Years ago, a friend of mine was a successful pastor, well-known and respected around the world. He was a powerful speaker and his life and theology seemed solid. I didn’t know he was very good at hiding certain things.
Our network emphasized heart-healing such as repentance, forgiveness, ungodly beliefs, judgements, and such matters, but this pastor didn’t believe it was necessary. Occasionally these topics would come up and he would vigorously deny certain specifics of “Inner Healing.” I assumed he had difficulty with some of the ideas. I didn’t realize he had dismissed the whole package!
Ideas have consequences. His idea that all his sin and brokenness was somehow dealt with and no longer required attention ended up ruining his life. He misunderstood and misapplied the truth that what Jesus did on the cross was a finished work. It is true that Christ’s death fully paid for our sin, and has the power to free whoever accepts Jesus as Lord. But it is also true that we must diligently work that truth into every crack and crevice of our lives.
Jesus said as He hung on the cross, “It is finished.” But that wasn’t the end of the story. His work of crushing the skull of Satan and paying the price for sin was complete, but the application of this through the church and in the lives of Christ followers fills the pages of the New Testament.
Eventually for my friend, the buildup of discouragement, hardships, some deeply painful experiences, and a temptation that he didn’t resist prevailed. He abandoned his wife, family, church, and ministry to run off with someone much younger than himself, under the illusion that he would now have the happy life he felt he was denied. He is now a shadow of the man he was, and his church and family are paying the price of his failure.
Proverbs 4:23 (AMP): “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”
What do we allow into our heart? How often do we permit the behavior of others to fester hurt in our heart without dealing with it? What thoughts or desires that are ungodly do we allow to linger? Have we allowed our heart to desire and pursue what is not in alignment with God’s will and word? How much over the years have we “stuffed” issues deeper down rather than do as the Psalmist pleads— “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalms 139:23-24, NLT).
This week we begin a month-long series called “Heart Matters.” Let’s not make the mistake my friend made. Let’s allow God to dig deep and bring sanctification.