One of the things we hear a lot about in our culture is how to take good care of your heart. We want to make sure that we eat right and that we are physically fit. The doctors poke and prod us to make sure it all sounds, looks, and feels right. They check our cholesterol. They give us stress tests. This is to make sure that our hearts are working properly. But just as important in my mind is the condition of your spiritual heart. Over the last year, I have become more and more aware of what I would term spiritual hardening of the heart. It can happen to anyone of us. I can vouch for that because it has happened to me. This series is part of our SpringLife emphasis. Spring is a wonderful time of the year as the flowers start their blooming. Our daffodils have begun to stick their heads up out of the ground. Wouldn’t be great if we could move our spiritual lives out of dormancy into life in Christ?
We want to take a look at that. What exactly is the cure for spiritual hardening of the heart? Before we get into all of that, let’s go back to the account of Moses and the children of Israel out in the desert.

1 At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.
“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai, Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.
7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

This account is pretty amazing when you think of it. God had done so much for the children of Israel and yet here they were complaining to God again. Let’s take a look at how God helped them.
First, God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. I think we need to be reminded once again that the children of Israel did not receive any of the plagues that the Egyptians received, even though they were in the same land. God miraculously saved them from all ten plagues. After the tenth plague, he delivered them out of Egypt. Not only did they escape, but they plundered the land of its riches on the way out.
Second, there is the account of the crossing of the sea. At one point there was water in front of them and Egyptians behind them. They were between a rock and a hard place. There was nowhere to go. First, God stopped the Egyptians and then he opened up the water in front of them and they crossed on dry ground. As soon as they crossed, God released the Egyptians. They tried to pursue, but as they did, the sea came back into place, drowning them. Miriam and Moses even compose a song about how God has delivered them.
Right after that, the Israelites complain about having no water (the first time) and God provides for them. God promised them if they obeyed Him, they would not suffer the fate of the Egyptians.
Next, they start complaining that there is no food to eat and once again, God provides. He provides them with manna and quail. The manna will always be enough and never too much. God is like that. I can be a witness to that. That stops them from complaining…until they don’t have water again. Don’t you think they would have learned the lesson that God truly cares for them and will provide for them? Well they didn’t and so once again as we just read, God provides. The children of Israel appear to have hard hearts. I can’t say that we aren’t just like them. God provides for us over and over again and yet, we complain, “Don’t you care about us? Where are you God?” when we go through a little difficulty.
Look what Paul writes to the church at Rome, in chapter 5:

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
This is a continuation of last week’s thought. Did you catch verse two? “Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege (that’s grace) where we now stand…looking forward to sharing God’s glory. Paul goes on to acknowledge that the life of faith is full of trials and difficulties. That’s just part of life. But do you see how going through the trials and difficulties helps us? It does not hinder us. What happens? Problems and trials produce endurance, endurance develops strength of character, character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. That is a great thing. Yes, these past few weeks have been incredibly draining, but God is building Pam and I up. He desires to do that to you. We are so quick to dismiss (and I’m guilty) trials and difficulties of being from Satan, but maybe, just maybe, they are designed to make you a better follower of Christ. Paul goes on to remind us how much God loved us again picking up on the theme from last week. God loves us. He desires for each one of us to be his friend. This is the passage that Pam and I have leaned on. God’s grace is sufficient.
The original question I asked is “What is the cure for a spiritually hard heart?” It is God’s grace. Church we need to realize from what God has saved us. We were sinners – we were enemies of God. Christ’s blood was shed to save us – he went to the cross to make restitution. He didn’t have to do it. It was because of his love for us that he did it. That’s God’s grace. You might be here this morning and never experienced the grace of God. Maybe you’ve never experienced God’s love for you. My prayer is that before we leave this place, God would show you, maybe even through this congregation that He loves you. You might even be a believer and not fully comprehend (I don’t even fully comprehend) God’s grace – Let his love flow down to you this morning. What is the cure for a spiritually hard heart? Listen once again to the words of David:
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’ 11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Church, the cure for a spiritually hard heart is to remember what God has done for you. Christ has died for you to save you from your sins, even though you didn’t deserve it. God loves you. God cares for you. Just as hardening of the arteries will kill you physically, so will spiritual hardening of the arteries. Perhaps you have a hard heart this morning. Let God knock away the crust and renew your heart today.