Friday, February 29, 2008
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Not long ago, someone told me about a pastor who stood at the pulpit one Sunday and announced this to his people: "Folks, I have some bad news, some good news, and some bad news." He had everyone's attention. "The bad news is that the roof on this church is shot. We have to replace it. But the good news is - we have the money. The bad news is - it's in your wallets!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Big Head, Small Heart."
If God were to draw a picture of some of us church folks, He might just draw us much the same way - a big, overdeveloped head and brain, but an underdeveloped heart. Because some of us have a head full of Jesus but not much in our heart. And there's nothing funny about that picture. There's something frightening about it. Because in Romans 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, "It is with your heart that you believe and are justified."
"Justified" means made right with God, which is the only way you can ever have a relationship with God. The only way you can be with Him forever in heaven. And that miracle of having your sins all erased from His book and having your name entered in His Book of Life happens only when you put your trust in Jesus with all your heart. It may be you've done all your believing in Jesus with your head. That's agreement with Jesus, but it's not commitment to Jesus. And it still leaves you lost, unforgiven, and unprepared for eternity.
You may be saying all the right words about Jesus, but He described people who "honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" ( Mark 7:6). In your mouth, but not in your heart. It's easy to think that because you know the words, you know the Lord. Not necessarily. Matthew 7 describes a Judgment Day scene where people will say all the right words but hear these words from Him, "I never knew you." Other Christians may not even question whether or not you really know Christ, but they can only see what's on the outside. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Again, what God cares about is what, or who, is in your heart; not just in your head, or your mouth, or the impression you give.
Not long ago, a lady was training to be a counselor at a youth outreach where I was speaking. Our training video explained what Jesus did, and what we need to do, in non-religious words. She told me, "I thought I was a Christian my whole life, but that night I suddenly realized all these years I had missed a step. I had never really pinned all my hopes on Jesus. I had never really opened my heart to Him as my personal Rescuer from my personal sin."
Maybe you've missed that step, too. It's hard to admit that, but it's deadly not to. What a horrific tragedy to have known the way to heaven and spend all eternity in hell, thinking about what might have been. But God in His mercy has kept you alive at least this long so you can finally move Jesus from your head to your heart, that eighteen inches that make all the difference between heaven and hell. Why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, with all my Christianity, I've missed you, and I want to know you for real. I believe what you did on that cross was for me. Some of those sins you were paying for were mine. You are my only hope of being forgiven, my only hope of heaven, and I turn today from running my own life. And beginning right here and right now Jesus, I'm yours."
I would love to do anything I can to help you be sure you belong to Jesus. And that's what our website yoursforlife.net is for. I want to invite you to go there as soon as you can today to follow a journey there that will lead you to the assurance that you really belong to Him. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my little booklet Yours For Life. It has similar information in it, if you'll just call toll free at 877-741-1200.
You woke up this morning with Jesus in your head. You can go to sleep tonight with Jesus finally in your heart!