Exposing the Counterfeit Bride: Ep 8: The Heart: When Worship Becomes Hollow

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Music.

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host,

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Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent.

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Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought

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was possible. Enlarge her territory.

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Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment.

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Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent

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to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

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This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Welcome back, family, to the Diary of a Black Woman's Podcast,

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Church Chronicles, Episode 8, The Heart, Cold Towards Christ.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we will continue our series,

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Removing the Cover and Exposing the Counterfeit Bride.

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We've uncovered the head replaced by man, the eyes blinded, the ears itching

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for lies, the mouth preaching another gospel, the hands exploited.

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The feet wandering in worldly ways.

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Now the Spirit of the Lord is pulling back the veil on the heart of the bride.

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The heart is the seed of love, devotion, and loyalty.

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But the Lord says many hearts have grown cold.

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The counterfeit bride honors him with her lips, but her heart is far from him. Listen to the word.

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Matthew 15, 8 reads, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

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Revelations 2, 4 Yet I hold this against you.

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You have forsaken the love you had at first. And then John 14,

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23, anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

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My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.

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Family, the bride was meant to burn with first love for the bridegroom,

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but the counterfeit bride has allowed her heart to cool.

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She loves the blessings more than the blesser. She longs for the gifts more

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than the giver. She honors him with her mouth, but withholds her devotion in her heart.

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The Lord is asking, where is the bride who heart beats for me?

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The heart, cold towards Christ.

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The heart is the center of our devotion.

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Proverbs 4.23 tells us,

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above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

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When the heart is on fire for God, love overflows.

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But when the heart grows cold, worship becomes empty, service becomes duty,

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and faith becomes formality.

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This is the tragedy of the counterfeit bride.

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Her heart has drifted. She still gathers, but she doesn't burn.

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She still sings, but doesn't surrender.

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She still prays, but she doesn't long for the bridegroom.

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Jesus warns in Matthew 24, verse 12, Because of the increase of wickedness,

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the love of most will grow cold.

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And family, we are living in that hour. The evidence is everywhere.

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Church is full, but heart is empty. Sermons loud, but love shallow.

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Industry's busy, but intimacy with Christ abandoned. Revelations 2.4,

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Jesus rebuked the church in Ephesus.

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You have forsaken the love you had at first. That's the cry over the counterfeit bride today.

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She has fallen out of love with her bridegroom.

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She honors him with her mouth, but her heart beats for other lovers.

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Money, status, platform, and

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comfort. And the Lord grieves. My bride loves my hand more than my heart.

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She desires my blessings, but not my presence.

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She celebrates my gifts, but forgets my face. This is not the bride he died for.

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The bridegroom longs for a bride whose heart beats with passion,

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devotion, and undivided love for him.

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Where is my bride? The bridegroom cries out.

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Where is my bride whose heart still burns with first love? Where is my bride

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who longs for me more than for blessings?

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Where is my bride who treasures my presence.

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Above every platform, gift, or stage. Jeremiah 21 and I 11 says,

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you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

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Song of Solomon 33 declares, I found the one my heart loves.

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I held him and I would not let him go. My bride does not love me only for what I give.

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My bride loves me for who I am.

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My bride does not honor me with her lips while withholding her devotion.

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Her heart and her words are one of the same. My bride is not cold,

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distracted, or divided.

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She is consumed with the love of her bridegroom. Where is my bride?

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Not the one who has forsaken her first love, not the one who is lukewarm in devotion,

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not the one whose heart is divided between me and the world,

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but the bride whose heart beats for me alone, who loves me with all her heart,

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all her soul, and all her mind, and all her strength,

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the bride whose heart is mine.

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Returning to the first love, when the heart grows cold, the bridegroom doesn't

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cast us away. He calls us back.

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Revelation 2, 5 tells us, consider how far you have fallen.

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Repent and do the things you did at first. That's the pathway back to your first love.

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Here are some steps we can take to guard and rekindle our hearts.

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Number one, remember, think back to when you first fell in love with Jesus.

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Remember the joy, the zeal, the hunger you had for his presence.

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Let that memory stir you again.

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Number two, repent. A cold heart is often the result of distraction,

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compromise, or misplaced affection.

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Repent and ask the Lord to forgive you for forsaking your first love. Number three, return.

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Do the thing you did at first. Spend time in prayer, worship,

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and the word. Not out of duty, but out of desire.

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Make intimacy with Christ your priority again.

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Number four, remain. Don't let your heart grow cold again. Guard it with vigilance.

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Proverbs 4 reminds us, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

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Keep your heart, set it on him through daily surrender and devotion.

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These are the four R's. Remember, repent, return, and remain.

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The true bride doesn't just say he loves him. She loves him.

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She lives it. She protects her heart.

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She pursues his presence, and she keeps the fire burning.

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This week, ask yourself, am I in love with his blessings, or am I in love with him?

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Because the bridegroom is coming for his bride, whose heart is fully his. Let's pray.

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Father, we come before you with honest hearts.

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Forgive us for every time our love has grown cold.

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Forgive us for honoring you with our lips while our hearts are distracted, divided, or distant.

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Lord, restore us the fire of our first love.

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Holy Spirit, breathe fresh passion into our heart. Burn away the compromise.

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Pride, and distraction.

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Teach us to love Jesus above all else, not for what he gives, for who he is.

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Let our hearts beat again with devotion, purity, and longing for the bridegroom.

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And now I speak these decrees.

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We decree our hearts belong fully to the Lord.

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We decree our love will not grow cold, but will burn brighter every day.

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We decree we will treasure his presence above every platform, gift, or blessing.

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And we decree the bride of Christ will return to her first love and love the

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bridegroom with an undivided heart. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Family, today we expose the heart of the counterfeit bride, a heart that honors

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with lips, but is far from Christ, a heart that has forsaken its first love,

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a heart grown cold in devotion,

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but the bridegroom is still crying. Where is my bride?

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The one whose heart beats for me, who loves me for who I am,

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who treasures my presence more than my blessings.

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This week, I challenge you to take time to check your heart.

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Is your love for Christ burning or is it flickering?

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Have you drifted from your first love or are you still consumed with the devotion for him?

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The bridegroom is looking for a heart that belongs fully to him.

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Thank you for joining me today on the Diary of Black Women podcast, Church Chronicles.

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If this message stirred your spirit, share it with someone who needs to return

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to their first love. You can always connect with me on my website.

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DiaryOfABlackWomenLLC.com or by email, DiaryOfABlackWomenPodcast at gmail.com.

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And don't miss the next episode of the series, The False Fire,

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Worship Without Spirit.

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But talk about how the counterfeit bride has replaced the fire of the Holy Spirit

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with entertainment and emotion.

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And why God is calling his bride back to worship in spirit and in truth.

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Until next time, remember, healing, truth, and faith are found in Christ alone.

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This is your host, Connie Morris, signing off with love, strength,

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and a touch of class. And I'll see you on the next episode.

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Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out,

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I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

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Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you. plans to prosper

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you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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So today we receive that truth. You said when we call on you,

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you will listen. So we pray.

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You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found.

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So we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity.

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So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

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Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Music.