Can you hear it?

Jack Salter

Can You Hear It?
A story about Mitsuo Fuchida and what we were designed for.

Let me ask you a question:
What were you and I designed for?

This question should remain in your mind as we talk today. In all reality, I should be talking to myself about this—perhaps you as well. What were you designed for?

I love the Shorter Catechism. It states:

“What is the chief end of man?”
The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

We should all say “Amen” and go home!
But a subsequent question might be: How do we do this?

If we think God is a cosmic killjoy or some genie in the sky, how do we enjoy that? So I want to return to my friend Peter—and to all of us. If we get this right, the anxiety we carry about our identity and our standing with God can be lifted. My prayer is that we see Jesus more clearly and hear more clearly what He has done for us. That we can indeed glorify God and enjoy Him—right now, tomorrow, and forever.

Peter’s Realization

What Peter realized on those quiet shores of Galilee is this:
The power of forgiveness is stronger than the power of sin.

Jesus had made a way for him—and for all of us. Peter’s peace came when his heart settled into the reality of Christ living in him. Peter had to learn how to live from a different source of life. He was transformed by Love, as were all the apostles. And it changed them so dramatically that others said:

“These men have turned the world upside down.” (Acts 17)

Maybe—just maybe—we will live to see our culture say the same about us:

“Those people in Lake Wylie turned the world upside down!”

But in truth, we’re turning it right-side up.

So let’s start at the heart of the matter—literally. The starting point is this:

We were designed for a complete HEART transformation.

Let me say it again: You were designed by your Creator for a complete transformation.

2 Corinthians 3:18
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

(Metamorphoo — to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure.)

Here is the heart of it. If you hear nothing else this morning, let this sink in:

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

How many times have I heard preachers quote this with disdain in their voice and a finger of judgment pointed at the congregation:

“Your heart is evil. Wicked beyond belief and hope!”

And the fear rolls into us and everything we do.

But listen—this verse is not talking about the believer. This “deceitful heart” refers to the unbeliever.

If you have trusted Christ, you do not have a deceitful heart.

A New Heart

When we confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and believed that God raised Him from the dead, we were given a new heart.

The old heart is dead.
The new heart is alive.

The prophets saw this long before Jesus came:

Ezekiel 11:19
“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.”

Jeremiah 31:33
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

This heart of flesh is tender, obedient, and spiritually alive. It is the basis of our salvation.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” (2 Peter 1:3)

We don’t get partial blessings. The newest believer gets the full gift—Holy Spirit. No favorites. No exceptions.

You were designed to be transformed from death to life—through Jesus.

Living from the New Heart

So how do we live from this new heart?

Jesus gave us the answer before He was crucified:

John 14:15–20, 25–27
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth… He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans…”

We’ve been given:

1. A New Advocate and Comforter

The Holy Spirit is a Paraclete—one who comes alongside. A helper, counselor, advocate, and comforter.

The Spirit teaches and reminds us of what Jesus said. At the core of the Advocate is love. We live as advocates for love. We are comforted, and so we comfort others.

“God so loved the world, that He gave…”

2. God’s Indwelling Presence

The Spirit doesn’t just walk beside us. He lives in us.

Jesus said to wait in Jerusalem for the promise—but we no longer have to wait. The promise has come. It is grace—all of it.

Under the old covenant, Moses sprinkled the people with blood (Exodus 24:7–8).
Under the new covenant, we are sprinkled with the blood of Christ, internally. (1 Peter 1:2)

3. Guidance and Truth

The Spirit will guide you into all truth—even if it means confronting our wrong beliefs.

Remember Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10? God shattered Peter’s assumptions. Through a vision, God told Peter not to call anything unclean that He had made clean. Peter’s eyes were opened to see that salvation is for all people—even Gentiles.

God does not show favoritism.
Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. (John 3:17)

4. Power and Resurrection Life

Luke 24:49
“I send the promise of my Father upon you… until you are endued with power from on high.”

Romans 8:11
“The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.”

Read that again. That’s not poetic—it’s literal. The resurrection power of Jesus lives in you.

1 John 4:4
“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

We’re empowered to love—even our enemies. We are not the Way—but we show the Way.

5. Assurance

Ephesians 1:13–14
“Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…”

2 Timothy 1:12
“I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I’ve committed to Him.”

We have assurance. We are sealed. We are safe. We are loved.

So, Can You Hear It?

You have the same Spirit in you that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

We are advocates for love.
We are comforted by God’s presence.
We bring peace with us, and we give it away.
We live from the center of our being—our new heart.

Jesus knew what we needed all along—because He designed us.

We are made complete in Jesus.

How do we live from God?
By being the genuine son or daughter He made you to be—and living loved.

What Were You Designed For?

Transformation.

You were designed to live from the Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. You were designed to Live Loved.

It’s almost too simple.

Peter had a heart transformation. He could hear a rooster crow after that and smile—knowing forgiveness is always greater than any sin.

He learned how to live.

It was Peter’s story. It was Mitsuo’s story.
And it’s yours, too.

Can you hear it?