Lord, Is My Heart Tender? Part One
The sermon highlights the problem of a hard heart in Christians, leading to poor relationships and a lack of tender love for God and others.
K.P. Yohannan addresses the alarming state of the church, highlighting the lack of conviction of sin among leaders and the high attrition rates of missionaries due to personal relationship conflicts. He emphasizes that the root of these issues lies in the hardness of our hearts, which prevents us from humbling ourselves and taking responsibility for our actions. The sermon calls for a return to genuine repentance, akin to the prodigal son, who recognized the pain he caused and confessed his sins with a broken heart. Yohannan urges believers to examine their hearts and restore tenderness towards God and one another to heal the relationships that are suffering within the church and families.
Text
"You know, Brother K.P., one of the hardest things I have to deal with is to sit in front of a man who has done awful, stupid things in his life or ministry yet has no conviction of sin. Even if he is caught, he acts as if there is no problem and simply asks for a transfer. I am weary of it."
These were the exact words of a senior pastor whose denomination appointed him as a counselor for its pastors, elders and churches across several nations.
Many respected mission agencies report record attrition rates of up to 80 percent for their well-trained, postgraduate field workers. Most barely survive their second term, and only a few make it past their third. The number-one reason for leaving the mission field is not death threats from an anti-Christian community or lack of funds, but personal relationship conflicts. They simply can't get along with their coworkers or the leadership.
Recent studies have estimated the divorce rate among born-again Christians in America to be anywhere from 35 percent to as high as 72.5 percent. Incidentally, the likelihood of divorce appears to be identical for both believers and non-believers. Most couples file for divorce not because of a spouse's infidelity, but because of incompatibility. Again, it's a relationship problem that destroys the foundation of our families and fills our prisons with delinquent teenagers.
Since these reports are not about secular society but represent the condition of the church at large, we must ask ourselves, What's wrong with our hearts that we would produce such a poor testimony?
It seems our hearts are no longer tender toward God, our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ or our spouses and families. At the center of each of these relationship problems is our unwillingness to humble ourselves and take responsibility for our sin. Instead, we fight and manipulate others to protect our spiritual self-image.
The phrase "I have sinned against you with my words, attitude or response" comes only with great difficulty over our lips. We find it much easier to say, "I just made a dumb mistake . . . forget it."
What's missing in our so-called repentance is the deep sorrow the prodigal son had when he realized how much he had hurt the heart of his father. It caused him to lay aside all pretense and self-protection and confess with a broken heart, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight" (Luke 15:21).
Sermon Outline
- I. The Problem of a Hard Heart
- A. A senior pastor's experience with a counselor who showed no conviction of sin
- B. High attrition rates among missionaries due to relationship conflicts
- C. High divorce rates among Christians due to incompatibility
- II. The Cause of a Hard Heart
- A. Unwillingness to humble ourselves and take responsibility for our sin
- B. Fighting and manipulating others to protect our spiritual self-image
- C. Difficulty in confessing our sin with a broken heart
- III. The Consequences of a Hard Heart
- A. Poor testimony of the church
- B. Destruction of relationships and families
- C. Filling of prisons with delinquent teenagers
Key Quotes
“What's missing in our so-called repentance is the deep sorrow the prodigal son had when he realized how much he had hurt the heart of his father.” — K.P. Yohannan
“It seems our hearts are no longer tender toward God, our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ or our spouses and families.” — K.P. Yohannan
“The phrase 'I have sinned against you with my words, attitude or response' comes only with great difficulty over our lips.” — K.P. Yohannan
Application Points
- We must be willing to humble ourselves and take responsibility for our sin in order to have a tender heart towards God and others.
- True repentance requires deep sorrow and a willingness to confess our sin with a broken heart.
- A hard heart leads to poor relationships and a lack of tender love for God and others, resulting in a poor testimony for the church.