A Tender Heart
A Tender Heart
(Hard-Heartedness in the Body of Christ,
Sermon Proof Christians)
David Wilkerson
I believe that the hardest hearts are not out there on the streets, but right here in the house of God. I can go on and on describing all types of Christ rejecters, scoffers, mockers, blasphemers, God haters, and yes truly you can say (that) among them are those who are hard-hearted.
But if you want to discover the real hard heart that God most despises, the hardest heart that God can not endure is that which is in the house of God, His own house, among His own people.
A hard heart is one that becomes set in its ways getting harder to move, harder to stir until finally being able to indulge in secret sin. That can become a hardest.
It doesn’t matter who preach. It doesn’t matter how powerful, how anointed. It doesn’t move. It doesn’t stir. It doesn’t change.
And still be able to praise God, raise your hands, be one of us, and just love the preaching, and absolutely ignore it.
When we become only hearers, not doers of word of God, we harden our hearts.
This is so serious that some of us sitting here who consider yourself some of the most spiritual, some of the most loving, caring, dedicated, gentle, God-fearing may be already taking the first few steps towards to a hard heart.
They laid plumb line and nails you now.
I’m telling you honestly that if you’re neglecting your life of prayer …
You don’t have time for God. You have time for everything else, but you don’t have time for God. You are not into this book. You are heading toward a hard heart.
How many powerful warnings as though the Holy Ghost Himself or taking over the voice and just speaking warning, scripture after scripture of how the curse of God comes on those who gossip, hear it or tell it?
You have been warned and warned and warned…
You can’t pick up this Bible. You can’t read the book of Proverbs without having the fear of God in you if you are a real man or a woman of God.
I’m trying to keep you from a hard heart.
What about the many warnings about hidden secret sin?
We’ve talked about homosexuality, lesbianism. We’ve talked about adultery, fornication. We’ve talked about all of those drugs, alcohol, all of those.
I’m talking about not only that the secret sin of pride and indulgence of the flesh, all of the foolishness that the enemy bring against us.
What about that besetting sin, the thing that God’s been dealing within our hearts.
To be sermon proof is to become so hardened. The heart is no loner moved by the word of God. You can hear any kind of preaching you want, but you’re totally unaffected by what is preached.
He started out so spiritual. He was so close to God, so blessed, so anointed. It seems to you if you begin to read his life it’s incredible that this man can ever take a fall. Especially the depth of degradation he fell to. His name is Solomon.
And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh…
1King 3:1
This was a marriage of convenience.
and took Pharaohs daughter
and brought her into the city of David
1King 3:1
Stop right there. He brought her into the city of David.
God have already set up the kingdom. The kingdom established in the hand of Solomon. He had not made any compromise yet and God has already establishing him. The kingdom established in his hand.
But something’s about to come out of this man. There’s something there in his character. There’s a flaw in his character.
Up to this point, he had not compromised. Up to this point, there’s no harem right now. There’s no horse this time. He is not holding silver and gold, and accumulating it. He didn’t know there’s a working serpent within his heart.
I can hear him go to God and say “O God all I want is You. I don’t want riches. I don’t want fame. I don’t want acceptance. I don’t want glory or reputation among men. It means nothing to me. I just want to know what is right and wrong and know how to serve You and go in and out among this people.” That’s what he saying with his heart with his voice.
But he doesn’t know what is in his heart. He didn’t know what is there.
You may be sitting here tonight.
You say “Those are my words. I don’t want anything in this world. Everything I have is God’s. I don’t want anything. I don’t want to be popular. I’ve said that so many times.
Lord, there’s nothing in this world that I want. I’ve said it sincerely and honestly. And as best I can know my heart I mean it.”
How many of you said that? There’s nothing here that I want. Sometimes something lurking down so very very deep inside of our hearts.
I promise God I would not put guilt on you. I ask God let me do this in tenderness tonight. But I want you to hear what God is saying.
God knew there was something in this man even though he’s saying with his lips
“God, all I want is you. All I want is discernment.” God gave him that discernment.
“All I want is righteousness.” But, God knew. Because when He appear to him the second time God came forth with a powerful warning.
He said,
It says
The Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, …
and He said to him
1King 9:2
“If you shall at all turn from following me, you or your children,
If you will not keep my commandments,
If you will not obey my statutes which I have set before you,
but you go and serve other gods and worship them,
then I’ll cut off Israel out of a land which I’ve given them.
This house will I cast out of my sight.”
1King 9:6-7
He said, “I’ll just drop it. I won’t touch it. If you will not obey my word. If you will not deal with this area of disobedience.”
Solomon took a single step of disobedience and eventually ended up in becoming hardened. He became a lust-driven man. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David. That was her holy place. That’s where the ark was.
You know who the daughter of Pharaoh represents in our life.
A single cord that still holds you to something of this world
A single cord
A single besetting sin that’s not surrendered
That single compromise that you keep justifying
No!
This is wrong!
This is the very thing that Moses forbid.
No contact with Egypt!
Not a horse!
Not a wife!
Where is the sense of conviction?
Where is anybody to plead the word of God?
This is wrong!
This is sin!
There was nobody stood up for Solomon
This Solomon have no tinge of conviction at all, when he sees this ungodly heathen woman coming right into the holy place.
1Kings 11:4
it came to pass when Solomon was old
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods
His heart is full of idolatry. His days of touching God’s throne are over. Is this the same man who at the dedication of temple pray this eloquent prayer?
It’s wonderful. It’s marvelous to see people who are approaching the final days, and the joy of the Lord is in their hearts. There’s a beauty of Christ. You see them closing out their days growing in the Lord.
What a pitiful thing to see people reaching. They go into their 60s, 70s, 80s. And they get meaner and meaner. They get more wicked. They get more vile.
What happened?
Way back to that one single act of disobedience.
Not obeying the word of God!
Not doing what God said to do!
Not weighing that sin down!
Not breaking that tight Egypt!
You go ahead, cling to your idol, justify those areas of disobedience, excuse your sin, but one day it’s going to break down into perversion and apostasy.
Any area in your life?
Is there any area in your life God has put a finger on?
Is there an idol?
Is there a cord attached to Egypt?
Cut it!
Cut it tonight please!