1. The Locked Door
Several years ago, a missionary told the story of visiting a man who had listened politely to the gospel for years. The missionary explained, reasoned, pleaded. Nothing seemed to move him.
Then one evening, after the man had buried his wife, he sent word: “Will you come speak to me again?”
The missionary returned expecting to argue theology. Instead, he found a broken man who said quietly, “Everything I trusted in is gone. Now I’m ready to hear.”
The message hadn’t changed. The heart had.
2. In our evangelistic zeal, we are often impatient with people’s progress. We want instant results for people who are not prepared to follow Jesus. We forget, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). We have a role, and God has a role. We mustn’t confuse them
3. God deals with hearts. He can harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 9:12) and soften yours. The same sun hardens the clay and softens butter.
4. That raises a sobering question: How does the Lord open a person’s heart?
5. In the Book of Acts 16:14, we read of Lydia: “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Paul preached. But the Lord opened.
6. This is where divine sovereignty and human responsibility meet.
7. Let’s walk carefully through how Scripture shows this happening.
I. God Opens the Heart Through His Word
Hebrews 4:12 “The word of God is living and active…”
A. The Word is not information. It is an incision. Like a skilled surgeon’s scalpel, it cuts precisely where pride hides, and motives conceal themselves.
[Think of sunlight entering a dark room. You don’t see dust until light enters. The dust was always there. The light reveals it.
B. The Word reveals what was already present in the heart.
Practical Application:
• Speak Scripture, not just opinions.
• Trust the Word even when you see no immediate reaction.
• Read Scripture aloud in conversations when appropriate.
You are not responsible for making it powerful. It already is.
II. God Opens the Heart Through Conviction by the Spirit
John 16:8 “He will convict the world concerning sin…”
A. Conviction is clarity. It is when a person suddenly realizes: “This is not just wrong in theory. It is wrong in me.”
[Nathan confronting David in 2 Samuel 12. David listened calmly to a story about injustice—until Nathan said, “You are the man.” In that moment, the Spirit pierced him with the prophet’s words.
B. Conviction is not emotional pressure. It is a moral awakening.
Practical Application:
• Pray specifically for conviction in those you love.
• Don’t rush to relieve discomfort too quickly.
• Allow silence to do its work in conversations.
Sometimes we interrupt the Spirit because we’re uncomfortable with tension.
III. God Opens the Heart Through Circumstances
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has put eternity into man’s heart.”
A. Success, loss, aging, betrayal, illness—these expose the limits of earthly security.
B. God often loosens our grip on idols before He opens our grip to grace.
[The prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke 15 did not “come to himself” in prosperity. He came himself during the famine on the land.
• The real famine was within him as in Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
• The famine didn’t save the prodigal; it prepared him.
Practical Application:
• Be present in people’s crises.
• Do not exploit pain—but do not ignore it either.
• Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is simply show up.
IV. God Opens the Heart Through Kindness
Romans 2:4 “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”
A. Some hearts are shattered open. Others are melted open.
B. Unexpected grace dismantles defenses.
[A hardened skeptic once said he could argue theology all day—but he could not argue with the consistent love of a Christian neighbor who served him during illness without ever pressing him.
Kindness made the gospel believable.
Practical Application:
• Let your life be an argument for the gospel.
• Be patient. Kindness works slowly.
• Refuse to treat people as projects.
V. God Opens the Heart Through Regeneration
Ultimately, something deeper happens. Ephesians 2:4-5 “God… made us alive together with Christ.”
A. Dead hearts do not open themselves.
B. Opening the heart is resurrection work.
C. This humbles us.
1. You cannot argue someone into life.
2. You cannot manipulate someone into rebirth.
3. You cannot engineer awakening.
4. Only God can renew hearts.
1. The Sunrise
You do not cause the sun to rise. But you can open the blinds. You can turn your face toward the horizon. You can be awake when light comes.
• When God opens a heart, it feels like sunrise. What was once resisted now seems beautiful. What once seemed foolish now seems true. Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 1:20-21, KJV), “20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
• And suddenly, the gospel that was heard before is finally understood.
2. Final Applications for Us
• Pray more than you persuade.
• Speak Scripture clearly and calmly.
• Live consistently.
• Trust timing you cannot see.
• Refuse both pride and despair.
3. Potential Reactions in Evangelism:
• Pride says, “I converted them.”
• Despair says, “Nothing is happening.”
• Faith says, “The Lord opens hearts.”
4. And here is the comfort: God is still in the business of opening hearts by the power of the gospel and His Spirit.
He opened Lydia’s heart
He opened yours,
He can open others’ hearts.
5. Our task is faithfulness. His task is awakening. And He has never failed at resurrection.
