TEXT: Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
We are warned in the scriptures to avoid certain aspects concerning the heart:
1. AVOID A DOUBLE HEART – Psalm 12:2A double heart is a divided heart—one that says one thing but believes another.It reflects duplicity, where outward words don’t match inward motives. James 1:8 calls such a person “double-minded, unstable in all his ways.”
2. AVOID A HARD HEART – Proverbs 28:14 A hard heart resists conviction, correction, and compassion.It is insensitive to sin, and over time, becomes calloused to the voice of the Holy Spirit.Pharaoh is a classic example—his hardened heart led to destruction.
3. AVOID A PROUD HEART – Proverbs 21:4 Pride is the root of rebellion. It exalts self above God. A proud heart says, “I don’t need help. I’ve got this.” But Scripture reminds us: “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). Pride blinds us to our need for transformation. It keeps the stony heart intact.
4. AVOID AN UNBELIEVING HEART – Hebrews 3:12 An unbelieving heart is not just skeptical—it’s rebellious. It refuses to trust God’s promises and turns away from His presence. Like Israel in the wilderness, unbelief kept them from entering the Promised Land.
5. AVOID A COLD HEART – Matthew 24:12 A cold heart is the result of unchecked sin and spiritual apathy. It loses its zeal, its compassion, its fire for God.In the last days, Jesus warned that love would grow cold—not just in the world, but among believers.
6. AVOID AN UNCLEAN HEART – Psalm 51:10 This was David’s cry after his sin with Bathsheba and it shows the depth of true repentance.
An unclean heart is not just stained—it’s spiritually diseased. Like a deadly cancer which spreads throughout the body rapidly.
Only God can create a clean heart—it’s not a renovation, it’s a re-creation.
This is the very promise of Ezekiel 36:26: a new heart, a new spirit, a new beginning.
“Before God can change your life, He must first capture your heart.”
We live in a world that fights for control—control of our time, our attention, our identity.
Our hearts often being captured by its allure. God stands apart. He doesn’t want to compete for: your heart. He doesn’t want to be one of many influences.
So I’m not just talking about emotions or feelings. We’re talking about the declaration of your allegiance, your trust, and your surrender unto to one and one alone.
There are 4 things you need to know.
I. GOD WANTS TRUTH AT THE CORE – (Psalms 51:6) Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
• God desires authenticity. Not performance. Not pretense.
• He wants your devotion rooted in truth—truth that governs the inside and not just the outside. I have said it before, be honest with God, as He already knows what is going on.
II. GOD MENDS THAT WHICH IS MALIABLE – (Isaiah 64:8) But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
• The Potter can only shape what yields to His touch.
• In a recent conversation I stated that the process that the clay goes through is not an easy one, but it yields. It doesn’t know the outcome, but it does not resist. In order for God to have control of our hearts, we must be maliable in His hand, trusting His process.
III. GOD RESISTS PRIDE, BUT POURS GRACE ON HUMILITY. (James 4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
• HUMILITY IS THE SOIL WHERE A NEW HEART CAN BEGIN.
• A proud heart builds walls. A humble heart builds altars. One repels grace, the other attracts it.
IV. GOD ALONE CAN CREATE A NEW HEART.
• THIS CAN ONLY HAPPEN WHEN HE TAKES CONTROL OF THE HEART WE CURRENTLY POSSESS.
This is not about behavior modification—it’s about heart transformation. God doesn’t patch holes. He gives you a new heart altogether.
Ezekial is writing under the unction of the Holy Ghost to write concerning a new covenant that would come. A covenant that we can and many have become partakers of.
Adam Clarke writes His perspective on our text, “A new heart also will I give you – I will change the whole of your infected nature; and give you new appetites, new passions; or, at least, the old ones purified and refined. The heart is generally understood to mean all the affections and passions.”
And a new spirit will I put within you – I will renew your minds, also enlighten your understanding, correct your judgment, and refine your will, so that you shall have a new spirit to actuate your new heart.
I will take away the stony heart – That heart that is hard, impenetrable, and cold; the affections and passions that are unyielding, frozen to good, unaffected by heavenly things; that are slow to credit the words of God. I will entirely remove this heart: it is the opposite to that which I have promised you; and you cannot have the new heart and the old heart at the same time.• And I will give you a heart of flesh
One that can feel, and that can enjoy; that can feel love to God and to all men, and be a proper habitation for the living God.
Spurgeon, the prince of preachers wrote, “A “heart of flesh” is known by its tenderness concerning sin. The heart of flesh is tender to God’s will. Unlike a strong heart that refuses to bow before God’s dictates, when the heart of flesh is given, the will quivers like an aspen leaf in every breath of heaven and bows like a willow in every breeze of God’s Spirit. The natural will is cold, hard iron, which refuses to be hammered into form, but the renewed will, like molten metal, is quickly molded by the hand of grace. In the fleshy heart there is a tenderness of the affections. The hard heart does not love the Redeemer, but the renewed heart burns with affection toward Him. The hard heart Is selfish and coldly demands, “Why should I weep for sin? Why should I love the Lord?” But the heart of flesh says, “Lord, You know that I love You; help me to love You more!”
Jeremiah 17:9–10: “The heart is deceitful above all things…”
You may tell yourself, “This isn’t applicable. My heart is surrendered.” The reality, we are all susceptible to “doing that which is right in our own eyes.” We are susceptible to walking in our own way, while believing our heart is surrendered to the LORD.
If you’ve sensed even a trace of stoniness in your heart—bring it to God. He alone can remove what’s unyielding and replace it with what’s living. Let today be the day the heart transplant begin.
THE LAMPLIGHTERS PROJECT 