Eze 36:26
I will also put a new spirit in you to change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart. 27 I will put my Spirit inside you and change you so that you will obey my laws. You will carefully obey my commands. 28 Then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
I recently watched a video of Stephan Lungu’s testimony of how he got saved and how God changed his life. In this video, Stephan referenced the scripture in Ezekiel where God stated that He will replace the Israelites’ hearts of stone with a hearts of flesh. I was so inspired by this video that God started speaking to me about this Scripture in Ezekiel.
When speaking about the term “Heart of Stone” it is so easy, as a Christian, to associate this term with unbelievers, like it was, in the case of Stephan Lungu. He had a heart of stone as an unbeliever but then God, by His grace saved Stephan, he replaced his heart of stone with a heart of flesh. However, I would like to make it clear that this scripture was not written to unbelievers. God spoke to the Israelites, His chosen nation, to those who already believed and yet they had a heart of stone. When God started speaking to me about this, He made it very clear to me that a heart of stone is not just common under unbelievers but it is also common among the children of God.
This brought me to a place of introspection and reflection concerning my attitude towards God, towards life and towards my fellow man. The first question I asked myself was: Do I have a heart of stone? This was easy to answer…. obviously the answer is NO. This answer came to me much too easy and I had to dig deeper. I had to explore the depths my heart and truly find out if I was not guilty of the same type of mistakes that the Israelites made. I had to give God access to my heart again in order for Him to change me, my thoughts and my attitude. I trust that you will also reflect on your life, your attitude and that you will allow God to speak to you as you read further.
How do you identify a heart of stone?
A. Lack of Compassion
Compassion is one of the scarcest commodities in our modern society. You just have to take a quick swipe through social media platforms and you will be confronted with out and out hatred. The sad thing about the verbal abuse and hatred tendency we see in virtual posts from around the world is that the origin comes from the Christian and unsaved alike. The hatred we are witnessing is born out of the heart. Whether caused by pain, hurt, rejection or unforgiveness, etc, this originates in the heart of stone unwilling to be changed by the powerful grace of God. Showing no compassion for the brokenness of this world is tell tale sign that you have allowed your heart to be calloused by pain and hurt in your life.
Compassion might be a condition of the heart but it will only be seen through our deeds. In other words, we can talk compassion and even preach compassion but if it is not witnessed in our deeds, compassion has no effect. The fruit of compassion is a life of giving. We have so many examples in the Word of God of compassion: The amazing story of the good Samaritan is just one of them. The feeling of empathy he had towards the man, that was beaten up and thrown to the side of the road to die, did not stay with a feeling but it moved him to action. He gave his time, his money, his expertise and his love. Jesus will always be the best example of compassion. Willing to lay His hands on those burdened with leprosy, when others banned them from the cities; Willing to visit with tax-collectors when the church cursed hem; Offering His life on the cross because of the love He had for His children; Forgiving those causing Him the utmost pain and hurt.
If you find yourself making excuses; to give your time, money, expertise and love to charities, the poor, churches, widows and broken and trodden down you have to ask yourself the question: Am I walking around with a heart of stone.
B. An Overwhelming Sense of self
George Washington Truett was a preacher in Dallas for 47 years. He once visited a wealthy rancher in the West of Texas. After dinner, the Rancher took the preacher to the veranda as the continued their discussions. The Rancher pointed to the east and bragged that as far the eye can see, everything belonged to him. He then pointed to the west and once again proclaimed that everything the eye can see, belongs to him. The Rancher continued in his vain fashion as he pointed to the North and the South, repeating the same words; all the eye can see belongs to him. After the rancher’s verbal exhibition of his accomplishments, Pastor Truett turned to him and pointed to the sky and asked him this question: How much do you own in that direction?
Mat 6:19
“Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them. And thieves can break into your house and steal them. 20 Instead, save your treasures in heaven, where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Selfish ambition and obsession with worldly success have taken a hold on the very existence of man. From the moment we wake up until the moment our heads hit the pillow, we live to better our lives, to accumulate and to self-gratify. Our children are growing up in a society where the norm is to put oneself first and others last. The anthem of modern life is: “I did it my way”. The most important person in society, media, marriages and even the church is “I”. This, however, is contrary to the word of God and this is also a clear indication of a heart of stone. Take note that Jesus Himself said that we should not gather treasures on earth. He also said that the condition of your heart will determine where you will place emphasis in your life. When your treasures are the things of this world your heart will be dead to the things of God ( a heart of stone). On the other hand, when you treasure the things of God, your heart will be dead to the things of this world ( a heart of flesh).
It might be a great idea to contemplate where your time and effort is going, but even more than that, contemplate the motives of your heart. Cain’s motive was selfish even though his religion was on point. Nobody can fault Cain in bringing an offer to the altar because this he did. He also directed his offer towards God and we cannot fault him on this premise either, but the motives of Cain’s heart was on trial and the lack of heart made his action a defilement in the eyes of God. Cain’s heart of stone was also exposed by the type of offer he decided to bring to the altar. Religion is expecting God to bless our acts of worship without Him considering the heart with which we approach Him and others. In other words; from the outside, it can easily seem as if we are doing things for the body of Christ when we are actually doing the right type of things (outward expressions) with the wrong selfish motives.
The spirit of Cain ( a heart of stone) is alive in us today especially when we:
are willing to hurt others in order to make ourselves look good
live only to gratify ourselves (possessions, friends, pleasures, desires)
are too proud to admit that we are wrong
are obsessed with worldly success
have a form of godliness but have no relationship with God (Heb 11:4)
C. Deceived by sin
Heb 3:7
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
We find a warning in this passage that we should not harden our hearts. Later in verse 13, the writer determines that it is the deceitfulness of sin that hardens the heart. It is clear that all of us could be subject to a heart of stone if we do not take heed.
When working with people with an addiction, of any sort, the first and most important step is for that person, is to admit that they have a problem. Without this admission, the process of healing will be placed on hold. However, admission of fault or guilt can only take place after you have identified that your actions are causing hurt, pain or destruction. That is why the writer of Hebrews talks about the deceitfulness of sin; sin at first does not seem like destruction or hurt or even pain, just as the addiction at first does not seem to have the qualities to destroy your life. The truth, as we know, is that addiction does destroy and it steals and so does sin.
The earlier you can identify a problem, the more effective you can deal with it, hence the warning in the book of Hebrews. The nation of Israel hardened their hearts before in the desert and the writer of the book of Hebrews identified the same symptoms in the new generation as he saw in History. The word of warning came in order for them to identify the sin in their lives and in the lives of their brothers and in so doing, they can warn and exhort one another.
Today you might be further away from God than what you were a few months or years ago. If that is the case then this blog is a warning for you; to identify the sin in your life and turn back to God. Maybe you are not hearing God’s voice like you used to, then I urge you to examine your heart and lay down any sin in your life that is keeping you away from your purpose in Christ. Anything that is keeping you away from God’s purpose and goal in your life is a sin. Sin leads to death and destruction. God’s purpose for you is to flourish in the life He has given you. His passion is for you to use the talents He gave you for His glory, to multiply His Kingdom and to be an effective witness.
D. Unaffected by God
My last point on how to identify a heart of stone is; a heart that is unaffected by the work and call of God. Remember that we are identifying calloused hearts within the church and if I am part of the church, then it starts with identifying the problem within myself first. My focus is not to identify hearts of stone in others but it is more a case of identifying a heart of stone in myself in order for me to become receptive to what God is doing and saying.
We have come to point in history where it is crucial to be moving with the Spirit of God. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. We still find people within the ranks of the church that are unaffected by the work of God. I go back to Heb 3:8 that states that ‘if you will hear His voice do not harden your heart’.
We find God speaking and often His speaking will cause us or challenge us to leave our comfort zone. When we are unaffected by His speaking or His voice we have developed a stubborn heart. We place our comforts and desire above His call.
In 1992 I was young Afrikaans speaking boy who grew up in a Pastor’s house in the beautiful country of South Africa. My Fathers Congregation was predominately Afrikaans and white. The Lord spoke to my Father concerning the future of our town and country and the demographic change that will take place very soon. The Lord challenged him to change the way he saw the church and he was very excited about it. This change would see our congregation move from a white Afrikaans church to an English Muti-cultural Congregation. Although this change lived in my Father’s heart and in the heart of God it did not resonate with the majority of the congregation. They were stubborn in their hearts, unaffected by God’s move and His Love. This caused our family to make a choice: Live in our comfort zone or move with God. My Father resigned and started a Multi-cultural congregation and although it was tough, I grew up to be a man who hungers for the voice of God in my life. God honored my Father and restored him as a father to many. Those who were stubborn; some were destroyed by their sin and greed, others lost their call and some lost their families. Today the congregation in that small town is struggling to keep its doors open. Unaffected by God’s voice until this day.
If you are unaffected by the work of God, you have hardened your heart. When you hear God speak but you chose not listen, thinking that His grace covers your disobedience, you have hardened your heart. His Grace is the reason we move away from sin and move away from disobedience. Because of His grace and the price of His grace, I make a conscious decision not play on the porch of sin; I confess my sin and move towards His call and voice. It might mean that you have to leave your comforts but His rewards outweigh any temporary discomfort.
When God tells you to pray for someone and you don’t, you are in the process of hardening your heart
When God tells you to give some of you hard earned money to the beggar on the street and you find an excuse, you are cultivating a heart of stone
When the Spirit of God is stirring you to speak to your child concerning hidden sins in their lives and you chose not to, out of the fear of offending them or losing them, then you are slowly but surely hardening your heart to the voice of God.
2Ch 34:27
“Because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he had to say about this place and its inhabitants—indeed, because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and cried out to me, I have heard you,” declares the LORD.
My prayer for you and for the body of Christ is that we, like King Josiah, will have a responsive heart to God; Responsive to His voice, His Spirit and humble in heart. Knowing that if we are responsive to Him and obedient to His voice that He will turn His ears towards us. I pray that we will be a people who is moved to know God, stay in His Word and be built up in His strength, in order to reject sin. My prayer, most of all, is that we will be a church willing to change more and more into His image.
2Co 5:17
So that if anyone is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
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