Heart Protection is Soul Protection by Brother Duke Hansen

         Throughout the course of time in the scriptures, there were behaviors and opinions that formed out of protest. God would give his prophets words to say in correction or in warning, and the people would not pay heed, or they would continue in their sin. A hard truth that applies then applies today. If God is going to take you down personally, no one can stop it. If God is going to raise you up, no one can stop it. Man has this inflated sense of self worth in himself that he is above God, or God doesn't exist because none of the things in the scripture have materialized and "I've heard about the end times all my life." Please understand that there were men and women walking upright before the Lord and following him in the scripture, but the greater part of the nation continued in wickedness and sin. As a believer and follower in Christ, it is upon me to repeat what I said a couple of weeks ago. You need to guard the door of your heart. Guard the door and keep watch. 

        Our scripture reading will start in the book of Nehemiah chapter 7. This book is one of the history books of the Bible. It accounts of the time when the Israelites were released from their captivity in Babylon, and return to Jerusalem. People had gotten there to reconstruct the temple, but Nehemiah notes there was not a wall put up to protect the city. It was through intervention by God, from Nehemiah's prayers, that the king of Persia gave supplies for the rebuilding but also his blessing. Nehemiah was a powerful intercessor for his people and as we pick up in verse 1 of chapter 7 Nehemiah is at the gates with a list of those who were exiled from Jerusalem years before. 

        1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,

        Note here the steps used in building protection. I had set up the doors and the wall was built. The Levites were a tribe that didn't own anything in Israel. They were caretakers of the temple.

        2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man and feared God above many.

        3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

        What Nehemiah and the people did in this book we should apply to our hearts today. Men, you are the heads of your home. The spiritual leaders of your family. You are the first watch as to what comes in and goes out of your home. The amount of protection built up in Jerusalem needs to be used in your heart and for your home. Women have a harder job because she not only supports her husband but also trains their children in what is right. It is so important in having a united house today where the couple are one. A split house is one that sews animosity, separation, and destruction. A door lets people in and out as your protection, but you yourself are in charge of that door. You discern what comes in and goes out. What you bring in from work or who you may befriend may have dark spirits attached to them. Behavior is not just an outcome but it is a visual of what is going on inside of you at the moment. 

        4 Now the city was large and great; but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.

        This verse speaks directly to the few who had returned to Jerusalem after 70 years in captivity. Now there were some who remember Jerusalem how it was before they were taken away, yet there were many who only knew from stories of their fathers. Those stories were told while in captivity. Now verse 5 is where it really starts to get interesting. God puts into Nehemiah's hearts to gather together the nobles, the rulers, the people to be recognized by genealogy. Genealogy gets a quick and quiet groan from most people but it is so important. Nehemiah has found a register of the genealogy of them who came up at the first and were written down. Names of people that went up into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon. They're now back again in Judah and its city Jerusalem. He starts to read the list of names and figures for the next 50 plus verses. We would be here for hours going through the list line by line so we are going to look at verse 61.

        61 And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Add-on, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

       They could not show their father's house, nor seed that they were of Israel. It is a reminder for today that the promise belongs to the church and not to the ungodly or the sinner. God was named many things in the Old Testament but it was Jesus who called him father. Genealogy is so important. The connection to the father is important. If you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, you have one with the world. In the world, your experiences, your family and its history, those are what makes the plum line in your life. As you move through your life and you get older, those moments of pain, of heartache, of betrayal, the worst things in life calcifies your heart from the truth and causes you to withdraw and isolate yourself from others. Our world today and many of our churches today are more concerned with feelings and not with the truth recorded in the Bible and lived by the saints. This, it isn't you. It's your flesh at work. Your flesh loves the pain, the drama, the focus all on itself. Verse 63;

        63 And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.

        64 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

        These were not just people, they were priests who had taken foreigners to marry and taken their name. If you aren't taking the name of Jesus in water baptism, whose name are you taking? Also of note is the connection here in Nehemiah and over in Revelation chapter 20, regarding the book of life. You will be judged according to your works here on earth! What you allow can not only affect your witness and testimony, it can also affect your soul. Set the boundaries, keep watch and the door locked. 

        Our scripture reading is going to go now to the book of Isaiah. We will be starting at verse 14 of the chapter. We have hardness in some parts of our heart, bondage, and some thought processes which have been corrupted by bad life experience and a wrong way of thinking. God wants you to have a life now! Walking in obedience and worship of him. There are moments in your walk where it isn't error that puts you in the press. God sometimes bends you in a direction. He wants you to walk into glory in the end. He's not the superman who will put all of man on his shoulder in rescue. 

        14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

        15 I am the LORD, the Holy One, the creator of Israel your King.

        16 Thus saith the LORD which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

        17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched in tow.

        Verses 16, 17- If you decide to leave the worlds captivity, there is nothing that God can deliver you from. 

        18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

        Put away the past and move forward. Dwelling in the past often enables you and keeps you living in sin. Behaviors in your life, embedded and anti-God will only lead you into a partial commitment. It's similar to most relationships we have in the world, half hearted, half committed. The only commitment is to your stinking flesh, when God is desiring a commitment from you. 

        19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

        In the spirit- It doesn't matter where you are, what you did, your baggage, your hang-ups, your history. God will give you his spirit. 

        21 The people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. You will show me praise out of your heart and willingly. We need to maintain a quality of life with our health both physically and spiritually. God did not create conviction for man to feel sorry for himself but to truly repent!

        23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.

        We say today we don't have to sacrifice animals. Our sacrifice today is not that, but it's sacrificing our flesh. As Paul says in Galatians chapter 5 verses 24-26;

        24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.

        25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

        26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

        That means no gossiping at the work place, no chasing after the lust of the eye be that other persons or objects, coveting possessions. Instead it's devoting time daily in prayer, in study, in seeking God's face. Why is it we can find the time for the most emptiest things in life, yet act like finding an hour to be at God's feet is impossible? In growth you make mistakes along the way. It's part of the process. Those mistakes can build character if you approach it right. If you don't face your failure after it happens, but push it under the rug, you won't grow in your walk. You will just sit there in spiritual diapers needing a change and crying because the preacher man got too loud! Back to Isaiah 43, verse 24.

        24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins.

        You have made me to serve with your sins. When you think that sin is okay, and think that God is still your best friend and walking in that junk with you keeping you protected, you really have him working in darkness. He can't help you that much. Jesus is the door and his word are the walls. Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and the apostles were the foundation the faith is built on.

        25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will to remember thy sins.

        26 Put me in remembrance: God wants to work with you. let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

        27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Your first father had sinned. Your teachers, leaders, your help transgressed in the Lord. When men stand idle and allow the worldly approach, they give up their authority and let things slide, God profanes the princes of the sanctuary.

        28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

        Cut off, profane, cursed, reproach all those go back to verses 24 and 25. How can we remember God as in verse 26? Get to know the man first. Clear time from your Netflix, your Facebook stalking, instagram posting and read the four gospels and Acts. You read those books and you have a good understanding of the Lord. 

        Who was the greatest intercessor that lived on earth? It was Jesus. He knew you before were made in your mothers womb. (Jeremiah 1:5) When you are pressed together with him in the fire God can work with that. He has an expectation that you will do the right thing. God wants you to work with him and he wants to work with you. God has not overlooked your sin. We may press harder on tearing down our flesh, and lose sight of God's love, mercy, and grace for us. Repentance is a plea, because you go to God as guilty. There is a lot of things you are supposed to be because God has called you to it.