Ep. 398 - Ways to Avoid a Hardened Heart

A hardened heart rarely happens all at once but develops through small compromises that dull sensitivity to God. Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar examine why believers must fight daily to remain tender toward the Lord. Sin is deceptive, and the guys explain that hardened hearts often form through neglected prayer, delayed obedience, and unconfessed sin rather than through dramatic rebellion. They emphasize the importance of staying teachable, receiving correction humbly, and seeking truth. A soft heart is not automatic but cultivated through repentance, dependence on God, and a willingness to let His Word expose what lies beneath the surface.

The guys explore the link between idolatry and spiritual hardness, explaining that every sin ultimately stems from worshiping something other than God. Whether it is pleasure, bitterness, self-pity, or even legalism, misplaced worship slowly turns the heart away from Christ. The guys warn that Christians can smuggle idols into their lives, even into acts of worship, while believing they remain in control. Idolatry is never passive, and over time it shapes affections, priorities, and responses to both God and others. The conversation highlights how even good things become dangerous when they take the place reserved for the Lord alone.

The discussion turns to the urgency of confession and repentance. The guys explain that delaying action on sin only strengthens its grip. They encourage believers to look past the messenger and focus on the truth presented, seeking out the small areas where correction may be warranted rather than immediately defending themselves. Self-pity often becomes fertile ground for bitterness and hardness, especially when people believe others owe them something. Instead, the guys encourage listeners to forgive quickly, walk in the light, and cultivate gratitude even amid trials. Repentance is presented not as punishment but as a gift that leads believers back into fellowship with God.

Finally, the guys discuss practical ways believers can guard their hearts and stay sensitive to the Spirit. Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Scripture, fasting, discipleship, and intentional silence help keep the heart tender before the Lord. The fear of God, regular self-examination, and continual meditation on the gospel all help protect believers from drifting. Ultimately, the guys point listeners back to Christ, whose tender heart on the cross displayed perfect forgiveness and reminds believers that every battle against hardness finds its answer in the gospel.

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Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!
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Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.

You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!
Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro

Transcript

Hebrews Warning Against Self-Deception

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hebrews 3 13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Man, whenever I hear someone say, No, man, I I would never do that, or no, no, I'm good, or I'm no, I'm that's just that's just not something that that that I would be drawn to or whatever. I just I take warning because that's foolishness.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Can you believe they did that thing? Right? I mean, a hardened heart, it doesn't happen overnight. It starts with maybe some uh neglected prayer, gonna skip a devo. You know, I'm not gonna go out on Friday night to share the gospel. Whatever a good godly routine for you is, yeah, it just begins to take your foot off of that accelerating pedal.

Coffee Fast And Pride Check

SPEAKER_02 0:48

One of my favorite things to do in life is to ask Mark Spence to open his eyes as wide as possible. Mark, and we see no difference whatsoever.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

But Mark commented a moment ago as he saw my eyes explode with life. I mean, look at the look at the contrast here. Watch me. It's like sometimes I shock myself. Right.

SPEAKER_05 1:12

Are you ever afraid you'll get stuck like that?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Yeah. But there's a reason, France. But talk. What are you gonna say? Say it with your eyes big like that. But there's a reason why, France.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

That happened. It's because of something I heard that I I could I I really didn't think I really heard it, but then I realized I really did. Oscar Navarro, no coffee for how many days?

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Eight days.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

This is it's been eight days.

SPEAKER_05 1:39

Here's what happened.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Yeah, what happened?

SPEAKER_05 1:41

I was out to dinner uh on my birthday, and a friend of ours said that he tried to stop drinking coffee, and after three days, he had migraines and he couldn't do it. And so he was like, There's no way you could stop. And I'm like, Yeah, I could, it's I it's not an addiction issue, it's a joy thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Pride issue.

SPEAKER_05 1:59

And my wife backed him. I wouldn't. She was like, you can't stop. And I was like, oh, well, that's it. I'm stopping. And so it was two weeks. That's what they gave me two weeks. Headaches? No headaches, nothing, nothing, nothing. The worst part of it is that my morning routine is a cup of coffee, prayer, scripture, and meditation. And it's lost that, like the joy of that cup of coffee, just it's fun to have a part of that. So I feel like I'm losing a part of my morning routine, but I've been fine. Tany says he's noticed me being more tired throughout the day. I haven't noticed it. But more cranky, violent. What do you mean by that?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

First grade stuff coming up.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

Wait, seriously, hold on though, Oscar. I gotta probe this a little deeper. You seriously don't notice any physiological change?

SPEAKER_05 2:44

I I agree with Tany that I there's times in the middle of the day where I'll feel a little tired, like a little bit of a lull.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

But but not like massively so.

SPEAKER_05 2:54

No, no headaches, no, none of that stuff.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Ray, uh how many cups are you up to? Because you sent us something the other day where it says like three to five cups. No, I think that's a good one. And you'll live. You'll add five years to it.

SPEAKER_06 3:06

But I'm not addicted, but you dare take this from me.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

No, I'm serious. I wonder if you stopped. Have you stayed consistent two cups a day?

SPEAKER_06 3:12

About that. I I drink coffee when I feel tired. Twenty minutes later, I've got my energy back. It's very noticeable.

SPEAKER_05 3:18

I wonder if Frey would get headaches if he stopped.

SPEAKER_06 3:21

I get a headache at the thought of it.

SPEAKER_05 3:23

I will say this. It was actually a delight to do in a sense, because it's good. I, you know, in my mind, I'm like, I want to check myself. I want to make sure I'm not dependent on anything at all. And so as a discipline, I'm glad I'm doing it.

SPEAKER_06 3:35

You couldn't stop breathing for two days.

SPEAKER_05 3:38

Watch me.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

I have a friend who does that with cocaine. See, I'm not addicted. Two weeks. I'm gonna stop for a week. See, I can do it. Yeah, yeah. Wow, Oscar. That's and maybe who knows? You know, sometimes when these things reset, people like have transformations. Maybe you'll wisen up, start using flavored creamer. I can't wait. Flavored creamer. Please use flavored creamer on Wednesday. It's gonna be the best. You're looking for it. Yeah, I will.

SPEAKER_05 4:04

I will say this. I was like, it was I was into it a little bit. I go, man, I'm not halfway done. This is easy. It was day three.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Oh boy. All right, it's time for a cool Ray.

SPEAKER_06 4:19

I had a brain scan the other day and I found nothing.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_06 4:23

Why'd you have a brain reconciled there?

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Ray, you didn't need a scan to tell you. No, I know that. Told you that. Time for a cool classy comment.

Listener Comment And Everyday Kindness

SPEAKER_03 4:32

This is uh from everyone 17. Always praying for you guys. I love what you guys do every time after listening to a new podcast from you guys. It is easier for me to hand out a gospel track. I knew I was gonna get that response from you, right? How cool is that? Yeah, that's true love. That's great.

SPEAKER_06 4:52

Speaking of true love, do you guys ever leave the microwave and credit for people that's coming next?

SPEAKER_00 4:56

I feel like I'm uh de-arming a bomb and I let it get all the way down to one second and then I stop it.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

No, my OCD won't allow me to leave the code.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

I leave like 35 seconds for the person who's coming next. I think it's just kind of like a pay-it-forward thing. I leave the faucet on for the person who's gonna come. That's really good.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

Yeah, four hours of credit, right? On the microwave. That's real love. Yeah. Uh thank you, everyone 17. That's what we want, friends. We want this podcast to inspire you to act.

SPEAKER_05 5:25

Everyone's 16. You're the worst.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

Everyone's 17. Thank you so much. That was so nice. Yeah, we want to stir you to action. Get ready for our special segment. Quality quests.

SPEAKER_06 5:35

Who did you give the track to? His mother.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Every day gives it back to the same person. Quality questions.

Feeling Unloved By God After Abuse

SPEAKER_03 5:44

This is from Patience, something which Ray Comfort does not have. Hello, team and friends. Is this to all of us or to someone specific? Uh uh, we can all jump in on this one. I want to thank you for this podcast episode specifically. I've only listened to a handful of episodes of the podcast, although I've known about and respected Ray Comfort for some years. And then she mentions it, she listened to episode 389, What Does It Mean to Be Loved by God, and then said, I needed to hear this truth. It has hit hard. It will be a hard portion of a journey that started maybe a year ago, but need it. I was raised in such abuse that it lightly, it's is lightly called consumerism, shame, and honor. My siblings and I were blamed for everything, from being born to my brother's sickness and ultimate death. I've been recently, uh I have seen recently what that has done to my relationship with God. I can say now that I was ashamed of my life and felt unloved and punished by God. I know that's not true. I'm alive to be loved by God. It will take much work to undo the damage of theology and strain on my relationship with God. Any advice, wisdom, support, and care is greatly appreciated. Continue the faithful work of Christ, your sister.

SPEAKER_06 6:53

That's why Oscar needs to write a book for people like that.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

Yeah, amen. Well, patience, let me just kick it off here and just say that in a way you answered your own question. And I say that because I I do that a lot of times and I don't realize it. We want to add to that as an encouragement too. But you said, I know that's not true. Man, that that is one of the biggest keys to really growing and having victory to say, no, no, I know that's not true. Because a lot of people are struggling with, I feel like that's true. And and yet they don't get to the part of saying, but I know it's not. We feel all kinds of things. And so take take that that kernel uh of truth that you know it's not true, and then water it and and add soil to it and nurture it because as you begin to go toward what is true, that's what's gonna help you to combat that. And so that's my encouragement to you. I'd love for you guys to add any other thoughts, Oscar.

SPEAKER_05 7:54

Yeah, the the love of God is uh towards his children is is vast and unmeasurable. Um I would I would encourage you to saturate your mind, your thinking, your prayer, your meditation on the reality that and on the scripture that talks about you being his child, um, that you've been adopted into his kingdom. I I think so often, for whatever reason, we tend to think we are we are the bastard stepchild of the kingdom of God. You know, that we are we're in his kingdom, but it's like the angels were at the dinner table and the angels are like, don't forget what it took God to get you here. You know what I mean? Um, but the scriptures do not talk about us like that. It says that we are his prized possession, that in the cross we inherit God, and that God inherits us. That we are the Deuteronomy calls us the apple of his eye, his prized possession. You are his inheritance. He delights and take joy in who you are in him. And and so just allow your mind, your heart, your meditation to rest and rejoice in what God has to say about you, not what you have to say about you, not what your parents had to say about you, not what anybody else has to say or about you, but what God has.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

So, I mean, Oscar, right. So, so we know your past, we we know that dad wasn't there, stepdads were in a bad way. What what did that carry over into your Christianity where you thought of father in a negative way or not? And what was there scriptures? Was there a book? Was there something that got you out of that that horrible funk thinking into a right way of thinking of who God is?

SPEAKER_05 9:42

Yeah, that's a great question. Yes, I think it's it's probably natural for most of us to impose a worldly view of father and God onto the one true God, but it's it's a misunderstanding of who he is. It was a short season for me. I remember specifically going to a mentor and saying, okay, the Bible says that he's my father, but how is that possible? I didn't have a dad who taught me how to be a man, taught me how to pay my bills, taught me how to treat a woman. And his his pushback to me was that's a great prayer for you to go to God and say, Lord, show me how you are my father. Can you show me how you are my father in heaven? And I would say, through understanding the reality that I'm his child, that anytime the scripture talked about me being his son, sonship. Like, think about sonship, that we are children of God. Uh, I would, I would really just dive into that and allow my prayer and my imagination to meditate and reflect on that reality. And I can tell you with con with assurity, not because of my own wisdom, but because of the goodness and the healing work of the spirit in my life, that I didn't have like a father wound. I was good. If you remember the story about me reaching out to my dad, I didn't have anything to gain from it. It was in hopes of sharing the gospel with him. I am settled. God is my God. He is my father who delights in me. And there is nothing that can rip that identity from me. There's so much confidence to have in there. Um, the fact that he delights in you. I mean, think about that. Think about that. Let's not pass that for a minute. The God of the universe, sustainer, creator, delights in his children. When you pray to him in heaven, you can't see it, but he leans in and delightfully goes, Yes, my child. That's the kind of God that we're going to do.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

What a picture.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Yeah, you know, I think of what the Lord revealed about his heart toward his people and some of the Old Testament passages that apply to us as his people. You know, Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord your God in your midst, the mighty one will save, he'll rejoice over you with gladness, he'll quiet you with his love, he'll rejoice over you with singing. I mean, that's crazy. That's heavy. And dancing, it's uh yeah, that's right. Isaiah um 49, 15 to 16. Can a mother forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you, says the Lord. See, I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands. Oh yeah, you know, one Psalm 139, 15 to 16. How great are your thoughts to me, O God, how great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sands. So, so I I hope you're encouraged, patience, by by this, that that this is who God is. Don't be defined by what's happened to you, by what the world says about you, by what you feel. Let the Lord define you. You're his child, you're redeemed. Read Ephesians 1, 3 through 14, all the blessings that you have. You've been accepted in the beloved. And um, man, run to him and and and sit with him and let him embrace you and bring you through this. So amen. All right, podcast rankings. Shout out number five, top Christian podcast in Madagascar. Five. Very cool. That's Julian, King Julian's over there hanging out.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

I want to move it, move it. I want to move it to move it.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

It's based on true story. You know who does that really, really well is um Ray? No, Ben Price. Yeah. Oh, that's right. Yeah, Ben Price. Yeah, so there you have it. Thank you, France. Guys, the podcast is reaching all around the world. How exciting is it?

SPEAKER_06 13:36

How would a flat earther uh describe that?

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Oh, all the cross, the four corners have to be a cross, right?

SPEAKER_05 13:42

By the way, if you're listening in Madagascar and want Ray to preach at your church in person, just shoot us an email. He would love to go. He would love to go.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

Yes, and he would love to go. Go back.

SPEAKER_05 13:56

Wait, this just did our podcast breaking drop to 197 in Madagascar after that.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

I just got inspired in the moment. And then our radically revolutionary resource. This podcast is bringing me the starter kit.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

Four different tracts for a total of 350 tracks. You got a million dollar bill, ten commandments coined, comics. Are you a good person? Small version. And 101 of the world's funniest one-liners. Why do you laugh, Mark?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Small version. It's just the way you said it. Small version. Small. Little version.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Yeah. And don't forget the Living Waters mug and Evan Study Bible. Oh, and oh, I'm not.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

Oh, and Living Waters TV. Oh, Living Waters. Don't forget the podcast YouTube channel. All right, guys. Man, you guys ramble and ramble and ramble. Today, friends, we're talking about ways to avoid a hardened heart. Oscar

Ways To Avoid A Hardened Heart

SPEAKER_03 15:28

and Ray speaking from experience.

SPEAKER_06 15:30

One way to create a hardened heart is to have a crooked drip.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Oh, you guys are driving me crazy. Why? I don't know why I didn't notice it. Now it's all I can think about. You have eyes but can't see.

SPEAKER_05 15:45

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

That's right. We're renovating friends, and we had a beautiful The Living Waters logo, the drip, which has life in it, living. It's about a three foot daughters by about two and a half feet wide. But in a prime place at our entrance, now these guys told me it's off a little. I can't fully see it. I can't see it. I wouldn't worry about it. You don't need to fix it. No, no. You know what we're gonna do? I'm gonna hang a string, like a plum line thing, and see if it if it aligns with the with the Fifi jive. Are you being papal? What's that? You were blessing us.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Bless you, my water drop.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

All right. Um way to harden hard.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Who needs a hard way and a heart can be broken?

SPEAKER_05 16:30

Are you guys trying to random? What's love with a second handy motion? I guess Raina are the only ones that listen to secular music.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Mark, you're my partner, bro. I love what we do here.

SPEAKER_05 16:46

Who sings that?

SPEAKER_03 16:48

Uh is that uh Diana Ross or Tina Turner, Mark? Tina Turner. Is it Tina Turner, Mark? Let's keep it telling me. Tina Turner, yeah. Yeah, that is Tina Turner.

SPEAKER_06 16:57

Do you remember Ike was around with Tina? Okay, who's Ike? I keep hearing this.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

Ike's me.

SPEAKER_06 17:02

It was Ike and Tina Turner. That's how they began.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Like uh Sharon Bono?

SPEAKER_06 17:07

Yeah, absolutely. Not Bono? Like Shea and Chain. Sonny and Sheer.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

Sharon Bono.

SPEAKER_06 17:12

Sonny and Sherman. Sonny and sheer. Oh, I guess. Yeah. Sonny and sheer. And Ike and Bono, Sonny Bono.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

I just realized what you're thinking.

SPEAKER_06 17:22

Yeah. Join us for confusion.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Or Confucius. All right, friends. Um, yeah, a hardened heart. Man, I I tremble. I tremble at the at the thought of a hardened heart. Um you know where I hear of this most, and this is where it really, really terrifies me. It's when you hear about an elderly person who's on their deathbed and they're hardened of heart. They refuse. They refuse to surrender and yield to Christ. I remember hearing of a well-known celebrity and then a well-known pastor went to them and tried to reach them. They were of Jewish background. And uh but yeah, they nope, unwilling to bow the knee to Christ.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

I I recently went up to an elderly couple who were sitting on a bench, and it's it's not my favorite people to approach. I think we all have maybe our our our ideal person, like my ideal person would be like a college professor. That's who I would want to talk to.

SPEAKER_06 18:21

An elderly college professor.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

But uh I I I tried to engage in conversation with them. And this elderly gentleman was just started cussing me out. Really? Yeah, and told me what I should do with Jesus. And I was so heartbroken. No, no idea. Until I mean, as I started talking to him about Christ, it was so sad. How old would you say he was, Mark? 18. Old. Probably born in 1949-ish. Whoa. Are people still alive from that thing?

SPEAKER_06 18:48

Punch in the gut. Ray, when were you born? Uh I I was published in 1949.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

No, he was older than that. I mean, we're we're probably talking late 80s. I mean, I was surprised that they were out and about. Wow. So I was heartbroken. Where was this?

SPEAKER_06 19:02

Um Mark was actually standing at the local park. Mark was standing on his auction hose.

SPEAKER_04 19:09

Get off, get off, get off.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

Yeah, it is, it's tragic. And I think that it's easy for us, though, to be self-deceived when it comes to um having a hardened heart. And and because it's easy for us to to just think, you know, I'm I'm just what are you doing? Did you talk about it? You're heading in the direction that I was planning on. Oh, I was gonna yada. Um yeah, because it's it's it is deceitful. And guys, this is why. This is why. And I I'm getting a little earlier because we're developing this, but I but I gotta jump into it. Hebrews 3.13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Man, whenever I hear someone say, No, man, I I would never do that, or no, no, I'm good, or I'm no, I'm that that's just that's just not something that that that I would be drawn to or whatever. I just I take warning because that's foolishness.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Can you believe they did that thing? Right? I mean, a hard and heart, it doesn't happen overnight. It starts with maybe some uh neglected prayer, gonna skip a devo. You know, I'm not gonna go out on Friday night to share the gospel. Whatever a good godly routine for you is, yeah, it just begins to take your foot off of that accelerating pedal. You know, but but sin lies to you, and sin is very deceptive and it's tricky. Uh I I think that for me, when we talk about uh trying to avoid a hardened heart, you need to be approachable about anything. Right? I I think we've all been in the place all over the spectrum there. But when when you approach someone and you want to point out the egg on their face, and before you could even get the words out of your mouth, if it's a one of a defense, you're thinking, what am I, what's the point here? They're not even gonna I haven't even gotten to the place where I really want to get to, and they the shield is up, right? It's like what in the world? So we tend to see in new believers something that we should see in older believers, which is an approachable, teachable heart. Something about us where we think, man, I've arrived in this area, I've I've attained, I don't need accountability over here. Name it, right? Why do you read books on marriage? Like easy, why why do you go to uh conferences dealing with marriages? Is it because you've arrived? No, it's because I want to continually be the best husband that I could possibly be. You know what? Why were we continually going to homeschool conferences? Because I want to be the best teacher in my kids' lives and I want to be a student of my students, right? You're continually learning, continually uh growing. Um a soft heart towards God is not maintained by accident, right? We we we have to fight for that daily. There's a daily fight in all areas. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

You know, I I uh I often wonder when when someone corrects me or points them out in my life, and I want to give clarification. I really want to search my heart and ask myself, am I really doing that to give clarification? Because I I care that that person is misunderstanding something which could then put truth in jeopardy or or be harmful to them in some way, or is it because I wanna I wanna protect my identity or my reputation? You know what I'm saying? Like and it it's not wrong to want to make sure your reputation isn't slurred because you're trying you're having impact. But but is there some selfishness in that that keeps me from listening to the truth? I had a friend years ago who said, don't be a rights defender, be a truth seeker. We want to defend our rights and our reputation versus like, well, but what what truth is that? You know, I I really would love to get to a place where I can honestly pause. And sometimes you have to give an answer in the moment, but other times be able to say, can I think about that? Can I really chew on that and get others' perspectives and pray and search the word? You know? That's huge. But Ray, what what are what are the things that harden our hearts? What causes us to have a hard heart?

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Well, I think the very, very relevant scripture for every single human being is words of Ecclesiastes,

Aging, Bitterness, And Hope In Christ

SPEAKER_06 23:20

I think it is. Remember your creator in the days of your youth. Because what happens, and it's natural, when people get old and bitter, I can understand why. Because everything they love and live for gets ripped from their hands as aging comes. You're like your physique, you're like looking in the mirror, you're gonna end up like a peer. You've got no choice. Just the body goes like that. Like you're brushing your hair, it's gonna fall out. Like your nice bright eyes, they're just gonna sink in and you're just gonna look like a skeleton as you get older. And and what's your choice in life? You want to live long to 110? No, that'd be horrific. Living in, sorry, your dad lived to 113. But most people, you know, by the time they hit 80 or 90, that just that just absolutely had enough. And if you haven't got faith in Jesus, if you haven't got the hope in the gospel, you're gonna end up bitter at God, bitter a life. And that's just the way it is. Um, I was sharing with Easy yesterday um about what it would be like, and this actually happened, to get a uh a phone call from a lawyer saying you have been named in a will that's worth 50 to 60 million dollars. This actually happened. Six kids were called in because their father had died, and he named them in his will, and Jerry Lewis, the actor comedian, says, I hereby disinherit my sons, and he named each one of them. Six of them. They're gonna they're gonna get nothing from me. And uh the lesson is keep yourself in God's will. That's a play on words. So that was Jerry Lewis.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

That was Jerry Lewis, who had the $50-60 million dollars, died, kids think they're getting the inheritance at the end.

SPEAKER_06 25:00

Well, I don't know if they thought they were gonna get because there was an embittered feeling between the two, the whole family was just bitter. It's a second marriage. He married to one lady for 35 years, they were her kids, and he just probably wanted to get back at her. But it just shows where you go if you leave God out of your life. He was a bitter man. I mean, to do that to your children, your grand, he actually actually said, and their descendants in the will. So even cut the kids off. And it's um that's just the way the world goes. If you leave Jesus out, you've got no hope in your death. You've got no hope in life.

SPEAKER_03 25:31

Wow. I think a hardened heart is sort of like a a a poison that in in a sense sort of scratches and itch that we have. It it numbs us. It it's this perverse pleasure while it's destroying us. Yeah. Because it's kind of like that's true, that stubbornness. You know, you see these people that like are hitting their head against a wall and they're doing it again and again and again, or punching a wall with their fists, and it's bleeding, and like they know they're destroying themselves. But it feels good when they stall. But yeah, yeah, but they you know what I mean? It just like it consumes you.

SPEAKER_05 26:07

Yeah. Uh that that idea of a hardened heart in the Old Testament is rooted in idolatry. And I love that you started

Idolatry Shapes You Into Its Image

SPEAKER_05 26:15

with Hebrews three Hebrews three, because it's so important. When we talk about a hardened heart, often we think about Pharaoh, and we think, oh, when the scripture talks about hardened hearts, it's talking about unbelievers. But Hebrews 3 reminds us, no, like the the call, the warning towards a hardened heart is to you, Christian, that God is still at work in you, but that you can also be shaped by certain kinds of idolatry. And so, idolatry, ultimately, it's important to recognize that all sin is rooted in some form of idolatry. That's why the first two of the Ten Commandments talk about idolatry. Everything, this is Martin Luther's theology of sin, is that everything is a derivative of idolatry. The reason why I lie is because there's a root issue of idolatry. Either I lie to keep a reputation, to hold on to power, uh, to earn praise, right? Those are idols that are in my hearts. And here's the thing about idols is that they don't just offend God, they also dehumanize you because you were made in the image of God, and idolatry is a form of worship. And worship is not a passive act, it's something that shapes who you are as a person, right? So when you worship God, you become more and more like who you were made to be in the image of God. When you worship idols, the Old Testament tells us, and G.K. Bill reminds us uh in his work, his scholarly work in the Old Testament, is that you become like what you worship. I think it's Psalm 135, all throughout the Old Testament, but Psalm 135 specifically talks about it. The idols have mouths, but they cannot speak, they have eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear. And then the psalmist hits home. He says, Those who make them will become like them. You will have eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear, a mouth but cannot speak. Being an idol worshipper, having a hardened heart shapes us away from being shaped like God. And you, and this is where what you said is really important, which is that idolatry is a form of spiritual addiction. Because it is, it is, you know, we deceive ourselves and we act like addicts. You kind of brought this up. If someone's like, man, like I really think maybe you're struggling with this thing over here, we're like, no, no, no, no, I don't have a problem with that. I talk about this often with friends who are trying to start social media accounts for God. It's like, no, I really want to just make God's glory known, but they're addicted to the likes and the follows. And it's like, no, no, no, this isn't about me. You know, this is about God. It's like, man, that's exactly what the addict would say. To the drunkard, it's like, no, no, no, I can stop. This isn't about the alcohol, I can stop. To the coffee drinker, this isn't about the caffeine, right? The addict will make the excuse and act as though they're still in control because they uh have eyes but they cannot see, and ears, but they cannot hear. We have to be careful because as idol worshipers, as Christians, we tend to smuggles even into our acts of worship to God. And so, man, like I think, I think one of the most important things we can do, and what we talk about often is inviting people into our lives to help us with our blind spots, to be able to go, hey man, like I've just I've been noticing this area of your life. And before the inner lawyer comes out to stop and go, no, no, no, that that's there's no way that's me, we need to stop and wonder like what part of what they are saying is true about me.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

You know, Oscar, I don't know what you think about this, but this this thought came to mind that the the biggest enabler of idolatry is oftentimes self-pity. In the sense that when when you get to a place where you feel sorry for yourself, you feel victimized, you feel wronged, that that gets you to a place where now you're willing to disobey God, to do whatever you want to do to continue to feel good about yourself. And so that there's that that element. And we got to be careful of that. That's one of the most deceptive things, self-pity.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Especially for leaders and pastors. Bruce Garner had talked about this in his book, uh, that I'm pretty sure we still sell it. But he he was talking about pastors feeling the self-pity, which leads to self-entitlement. Like, I you do you not know how much I'm serving? Do you not know how much I'm in the limelight? There, there, the amount of pressure that is on me is absolutely insane. Uh easy. I wanted to I wanted to ask you a question. I wanted to have your take on this. On how important is it to confess sin quickly, as opposed

Confess Fast And Don’t Delay Repentance

SPEAKER_00 31:02

to, you know what, tomorrow I'm gonna take care of this, or when I'm done with this task, or then I'm gonna look into that. Uh I'm I'm gonna apologize to him on and whatever it is in a couple of days. And how important is that to confess sin as quick as you possibly can? And why?

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Yeah, well, that's like saying, you know, my house is, it's, it's, you know, a little fire has started in the living room, but I'll take care of it tomorrow morning, you know, or you know, there's there's a water leak under my sink and it's you know, it's dripping, it's about a bucket full every five minutes, but you know, I'll take care of it next week. It's insanity. Why? Because as scripture talks about, right? I mean, if you confess your sin, you'll prosper. But if you if you don't, you're you're you're headed toward trouble. You won't, and you you'll you'll head toward destruction because what you're doing is you're you're keeping yourself in a place where you're in the enemy's crosshairs, because you haven't had that relief that comes from from repentance. And what it says in 1 John, you know, God is light and him is no darkness at all, right? If we say we have fellowship with him, walk in darkness, we lie and don't practice truth. But it says that, but if we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. So what you're doing by waiting is you're hardening your conscience. You're keeping yourself in a place where you're in the enemy's crosshairs, and you're also deceiving yourself to think that you're not going to justify doing it one more time because, well, you haven't confessed yet, so I'll just do it one more time. And then that'll lead you. I'll tell you, there are people who say, who have said, tomorrow, I'll I'm gonna kick this, and they find themselves years down the line, never did it.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Tomorrow is the devil's word. You I heard you share something with one of your boys when my kids were really young. And I don't know if it was original, but I've said it to my kids several times since, and that is uh delayed obedience is disobedience.

SPEAKER_03 32:51

Yeah, it's not original, but yeah, but it's true. Yeah, if you don't, if you don't obey right away, it's disobedience and rebellion. It's like, oh yeah, I'll get to it all, or you know, not doing it with with joy and gladness and the attitude of heart is also a form of of rebellion.

SPEAKER_06 33:07

It's suppressing the blessing of grief. I mean, not grief. Of guilt. Because guilt is a blessing because it's showing you that something is radically wrong. And so you need to listen to it.

SPEAKER_05 33:21

Yeah. Even repentance, if you think about it as a gift, which the scripture says that it is. Can you imagine, like, imagine what five or six-year-old wakes up Christmas morning, sees a giant box under the Christmas tree, and goes, I'll get to that later. It's a gift, you're going for it. Repentance is a gift. Yeah, it's an opportunity for you to become more like Christ. So when somebody brings something to you, or when there's a sin in your life that you're obviously aware of, like to push after repentance is to be that five-year-old on Christmas morning. Go for it because there's so much goodness on the other side.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Even the humility that comes along with it, even if you don't see what they're saying. Yeah, it's just, you know, let me think through that. Let me let me pray through that. Thank you for having the courage to come and talk to me about that.

SPEAKER_05 34:02

I love what Keller says. He says when somebody brings something to you before the inner lawyer comes out, he says, look for the nugget of truth. Even if it's somebody who's an antagonist, like even if it's someone who doesn't love you that's saying it in resentment or bitterness, bitterness, find the one percent.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Maybe they can't communicate what is really there, but you have to kind of dig for it a little bit. Right. Yeah. There's truth hidden in the midst of their inability to communicate.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yeah. Look past the messenger to the message. Yeah. You know, and sometimes it's legit, the messenger can play a role because they know you. They, you know, and but sometimes when it is harsh or intense, just listen to the message. Like what's true there? And you know, Mark, back to the the issue of um, you know, what we were talking about, self-pity. Like I never get, well, I don't want to say never, but I get very stirred when I whenever I'm reading someone or I'm

Self-Pity, Entitlement, And Gratitude Practices

SPEAKER_03 34:53

listening to a message and they say, Man, stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's like a wake-up call. It's like, oh yeah. I don't know what it does. It's a tonic for me. That's what I'm doing. I'm feeling sorry for myself. You know, and and a lot of a lot of it is tied in with people and what what people are doing toward us or not or how they're treating us. I have this saying that I I really long to live by. I fail at it quite often, but but I do really want to live by it. Act like no one owes me anything. Never make anyone feel obligated as though they owe me anything, and then choose to obligate myself to owe everyone a massive debt of love. I'm telling you guys, like when I'm struggling, when I'm battling, and I recall that, because when you think about it, when we get to that place where we're heading toward that hardened heart because of what someone did or didn't do, right? Because that's where we're going. We start mulling it over, it leads to bitterness, and then we start hardening our heart toward that person. I'm not gonna talk to them, I'm not gonna reach out to them, I'm not, you know, whatever. It's it's that's what's happening. We're feeling sorry for ourselves because they we think they owe us something. Well, maybe they do. Let's hypothetically say they do. Right. I mean, Jesus talked about, right? Like to lend expecting nothing in return. That person technically owes you something, but you're choosing to say, I free you of that debt. So let's say someone may technically, but I'm gonna choose to live as though no one owes me anything. And then I'm gonna act toward them in a way that it I don't obligate them to feel like they owe me anything. And then I'm gonna choose to obligate myself to owe everyone a massive debt of love.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 36:35

Imagine if we all live like that.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

I wanna live like that. Like that's my yearning. I'm so far from that. Right. So how do we how do we take those micro steps to get there? Yeah. So far, you said so far starts with a step. How do you eat an elephant one bite at a time, right? So what are these steps? Yeah. So you have a shofar. A shofar.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

A shofar, so far. I think it begins really with realizing what we really deserve in place of what we have. I should right now literally be engulfed in the eternal flames of hell. We've talked about it on the podcast a lot. When you when you get there and then you begin to give thanks, oh man, that that's one of the most precious parts of my prayer life is the portion where I pause to thank. I just start going down the line. I mean, I'll do it, Lord. Thank you that I live in America. Oh, the most most prosperous nation on the planet. Sorry, Madagascar. Thank you that I live in California. Thank you that I live in this area. Thank you for my house, my kids, my wife, my children. Thank you for trials, Lord. There you go. All right. So this you're different level here. Yeah. Thank you for my trials because you tell me my trials are producing endurance in me. You tell me that that challenges and trials are producing character in me. You tell me that you will cause all things to work together for good in my life through those. Thank you. And I'm just telling you, it just changes.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

How do you get that mature level right there? Right? You're thanking God for good food. We do that. Yeah. Right? We should be thanking God after we eat as well. But it's like, how are you thanking God for these trials and these tribulations? We read it inside the word of God, but how did you practically get to that place where you say, that trial's going to work together for good? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

Well, first of all, it's a daily battle because I it's like it's like, you know, you look at take a pair of pants, it's been to the cleaners a thousand times, it has that crease, stretch it out, the crease is gone, let it go, it's right back. That's about a week for you pretty much. So we get hit with something, and then you know it goes back. So it's a daily battle, but you take the first step. You know that here's what I'm gonna start to do. You lead with your will and you let your emotions follow, if they ever do. But this is what I know is right. That's good. This is what I know is right. So I'm gonna do it. What am I gonna do to get me to do it? I'm gonna write it down, I'm gonna put it on a sticky note in my mirror, in the bathroom, that I see the first thing in the morning, give thanks to the Lord. It's good. And no one owes me anything. And, you know, I'm not gonna obligate anyone. Um and you just start doing it.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Well, those-it notes are pretty key. I mean, you had shared with us that your daughter had put post-it notes inside of her car. Yeah, and that you had borrowed her car to go do something, and how encouraged you were, which encouraged me and gave me a conversation with my family about the post-it notes with just scripture. How important is it to have scripture just in like every little place? I have uh scripture and stuff hanging up inside of my my shower. So my son last night he goes in to take a shower, and here he is just shouting the different things that are that are posted up inside the shower. I love it. So key that we continually inside of God's word and just being washed over it. Ray, you do that, right, with scripture, posting it.

SPEAKER_06 39:29

Yeah, post it. Um I I I'd like to change the subject just a little bit, talking about a heart and heart. I think the litmus test for a heart and heart is what are our thoughts on hell? Do we think about it regularly? Do we meditate on it? And one thing that grieves me, I I I know you like this too, Izzy. I hate um dirty jokes. But a close second, uh Christians who joke about hell or even think lightly of hell, it should break our heart daily, it should weigh us heavy. Um, and I love I I often I was at the doctor's the other day, just having a checkup, and um I was thinking about a doctor, how difficult it must be for him to hold on to his empathy and not have a hardened heart because he's acquainted with grief all the time, people in pain, and he's got to maintain that gentleness and empathy when someone comes in there that he's gotta be empathetic. And we've got to be the same when it comes to sinners, just be empathetic. And the the balance is Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, but he had an oil of joy above his fellows, and that's the balance. We should have this heaviness on us that drives us to prayer and drives us to preach and witness with all our heart, but at the same time have the joy of the Lord as our strength, which helps us navigate through this darkness of what we call life.

SPEAKER_05 40:56

You reminded me this pastor one time was talking about the phrase go to hell, and he said, if you really understood hell, you would never say that to your worst enemy.

SPEAKER_03 41:06

Wow. So true. Yeah. Um yeah, jokes about dirty jokes, jokes about hell, and jokes about divorce are like my massive pet peeves. Those aren't things you joke about or kick around. And actually, that's a good point to make. These are the kinds of things that harden our hearts and in another way where you become callous to certain things because you just do them casually. Maybe the first time you're like, oh, and then you start doing them more, and then you know, before you know it, you're there. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_05 41:38

Yeah, you you think about you think about like what what shapes our lives for destruction. For most people, they don't they don't wake up one morning and decide that they want a disenchanted, um, dull relationship with God. For most people's lives, they don't wake up and decide to destroy their marriage or to, you know, ruin the relationship with their kids. Usually a destructive life comes with one small micro decision at a time that builds up over time. Everything we do is ultimately shaping our lives to be like something. And so, in that sense, like the micro decisions that we make are either shaping our lives for worship or harden our hearts away from the God who deserves worship. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

Yeah, and you know you you can't you have to tend your heart, you gotta, you've got to meditate and think on the things that are a struggle for you or a battle, or that people have brought up or mentioned, and reminding yourself of those truths you know that that will reacquaint you. Ray, one of one of the things I've heard you say almost more than anything, I would say one of the phrases, it's

Fear Of God And Porn’s Quick Damage

SPEAKER_03 43:02

one of your most common phrases spiritually speaking, is the fear of God. The fear of God. Um do you we what role does that play in avoiding a hardened heart?

SPEAKER_06 43:16

I think once you realize the wickedness of your own heart, you'll see the necessity to hold on to the fear of the Lord. Because my heart is so um like a m a magnet. It goes to north, my heart goes towards sin. And it's uh it's a daily battle, and I don't know what I would do if I didn't fear God. As to uh Oscar's point of the subtlety of idolatry, when you look at the life of Solomon, it is absolutely frightening because you read all the words of Solomon warning you about a uh a loose woman, young man, be careful of this, and then you see what sin did to his heart. He covered everything with gold, but he he didn't realize you can't cover your sin with gold. You have to cover it with repentance and faith in Jesus. And um there's a whole list of scriptures from different prophets that condemn Solomon. It said he went evil in the sight of the Lord and God's anger was against him. And it was all because of the subtlety of sin. And especially especially last, if there's anything that hardens the heart, it's sin. If there's anything that's sin on steroids, it's pornography, which so many have such quick access to. And that hardens the conscience in seconds if you don't. Come in repentance to the cross.

SPEAKER_03 44:38

I wonder how many people who abandon the faith, and we all understand that what that terminology means. They were never genuinely saved. But I I wonder how many, especially men, you would find that at the very heart of that was a desire to just dive headlong into pornography. You know, unfettered, just lust and and and in connection with that adultery fornication.

SPEAKER_06 45:02

Well that's the heart without the fear of God, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 45:05

When we talk about idolatry, it's easy for us for obvious reasons to go into materialism, sex, money, lust. Um but Paul in Galatians like cold plunges the Christian because he he also talks about idolatry as moral religious keeping. He says if you are trying to earn your way to God through law keeping, that is idolatry. So it's important to recognize that like we can perform idolatry, we can participate in idolatry even in the in keeping the law. If keeping the law is our attempt at earning our salvation rather than a response to our salvation, we all understand that, right? Uh and and this is where the like the goodness of God and the goodness of the gospel is so important to us. Uh because once we understand this, the keeping of the law becomes an act of worship rather than an act of idolatry. And that is this. Think about Jesus. He he is mocked, ridiculed, beaten to a bloody pulp, nails driven through his arms, his hands, a crown of thorns put on him, spit on. I mean, this is the God of the universe. And it's ultimately, it's it's not just the Jews and the Roman centurions that we do that every day when we take up our idolatrous ways. Right? That is that is us putting him on that cross. He you could say that Jesus would have been righteous in hardening his heart towards us. But on the cross, his heart softened towards us when he says, forgive them, God. And so that is that is the power for us to pursue him, to watch our idolatrous race, to pursue repentance, to know that Jesus, who had a right to harden his heart towards us, softens it for the sinner so that we would be saved through his work on the cross.

SPEAKER_03 47:16

Amen. The gospel. It always goes back to the gospel.

SPEAKER_06 47:19

Okay. What would you have done if you could if you had like 15 years ago as an atheist, had a vision of you saying what you just said?

SPEAKER_03 47:29

I was hallucinating. Yeah. You know, Ray, I was reminded of um when you were talking about Solomon, Nehemiah 13, 26. Right. So did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Speaking about, you know, uh pagan women and stuff. Yet among many nations, there were there was there no king like him who was beloved of his God and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, even him, he did outlandish women caused him to sin. So it's like it's like looking at that and and just remembering, you know, that like someone even like Solomon, who God appeared to twice, who God made the wisest man on earth, one of the wealthiest ever, most powerful. And yet he allowed his heart to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

SPEAKER_06 48:20

You would think his how can I put it, his lust would have been satisfied with a thousand women. But a lust is like a flame. You you just pour fuel onto it, it's gonna get bigger and bigger and consume you. Yeah. So you gotta put it out.

SPEAKER_05 48:35

And that goes back to the idea that sin is not passive, but it it's an addiction, right? Because that isn't that the addict? Like they need more and more and more. You like it's at first it's one drink to get them drunk, then it's two, then it's ten. And that's that that's the power of sin. It's an addictive behavior.

SPEAKER_06 48:53

And the denial of addiction is seen in liking it to a man in a prison. And uh you say, You are in jail. He says, No, I'm not. I can do what I want, so I'll try and get out. And a man who says, I got no addiction to cigarettes, I can smoke them whenever I want, I can drink whenever I want, try and stop. You're in a prison.

SPEAKER_04 49:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 49:13

He that serves sin is a slave of sin, and not only physical addictions, but mental addictions too.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

Yeah, all that hardens the heart. And you know what sin does, that saying, right? Sin makes you pay more than you want to pay, stay longer than you want to stay, stray further than you want to stray. And um, but we gotta remember that. It's it's deceitful. It wants to destroy you. And I love what well I Ray, I want you to guess who said this. Beware of no man more than of yourself. We carry our worst enemies within us.

SPEAKER_06 49:44

You just say that. I didn't say it.

SPEAKER_03 49:45

Who said that, right?

SPEAKER_06 49:46

You say that.

SPEAKER_03 49:47

You just I saw you say it. Who did I get that from, right?

SPEAKER_06 49:50

I'll say it again.

SPEAKER_03 49:51

The way you say it.

SPEAKER_06 49:53

I wasn't even listening. Okay. I was listening to the red.

SPEAKER_05 49:55

Listen to his tenor. I think he's giving it away with his tenor.

unknown 49:58

Beware!

SPEAKER_01 50:06

Imagine.

SPEAKER_03 50:07

Uh, but but true. I mean, beware of no man more than of yourself. Uh we don't do that. We're aware of everyone now, you know. Oh no, that no, I'm I suspect me. And that's another thing, you know, that that a saying that I often repeat to myself, especially when it's in a conflict with someone else, never ever assume that you were innocent. In other words, never assume that there isn't something you might have done or could have said or didn't, maybe not even intentionally or neglected, like, because we're always like, again, defense, but no, maybe I did, maybe I gave that impression, maybe. Yeah, so important.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Easy. Are there things that are maybe outside the box? We we talk about the big things. We talk about, hey, you should be in the word, um, forgive that person. But are the things outside the box that people are not thinking about that can begin to get a hardened heart? I'll throw something out there. Just um maybe, maybe you're bitter towards someone and you can't uh if you were to come across them, it's like you just lose it, right? Because of what this person has done or the way you think about this. Are there things within that camp, maybe even respectable sins? Uh who wrote the book? Uh respect Jerry Bridges. Jerry Bridges, right? Are there respectable things in there that can be hardening our hearts that are flying under the radar?

SPEAKER_03 51:18

Yeah, absolutely. I I think one of those things is neglecting the spiritual disciplines that we don't ever put a finger on is keeping our hearts soft and tender. Fasting, by way of example, you're saying absolutely. Okay. Fasting. How often do we fast as Christians? I'm hungry right now. Oh, I know. In and out. I've been fasting. You know what I'm saying? Like, but but but what is that doing? That's that's you to the Lord. That's good. Tenderizing you to God and susceptibility to being moved by the Spirit, being convicted, you know. Um, you know, uh being being in a place of intentional discipleship from others. I'm not talking about formal, I'm talking you're intentionally seeking to glean from others, to learn. Because the person who shuts themselves off from input from others is like a plant that's not getting water or sunshine or soil. Like you're gonna, you're going to wither. But when you open yourself up to learn to ask questions, because more often than not, we want to speak, we want to talk, we want to give. And then when people are talking, we're somewhere else versus like, what can I learn from this person right now? I learned from my grandkids. I I learn from from people that are younger than me that I that I know. I learned from strangers. I learned from unbelievers. From a dog. When oh, from your dog. When I'm attuned. Oftentimes I'm not, but when I'm attuned, I can learn. That softens your heart. You know, so that there are things outside of the box like right.

SPEAKER_06 52:55

I wasn't joking about a dog because I learned my dog has incredible forgiveness, incredible grace. You can tread on its foot and it'll come back with its tail wagging. That's it, crazy here. Just continually, just stay in that mode. Um, I I've been meditating a lot on uh what God said to Cain, sin lies at the door. And if we can understand that sin lies at the door with the weight of an African elephant, and so you don't want to crack the door open. And the way not to crack the door open is to always remember that sin comes together with death, according to Scripture. Wages of sin is death. A soul that sins, it shall die. Lust brings forth sin, sin which can see brings forth death. So whenever you say, Come and sin, I love you, in comes the grim reaper, hand in hand.

SPEAKER_03 53:41

Oh, so good. Um, Spurgeon, the same sun that melts wax hardens clay, and the same gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sin.

SPEAKER_05 53:52

Sorry, I ruined it because I got excited. Can you say it again? I started talking right in the middle of it. Oh, did you? I did, yeah, because I love that question.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

I didn't even hear you. Nothing. I didn't hear you. Nobody heard you. The same sun that melts wax hardens clay, and the same gospel which melts some persons to repentance, hardens others in their sins. Thinking of that guy, Mark, that you that older man.

SPEAKER_06 54:13

You know, that sort of qualifies what you hear about uh Pharaoh hardening his heart.

SPEAKER_03 54:18

Well, wow, that just makes it make sense. Yeah, that's true. Um, let me finish with this quote by MacArthur A hard heart is blind to spiritual truth and sensitive to sin and resistant to the word of God. Mark, the word of God playing a role in keeping our heart soft.

SPEAKER_00 54:40

Yeah, you know, yesterday

Quiet Distractions And Let Scripture Wash You

SPEAKER_00 54:42

I was inside my office and uh just had so much to do that I was just where do I start? And I'd already got inside the word earlier in the day. It's the first thing I do, you know, like we do when we wake up, and I just was I just paused and I and I put on uh the audio bible and I put it up against um my wall there. I just sat there and just closed my eyes and I was just taking in the word. It's it's it's a good place to be that when you don't know where to begin, you don't know where to start, you you don't know how to respond, just pause, pause the distractions, uh pause the scrolling, pause your to-do list, and just start taking in the word of God. You know, yeah, just you know, this morning I took I took my son to uh the airport and uh and I then I came to work and and we had some worship music that was playing, and I just went, even worship music can be a distraction. We fill our life with noise. And we have to remember, right, if if you want to hear the shepherd's voice, oftentimes we need to get away from the sheep because sheep can be noisy. And I think of John, right? He here here's John, he's leaning upon the breastplate of Jesus, and he heard the heartbeat of deity. How many of us can say that? I mean, how many of the apostles can say that they leaned upon the breastplate of Jesus and they heard the heart of the one that bled for him? And I think you can kind of see where you're at with distractions and what you do with them when you're driving along inside of a vehicle and you could just turn off the noise. As great as that song is, as great as that podcast is, as great as fill in the blank is, but just to be still and know that he is God and He's with you inside that place. And if you don't hit your destination, it's okay. You know, you often I've heard you pray, I've traveled with you countless countries, you know, and your prayer that has stood out to me, and I pray it every time I go to leave, it's uh Lord, watch over my my kids in my absence just as much as you do in my presence.

unknown 56:53

Right?

SPEAKER_00 56:54

God doesn't, he doesn't need me. And if God were to take me home and I don't see that wedding here on earth, I'm gonna have the best seat in the house. Yeah, you know, side by side with my Lord. Quiet the distractions. God's not gonna raise his voice. He's a gentleman.

SPEAKER_03 57:09

Yeah, Mark, you know, that that prayer I pray it hit me one day because I'm praying, Lord, please watch over my family while I'm gone.

SPEAKER_04 57:16

What?

SPEAKER_03 57:17

Oh, okay. Now I'll take over now that you're you're gone because you're such a good protector. Yeah, he's always, you know.

SPEAKER_00 57:23

Um we pray that even like now, Lord, we pray that you'd be with us right now. Yeah. Well, he wasn't taking a break, he didn't have a 10-minute break, but it's it's for us. Yeah. So we might be cognizant of the fact of how close he actually is listening.

SPEAKER_03 57:35

Emmanuel. Amen. Well, friends, I I would just remind you of Ephesians 4 30 through 32. It's beautiful. And

Tenderhearted Forgiveness And Final Charge

SPEAKER_03 57:44

do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. There are a lot of things that harden our hearts. We've talked about a number of them, but one of the most common is that bitterness, you know, where we grieve God's spirit who indwells us. And so we need to put those things off and put on tender mercies, that that tenderheartedness and uh to remember what Christ did for us. It all goes back to the gospel. Think of what he bore in our place, the wrath of God, and we've been forgiven of such a great debt. Should we not forgive others? I'm sure this applies to many of you listening. I hope you take it to heart. All right, friends, that's it. I'm gonna end mellow today. I feel that way. Don't forget the starter kit. Like, subscribe, share, podcast at livingwaters.com. Thank you for joining us, friends. We'll see you here next time. I know Oscar's surprising, huh? On the Living Waters, almost as surprising as you not drinking coffee. I'm back in the mood again. But can we just think you're so close.

SPEAKER_02 59:01

The coffee reminded me. We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast, where we have no idea what we're doing.

SPEAKER_03 59:09

Right. That was nice.

SPEAKER_01 59:11

What we're doing.