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.
2 Peter 1:7-9 (KJV)
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness charity .
8 For if these things be in you , and abound , they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ .
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind , and cannot see afar off , and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
He has a hard heart.
There is no biblical growth in their life
He is blind
He cannot hear the voice of God
He cannot see the work of God
No conviction
No repentance
There is no growth
No desire to please the Lord
No desire to serve the Lord
He has a hard heart.
This is a dangerous place to reside in your Christian life. This is a dangerous place to be in your personal walk with God.
Proverbs 29:1 (KJV)
1 He , that being often reproved hardeneth his neck , shall suddenly be destroyed , and that without remedy.
As the Bible reproves
As the Bible rebukes
As we over and over again – push the Word of God from our life
They harden their neck to truth
They harden their heart to the Bible
We get to the place of no help
We have silenced God in our life!
Wow! That is a dangerous place.
You can be in church every Sunday and have a hard heart. You can be on a Ship with Jesus - and still have a hard heart.
1. How many times have you heard or read messages about the danger of neglecting daily prayer and Bible reading?
2. How many times have you been warned of the awful consequences of gossip?
3. How many warnings have you heard against harboring a secret sin in your life?
If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies. Traditional.
We must be careful that we do not have a callused heart.
We must be careful that we do not have a hard heart.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 (KJV)
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly , that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith , giving heed to seducing spirits , and doctrines of devils ;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having their conscience seared with a hot iron ;
In the article do you have a hard heart?: they define a hard heart is someone:
The heart is hardened when sin is repeated with no remorse, no sorrow, no guilt and no regrets.
The heart is hardened when a gospel truth is perceived to be true but not believe or if believed not acted upon.
=> The heart is hardened when evil can be performed in the literal presence of the Scriptures or in front of those who should stand for righteousness.
• The heart is hardened when the evil actions of other are justified.
• The heart is hardened when wrong is called right.
• The heart is hardened when the truth is suppressed and the conscience is silenced.
• The heart is hardened when words are spoken known to be offensive but the decision is
made and the will does not care.
• The heart is hardened when actions are taken that will wound or offend and yet it does
not matter.
• The heart is hardened when the reputation of someone is not guarded or protected.
• The heart is hardened when the Bible can be read, songs can be song and prayers offered
and there is no change in life.
• The heart is hardened when life revolves around self-interests and personal interests.
• The heart is hardened when preparation is made for evil.
• The heart is hardened when sin is loved more than the Savior. The sight of a crucified
Christ no longer matters.
• The heart is hardened when there is always money for personal interests but no money
for gospel ministry.
Not only the description of a hard heart?
Notice with me:
II. (meaning) The Mess of a hardened Heart
A. The Sentence of the Lord
Romans 2:1-6 (KJV)
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable , O man , whosoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another , thou condemnest thyself ; for thou that judgest doest the same things .
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things .
3 And thinkest thou this , O man , that judgest them which do such things , and doest the same , that thou shalt escape the judgment of God ?
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering ; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ?
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ;
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds :
the judgment of God—of the only living and true God—is according to deeds
and it will be universal.
Every one will be either eternally rewarded or eternally punished.
No one shall be exempt; no one will escape.
=>God's goodness is to lead men to repentance, not to sin.
=>The fact that God will forgive sin should stir men to seek forgiveness and to please God.
=>If a man goes out and sins, thinking that God will just overlook and forgive his sin, he is despising God's goodness
=> He has a hardened heart. He will be judged by God almighty.
=> There will be no escape – we will all stand before God.
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ;
The man who hardens his heart and refuses to repent stores up more and more wrath against himself in the day of judgment.
That unrepentant heart.
That hardened heart.
They are storing up for themselves – the judgement of God.
1. The Unsaved will spend eternity in hell
The one that is unsaved. That does not know Jesus as their Saviour. That is hardened toward the truth of the Gospel.
2. The Saved will be ashamed at His coming
We will present a life that is short of God’s blessing. A life that is short of God power.
Zechariah 7:11-12 (KJV)
11 But they refused to hearken , and pulled away the shoulder , and stopped their ears , that they should not hear .
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant (a-da-ment) stone , lest they should hear the law , and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets : therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts .
Why? Because of a hardened heart.
Psalm 95:7-11 (KJV)
7 For he is our God ; and we are the people of his pasture , and the sheep of his hand . To day if ye will hear his voice ,
8 Harden not your heart , as in the provocation , and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness :
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work .
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation , and said , It is a people that do err in their heart , and they have not known my ways :
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest .
B. The Sadness of the Lord (V10) ~ The Lord was grieved
C. The State of the People (V11) ~ They did not go to the promise land
The promise land is a picture of the victorious Christian life. It is a picture of REST; it is a picture of peace; it is a picture of growth.
They fell short of their full potential
They never reached Christian maturity
Hardening our hearts is a tragic thing.
Hardening your hearts is a destructive thing
Hardening your hearts is a terrible thing.
Be careful of a hardened heart!
III. The Message of a soft heart
Ezekiel 36:25-28 (KJV)
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness , and from all your idols , will I cleanse you.
Thank the Lord that he is a forgiving God!
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh , and I will give you an heart of flesh .
We need to ask God to give us a soft heart.
We need to ask the Lord to take away this stony heart.
What does it involve?
(1) It involves humility
(2) It involves repentance
(3) It involves forgiveness
(4) It involves obedience
(5) It involves a new perspective on life
(6) It involves seek God
(7) Asking God for help
(8) For a sensitive heart; for a sincere heart
Jeremiah 4:3 (KJV)
3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem , Break up your fallow ground , and sow not among thorns .
Let’s be careful today – not to have a hard heart.
Let’s ask God to help us.
Let’s listen to the Spirit of God
Let’s hear His voice – and make sure that we are walking with God.
