Heart Transplant

Sometimes I read a verse and it knocks the wind out of me. It doesn't matter that I've read it a thousand times, it's that one time that makes you think and then say, "Ouch!" As I was reading with my husband last week he read to us from Isaiah 29. The verse that hit me with such a vengeance and didn't allow me to hear the rest of the chapter or the next as he read was verse 13.

"And so the Lords says, 'These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote."

As soon as I heard it, I knew I'd be writing about that verse. Immediately, I knew what was needed... A heart transplant.

I began thinking of the American Church, and how clearly I can hear God say this of his people and say of me, "They say they're mine, they call themselves Christians, but their hearts are far from me. They attend church on Sundays and Holidays, they give up something for lent, they try to live moral lives, they put money in the offering, and they call this worship." This is not what God wants from His people! This is not what He's calling us to. We were created for something more. We need a heart transplant.

However, before we can have a heart transplant, we must first recognize that we have a problem. Until we identify that something is not right, we cannot begin to get it fixed. And let's be honest if you need a heart transplant, that kind of surgery can only be performed by the Physician. So allow the Physician to examine you today and see if you, like me, are in need of a transplant.

Top 3 Symptoms:
1. Lack of ministry to the lost. 
This is one that effects a lot of us and yet we don't even know it. Our hearts are burdened by the world around us. But we do so little to change it, to reach out, to care, to love the people around us. Even our prayers are misguided. We pray, "Lord, send them in (to our churches) bring them to us." Unfortunately we're missing the truth of scripture. Yes, we are to pray. But what does Jesus tell us to pray?
"Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few, therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest" (Luke 10:2, emphasis added). Jesus didn't tell us to pray that the harvest would appear in our barns, he said, pray that God would send people out.
I love this time of year, because each week the corn stalks get taller and taller. Soon they'll be ready to pick. If you talk to any farmer or even a gardener, they would laugh in your face if you asked them to pray that the fruit would collect itself into their storehouses. It takes work to bring in the harvest. And yet, this is how we pray. Kind of gives new meaning to the verse, "you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss" (James 4:3). We're asking to be lazy. We don't know how to talk to people, so it's easier if God would just send them to us, so that we can stay in the comfort of our pews, when God is clearly saying, "Go!" He says, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). Again he says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). This small two letter word is a command that requires action. Jesus has commanded us to "go" and that requires us to move.
A lot of times we sit waiting for a green light or for some huge sign that says, "GO!" And we don't move because we're waiting for something that God has already given us. He has clearly told us to go. He says, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). So maybe the problem is that we don't love Him like we think we do. Maybe it's time for a heart transplant.

2. Lack of care for the new believer.
Many of us have been hurt by people in the church, and for this reason we tend to hold people, especially new people at arms length. We want to wait and see what they're all about first. Really we have enough friends and don't need anymore. We prejudge people based on appearances, "I won't have anything in common with that person... They won't like me... They're not the kind of person I associate with..." On and on our excuses go, and then we wonder why new people don't stay in our churches. They're ostracized and made to feel like an outsider. Few take the time to reach out and just love them.
They make choices we wouldn't make, but why don't you take the time to remember back to when you were a new believer, would you have made those same choices then? But what happened, what kept you from continuing in that place? Oh I know, that older Christian that decided to love you where you were at. The person that took the time to disciple you. To invite you into their home. To pour into your life.
You wouldn't be the Christian you are today if a more mature believer hadn't helped to get you there. Now it's your turn. It's your turn to reach out to the new believer. To pour into the life of someone that doesn't fit in your circle. When was the last time you even introduced yourself to someone new at church?
Believe me as I write this I think, "I really don't want to write this, because this is me." I struggle in this area. I struggle with talking with new people, with inviting them into my life and my heart. What's my problem? Fear. Well if that's the case then really I have a heart problem. Because the Bible says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18, emphasis added). That tells me that I need a heart transplant because I'm allowing fear to keep me from doing what I'm supposed to be doing... making disciples.

3. Lack of restoration of fallen believers.
In any war, there are always wounded. Whether wounded by the enemy, friendly-fire, or self-infliction, people are hurt. In every civilization, do you know what is done to the wounded? They are taken to the hospital or treated by a medic, everything that can be done is done to restore the wounded warrior. But not in our churches! In our churches the wounded Christians are mocked, shunned, and left to die. We leave them with more scars than they received from their fall. But this should not be!
The Bible says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness: considering thyself lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1, KJV).
I was praying one day, and I'm going to be honest, it was a prayer of a pharisee. I was thanking God that I wasn't like someone else I knew that had fallen away from serving Him. They were making some extremely bad choices. The words were barely out of my mouth when I clearly felt Him speak to my spirit, "You are one choice away from being just like them." Ouch!
You see we're all there everyday. We all battle temptations everyday, and sometimes we overcome, and sometimes we fall. If we don't have people in our lives that will help to restore us, then we are going to keep falling until we've committed a "major" sin. Let's be honest, God doesn't have a major and minor league for sin. So your sin of lying, manipulation, gluttony, swearing, is just as bad as fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc. So instead of standing on your pillar looking down on all those terrible Christians. Do what God says and be part of the restoration process. Let them know that God's love for them hasn't changed. Maybe the reason you can't be a part of someone else's restoration process is because you don't believe God has really done yours. Which means you need a heart transplant. One that will allow you to once again know that God loves you no matter what. No, His grace is not license to sin. The condemnation you feel because of your sin, isn't from God either. Ask him to give you a heart transplant and restore you, so you can turn and help someone else with their restoration process. God is asking more of you!


So now what...
We've recognized we need a heart transplant, where do we go from here? Well it's time to go to the Physician. Tell the Physician that you've lost your love for Him, and for the people around you. Tell Him that you're tired of playing church, and want to experience all He has for you again. Tell Him that you need a heart transplant. Then begin taking the steps that will lead to your recovery.

See just because I know I need something doesn't mean I'm ready to change my lifestyle. But if we don't, then we're not going to be any better off than we were before, actually it's going to be worse, because now we're responsible for that knowledge. After a surgery the doctor gives specific steps that need to be taken to ensure that we remain healthy. It's the same with God. Now that we are aware of the problem, we've asked God for a transplant, now we need to begin taking steps to keep our new heart healthy.

For every person that's going to look different. Also don't try to do everything at once. Choose one thing. One area to work on. Go use your new heart to be obedient to God. Go and show your love for Him, by loving others. Invite someone to church. Reach out to that new person. Call the person that hasn't been in church in awhile. Love God, by loving people. Remember the sacrifice He made for you, and offer that same hope, joy, and peace to those around you! Share your heart for God!