Today we are going to get into one of the most significant core issues of the Christian life.

1. Haven’t you ever done one of those Amnon things when you HAD to have something – and after you got it and saw the price tag on it, you cried out, “Oh good grief – what have I done?!” Today we are going to look at where those ideas come from and how to abandon them before they overtake our mental capacities. And you KNOW they do that to you – don’t you! Today we are going to get into one of the most significant core issues of the Christian life. It is the fundamental root of every choice man makes, his assessments and judgments, values and priorities. Get this one right and everything will be right. Get it wrong and any potential for satisfaction, joy or rest vaporizes immediately and leaves us in our self-created misery.

2. Fenelon said “It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good.”. We will demonstrate this shortly but I wanted to stimulate your thoughts before we explain each of the legs of our support. Let’s go back to those components now. What is at the base of every single choice, assessment, value you establish, and priority that you set? It can be one of only two things, and we struggle with trying to fuse the two of them. Fenelon actually told us in his quote from last week. Every thought we have, every choice we make, every value and priority that we set comes either from our INTELLECT or our WILL. This goes to the core of why a perfectly converted heart, scrupulous repentance, and serious meditation are the three legs essential to our total health.

3. "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good." From last week, what did we say “a perfect conversion of the heart” is and why is it important to this whole text? “A perfect conversion of the heart” is NOT sinless perfection, or even outstanding conformity. A perfectly converted heart recognizes its own weaknesses and failures, but acknowledges God’s wisdom as total wisdom, and His claim and ownership of our lives, with the desire that He and He alone is to be glorified.

4. Let’s go back to our study and grasp the meat of our discussion. That is, why can we NOT trust ourselves, our intellect, desires or will, and how can we trust in God alone? When we talk about choices there has to be two poles in competition. What are they? The obvious one is God, as we have said, His will, who is to be the only one deserving glory and worship. What is the antithesis to our thesis statement that God alone is worthy of glory and worship? It is the vaunting of and focus upon SELF, my wisdom, my will, my options, resources and opponents.

5. "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good." “Repentance” is the word “μετάνοιάν” from “meta” meaning “after” and “noeo” meaning “to think”. Thus it means to change the way you think after information has come available. What do you think Fenelon means by “scrupulous repentance”? Does God ever repent? The answer to the question is “yes” and “no”. Let me show you why.

6. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”1Sam 15:29 Who can tell us why this is absolutely essential, literally touching every single aspect of the Christian life? Let’s say that you bought a new car and for the most part, everything worked as expected. But every now and again, without warning or provocation, when you stepped on the brakes, your speed was doubled for three seconds. Wouldn’t red lights, stop signs, parking in the garage, or pulling up to a Circle K always be more excitement than you could stand? “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Num 23:19 It is like so many other things in your life that you depend upon to be absolute. It is because truth must be ABSOLUTE, immutable and complete in every aspect or it is not trustworthy. You could always sell a car that you couldn’t trust, but do you see how important it that certain things NEVER change? Isn’t the issue of what is true and spiritually dependable far more important to you than a car that does what it is supposed to do? Remember one of the first electric cars that had a problem stopping and the trouble it caused the company? But what about the safety of drugs you take, the food you eat? Everything about life demands consistency and dependability. And one more thing – how safe is it for you to place your spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing on your own independent concept of your truth, when you change your mind as often as you do? Why doesn’t God repent? God is NOT a man – that is, unlike man, God knows everything and learning something new that would change the way He thinks is impossible!

7. So – we have said that God does not change His mind because He is not like a man who learns new information. God knows everything. But then we said there are some verses that seem to say that God does change His mind, and I want to address the question so it doesn’t bother you some day if you stumble on to one of these verses.

8. "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." Genesis 6:7 "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night." 1Samuel 15:11 So what are we to do with this given the other scriptures we just read if God doesn’t repent? The word also means to cause grief and the need for comfort. God never changes His mind but He certainly experiences sorrow and pain.

9. So man NEEDS to repent when he discovers truth that countermands his standing opinions, but there is NEVER information God does not know so His claims are always truth and life. We need that kind of truth to live by and we need to get rid of all the garbage that we believe might be true, that facilitates our flesh playing “king”.

10. In addition to the “perfectly converted heart”, we are to add “scrupulous” or an impeccable examination of our thoughts compared to the Holy Scriptures and what God has made clear to us. Because our hearts are so horribly violated by the desires of our flesh, which attacks our ability to reason outside of selfishness, “scrupulous” examination apart from God is impossible and repentance is therefore critical to any hope of living successfully. We cannot possibly live in joy or peace if we do not see this and embrace it without question. Let’s look at Fenelon’s quote again.

11. "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good." What about this line? Do we seriously meditate on the truth that God has given to us and determined that we cannot live without it? Do we take it beyond the theory into the practicality of actual life and choice? "The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:9

12. Somebody remind us where that stroke of genius of questioning the Lord, doubting, considering alternatives originated. That tendency came when Adam and Eve decided they were as smart as God and created a will that was different than God’s will. Can you think of a single example where an idea that is independent from God has EVER been profitable to anyone? Has anyone ever thought of something God forgot and helped Him by reminding Him? "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good." Can you think of a reasonable explanation for continuing in such flagrant foolishness? Let’s draw two more nuggets from Fenelon’s comments.

13. The natural conclusion of all that Fenelon said is to TRULY embrace and enjoy our Father in pure intimacy that provides more than we need or can use. Does that sound like the grace we have been talking about in Ephesians? And just one more jewel from our quote – "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good."

14. This is the ultimate freedom from foolishness and bondage. Don’t you have to agree that your own intellect is at the root of every disaster of your life? Even if you didn’t really cause your disaster, is the way you see it and engage it the cause of your agony? As with Joni Eareckson Tada, we might not be at fault for an accident, but how a situation does or does not impact us, its ability to enhance or destroy our lives is purely a matter of choice, not circumstance. So the question of intellect as opposed to will is absolutely critical to us. "WHEN the solid foundations of a perfect conversion of heart, a scrupulous repentance and a serious meditation of all the Christian virtues have been laid, both theoretically and practically, we become gradually so accustomed to these truths, that we regard them at last with a simple and steady look, without the necessity of going back to examine and convince ourselves of each of them in detail. They are then all embraced in a certain enjoyment of God, so pure and so intimate, that we find everything in Him. It is no longer the intellect that examines and reasons; it is the will which loves and plunges into the infinite Good."

15. What is the difference between making our choices by intellect or by will anyway, and why did Fenelon speak of a time when intellect no longer does our reasoning and examination? Let me give it to you in a nut shell and then we will look at each of the contributing components to get a better grasp of the larger picture.

16. Could that possibly be true? Are we that vulnerable? Or are we that stupid? “Stupid” is a relative term and I use it for the sake of impact. We would never look at a 3 year old and think that he was stupid, but how intelligent and capable is he compared to a man that can land a space craft on the moon? What are we compared to Satan? Entirely inept and out of our league for sure, and if not for the will of God, we will be mauled to death! The difference between making choices on the basis of the intellect verses the will is very simple. God designed us to hear His will and then, based on who He is to us and the love that we share with Him, there is no other choice but to believe Him and act immediately on what He says in order to enjoy life as He designed it. But that is not what happened in the Garden of Eden was it! The reality is, the human will, immediately and lovingly responding to the revealed will of God, finds the only freedom we have from temptation and seduction of Satan – who wants to destroy you!

17. Haven’t you listened to one side of a story and decided in favor of the first, and then heard the other side and then sided with the other? If we keep the holy will of God before our will, it will follow God’s will. If we put intellectual seduction before it, it will follow sin and death which is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve. The will is a follower. It is very easily drawn and seduced. Have you ever noticed how quickly the will can be changed? “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”Gen 3:1-4 Do you see a problem in the making here? Is the problem being fomented in the intellect or the will?

18. It’s not rocket science. It is very simple and the Bible has a great deal to teach us on the topic as we will see. But for the moment, how could the WILL have succeeded where Adam’s and Eve’s intellect absolutely and miserably FAILED THEM? And by the way, how do you think your IQ would stack up against the first man and woman who were perfectly created, probably abundantly possessing every extreme faculty any human being has ever had? Photographic memory, never forgetting anything, the capacity to do complex mathematical calculations in his head… like savants can do.

19. Adam or Eve – either one, could have solved the problem immediately by saying, “God clearly told us NOT to eat of this tree – and so the matter is concluded long ago – see ya fool!” That is how the will, which is what Fenelon is teaching us, is the only safe place for the human choice. But that is not what they chose to do. What DID they do?

20. Were they using “knowledge”, “wisdom” or “understanding”? They using “corrupt knowledge”, that was corrupt because it was INDEPENDENT from God, and NO “wisdom” or “understanding”! • “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” • Ge 3:6 She used her intellect didn’t she! A perfectly sound intellect was no match for Satan. She thought she had the capability to hear new information (lies which she had never heard) and process it for herself independently from God. She blew it by not responding immediately to what God said. If a sinless, perfectly created woman with absolutely NO baggage, with all her assets could be so easily fooled, where does that leave the likes of us?