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      LIVING UNDER THE NEW COVENANT       
Study #49: How to Evaluate Your Hardness of Heart

"By grace you have been saved through faith...it is the gift of God, not as a result of works..." - Ephesians 2:8-9 
 .
 Dr. Bill Miller                                 Volume XIX Number 33                           August 14, 2016 
       
Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
    
The subject of HARDNESS OF HEART is still our main focus and this week and we're trying to really understand how this condition actually manifests in the lives of Believers. As we resume the discussion, some folks may be wondering why we're spending so much time on this one subject and that's a fair question. There're a couple of reasons I particularly wanted to mention this week summarizing from previous discussions:
 
1. This subject was important enough to Jesus that He REBUKED His handpicked disciples on more than one occasion for their HARDNESS OF HEART (Mark 8:17, 16:14).
 
2. HARDNESS OF HEART (or dullness) is mentioned specifically more than 15 times in the New Testament alone and is discussed extensively in the book of Hebrews in Chapters 3 and 4 as an act that provoked God to anger.
 
3. HARDNESS OF HEART impedes the Word of God from renewing our MINDS which is the process of TRANSFORMATION that every Believer must go through one way or another (Romans 12:2).
 
4. HARDNESS OF HEART restricts the strengthening and growth of our FAITH because it springs in part from UNBELIEF (Hebrews 3:12, 19).
 
5. Finally, HARDNESS OF HEART works differently under the New Covenant than previously and we have been given the responsibility of OVERCOMING it with New Testament methods and weapons.
 
Now over the past five weeks or so we've been discussing this subject from several different angles and hopefully we're all acquiring a new awareness of an important aspect of Christian life MANY believers have overlooked. This week we want to summarize the various ways this condition can manifest in our lives before moving on next week to discuss what we can do about actually overcoming HARDNESS OF HEART. Keep in mind today several basic important points we've already discussed:
 
> All Believers suffer from some degree of HARDNESS OF HEART.
> The Greek word translated HEART means a way of THINKING. So, this condition is
   MIND-related.
> HARDNESS OF HEART does not come from God but from our own controllable, correctable
   failures.
 
The Characteristics of Hardness of Heart
People who manifest HARDNESS OF HEART are likely to experience most of the following consequences that work to impede our growth in the Kingdom of God. When you sense any of these things coming up in your life you should now know why and where they're coming from. Next week we'll start discussing what you should do to get on the right track but for now, take note of the various characteristics so by self-analysis you can assess where you are in the development of the condition the Bible calls HARDNESS OF HEART.        
 
> Lack of sensitivity to the things of God: we fail to take note of many, maybe even most of the things God is doing all around us on a constant basis. Many people even fail to notice answered prayer and we forget to seek God before we embark on new ideas and activities.
 
> Limited to the five physical senses: we pursue life evaluating the events we encounter only by our natural, carnal senses (hear, see, feel, smell and taste). We fail to move into the supernatural and operate by FAITH relying on the Word of God instead of on our physical senses.
 
> Flesh led instead of Spirit led: we walk by the flesh instead of by the Spirit because we have confidence in the natural but are suspicious of and insensitive to the supernatural where the Holy Spirit operates. The Bible says the sons of God are to be Spirit-led but HARDNESS OF HEART interferes with that process keeping in mind that the flesh will ALWAYS lead us to destruction.
 
> Ingratitude: Believers with this condition will usually be UNGRATEFUL. They are ungrateful to God and they are ungrateful to their fellow human beings for the good in their lives. They tend to focus on the bad things in life instead of the good and wind up manifesting ingratitude. Often they believe they DESERVE something better from both God and other folks in recognition of their plight even though none of us DESERVE anything from anybody.
 
> Inability to perceive spiritual things: to PERCEIVE something in the spiritual realm means to UNDERSTAND spiritual concepts and events in a way that's sufficient to change our lives. The disciples saw Jesus feed 4,000 people but failed to PERCEIVE with their spiritual senses that He was capable to providing for their needs as well (Mark 8:16-17).
 
> Inability to remember the Word of God: one of the biggest problems caused by HARDNESS OF HEART is that it makes us forgetful of the Word. And we know that if we forget the Word after we hear it, the enemy is quick to come and steal it away (Mark 4:4, 15). Most people who attend their local church on Sunday have forgotten by Monday morning between 80 and 90 percent of what they heard. And it can't be recalled because it's been stolen.
 
> Unbelief regarding the supernatural: when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water and calming the storm, they were astonished (Mark 6:51-52) even though they had just seen Him feed perhaps 15,000 people earlier that day (Mark 6:33-44). Virtually everything God does is miraculous because it occurs beyond the natural, i.e. in the supernatural. We're astonished to see those things because we've been focusing on the natural too much instead of on the things of God. We should come to the point where it doesn't astonish us to see God use His power.
 
> Studying the Word of God fails to change us: some people read the Word every day, a certain number of pages or chapters but it doesn't penetrate. They're just reading, maybe even memorizing scriptures, but their lives aren't changed and they continue to walk in defeat. Millions of Christians have scarcely matured spiritually since they day they were born again simply because of HARDNESS OF HEART they haven't dealt with yet.
 
When we sense any of these examples of personal conduct popping up in our lives, God expects us to recognize what they are and take the necessary steps to OVERCOME them. We don't have to do that all on our own but we have to first recognize that we need some help to get something done BEFORE the help can be effective. Jesus's disciples had no clue they were suffering from HARDNESS OF HEART which He revealed to them and then strongly prompted them to correct. If those disciples of His needed correction, how much more do we need it? And that correction by the way is for our own good. Victory in the Kingdom of God is directly related to our ability to PERCEIVE the supernatural by FAITH which Jesus wants us to enjoy more than we know. HARDNESS OF HEART makes victory more difficult and we fall short of where we could be, of where Jesus died for us to have access to. Those of us who want God's best in life will make it a point to be more sensitive to this area of life under the New Covenant.
 
Thanks for joining our discussion tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on August 21. 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
If you've never invited Jesus to be your Lord, you can do so today by believing and saying out loud the following simple 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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