The Danger of a Hardening Heart - Stressing the Rails - October 2, 2023, Stressing the Rails with Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr. - Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church with Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr.

The Danger of a Hardening Heart - Stressing the Rails - October 2, 2023

October 02, 2023

October 2, 2023

The Danger of a Hardening Heart

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore, I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest." Psalm 95:1-11

Most of us struggle with a hardened or apathetic heart from time to time, but there is an antidote: recognizing God at work and giving Him thanks.

This recipe for a tender heart was ignored in Exodus when Israel came to Rephidim and complained about the lack of water. They had just experienced the miracle of the manna and it’s comforting reminder that God was with them. A few days later, however, they were asking, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” (Exodus 17:7). Had they remembered God’s provision with the manna and expressed gratitude, they could have trusted in Him once more and held out hope for a water supply.

Another time, when God told Moses to speak before Pharaoh and display miraculous signs, the Egyptian ruler chose to ignore the obvious. Even his own magicians could see what was happening. They finally came to their senses, acknowledged God’s work and said, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).

God speaks to us, but we won’t know that if we have a hardened heart. Are we listening? Are we giving thanks? Take a moment to reflect on the state of your heart, and trust where the Holy Spirit directs you.

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About Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr.

Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr. is a native of Birmingham, Alabama where he was educated in the public school system. He graduated from Tennessee State University, Nashville,Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education. He received a Master’s Degree in Music Education; a Class A certification in School Principal ship and the Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition, Dr. Wesley received a Bible Diploma and Bible Certification from Birmingham Baptist Bible College. He completed the Beeson Institute for Advanced Church Leadership Program from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Dr. Wesley earned the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary in Shreveport, Louisiana May 2006.

Dr. Wesley retired in 2003 after a brilliant 26-year career as an educator in the Birmingham Public Schools. He served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal of three different schools (Powderly Elementary; Arrington Middle and was the first African American principal of Woodlawn High School). He served on the Central Office staff as Extended Day Principal and Coordinator of Safe and Drug Free Schools.

Dr. Wesley is regularly sought after to speak in both schools and churches. He has had the privilege of speaking across the nation and in several foreign countries. His spiritual gifts of teaching and preaching are well documented. He is a member of many organizations. His civic and professional associations are too numerous to mention.

Most recent is the evidence of his leadership, occurred with the completion of a multimillion dollar edifice and education facility located in the heart of the West End community.

Dr. Wesley is currently the pastor of the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in the West End community where he has given thirty years of service. He has a great love for people and for learning.

He is married to the former Venita Burkes, and is the father of two sons, Rev. Michael Wesley Jr. and James Edward, one grandson and two granddaughters.

Dr. Wesley is the author of three books, When God Changes A Church, Everybody Deserves A Good Funeral and Reaching the Unchurched_Pathway to Church Growth.

Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church

Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr.