Heart Surgery

Ezekiel 8-11; Revelations 4 

“…I will gather you from the nations and bring you back…They will return to it and remove all vile images and detestable idols…I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh…They will be my people and I will be their God.”

Ezekiel 11:17-20

Idols and vile images grieve God. They capture our heart’s devotion and worship. They rob God of his glory and they harden our hearts into stone. Hearts of stone don’t respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Stony hearts aren’t moved by the needs of others. Stony hearts are hard and heavy. However, God is very interested in the transformation of our stony hearts into soft, responsive hearts of flesh. Repentance means that we agree that our hearts are hard, and we agree that our idols and the vile images we have worshipped have hardened our hearts. Repentance involves removing the idols, throwing them away, and returning to the living God in humility. In humility we invite God to fill us with his Spirit and change our stony hearts into soft hearts. We declare again that we are God’s people; we belong to him; we were made for his love. It’s time for heart surgery.

“Lord Jesus, I repent for a hard, stony heart. I forsake idols of pride, fear, lust, and independence, and I surrender to you. Fill me with your Spirit and give me a new heart, your heart.”