Heart Failure

Heart failure is when our heart does not line up with God's heart.  Consider your heart desires and what breaks your heart.  Do you desire in your heart what pleases God? And what breaks your heart, perhaps rejection, unfair treatment, unrequited love, when evil triumphs over what is right, betrayal, a cheating spouse, children who turn away from the Lord, loss of a loved one, financial pressures, or even the defeat of our favorite sports team. Since we as believers are one with Him, let's ask what is on God's heart or as the song goes "Break my heart with what breaks yours." 

Believers understand that Jesus died to save us and bring us into a loving relationship with Him that shares His glory and goodness forever.  John 3:16 clearly states, "He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  However, more than saving us from hell, Jesus clearly deserves the adoration and worship of every person because of what He has done for each of us on the cross.  He is worthy of it all.  We were created, according to Ephesians 1:11, for the praise of His glory.  What an incredible paradigm shift from thinking of ourselves to focusing on Jesus and what He rightly deserves!  

Many Scriptures declare that the result of the new covenant is that Christ (God) is in us and we are in Christ.  Obviously, our life goal now, since He gave it all for us, is to learn "how to walk and please God" (1 Thessalonians 4:1). While a study of what pleases God reveals many aspects of obedience and behavior, let's look at one rather important command which was the last thing Jesus said to us before He left this earth.  

Jesus' last words were "All authority has been given to Him on heaven and on earth, Go, therefore and make disciples of all of the nations..." according to Matthew 28.  Mark in 16:15 states the final command in a similar way, "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."  Finally, just before His ascension, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit which will enable us, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem (your home and family), and in all Judea (your fellow workers and people with similar backgrounds) and Samaria (neighbors and contacts beyond), and to the end of the earth (obviously other people and all nations)." (Acts 1:8)"

There are three significant motivations that now compel us to respond to the basic understanding of the purpose of our life on earth. 2 Corinthians 5:15 clearly reminds us, "He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." One motivation is compassion for other people, and their eternal destiny of heaven or hell.  Secondly, our love for God is shown by obeying His commands.  Jesus said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:10)  Finally, the third and probably the most powerful motivation is for the glory of God and His Kingdom. Revelation gives a glimpse of worship that goes on forever in heaven, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and for your pleasure they exist and were created."  He is worthy of it all.  

Jim Elliot and the Ecuador Five gave their lives because of compassion for the Auca Indians and where they will spend eternity.  C. T. Studd, an outstanding cricket player in England, and the Cambridge seven left human accolades and a life of luxury and fame to obey the command of Jesus to go.  In his own words, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." In short, if we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.  Finally, two Moravian missionaries who chose to become slaves in the West Indies to share the Gospel with the natives, were heard to declare as their ship left the harbor, "Worthy is the Lamb.  May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering." Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  

In light of Jesus' command to go and make disciples, John Piper summed it up succinctly. that we have only three choices, "Go, send, or disobey."  Sometimes we ask what can I do?  Let me give another example, John Hyde had difficulty in learning the language when he went to India and Pakistan, because he had impaired hearing and was poor at speaking. He began to pray 2 hours a day that lost souls would come to know Jesus, then continued to increase the time until he prayed all day.  Through the intercession of Praying Hyde, as he became known, millions of souls in Pakistan came to know Jesus Christ.  

Ephesians 2:10 says that each of us has "work which God prepared beforehand."  What part of the harvest of all souls has He called each of us?  How concerned are you for your unbelieving family members and neighbors, yet alone the lost of the world?  Would you start by taking a few minutes every day to pray for the lost, and then ask Him for and look for opportunities to share the hope that is in you? (1 Peter 3:15). The commands of Jesus aren't just for missionaries and "super" Christians, Jesus directs His commands to all of us common, ordinary people.  Go, send, or disobey.  If your heart does not line up with His, God can heal your "heart failure."  Ask the Holy Spirit to break your heart with what breaks the heart of God.  God will transform the heart that comes to Him, "to will and to work for His pleasure."