Wednesday Night Recap - Heart to Heart

In the final talk in our Heart Check series, tonight we looked at the topic “Heart to Heart.” Have you ever had a heart to heart talk with someone? What was the conversation about? Today, many youth don’t understand what a heart to heart talk is. Why? Many parents have stopped having those conversations with their children. So what is a heart to heart talk? I would define a heart to heart talk as a conversation between two or more people dealing with a serious topic. Topics discussed could include career choices, college choices, relationships, sexual activity before marriage and so on. A heart to heart allows someone to share their deepest feelings and beliefs about that topic. Let’s look at a heart to heart talk we need to have with our friends and family. If we are going to have a heart to heart talk, what would our topic of conversation be? We listed a few options above. For our subject matter, look at Matthew 7:13-14: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (NLT) Many people in life subscribe to the AC/DC theology. What is the AC/DC theology? It is also known as the “Highway to Hell” theology. “Living easy, living free…going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too…” (Lyrics from Highway to Hell by AC/DC) Many people want to live their life their way with no one interfering or infringing on their freedom. But why would people do this? Why would people put themselves on a path to hell? I believe it is because most people no longer believe in a literal place called hell. And if hell doesn’t exist, then I don’t have to worry about every getting there. I can party my life away with no thought for the future. The passage in Matthew tells us some important things. 1. Hell is a very real place. We don’t like to discuss hell because it is such an unpleasant topic. I must admit that from the scare tactics used to frighten people into salvation I have seen, I shy away from the topic some. But our discomfort doesn’t take away from the fact that hell is a very real place for those that do not enter the “narrow gate.” Hell is also a place of great torment. In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Here we get a glimpse of what hell is like and it is not a pleasant place. 2. There is only one way to heaven and eternal life. As I was reading the paper the other morning, I noticed an ad for a church in the DSM area that said, “There are many paths to God.” WRONG!!! If this Scripture teaches us anything it is that there is one path. And that path is through Jesus Christ. 3. Few will find life. As Christians, we will now and forever be in the minority. Life isn’t found by following the crowd but by following Christ through the narrow gate and along the narrow road. So if we believe the things we’ve said so far, how important is this topic? It is VERY important. Why? Because we are talking about people’s lives, eternity and their souls. So what are we to do about it? Romans 10:13-15 gives us some guidance on how to begin this important heart to heart with those God has placed in our lives: For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (NLT) If our goal is to see others come to know Christ in the same life-changing way we have, there is something that first must happen…WE MUST GO AND TELL THEM! Notice the progression of this passage. How can they ever call on the name of Jesus if first they don’t believe? They will only come to believe if they hear the good news of Jesus Christ. They are not able to hear unless someone cares enough to tell them. We will never tell them unless we go. It all begins with us going and telling. That’s how this heart to heart talk must begin. Notice the content of this conversation isn’t about useless information. Heart to heart talks are never about questions you might find on Jeopardy, sports stats, celebrity news. We must realize that we possess the most important life-changing information. We have a responsibility to tell others! We have a responsibility to have some heart to heart talks with others about it. So who have you told recently? More importantly, who will you tell today, tomorrow, this week? Go and tell someone the incredible good news of Jesus Christ.