The Rusty Lock

I am reading a collection of sermons entitled, Gospel Fear, by the Puritan pastor, Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646).  In a message preached June 15, 1644 from 2 Kings 22:19, Burroughs states,

Many men's hearts are like rusty locks.  It takes a great deal of work to open them, especially if the key is not the right key and fitted to every notch.  But now come to a lock where the key is fitted to every notch fully and a child may turn it.  You can turn it with one of your fingers.  So the Lord sometimes, indeed, so speaks the Word to many men's hearts which are like rusty locks, so that the Word does not fit.  There are many notches in their hearts.  Many objections lie in their hearts against the Word so that the Word does not fit them, and so their hearts are not opened.  But at another time, the Lord is so pleased to direct His Word that He makes the key as fit for such a man's heart as can be, and then He opens it immediately.  In an instant, the heart of this man is opened that has been shut against God all the days of his life (page 89).

I think the thing that we have to remember in all of this is that God moves as he pleases.  When it pleases the Lord to "fit" the Word into a heart, it will fit.  The lock, rust or not, will open, and the soul will be free to serve.

This does not mean that we have nothing to do in these situations.  On the contrary, our actions are either pouring more water on the lock so that it rusts more, or they are oil the lock so that the key turns more easily.  When we listen to a message, or prepare to listen to one, we must keep in mind our objective.  Our objective is to hear from God.  We are to listen with attentiveness, we are to shake off distractions, we are to have our minds prepared for the event.

If we do not read the Bible throughout the week, it makes it much more difficult for us to understand the sermon.  We need to study it, as well as read it.  We need to search out the meaning of words we don't understand, or we may confuse the meaning of the passage we are reading.

Cherishing sin in our heart also causes the lock to rust more quickly.  If we are caught up in sin, it is more difficult for us to listen to messages that call us to righteousness.  Pride scoffs at humility.  Self-righteousness grits its teeth at grace.  We must continually ask the Lord to open our hearts to understand where sin is present in our lives, and how we can get rid of it.

Fellowship with God's people oils the lock.  By fellowship, I mean living in mutually encouraging and accountable relationships.  When we know one another, it is easier to confront sin or offer a word of encouragement it difficult times. 

Prayer is also vital to loosing the rusted lock.  As we pray for others our heart becomes tender toward them.  As we confess our sins, we remember that grace is needed by all, and that we should give it as readily as we seek it.  Prayer conforms to God's will (if we do it right). 

So what shape is your heart in?  Do you find the Word of God turning your heart toward him with great ease? Or our you an immovable fortress of self-reliance?  May it be, by his good pleasure, that he crack the lock of your heart with ease either way.

An Intelligent Heart

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge" (Prov. 18:15, ESV).

Throughout the book of Proverbs, the pursuit of knowledge is not mere academics.  It isn't the pursuit of mere knowledge, but the pursuit of the knowledge of God.  As we pursue the knowledge of God, to learn of him and from him, we gain wisdom.  Wisdom is the skill of living in a way that please the Lord.

An intelligent heart is one that pursues the things of God.  It pursue his grace and his glory, because it knows that life is only found through these.  Over and over again, we are called to pursue the knowledge of the Lord.  Each time we are promised many precious promises.  Turning to the Lord not only saves us, it promises us a greater future.  We'd be foolish not to heed the call.

Preparing the Heart

A wise minister once told me that preparing the heart is more important than preparing the message. I must admit, I really didn't understand him at the time. I knew that he meant that a preacher must be "prayed up" and "studied up," but I don't think I fully comprehended what that meant. I think I am beginning to understand.

Let me see if I can explain what I think he meant. Think of a world class neurosurgeon getting ready to perform a delicate procedure on a patient's brain. He has many tools that he can use. The human head can be opened with a club as easily as with a saw, but the club would most likely do more harm than good. Likewise, a minister or believer who is unskilled and untrained in the word of God may be used by him to bring someone to repentance, but they might also drive some people away.

We are called to rightly handle the word, which at the most basic level means that we interpret it accurately. But, I think it means more than that. I believe it means that we are to handle in a manner that is consistent with its teachings. That means we are to read it, memorize it, meditate on it, speak it, hear it, trust it, and live it. We have not rightly divided the Word, if we are not practicing what it preaches.

Thus, ministers and believers must wrestles with the Word to fully grasp its meaning. Part of that is the preparation of the heart through humble submission to the Word. As we accept, by faith, that the Word is flawless and our only source of authority, we begin the process of training our heart to submit to God's Word. Through the Word, he speaks and we listen with the intent to obey. Thus, a message is never ready to be preached apart from a prepared heart. A minister may present a sermon that is factually accurate, doctrinally sound, and pleasing to hear, but all of that will miss the mark if the minister has not set the sights properly.

You might say, "That's well and good for ministers, but I just an average believer. I don't prepare or preach messages." While that may be true, in some since, it falls short of what God intends for you. As a believer, you are a minister. You may never preach a sermon, but that doesn't mean God doesn't want to use you to speak to others about him. God may want you to rebuke a loved one who is struggling in sin. If there is sin in your life that is unconfessed and unrepented of, you most likely will balk at the idea. Like Moses you'll make excuses as to why it should be you. But if you are waging war against sin in your life, you will be able to find the boldness to speak to them, not as their judge, but as their friend. The call to prepare the heart is a call to every believer, because you never know when God will send a divine appointment your way. You don't want to be caught unprepared.