Written by Mark Driskill:
Read Mark 3:1-6
“And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” There they sat in silent obstinance. They had no trouble believing Jesus could heal. They had seen him do so many times. These Pharisees were so
preoccupied with getting rid of Jesus, so they could get back to church as usual, they totally disregarded the awesome power he had. Their hearts were hardened against Jesus regardless of what he did or said. The lord was angered at such resistance.
What is a hardened heart? A hardened heart is one that has shut itself down to the mercy and power of God. In a hardened heart the jury has declared its verdict long before the trial. No evidence or argument needed. The decision is already made. Sometimes when I preach on a topic that is unpopular I can literally feel a wall go up in the sanctuary. The glazed eyes and defiant brows before me make it clear that there is no room for the word of the day. A hardened heart is a fortress of disbelief. The Lord showed me a couple of years ago the difference between unbelief and disbelief. Unbelief is simply a lack of faith in a given situation. A person hears that Jesus can heal, but has never seen it happen, so they may not believe yet.
Disbelief is different. Disbelief is when a person decides not to believe, regardless of the evidence. A person may see a thousand miracles and rather than accepting the divine evidence they choose to reject what is plainly of God. They dis-believe. They dismiss what God has done and harden their hearts against God. This kind of hardness is a voluntary rebellion against the work of God. This was the hardness of heart that so angered our Lord. Its one thing to walk in unbelief, and quite another to harden your heart in disbelief. Peter was often chided for his unbelief. He just kept missing it. But he really wanted to believe. Eventually faith grew and he became the great Apostle. Judas lived in disbelief. The evidence never touched his heart. He shut down and went his own way, eventually destroying himself.
One of the great crimes of many today is disbelief. We have so much around us that bears witness to God’s power and mercy, yet we tell ourselves not to believe. We choose to ignore the evidence and shut our hearts down in God’s presence. We love to talk about how we are searching for truth, but whenever it shows itself we explain it away. Answered prayer is just a coincidence. The inner conviction of the Spirit is just human intuition or some psychological manifestation. Whatever comes we have an intellectual or emotional defense for it lest we finally believe. Friends we will never really find God until we lay down our defenses and believe. Will you walk in faith today? Will you allow the truth of God’s word to penetrate your cynical defenses and captivate your heart? That’s what the man with the withered hand did. Jesus told him to stretch and he did, by faith. Faith is a stretch, and those who take it are made whole.
Challenge: Whenever you face a problem today seriously ask God for help, no matter what it is. Make up your mind to trust him to help you work it out. Make a note of every time things work out. At the end of the day look at your list and thank God for each thing.
Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky. They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy. Mark is web minister for Begotten by the Word , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources. Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program.
Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
