Mark 6:45-52 ESV
As Jesus told His disciples in this text, to take heart, He is calling for us to do the same,“take heart”. The dictionary says to take, is to get into one’s possession by force. Jesus says to take heart. In essence, instead of working hard and getting nowhere fast, wasting time, or causing ourselves unnecessary stress, Jesus said to take heart. In other words, get in control of your heart, and those issues that flow from it. If we, as the body of Christ, would just listen to Jesus, we would be alright. Take heart, take possession, take control of the maintenance of your heart and fear not, Jesus is saying “It is I” who loves you with an everlasting love and will guide you into a spiritually and physically healthy heart and life.
The experts on heart health today say that heart disease or heart failure is the number one cause of death today. However, most heart ailments or conditions can be cured or prevented by adjusting our diets and getting in the right amount of exercise. They recommend a diet rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help your body fight against those free radicals that will cause heart disease and cancer. Friends, if you are not already getting a good source of antioxidants through fruits and vegetables, please modify your natural diet that you might live a long disease-free life. It is also important that we make sure that we take a daily spiritual antioxidant for our heart. This antioxidant is prayer and spending time with the Lord. Remember the higher up you go up in the Spirit the less you will have to deal with free radicals. This places you, both spiritually and naturally in a place unreachable or inaccessible to these harmful disease-causing toxins that would harden your heart and prevent you from believing, and wors, receiving from your God.
Another antioxidant that our heart needs is a healthy dose of oils each day. The right oils such as Omega 3 oils will eliminate any blockage in our arteries. Friends, please make sure you get your daily allotment of oil to take care of your natural heart. And also, to ensure a spiritually healthy heart, please take in a daily dose of the anointing oil of joy. The bible says that the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Neh 8:10) Fill your heart with the joy of the Lord. This oil for your spirit is not just Omega 3 oil, it is Alpha and Omega 3. It has the strength of the three in one God, The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Allow this oil to flow through your heart keeping it free and unclogged of any and all free radicals of unbelief, doubt, worry or fear sent by the enemy. It’s difficult for a joyful heart to spend much time focusing on the negatives, sorrows and woes of life. You see an antioxidant-rich environment will cause any and every agent that comes to attack the heart to flee. In a heart rich in Alpha and Omega 3 oils, the oil of joy, every stronghold, and imagination that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God will be repelled.
The bible says it’s not what goes into the body that defiles a man, 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, and blasphemies. (Matt 15:18-19) Friends, Whatsoever the heart has been saturated with and meditating on, is exactly what will come out of that person’s mouth. If the heart is diseased, full of the free radicals of envy, jealousy and strife, that is just what the mouth will speak. If we listen to what we speak, especially in the midst of drama or emergencies, we will know the exact status of our hearts. And beloved, I wish I could say that these words or this heart status was only spiritual and not physical or physical and not spiritual, but the two are interconnected. The spiritual state of the heart does truly affect our natural lives in serious and dramatic ways. What we speak out of our mouth, commands our atmosphere. If we ignore the warning signs and dismiss it as an oh, I was just mad, or, I just got excited, the condition will only worsen. Just because you ignore an open wound or sore doesn’t mean it’s not there. Once the bad or free radical cells are allowed access, they began to multiply quickly until the atmosphere is flooded with harmful cells that clog the heart and prevent it from operating the way it is intended The heart then becomes weak, feeble and congested as a result of hardening, blockages or attacks. Spiritually speaking, in this condition, the heart has lost its ability to focus and is easily frustrated, aggravated and annoyed. And at this stage, anything is likely to come forth from our mouths. But, to the contrary, a heart that is rich in the Alpha and Omega 3 oils will quickly respond to any and all free radicals to vacate the premises. It will respond to any doubt that will try to discourage you because God didn’t seem to answer your prayer this time, well God is still faithful; He has not failed me yet. And when the enemy of fear raises its head with nagging thoughts that you don’t have enough money to meet all your obligations, a heart saturated in the oil of joy and bathed daily in prayer will say that my God will supply all my need according to His riches in glory. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.(Ps 23:3) And when the enemy of unbelief knocks at the door of your heart it is met with a bolted response, but with God all things are possible. (Matt 19:26)
Friends, we must take in a daily dose. The prescription is not to eat properly whenever you think about it or whenever you feel that you need it. It is to take in the heart-healthy supplements every day. You cannot skip your dosage. For those of you who are taking medication, you know that you cannot skip your dosages, because skipping it may cause you serious complications. In the same manner, you cannot skip your dosage of the antioxidants of fruit and vegetable, and the omega three antioxidants to help keep the atmosphere of the heart clean, flushed and maintained. Likewise, you must take daily the antioxidant of prayer. The bible says that Solomon prayed and God gave him a discerning heart. The antioxidant of daily prayer will keep your heart in an atmosphere conducive to hear and discern spiritual matters especially the very issues that plague you. This daily antioxidant at the mount of prayer will allow you to consistently guard your heart. A heart treated daily with Alpha and Omega 3 oil, the oil of joy, will create such an atmosphere of resistance against free radicals that every negative thought will be repelled, giving you strength to resist the enemy and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Finally, to take heart, it is recommended that we exercise our bodies We must get our heart pumping that the blood will flow vigorously throughout our bodies. The bible says in Lev 17:11 “for the life of the flesh is in the blood”. Friends, without the blood flowing throughout our veins, we have no life. In the same manner, without faith in the blood of Jesus, and this faith flowing through our whole existence and being, we have no life in Christ. We must take heart and take by force commanding our heart to pump faith vigorously throughout our bodies, that we will be full of faith and therefore full of life in Christ. Start exercising now, began to walk with faith, run, jump, and leap with faith, that your hearts are not hardened, even in the most difficult storms of life. But rather that your heart will be strong and full of faith and courage to believe our God for what he can and will accomplish in our lives.
Don’t become another statistic. There are 5.8 million people and growing, in this country alone, plagued with heart failure. Friends, these are devastating statistics. We must say no to poor eating habits and embrace the knowledge and understanding of healthy eating and lifestyles. Additionally, we must pray daily while soaking in the oil of joy, and guarding our heart against, those secret sins of offense, unforgiveness or bitterness. Don’t allow doubt, unbelief or fear any access. When we exercise our faiths in Jesus Christ and his righteousness, our heart will not fail for fear, being concerned about the evil all around us, but will pump vibrant heartbeats of praise and adoration for our God.
In Christ,
Pastor Pamela Aldridge