We are still dealing with the theme-A Firm foundation. So far we have seen that truth can only be found in the Word of God. We have discussed the importance of receiving a revelation of the love of God and also having an absolute and confident belief in the goodness of God since it is impossible to build an intimate relationship with God if we do not have an assurance of His love and absolute goodness. We have discussed the need to rest on Christ’s accomplished works on the Cross of Calvary and not on our self efforts which would fail us at our time of need. And in the last episode, we saw that God does not orchestrate everything that happens to us and that the belief that nothing happens unless He allows it is not true.

In this episode, we are going to consider the question whether your heart is hardened and  aloof to the Word of God; whether your heart is indifferent to the Spirit of God while you claim to be a child of God.

We are going to consider the phrase-Hardness of Heart and how to cure it.

When we think about a hardened heart, we usually think about a heart that is deliberately resistant towards God; a heart that hates God, refuses to trust Him and wants nothing to do with Him. But the fact is that while we do not hate Him, some of us have carelessly hardened out hearts against God

The bitter truth we are going to consider today is that many of us have hardened our hearts against God and need to repent of this. So what is a hardened heart? A hardened heart is a heart that is indifferent to the word of God; a heart that is more responsive to the circumstances around it; to other voices around it; to natural occurrences than to the voice of God. A hardened heart is more responsive to the circumstances around it than it is to God’s previous performances. A hardened heart ignores the word of God and places reliance on other things. A hardened heart relates better with the natural realm than with the supernatural. It believes the things it can see more than the things of the spirit. A hardened heart does not necessary mean you are a bad person. It just means that you are indifferent to the things of God.

In Hebrews 3:7-10. God warns us- “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.

This scripture is a reminder that the Israelites failed to enter the promised land due to their doubt, complaints and unbelief in God’s provisions and promises. They were more responsive to the circumstances around them and the things they saw in the now, than to the voice of God. Despite the miracles they had witnessed for forty years, they doubted, complained and refused to enter the promised land. They responded more to the circumstances around them than to God’s voice; His persistent miracles, protection and provision for forty years.  According to verse 19 of this chapter they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.”

In Mark 6:35-44, Jesus miraculously fed 5000 men with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. Immediately after this, He instructed His disciples to go into the boat to the other side, to Bethsaida and wait for Him. While they were in the middle of the sea, the wind started raging and they were afraid. But Jesus appeared and joined them in the boat and the wind immediately ceased. And the Bible says- they were amazed. Verse 52 of Mark 5 which is our interest here states–“For they considered not the miracle of the loaves for their hearts were hardened”.  Having experienced the miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, the disciples should not have been surprised that Jesus could control the wind. The disciples’ hearts were hardened with unbelief because they glossed over the miracle of the 5 loaves and the 2 fishes. It did not make an impact on them because they did not dwell enough or meditate on it. 

In Mark 8, a few days after feeding the 5000, Jesus had compassion on the crowd again and told his disciples He wanted to feed the crowd of 4000. This time, they had 7 loaves of bread to feed 4000 men. But the disciples had already forgotten that He fed 5000 with 5 loaves a few days before. And they asked Him how they could feed 4000 with 7 loaves of bread? Their hearts were hardened with unbelief because they did not pay attention to the miracle of the 5 loaves!

On a daily basis, you and I are not allowing our hearts to see and dwell on the miracles and exploits that God performed in the bible. They have become like fairy tales to us. We are glossing over His promises and His faithfulness! How often like the Israelites and the Disciples have you completely ignored God’s provisions and faithfulness to you in the past and been more focused on the circumstance? That is hardness of heart!

Hearing the voice of God involves paying attention to the truth of the Word of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It requires opening our hearts to the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hearing the voice of God is more than having knowledge of the facts. It means allowing the knowledge that you have to change you from the inside, to change your behavior, your perceptions, your response to circumstances. Having knowledge of the Word of God without allowing it to change you or impact your life is hardness of heart.  As Christians, our response and reactions to circumstances including our challenges, difficulties, times of crises, bereavement as I Just experienced, having just lost my very close beautiful  inside-out -sister-Chinwe to sudden death, should be based on the Word of God.  Offcourse in such situations we need to pray and place total dependence on the Holy Spirit to help us show forth our faith and trust in God despite the challenge or loss.

So my question today is-How hard is your heart? Many of us pay more attention to the circumstances around us; to the social media; to events of the day than to the word of God. Many would spend more time telling you about their challenges than they would spend telling you about the word of God. The conversations, utterances, actions and even prayers of so many us indicate unbelief in the Word of God. My experience is that a lot of Christians are indifferent to the word of God. Most of the Christians in my circle are not interested in spending time to discuss the scriptures with me or to read or listen to my teachings or other teachings. Many of us are quick to scroll past video clips or articles discussing the scriptures. Many of us are happy to spend hours to watch soccer, or movies or attend parties. But once it has to do with spiritual matters, they complain about time. And I tell you, this is serious and reveals a hardness of the heart towards God. Is your heart hardened towards God?

What is the cure for hardness of heart?

The first action is to make a deliberate decision to be sensitive to the word of God. It makes no sense to me to claim that you are a Child of God; to claim closeness to God; to expect Him to provide for you and have your back and yet remain insensitive and hardened to His Word. Even a relationship between two individuals cannot grow in such an environment.

In reality, what you focus your mind on will dominate you. If you spend 10 hours of the day listening to the news, you would be an expert on current affairs. If you spend 10 hours of the day, studying the history of the United Kingdom, you would certainly be an expert on the history of the United Kingdom. When people have to take an examination, they spend hours in a day studying for that examination in order to pass it. But many Christians spend less than 15 minutes of their day on the Word of God. Many Christians only read the Word of God in Church on Sundays. Verse 52 of Mark 6 said they were amazed –“For they considered not the miracle of the loaves for their hearts were hardened. The disciples’ hearts were hardened because they did not pay attention to the miracle of feeding the 5000 with 5 loaves. They did not dwell on it! They did not meditate on it. If you decide to to take time to dwell, meditate and focus on the Word of God and His previous actions on your behalf, they would impact your life; your heart would soften towards God and you would stop doubting the Word of God.. 

Obviously the way we receive the promises of God and His blessings depends on the state of our hearts. The difference between a dry, unfruitful life and a fruitful and blessed life is the attitude of the heart towards the Word of God. A heart that is hardened towards God cannot receive from God. Hardness of heart leads to unbelief, restlessness and persistent complaints. A person whose heart is hardened cannot have the faith to enter into God’s rest. Only a soft responsive heart can enter into God’s rest and enjoy His promises.   A person with a hardened heart does not really expect God to answer his prayers because he dwells more on the negative circumstances around him.

If you are persistently experiencing unanswered prayers, there is a likelihood that your heart is hardened towards God. If you do not feel any excitement, joy or peace when listening, reading, or discussing the Word of God, your heart is hardened towards God. A person with a hardened heart definitely cannot have a firm spiritual foundation. If you want to build a firm spiritual foundation, which is the theme for our current series, you need to work on softening your heart towards God.

The cure for hardness of heart is a total commitment to keeping our hearts stayed on the Word of God and dwelling on His previous actions. It is to invest time in your relationship with God. 

Praying to God to help us keep our hearts stayed on His Word is also important. He already promised in Ezekiel 36:26-I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  The Holy Spirit is willing and standing by waiting for us to ask Him for help to remain focused on the Word of God. In Revelation 3:20, God declares- Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

The conclusion of this matter is that the decision is yours. You are the one to take the decision to soften your heart towards God. And you are the one to start the process by opening your heart to Him and to study, listen, believe and act because He is waiting and He has been waiting at the door of your heart. 

Dear Father, help us not to harden our hearts to your voice. Help us to pay attention to the truth of your Word. Help us to open our hearts to the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. And may our knowledge of your Word change our perceptions and our behaviours by softening our hearts.