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Matthew: In your head, you're right. In your heart, you're nuts. Let's talk about it on Key Life.

Being adopted into the family of God is not about doing more or trying harder. It's about being welcomed by God because of his radical grace, free from the penalties of sin, and never alone in your suffering. That grace is what Key Life is all about.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. If you're just joining us, I wrote another book. I'm going to keep doing this until I get it right. And I'm going through this book. It isn't, it isn't out yet, and I'll let you know. It's going to be, we're going to release it on September the 14th.

And it'll be in all formats. It'll be hard copy and soft copy, and eBooks if you have a Kindle or Barnes & Noble or Amazon account. And as we get closer to the date, I'll be sure and let you know.

The book is about lies. We have a tendency to believe stuff that just isn't true. And we put God in it, and when God gets mixed up with the lies, it does all kinds of bad things to us. So, I got to thinking about that a number of months ago and thought, what are some of the lies that I've believed? What are some of the lies that I've taught? What are some of the lies that others have believed, true believers, and how has it messed us up?

So, we're going through those lies. And the lie here that we're looking at this week is, "Don't let your heart get in the way." And it was what was said about Goldwater when he was running for president. He said, "In your heart, you know I'm right." And the people who were running against him said, "Yes, but in your head, you know he's nuts."

So, if you were listening last week, we talked about how rationalism is a philosophical, epistemological position. Descartes, Spinoza, and others, that reason is how we get real knowledge. And if you can't get it with reason, then it's not true.

But if the only way we get truth and knowledge is through reason, a lot of things that are true will disappear. Our knowledge will be incomplete, and our lives will become boring as watching paint dry.

Listen to me, some of life's most important truths, and you'll find them in the Bible, are not garnered through reason, but through one's heart. The heart has its reasons that sometimes reason knows nothing of. Isaiah 55:8-9 sets the tone. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Actually, truths that our hearts perceive as true may be deeper and more profound than most people think. Pascal, the 17th-century mathematician, Catholic philosopher, wrote in Pensées, a compilation of his thoughts and observations, "The heart has its reasons, which reason knows nothing of."

Let me, let me read a longer quote from Pascal. This is what he said: "The reason, therefore, that some intuitive minds are not mathematical is that they cannot at all turn their attention to the principles of mathematics. But the reason that mathematicians are not intuitive is that they do not see what is before them, and that, accustomed to the exact plain principles of mathematics, and not reasoning until they have well inspected and arranged their principles, they are lost in matters of intuition, where the principles do not allow for that kind of arrangement.

"They are scarcely seen. They are felt rather than seen. There is the greatest difficulty in making them felt by those who do not themselves perceive them. These principles are so fine and so numerous that a very delicate and very clear sense is needed to perceive them and to judge rightly and justly when they are perceived, without, for the most part, being able to demonstrate them in order as in mathematics, because the principles are not known to us in the same way, and because it would be an endless matter to undertake it. Mathematicians wish to treat matters of intuition mathematically and make themselves silly."

The Christian faith, as you know, is often counterintuitive. Paul called it foolishness. 1 Corinthians 1:24-25. This is what he wrote: "But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the foolishness of God is stronger than men."

In other words, the truths of the Gospel are sometimes only perceived, not contrary to, but apart from a rationalistic perspective. When an elderly woman in an undeveloped country first heard the Gospel, she cried out, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew there must be a God like that somewhere." That was true. But perhaps in some circles, it was unreasonable.

Much of our culture's words, freedom, for instance, forgiveness, love, mercy, while often true in their definitions, are nothing but wish fulfillment, grounded and grown in empathy, unrealistic, irrational soil. But the heart knows. Amazing Grace, for instance, is one of history's most popular, best-known, and often sung songs. When people sing it, there is often deep emotion, even tears, until the head clears and we realize the song is nice but not true.

But what if it was true? How would that affect our struggle with guilt and shame and fear and regret? It would change everything. So many of those wishful thoughts are true. Among other things, being a Christian is knowing and believing those truths. Biblical truth at the deepest level is true even if it sometimes doesn't seem rational. What becomes irrational are the lies.

The Bible often speaks of Christians having the mind of Christ. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:16, "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." And then in Philippians, Paul says, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus."

Paul wrote to the Colossians, and this is Colossians 2:2-3. Paul wrote to them that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul, and I'm going to stop this because there's so much of it and we could spend forever. Paul wrote to the Romans that they should not be conformed to the mind patterns of the world and should be conformed to the renewing of their minds. Test and approve what's God's will, his good, pleasing, and perfect will, that's Romans 12:2. In an amazing text in 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote that he and other teachers impart this in words taught by human wisdom, not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit.

The point is this: what you believe and hope is true, that the Bible teaches, is absolutely true. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew: Thanks, Steve. That was Steve Brown, resuming our tour through his newest book called God's Not Mad at You. As he mentioned, the book will be out on September 14th. Check out keylife.org for details on how to pre-order your copy.

So, when I say the word "agendas", what comes to mind? Maybe it's neutral. But if I say "hidden agendas", it's a different vibe, right? The hard truth is that we all have hidden agendas. We don't have our act together, and the pressure to act like we do is, frankly, overwhelming. Steve talks about this in a special booklet called "Hidden Agendas", based on his book of the same name. Get your free copy of that booklet by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to ask for that booklet, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada.

Again, ask for your free copy of the "Hidden Agendas" booklet. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you support that work through your giving? It's easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or simply pick up your phone and text KEY LIFE to 28950. That's KEY LIFE, one word or two, it doesn't matter, text that to 28950. And hey, if you can't give at this exact moment, we get it. Seriously. But if you think about it, please do pray for us, would you? Thanks.

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