A Hard Heart

Mark 6:45-56 (KJV)

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship , and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida , while he sent away the people .

46 And when he had sent them away , he departed into a mountain to pray .

47 And when even was come , the ship was in the midst of the sea , and he alone on the land .

48 And he saw them toiling in rowing ; for the wind was contrary unto them : and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them , walking upon the sea , and would have passed by them .

49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea , they supposed it had been a spirit , and cried out :

50 For they all saw him , and were troubled . And immediately he talked with them , and saith unto them , Be of good cheer : it is I ; be not afraid .

51 And he went up unto them into the ship ; and the wind ceased : and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure , and wondered .

52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves : for their heart was hardened .

I. The meaning of the Hardened Heart

What is a hard heart?

 The dictionary defines hardened as cold, insensitive, unfeeling, and unyielding. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll have to agree that there are certain areas of your life where you have a hard heart toward God.

 The hard heart does not realize the power of Christ.

 The hard heart limits Christ and belittles Him.

The disciples did not look to the miracle of the loaves because they had a hard heart. They were preoccupied!

Jesus describes for us a hard heart:

Mark 8:16-21 (KJV)

16 And they reasoned among themselves , saying , It is because we have no bread .

17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them , Why reason ye , because ye have no bread ? perceive ye not yet , (neither understand ? have ye your heart yet hardened ?

Notice the description of this heart?

18 Having eyes , see ye not ? and having ears , hear ye not ? and do ye not remember ?

19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand , how many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? They say unto him , Twelve .

20 And when the seven among four thousand , how many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? And they said , Seven .

21 And he said unto them , How is it that ye do not understand ?

A hard heart does not grow.

A hard heart does not prosper.

A hard heart does not see the Lord.

A hard heart does not look through eyes of faith.

Job 9:3-4 (KJV)

3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand .

4 He is wise in heart , and mighty in strength : who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered ?

The hard heart Christian is not going anywhere.

They are the same. They are 4-5-6-7 years no growth – nothing.

They do not prosper in the Christian life.

When I first enrolled in seminary, I found an apartment room next to a railroad crossing. I wondered why the apartment rent was so cheap—and found out the first night. A train came through in the middle of the night, blasting its horn. It didn’t just wake me up, but also nearly gave me a heart attack!

Every night when the train came through, it blew the horn. At first I thought about changing apartments, but then I started getting used to the nightly awakenings. I would wake up for a few seconds, then go right back to sleep. Eventually I got where the train horn didn’t even wake me up. I hardened my heart to the train and couldn’t hear it any more.

The same hardening process occurs when God speaks to our hearts and we don’t respond. Eventually, we stop hearing His voice because our hearts have become hard.

Hebrews 4:7 (KJV)

7 Again , he limiteth a certain day , saying in David , To day , after so long a time ; as it is said , To day if ye will hear his voice , harden not your hearts.

When you repeatedly turn away from the Bible – When you repeatly reject the Bible.

=>As we choose not to hear God.

=>As we choose not to listen to the voice of God

=>We become hardened to the message.