Heart Matters

The Key

“All you need is the key”, said the Lord. “The key is what will open the heart of a man. The key is whatever will make a man weep before Me. The key,” He said, “Is My way of opening a man’s heart so that the world can also see it. I can always see a man’s heart, but the world very rarely sees a man’s heart – unless he chooses to reveal it publicly.” I pondered these words for a while as the Lord showed me what He meant.

What is the key to your heart, I wonder? Luke 6:45 says “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

I am reminded of two stories that confirm this.

In Norway in January 2011, we saw two very different sides to the Norwegian character. One speaker stood up, and in true Pentecostal style, he hollered, “Praise the Lord.” Do that in many Western Pentecostal churches and you will get an enthusiastic response of “Hallelujah”, or “Praise God.” Not in Norway. You get zero response in Norway because the people are not used to displays of any kind of emotion – not even to God. The speaker tried again and again before giving up and getting on with his sermon. Later in that same meeting, we saw a map of Norway spread right across the hall and people were invited to pray for their home or preferred area. The reaction was a total contrast with people shedding so many tears that they completely wrecked the map. The key was to appeal to the people’s hearts and the response reflected where their hearts truly lay – in the lost peoples all over their country.

Last weekend, I heard a pastor speak about God’s provision and, in particular, he spoke on Psalm 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” The speaker ended up weeping even as he preached and the audience wept with him as he spoke straight from his own heart.

Through this last incident, I realised the Lord was speaking very clearly to me. So much so that later that same day, when we had some baptisms, there were some moments when the Holy Spirit’s presence was so tangible that you could almost cut it. Like when the very elderly couple, both in their eighties, were baptised. Like when a couple of the testimonies really grabbed your heart strings. Yet the most poignant moment came when one young man stepped forward. He couldn’t even speak so someone helped him out a bit. The pastor stepped forward and just held his arms wide. The young fella hesitated then almost reluctantly stepped forward for his hug. The entire church, knowing something of the journey this young man had been on, stood and applauded and I, for one, ‘lost it completely’ as I wept tears of joy for his salvation. Many others were like it too. I realised afterwards that the Lord has been placing in me a love for the lost and outcasts of the world who need Jesus maybe even more than the rest of us.

That is my key – a love for the lost. It is a key that the Lord has planted deep within my heart. I had not realised it until last week, but I have been very emotional recently – but it is emotional for people; for their salvation. It comes over me during praise and worship, during prayer, and especially during hatch, match, and despatch events. (That’s baby dedications and adult baptisms, weddings, and funerals to the rest of us.)

Our pastors key is simply love for all of God’s people – saved and unsaved alike. I would like to think that this God-given love maybe one of the keys to revival for our town, our area, our country and wherever else the Spirit wants it to go beyond our shores.