After ministering the message “The Empty Heart”, my insides were churning for a few hours and I experienced a “heaviness” like no other time. This has happened before, but not on the same level as occurred after this message. I awoke this morning with the same sense of “heaviness” and a voice playing inside of my head to release this message. It is much easier to minister on another level where we make everyone laugh and feel warm and fuzzy at the end. I honestly believe those days are over for the church that God is calling to arise. Actually, I can’t think of an example in Scripture where a funny, ‘warm and fuzzy’ message was preached. When we look at the messages of Paul, we see a warning to the church to live in love, holiness and unity. We see messages warning of the dangers of immorality and how evil will continue to increase. The gospel was never used to promote a successful life style, although the very essence of success is written into every word of the Scripture (Joshua 1:8). The problem is that in many cases we measure success differently than God measures success.
I remember a couple of visions the Lord gave to Terry several years ago. In the first, there was a large crowd of people and they were walking in file, almost in a military style, and they seemed to be in a daze. He watched as they continued to walk only to fall from a very steep cliff. He remembers hearing, “they had no idea where they were headed”. In the second vision, there were large groups of people in a big green field and a black figure swooped down with a huge shining sword and cut the people in half, destroying them. He still remembers the rapid swooping sound of the sword as it was swiftly wielded against the people and then the sound of their cries. Again, he heard a voice say… “this did not have to happen”.
What is the common denominator in these two visions? People are being destroyed for a lack of knowledge. The prophet Hosea says
Hosea 4:6–7 (AMP) 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. 7 The more they increased and multiplied [in prosperity and power], the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
What can we do to prevent these visions from continuing today? The true church must arise. Who is the true church? It is those who seek the will of God. It is those who live in holiness and sincerity of heart toward God. It is those who are endued with power from Holy Spirit to be a witness throughout the earth and to successfully overcome the powers and principalities in families, cities, regions and nations. They are found in every denomination; every fellowship; every people group and every nation. However, I fear the masses of people are being misled like those in the visions above. They are being seduced by a gospel not preached in the days of the Apostles. There are those who are ‘good’ people but are walking straight to the cliff of life, only to be surprised at the sudden destruction they find.
This may sound like a doom and gloom message, but it is a message of life. Our nation is being overtaken by evil and in many cases, the church is the primary promoter. The very things that God says are detestable and that defile our nation, many in the church have been deceived into embracing. A precious person who loves God asked me recently, “are there really Scriptures that speak against homosexuality”? And, when asked what I thought about the topic, I could only say “I can afford to have no other opinion than what the Word of God says”. Nowhere in Scripture are we told to allow what we think or feel to guide our lives. We are told to walk by faith in God. That means we must order our lives by His Word.
George Muller said concerning prayer that his first order of business was to make sure his heart had no will of its own concerning the matter at hand. This is an empty heart. This is the place we must get to in order to become a church that God can use. We must empty our hearts of any will that is inconsistent with the will as revealed in the Word of God. We can have no other opinion other than the opinion of God. We must humble our hearts and surrender our will to the will of God. Humility and Surrender will lead us to a life of obedience, just as it led Jesus to obedience (Phil. 1:1-10). We must pour out our heart to God and let Him fill it with His will in every matter. The place to start is His Word. Holy Spirit is our teacher and He will lead us into all truth concerning the will of God in any matter. When our hearts are free of self-will, we can begin to see God’s will. Our vision becomes clear, our motivations become pure and our desires become aligned with God’s desire.
So, the empty heart is one that is devoid of self-will. It is a heart that is fully surrendered in obedience to the will of God. And it is a heart that is poured out continually before God, constantly seeking the inspection of Holy Spirit to identify all that defiles and hinders the plan and will of God. It is a heart that holds no attraction to the things of the world that will contaminate the life of the believer. This must become the heart of His church and this is the church that must arise. When God is allowed to arise, the powers of darkness will scatter. This is a promise!
Psalm 68:1–3 (ESV) 1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! 2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! 3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
Pastor Donna
