The mixed heart condition is also in a miserable state. It is not fully committed in its union with God, nor is it fully committed in its union with darkness. There is always a war within. This warring is because the Holy Spirit is working in his ministry of conversion and transforming and the sinful nature within is fighting and striving against the Spirit to have control. You see dear friends; the blood of Jesus bridges the gap that sin wedged between the perfect unity of the Father with us. The blood of Jesus is what reconciles us, yet it is the Holy Spirit who transforms us. The Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead that conforms us into the very image of Christ, and He does not do this by force but by your choice. The mixed heart is mixed because he or she has not allowed or given the Holy Spirit the freedom or the go ahead to clean out the dark areas within. The mixed heart has made a choice to hold on to those dark areas. We have previously stated that choice is the only thing that you can lay hold to in reference to possession. Choice is a gift from God that he will not control. Choice is what you govern. So, if you say “I am lord of choice, you have spoken the truth therefore, choice makes you responsible for the results or consequences that comes from where you have exercised your right. The Holy Spirit will not violate that right. But what he will do is teach from the word of God and your very own experiences the right choices to make. He will show you the errors made when the wrong choice is made. He will school you of your choice’s outcome if you are thinking to make an unwise, soul harming decision. He will constantly talk with you about the dark areas of your heart and even tell you how that darkness effects the heart of God and his kingdom. The Holy Spirit will even plead with you about the sins in your life and try reasoning with you in the same way that we try to reason with a wayward son or daughter but, He will not force you or violate your choice.
I have conversed with many who has the mixed heart condition. As they share their experiences from the dark areas in their lives which are not joyous, but are painful and some experiences are very heart wrenching; I have to answer them truthfully when they ask, “Why didn’t the Lord stop me? Why didn’t the Lord tell me? Why didn’t God just say…? The truth that is given to all of the why’s is, choice. He doesn’t violate your choice.
Choice carries more than one definition. We will define choice with the definition that is applicable to our discourse. Choice means option, alternative, preference, selection. Choice suggests the opportunity or privilege of choosing freely. Choice is the only power that man has over his life. Once man exercises his power of choice; choice then opens the door for things and people to exercise rule and authority.
One analogy that the Holy Spirit has provided is this: A man in his travels while driving begins to see signs reading bridge out ahead. The man decides to ignore the warning signs because he doesn’t see other cars coming from the other direction indicating that they’ve had to turn around and head back in the direction from which they had come. The man continues to drive seeing the warning signs more frequent than before. He chooses to continue on in his travels. Something falls from his console, and he briefly takes his eyes off the road to see what has fallen. When he looks up, he is about to plow through erected barricades set to stop vehicles from plummeting into the river. Why? Because the Bridge is out!!
The same tragedy that would have befallen the driver in the analogy, is the same fate of the mixed heart who doesn’t give his or her whole heart to the Lord and surrender all about his or herself to the knowing of the Holy Spirit.
Now the many insights in this analogy can be compared to the condition of the mixed heart. In their walk, the mixed heart will many times overlook the warning signs indicating danger ahead and these dangers are the dangers of getting off the spiritual path, getting out of the will of God, dangers of exemplifying character that is not acceptable for those who are called the children of God and the dangers of shipwrecking his or her life and the lives of unbelievers. The mixed heart doesn’t heed or give attention to the instructions and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Through his constant actions of doing what he or she wants to do, the mixed heart keeps traveling on the path, or course that will lead to a great downfall or destruction. Once the downfall, the tragedy, the heart ache and the loss happen, the mixed heart looks for the cause of the troubles everywhere else except for his or herself. Everyone else and everything else is the blame except self. Choice takes the back seat and is in hiding while the unraveling behavior of the mixed heart strengthens to defend choice’s supposed innocence. This reminds me of Adam’s defense of choice when God asked him: “Boy have you eaten from the tree that I asked you not to even touch?” Instead of Adam giving an immediate yes or no answer he says.” God, you know that woman you gave me. Lemme tell you what she did. She had the nerve to take from that tree, eat of the fruit and then give some to me. Really God, as if you didn’t already know. Genesis 3: 11-12 (own personal twist on the scriptures)
Adam defended choice before the Judge of all Judges and lost his case. Remember what God said in JEREMIAH 17:9-10: “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” (The Message Bible)
The beginning of the fall of man started with a lie. I am going to put my own personal twist on the following passages of scripture. Genesis 3: 1-5 (New International Version)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
This is what this scripture sounds like in our present time. “ Girl.. did God really tell you not to eat from any of these trees in this garden?” “He didn’t say we couldn’t eat from none of the trees.” Eve said. ” He just said we can’t eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. He said we ain’t s’pose to even touch it. God said if we even touch that tree, we gone die.” “Girl , are you serious? He said that? And you actually believed Him and the crap he told you? Girl God is lying!! You ainga die” the devil said. “God knows that the minute you touch that tree your mind is gonna be open and you gonna be just like him by knowing e’rythang: good and evil.”
So, the fall of man began with a lie. What was the lie? “You will not certainly die!” It was true that Eve’s eyes, her mind would be opened. It was true that she would know both good and evil. The garden couple was already like God. They were made in his image, they, during their garden stay up until the fall, was sinless just like God. Once the lie was conceived by Eve, the lie was birthed. Watch this…. conscious, self-awareness, shame, embarrassment, cover up, hide, pass the buck, self-first, heartache, guilt, tears, regret, gloom and despair. Look at the couple dying. Adam lied without a verbal denial. Eve lied without a verbal denial. Once choice was exercised the couple became enslaved to a new master: sin and immediately began to operate in sin.
Someone has said that the presentation of choice has made the word itself seem dirty. They’ve said that now choice, seems to be a curse. Again, we say that choice is a gift from God and since God has given this gift then it must be a good and perfect gift. Choice gives man the ability to decide from the only two options in life. There is nothing between the two options. Let’s look at these options and hear what God has said to Israel referencing them. Also know that these very same options are the same two options for man from the very beginning of his existence. These options are for us today. The two options will be highlighted. Deuteronomy 30: 1-19 from the Easy-to-Read Version says the following”
Everything that I have mentioned will happen to you—both the blessings and the curses. And you will remember these words when the Lord your God sends you away to other nations. 2 Then you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord your God. You will follow him with all your heart and completely obey all his commands that I have given you today. 3 Then the Lord your God will be kind to you. The Lord your God will make you free again! He will bring you back from the nations where he sent you. 4 Even if you were sent to the farthest parts of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back. 5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors had, and the land will become yours. He will do good to you, and you will have more than your ancestors had. You will have more people in your nation than they ever had. 6 The Lord your God will make you and your descendants want to obey him.[a] Then you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. And you will live! 7 “Then the Lord your God will make all these bad things happen to your enemies, who hate you and cause you trouble. 8 And you will again obey the Lord. You will obey all his commands that I give you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will bless you with many children. He will bless your cows—they will have many calves. He will bless your fields—they will grow many good crops. He will be good to you. The Lord will again enjoy doing good for you, the same as he enjoyed doing good for your ancestors. 10 But you must do what the Lord your God tells you to do. You must obey his commands and follow the rules that are written in this Book of Teachings. You must obey the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Then these good things will happen to you.
Life or Death
11 “This command that I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not a secret hidden in some far away land. 12 This command is not in heaven so that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear and do it?’ 13 This command is not on the other side of the sea so that you should say, ‘Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear it and do it?’ 14 No, the word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. So you can obey it. 15 “Today I have given you a choice between life and death, success and disaster. 16 I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own. 17 But if you turn away from your God and refuse to listen, if you are led away to worship and serve other gods, 18 you will be destroyed. I am warning you today, if you turn away from God, you will not live long in that land across the Jordan River that you are ready to enter and take for your own. 19 “Today I am giving you a choice of two ways. And I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses of your choice. You can choose life or death. The first choice will bring a blessing. The other choice will bring a curse. So choose life! Then you and your children will live.
Choice is not a curse. The curse is what follows the wrong choice. We only have one choice for the two options that are set before us in life.
HEBREWS 12: 4-5 CHASTISEMENT
The mixed heart can practice areas of darkness and sin so much and for so long until he or she becomes calloused to correction and chastisement.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, {New International Version}
Hebrews 12: 6-12 from the Amplified Bible states:
6 For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].” 7 You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all]. 9 Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for only a short time as seemed best to them; but He (God) {parenthesis mine} disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 For the time being no discipline brings joy but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].
The chastisement and correction from the Lord are to bring us out of those dark areas to keep us from entering into a state of callousness. As The writer of Hebrews has said, correction and chastisement are not joyous and painless; they are not meant to be joyous. Correction is not meant to be painless. A songstress sung the lyrics of “no pain, no gain” many years ago. I don’t know what she was indicating, but those lyrics sure are applicable to our walk in Christ. Correction should not be taken lightly. Correction shouldn’t be despised or hated.
My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline].
Nor despise His rebuke, 12 For those whom the Lord loves He corrects, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 3: 11-12 Amplified Bible.
Through this discourse of the mixed heart, it is most apparent that the mixed heart walks on rocky slopes facing danger and causing danger and harm to others. The mixed heart is the center of all the confusion and misunderstandings within the church body of Jesus Christ. Now let’s not get it twisted my friends, perfection in Christ is not an overnight process and the longer that we live the more work that has to be done within us by the Spirit and the Word of God yet, these works should not be 5, 10, 15, and 20 years of struggle in the same area, with the same things. If we would really be honest with ourselves, we would come to realize that those how many years that we call years of struggle, has simply become a way of life. The more we practice a thing, the more it becomes a part of us. An addiction is a continued practice of something. A habit is a continued practice of something. Practiced sin can become a stronghold.
The word strong hold carries a two-fold meaning. Strongholds can be both negative and positive. We will show the two sides as we move forward.