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

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent. Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought was possible. Enlarge her territory. Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment. Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

0:49 This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome back, family, to the Diary of a Black Woman's Podcast, Church Chronicles, Episode 8, The Heart, Cold Towards Christ. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we will continue our series, Removing the Cover and Exposing the Counterfeit Bride. We've uncovered the head replaced by man, the eyes blinded, the ears itching for lies, the mouth preaching another gospel, the hands exploited. The feet wandering in worldly ways. Now the Spirit of the Lord is pulling back the veil on the heart of the bride.

1:32 The heart is the seed of love, devotion, and loyalty. But the Lord says many hearts have grown cold. The counterfeit bride honors him with her lips, but her heart is far from him. Listen to the word. Matthew 15, 8 reads, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Revelations 2, 4 Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at first. And then John 14, 23, anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. Family, the bride was meant to burn with first love for the bridegroom, but the counterfeit bride has allowed her heart to cool.

2:20 She loves the blessings more than the blesser. She longs for the gifts more than the giver. She honors him with her mouth, but withholds her devotion in her heart. The Lord is asking, where is the bride who heart beats for me? The heart, cold towards Christ. The heart is the center of our devotion. Proverbs 4.23 tells us, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. When the heart is on fire for God, love overflows. But when the heart grows cold, worship becomes empty, service becomes duty, and faith becomes formality.

3:04 This is the tragedy of the counterfeit bride. Her heart has drifted. She still gathers, but she doesn't burn. She still sings, but doesn't surrender. She still prays, but she doesn't long for the bridegroom. Jesus warns in Matthew 24, verse 12, Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. And family, we are living in that hour. The evidence is everywhere. Church is full, but heart is empty. Sermons loud, but love shallow. Industry's busy, but intimacy with Christ abandoned. Revelations 2.4, Jesus rebuked the church in Ephesus.

3:48 You have forsaken the love you had at first. That's the cry over the counterfeit bride today. She has fallen out of love with her bridegroom. She honors him with her mouth, but her heart beats for other lovers. Money, status, platform, and comfort. And the Lord grieves. My bride loves my hand more than my heart. She desires my blessings, but not my presence. She celebrates my gifts, but forgets my face. This is not the bride he died for. The bridegroom longs for a bride whose heart beats with passion, devotion, and undivided love for him. Where is my bride? The bridegroom cries out.

4:31 Where is my bride whose heart still burns with first love? Where is my bride who longs for me more than for blessings? Where is my bride who treasures my presence. Above every platform, gift, or stage. Jeremiah 21 and I 11 says, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Song of Solomon 33 declares, I found the one my heart loves. I held him and I would not let him go. My bride does not love me only for what I give. My bride loves me for who I am. My bride does not honor me with her lips while withholding her devotion. Her heart and her words are one of the same. My bride is not cold, distracted, or divided.

5:17 She is consumed with the love of her bridegroom. Where is my bride? Not the one who has forsaken her first love, not the one who is lukewarm in devotion, not the one whose heart is divided between me and the world, but the bride whose heart beats for me alone, who loves me with all her heart, all her soul, and all her mind, and all her strength, the bride whose heart is mine. Returning to the first love, when the heart grows cold, the bridegroom doesn't cast us away. He calls us back. Revelation 2, 5 tells us, consider how far you have fallen.

5:57 Repent and do the things you did at first. That's the pathway back to your first love. Here are some steps we can take to guard and rekindle our hearts. Number one, remember, think back to when you first fell in love with Jesus. Remember the joy, the zeal, the hunger you had for his presence. Let that memory stir you again. Number two, repent. A cold heart is often the result of distraction, compromise, or misplaced affection. Repent and ask the Lord to forgive you for forsaking your first love. Number three, return. Do the thing you did at first. Spend time in prayer, worship, and the word. Not out of duty, but out of desire.

6:44 Make intimacy with Christ your priority again. Number four, remain. Don't let your heart grow cold again. Guard it with vigilance. Proverbs 4 reminds us, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. Keep your heart, set it on him through daily surrender and devotion. These are the four R's. Remember, repent, return, and remain. The true bride doesn't just say he loves him. She loves him. She lives it. She protects her heart. She pursues his presence, and she keeps the fire burning. This week, ask yourself, am I in love with his blessings, or am I in love with him?

7:27 Because the bridegroom is coming for his bride, whose heart is fully his. Let's pray. Father, we come before you with honest hearts. Forgive us for every time our love has grown cold. Forgive us for honoring you with our lips while our hearts are distracted, divided, or distant. Lord, restore us the fire of our first love. Holy Spirit, breathe fresh passion into our heart. Burn away the compromise. Pride, and distraction. Teach us to love Jesus above all else, not for what he gives, for who he is. Let our hearts beat again with devotion, purity, and longing for the bridegroom.

8:10 And now I speak these decrees. We decree our hearts belong fully to the Lord. We decree our love will not grow cold, but will burn brighter every day. We decree we will treasure his presence above every platform, gift, or blessing. And we decree the bride of Christ will return to her first love and love the bridegroom with an undivided heart. In Jesus' name, amen. Family, today we expose the heart of the counterfeit bride, a heart that honors with lips, but is far from Christ, a heart that has forsaken its first love, a heart grown cold in devotion, but the bridegroom is still crying. Where is my bride?

8:52 The one whose heart beats for me, who loves me for who I am, who treasures my presence more than my blessings. This week, I challenge you to take time to check your heart. Is your love for Christ burning or is it flickering? Have you drifted from your first love or are you still consumed with the devotion for him? The bridegroom is looking for a heart that belongs fully to him. Thank you for joining me today on the Diary of Black Women podcast, Church Chronicles. If this message stirred your spirit, share it with someone who needs to return to their first love. You can always connect with me on my website. DiaryOfABlackWomenLLC.com or by email, DiaryOfABlackWomenPodcast at gmail.com.

9:37 And don't miss the next episode of the series, The False Fire, Worship Without Spirit. But talk about how the counterfeit bride has replaced the fire of the Holy Spirit with entertainment and emotion. And why God is calling his bride back to worship in spirit and in truth. Until next time, remember, healing, truth, and faith are found in Christ alone. This is your host, Connie Morris, signing off with love, strength, and a touch of class. And I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

10:21 Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you. plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. So today we receive that truth. You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray. You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small. Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Music.