Psalm 86:11; Ezekiel 11:19-20

Having a stone heart usually is not a good thing. In the book of Ezekiel the prophet was calling the exiled people of Israel back to the living God. He spoke of their hearts that had been turned to stone.

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezekiel 11:19-20)

The Bible teaches plainly that it really does matter what condition our heart is in, it really does matter what is inside of us.

How can you identify a hard heart?

It is relieving to identify a problem that may exist in our lives so then we can move towards the next step, which is treatment of the problem.

In Psalms 139, David prayed, "search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

One thing that will harden a person’s heart faster than anything else is the continued practice of sin.

A heart of stone has lost the desire for the things of God.

People with a stone heart are apathetic.

What is a "divided heart?

Many in the church have bought into the lie that if something is accepted by the world that it is accepted by God, but the world’s standards are not necessarily God’s standards.

Jesus said: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." (Luke 11:17)

"...he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:6-7)

"All the believers were one in heart and mind." (Acts 4:32).

A Divided heart is torn between the cares of this world and the things of God.

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word "but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." (Mark 4:19)

One sign of a divided heart is one who misses God’s presence by ignoring personal and public worship.

The cure for the divided (or hardened) heart is a new heart with a new Spirit.

The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is the cure for a rotten inside.

The Spirit filled heart is the undivided heart.

"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." (Psalm 86:11).

The anointing of the Holy Spirit in the cleansing-filling grace of sanctification removes the heart of stone and replaced it with the infilling of the Spirit of God.

Before our lives can change, Christ has to penetrate through more than just your mind. Jesus needs to penetrate into the hearts of those who make up His church.