The Pivotal Point: No difference in Our Heart (Mark 11:22-24; Romans 4:20; James 1:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 2:3; 3:16-17; 1 Peter 3:4; Hebrews 4:12)

In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus said, "...be constantly; continuously, having faith in God, for verily; truly [you can absolutely; most assuredly; without question; rely on this fact], that whoever shall say to this mountain [that you can see, with your physical eyes], 'Be removed, and be cast into the sea'; and shall not doubt in their heart, but shall believe that those words which they speak shall come to pass, they shall have whatever they say. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them".

IN & THROUGH US

To have this word work in our lives, we must accept the reality that this scripture is literally intended to work in and through us. This word belongs to us, and Jesus wasn't just wasting breath in speaking this utterance, but was imparting spiritual truth for us to live by. Once that is established, and all nullifying tradition is thrown out the window, then we can begin to pursue the working of this word in our daily experience.

SHALL NOT DOUBT

As quoted in the passage, faith is a constant; continuous; on-going experience, not a one time event that happens, and then fades into our memory, as an isolated occurrence. This is also a factual, totally reliable statement, that we can base our lives on, according to the words of Jesus. The pivotal point is "...shall not doubt in his/her heart...". Though this may have been taught several ways, or glossed over, and not taught at all, it is obviously the "make or break" part of the equation that produces the desired, positive results.

DOUBT

The word translated "doubt", in the English, or "staggered" in Romans 4:20, is the word (diakrino), transliterated from the Greek. (Krino) means 'to judge', and (dia) is 'between'; 'through'; or 'to'. Though it can have various nuances of meaning, the idea is basically, 'judging between two things'; or, 'making, establishing, a difference between one thing over against another'. James speaks of asking in faith, nothing wavering, like a wave that is tossed in two different directions, because a person of two minds is unstable, and is not going to receive anything from the Lord, even though the Lord will grant his/her request, they still won't be able to receive it (Ja.1:6-8). Simply put, there can't be division in our hearts, concerning what we are saying with our mouths.

HEART

To further understand this, we must understand the meaning, in the NT, of the reference to our heart. 'Heart' is the Greek transliteration (kardia), from which we derive the English word 'cardiac', referring to the physical heart, in the medical profession. (Kardia) means, 'the center of something; the core of it, or essence'. Though it can refer to just the spirit, we are spirit, soul, body people, and Paul, by the Spirit of God, prayed that our whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1Thes.5:23). Again, before we were born of God, Paul, by the Spirit of God, speaks of us fulfilling the desires of the flesh (body); and of the mind (soul); and how we were by nature (spirit), the children of wrath (Eph.2:3).

HIDDEN / INNER MAN

 The body is pretty easy to discern, because it is with our body, that we can see; hear; touch; taste; and smell, with our 5 senses, but we also have internal senses, more real than our external perception; and though the spirit is often referred to as the heart, a reference to the heart does not always, simultaneously, mean it is a reference to the spirit. In fact, the scriptures speak of the hidden man "of the heart", which is our incorruptible spirit (1Pet.3:4). The scripture does not say that the hidden man is the heart, but rather, the hidden man is "of the heart". In other words, that's where the spirit lives. The scripture also speaks of us being strengthened with might, by His Spirit, in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts, by faith (Eph,3:16-17). These are two separate references, one referring to 'the hidden man', of the heart, and the other to 'the inner man' in our heart.

DIVIDING

The scriptures also speak of God's word dividing between our soul and spirit; the joints and marrow; and discerning between the thoughts and intents of our heart (Heb.4:12). Like a medical surgeon, God's word penetrates through the soul and spirit, like a razor sharp surgical instrument penetrates into the joints and marrow of the body getting to the root of the matter of what we conceive or give birth to in our spirit and meditate upon in our soul, so that on the surgical operating table all of our inner most desires; cravings; and motivations are exposed, not just to God, by the laser accuracy of His word, but they are exposed to ourselves as well.

NO DIFFERENCE

The point of all this exegesis, in light of Mark 11:23, is that our heart would seem to contain both the elements of our soul and spirit, and for there to be the manifestations of God's word, that we speak with our mouth, there can be no "doubt", or more properly, no difference, or division, between our soul and spirit in what we believe. Our mind (soul) must be renewed to the reality of what our spirit already recognizes as truth. Our spirit cannot believe one thing while our mind (soul) embraces something totally different. When our spirit and soul are in agreement with one another, concerning any aspect of God's word, then whatever we say with our mouth, concerning a situation; circumstance; or condition, will conform to God's word, when we ourselves are, internally, conformed to God's word concerning the circumstances, and we will have what we say.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours