When God Speaks- Part 1

Introduction- Hebrews 3:7-19

Today we will begin a new sermons series entitled “When God Speaks”—over the next several weeks we will consider scriptural examples of God speaking to various individuals or groups and their response to Him.

This series is designed to challenge us to listen for the voice of God and to respond to Him in the right manner when He speaks to us.

There are numerous examples throughout the scripture of God speaking in various ways and some who heard His voice responded to rightly while others did not—we will learn valuable lessons from each of these.

It is vitally important that you and I would listen for the voice of God and that we would respond appropriately when He speaks.

The passage before us today will serve as an introduction to this concept and contains a repeated phrase that will challenge us to listen for God’s voice and not to harden our hearts in rebellion against Him when He speaks to us.

This phrase is stated with regard to the Israelites who were delivered from Egyptian bondage.

When God delivered them from Egypt, His intention was to lead them into the promised land, but with the exception of Joshua and Caleb none of those who were adults at the time of their deliverance ever entered into the land of Canaan.

Today we will learn a valuable lesson from their failures.

Are You Listening? (Vs. 7)

One important point which needs to be made at the onset of this series is that God definitely speaks to men.

The question in this passage is not whether or not God will speak but rather whether or not men will hear His voice.

I want first to ask you today “Are You Listening for the Voice of God?”

Today it is not imminently important that you listen to me but that you listen for the voice of God as He speaks through me to you.

The example which is related here concerns the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness after being set free from Egyptian bondage.

On a regular basis God would speak to them through Moses and Aaron and yet in many instances they refused to listen to His voice.

The tragic reality is that there are many people in the world today who are not listening for the voice of God.

This is true of the unbelieving who simply ignore God’s voice as He speaks to them in various ways (through creation, through believers, through His Word, etc…).

It is also true of many who profess to be believers as well—there are many who proclaim themselves to be followers of God who regularly ignore the voice of God as He speaks to them.

Do you today have a genuine desire to hear from God and are you in this moment listening for His voice?

Have You Hardened Your Heart? (Vs. 8)

The next question that needs to be asked is directly related to the previous one— “Have You Hardened Your Heart?”

Those who hear the voice of God and refuse to listen and more importantly to obey Him demonstrate that their heart has grown hardened.

What God desires is a heart that is tender and receptive to His voice as He speaks to us and yet there are many who have allowed their hearts to become hardened and unreceptive.

This was true of the children of Israel in the wilderness—they murmured and complained in rebellion against God refusing to listen to obey His Word.

God had told them that He would lead them to the Promised Land and that He would enable them to conquer the inhabitants there and would cause them to possess the land, but the people refused to take God at His Word.

After sending spies into the land they received a report which indicated that the land was exactly as God promised—a rich and bountiful land which flowed with milk and honey.

They also received the news that the inhabitants of the land were mighty and the cities were well fortified—this led them to conclude that they were not able to take the land.

The people refused to step out in faith at God’s direction and chose not to cross the Jordan to enter into the promised land.

This would develop into a pattern as the people would constantly question God’s ability to provide for them and chose to murmur and complain—even at times insisting that they would be better served to return to Egypt.

This was a demonstration of the hardness of their hearts—they persistently disobeyed His voice and murmured against Him and the against the leader that He had appointed.

This hardness of heart comes about through the deceitfulness of sin (Vs. 13).

This indicates that the hardened heart is the product of the presence of sin in our lives—at the core of sin is disobedience to God and repeated disobedience ultimately leads to a hardening of the heart.

When you and I choose to ignore the voice of God and allow sin to remain in our lives our heart becomes less and less receptive and a gradual hardening takes place.

It is critical that when God speaks we not only listen but also obey His voice so that our heart does not become hardened.

They Could Not Enter In (Vs. 11)

Ultimately it was this hardness of heart which led to the denial of entry into the promised land for all the children of Israel above 20 years old—the only exceptions being Joshua and Caleb.

Numbers 14:26–35 “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.”

This meant that they children of Israel would not experience the rest that God had promised them and would never be able to enjoy the bountiful land that God had told them they would inhabit.

Their hardness of heart and refusal to obey God’s voice prevented them from taking possession of that which God had promised He would give to them.

This is true also in the lives of many believers today—they are not presently enjoying what God has prepared for them because they have refused to listen to God’s voice and they have hardened their hearts in rebellion against Him.

These—like the children of Israel—find themselves wondering aimlessly in the wilderness unable to enjoy the blessings which they might otherwise have experienced had they only listened and obeyed the Lord.

The rest that is promised is not emblematic of a freedom from difficulty or struggles but a resting in the Lord and His promises which brings peace and contentment to the soul.

The Lord has promised those who trust in Him and who will obey His Word that they shall have rest in Him.

Those who harden their hearts and refuse to obey His Word will not know this promised rest.

A Warning (Vs. 12-19)

At this point the scripture challenges us to “take heed” lest there should be found in us this same evil heart of unbelief which would cause us to turn away from God.

It is entirely possible that our heart should be in the same state that theirs was in and that as a result we would turn away from God.

You and I are not immune to the same hardening of heart which would cause us to follow in the same pattern which the children of Israel displayed in refusing to trust in the Lord and to obey His Word.

This was due to their unbelief—they were unwilling to take God at His Word, not believing He would deliver upon the promises which He had made to them.

Disobedience stems from unbelief—for if we believed God, we would do what He has said being convinced that He will do as He has promised.

It was unbelief which kept the children of Israel from entering the promised land and experiencing the blessings which God had promised them.

They did not fail to enter in because God was unwilling but rather because they themselves were unwilling to trust God and claim His promises.

God has promised us life abundant and we can experience His provision, protection, and blessing if we will only listen to His voice and do what He has said.

This doesn’t mean that our lives will be free from trials or that we shall never face battles or difficulties—it only means that we can rest in Him if we will but trust in Him and obey His Word.

There is a challenge then issued that we should exhort one another daily to prevent this hardening of heart.

This involves continuously encouraging one another to listen to God’s voice and to do what He has said.

This is why church is so important—there we find a community of believers who will encourage us to obey the Lord so that we are not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

When we are alone, we may ignore the sin which is present in our lives and we may convince ourselves that we are obeying the Lord when we are actually living in active rebellion against Him.

Inside a community of believers who are constantly encouraging one another to obey the Lord it is much more likely that we shall be able so see our sin for what it is and that we will then deal appropriately with it so that we may return to obedience.

We share in Christ only when we maintain a confident trust in the Lord and this we must do until the end.

The passage closes with another reminder that what prevented the children of Israel from entering into God’s rest was their unbelief.

This is designed to remind us that if we will not believe, we will not experience His rest either.

The core principal here is that listening to God and obeying His voice is a demonstration of our faith in Him.

Those who will listen to His voice and who will respond appropriately to His Word will have the blessed opportunity to rest in Him.

Conclusion

1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

It is vitally important that you and I learn from the experiences of the children of Israel.

When given the opportunity to claim the promises of God by faith they failed to listen to His voice and would not obey His Word.

As a result these died in the wilderness having never experienced the rest that God had promised them.

It was their unbelief which led to their failure to obey, and which cause them to miss out on what God had promised.

God intends that each of us should find rest in Him and should claim His promises and enjoy His presence.

It may be that right now you—like the children of Israel—are wondering aimlessly in the wilderness because you have hardened your heart and have failed to listen to and obey the voice of God.

Will you listen to His voice today and soften your heart so that it is once again tender and receptive to the Lord and act to claim His promises to you.

You don’t have to continue to wander in the wilderness, you can begin today to dwell in the land of promise if you will but trust and obey the Lord.