                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                     Hard Hearts in the House of God!

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By David Wilkerson
September 1, 1997
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          What I am about to say may shock you - but I believe it
          with all my heart: The hardest hearts in this world are
          not among the ungodly - but among God's people!

          When we think of hardhearted people, most of us tend to
          think of avowed atheists such as Madalyn Murray O'Hair
          - the woman who was instrumental in removing prayer
          from public schools. Atheists like O'Hair ridicule the
          very idea of God. Whenever they refer to Christians,
          their words have a harsh, biting edge. Other atheists
          flaunt their hatred for God - such as the rock
          performer Marilyn Manson, who rips up Bibles during his
          stage show. Whenever we hear about such people, we
          think, "Those are the most hardhearted people in the
          world!"

          Or, we may think of militant gay activists, such as
          those who marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City
          several weeks ago. Many of those marching homosexuals
          mocked Christianity and blasphemed God's name. One man
          carried a sign reading, "Jesus Is Gay." Whenever we
          hear of such people, we think, "Their hearts have
          become hardened because of sin. They're impossible to
          reach!"

          Or, we may think of the communist nations that for
          decades persecuted Christians. In Cuba, for instance,
          just miles off the Florida coast, Fidel Castro's
          communist regime closed all churches and began turning
          cathedrals into training centers for communism. Cuba's
          leaders boasted, "We have wiped out all religion!" And
          at the time, many Christians thought, "No one could be
          more hardhearted than these God haters!"

          I could go on and on, describing all kinds of scoffers,
          mockers, blasphemers, rejecters of Christ. And, indeed,
          each of these could accurately be described as being
          hardhearted. But if you want to discover the hardest
          hearts of all - the ones the Lord most despises - you
          have to look in God's house. The hardest hearts are
          always found among his people!

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                  According to the Bible, The Hardness of
                   Heart That God Most Despises Has to Do
                With the Hearing and Rejecting of His Word.

                      -------------------------------

          "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,
          shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy"
          (Proverbs 29:1).

          The Hebrew word for "reproved" in this verse refers to
          corrective teaching. And the word for "without remedy"
          here is "marpe" - meaning, "without a cure," "without
          any possibility of deliverance." This verse first tells
          us that hardness of heart comes as a result of
          rejecting repeated warnings - of pushing aside all
          wooings of the truth. And, second, it tells us that
          over time such hardness becomes impossible to cure. So,
          who are the people that most often hear these warnings?
          They are supposedly Christians - those who sit in God's
          house each week listening to sermons of reproof!

          The tragic truth is that in spite of hearing fiery
          messages sent from heaven, multitudes of Christians do
          not practice what they hear. They refuse to allow God
          entry into certain areas of their lives. And as they
          continue to hear without heeding, a hardness begins to
          set in. In the end, they will be cut off without hope
          of ever being cured!

          In contrast, there are some gay activists whose
          hardness of heart has been cured. At first they cursed
          Christ and shook an angry fist in God's face. But when
          they heard the gospel and felt the pure, loving reproof
          of the Holy Ghost, their hearts melted. They repented
          and turned to Jesus, their hardness being cured.

          Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute. Are you
          saying that a sin-hardened, radical homosexual has the
          hope of being cured of his hardness - but a
          sin-hardened Christian has no such hope? How could this
          be?" The difference is, the homosexual referred to
          hasn't heard message after message of reproof and
          continually hardened himself to it. But the Christian
          has!

          The life of Madalyn Murray O'Hair's son illustrates
          this. He had been raised in probably the most atheistic
          household in America. And he later worked for his
          mother, crusading against God and religion. But when he
          heard the gospel, he got gloriously saved - and he
          later became a minister, preaching Christ instead of
          cursing him. This man's hardness was curable also -
          because he hadn't sat under sermons of reproof and
          continually rejected them.

          The same is true of many people who lived for years
          under communist rule. When the Iron Curtain fell, the
          gospel immediately flooded those formerly communist
          countries, and thousands accepted Jesus. Red Army
          troops converted left and right, and even some top
          generals became powerful witnesses for Christ. Within a
          matter of days, government officials, schoolteachers
          and even the KGB were asking for Bibles and preaching
          Christ to those under their influence.

          Our ministry held crusades in Poland just before the
          collapse of communism in that country. It was one of
          the few times officials had allowed anyone in to hold
          openly religious meetings. Each night as I preached,
          hundreds of young people literally ran to the altar -
          weeping, brokenhearted, hungry for Christ. They all had
          been brainwashed against religion. But their hardness
          was curable - because they had not sat under continual
          reproof and hardened themselves to God's word.

          In my experience, the hardest hearts - the incurable
          kind - have always been found within earshot of Holy
          Ghost-anointed preaching. Such hardness doesn't exist
          in cold, dead, formal churches, where the gospel has
          been corrupted for generations. No - it is always found
          where a pure word is preached from the pulpit - and
          rejected in the pews!

          You may ask, "What exactly is a hard heart?" A hard
          heart is one that is determined to resist obeying God's
          word. It has become impossible to stir, immune to the
          convictions and warnings of the Holy Spirit.

          Please don't mistake me: Hardening one's heart is not
          just a matter of turning against God, or rejecting
          Christ, or refusing to go to church. The fact is, your
          heart can become hard even if you're at church every
          time the doors are open. You can become hard while
          listening to teaching tapes...singing God's
          praises...serving as an usher, a teacher, a member of
          the worship team. Indeed, you can become so hard to
          God's word while performing acts of service that even
          if Jesus himself were to preach from the pulpit, you
          would turn a deaf ear to him!

          Right now, you may be saying to yourself, "Whoa! This
          all sounds a little too scary for me." Rest assured, I
          don't want to frighten anyone into contrition of heart.
          But the truth is, if you regularly ignore the warnings
          of God's word, you'd better start attending the deadest
          church you can find. That way you won't be judged as
          severely as you would by continuing to sit in a Holy
          Ghost church and reject the anointed word you hear. If
          you keep doing that, your heart will harden beyond any
          cure!

                      -------------------------------

                       Let Me Hold Up the Plumb Line,
                      and Measure You According to the
                       Gospel Truth You Have Heard.

                      -------------------------------

          I want to give you a test, to see whether you have
          already taken the first steps toward hardness of heart.
          Let me ask you the following questions:

          1. How many times have you heard or read messages about
          the danger of neglecting daily prayer and Bible
          reading?

          I have many written messages on this subject, knowing
          that hard times are about to fall upon our society. And
          yet many readers still refuse to pick up their Bibles
          or spend just five minutes speaking to their heavenly
          father. Beloved, if you neglect your secret closet at
          home - if you think praying at church takes care of all
          your needs - you will never survive the troubled days
          ahead. Think about it: If you won't heed the word that
          is meant to heal and strengthen you in good times, how
          will you ever find power to overcome during the
          difficult days to come?

          If you have ignored the Holy Spirit's wooings to draw
          you to the secret closet for intimacy, then you have
          taken the first step toward hardness of heart. You may
          fill all your time doing good works, blessing people
          and pouring your heart out in Christian service. But if
          you neglect time with the Lord - refusing to seek his
          face or heed his word - you will become weak, fearful,
          depressed, and finally a prey for the devil. Having a
          personal knowledge of your heavenly father is the only
          way to prepare for what is coming!

          2. How many times have you been warned of the awful
          consequences of gossip?

          At times, my warnings on the subject of gossip have
          been like soft, gentle rain - and at other times,
          they've been like rolling thunder. I have written about
          how gossip and murmuring cost Israel everything. Time
          after time, the Israelites were warned of the dangers
          of this sin. But they persisted in disobeying the Lord
          - and it brought them a lifetime of misery in a
          snake-infested desert!

          Now, let me again hold up the plumb line to your life:
          Have you said something against a brother or a sister
          during the past week - something you had no business
          repeating? Or have you listened to any gossip about
          that person? If so, did you allow a seed of doubt about
          him or her to be planted in your soul?

          I ask you - how could you continue to gossip, in light
          of all the warnings you've heard? The only answer is
          that you've already started down the path toward
          hardness of heart!

          3. How many warnings have you heard against harboring a
          secret sin?

          What about that besetting sin in your heart - the one
          that God's Spirit has continually spoken to you about?
          Over the years I have written many warnings about the
          dangers of flirting with a pet sin. Yet not only have I
          preached against sin, but I have taught of God's
          resurrection power. I have preached that the Lord both
          endues us with overcoming power through his Spirit, and
          puts a will in our hearts to do right.

          Yet I know people who have sat under my teaching at
          Times Square Church for years - and they still drink,
          smoke, curse and carouse. Beloved, that is a hard
          heart! Who dares to sit under loving reproof week after
          week and yet go on sinning, never allowing conviction
          to sink in? It is someone who's heading down the path
          toward hardness of heart!

                      -------------------------------

               It Is Possible to Love Hearing God's Word - to
                 Appreciate And Approve of What Is Preached
              - and Yet Grow Incurably Hard While Listening!

                      -------------------------------

          You can sincerely believe you have accepted a sermon
          simply because you have heard it, thought about it and
          discussed it over Sunday dinner. Yet you can do all
          that and still be a hearer only - and not a doer of
          God's word!

          The children of Israel loved to hear the powerful
          preaching of Ezekiel - but they never obeyed it: "They
          come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit
          before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but
          they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew
          much love, but their heart goeth after their
          covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very
          lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice...for
          they hear thy words, but they do them not" (Ezekiel
          33:31-32).

          Many people in our congregation have approached me
          after a service, hugged me and said, "Pastor, that was
          a powerful word you preached." But as they walked away,
          the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "They didn't hear a
          word you said!"

          The book of Hebrews gives us a powerful warning: "As
          the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
          harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the
          day of temptation in the wilderness" (Hebrews 3:7-8).
          "For some, when they had heard, did provoke [rebel]..."
          (verse 16). These passages clearly show that hardness
          is not connected to atheism, communism or any other
          "ism" - but, rather, to hearing and not doing God's
          word.

          I know many people in Times Square Church who are
          kindhearted, gentle, sacrificial - and yet they are in
          danger of becoming hardhearted! I have sought the Lord
          about this, asking, "Father, how can these dedicated,
          hardworking people hear sermon after sermon of reproof,
          and yet never change? They come to your house week
          after week, worshiping you, praising you - but they're
          not growing into maturity. I know this, because I hear
          them gossiping, and I know about the other sins in
          their lives. They love to hear your word preached - but
          they simply don't obey it. Lord, what keeps them from
          obeying your word?"

          God showed me that it all goes back to their
          conversion. These neglectful people were never
          converted in the first place! You see, the Bible speaks
          of two types of conversions: First, there is a
          conversion that leads to healing and deliverance from
          all sins. This is the kind most Christians have
          experienced. But there is also a conversion that leads
          to hardness and blindness. Let me give you an
          illustration.

          Israel gladly listened to the powerful preaching of the
          prophet Isaiah - yet they continually justified their
          sins, calling evil good and good evil. So, God
          instructed Isaiah: "...Go, and tell this people, Hear
          ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but
          perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and
          make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they
          see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
          understand with their heart, and convert, and be
          healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).

          God knew the Israelites were not willing to lay down
          their besetting sins. They loved their fleshly
          pleasures and ungodly companions too much. So the Lord
          told Isaiah, "These people are never going to change
          their hearts. And from now on, I won't speak a word to
          them. Instead, I want you to hurry them into their
          hardness, Isaiah. That way, perhaps some will listen
          before it's too late!"

          Simply put, God was calling for a full surrender from
          his people. He was saying, "If you're going to be
          called by my name - if your heart is going to be
          converted - then it has to happen in a way that
          delivers you from your sins, heals you and sets you
          free from all bondage!"

          I thank God for the multitudes of Christians who
          started their walk with Jesus the right way - by loving
          truth and obeying God's word. They had godly sorrow
          over their sins, and their repentance was wholehearted.
          When they forsook the ways of their flesh, they fell in
          love with the Lord, and his word became to them a
          guiding lamp. And today they give themselves
          unreservedly to obeying his word.

                      -------------------------------

                   The Second Kind of Conversion Is What
                    the Army Calls "Foxhole" Religion.

                      -------------------------------

          This second type of conversion is what happens to some
          soldiers when they go into battle. Once they hear the
          bullets whizzing by and see the bombs dropping all
          around them, they look death in the face - and they
          quickly cry out to God!

          This is the type of conversion Pharaoh had. At one
          point he'd heard seven reproofs from the Holy Ghost,
          but he still wouldn't obey the Lord's command to free
          Israel. And now God sent Moses to Pharaoh for an eighth
          time, with this message: "...Thus saith the Lord God of
          the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble
          thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may
          serve me" (Exodus 10:3).

          God had already warned Moses about what Pharaoh's
          reaction would be: "...Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have
          hardened his heart..." (verse 1). You may ask, "What
          chance did Pharaoh have? After all, the Lord had
          hardened his heart." No! The wording here can appear
          misleading. Pharaoh's hardening did not happen by
          eternal decree; rather, scripture tells us in an
          earlier passage: "But when Pharaoh saw that there was
          respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto
          them; as the Lord had said" (8:15).

          Each time Pharaoh refused to obey the Lord's command,
          God visited Egypt with a severe plague. And each time
          Pharaoh would cry, "Okay, Lord - I'll do anything you
          want. Just get me out of this mess!" Yet once he was
          delivered, he always went back to his rebellion.

          The Bible says the same thing about Israel's fathers:
          "But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened
          their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, and
          refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders
          that thou didst among them; but hardened their
          necks..." (Nehemiah 9:16-17).

          God always knows what's in a person's heart. And he
          knows when someone will listen but not obey, choosing
          instead to go his own way. He knew this about Pharaoh -
          because after seven reproofs and plagues of judgment,
          Pharaoh's heart had grown steadily harder.

          Now an eighth plague was about to fall upon the
          Egyptians, and it was something they greatly feared:
          locusts. Throughout the Bible, locusts signify ruin and
          destruction. In many instances they represent God's
          retribution upon a people. Indeed, the prophet Joel
          likens a particular invading army to a swarm of
          locusts: "I will restore to you the years that the
          locust hath eaten...my great army which I sent among
          you...that executeth his word..." (Joel 2:25, 11).

          God didn't always send such plagues merely to punish,
          but rather to bring about his divine order and will.
          Many residents of our Timothy House and Sarah House
          ministries know this firsthand. They've lost jobs,
          finances, health, marriages, families - all because the
          locusts of alcohol and drugs devoured everything in
          their lives. Yet, it was through such plagues that
          these men and women turned to Jesus.

          In Egypt, swarms of locusts descended on the land
          overnight, devouring everything in sight - crops,
          plants, new growth, even the bark on trees. By the time
          these bugs were finished, not even a blade of grass
          remained:

          "The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and
          rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were
          they...for they covered the face of the whole earth, so
          that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb
          of the land, and all the fruit of the trees...and there
          remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the
          herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt"
          (Exodus 10:14-15).

          The massive swarms filled the Egyptians' houses.
          Everywhere the people turned, they saw locusts - on the
          floor, in the kneading trough, in the milk, in their
          clothes, in their beds. These locusts buzzed their
          wings with a terrifying sound and chomped and chewed
          everything in sight. Within days, Egypt lay in total
          ruin.

          At this point, a small but very important word appears
          in scripture - the word "then." "Then Pharaoh called
          for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have
          sinned against the Lord your God, and against you"
          (verse 16).

          Pharaoh confessed his sin, admitting his wrongdoing.
          And it sounded like his repentance was full and
          complete. But what was his motive in repenting?
          Scripture spells it out clearly in Pharaoh's own words:
          "Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this
          once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take
          away from me this death only" (verse 17). Pharaoh was
          saying, "Yes, I sinned - and I'm sorry. Now, hurry up,
          Moses, and get me out of this mess. Pray to your God
          for me. I'm in trouble, and I have to have relief!"

          Pharaoh saw that he was about to lose everything - so
          he repented in hopes that God would deliver him from
          the mess he'd brought on himself. All he wanted was
          relief from his trouble!

                      -------------------------------

                             What First Brought
                             You to the Lord?

                      -------------------------------

          Did you first come to the Lord as Pharaoh did - only
          because you wanted something from God? Did you turn to
          him in order to kick a drug habit, to have your
          marriage restored, to be delivered from financial
          trouble? Did you say to yourself, "If I come to Jesus,
          maybe he'll work things out."

          The truth is, Christ will work miracles for you. He
          will do the impossible in your life. But if you come to
          him only to get something from him - only to be
          delivered from your problems - you will never grow an
          inch in maturity. On the contrary, you will only grow
          hard!

          Think back to the time of your conversion. Did it
          happen after some locust had eaten everything away? Was
          your health debilitated in some way? Was one of your
          children in trouble? Did you end up in devastation,
          with death and ruin hovering over you?

          Please don't misunderstand me. Of course, God loves to
          save people who end up in ruin. When all is lost, he is
          always near - and he is faithful to deliver. But,
          beloved, you cannot come to Jesus just to get relief!
          You must come to him because he is God - and because he
          deserves your life, your worship, your obedience.

          It is a dangerous thing to come into God's house and go
          through the motions of worship. You may teach, you may
          usher, you may sing in the choir - and you may tell
          yourself, "I remember my conversion well. I asked Jesus
          into my heart five years ago." But if your heart truly
          had been converted at that time, it would show in your
          life today.

          You would be growing spiritually - reading the Bible
          often, taking all your needs and problems to God,
          spending precious time with him in your secret closet.
          And whenever you heard warnings about coming locusts,
          you would take heed - because you know your father's
          commands issue out of his love for you.

          Right now you may be saying, "Yes, Brother Dave - I
          admit I've been neglecting God's word. And I'm still
          bound by a besetting sin. Am I too hardened - too far
          gone - to receive the Lord's healing touch?"

          No - not at all! If you will begin to call on the Lord
          today, in the midst of your need, he will bring you
          times of refreshing. Whenever you bring to him a truly
          repentant heart, he will act not as your judge, but as
          your mediator and intercessor. Right now he is saying
          to you, "Just call on me, and I will do it for you. I
          will come to you, supplying all you need to keep your
          heart tender and broken before me."

          Do you want to grow into maturity in Christ? Do you
          want the Lord to keep reproving you in love and guiding
          you toward life and godliness? Then call on him today.
          Nothing will keep you on his intended path for you more
          than a broken and contrite heart!

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