Matters of the Heart #3 Overcoming heart failure
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Discover how to overcome spiritual heart failure by choosing God above all else and keeping your heart tender, healed, and fully consecrated to Him.
Description
Overcoming Heart Failure Overview
In this powerful third installment of the Matters of the Heart series, the pastor of NTC Ministries delivers a sobering and encouraging message on overcoming spiritual heart failure. Drawing from Proverbs 4:23, Ezekiel 36:26, Genesis 3:14-15, Luke 5:4-7, and Luke 14:16-24, the message confronts the real causes of a failing heart: believing God is angry with us, allowing wounds to go unhealed, and refusing to consecrate our lives fully to Him. The pastor reminds believers that God is not mad at them, that His plans are always good (Jeremiah 29:11), and that Jesus has already crushed the authority of the enemy. Through vivid personal illustrations, a moving C.S. Lewis quote on vulnerability, and a frank discussion of worship as a deliberate choice rooted in worth, the message calls every listener to guard their heart above all else, keep it tender before God, and choose Him first above every competing priority. The greatest test, the pastor emphasizes, is not found in failure but in success, when we have options and still choose God. A call to consecration for a church living in urgent times.
Overcoming Heart Failure Outline
- 0:00:00 – Signs of the Times and the Call to Consecration: The pastor opens with a seasonal illustration comparing spring and winter to spiritual discernment, urging the church to wake up, fill their lamps with oil, and make a greater consecration to God in these urgent days.
- 0:10:00 – The Heart Must Change to Receive God’s Best: Christianity is not passive. Every believer’s heart must undergo transformation. When hearts stop growing, we stop receiving. The pastor unpacks how God desires our hearts to continually expand toward His purposes.
- 0:20:00 – Overcoming the Lie That God Is Mad at You: One of the greatest causes of spiritual heart failure is the false belief that God is angry with us. The pastor refutes this thoroughly using the redemptive work of Christ and the unchanging nature of the Father of lights.
- 0:30:00 – Time Does Not Heal Wounds, Only God Does: Exploring Genesis 3:14-15, the pastor dismantles the popular notion that time heals all wounds, explaining that only the incorruptible Word of God brings true healing. Licking wounds prolongs suffering rather than ending it.
- 0:40:00 – Keeping the Heart Tender and Building Its Strength: Drawing from Ezekiel 36:26 and the Message Bible translation, the pastor teaches the difference between a god-willed heart and a self-willed heart, and how regularly presenting our hearts to God keeps them tender and growing stronger.
- 0:49:00 – Worship as a Deliberate Choice of Worth: Using the parable of the great supper in Luke 14:16-24, the pastor explains the biblical meaning of worship as assigning worth, showing that God desires to be chosen first among all competing priorities and affections in our lives.
- 0:58:00 – The Greatest Test Is Success, Not Failure: The pastor makes a striking observation: failure leaves no options, but success does. True worship and faith are revealed when we have choices and still choose God above our land, business, or relationships.
- 1:06:00 – Peter’s Obedience and the Principle of Nevertheless: From Luke 5:4-7, the pastor draws out the principle of obeying God’s word despite exhaustion, logic, and prior failure. Peter’s net-breaking catch illustrates what happens when we choose God’s instruction over our own experience.
Scripture References
Genesis 3:14-15, Ezekiel 36:26, Proverbs 4:23, Luke 5:4-7, Luke 14:16-24, Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Exodus 20:3, Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Timothy 4:7
Key Takeaways
- God is not angry with you; He is ecstatic about you and His thoughts toward you are always good, never evil.
- Spiritual heart failure most often begins with the lie that God is punishing or distant, and it is defeated by pressing into the knowledge of His love.
- Time does not heal wounds; only the incorruptible Word of God, which lives and abides forever, brings genuine healing to a broken heart.
- Guarding your heart above all else is the single greatest priority in life, because out of it flow all the issues and outcomes of your existence.
- True worship is a deliberate choice: it is assigning God worth above every competing option, relationship, possession, and priority.
- The greatest test of your faith is not when you have nothing to fall back on, but when you have every option available and still choose God first.
- Keeping your heart tender before God requires continually returning to Him, presenting your wounds and your will, and refusing to let hardness take root.
Overcoming Heart Failure Notes
Heart Failure Has a Spiritual Root
The pastor defines heart failure not as a medical condition but as a spiritual state in which a believer’s inner life becomes too small to encounter the demands of life. This happens when we stop growing, stop bringing our hearts to God, and begin believing that He is against us. Satan’s primary strategy is not brute force but deception, planting thoughts that convince us we are unworthy, unlovable, and beyond God’s reach. Recognizing this tactic and actively resisting it with the truth of God’s love is the first step toward overcoming heart failure.
God’s Love Is the Foundation of Healing
A recurring emphasis throughout this message is that God’s love is not conditional, seasonal, or punitive. The pastor draws a clear theological line: because Jesus bore every ounce of divine wrath on the cross, there is no anger left for the believer to absorb. God redeemed us from the curse of the law, from poverty, sickness, and spiritual death. He translated us into the kingdom of His Son’s love. Living from this truth, rather than from fear or guilt, is what allows the heart to remain open, tender, and capable of receiving everything God has prepared.
C.S. Lewis on Vulnerability and the Open Heart
The pastor cites C.S. Lewis, who wrote that to love at all is to be vulnerable, and that a heart locked away from love becomes not just unbreakable but unredeemable. This illustration powerfully captures the tension every believer faces: the desire to protect oneself from pain versus the call to remain open. The pastor applies this directly, teaching that a heart kept from God gradually returns to hardness. Only by continuously bringing our wounds to the Great Physician, rather than hoarding them, does the heart grow stronger and more compassionate toward others.
Worship Means Choosing God Among Real Options
Using the parable of the great supper and the Abraham and Isaac narrative, the pastor builds a compelling case that worship is only meaningful when alternatives exist. In a prosperous nation with countless distractions and competing loyalties, every believer faces daily the choice of whether God is truly worth more than comfort, convenience, career, or recreation. The word worship itself derives from worth-ship, meaning we declare what we value most through our choices. God does not compel forced allegiance; He desires a people who, faced with every option, still say He is worth more.
The Nevertheless Principle of Obedience
Peter’s response in Luke 5, nevertheless at your word I will let down the nets, becomes a defining principle for the believer facing exhaustion, repeated disappointment, or circumstances that contradict God’s instruction. The pastor teaches that obedience is not the product of favorable feelings but of a heart submitted to God’s will above personal logic and experience. Doing what we do not like first, as John Maxwell’s principle also confirms, builds spiritual and practical energy rather than draining it. The reward of radical obedience, like Peter’s net-breaking catch, consistently exceeds what natural effort alone could produce.
A Call to Greater Consecration Now
The message closes with urgency. The pastor reminds the congregation that the Lord’s return will be like snow that arrives silently in the night, unannounced and sudden. The church is called not merely to know Bible stories or identify as Christian, but to be genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit, lamps trimmed and burning. This demands a greater consecration, a deliberate surrender of self-will, a daily choice to present the whole of life as a living sacrifice. This is not a burden but the most reasonable and rewarding act of worship a believer can offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to overcome heart failure spiritually?
Spiritual heart failure occurs when a believer’s inner life becomes too contracted to receive what God has for them, often caused by unhealed wounds, fear, or the lie that God is angry with them. Overcoming it means returning continually to God’s Word and love, allowing the heart to remain tender and growing. Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to guard the heart above all else because it determines the course of our lives.
Does God get angry with believers when they sin or fail?
According to this message and the broader testimony of Scripture, God placed all His wrath upon Jesus at the cross, meaning there is no remaining anger directed at the redeemed believer. God is described in James 1:17 as the Father of lights in whom there is no variableness. His thoughts toward His people are always good, as affirmed in Jeremiah 29:11, not evil.
Can time alone heal emotional and spiritual wounds?
The pastor firmly teaches that time cannot heal wounds because time itself is corrupted and corruptible. Only that which is incorruptible, namely the living and abiding Word of God, can bring true healing. First Peter 1:23 reminds us we are born again of an incorruptible seed, and Psalm 107:20 confirms that God sends His Word and heals us. Talking about wounds without bringing them to God often causes greater festering rather than resolution.
What is the biblical meaning of worship?
Worship derives from the old English word worth-ship, meaning to declare the worth or value of something above all else. The pastor teaches that worship is a deliberate choice made when alternatives exist. Romans 12:1 calls believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, which is their reasonable act of worship, giving God everything that makes up their lives because He is worth more than every competing priority.
Why is success a greater test of faith than failure?
When a person has nothing, they naturally cry out to God because there are no alternatives. But when life brings success, options multiply, and the temptation to replace God with provision, comfort, or achievement becomes real. The parable of the great supper in Luke 14:16-24 illustrates this exactly: those with land, business, and family all made excuses and missed the feast. True worship and consecration are proven when we choose God first despite having every reason not to.
How do I keep my heart tender and avoid spiritual hardness?
The pastor teaches that a heart kept away from God gradually returns to stone, as described in Ezekiel 36:26. Keeping the heart tender requires regularly presenting it to God, choosing to hear about His love even in difficult seasons, and refusing to lick wounds in isolation. Applying God’s Word consistently, going to bed with thoughts of Christ rather than anger or anxiety, and welcoming God’s scrutiny into your inner life are all practical ways to maintain a soft and growing heart.
What does it mean to guard your heart above all else?
Proverbs 4:23 commands believers to guard their heart with all diligence because out of it flow the issues of life. The New Living Translation renders it as guarding the heart above all else, meaning above money, possessions, relationships, and even physical health. The pastor explains that the heart is the source from which God’s love, compassion, and divine purposes flow into every area of life, making its protection the highest daily priority for any believer.
What is the parable of the great supper teaching us about God?
In Luke 14:16-24, Jesus tells of a master who prepares a feast and invites many guests, all of whom make excuses rooted in newly acquired land, oxen, or marriage. The master then fills the table with those who have no options. The lesson is that God desires people who, despite having choices, still choose to come to His table first. He is not looking for compelled attendance but genuine worship from those who recognize His worth above every earthly alternative.
