Part 1 (1/2)

Hardness of Heart.

by Andrew Wommack.

Introduction.

It is my prayer the Lord will give you ears to hear the message of this book, so that you can experience the fullness of G.o.d's blessing and, in return, be the blessing to others the Lord intends you to be.Many believers have come to share the conviction that G.o.d is still doing miracles today, just as He did in Bible times. They rejoice at testimonies of others who experience these miracles yet, in most cases, they do not experience all the blessings of the Lord themselves.Add to this the fact that testimonies pour in from foreign lands of people hearing the gospel for the first time, and their blind eyes open or their crippled limbs are made whole, and our frustration rises. Why do these people with no knowledge of faith, no time in prayer or Bible study receive and we don't? How can this be?The Lord gave me the answer to this question, and many others, through this teaching on hardness of heart. I believe these truths will become the basis for many things G.o.d wants to do in your life.

Andrew Wommack

Part 1: The Crisis

Hardness of heart has stricken all Christians in some area of their lives. This is what keeps us from hearing the voice of the Lord and being led by Him in our everyday lives.

1.

The feeding of the 5,000.

In Mark 6:35-44, Jesus fed 5,000 men-probably 15,000 people in all-with five loaves and two fish; and He had more left over than He started with! That was a pretty notable miracle, but something even more amazing was about to happen.

In verses 45-48, it says, ” And ” And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the s.h.i.+p, and go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the s.h.i.+p was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and 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 pa.s.sed by them. ” straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the s.h.i.+p, and go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the s.h.i.+p was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and 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 pa.s.sed by them. ”

Sore Amazed

As I was reading this, I wondered what it would be like to be one of these disciples, with a storm about to kill me. Here comes Jesus, walking on the water-that's amazing in itself-but it says He would have pa.s.sed by them. You'd think Jesus would run out there yelling, ”Here I am to help you!” I was amazed, to say the least.

Exactly the same thing happened to the disciples. Verse 49 says, ”But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: ” ”But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: ” In other words, they couldn't believe it was Jesus. They thought they were seeing a vision. Verses 50-51 say, In other words, they couldn't believe it was Jesus. They thought they were seeing a vision. Verses 50-51 say, ”For they all saw him and were troubled. ”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. And he went up unto them into the s.h.i.+p: and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. ” And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the s.h.i.+p: and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. ”

Sore amazed! That's putting it mildly. I was awestruck when I thought of preparing to die, seeing Jesus walking on the water that was about to kill me, then watching him act as if He was going to pa.s.s right by.

Apply this to your situation. For example, maybe you are struggling with a desperate financial problem. Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe the doctor told you you're going to die of cancer. Here comes Jesus saying, ”Oh, a million dollars...saving a marriage...healing a sickness...that's nothing,” and then He walks right on by you. You would be ”sore amazed,” right?

Then I read verse 52, which says, ”For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. ” ”For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. ”

”For, ” of course, is a conjunction, and it links verse 52 to verse 51. It is inferring that they shouldn't have been sore amazed-it should not have been surprising to see Jesus walk on the water.

Hardness of Heart

Why were they amazed? It says it was because of their hardness of heart. hardness of heart.

Something began to dawn on me. I had always thought hardness of heart applied to someone who was rebellious toward G.o.d, who hated G.o.d. For example, I got saved when I was eight years old, and since then my desire has always been to seek G.o.d with my whole heart. I never thought of myself as hard-hearted, yet the Lord was saying, in effect, ”If you'd be surprised to see Jesus walking on the water or any other supernatural manifestation of G.o.d, you're hard-hearted.”

I had to start reconsidering what hardness of heart was.

Not Just Rebellion

Hardness of heart is not just rebellion towards G.o.d. Hardness of heart, in its simplest sense, is relating more easily to the natural realm than to the supernatural. relating more easily to the natural realm than to the supernatural.

If that's true, it means that every one of us is hard-hearted toward G.o.d to some extent-we're more moved by what we see than we're supposed to be. We should reach a place where we're more moved by what G.o.d G.o.d says than we are by anything else. says than we are by anything else.

For example, in reading this, some of you will be totally set free, and others will say, ”That's the deadest thing I've ever read; I didn't get a thing out of it.” It's not me, the writer, who is the variable. For instance, when I teach, all the people in the audience hear the same message. Some receive it and their lives are changed. Others seem to get nothing out of it. The difference isn't me-or the message. The difference is the condition of their hearts.

Morality is No Help

You can be hardened toward G.o.d and yet be a good, moral person. I've never said a cussword in my entire life. I've never taken a drink of liquor. I've never smoked a cigarette. I've never done a lot of things that you may have done; but 1 had a very hard heart towards G.o.d, and I still do in some areas, hardness of heart is not only caused by rebellion or sin.

One of the characteristics of a hardened heart is that it will make you amazed at the power of G.o.d. You'll relate more easily to the natural than to the supernatural.

When Jesus fed those 5,000 people, I believe He was blessed, but I don't believe He cried, ”Wow! Look at that! It worked! Praise G.o.d!” Jesus was not shocked; I believe He totally expected it. He would have been amazed if it hadn't worked. When many of us pray and don't see the desired result, we say, ”Well, that's kind of what I expected.” Most of us would be amazed to see something miraculous happen.

I Crossed My Own Prayers

I once prayed for a young boy in Omaha, Nebraska, whose eyes were crossed. They were so bad he couldn't even see where I was standing. I commanded his eyes to straighten out, and they were immediately straight as an arrow. You know what I did? I said, ”I can't believe it.” Do you know what they did? They went right back to where they were before. As far as I know, they're still crossed.