Having A Hard Heart Is A Game Changer Going In The Wrong Direction!

Having a hard heart is not a good thing. In fact, it can be like a game changer in your life, except that it's going in the wrong direction. And we've encountered many in our travels who suffer from ailments of the heart. And nothing on earth impacts a life in the way that issues of the heart do. And these issues determine whether our life is on the upswing, on the downswing, or whether we are going nowhere fast. The issues of the heart bring sorrow. They bring joy. They bring success or even failure. And they are the key to a successful life or a defeated one. The Lord therefore admonishes us to guard our heart, saying, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23.

To keep your heart is to watch over it by being careful how you think and by being careful who and what you expose your emotions to. The heart is an enigma. It is a storage for good treasures with which we bless others and yet also a storage of bad treasures by which we curse others. Because the things that a person speak come out of their heart. The heart is the place where we hide God's Word. Yet according to scripture the heart can be deceitful above all things and beyond cure. And out of the heart proceeds, scripture tells us evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, theft, false witness, and even blasphemies. But most importantly, the Lord turns even the heart of the king in any direction that He desires, and the king cannot prevent Him.

We find some also with a broken heart and there are others with a pained heart. We also find some with a heart full of sadness and there are many with hard hearts. In fact, the most important organs in the body of a human being would be the heart and the brain. The heart is an organ which has both physical and spiritual attributes. It is the heart that connects the physical to the spiritual side of the human being and it is the place that God has chosen as His residence in the human temple. We find some with a soft heart who quickly run to Jesus Christ accepting Him as their Lord and Savior with very little effort on our part. And then we find others with whom we have to spend a lot of time trying to convince them of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Working hard to persuade them to allow Christ to come in. And then we find others who no matter how hard we try, we cannot bring them to the Lord. They cannot bring themselves to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior even though they try. Perhaps these have lost control of their heart. The fourth type we discover is the one who rails against the gospel of Jesus Christ and rails against any belief of a loving God. And finally, there are many who simply will have no conversation with us at all and they ignore us completely.

Friend, each time we reject God's Word or reject His call without realizing it, we step into a danger zone and acceptance becomes a little more difficult for us to arrive at from that point on, because rejection of God hardens the heart without realizing that we are going the wrong way and danger and even total destruction lurks along the path. A hard heart could change the course of your life eternally. It is a game changer that is taking you in the wrong direction. And this is because as you continue to harden your heart toward the call of God, you inch closer and closer to the place where He then turns around and begins to harden your heart even more. The way He hardened Pharaoh's heart when he refused to allow God's people to leave Egypt. In light of this, we often pray for God to soften people's heart even before we go out to minister to them. And did you know that followers of God through Jesus Christ can also have a hard heart?

Well, shortly after the Lord Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves and a few small fish, He heard the apostles having a discussion as they wondered what they would eat when they got to the other side of the lake, because there was only one loaf of bread in the boat. And the Lord said to them, "Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see, and having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5,000? Also, when I broke the seven for the 4,000." In this case, forgetting that God is all powerful was attributed to the hardness of the heart. When believers in Christ forget that they serve an all sufficient and all faithful and all knowing God, it is because of hardness in their hearts, causing them not to believe that our God can do anything. Was the Apostle Paul a reprobate when he railed against Christians? Well, a reprobate is one who is depraved and morally corrupt in his way of thinking and his behavior. So, no, Paul continued to believe in the one true God. And he was continuing in the Jewish faith, attending at the temple, perhaps also teaching the law. However, his heart was hardened toward the gospel of Jesus Christ. His eyes were closed to the truth of the gospel. And perhaps this is the state of many in the Jewish faith today and even many more Gentiles. And such people may be quite religious and may be consistent in their study of God's Word and even attendance at church, but their eyes are closed to the truth of Jesus Christ as Messiah and to the power of His Word. Therefore, the Lord God had to open Paul's eyes. The fact that God blinded Paul physically may have been for the purpose of revealing to us that Paul was blind spiritually and that all those who reject Jesus Christ are spiritually blind. Nevertheless, if any in this predicament would call out to the Lord, He would open their eyes so that they can see clearly just as He opened Paul's eyes and caused Paul to believe in Him.

A truly hard heart is generally one that lacks ordinary feelings of tenderness and compassion. And when we find someone with a hard heart, usually they are without compassion. They are without love. They find it difficult to forgive the wrongs that are done to them. And very often they have trust issues and usually they are not very warm. But the one with a hard heart is very often an insensitive person as well without compassion or empathy and very selfish.

When the Lord made man, He breathed His breath into Him. And the Word of God says man became a living soul. Many versions say he became a living being. But the King James version says he became a living soul. At salvation, the soul of man is regenerated. His spirit being is transformed in rebirth and essentially he's given a new heart. And every man or woman who become a new creature when Christ enters their heart now begin to function with a softened heart, are more gentle and more kind. Before man's soul is regenerated, he is considered spiritually dead. But when this regeneration takes place, he becomes spiritually alive for the first time in his entire life. And the Holy Spirit causes a transformation of man's heart and his mind, giving him the power to turn away from sinful things and the power to walk in the spirit in a new relationship with God his Father through Jesus Christ.

There are many things that can happen in a person's life that would cause him to develop a hard heart. Things such as rejection, abandonment, physical or emotional abuse. There are also those who have a narcissistic nature and feel entitled and think that the world owes them something. Such persons usually have a real problem wrapping their minds around the truth of the gospel and the love of God. And they find it difficult to appreciate and to embrace a loving God and become comfortable with Him. Here are a few other things that can contribute to a hard heart. Number one, persons living in sin openly for long periods in continual and unrepentant sin. Then there are those that entertain the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life instead of striving to walk in the spirit. This can also lead to hardness of heart. Others living large in the world and wanting to experience all that the world has to offer can develop a hard heart as a result of this lifestyle. And when we become trapped in the pursuit of material things, the world enters our heart and pushes Christ away from us. And finally, unresolved grief can also be a cause and we must learn to release the things that God takes away from us. There's also a correlation between the physical heart in our bodies and our spiritual heart. For instance, hardened veins and arteries are caused by something called calcification known as atherosclerosis which causes various ailments. Then there's the hardening of the physical heart known as heart muscle stiffening or hypertrophy. And the proper name of the condition is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or HCM. Let's stick with HCM. That's much simpler. Heart hardening can be caused by genetic factors. It can be caused by high blood pressure, aging, diabetes, and certain diseases. And apparently, the heart muscle stiffens. Perhaps because of the buildup of calcium, it becomes less flexible. And because of this, the heart will not be able to pump blood efficiently. And this hardness effect can be caused by other things like not eating a proper diet, not getting proper exercise or plain old obesity. Also, using tobacco can be a factor and even sleep apnea when it disrupts sleep can lead to increased blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. A thickening of the walls can reduce the amount of blood flow in and out of the heart and to the body with every heartbeat. Death may come within six months after the onset of congestive heart failure and apparently there is no cure for stiffening of the heart muscle and the best that we can do is to monitor it. And fortunately for us there's a cure for hard-heartedness. It is called love.

While there's no cure for the issues of the physical heart very often, there's certainly a cure for hard-heartedness. Love answers all things. Not love as the world considers love, but the love of God which is poured into our hearts by His Holy Spirit. And someone wrote that the heart is made soft by developing safe and caring relationships with others. And this is why the Father sent us the ultimate comforter of all comfort in the name of His Holy Spirit. And He is the best remedy for a hard heart whether you realize it or not. And Jesus Christ says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. And if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me." found in Revelation 3:20.

When we open the door to our heart, Christ comes in as the Holy Spirit and immediately begins radical work on our heart. We become a new creature with a softer heart. We're no longer like the heartless beast from the abyss. And when Christ enters our heart, we join a great love fest that is at work in the world today. We become a part of the body of believers in Christ. Hallelujah. And the Lord tells us that he who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.

Father, we thank You for Your Word today that You would soften the heart of those listening to this message. Father, we thank You and praise You that You are a heart God and that we can entrust our thoughts, our cares, our emotions, our hurts into Your capable hands, and that You know what to do with them. We thank You and praise You for doing a radical work on the hearts of those listening to this message today. In the holy and the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Thank You, Father.

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and you recognize that you indeed have a heart that is hard. Well, friend, you've come to the great and wonderful King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is a heart worker and is able to soften even the hardest heart. Please engage your heart and say this prayer after me and Christ will come into your heart and transform your life:

-Father, I am a sinner.

-I'm sorry for all my sins.

-Dear Lord, I crave Your forgiveness.

-Thank You for Your patience with me, Lord.

-Today I invite Jesus Christ into my heart.

-Dear Lord Jesus, welcome.

-Please make my heart Your home forever.

-I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

-You have my permission to keep the key.

-Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth, to teach me Your Word.

-Thank You Lord for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome friend to the body of believers in Christ. We are all here awaiting the return of the Good Master. In the meantime, we want to encourage you to become water baptized as quickly as possible. Let your pastor know that you've committed your life to the Lord and you want to be baptized in the manner that Jesus Christ was baptized.

Begin reading the Word of God every day because it is the daily food that you will need to stay strong. Begin in the book of John. Then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pray daily. Attend at your local church. And one glad morning, the Savior will come and receive you unto Himself. And we shall forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.