PLANTED: a life of thriving growth & blooming possibilities

Part 2 - Beware of the Hardened Heart

MATTHEW 13 (NLT)
3 (Jesus) told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

MATTHEW 13 (NIV)
18 (Jesus said,) ”Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.”

ROMANS 2 (NIV)
5 Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. … 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Characteristics of HARDENED HEART: (~ Carey Nieuwhof)
1. You don’t really celebrate and you don’t really cry.
2. You stop genuinely caring.
3. So much of what’s supposed to be meaningful feels mechanical.
4. Passion is hard to come by.
5. You no longer believe the best about people.

Activate your HEART again to SOFTEN it.

“MY RESPONSE” OPTIONS:
• PRAY my way out of it
• WORSHIP my way out of it
• SERVE my way out of it
• ENCOURAGE someone else