This One. 

 No, really…you need to spend some time with this one today. 

 Turn off the TV, the phones, any other distractions…and let the Holy Spirit talk to you today through this one. 

 Does God really mean…what He says? 

 Someone asked me not long ago if I believed that “giving ALL your heart was necessary for salvation.” 

 What say you? 

 Or even more importantly…What does God say? 

 Now I’ve made it clear here in the past and will do so again…I’m not posting these daily studies to argue and debate as to who is going to heaven and who is not. That is way above my pay grade and none of us know how God sorts it all out in the end. But this I do know, there is a beloved hymn that has a very misleading line in it and I’m sure you know it well: “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing it will be.” 

 I hate to sound like ‘Debbie-Downer’, but…Not everyone goes. 

 Jesus said there were would be ‘few’ who find that narrow gate that leads to life and that ‘not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt 7:14,21) 

 So lets return to the Word and see what God says and you can decide if you think He really means what He says. I just want to make sure You KNOW…what He says about all this. 

 A lawyer came to Jesus and asked him what was necessary for him to do to inherit eternal life. (Luke 10:25) 

 Jesus responded: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (26) 

 The lawyer answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.” 

 Jesus nodded in agreement saying: “You have answered rightly; DO THIS…and you will live.” (28) 

 We read in Matthew 22 where the Pharisees had gathered and one of them being a lawyer asked Jesus what was the “great commandment in the law?” (36) 

 Again, Jesus affirmed this constant theme we see: “You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart…soul… and mind…and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” 

 Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of the Father in heaven. (Matt 7:21) 

 They are not referred to as ‘suggestions’, but ‘commandments’. And Jesus said if we truly loved Him, we’d keep His commandments. (John 14:21; 15:10) 

 So here’s the $64k question: What does it mean to ‘love God with all our hearts’? That might be good to know the answer to because this is a constant theme woven throughout the bible. And it is not some small footnote either. 

 Go take a short read through Deut. 30:2-10. How many times in those 8 verses do you see something about ‘all your heart’? 

 I mentioned yesterday that the main reason God brings judgments and chastening is with the hopes we will turn back to Him. But he’s not looking for ‘lip service’. I would like to steer you to Joel 2. The whole chapter is enlightening, talking of the ‘Day of the Lord’ and ‘sounding the alarm’ and impending judgment but it’s verse 12-13 that specifies what ‘returning to the Lord’ looks like…with ‘all your heart’. 

 I bet many of you are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11. It’s a ‘popular’ verse that has an appealing promise. Lots of students have it embroidered on the back of their letterman jackets. What we fail to see oftentimes is that God’s promises usually come with conditions. Yeah…and it is not ‘small print’ either. Can we all agree that there is more to this bible than John 3:16 and Jer. 29:11? Oh, that condition for all those ‘good plans’ and a ‘future’ is dependent on us…returning to God with ….(you guessed it) …”all our hearts”. And if you read the context of those chapters, He’s talking about the impending judgment and captivity His people suffer but in the end…if they return with ALL their hearts, good things await them. That has always been God’s conditions. You are either all in, or your are not. 

 I’ve often referred you to the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus in Matt. 19 seeking ‘eternal life’. Jesus told him he lacked only ‘one thing’. That ‘one thing’ was something the young man was not willing to let go of and he walked away. And not only did he walk away, but scripture says he went away ‘sorrowful’. As in, full of sorrow. (Matt. 19:22) 

 Can I share with you something I feel that the Holy Spirit has been nudging me with in recent months? If you were to take a guess on how much money is spent on anti-depressant drugs in this country alone, what kind of figure would you toss out? 

 Here’s an interesting stat: [$14.11 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $15.98 billion by 2023]  I wonder how many 'believers' have grown dependent on them?

I don’t say this lightly, as I know depression is a real thing. Believe me, I lived with those demons for some time. And I know what it is to be ‘called out of darkness’, as Peter writes. (1 Pet 2:9) But drugs are no cure. They may enable you to ‘cope’ or ‘function’, but I’m here to tell you that In HIS presence…there is Fullness of Joy. (Psalm 16:11) 

 When we abide in Him, there is no darkness. We walk in the light as He is in the light. ( 1 John 1:7) Where we have been deceived is in believing that we can go through all the ‘church motions’ and sing all the right songs, quote all the inspiring verses and give the right amount of money… but fall short…of total surrender…of our hearts. Anything short of that…is a form of godliness. “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge”. (Hosea 4:6) 

 Why do you think James wrote such a sobering command: “…purify your hearts, you double-minded” (4:6) Only the ‘pure in heart shall see God’. (Matt 5:8) And ‘without holiness, no one will see God” (Hebrews 12:14) 

 Does God mean what He says? 

 I just shared a little of what He has to say. You can decide on your own whether to believe it. 

 When you are ready…and willing…( you might even have to ask God to help you with this)…to give it ALL up…to Him, it is then…that you can be released from your captivity. But make no mistake about it…50%, 75%...not even 90% is good enough. It is when you turn to Him with all your heart…that He will hear from heaven and will come…and heal your land (heart). 

 Final passage this morning- it’s found in John 2:23-25. Jesus had been in Jerusalem during the Passover where ‘many believed in His name when the saw the signs He did’. 

 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew what was in their hearts - An unwillingness to fully commit. 

 Let that sink in. 

 Does God mean what He says? You tell me. But personally, I have no doubt. 

 I dare you to ‘prove him’. I’ll even double-dare you. 

 Stay warm…it’s cold and wet out there today. (Here in NE Texas, at least). See you tomorrow.