Podcast Summary: The Gospel Truth – Hardness of Heart: Episode 3
Host: Andrew Wommack
Date: October 15, 2025
Overview
In this episode, Andrew Wommack explores the concept of the "hardened heart" – what it means spiritually, its dangers, biblical examples, and how it limits believers from experiencing God's supernatural intervention. Andrew aims to help listeners recognize the subtlety and consequences of hardness of heart, guiding them to be more receptive to God’s voice and miracles.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The “Hardened Heart” Defined (00:33–02:00)
- Andrew explains that the problem is not God’s heart hardened toward us, but our hearts becoming hardened toward Him.
- Many Christians assume they don’t have a hardened heart, but Andrew points out, “That’s one of the problems” (00:35).
Quote:
“It’s our hard heart that hinders God. It’s not His heart that’s hardened towards us, it’s our heart that becomes hardened towards Him.” – Andrew (00:36)
2. Biblical Example: The Disciples and Jesus Walking on Water (00:50–03:10)
- Story from Mark 6: Jesus walks on the water, but the disciples are amazed and fearful instead of expectant.
- Andrew says if their hearts had not been hardened, they would have anticipated the miraculous. They were committed but easily forgot God’s past faithfulness in crisis.
Quote:
“If their heart had not been hardened towards God, they would have expected to see Him walking on the water.” – Andrew (01:35)
3. Balancing the Natural and the Supernatural (03:11–07:00)
- Miracle of tax money in the fish’s mouth (Matthew 17) is used to illustrate how God works through both natural and supernatural means.
- God didn’t create a coin out of thin air; natural and supernatural were blended. Obedience and practical action are necessary partners to faith.
Quote:
“God did the super and [Peter] did the natural. You put them together and you get the supernatural.” – Andrew (05:28)
- Andrew stresses he’s “not against doctors”, but criticizes limiting belief only to natural solutions.
- Personal anecdote: Healing a man with a nail in his eye—a supernatural healing followed by practical medical wisdom.
4. Faith Must Be Exercised Regularly (07:00–11:00)
- People often wait to believe God only for problems doctors can’t fix. This is compared to weight lifting—don’t expect to handle the biggest problems in faith if you’ve never practiced with small ones.
- Recounts an executive assistant who was healed of cancer through faith rather than medical treatment, despite criticism.
Quote:
“If you can’t lift five pounds, you can’t lift a hundred pounds.” – Andrew (09:24)
5. Classic Illustration: Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart (11:00–17:00)
- Deep dive into Pharaoh’s story (Exodus): the repeated hardening of his heart against God’s miracles, leading to loss of logic, reason, and ultimately destruction.
- God hardened Pharaoh’s heart only after Pharaoh repeatedly rejected God—a point about God not being unjust.
Quote:
“A hardened heart takes away your ability to understand and to reason. It makes you spiritually retarded.” – Andrew (15:38)
- Specific plague example: Pharaoh asks for relief from the frogs “tomorrow” rather than immediately, highlighting irrationality from a hardened heart.
6. Modern Parallels: Hardened Heart in Today’s Society (17:00–20:00)
- Andrew draws analogies to current societal issues (e.g., gender confusion, border policies), attributing lack of common sense to hardened hearts.
Quote:
“People can’t figure out... it’s because of a hardness of heart.” – Andrew (18:30)
7. More Biblical Examples: Disciples and the Miracle of the Loaves (20:00–22:30)
- Mark 8: Recounts the feeding of the four thousand and the disciples’ inability to perceive spiritual lessons, linking this to a hardened heart.
- Jesus rebukes the disciples: “Is your heart still hardened?”—failure to perceive, understand, or remember is described as symptomatic of a hardened heart.
Quote:
“A lack of perceiving, a lack of understanding, a lack of remembrance are conditions of a hardened heart.” – Andrew (21:45)
8. Solutions and Next Steps (22:30–23:50)
- Andrew stresses the need to first diagnose a hardened heart before it can be remedied.
- Teases deeper exploration in the next episode into how to address and heal a hardened heart.
- Offers his book and booklet “Hardness of Heart” as resources.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If you don’t exercise and begin to start seeing supernatural deliverance from toothaches...when you come to something that’s beyond the ability of man... you’re going to be too little too late anyway.” – Andrew (09:11)
- “Pharaoh would come to the end of himself time after time and say, ‘I’ve sinned...take away this plague,’ but then as soon as the plague was over... it was just like he never remembered anything. A hardened heart takes away your ability to understand and to reason.” – Andrew (15:25)
- “You wonder, how can people do this? It’s because of a hardness of heart.” – Andrew (18:35)
Important Timestamps
- 00:33–02:00 — Introduction to topic: importance of recognizing hardness of heart
- 03:11–07:00 — Balancing the supernatural with practical action; healing stories
- 07:00–11:00 — Exercising faith in the small so you’re ready for the big
- 11:00–17:00 — Pharaoh in Exodus: the ultimate case study on hard hearts
- 17:00–20:00 — Societal implications and modern hard-heartedness
- 20:00–22:30 — Disciples’ spiritual blindness after miracles; characteristics of hardened hearts
- 22:30–23:50 — Diagnosing spiritual problems; resources for further help
Tone & Language
Andrew’s tone is earnest, practical, and sometimes blunt. He aims to encourage but also to challenge listeners to be honest about their own spiritual condition. His language alternates between pastoral teaching and relatable anecdotes, with occasional humor and pointed cultural observations.
Final Thoughts
This episode centers around the need for self-examination and openness to God’s supernatural intervention in everyday life. Andrew presses listeners to not let reasoning, natural limitations, or societal norms harden their hearts and make them spiritually unresponsive. The teaching is paired with practical and biblical illustrations, urging believers to develop spiritual sensitivity before crisis comes.
Next Episode Preview:
Andrew will begin outlining specific symptoms and causes of a hardened heart according to Mark 8, preparing listeners for practical steps to softening their heart toward God.