HARD HEART OR BROKEN HEART?

Monday, January 14, 2019

HARD HEART OR BROKEN HEART?

Mark 3:4-6

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

           In our story, the conclusion was already determined by the firm resolve of the Pharisees. The man with the withered hand was not supposed to be in the place of worship in the first place (see Leviticus 21:18). Perhaps he was brought to the synagogue as cheese for the trap.

           Dr. Charles Stanley personally defines a hard heart as: “The ability to say no to God in spite of overwhelming evidence and pressure to say yes.” I see this often in professing believers and it grieves me. It actually angered Jesus and made Him even more determined to heal the man.

           The Greeks used two identifiable medical words to define “hardness of heart.” One word is porosis which we find in Mark 3:5. It means what the doctors say it means today. It means “porous” or, literally, “full of holes.” It makes the bones brittle and it makes the thinking process faulty. The other word is sklerokardia and today’s doctors use both words. Sclerosis is the abnormal hardening of any body tissue which is often caused by calcification.

           Spiritually, it means that the thinking process is “full of holes” and the ability to morally respond has hardened to an unresponsive state. As in medicine, the condition is a prelude to death.

           Exercise is probably a good idea. Therefore, take action at the first prompting of the Spirit. Respond immediately to the first indication of caring in your heart. Do not negotiate with God. Just do it!

Ezek 36:26-27

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. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Dear Lord, apply the oil of Thy Spirit to the hardness of my heart. AMEN