[0:00] Turn with me to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 3. We will be in Hebrews chapter 3 this morning, verses 7 through 19. Just continuing to make our way through the book of Hebrews. Last week we had a guest speaker from the Gideons come and share with us.
[0:14] We kind of took a pause, so it's been a couple of weeks since we have been together in the book of Hebrews. But I am excited about the passage we have before us this morning as we just continue to make our way through.
[0:25] To put it in proper context, we do not know who the author of the book of Hebrews is. We do not know. There is much speculation. Probably the leading speculation is that it was the Apostle Paul.
[0:37] I'm not necessarily of that camp. I do not think that it was Paul because it doesn't seem to flow along with his writings. But it really doesn't matter because as you'll see in the text this morning, the ultimate author is the Holy Spirit moving the men of God to write the Word of God.
[0:52] And we'll get to that in just a moment. But we do know he is writing to the Jewish people. It is my understanding that he is more than likely writing to the Jewish people who are scattered outside of Jerusalem but are familiar, as all the Hebrew people would have been, with the Old Testament practice of the law.
[1:08] We do know that the theme, and this is almost a unanimous understanding from all Bible scholars and Bible students, that the theme of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is greater. He is superior to all things.
[1:20] He is greater than anything they're trusting in. He's greater than anyone they'll ever listen to. He is greater than Moses. He's greater than the angels. He's greater than the law. He is greater than everything. And he is lifting up Jesus.
[1:31] He lifts up the humanity of Christ. He lifts up the offices of Christ. And that he is both prophet, priest, and king. He lifts up all these things of Christ. But scattered throughout the book of Hebrews, there are these warning passages.
[1:45] And we will get to one of those this morning. And these warning passages are the ones where we just step back, that if Jesus is greater, then we must do this. The first warning passage we met, and I know this is still by way of introduction, was in the second chapter, that since Jesus is greater than the angels, Hebrews chapter 2 starts out with, then we must pay much closer attention to what he has said.
[2:06] Because if the word that was given through the angels, that is the Ten Commandments, shook the earth and caused the foundation of that mountain to tremble, and the smoke and fire of God was revealed, and if men did not keep it, they died, the mountain was holy, that if the angel's word was so much more holy, then how much more so is that which Christ has said?
[2:25] And now we come to Hebrews chapter 3, starting in verse 7, and we get another warning passage, and it is based, I'm giving you all this to get us up to date, and we'll take it in context, that since Jesus is better than Moses, since he is better than probably the prominent, most prominent figure in the eyes of the Hebrew people, the giver of the law, who is considered a faithful servant in the house of God, because he wrote, by the way, first five books of the Bible, the Decalogue, he wrote the law, not the Decalogue, the Pentateuch, he wrote the law, he is the giver of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, he was with God on Mount Sinai, he there heard God give him the Ten Great Commandments, he is the one who led the nation to begin to corporately worship, but Jesus is greater than him in Hebrews 3, verses 1 through 6, and since Jesus is faithful, then we have this warning given to us in Hebrews 3, starting in verse 7, so if you are physically able and desire to do so,
[3:26] I'm asking if you'll join with me as we stand together, and we read the word of God in Hebrews chapter 3, starting in verse 7, we understand the transitions because of this word, therefore, the author of Hebrews says, therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried me by testing me, and saw my works for 40 years, therefore I was angry with this generation, and said they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways, as I swore my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, take care of brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God, but encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, for we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, for who provoked him when they heard, indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses, and with whom was he angry for 40 years, was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness, and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient, verse 19, so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief, let's pray,
[4:52] Lord we thank you so much for this day which you have given us, God we rejoice, at the opportunity we have of gathering together as your people, Lord opening up your word, and hearing what it is you have to say, Lord I pray that the words that are said this morning would not be mine, would not be the opinion or even the understanding of man, but it would be very word of God that would speak to our heart, our mind, and move and change our lives, Lord may you grip us by your presence, may we be transformed by your word, word, and may it all be for your glory, and we ask it all in Jesus name, Amen, you may be seated, we are introduced here to another warning passage, the warning passages of the book of Hebrew are very familiar to us, we'll come upon one in Hebrews chapter 6, which seems to be one of the most difficult passages, about those who turn their back on Christ, it's one of the most difficult passages in the book of Hebrews, we'll come upon another one in Hebrews chapter 10, which is the one that Jonathan Edwards used when he preached his message, sinners in the hand of an angry God, for Hebrews chapter 10 says, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of an angry God, we will again be reminded of it at the close of the book of Hebrews, where it says, you have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed, and the author of Hebrews says, since it's not shedding your blood, then you should press on, so we see all these warning passages throughout the book of Hebrews, and each one of them are connected to the things which went before it, and the first one is, because Jesus is greater than the angels, we need to pay attention to him, the second one here is, since Jesus is faithful, because it says in verse 3, chapter 3 verse 6, but Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence, and the boast of our hope firm until the end, since Jesus was faithful and is faithful, therefore we should follow what comes after that to the end of chapter 3, and I want you to see this morning, in this warning passage, the danger of unbelief, the danger of unbelief, now you say, well every one of us are sitting here, so surely we believe, but we need to make a distinction or differentiation between belief in scripture, because the Bible tells us that even the demons believe and tremble, even the demons believe and tremble, which means the demons who are held in captivity, those who are cast, and one thing we find when we open up the gospels, is that every demoniac, or every person that was possessed, knew exactly who Jesus was, most of the times in the gospels, when Jesus is telling someone to be quiet, it is someone in whom there is an unclean spirit, someone who is loudly proclaiming, the demoniac, who was filled with a legion of demons, remember him, the one that was in the tombs, and they would often chain him up, but he would break the chains, he would cry out, he said, what have you to do with us, and they knew exactly who Jesus was, they were aware of his deity, and his personality, they knew his power, the Bible tells us, that even the demons believe and tremble, but the demons believe, is not a salvific belief, okay, it is a mental ascension, a mental knowledge, that yes, that is who he is, so what we need to understand, is kind of a bedrock here, is that the belief, which scripture speaks of, which is salvific, that is the belief that leads to salvation, is a belief in something so much, that you cast yourself upon it, that you cast all of your being, all of your trust, all of your hope, all of your expectation, upon that very thing, it is not just a nodding of the head, yes, that is true, absolutely, that is true,
[8:43] I'm going to agree with that, it is not an agreement, it is a dependency, it is a surrender, that if this thing I'm counting on, is not true, then everything else in my life, is going to fall apart, that is the belief, which scripture holds up, as being one that leads to salvation, it is a absolute, teetotal belief, it's, I always give the illustration, I know you've heard it before, like I believe bungee jumping is safe, but I do not believe bungee jumping, is safe enough for me, to put a rubber band around my feet, and jump off of something, okay, while I can nod my head, and say yeah, that seems to be a pretty cool idea, it is not a good enough idea for me, so I really don't believe it, I'll give mental assent to it, seems right, I've seen other people, I've talked to other people, and some of you will probably, oh I've done it past, it's not a big deal, not a big deal to you, very very big deal to me, I don't believe it that much, and I'm not going to believe it that much, maybe when I was younger, but not even then really, because the older I get, the less I believe things like that, because that's just my tendency, right, so we understand the difference, in going yes, yes, and oh yeah, absolutely it's true,
[9:48] I'll do that, so that is what scripture holds up, as belief, and I want you to see this morning, the danger of unbelief, now the unbelieving heart, or the unbelief, is something that we see, throughout scripture, if we were, when we were going through, the book of Revelation, you remember, those who were cast, into outer darkness, those who did not enter, into heaven, there was this listing, of those that were cast, into the lake of fire, and it was the evil, the murderers, and the fornicators, and the adulterers, and all these people, and then there, at the end was, and the unbelieving, the unbelieving, those who were cast, into the lake of fire, that very last category, was the unbelieving, so we see this morning, in Hebrews 3, starting in verse 7, down to verse 19, the great danger, that comes from unbelief, and stay with me, number one, we see that unbelief, is a matter of the heart, unbelief, is a matter of the heart, because now, this is where I told you, we would see this great truth, and now stay with me,
[10:50] I'll get a little deep, for just a moment, but we'll come up, out of the deep end, and get back, into some shallow water, okay, theology is the study of God, it is an understanding, of who God is, what God has done, in history, it is an understanding, of how God interacts, with man, and the very first thing, you need to lay, as a foundation, when you study theology, is the study of the Bible, you need to know, if you're ever, by the way, if you're ever talking, with someone, let's say if, if, I hate the word if, when you are talking, to someone, and you are declaring, to them the hope, that is found in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, do not try to convince, someone of everything, in the world, the one thing, you need to convince, someone of, or you need to stand beside, is the authority, of the Bible, because if the Bible, is true, then everything, else matters, right, everything it says, is true, so when you lay, the foundation, of the Bible, as being the Bible, as being the authoritative, word of God, right, so you need, to understand, is the Bible true, is it accurate, and is it, the word of God, we don't have time, to go through all that, but there are, a number of passages, we can look at, that says, that it is God breathed, that it is God's word, being clearly revealed, that it is inspired, but I want you to see, just from what we have, in this passage, because when we come, to these matters, it is very becoming, of us to pay attention, to them, it says, just as the Holy Spirit, says, now the author, of the book of Hebrews, whom we do not know, who he is, is about to quote,
[12:18] Psalm 95, now if you go to, Psalm 95, you will look, it is one of the few Psalms, in which we do not have, an author attributed, does not say, it is a Psalm of David, it is not a Psalm of Solomon, it is not a Psalm of Asaph, it is just Psalm 95, but we can all, in agreement, say, somebody, had to write, Psalm 95, because if somebody, didn't write Psalm 95, we would never have, Psalm 95 recorded for us, in scripture, right, God moved a hand, but what we find here, is the author is telling us, it wasn't that individual, who said, it was the Holy Spirit, who said, and he said, now why did you say all that, because Psalm 95, is not the words, or the thoughts, or the opinions, of whoever wrote it, it is what the Holy Spirit, is saying, therefore, when you open up, your Bibles, you are not reading, what David said, or Moses said, or Peter, or John, or James, or Paul, you're not writing, you're reading, what the Holy Spirit, is saying to you, and the Holy Spirit, my friend, though he scares, some of us Baptists to death, because we're afraid, he may make us do something, we're not comfortable with, you know like, raise a hand, or say amen, or hallelujah, every now and then, shake a Baptist church, or somebody just went hallelujah, all of a sudden, and you know, it would shake the chandeliers, if we got a little carried away, and we're so afraid of being, so consumed with the Spirit, we at times tend to quench the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is fully God, just as much as Jesus is fully God, as the Father is fully God, so when the Holy Spirit, is saying something, it is God saying something to us, and what does it say, just as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me, as in the day of the trial of the wilderness, where your fathers tried me, by testing me, and saw my words for 40 years, therefore I was angry with this generation, and said they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways, as I swore my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, now, the author of Hebrews, is quoting Psalm 95, because he is saying, that Psalm 95, was given to us, by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit, is using the nation of Israel, in their wilderness wanderings, if you're with me on Sunday nights, you know we're going through the book of Numbers, and we are in the beginning, of those wilderness wanderings, then the nation, the spirit is using, the nation's wilderness wanderings, as an example, for believers throughout eternity, this is something, you need to understand it, those historical events, that are recorded for us, in the Old Testament, are not just cool stories, we can go, oh yeah, that's pretty cool, they are illustrations, that the Bible uses, over and over again, especially the book of Hebrews, it points back to it, it says, do not do what they did, they are an example, for us, and this is where, we get the reality, the truth, that unbelief, is really a matter of the heart, it has nothing to do, with the head, now how do we know that, because it says, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, do not harden your hearts, now, the spirit is using, the experiences, of the nation of Israel, as demonstrating, what unbelief, looks like, now go with me, the nation of Israel, saw God do, ten great, wondrous signs, while they were in captivity, in Egypt, they saw God fulfill, everything he said, he would do, they plundered the Egyptians, by simply saying, we're leaving, and the Egyptians said, take all of our money too, they got to the Red Sea, they were between, a water and a rock, literally, and Pharaoh was coming after them, and they saw God, part in the Red Sea, and they went across on dry land, and not only did they see them, go across on dry land, they saw God consume their enemies, in the Red Sea, then they went to the waters, and the waters were not clean, so they saw God, make the bitter waters pure, they were hungry, so God brought manna, they didn't like manna, so God brought meat, they said, oh we want meat, they were thirsty, so God had Moses strike a rock, and the rock put forth water, they were thirsty again, and Moses was supposed to speak, to the rock,
[16:18] he didn't, what I'm saying is, for 40 years, they heard God speak, at the ten commandments, we're given by the way, it says that all the nation, heard God speak, they heard him audibly speak, they saw the Shekinah glory, upon Moses' face, they saw the glory, fill the tabernacle, they saw God provide for them, day in and day out, day in and day out, day in and day out, they witnessed it, by their own eyes, it says for 40 years, they went to the wilderness, and the sandals on their feet, did not wear out, now ladies, how many of you, can walk in desert terrain, for 40 years, and your sandals, not wear out, around my house, we tell my wife, she wears those, air Jerusalem 3000's, she wears those, real thin sandals, little leather pieces, I said man, those are the air Jerusalem 3000's, right, they're not air Jordans, those things have no support on them, but essentially, that is exactly, what they were walking around in, in the wilderness, and they didn't wear out, 40 years, some of your husbands, we need to find those, no we don't need to find those, right, we need to know, that God was sustaining them, they didn't change clothes, for 40 years, they saw God move, but no matter how much they saw, they never believed, because the reality is this, unbelief is never a matter, of the intellect, unbelief is always a matter, of the heart, some people say, well if I just saw God do this, and I saw God do that, and I saw God do this, then I would believe, and my answer to that, is no you wouldn't, because you got up this morning, the sun came up, you don't know how it came up, you say well I do, because the earth, well you really don't know, how it came up, the Bible tells us, that it comes just like, a bridegroom out of his chamber, and it goes across, the star, and it comes back in, the next night,
[18:04] God calls the stars forth, by name, and he puts them in their place, and they stay there, he hung the earth on nothing, and told it to stay there, and it did, everything works together, in perfect order, in perfect sequence, and we don't know, how it happens, but we see it, every single day, and it doesn't really matter, how much we convince the mind, because it says, they hardened their hearts, how did they harden their hearts, he says, that they came to him, and they tried him, by testing him, God if you're really God, bring us meat, God says okay, here's meat, well God if you're really God, then do this, okay here's this, well God if you're really God, I want to go ahead and tell you, the hardened heart, will never believe, because the hardened heart, is always testing, and trying, and it really doesn't matter, how much God proves, because it's not a matter, of the intellect, it's not a matter, of how much we mentally know, because I'm going to go ahead, and tell you, there's a lot, that I do not know about God, and there's a lot, that I will never know about God, and there's a lot, because I get questions, all the time, well pastor, what do you think about this, and when I sit down, and think about it intellectually, it makes my mind hurt, and it makes my brain smoke, and there are things,
[19:14] I cannot figure out, and that's okay, because the reason it's okay, is I don't want to serve a God, that I have figured out, because if I can figure him out, then he's not very big, I'm not that smart, as a matter of fact, if any man can figure him out, intellectually, he's not that big of a God, because that which has been created, that's us, will never figure out, that which created it, the created, will never figure out, the creator, because by nature, the creator, has to be bigger, than the created, what's wrong, is when that which is created, wants something to prove to it, that it's created, and it's not a matter of the mind, when you're talking with someone, about the things of Christ, and I said when, and when you're talking with someone, about the hope of the gospel, or maybe right now, you're questioning the things of Christ, I will go ahead and tell you, I will never, or no one will ever convince you, intellectually, about the things of Christ, until you decide, to open up your heart, it is always, a matter of the heart, belief always starts, in the heart, right before Billy Graham's, great crusade in Los Angeles, in 1954, he was confronted, with the realities, of the atrocities, that were going on, during World War II, and the events that followed, after that, and the man that was going, along with him, which was actually, a more famous preacher, than him, had denounced the faith, had walked away, from the faith, and Billy Graham happened, to meet him on an occasion, at an event, that he was there, and he said Billy, how can you continuously, preach this gospel, you saw the atrocities, of what happened, during World War II, you saw all the things, that happened during that time, how in the world, can you still believe in that, give me an answer, and this man had went, to the intellectual pursuits, of things of scripture, and he could not figure them out, so he was mad, and he walked away, from the faith, and denied it forever, until the end of his life, as a matter of fact, he once said, right before he died,
[21:12] I wish I could believe, but he could not believe, because not because, of the roadblocks, that were going on intellectually, he could not believe, because of the battle, that was going on internally, in his heart, and he asked Billy Graham, explain it to me, and Billy couldn't explain it, so he left that meeting, and went into the woods, of California, and found a tree stump, this is his own testimony, he laid his Bible, out there on that tree stump, and he said, God there are a lot of things, in here I cannot explain, there are a lot of things, in here that I cannot define, God there are a lot of things, in here I do not know, but by faith, I am going to believe it, in all my heart, and he got up, and he started, the Los Angeles crusade, in 1954, and no longer, was Billy Graham, really concerned, about trying to, intellectually prove things, it was always a matter, of the heart, see the reason, people can't believe, or I don't want to say can't, they won't believe, is because of the hardened heart, and we're afraid, just to open up our heart, because I'll go ahead, and tell you this, once the heart, has been opened up, to the things of Christ, it really doesn't matter, what the mind cannot understand, unbelief is always, a matter of the heart, secondly we see, the unbelief, is magnified, unbelief, now stay with me this, is magnified, by personal, personal independence, unbelief is magnified, by personal independence, which says well,
[22:34] I am going to do this, I'm going to figure this out, I'm going to take care of this, I got this all, it's personal independence, because look at what it says, take care brethren, now when he's writing brethren here, he doesn't necessarily mean believers, we need to understand that, all throughout scripture, when the authors are writing, especially to people, of their own nation, the Jewish people, or the Hebrew people, they refer to them as brethren, that's just another way, of saying countrymen, we know at the beginning, of chapter three, that he's referring to, the church, because he refers to them, as holy brethren, right, that is most definitely, the church, here he just uses, the common word brethren, he says take care brethren, or countrymen, that there not be in any one of you, an evil unbelieving heart, that falls away, from the living God, now he's writing, to the Hebrew people, put it in context, we're not talking about, losing your salvation, we need to understand that, one of the tenets, of salvation, that I believe, that is once you are saved, you cannot lose, that salvation, now the reason, I believe in that, now I want you to hear me out, in this, okay, the reason, I believe in that, is because salvation, really has nothing to do, with Billy Joe, it is being drawn, by the son, to the father, and it is being, saved and redeemed, by his blood, and the Bible tells me, that whoever's in the hand, of the father, will never be taken, out of the hand, of the father, right, now I said, once you are saved,
[23:45] I didn't say, once you nod your head, and you repeat after a prayer, and all these things, what we see, in the author of Hebrews, writing to the Hebrew people, now we can kind of, put ourselves in this, cultural church setting here, is that they were, around the things of God, of all people, in all the world, the Hebrew people, at least knew of God, they had the Old Testament, right, so he said, be careful, unless you fall away, from this God, you know so much about, Billy Graham also said, the greatest evangelism field, in all the world, sits in the pews, on Sunday mornings, in our churches, okay, just so you know that, he said, because there are those people, who are surrounded, with the things of God, who hear about God, but are really living, with an unbelieving heart, and they fall away, from that living God, who is drawing them, how, in verse 13 it says, but encourage one another, there are so many, one another passages, throughout scripture, that the church, would really be amazing, if the church began, to live out, and fulfill the one another passages, if we were to ever, take the one another's, and just start living them out, I mean not really, just dividing them up, just live them out, just do the one another passages, look at what it says, it says, but encourage one another, day after day, by the way, it doesn't say, once or twice a week, day after day, but encourage one another, day after day, as long as it is still, called today, you only have, this is said, we only have today, to encourage one another, now if we are given tomorrow, then we have that day, to encourage one another, but that's an if, right, today, we have the opportunity, to encourage one another, if the Lord allows us, to live another two day, then we have that day, to encourage one another, this is a lesson, that I'm learning, okay, so we need to encourage, one another, day after day, as long as it is still, called today, why, so that none of you, will be hardened, by the deceitfulness, of sin, because here is the reality,
[25:30] I said the unbelief, is magnified, of personal independence, Satan works, in the realm of darkness, and works in the realm, of an unbelieving heart, Satan does not, attack the mind intellectually, he goes through the mind, to get to the heart internally, and the way Satan does this, is he isolates us, I had a pastor, point out to me, several years ago, and it really just broke me, because it's really, a bad habit of mine, even though I like to be around people, I'm also at times, I like to just kind of pull away, and I kind of keep my feelings, to myself a lot, and I know that's kind of hard, for you to understand, but it's one of those, oxymorons, that happens in pastors, a lot of times, it seems to be conflicting, but it's actually true, and the pastor told me, he said, you know, Proverbs 18, one says, a fool isolates himself, and I really was convicted of that, because this is what happens, is Satan loves to isolate us, and put us out here, on this island, because when we are on an island, he alone surrounds us, and when we begin to operate, in the realm of purpose, personal independence, we don't need anyone else, Satan has us, right where he wants us, he does, because it is in that realm, that all of a sudden, the struggles, and the battles, and the internal conflicts, that nobody else knows about, begins to be fleshed out, and it is in that battlefield, that Satan begins to, have this hardening, of our heart come in, and now we see, how he does it, he is hardened, by the deceitfulness, of sin, so here all of a sudden, friend listen to me, this is why we must, encourage one another, it doesn't say pastor, be sure to encourage, the whole flock, even though the pastor, should be an encouragement, to the flock, it doesn't say pastor's wife, encourage the whole flock, even though the pastor's wife, should be encouraging, the whole flock, it says encourage, one another, right, today, unless any one of you, so we see here, that every one of us, are susceptible, to this, right, this is anybody's ball game, and we see here, why we must do it, unless you be hardened, by the deceitfulness, of sin, so here all of a sudden, we see two, characteristic traits, of sin, you ready for them, when you are isolated, and you operate, in the darkness, on your own, and you are living, in sin, doing something, in a habitual nature, that you may not want, everybody else to know about, and we're not fulfilling, the James passage, where it says, confess your sins, one to another, and be transparent, and honest with one another, we'll begin to live, in this realm, and all of a sudden, some of us get very uncomfortable, and start sweating a little bit,
[27:43] I'm sweating, just because I'm up here, maybe because it's hot in here, but maybe we just get a little uncomfortable, because pastor is beginning, to tread on the toes, a little bit, here are two character traits, of sin, number one, sin will eventually harden you, that's a dangerous thing, it is not dangerous, to sin, and feel the convicting power, of the spirit, when we sin, it is dangerous, to sin, and not feel anything, anymore, because now we have led, to the hardening of sin, when we can sin, and not feel bad, about doing it, we have isolated ourselves, so much, that we are becoming, hardened, to the atrocity, of sin, so if there is something, you used to do, and feel bad about, and now you can do it, and not feel anything, about it, maybe it's time, to open up, and tell somebody else, about that, no pastor, you don't know, what they'll think about me, I know what I would think, if you came and told me, I would say, look here's another sinner, just like me, and if you go open up, and anybody judges you, any differently than that, you come to me, and we'll go talk to them, and we'll do the whole, Matthew 18 passage, right, we love the mentioning, of the church, where it says, the gates of hell, will not prevail, against the church, second time the church, is mentioned, said they will confront, one another, in love, and discipline, because neither one of us, should ever be, in judgment, against someone, opening up to us, because there is danger, in being hardened, by sin, the second character trait, we see of sin, is sin, is deceptively deceiving, the deceitfulness, of sin, when you are on your own, and you are operating, in an island,
[29:17] I mean, let's not lie, to our children, or to the youth, Satan makes sin, look good, and enjoyable, and fulfilling, for a moment, sin is very deceiving, so much so, that it is very easy, for any one of us, to fall into it, when left alone, and this is why, we need to encourage, one another, day after day, after day, after day, because, unbelief, the hardening, of our nature, the deceitfulness, of sin, creeps in, when we begin, to operate, in the realm, of personal independence, if I ever say, I don't need you, and you don't need me, I'm okay on my own, then you need to know, I'm not okay, because look at, what the text says, verse 14, for we, I love that, right, the words, right, by the way, I believe, in inerrancy, and infallibility, of the word of God, that every word, was inspired by God, that's what I believe, that God, fully moved, even the word choice, that he used, he used, the nature, of those who wrote it, but he, led them, in such a manner, that they wrote it, the way he wanted them to, for we, have become partakers, of Christ, if we, hold fast, the beginning, of our assurance, firm, until the end, while it is said, today, if you hear his voice, and harden your hearts, as when they provoked me, it does not say,
[30:48] I, it says, we, for we, have become partakers, of Christ, the best way, that I will ever, become a partaker, of Christ, as a matter of fact, I believe, the only biblical way, that I will ever, become a partaker, of Christ, is if I am doing it, alongside others, and then we, will become partakers, of Christ, as we, hold fast, our assurance, firm, until the end, I need you, and you need me, to hold fast, your assurance, because I'm going to, go ahead and tell you, you sit in isolation, long enough, you're going to start, doubting everything, you will, each and every one of us, so we see here, that unbelief, is magnified, by personal independence, third and finally, we also see, that unbelief, is a measure, of self harm, is a measure, of self harm, we say, well why should I care, if someone doesn't, want to believe, what difference, does that matter to me, so what, it's their choice, right, well unfortunately, it is, but you should be, concerned about that, you should be concerned, as a matter of fact, this week, I've been so excited, about this message, and I've been praying, that God would speak tomorrow, our heart, and he would speak, to every one of our hearts,
[31:50] I've been praying, with a burden, because of the danger, of this unbelief, because unbelief, is a measure, of self harm, if we saw someone, getting ready, to harm themselves, then surely, in a loving manner, we would intercede, I know there are times, when I'll do something, especially for Braden, and I intercede, Braden's about to do something, that's either going to hurt him, or someone else, he'll say, you're so mean, I say, well what seems to be, so mean to you, is actually a very loving thing, to do right, it may be mean for me, not to let you, jump off the roof of the house, but I'm not going to let you, jump off the roof of the house, because the last time I checked, you couldn't fly, it may be mean for me, not to let you run, in front of that train, but that's a very loving thing, for me to do, because I'm not going to let you, hurt yourself, I know better than you, right now, now I know he doesn't, go run on train tracks, and no he doesn't, climb up to the roof of our house, try to jump off that, I'm just using those, as illustrations, not saying that he wouldn't, I'm saying he doesn't, okay, now that's just, let's just clarify there, because somebody's going to go home, and say you know the pastor, lets his kid play on the railroad tracks, no I don't do that, but I just wanted to use that, by way of illustration, so what we see here, is that sometimes, one of the most loving things, we could do, was be concerned about someone else, when they are doing, their own selves harm, more than they are concerned, about themselves, because they are operating, in that realm of personal independence, they do not see their great need, so we see this, look at verse 16, for who provoked him, when they had heard, indeed did it not, all those who came out of Egypt, led by Moses, so here we see, the author is highlighting for us, those who provoke God, so do you want to know, who's provoking God, who provokes God the most, all of a sudden in your mind, if I said, who stirred up the anger of God the most, some of you go, well I can think about a bunch of them, throughout history,
[33:24] I mean I can name the Stalins, and the Hitlers, and all these people throughout history, but I'm going to go ahead and say, according to this text, it is those who have seen God work, and still don't believe, we call those church members, all the time, just being honest, I know that seems kind of hard, those who have been close, because the Bible says, to whom much has been entrusted, much will be expected, those who have seen God, do great things, I'm not saying you're worse than Hitler, I'm not saying you're, any church members are worse than Stalin, I'm not saying that, I'm just saying, when we're looking at this, judgmental stance, man will be held accountable, to that which he has been seen, and he has been shown, so we see here, it is who provoked God, was it not all those, who were let out, and with whom was he angry, 40 years, was it not with those, who had sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness, their unbelief, caused their bodies to fall, that's death by the way, they died, and to whom did he swear, that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient, so we see, here's the danger, here's the self harm, so we see, that they were not able to enter, because of unbelief, do you know why, we should be concerned, it's because the reality is, in scripture, people don't have to be, mean evil, bad people, not to enter into God's kingdom, they just have to be unbelieving, and that unbelief, is just as dangerous, and detrimental, as anything else, and ultimately,
[34:53] God will say, you cannot enter in, because of unbelief, not because you didn't, intellectually, no, it's because you never, surrendered, the hardened heart, and this is why, my friend, our heart cry, ought to be, and I know this is, a difficult passage, and I don't mean it, to be judgmental, because it has worked on me, long before it ever works on you, our heart cry, ought to be, oh God, help my heart, to be softened, to who you are, may there not be, in me, a hardness of my heart, may there not be, a hardening of my heart, by the deceitfulness of sin, and we ought to be crying, oh God, would you break through the mind, and move in the heart, of your people, you know what we need, when our kids go to that camp, we don't need them, to come back, knowing intellectually, that that was a good time, we need them, to come back, knowing in their heart, that Christ loves them, and died for them, and has promised them, eternity in his presence, that's our heart cry, and may we operate, in that realm, where the heart, is believing, even when at times, the mind may be questioning,
[36:01] I'll go ahead, and be honest with you, each and every day, I read the Bible, and each and every day, I study the Bible, each and every day, I have intellectual questions, about the Bible, I don't have it figured out, that's okay, because I'm trusting, in the one who wrote it, and he's got it all, figured out, let's pray, Lord, I thank you so much, I thank you Lord, for this time, that you've allowed us, together, together, Lord, thank you for the word, we've been able to look at, Lord, now we come to a time, of response, Lord, would you show me, where I stand, would you begin with me, God, move in my heart, move in my mind, or break my heart, if it needs to be broken, Lord, may we, respond accurately, to your word, Lord, may we not leave here, until we know that, we are walking in, sweet and true fellowship, with you, Lord, have your way, in Jesus name,
[37:03] Amen. Amen.
[37:47] Amen. Amen.
[38:47] Amen.