Heart being hardened | SermonIndex

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bible1985 Jul 2, 2009

5 and a half years ago the lord came in my life when he healed me, i believed instantly even having the holy spirit speaking to me. I did not have and godly sorrow for my sins or any true sorrow of sin but i did listen to the scriptures about stopping to sin. Everyone has heard my story but my question is has anyones heart been hardened towards believing in the bible and christ and for 5 years i wasn't like that but now it is happening the past year and has got really bad. Has anyone on here once believed and then become hardened and came out of the hardening to believe again? I am sorry for continued posts but i need answers and encouragement because i feel like my heart will continue to harden and disbelieve until i die but the funny thing is i don't want that. But it has continued to harden. Is it possible my faith was only in God because he healed me and i placed my trust in christ as only a healer and deliver and not my lord and saviour of my sins, i didn't believew in him before because he died for my sins but only because he healed me, is that why my faith has fallen away because i looked at christ as a healer who answered my prayers but not him who saved me of my sins. Again i am sorry for all of this but you don't understand the fear and torment and how much crying of the soul i have done the past 2 years. I have been fasting the past 2 days and in a way i want to fast until either i am saved or i die because i want to know God.Truly know him, i could care less about life i only want him, but i just don't have the strength to believe, you have to understand this i have tried to believe again but i just can't. I no longer think this has happened because i married an unbeliever because you look at paul washer and his wife was unsaved most of their marriage and he still was saved but its either i was never born again or god left me because of my continued sexual sin, i don't know.

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robbyk Jul 2, 2009

I’ve been wanting to respond to your initial post but my workload has been rather intense over the past week. However my son, the film guy in my company, has fallen asleep for the night [in the middle of one of our projects] leaving me a bit of unexpected free time :)

Your most recent post cut me to the quick and I hope you don’t mind me emailing you [should be coming into your yahoo account] but I wanted to send you a song [mp3] of mine called Sinned.

I don’t really have any answers.

But I have traveled on a similar dark road and will always struggle to some degree or another.

When Bill Clinton was president, I took ample opportunity to slam him during my concerts, even though my town is extreme liberal. When he did the Monica Lewinsky, I thought I’ve got him good now and proceeded to make Jay Leno style jokes about him while on stage. Well one night, the Lord spoke audibly to me and said, “How about you buddy? You walking the straight and narrow?” I knew I wasn’t and as a sometime traveling musician I had ample temptations.

The Lord then told me He was giving me a song and told me to sing the song and confess any sexual sin in my life while on stage RATHER than the Clinton jokes. After all He said, I died for ALL of you.

The song compares the struggle with sexual sin to a needle full of heroin. So intoxicating and addictive, but yet the nights are still so dark and cold. It ends abrubtly with the question, “Oh Lord is there a light in my night? If there is, how about tonight?”

After awhile, we began to do a vocal reprise live onstage with the eventual answer that I found, “Oh yes there is a Light in the night! My oh my, what a Light in the night! Oh Christ You are the Light in my night, each and every night.”

I can’t say you’ll like the song cause I get a little loud on my guitar [not a Godly hymn], but your words tonight brought me back to that night onstage when the Lord whispered in my ear, “How bout you buddy?”

I pray you also will find Christ as the answer deep down in your soul.

In Christ, Robby K

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hmmhmm Jul 2, 2009

brother, seeing many of your recent posts i am concerned for you, i could write much but many others have said it much better then me, so i will direct you towards this series. I feel you must stop this never ending analyzing of your spiritual condition, it might be well to search one self, but in doing so resulting in peace ALWAYS when it is God who searches us, it might be a rough road so to speak before the peace of God enters our hearts, but it will always be the result. The truth will set you free brother, free from sin,from self from the world, if you find yourself in bondage, to sin, selfish desires ad lusts ect. probably you are dishonest in some area, maybe about your condition, maybe towards yourself , maybe to god. God dont seek holy people, not as the first thing he seeks, but he seeks honest people, scripture says he delights in honest people, no one have a holy and clean heart to boast to the lord and men i am holy, all are wicked and vile, but some recognize this and are honest before god, such people can be free, but those who insist inn me is some good, might be much bad but still a little good also, god can do nothing for such people. If you are honest and the beliefs you have, doctrines ect are truth.... you will be set free brother, God delights in honest people. be honest with him about everything. i hope you will go through this series.

~~[url=http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/topical_bible_study.php#The_Overcoming_Life]~~The overcoming liffe[/url]

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bible1985 Jul 2, 2009

Thank you guys, i don't want to be constantly posting stuff but my spiritual condition has taken even a farther turn down since my last post a month or 2 ago. I need to know God can forgive me, that he can save me, and to know if i was ever saved or not. I hate being a pest but i need answers because i feel as if God will never hear me again, it is terrifying knowing that he might never come again. It is a blessing to hear your concern and my soul needs it. John

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hmmhmm Jul 2, 2009

according to your faith be it unto you brother..... do you believe ha can forgive you and receive you ? not based on anything you did or how bad you are or how deep down you are? as far as sin goes the blood of christ can go.

If you can believe that there is hope for you, if not he can not do anything for you. If your faith is small pray "I believe ,help my unbelief"

Look into those messages from brother Poonen, i had the opportunity to speak to him yesterday and it was a blessing, but his burden is to christians set free to what is available for them in Christ, so many are in bondage to different things, and i hope you can be encouraged by those sermons, they have stirred me and given me comfort. Hope they can be so for you also.

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dohzman Jul 2, 2009

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

saved me of my sins

of or from? Lot vexed his righteous soul day to day with the filthy conversation of Sodom. You see Lot couldn't stop the thoughts, I call them birds that fly over the head, but he could stop those birds from making a nest on his head,2Pe 2:9 the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation. Now you might think,"but I am not godly", and you would be right, but like a robe or coat we put on the righteousness of Christ(proper conduct) as we look (at) Him who is our righteousness, and at that point we change from glory to glory. Now it take no more effort to look to Christ than it does to take self examination constantly. What I had to do personally was to go to the Lord and ask Him to convict me out of His written Word as I read, because the vexings became so intense. I found that when the time was right His Word to me would bring conviction with life(the power to simply ask for forgiveness and tell Him I'm sorry). Now about those nasty besetting sins, Looking unto Jesus... there you go, the following verses let you know that the Father is more interested in building character than our faith or what I call will to prove that we believe.(hebrews 12).
In holiness circles the whole christian walk can be outward only, I call that white washed tomb stones, nothing but death underneath. I don't think I would worry as much aboutwhat others see as I would about what the focus of your attention is, or rather who. You'll notice I spoke nothing of your sin. That is intentional, because if you could actually do something about it than you wouldn't need a saviour, Jesus Christ the righteous who lives to pray for you 24/7, and His prays always get answered(1Jn).
We have a saying ,"do the first things first", simple I know, but it is often like going back to ones first love, call to mind simply the first love or the place where you first meet Jesus and dwell on that for awhile.

sermonindex Jul 2, 2009

Brother you have faith and you need to exercise it, no one can do it for you.

Trusting God is not easy. It's hard work. When you begin to Trust the LORD all hell is against you to sway you back under condemnation. So they work on your mind, your flesh to seduce whatever lust is in your flesh to activate that to get you to sin, so you can feel miserable again and again and again.

Every Christian has to battle through this mess and to stand firm in the faith believing that He is able to keep me even when all hell is breaking lose. Remember, "he that endureth....shall be saved", but IF you should break that endurance by a sin, QUICKLY confess it, QUICKLY. Don't give the enemy more of a foot hold. The more you QUICKLY do this the more you'll find that "HIS STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS." Get that in your head.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE YOU. No one can do it for you. Settle that in your mind. When doubts come, say no to it. Saying, "I trust Jesus, I do not trust the lie that I am not saved". Even if you have to say it a thousand times say NO to doubt. After a while the enemy will wear itself out, it will come back to you later using a different tactic. As you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ, so the ante is upped for temptations.

Sin brings condemnation and a feeling that your separated from God, well that is a good feeling because IT SHOULD drive you to Christ for forgiveness so you can come back INSTANTLY into His presence. And don't worry if you can't feel God, that is not important. What is important is that you have to believe that you walk by faith not by what you feel.

As for your sexual sin, you have the grace and the power to stop. I know this to be true. Jesus said you can't love God and the worldly pleasures at the same time, you either love the one or hate the other. Now don't condemn yourself here. No one really loves God 100%. Now listen, GOD IS THE ONLY ONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO LOVE HIMSELF 100%, WE DO NOT. HE WILL SHOW US HOW IF WE TRUST AND OBEY HIM.

Many of us are caught in this cycle right now, and the effects of the world are falling away through the process called sanctification.

It's not instant, no one becomes an instant sanctified person over night, if you come across such a person, run away. I want you to take notice from the scriptures how God delivered Israel when they entered the promise land. God didn't deliver them instantly from all their enemies, He delivered them little by little. Here a little there a little.

When doubt come push it away, say no to it. We have to, you have to to. No one is going to take you by the hand and do it for you, you have to believe for yourself. You have faith, now use it. Stop moping around under that pity cloud and stand up against your enemy in the name of Jesus. IF IF IF you sin, confess it IMMEDIATELY, don't mull around in condemnation, IMMEDIATELY confess it before the LORD and continue on with your walk with Jesus. And get around other believers, not just in Church but in home groups, you can't be left alone, you need to be with other believers.

Don't think about it, just do it.

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White_Stone Jul 2, 2009

Don't think about it, just do it.

Stop moping around under that pity cloud and stand up against your enemy in the name of Jesus.

Deepthinker, those are excellent words and worthy of repeating.

Self-pity can be disguised as self-examination or self-doubt. That is the constant theme in this thread and the other one, too. It seems so simple - if you have a wound and keep picking at it cannot heal.

Could it be that someone is so comfortable in their self-pity they prefer to stay there? He who has ears, let him hear.

How can you be filled with self-pity when you are so blessed to live in this Country. While we still have the freedoms we do - exercise them. Worship God NOT your fears. Be grateful you still have a shred of concern about your faith. Faith the size of a grain of mustard seed is STILL FAITH! If you feed it, it will grow. Keep feeding the fear and you will lose what little you have.

How I wish I could just put my hands on you and comfort your fears. It is time you consider comforting others. Even though you feel can't help yourself by yourself you can certainly do it by helping others. Take your mind off your own shortcomings and look at the suffering around you. You are not alone. Reach out and help someone else in some way. DO SOMETHING with your hands that is productive. That will be more productive than self-examination. If you must, think WHILE you do something for someone else. I believe thinking is a form of talking to God if you direct your thoughts towards Him.

Try it for a week and report back. I believe you will notice an improvement in your state of mind by then. To do nothing is not the way to go.

Praying for you,
white stone

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TaylorOtwell Jul 2, 2009

bible1985,

Quick question: Are you trying to believe that you believe, or trying to believe that Christ's death is sufficient for your sins? One will bring you into a maze of confusion, and one will give you peace.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

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robbyk Jul 2, 2009

My friend, again I have no answers for I am but a simple guy who does audio, but a caveat on what helped me through my darkest nights: In addition to the prayers and supplications, in addition to the Word, in addition to my brothers and sisters, Spurgeon devotionals have had an exceptional impact on the quality of my life.

And perhaps for you too? For example excerpts from today:

Morning

Psa_33:21 “For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name”

Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and, like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God’s countenance; they have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, “God is with me still.” To whom shall the glory be given? Oh! to Jesus-it is all by Jesus. Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer, but the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy.

Evening

Psa_28:1 “Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit”

A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear, and his ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends to our cries.

God bless! RK

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bible1985 Jul 2, 2009

no i am saying i am trying to rest and believe in christ but just can't and have been trying to have faith for over a year now in that. I have prayed that God would help my unbelief but he hasn't. I have fasted to no avail. I just can't believe unles he gives me his spirit it is that simple, unlike everyone believes unless he gives his spirit in opening your eyes and unhardening your heart you can't believe, you just can't. Thats where i am at. I am sorry if you think the problem is with me or annoyed that i don't listen enough to people but i know that i have sought God in scripture, prayer, crying, spreading his word but i have nothing but a dead body.

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TaylorOtwell Jul 2, 2009

So you're saying you don't believe that Christ died and rose again to make atonement for your sins?

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Lowly Jul 2, 2009

bible1985,

Jesus healed you first to demonstrate His power and authority. Just like the man whose friends lowered him down through the roof of the house. Jesus said to that man "Take courage son, your sins are forgiven."

And then He said "Which is easier to sy, Your sins are forgive, or to say, Rise up and walk?....

"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..........

He said..."Get up, pick up your bed and go home."

In His amazing love,
Lowly

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bible1985 Jul 2, 2009

I will have glimpses of believing in and out sometimes i will say it makes all the sense then other times i start doubting again. Those times where i start really believing i have asked God to save me but he hasn't, because i know i could sit here and try to hold onto that small amount of faith but then those doubts come in once again. But no i never fully trusted in his blood shed for me before truly, i only began believing in christ and the bible because God healed me, i instantly believed in God and christ and the bible, but over the past 2 years i have been falling away from the faith taylor, was i born again, i don't know but i will tell you this that i was a changed person when god healed me and i first believed, i no longer was selfish, i had a desire for gods word, i no longer wanted anything to do with tv unless it was about God, i was confident, i had prior homosexual feelings that i was delivered from, it was like christ did save me but i did not trust in his shed blood but in him. I did experience power from the holy spirit but never any big holy spirit conviction or anything, but that is why i am scared because the experience i did once have went on for a couple of years and it was not fake but real and now suddenly the last 2 years i have fell from the faith and even my heart is being hardened to believe.

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rainydaygirl Jul 3, 2009

"You need to concentrate on obeying God, and not so much on how you feel.”

bible1985- I read the above quote and I thought of you, please consider this.

with care
rdg

sermonindex Jul 3, 2009

Ok, Now I understand where your coming from. You've fallen back into a lifestyle that is displeasing to God. No wonder your feeling like your not saved, anyone would. The problem is that when you got delivered from homosexuality you were left alone to yourself and you haven't had some good grounded teaching on justification and sanctification and other notable doctrines that establish the believer in God. I can only guess that no one encouraged you to take a wife. A woman has a lot of power in her ability to convince you that your a man. And that is something she would have brought out of you as you continue to heal from your initial deliverance.

Now quit saying that you fell from grace. That is a foolish term, you have done no such thing. You've sinned and by sinning your reaping what sin brings forth, death. Now that doesn't mean the end of the world, but it does mean that sin carries that penalty where you feel separated from God and condemnation is also attached to that as well. Romans 8:1 There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after homosexuality but after the Spirit.

I KNOW what your going through Brother. I was caught up in the same lifestyle for many years. I've been where your at now. You speak like I spoke so long ago. And I am telling you now that your not going to "feel" saved, your going to have to endure some things.

I too felt that overwhelming healing and sometime later I fell right back into that old lifestyle. And I carried that thing with me, but slowly things fell away as I continued with Him. Some seasons I could have taken on all the forces of hell, other times I was checking in to Hell Hotel.

But I am giving you some pointers NOW so you don't have to keep in your misery. When I sinned I spent months depressed I thought God didn't love me that I wasn't saved. All the things your saying now. But later in my experience the Holy Spirit was quickening the word to me and showing me not to wallow in condemnation but to IMMEDIATELY give it over to the LORD. IF I sin now I don't allow the condemnation to even start because I have given it over to the LORD to deal with, I can't deal with it, He was the sin bearer, only He knows how to deal with sin.

You should find some sermons on this site that talks about Justification and Sanctification, you need to get grounded.

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run2win Jul 3, 2009

Brother John,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (1Pet1:2-3)

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. (Heb4:16)

Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25)

Brother, I encourage you to read the book of Philippians. Let every verse minister to you. God is able!

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Phil 3:7)

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

This thread is full of wonderful encouragements for you. Trust God to deliver you from this besetting sin. You can have victory. I felt these passages would be far more valuable to you than anything I could say. May the Lord guide you in all truth and keep you. May He give you His sufficient grace for each day. Remember 1 Cor 10:13. Praying for you.

BELIEVE!

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bible1985 Jul 3, 2009

Deepthinker i never gave into the homosexual feelings but i did have them though, i do not have them anymore. I am married to my wife allyce. You know where i am coming from and that is great. The main thing right now that scares me is i am getting hardened to believe, but i want to believe and know the lord so much. Please keep praying for my deliverance and my faith to be increased.Thank you guys.

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passerby Jul 3, 2009

Inordinate study of doctrines and theology can make our hearts cold. Many have lost the tenderness of their souls when they drifted away from child like faith and simple devotions with God.

Perhaps a daily reading of the 'Imitation of Christ' will make you rediscover the sweet communion that captured your soul in the past.

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bible1985 Jul 4, 2009

you know i remember when the lord first came into my life 5 and a half years ago when i began to read the bible for the first time i had this inner hatred when i would read gods name or christs, not knowing what was wrong i assumed it was satan and shrugged it off and it slowly went away, but now 5 years later after falling into deep sin again those same feelings our coming again, their is this absolute hatred for God and the word of God in me when i read the scriptures, i know that it is evil that is making me feel this way, that is part of the hardening i was talking about too, also i constantly am doubting like i never did before. I have been encouraged that christ can forgive me but my biggest problem has been having faith, i am almost one hundred percent assured that us humans can't just have faith on our own, it has to be a work of God, because i have fought this for over a year now to simply just believe, i guess i need the holy spirit to come. Its like everything everyone is saying to me is right and i know it, but if the holy spirit isn't working i am going to stay dead to it all. I am going to go through confessing and forsaking my sin because i want to but hopefully the lord will give me his holy spirit, but i am noticing that even though this might seem easy to most and i'm assured most will blame me for the lack of faith and me doing something wrong here, even though my sin is my fault. But this has been for a whole year with me constantly trying to be right with god and seeking him and nothing, i will die in my sins unless his spirit comes because i am done trying and it failing. I am sorry but pray that the holy spirit comes.