🔥 GENESIS CHAPTER 41 (VOLUME 5) | BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS OF SCRIPTURE FOR TRUTH (PART 43) 🔥

Mike Balloun teaches today. 03-22-25

🔥 GENESIS CHAPTER 41 (VOLUME 5) | BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS OF SCRIPTURE FOR TRUTH (PART 43) 🔥
GUARDING THE HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE

VERSES: Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 2:7a; 4:1-27; Matthew 15:18-19; Luke 9:23

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Joseph in the Genesis 41 type was the righteous one, named the ‘giver of life’… the one with the Spirit of God, who was appointed by the Sovereign administrator, and the means by which all the people of the ‘world’ might be saved from death. In the Anti-type, Jesus the Son of Man being the Righteous One, full of the Spirit of God, offers Himself as a Man, as the spotless/sinless Lamb unto God to redeem mankind from the loss of God’s image and communion with Him and to redeem them from the curse of death which set in from the time of Adam’s sin of letting his heart be corrupted.

“But this man (Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” [Hebrews 10:12] Whose offering, being ordained by the Father, was readily received, and He was raised up from the dead and was then highly exalted by the Father who gave Him, “…a Name which is above every name: That at the of Jesus every knee should bow, of thing in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Philippians 2:9-11]

He was appointed the Heavenly High Priest as the Forerunner for His followers who would follow in His footsteps unto a like (similar) glory after resurrection. In addition to being saved in spirit, those who have been transformed into God’s image unto the saving of the soul have the hope of glory. That “we (followers) might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil (past the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies); Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. [Hebrews 6:18]

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man (the true heavenly Tabernacle that the earthly one of Moses was modeled after). For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer (that being His own Blood that He placed upon the heavenly Mercy Seat when He entered as High Prest). For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant (which for the last 2000 years has now encompassed the Nation of the One New Man unto the heavenly calling - Matthew 21:43, Ephesians 2:15, Acts 28:28, Acts 15:14) ,which was established upon better promises… …I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts (the Law of Christ being written on the hearts of those of the One New Man): and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:1-6; 10b-12 with Hebrews 9, starting in Verses 11-15) Jesus having been made “…an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands… neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls ad of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works (unto the salvation of the soul) to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called (unto the heavenly kingdom; Hebrews 3) might receive the promise of eternal inheritance”. (Compare with Ephesians 1 and note that the promise of an eternal inheritance isn’t just referring to the gift of eternal life, but of an earned inheritance of eternal glory which is a reward determined by God based on service after being redeemed.)

Ezekiel 36:25-27… “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you (symbolizing water baptism), and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away -- the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put -- my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in -- my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Guarding the Heart with all diligence…
See Proverbs 4…
1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom (wise dominion), get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. (embrace her and you will handle the issues of life wisely.)
7 Wisdom is the principal (foremost/most important) thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. (reminiscent of the crown of glory Paul speaks of for running the race and finishing strong.)
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (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… 2nd Corinthians 10:5)
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (similar to the progressiveness of transformation, which is a process that takes time - we are to let our light shine more and more until that ‘perfect day’- which speaks of our resurrection day)
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep (guard) thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. (the New Testament sister Scripture would be Ephesians 4:29… “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…”)
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. (Matthew 6:22-23… “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”)
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Proverbs Chapter 4 (shown above) answers to Christ’s instructive and warning words of Matthew 12:34-35… “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” And Matthew 15:18-19… “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies…”

The ‘Heart’… is where man, God’s created living soul, has a mind to think, emotions to feel, and will to decide (make decisions). God has a Heart… in that He thinks, feels, and determines according to His Wholeness in Character… which is to say, His holy and loving (infallible) Being.

God’s Being and ‘Heart’ were the source for Adam’s being and ‘heart,’ having been created in His Image (as a living soul with a spirit, covered by a material body - 1st Thessalonians 5:23). It could be said that Adam’s God-given ‘spirit’ was the spiritual umbilical cord through which God’s image/likeness flowed into the soul and body. Scripture declaring Adam having been made in His image was not referring to what He/he looked like as much as it described his character of love that permeated his mental and moral qualities. Adam’s character was reflective of God’s until he closed himself from the grace that flowed from God. Adam, being a sapling, was not deeply rooted, and was therefore susceptible to allowing himself to be corrupted.

Yet, that Adam’s heart was pure is certain. That Adam loved God with all his heart is also certain. What is also readily seen in Scripture is that Adam and Eve were not “by faith rooted and grounded in that love… that he might be (have been) filled with all the *fulness of God.” [Ephesians 3:17-19] (*The ‘fullness’ of God speaks to the redeemed overcomer who is victorious after having been tempted, tested, and tried; and becomes the resurrected New Creature in transcendent glory, that being a glory far beyond that which Adam had at his creation.)

It is easy for man, being created with free will, to do God’s will and love Him… and for him even to to have confidence in his love for God. That is to say, as long as he is provided for and protected and is generally untested… so says satan to God. (Job 1:11… “Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” See also Job 2:4… “And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.”)

The man himself is not the ‘heart,’ but is ‘he’ that is the source that supplies and steers his ‘heart’ with his character. Thus it is said: (You) --“ Keep thy heart with all diligence…” (out of which your ‘heart’ is guided in living) “…for out of it are the issues of life…” Simply said, it is where ‘you’ set your attention that becomes your ‘reservoir’ of thought, which become your desires… which drives your decisions that become reflective of the life you live (and after death judgement for the life you lived). The wellspring of life/character/image source that flowed in Adam, the living soul, found its head-waters in God… and thus his thoughts, feelings, and decisions in living came forth in harmony with his source of ‘life.’ (What reservoir/source are we drinking from? Does it flow from the Mountain of God or from or own wellspring of self-centeredness?)

When undefiled Adam, having a God-given ‘heart’ of his own, but in full communion with God, observed and thought about what to name the animals God set before Him, it could not be said his heart was controlled by God. (God controls no one, as all His created beings have free will.) But being made in His image, with his own ‘heart,’ his living was always in loving harmony with God’s Nature. Loving Adam’s heart was adorned in the brilliance of observation, thought, and creativity, dependent on one hand (in that the river of God’s life flowed into his eternal lake) but on the other hand independent (in that it was his own God-given eternal lake which he drank out of).

Adam’s being in intimate communion and God-like, is made evident to us in that every animal God created He brought to Adam to name… and whatever he called them, that was their name. And that without need of any correction. “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every’ beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” (Then, just as God brought forth out of Adam a perfect mate for Adam, He will bring forth the perfect mate to wed His Son to show forth His glory to the whole universe.)

There was the testing Word of God to Adam’s free will in loving faith in the Garden…
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” There were several implied spiritual principles behind the testing, very perceptible to intelligent Adam… the first being that “…it is impossible to please God without (loving) faith,” which is trust and believing Him based solely on His Word. Another self-evident principle that is conjoined with the first, was “To guard your heart (what you think, feel, and decide) with all diligence, for out of it flow (the continuing loving light in communion with God/Elohim leading to increasing life/light or broken communion through willful sin unto a self-centered fallen nature leading unto increasing darkness and death. - See Matthew 6:21-23… “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Compare with Mark 4:24-25.. “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”…these being) “the issues of life” into which man has been created… to accomplish His great purposes “…before the foundation of the world.”

Adam is seen as not guarding his heart, in that he ignored the Word of God, observed and listened to others, which spurred rebellious thoughts, and developed misguided affections/emotions, which led to a disastrous rebellious decision, and he disobeyed (which led mankind into self-centered darkness), and in that day, he died. Which is to say the ‘spirit’ of Adam ‘died’… the well-spring source of ‘life/light/living water’ flowing into his soul was dried up. Now the ‘flesh’ or ‘self’… independent from God, covered Adam’s God-given ‘spirit’ (organ of communion light) and he was engulfed in spiritual darkness.

God’s Nature/image of love was lost as Adam and Eve took on a fallen nature like unto satan. Their hearts’ source of blessing for increasing in the eternal God-like ‘life’ in living and co-ruling with God in this Realm, set before them by promise, became the corrupted disqualifying wellspring of self-centeredness. Their loving communion for reasoning with spiritual understanding and knowledge (with the internal ‘spirit’ life) was lost, and their wisdom and understanding became earthly, sensual, and devil-like. The fallen man’s ‘heart’ is incurable and unredeemable even when the soul is redeemable. (Jeremiah 17:9… “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Luke 9:23… “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (self-centeredness), and take up his cross daily (crucifying the ‘old man’/sin nature), and follow me.”) The fallen man’s heart is forever magnifying ‘self’ and forever pleasing it instead of living in loving faith to the Glory of God. (Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”)

(Just food for thought… Could it have been… that if Eve had eaten and Adam had not… could Adam have shed his blood in love for Eve and thereby redeemed her, and God have resurrected selfless Adam in glory for the doing?)

Jesus as the incarnate Son of Man, came as a man, in order to defeat satan as a man and restore to man what he lost; love and loving in Communion with God. Satan had attained a legal spiritual hold on fallen man and his seed. (Romans 5:12… “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…”) Adam, our earthly father, had by his free will, although regretfully and repentantly, chose satanically- inspired self-consciousness over his God-consciousness. Jesus, the Son of man, whose Blood Atonement offering to God the Father for man, was the means by which God would restore communion love in the restoration of man, in order to attain unto His greater purposes that are yet future (in the Millennial and Eternal Kingdom - Revelation Chapters 20-22).

Forgiving man’s sin was/is not in itself the purpose for which Jesus came as a man and was Crucified (for it has been shown Jesus did not need to die in order to forgive man’s sins - see Matthew 9:6… “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”). So this idea that Jesus died in order that our sins might be forgiven and so then we can go to Heaven when we die was a foreign idea to the early redeemed Body of Christ. It was part of the predicted leavening which would come into the church during in the 3rd-4th century. (Satan being the source of that lie which creates a mentality that there is no need for transformation in a carnal Christian because all has already been imputed to them. - Revelation 3:14-22)

“For the Son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” [Luke 19:10] Which is to say, the ability for man to walk again in the Earth in the ‘image’ of God, which Adam had lost.

Proverbs 23:7a… “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” As stated before, the heart of man steers his character. A renewed mind should form and shape our conscience, which then steers our character. May the Holy Spirit work out in us the nature of God. May we drink from the reservoir of God, not from the tainted waters we inherited from Adam, and live a life in harmony with God, rooted and grounded in Him, and loving not our lives unto death. We are either being transformed or not being transformed. Religious reasoning will allow us to think we are in the light when in reality, we are unsurrendered and in darkness. It brushes off the Word of God concerning our need for transformation, and takes away the threat of judgement God has laid out for poor service. As 1st Corinthians 15:34, may we… “awake to righteousness, and sin not,” and guard our hearts with all diligence (conscientious attentiveness/tenacity/perseverance)… for man “…knoweth not his time.”