We've also discussed that HARDNESS OF HEART develops because of things WE do to ourselves. Under the New Testament, God doesn't cause people's hearts to harden as He occasionally did in the Old Testament. And, thanks to Jesus the devil isn't able to harden the hearts of believers unless we allow him to influence us and we have a scriptural responsibility to resist his doing that to us (James 4:7). No, we're responsible for the condition of our own hearts/minds and if it hardens in some particular area then it's because we've allowed it to happen and actually helped it along. Within that context, the main causes for the development of HARDNESS OF HEART according to Hebrews 3:12-4:2 are the following:
> Unbelief
> Deceitfulness of sin
> Disobedience
> Receiving the Word without Faith
> Ingratitude (implied from the context because the Israelites provoked God by their
murmuring and complaining)
Remember from previous articles that HARDNESS OF HEART develops for the things and in the areas we DON'T CONSIDER. In other words, HARDNESS comes when we fail to contemplate spiritual things with the objective of understanding them. And, the causes of that failure will usually come out of one of these five areas.
The Main Symptom of Hardness of Heart
One of the things we've tried to get across is that ALL of us, ALL Believers have some degree of HARDNESS OF HEART. The problem is almost nobody recognizes it for what it is. But Mark 6:52 shows us what to look for with our spiritual eyes. This scripture says that the disciples were "astonished" to see Jesus walking on the water because their HEARTS WERE HARDENED. So, one of the main things in life that points to an area we've become HARDENED to is "astonishment" or "amazement" to see the SUPERNATURAL show up. We're "surprised" when our prayers are answered. We're "astonished" when someone gets healed after we prayed for them for precisely that result. And we're "amazed" when God shows up time after time with our provision at just the right moment.
Many of our churches tell us that the miraculous stopped manifesting when the last Apostle died even though you can't find even a suggestion of such an idea in your Bible. You have to have someone "interpret" that for you because the actual words to that effect aren't in there. What happens is that we CONSIDER only what we can validate by one or more of our five physical senses which is often, perhaps usually in direct contradiction of the Word and of the supernatural. So, when we're not able to validate what the Bible actually says with our physical senses, some of us have to find "interpretations" for what the Word actually says and by doing that the Word loses a lot of its power to change our lives and accomplish God's purposes. The Bible says in Mark 16:14-20 that those who believe will see signs and wonders and miracles accompanying their ministry. Do you believe what the Word actually says or what others tell you it says? If we refuse to believe in the supernatural, then for sure we will NOT experience it. These things work by FAITH and the Bible couldn't be clearer about that.
Notice in Mark 16:14 that Jesus rebuked a number of His disciples yet once again because even after He had told them on multiple occasions that He would resurrect from the dead after three days, they didn't believe it when it was announced to them that it had actually happened. And once again He told those disciples that it was their HARDNESS OF HEART that caused them to doubt that He had actually accomplished exactly what He had told them He would do. They even refused to believe those in their group who had actually seen Jesus after the Resurrection and had personally confirmed with their natural senses what the Lord had done.
The truth is God is a Spirit and we have to learn to work with him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). In the New Testament church we're supposed to LIVE BY FAITH (Romans 1:17) and this is totally different than life in the Old Testament. In order to live by FAITH, it's REQUIRED that we trust God and His Word even when we can't confirm with our physical senses exactly what God is doing. We can know what He's doing by His Word and by FAITH, but a life of FAITH requires that we not depend on our physical senses. It requires that we embrace the supernatural and learn to function in it because that's where God operates. We walk by FAITH and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7): if you really believe this scripture then the miracles you've been waiting for in your life will come by FAITH and you'll most likely have trouble confirming them with physical evidence.
The bottom line is this: if your HEART IS HARDENED to the supernatural, if you require God to perform only in the natural realm where you can confirm what He does by your physical senses instead of by your knowledge of the Word and by your FAITH, then you won't see too many miracles. And you'll need for someone to help you with "interpretations" of the Word in order to be able to explain why there aren't any miracles. Why not just take the Word as it's written, submit ourselves to change within ourselves instead of trying to change the Word into what fits with our physical senses and then pursue our supernatural God with every ounce of FAITH we can come up with.
Do you know what a miracle actually is? Isn't it something the Lord has done to manipulate or intervene in the natural environment to bring us some benefit? Isn't that precisely what we're asking God for all the time when we pray? Some kind of intervention to benefit us or someone that only God can make happen? According to the Word of God, there ARE miracles all around us and they're waiting for those who can RECEIVE them by FAITH, who can PERCEIVE them because they've set aside their dependence on the natural and SOFTENED their minds to the things of the Kingdom.
Thanks for joining our discussion tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on August 14. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), pushing you to VICTORY in every area of life!
Sinners' Prayer
Jesus, I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven for all time and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you're a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
When you get a moment have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
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