Heeding The Hard Heart (Hebrews 3:7-19)

Intro

Before we begin lets understand where we are in the book of Hebrews. First we find out that Jesus is upholding the entire world. We look at how Jesus is greater than the angels. As important as the angels are to us, Jesus created them and is over them. They were created to serve Him. Chapter 2 picks up with a solemn warning for both the believer and unbeliever. We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard. What have we heard? That Jesus’s death and resurrection is what our salvation comes from. That He is the Way the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the father except to Him. Why must we pay close attention? Lest we drift away. This drifting is a slow process. If we are not being intentional with our time with God and making Him a priority we will drift away. We will end up on a path we were never meant to be on. And for the unbeliever we see that we must not neglect this salvation. Because if we do not accept the terms of the Gospel we will no escape the eternal punishment in Hell that awaits us on the other side of this life. The chapter continues to talk about what Jesus did for us and how He is the founder of our salvation. And how we are adopted into Gods family once we Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

That we are His brothers. And He understands what we are going through because He walked in our shoes. The first 6 verses of chapter 3 tell us to consider Jesus. To stop and look at His life. To remember what He did for us. It then points to Moses being a picture of Jesus. But that Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of Moses. Jesus is greater than Moses. And verse 6 ends with a task. Hold fast our confidence and our boasting in hope. We need to cling tightly to God and His words and His promises. As soon as we lose sight of Him thats when compromise and sin comes and leaves us in ruins. Now that we are caught up lets dive into verse 7.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

Alright we start with a therefore. What is the therefore there for. The author was just talking about Moses and how Moses was faithful to God’s people. SO because of that and because we are God’s people, as the Holy Spirit say, TODAY. Thats the key right now. Today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. If you hear His voice. God wants you to listen to His voice today. For the unbeliever in the room. If you have not listened to God voice up to this point in your life don’t keep pushing it off. He says hear me today. Life is but a vapor. One minute we can be walking around and the next we could be gone. And once we are gone it will be too late. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is God. Whether thats here on earth or when we enter into eternity. So dont wait for eternity when it is too late, but hear His call Today. Follow that call. For the believer it can be so easy to push off our calling to continually hear God’s voice. We get busy and the noise of the world muffles His voice. Today hear Him. How do we hear him? Through prayer and reading His written word. By spending time with other believers. Not by saying I will read my Bible more when I understand it better, or when I am older, or when I have more time. No the call is to hear from God today. Verses 8-9 now.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

8  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

on the day of testing in the wilderness,

9  where your fathers put me to the test

and saw my works for forty years.

This is a direct quote from Psalms 95:7-11

This is talking about the Nation of Israel in the old testament. Specifically the nation when they were under Moses. The people would continually rebel against God. Time and time again. God through miraculous events, saves them from their slavery in Egypt. He provides them a leader, speaks to them personally through Moses, gives them the law, and gives them food from Heaven. And again and again the people push God to the side to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. We see it with the golden calf, and their constant grumbling and complaining. At one point in Numbers 16 we get introduced to a group of men lead by a man Korah. Despite all the signs and the fact that God literally spoke to Moses time and time again, he claims Moses has put himself as the leader of Israel and that it wasn’t God who did it. Of course that ends super poorly for those men involved. But even after all of that the people still didnt get it and hardened their hearts yet again. In Numbers 21:5

Numbers 21:5 ESV

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”

They literally call the manna that God is providing them worthless. That sounds insane doesn’t it? Can you imagine looking at something God has blessed you with and calling it worthless? But dont we do the same thing on a daily basis? Well God I am glad I have this house you provided me with… But that family over there has everything they could ever want. Or this job that provides for me is fine… But that job over there seems so much better. Or I am thankful for the wife you have given me. But that girl over there… She is so much prettier and seems way more fun. We do the same things! We see God will send fiery serpents to try and get through to the people and its super interesting what happens next. AS the people are suffering they call out to God and God has mercy on them.

English Standard Version Chapter 21

8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Notice what God does? Lets look at John 3:14-15

John 3:14–15 ESV

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

So even here God is so gracious. he points them to the future messiah who would come to set them free from their sin. But they would continue this cycle of hardening their hearts and rebelling against God. Back to Hebrews.

Today if you hear His voice… Do not harden your hearts in rebellion the way your fathers did. They saw God’s work, His signs, His wonders, and His provision for 40 years! And it says that they put Him to the test. Verse 10 says

English Standard Version Chapter 3

10  Therefore I was provoked with that generation,

and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;

they have not known my ways.’

11  As I swore in my wrath,

‘They shall not enter my rest.’

They always go astray in their hearts. They have no known my ways. Again this applies directly to the people of Israel. But this is written just as much for you and I today. We live in a world that God has been put to test since the beginning of time. We test God in our own ways. Our parents, and their parents, and on and on down the line have provoked God. Turned their backs on Him. We see this today with people in our generation. It’s not hard to go on social media and find someone who is putting God to the test. We see His work. Maybe not in the same way the people of Israel do but we see it. The Psalmist pens in Psalm 104:24

Psalm 104:24 ESV

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

God’s creation all around us proves that not only God exists. But that He cares and wants us to enjoy the things that He has created. Whats the result of this continuing to put God to the test and not accept the salvation He offers? Well verse 11 says that they shall not enter His rest. The generation of the Israelites this is referring to, including Moses, did not get to enter the promise land. Their rebellion lead to them missing out on God’s blessings here on earth. But continued rebellion also will lead to us missing out on his eternal rest. Thats a scary thought. So being against God leads to losing both Earthly blessings and eternal blessings.

Now we come to the second half of this chapter and things are going to get pretty heavy. We pick up in verse 12.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

This starts with a warning. Take care brothers. When the Bible tells us to take care, we must pay attention to what comes next. Also the word brothers here points to this is to the believers. So both believers and unbelievers need to look out for this next part. The word lest means in order to prevent. So we need to take care to prevent an evil, unbelieving heart. This is an action which means there are ways to prevent and evil and unbelieving heart. Before we get to those steps what is the result of not taking care? It will lead us to fall away from the living God. This falling away is similar to what we see in Luke 15:11-32 with the prodigal son. This son takes His inheritance and goes to squander it all on a life of sin. The father when the son comes back welcomes him home. But that son had to learn some really hard lessons and suffer before he finally decided to return to the father’s house. When we stop being vigilant and we end up with an evil, unbelieving heart we become like this prodigal son. verse 13 goes even deeper into this concept.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

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.

To start we are going to focus on the second part of this verse. Hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. So when we drift from God, and are not taking care to prevent these things, our hearts become hardened by sin. And the further we drift the more powerless we become to fight it. What does this sin do to us? Sin hardens our heart, it drowns out the voice of God and the Holy Spirit, sin isolates us, it keeps us from purpose, it keeps us from pursuing a relationship with God and other believers. Sin will pull you in deeper than you wanted to go and it will keep you there for longer than you wanted to be there for. Sin will hold you captive. Jake English says it this way. Because at the end of the day, sin isn’t about breaking the rules, its about turning away from God. The enemy wants to grab a hold of you and keep you from being effective in God’s kingdom.

So how do we combat this sin? Well another quote, this one from Paul Coward says this. Sin will either keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin. When we hold fast to the anchor that is God and being in His presence, He will help us fight sin. Ephesians chapter 6 tells us all about the armor of God that we need to take up and use in order to fight against the attacks of Satan. We are in a battle. That means it takes preparation and steadfastness in how we get ready for battle and how we fight. We fight using the tools that God has given us. The Bible, Prayer, and Community are the biggest tools you have at your disposal. Take 10 minutes when you wake up in the morning and 10 minutes before you go to bed to read your Bible and hear from God is just one small thing that we can do to keep us in step with Him. Again as clarification. These are not the things that save us. Faith in God, confessing, and believing in Him is what gives us salvation. But once we are saved these things are what we use to keep from a hard heart and evil.

Verse 13 starts telling us to exhort one another. Or lift one another up. To encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. To pray for each other. To hold each other accountable. Verse 14 elaborates.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Our lives have come to share in Christ. How? Salvation. Once we are saved we have come to share in Christ. Period. Once that salvation happens God puts the Holy Spirit in us and begins revealing things to us about Himself. We should be filled with confidence knowing that God is who He says He is. As we continue learning about Him we get more and more confident in Him. But maybe as we get further along in our walk we start forgetting about this confidence. We start getting bogged down by theology, or whatever else. And all of a sudden that joy and confidence we once had begins fading. Sometimes it even leads to doubt. Things are just dull. The fire we once had for Christ is just a bed of hot coals. This is something that happens to so many people. And so many people fall away and go down the cycle we just talked about because the emotion is gone. It doesn’t feel the same. Paul writes to young pastor Timothy about this. He says in 2nd Timothy 1:6

2 Timothy 1:6 ESV

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,

This even happens to pastors? He says fan into flame the gift of God. Dont let the bed of coals get put out. But put the work needed to revive the flame that I have given you. Sometimes it means we go back to the start of our salvation and look at the reason we got saved in the first place. We look right to Jesus and remember what He did for us on the cross. We pray like David in Psalms 51 which he wrote after his sin with Bathsheba-

English Standard Version Psalm 51

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Help me remember how you have changed my life. Help me to fan into flames the gift you have given me. Now if all of this is sounding foreign to you and you havent had this moment of realization or clarity. It probably means you have not yet experienced the true salvation I am talking about.

These ideas are going to sound foolish to the unbeliever. Paul writes that in 1st Corinthians. Salvation is folly to the Greek. On the other end you might be scoffing about the fact that it could be this easy for salvation to change your life. Like what do you mean its only through faith? What about all the works I have to do? To those people Paul calls the mystery of Salvation a stumbling block. Because it seems impossible to be saved by faith alone. But it is that simple. SO come to share in Christ by accepting His free gift of salvation and the great mystery will be revealed and you will be filled with the confidence of God. Lets finish out this chapter.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

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?

The author once again quotes Psalms 95. He repeats it because its important. He wants to drive his point home. Firstly we are reminded not to harden our hearts in rebellion. We are called to hear and heed the voice of God. And he clarifies who heard and rebelled. It was the people who Moses led out of Egypt and brought to the promise land. These people again and again experienced God’s grace and provision. And instead of having faith and being thankful, they provoke Him again and again until He says okay you in this evil generation will not enter my rest. Their disobedience led to them missing out on God’s blessing. The chapter ends with a final warning. verse 19.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

They were unable to enter because of their unbelief. If you are sitting here as an unbeliever you know that God is calling you. You feel the tug on your heart. Know this. Your continued unbelief will keep you out of God’s rest. Here on earth and even worse… For eternity. Revelation 3:20

Revelation 3:20 ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Go answer the knock on the door of your heart. As I mention earlier. Its so simple. Lord I am a sinner and I understand the wages of that sin is death. But I know you offer us salvation. So god I believe that what you did on the cross for me is enough to cover my sin. I want to follow you with my life. Forgive me for my sins and help me to follow you with my life.

And for the believer. We know what we need to do to keep from drifting. Intentional time with God. Making time for Him and putting Him first. Not just living for pleasure but choosing to follow what God calls you to do. And if you have grown hard in the heart and you feel that flame going out. Remember why and when you got saved. Ask God to restore the joy and confidence in that salvation. And as a result you have a calling. You share that salvation with others. Jesus first in your life and He will use you and grow you more than you can imagine. And it will be so much better than anything sin can bring you.

Our rescue from sin isn’t a treasure to bury. Its a message to carry. -Kyle Hurlburt

When you put Jesus first in your life and He will use you and grow you more than you can imagine. And it will be so much better than anything sin can bring you.