Heb 3:12-19

Welcome

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:1–2, ESV)

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — Welcome.

Announcements

Flourish is May 9th

Ladies’ Night Hostesses needed

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 85

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Christians, the Lord’s salvation has come near to those who fear him. His glory dwells among his people.

Congregation: Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let us hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; and let us not turn back to folly.

Minister: He offers to revive our hearts, that his people may rejoice in him.

Congregation: Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good and righteousness will go before him. Let us worship God!

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O God, we trust in your power to create, to sustain, and to enable. But we could not trust if we did not know that you are always near. Be with us Lord, as we are gathered here to worship you. Help us not to check our minds or our hearts at the door, but enable us to bring all that we are to you, so that you might make us into what we ought to be. We pray this because of, and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #379

“Come, Christians, Join to Sing”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on Psalm 32

Minister: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Congregation: O Lord, when we keep silent about our sin, our bones waste away. When we persist in unrepentance, your hand is heavy upon us. Our strength of self dries up. But when we acknowledge our sin to you, you forgive the iniquity of our sin. We confess our transgressions to the Lord. Forgive us. Deliver us. Amen.

Minister: Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. In Christ, your sins are forgiven!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Numbers 12

Steven Hoffer, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†PSALM OF PREPARATION #119Q

“Wonderful Are Your Statutes, Lord”

SERMON Hebrews 3:12-19 // Sermon Title

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

We pray, O God, that the words which you spoke through your prophet Isaiah would be realized in us today, For your word goes forth and shall not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and will succeed in the matter for which it was sent. Amen.

Text Hebrews 3:12-19

Hebrews 3:12–19 ESV

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The Lord bless to us the reading of His holy word, and to His name be glory and praise.

Intro

Picture this: It’s Christmas. The table is beautifully set. The tree is lit, the food is hot, and every seat is filled. The house is glowing with warmth—laughter, lights, good health, and gifts. The whole night is overflowing with grace.

But there’s one problem…

No one commented on the new flower arrangement over the mantle. No one thanked you for the days of work it took to make the night so special. Your husband kept getting in the way during prep. The kids were underfoot. Uncle Steve wouldn’t stop talking about his failing kidneys. And to top it off, you burned the one dish you were excited about.

Now the night feels ruined. What should have been a joy has become a burden.

We laugh because we know this feeling. It’s painfully human. We can be surrounded by blessing—and miss it completely because of something petty.

We can sit atop a mountain of treasures and think ourselves poor.

How many marriages grow cold over trifles like this? How many friendships sour because of minor offenses? How many people stand in the middle of God’s grace and grumble as if they’ve been abandoned?

This is what our text is about. Hebrews 3:12–19 draws us into the story of the Israelites in the wilderness—people who had experienced incredible grace but let unbelief harden their hearts.

ISRAEL’S EXODUS: GRACE MET WITH GRUMBLING

God had delivered them from slavery. He split the sea in two so they could walk to freedom. He covered them with a cloud by day and warmed them with fire by night. He gave them water from rocks and bread from heaven—manna that tasted like cakes baked with oil.

But there was one problem…

The menu was too limited.

They wanted more than bread. They wanted more than what God was giving in the moment. And in their craving, they wanted less of God.

Their hearts grew hard. They complained. They longed for Egypt. They preferred slavery with variety over freedom with trust. Many despised their baptism.

This isn’t just a history lesson. Scripture repeats this story over and over as a warning. David picks it up in Psalm 95, warning his generation not to harden their hearts like their ancestors did. And the writer of Hebrews echoes that same plea.

It’s a warning that still rings out today: You can be part of the covenant community and still miss the rest of God.

THREE CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE

The Bible identifies three types of people:

Unbelievers outside the covenant – Those who don’t know Christ and aren’t part of the church.

Believers inside the covenant – Those who belong to the people of God and trust in Christ.

Unbelievers inside the covenant – And this is the group Hebrews warns us about.

These are people who attend church, receive communion, maybe even serve—but have no real faith.

They hear the words of Jesus, they hear about His call to rest, and they are growing calloused and hardened to Him.

Our text is telling us that the same warning that was so necessary to those in the wilderness is necessary for us.

You can have all sorts of marvelous grace and completely miss it. You can look at it and scoff, hardening your heart to it.

Jesus can be God who came to rescue the sinner. He can display perfect holiness which obliterated all the religious hypocrisy (He can be the real things!), He can suffer for our sins on the cross. He can wrangle sin and death to the grave, and He can come back again in the resurrection. He can pour all of this good news at your feet — you who so desire this love and need this rescue. I mean, what else could we ask Jesus to do? Where else do you need Him to step up and help you? Tell Him where He has let you down. He hasn’t.

But there is only one problem…

He wants you to honor your parents.

He won’t let me be free to look at porn and sleep around.

He is demanding that you forgive others.

And in turn, these are the kinds of things that harden your heart. They are falsely believed to be cruel or unreasonable and false, to make Christ seem unreasonable and false, when they are lies that will lead you to hell. They are the stupid bait for stupid fish with a hook inside. They are the petty blindnesses of someone who can’t read the room and see that they are sitting on a pile of treasure and mercy and complains of being poor.

Outline:

Two things that we should dive into from this text as we heed this warning:

1. The sin of unbelief

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12, ESV)

We don’t talk about this enough. We tend to treat doubt like a soft, harmless thing. Sometimes we even mistake it for humility.

But Scripture is clear: Doubting the promises of God is a sin. It is evil and it leads you away from God.

Unbelief is not neutral. If not confronted, it hardens the heart. It makes you cold toward grace. And eventually, it leads you to fall away from the living God.

So what’s the call? Take care. Examine yourself. Be honest about your faith. But do it the right way.

There are two common but wrong ways to examine yourself:

- Box-checking: “I take communion. I’m baptized. I go to church.” These are gifts that nourish faith—but they are not substitutes for faith. They are not proof of life in Christ.

Feeling-based introspection: “Do I feel saved today?” Some days you’ll feel great, and others, not at all. Your feelings are not your assurance.

And let’s make an important distinction: There’s a difference between a doubt and a question.

A doubt paralyzes. A question seeks an answer.

- “What if God won’t forgive me?”—That’s a doubt. It spirals. Hypotheticals are a terrible idea. Pay attention to yourselves when those arise.

- “Will God forgive me?”—That’s a question. And Scripture answers it: Yes, in Christ.

The Bible gives us clear questions that testify to the evidence of faith:

- Do you confess Jesus as the Son of God? (1 John 4:15)

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15, ESV)

- Do you have the Holy Spirit? (1 John 4:13)

“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13, ESV)

- Do you love other believers? (1 John 3:14)

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14, ESV)

- Do you seek to obey God’s commands? (1 John 2:3)

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3, ESV)

- Are you being disciplined by God when you sin? (Hebrews 12:5–8)

- Does sin still scare you?

The goal isn’t perfection. The question is: Is your faith alive? Are you looking to Christ?

Some people don’t want their questions answered. They like the ambiguity. But it’s a false piety and should garner no sympathy — it shouldn’t be nurtured. If you are wrestling with things at some point you need to pin them down and stop the fight.

The truth is, not trusting God’s promises is not pious—it’s rebellion.

If you see God at work in your life, don’t resist it. Receive it. Enjoy it. Believe Him.

POINT 2: EXHORT ONE ANOTHER DAILY

Now listen to verse 13: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

You don’t just fight unbelief alone. You need others. You need the church. You need people who will see your drifting heart and call you back to Christ.

Imagine someone in the wilderness saying, “Wait! What are we doing? Look at the grace we’ve been given! Don’t harden your heart!”

That’s what this text is calling us to do for each other.

This is why church membership, community, and covenant relationships matter. We are called to be people who push one another toward heaven.

And yes—it’s uncomfortable.

It means confronting each other. It means saying, “You’re believing a lie.” It might mean challenging someone’s priorities—how they use their time, what they’re watching, how they’re speaking.

This isn’t harshness. This is love.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)

A church that exhorts in love is a gift. A friend who speaks truth is a treasure.

And we need to be careful when we find ourselves pulling away from accountability. Often, when someone says, “I just don’t fit in,” what they really mean is, “I don’t want to be challenged.”

If you don’t want to be in the company of those who stir your conscience, ask why. What are you afraid they’ll see—or what are you afraid you’ll have to change?

In our worst moments, the tension and the fear turns our hearts cold and calloused.

CLOSING: THE GOAL IS ASSURANCE, NOT ANXIETY

Let’s be clear: This sermon isn’t about making you doubt your salvation. It’s not a text about loosing your salvation — you can’t lose what was never there.

This text is about helping you have the right kind of assurance—the kind that’s rooted in Christ, not in sentiment or religious routine.

The goal is joy and rest, not morbid introspection and doubt

For those in Christ, look at your faith and take joy at the work of God.

And perhaps for some, you need to hear the message that was necessary in Moses time, and in David’s time, and in the time of the preaching to the Hebrews, you need look at the lack of real faith, look at the the hardness, and heed this warning. Today, if you hear His voice — coming through this preaching — do not grow hardened.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

Don’t coddle doubt. Don’t entertain unbelief.

Look to Christ. Do you trust Him? Then you are His.

CHARGE: DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEART

The writer of Hebrews is pleading with us: Don’t be like the Israelites who stood in the middle of a miracle and demanded something more. Don’t let the deceitfulness of sin make you blind to the mercy that surrounds you.

God has given us Jesus—His Son, our Savior, our Rest.

So take care and examine yourself. Listen and look at the exhortation of your brothers. If God has given you the grace to see your doubts for what they are, if you see a callousness and an indifference or a rebellion, then hear His voice today. Turn today and look to Christ. And do not harden your heart.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #439

“Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 32, 34

Minister: Christians, confess your faith in Christ!

Congregation: I am called Christian because by faith I am a member of Christ and so share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

We call Him ‘our Lord’ because - not with gold or silver, but with His precious blood He has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be His very own.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

// ad hoc invitation or use below if needed //

God is faithful. And though it does cause us to remember, this table is not merely a memorial to that faithfulness. The bread and wine offered here is tangible evidence of that faithfulness as the grace of God, through union with Christ, is given to those who receive these elements by faith. This meal boldly proclaims and exhibits the faithfulness of God, who so loved his own people, sinners as they were, the he became man for their salvation. Do not grumble against this Manna. Do not hardened your hearts against this meal.

No one should come to this table without recognizing that it is his faithfulness, and not ours, that makes us worthy recipients. Those who may come to receive the Lord’s body and blood are those who rely entirely on God’s faithfulness for their hope and assurance.

// ad hoc invitation or use above if needed – typically always use what’s below //

This meal is for those who are sorry for their sin and those who hate their sin. This table welcomes all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not believe you have sinned, you must not come. But if you know your sin, and confess it, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and this table is for you. “Today”, come, touch, taste and see the faithfulness of God.

PRAYER

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

After elements are distributed read the WOI while congregation is partaking.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: The Lord Jesus, the same night he was betrayed, took bread;

and when he had given thanks,

he broke it

and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you:

do this in remembrance of me.”

After the same manner also, he took the cup when they had supped,

saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood:

this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

†OUR RESPONSE #567

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thess. 2:16-17

Grace Notes Reflection

Our text this week called for us to take a honest stock and examine our faith. To do this, we are not to merely check off the external boxes of our routine (things like communion or attendance). These things can serve our faith and nourish it, but they are not substitutes for faith. We are also not to examine our faith by merely looking to our feelings. Faith isn’t based on the strength of our emotions or their steadiness but on the steady person of Christ— we all know that our passions change so quickly and could never give us assurance.

A helpful for honest examination is to trade doubts and hypotheticals for real, biblical questions.

“What ifs”, like what if God won’t forgive me? Or, what if God has abandoned me? Should not be seriously considered because hypotheticals aren’t solidly answered.

Instead, turn your doubt into a biblically guided question. “Will God forgive me?” Is a legitimate question with a very clear answer: Yes!, He will.

Throughout the narrative of God’s people, there is always a time to examine our faith, to ask hard questions, and to evaluate the roots.

For those who look and see the supernatural work of grace, pulling them from sin, giving them a heart of love for Christ and lips that proclaim His lordship, this call to examine our faith produces humility, gratitude, and worship.

But for those who ask the hard questions and see themselves to be hard-hearted, to have grown calloused to Christ’s Lordship, the call is to hear God’s voice today, right now, and turn to Him in repentance and receive forgiveness. The grace to stop you in your tracks and to see what it is that you truly believe is a mercy that should be seized upon today.

We need each other in this work. As long as it is called “today”, we should exhort one another against the deceitfulness of sin. We should encourage and challenge one another to keep seeing God’s grace for what it is and sin for what it is. And we should take stock when we no longer want this kind of accountability. When we our sins are challenged by others, we tend to drop those relationships, stay away, leave the church, don’t pick up our phones. This is a sign and symptom of a heart growing hard.

Today, examine your faith. Ask real questions instead of engaging with doubts and hypotheticals.

Today, encourage and exhort someone.

Today, examine to see if there are any relationships that you dodge because their walk with Christ challenges yours.

Today, if you know yourself to be hard and calloused towards Christ, hear his voice and come to Him; he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all of our sins.