hunger after righteousness. Matthew 5:6

We all have passions and emotions. There are seven words in the Greek for love. Only those in Christ have been endowed with God’s perfect love, agapē.

Where we differ most from one personality to another is the issues of courage. We have the capacity for courage and we often do not know exactly the extent of that courage until tested. In this allow me to distinguish between human courage and Godly courage.

Godly courage allows our hunger and thirst for righteousness to control our fleshly appetites.

Godly courage allows agapē love to control passions and emotions.

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

This verse takes on new meaning when seen in the light of self-control based on your new creation in Christ and not by force of will.

A Christian’s heart after God is seated in Christ.