🎵Music🎵
You
Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church
Can I please have everyone find their seats and grab their song books and turn to page number one hundred and forty?
We're gonna start the service off singing. We have an anchor
Page one four zero
We have an anchor
Page
140 and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife
When the strong tides lift and the cable strain will your anchor drift or firm
remain
We have an anchor that keeps the soul said fasten sure while the billows roll
fasten to the rock which
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love
Page 140 now, this is a song that you have to sing with a little bit of gumption
So let's go ahead and sing it out on the second. It is safely
Bored will the storm with
For
By the
Though the tempest rage in the wild winds blow not an angry way shall our bark or
Sing it out. We have an anchor that keeps us all
Said fasten sure while the billows roll
Fasten to the rock
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love
on the last
When our eyes behold through the gathering night
the city of gold our
harbor pride
We shall anchor fast by the heavily shore with the storms all fast
Evermore
We have an anchor that keeps us all said fasten sure while the billows roll
Fasten to the rock
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love
Great singing welcome to Verity Baptist Church in the Wednesday evening Bible study. Let's open up in a word of prayer
Father God, thank you so much for this church Lord
Thank you for these people coming out here in a Wednesday evening to serve you
I pray that you bless the singing Lord a prayer that our singing would glorify you and I pray that you bless the preaching and
The service to come in Jesus name I pray amen
All right, please turn your song books page number 153
Page 153 we're gonna sing how firm a foundation
Page
One five three and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first
How firm a
Foundation ye Saints of the Lord
Is laid for your veil or
Abounding and well
Man
On the
As your days may demand shall your strength
On the second
Recon
Shawn in sickness
in hell
In poverty's veil
Oh
As your days may demand shall your strength ever be
Let's sing it out on the third when through fiery trials
Halfway shall I my grace all
Sufficient shall be by supply
the flame shall not
hurt
The eye only
Design I
Draw suit on soon and I go to
refine and
Down to old age all my people shall prove my
Sovereign
Change
And
Shall their temples are torn by
When they shall still
Be born on the last the soul that on
Me
Not I will not
Oh
Great singing
Amen all right we want to welcome you of course to the Wednesday evening service
We call it the most encouraging service of the week, and we are glad of course that you're with us
We'll go ahead and look at some announcements
Quickly if you do not have a bulletin just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you
If you need a bulletin just put your hand up
And we'll get one for you the verse this week Ephesians 5 8 for you were sometimes darkness
But now are ye lights in the Lord walk as children of light, and that's a good verse there
We like that if you open up your bulletin
You'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m.
And we do invite you of course to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's day for church
Sunday evening services at 6 p.m.
And the evening service is different than the morning service different songs that are sung different sermon has preached
Just one more opportunity to be in God's house of course with God's people under the preaching of the Word of God
And we're glad you're here for the Wednesday evening Bible study tonight
If you look at our soul winning times our main of soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
And we of course would love for you to join us on
Sunday on Saturday morning for our big soul winning rally
And then we have additional soul winning times usually on Thursdays and Fridays at 2 p.m.
That's postponed for a little while
While we have some workdays, but on Sunday at 2 p.m.
We have a time available
So make sure that you are a part of one of those if you are a first-time guest if it's your first time here
I've already Baptist Church. We're glad you're with us
We have a gift
We'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building tonight if you go out the main foyer
Or if you go out the secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up on that table
You'll see these little gift bags
Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight
There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have the one I like to highlight is this documentary that our church
Made it's called being Baptist. It's very well made very interesting
We think you'll like it and we want to give this year the gift
So, please make sure you don't leave here tonight without grabbing one of those gift bags on your way out
And if you are a guest would ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card
Which is inserted in your bulletin and we'd love to have a record of your attendance
We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that
So, please take a moment to fill the card out when we're done with the announcements
We're gonna sing a song and when we're done singing, we're gonna receive the offering as the offering plate goes by
You can drop this card in the offering plate if you'll notice there in the bulletin
We are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcomed in the service
We do not separate children from their parents for any reason
We do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience
So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service or if you need some privacy
We would encourage you to please use those rooms as needed if you need to be baptized, please let us know
We'd love to baptize you on the back of your communication card
You can check off that you would like
Information about baptism and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that and get you situated for baptism
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course, we've got some big workdays coming up on Thursday tomorrow
November 2nd 8 a.m. To 9 p.m. Friday, November 3rd 8 a.m. To 9 p.m. And Saturday
November 4th 1 p.m. To 9 p.m. Alright, so we've got
Clipboards in the back guys if you can go by there
There's three shifts for the first two days two shifts for the last day and we could use your help
We'd appreciate your help, especially if you know anything about electrical
That would be great if you are an electrician or if you just are handy with electrical stuff
Right now the lighting is what needs to be done and all of those rooms need cam lights
The auditorium has lighting that needs to be done as well, but there's other things as well. It's not just electrical
Lots to do so if you would go by there we would appreciate it. I know this is now I think the fourth week and
It's gonna be several more weeks before we're done over there. So just stick with it. Stay with it and
We'll be glad once we're on that new property. It'll be good. We had the harvest party yesterday. It went great
We had a great harvest party
And I don't know how many people we had but it was well over 200 people that came out for the harvest party and praise
the Lord for that we had the cook-off and all those things of course and
Brother Nate's got the second place
Slot for the chili cook-off and but Scott got the first place
He was the first place winner. So we had a good time with that. Of course
Choir is starting up for the Christmas season. So if you'd like to be part of the adult choir
They're gonna start practicing on Sunday, November 12 at 5 p.m
Here in the auditorium 5 p.m
An hour before the Sunday evening service and the children's choir is gonna start practicing on Sunday, November 19th at 5 15 p.m
They'll start practicing in the playroom and we're gonna have
Of course a Christmas Eve service this year and the choirs will be singing on the children in the morning
The adults in the evenings, so make sure that you are part of that homeschool group. There is a PE class tomorrow
November 2nd at 10 a.m. So don't forget about that PE tomorrow
Ladies have a weight loss accountability group if you'd like to be a part of that ladies
They meet on Wednesdays at 6 15 p.m. In the mother-baby room. That's closest to the front entrance
And then of course, there's other things there for you to look at
Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on the silent during the service that they're not a distraction to anybody
if you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays anniversaries for the month of
October or for this week
We had brother James villas birthday on October 30th yesterday was my daughter Ruth and Jimenez on
October 31st was her birthday and then later this week
We have miss Ariel Sheboyan's birthday on November 3rd and Gideon gives birthday on November 3rd as well
Praise report money matters. All of those things are there for you to look at I do have one
Baptism certificate to hand out so I'll go ahead and read this quickly
This says certificate of baptism
The certificate is awarded to Avery Rosenberg in recognition of her baptism on the 29th day of October of the year 2023
Presented by Verity Baptist Church and we've got the verse here Romans 6 4 therefore. We are buried with him by baptism
Into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in units
of life and we have pictures here for Avery to remember the day of her baptism and let's go ahead and give her a round of
applause
All right, and let's go ahead and take our song books
We're gonna go to page number 97 as we prepare to receive the offering
This evening page number 97 and we're gonna sing. I need thee every hour
page number 97 and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first I
need the every hour most
Gracious Lord no tender voice like mine and
He's a poor I need the oh I need thee
Every hour I need
Bless me now my savior I come
to the page number 97 sing it out on the second I
Need the every hour stay down here by
Temptations lose their power when
I need the oh I need the
Every hour I need
Bless me now my savior
I come
To thee I need the every hour
Enjoy your pain come quickly and apply or
Every hour I need
Me now my savior
To sing it out on the last page number 97 on the fourth I need
the every hour
I need the oh I need the every hour I need
Oh
Amen good singing we'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time
And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer
Heavenly Father Lord we do come to you tonight asking that you bless the offering the gift and the giver Lord
We pray that you meet with us as we open up your word as we study the Bible together. We pray that you would
Hear our prayers as we take time to pray of course for our church family as well in Jesus name we pray amen
We pray that you would be with us as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church family as we take time to pray of course for our church
family.
So
so
so amen all right well let's take our prayer sheets tonight if you did not get a prayer list on your way in just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you if you need a prayer
sheet just put your hand up and we'll get one for you and of course the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card in the back of the card there's a place for you to write down a request make sure you mark whether it's private or public if you mark private only I will see it if you mark public we'll put on the prayer sheet if you don't mark it we'll do our best to figure it out but we usually don't put those on they are added in the order that they are received and they are removed after a couple of weeks and we're gonna go ahead and take these requests to the Lord I'm gonna pray out loud I'm gonna ask that you follow along in your mind and your heart and
let's pray together and let's bow our heads together. Heavenly Father Lord we come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family we begin with these requests regarding salvation. Ms. Natalie praying for the salvation of her husband and her family and brother Ron Edwards praying for the salvation of his mom and his family as well. Ms. Christine Ortiz praying for her family's salvation and Ms. Docma praying for her daughter and her family's salvation. Lord we ask for these individuals we pray that you would work on their hearts Lord we know that every individual will spend eternity's
somewhere heaven or hell. Lord we ask that your Holy Spirit would soften their hearts and prepare them to be able to hear and receive the gospel. Lord we ask that a soul winner would communicate the gospel clearly to them that they might be saved. Lord we also pray for these requests regarding health. Brother Darryl praying for his mom's healing of her cancer and Brother Aldo praying for his father's recovery after his neck surgery.
Brother Mike praying for his health. Brother Todd and Ms. Lori praying for their health and Tim praying for healing as well. Ms. Hermalisa praying for her father-in-law Dave who's battling cancer and is in the hospital and praying that he would be released. Ms. Christine Ortiz praying for her health and for her sister Judy's health as she battles cancer as well. Brother Salvador we're praying for his health and we thank you for this praise report and
he will have 17 years here in a couple of days of being cancer free and we thank you for that Lord. We pray you continue to keep him healthy and strong. Brother Edgar and Ms. Selena praying for Uretzi that she would continue to be healthy as well and of course we continue to pray for our missionary Dave Camutola's wife Angel who's dealing with breast cancer. Lord we ask for all these individuals we pray that you would give them strength we pray that you'd heal them you'd recover them that you'd relieve pain you pray that you would help the doctors and the nurses that are dealing with them
we ask Lord that you'd be with them. We also pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting Ms. Selena, Ms. Melody, Ms. Victoria, Ms. Julissa, Ms. Ruby asking that you'd give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications. Lord we also pray for these that have requests regarding friends and family. Ms. Brandy Barrett praying for her brother Dylan who's dealing with anxiety and depression. Ms. Rebecca Garcia praying for her husband Danny and his board date on March 1st
that he would be released. Lord we pray that your will would be done regarding that and that he would be able to come home. Ms. Irene Reed praying for comfort and strength for her cousin Rosario Chavez who's husband passed away unexpectedly and leaving her and two small children behind. Lord we pray for these individuals. Lord we ask that you would give them comfort and help.
Lord we pray that you would give them strength and comfort Lord as needed as well. And Lord we ask that you be with all these individuals. We also pray for these that have physical and financial requests. For the mic praying for a reliable car and looking for a reliable job as well. Ms. Christine Ortiz praying for that she'd find her own place. For the Salvador praying for finances and work as well. Lord we ask that you would help these individuals and meet their needs. Be with them and guide them.
Lord we pray that you would give them your faith and walk with you. That you'd continue to strengthen them through that. And then we pray Lord for these that have unspoken requests. Ms. Natalie and also Brother Ron and also Ms. Ruby Rolden having unspoken requests. For the Salvador and Miss Dagma as well having unspoken requests. Lord we ask for these individuals. We pray that you would help them. You know what their requests are. You know what their petitions are. And we ask Lord that you would answer according to your will. And then Lord we pray for the work being done at the new building. Brother Ron praying for the men working at the new building and progress.
That is going on. And Lord we ask that you just continue to help these work days. And that you would help us to have a smooth transition into the new building. And there's still so much to do. Lord I pray that you'd help us not to be weary. And to just stick with it and get it done. Lord I thank you for these men that have volunteered their time and their energy. Lord I just pray that you continue to help us as we work away at it and work at it. And help us be able to get a good amount of progress done this weekend Lord.
And to be safe and everybody having a good attitude. Lord help us to have a good time as we work. And Lord I pray that you would just help us to be able to accomplish the goals that we have. We pray for our church for the prison ministry that you continue to bless the mailers as they go out to the different prisoners all over the country. We pray for our churches in Manila, Pampanga, Bicol and our missionary there, Pastor Secchi and his family. That you'd bless them and continue to bless their ministries and help them. And then of course Lord we pray for our church here in Sacramento. We pray that you'd continue to help us as we work. And Lord I pray that you would just help us to be able to accomplish the goals that we have. We pray for our church for the prison ministry. That you continue to bless the mailers as they go out to the different prisoners all over the country. We pray for our churches in Manila, Pampanga, Bicol and our missionary there, Pastor Secchi and his family. That you'd
continue to bless and strengthen our church. Lord we ask that you would help us tonight as we open up your word as we study the Bible together. Lord help us take the preaching of your word seriously. Help us to realize that it is the word of God that we're going to open up. Help us to minimize distractions. Help us to prepare our hearts. Lord I pray that you would speak to us and that we would hear it. That we would receive it and that we would leave here different than we came. We love you. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.
Please open our mouths to Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter number 3. If you don't have a Bible please put your hand up and I'm not sure if you can bring your Bible. Hebrews chapter number 3. Just keep your hand up or she'll come by. Hebrews 3. We read the entire chapter as our custom. Hebrews 3 beginning in verse number 1.
Hebrews 3 beginning in verse number 1.
Hebrews chapter number 3. And of course we on Wednesday nights we're
studying through the book of Hebrews. We're going verse by verse, chapter by chapter
through this book. Tonight we find ourselves here in Hebrews chapter number 3.
And if you remember last week we began chapter 3.
We went through the first part of the chapter. We looked at verses
1 through 6. And we learned
about Jesus being compared to Moses in
Hebrews 3 verses 1 through 6. We learned about the fact
of course that Jesus is better which is the theme of the book of Hebrews. One of the themes of the book of Hebrews
is that Jesus is better. He's better than the prophets. He's better than the angels.
We saw that He's better than Moses. Tonight we're going to
finish up chapter number 3 and we're going to look at verses 7 through
19. And tonight we're going to see
that in the first part of the chapter we saw that Jesus was compared to Moses
and in the second part of the chapter we see that we are compared to the
children of Israel. So there's a little bit of a pattern there. Jesus compared to Moses
and then we are compared to the children of Israel. Of course
the children of Israel were the followers of Moses and we are the followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Before we get into the
main teaching of the passage though I do want to highlight something for you
that comes up here in verse number 7. You notice there in Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 7 the Bible
says wherefore and I want you to notice that there's a parenthesis there.
In your Bible you'll notice it says wherefore and then you'll
see a parenthesis and then you'll see this phrase as the Holy Ghost
sayeth. As the Holy Ghost sayeth. Now
what happens is that the writer of the book of Hebrews is actually
going to in this parenthesis in this kind of parenthetical
thought he's going to quote a portion
of scripture. We've seen him do this throughout the book of Hebrews already
and you'll notice that that quote
actually is set aside by these parenthesis
and I'd like you to notice that it goes all the way to the end of verse
number 11. So notice there in Hebrews 3.7 wherefore parenthesis
as the Holy Ghost sayeth and then here begins the quote. So he says as the Holy Ghost
sayeth and then he begins to quote from Psalm 95. You don't have to turn there. We're going to
look at that in a little bit but here's the quote. He says today if you will hear his
voice heart and not your hearts as in the provocation in the day
of temptation in the wilderness when your father tempted me proved me and
saw my works forty years wherefore I was grieved with that generation
and said they do always err in their heart and they have
not known my ways so I swear in my wrath that they shall not
enter into my rest. End quote. So you'll notice the quote
from the Old Testament covers verses 7 through
11 there in this chapter
and we're going to talk about that here in a minute but what I want you to notice is that the
beginning before the quote begins there before the words today if you will hear
his voice the writer of Hebrews is quoting
from the Old Testament but what he says is as the Holy Ghost sayeth
as the Holy Ghost sayeth and what we have here is a
statement regarding inspiration of scripture and the fact that
all scripture is given by inspiration of God and
though he's quoting from the Old Testament he's quoting the psalmist from the Old Testament instead of
telling us the name of the psalmist and the name of the individual who's being quoted here
he simply says as the Holy Ghost sayeth because of the fact that all
of scripture is the Holy Ghost speaking through men and all of the Bible
is God speaking through
men but it is the word of God it is the Holy Ghost speaking. I'd like to just
give you a couple of verses regarding this just by way of introduction. Keep your place there in Hebrews
if you would and go with me to the book of 2 Peter chapter 1.
2 Peter chapter 1 if you're there in Hebrews you'll just go past the book of James
past the book of 1 Peter into the book of 2 Peter because the writer
of Hebrews says as the Holy Ghost sayeth then quotes scripture quotes the
Old Testament and this is biblical because it teaches us of the inspiration
of scripture. 2 Peter 1 and verse 21 says this
for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost. So we see here approved text for the inspiration
of scripture not only in 2 Peter 1.21 of course
but in Hebrews 3.7 when he says wherefore as the Holy Ghost sayeth
and then quotes the Old Testament passage. We see
that the word of God is
not just the word of men but it is indeed the word of God and
I make that point and I kind of want to highlight that for a couple
reasons. First of all I want you to notice it just as like I said a proof
just another proof in the Bible of this doctrine of inspiration of scripture
but I also want you to notice that this is not random. This is not just being brought up for no reason.
Nothing in the Bible is incidental, accidental, coincidental.
It's all there for a reason and there's a reason why he says that.
There's a reason why he says as the Holy Ghost sayeth. We're going to come back to that reason
towards the end of the sermon but I want you to remember it and I want you to highlight it. Now you're there
in 2 Peter chapter 1. You can go back
to Hebrews chapter 3 but I'd also like you to find Psalm 95
so you can see the quote that's being quoted here. Psalm 95
if you open your Bible just right in the center you're more than likely following the book of Psalms
and it's right in the middle of the Bible. Psalm 95. I'd like you to find it.
Get back to Hebrews 3. Find Psalm 95. While you turn to those passages
let me read to you a couple more scriptures regarding inspiration of scripture
that prove that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Here's a passage while you turn to Psalm 95. Acts 1
16 says this. Men and brethren this scripture must
needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth
of David spake before concerning Judas which was
guide to them that took Jesus. I want you to notice that in Acts 1 16 we're told
that the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake and again
that is a proof of the inspiration of scripture that holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Here's what David himself
said in 2 Samuel 23. 2 Samuel 23 and verse 1. You don't have to
turn there. Let me just read this for you. The Bible says this. Now these be the last words
of David. David the son of Jesse said and the man who
was raised up on high the anointed of the God of Jacob and the
sweet psalmist of Israel said the spirit of the Lord spake
by me and his word was in my tongue. So David
we're told in Acts that the Holy Ghost by the mouth
of David spake and then David himself says the spirit of the Lord spake
by me and his word was in my mouth. So we need to always remember
that this Bible that you hold in your hand is not just a book.
It is the word of God and when we say it's the word of God we
mean that literally holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost. The spirit of the Lord spake by them
and his word was in their tongue. The Holy Ghost
spake by the mouth of these men and what we're reading is
the words of God. So we see that at the beginning this idea of inspiration of
God is brought up and like I said it's not brought up just randomly. There's a reason why it's brought up
and we'll come back to that but I'd like you to go back to Hebrews chapter 3. I think you're in Psalm 95
go back to Hebrews 3 and let's get into the main subject
of the passage tonight and the subject has to do with your heart
and specifically it has to do with the hardening of our
heart or a hard heart and there's several things that are brought up
in this passage regarding a hard heart and I'd like to
highlight them for you. There's five different things that we can learn regarding a hard heart
and it's all kind of intermingled so we're going to go through the passage and then we'll go
through it again and we'll go through it again as we highlight these different things. If you're taking notes
maybe you can write these things down. I'd love for you to take notes on the back of your course of the week. There's a place
for you to do that. I'd like you to notice first of all the condition of a hard heart. The condition
of a hard heart and what we have here in this passage is that the writer
of Hebrews is giving us an Old Testament example of a
hard heart. Now I want you to notice the emphasis and what's being
emphasized in this passage. Hebrews 3, look at verse 7. Wherefore
as the Holy Ghost saith and then he begins to quote the Old Testament. Here's the
example from the Old Testament. Today if you will hear his
voice, notice the emphasis, harden not your hearts.
The Old Testament psalmist that's being quoted here in
the book of Hebrews is telling the children of Israel of his
day to not harden their hearts. Now the psalmist, we're going to
look at it in Psalm 97, is being quoted in the New Testament.
So we've got a New Testament quotation of the Old Testament Psalms and the
psalmist is then reminding the people of his time about the
children of Israel in the time that he calls the provocation. Now this
is perfect for us because he's literally referring to the time
that we're studying in the book of Numbers right now in our Numbers series
when the children of Israel came up to the promised land and then
rebelled against God and refused to go in. That's what's being
referenced here and I did not plan that out for us to be
in Numbers 13, 14, 15, and 16 around the same time that we
would be in Hebrews chapter 3. I'm not that smart to figure that out but the Holy Ghost
is and the Holy Ghost has us looking at these things so this should be
familiar to you. The psalmist is saying today if you will hear his voice
heart and not your hearts and then he gives an example that's even older than
Psalms. He says as in the provocation in the day of temptation
in the wilderness when your fathers tempted me proved me and
saw my works forty years wherefore I was grieved with that
generation and said notice what God says
about that generation. They do always err
in their heart and they have not known my ways so I
swear in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Now the rest there is being referred to the fact that they were supposed to enter into
the promised land and that was supposed to be their rest. This idea of rest
I'm not going to really deal with a lot tonight because it's going to come up again in chapter 4
of Hebrews and we'll deal with it then but he's telling them I had
a rest for you. I had a plan for you. You were to go into the promised land
but because you always err in your heart because you harden
your heart because you tempted me and proved me and
grieved me God swore in his wrath that they shall not enter into
my rest. Now I want you to notice the quotation that's being quoted just for
your notes of course. Psalm 95 and verse 8 is what's being quoted here.
Psalm 95 and verse 8 and notice it again just
for comparison sake. Psalm 95 verse 8, Harden not your hearts
as in the provocation as in the day of temptation in the wilderness when your
father tempted me proved me and saw my works. 40 years long was I grieved with this
generation and said it is the people that do err in their hearts. Notice the emphasis
Verse 8, Harden not your heart. Verse 10, It is the people that do err in their hearts
and they have not known my ways unto whom I swear in my wrath that they should not
enter into my rest. You can go back to Hebrews 3
if you'd like but I want you to notice we see the condition of the heart and what we see
to begin here is an Old Testament example of a
hard heart and I want you to notice to me the biggest emphasis that you should
really look at is in verse 10 of Hebrews 3 when God says
they do always and that's an older word of course
an older way of saying we would say they always err
in their hearts and the application
here is that these people were known for always or always
having a hard heart, having
not a tender heart, not a heart that was soft towards the things of God
but their heart was always hardened and I want to ask this question and I'll
probably ask it several times tonight but you need to ask yourself this question and the question
is this, how's your heart? How's your heart?
Every once in a while you ought to ask your children, how's your heart?
Because how hard or how
tender or how arrogant or how humble
or how critical or how content your heart
is is very important. The Bible says that all sorts of
sin come from our heart and God says about these people that
they had an example. He says there's an Old
Testament example of a hard heart. Now this doesn't come up just because
we see first of all here in verses 7 through 11
an Old Testament example of a hard heart and then in verse 7 we see a New Testament
exhortation to not have a hard heart. Look at verse 7, Hebrews 3
verse 7. So in verse 7 we see
this in the parenthesis we see this quote from the Old Testament
but then I want you to notice when you remove the parenthesis and of course
we're not going to remove the parenthesis, all of this is the word of God but
if you remember diagramming sentences when you were a kid in
school, a parenthetical statement is a statement that is put there to
give you additional information or additional context
or content for the sentence but that which
is in parenthesis is not necessarily needed for a complete
sentence or a complete statement. So we can actually read
by removing the parenthesis to see the point that he's actually trying to make because the
parenthesis is just giving us additional needed information and read it without
the parenthesis and it says this in verse 7. He says wherefore
parenthesis begin, runs all the way to the end of verse 11 and
then verse 12 says this, take heed brethren.
So I want you to notice that that whole parenthetical statement
that travels from verse 7 through 11
is there as an Old Testament example of a hard heart but what he's
actually doing is he's giving some New Testament believers an exhortation
to not have a hard heart and he says wherefore
take heed brethren lest there be in any
of you an evil heart of unbelief and it makes sense why
he gives us that parenthesis wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith
today if you will hear his voice, goes into that whole
example from the Old Testament and then says take heed therefore
brethren lest there be
any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
hearting from the living God, verse 13, but exhort one another daily while it is
called today lest any of you be hardened, notice the emphasis
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. So in verse
12 he says lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief. In verse 13 he says lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. Look at verse 14 for we are made partakers
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast
into the end, verse 15, while it is said today if you will hear his voice
notice it again, harden not your hearts as in
the provocation. So again this was, he's recoding the Old Testament
because when he quoted Psalm 97 he said harden not your hearts
as in the provocation. That was a quote from the Old Testament, an example from the
Old Testament, but verse 15 is an exhortation to New Testament believers and he says the
same thing. He says harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation.
Now I'd like you to keep your place there in Hebrews 3 and go with me to the book of Mark.
Mark chapter 6 and towards the beginning of the New Testament you have
Matthew and then you have the book of Mark. Matthew, Mark, Mark
chapter number 6. When you get to Mark do me a favor and put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there
because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. We're going to come back to Mark several times
during the sermon tonight so I'd like you to find it quickly and when I came up here I realized
that my shoe was untied and it's going to bother me so I'm just going to tie it real quick
if that's okay with you.
It's supposed to be the bunny loops and all that stuff, right? If I don't tie it
it's just going to bother me the whole time. Mark chapter 6, look at verse 52.
Matthew, Mark, Mark chapter 6 and verse
52. Oftentimes when we think of a hard heart
we think of reprobates.
Because reprobates the Bible says that they harden their hearts. Now oftentimes
they harden their hearts and what makes them a reprobate is that they cross a line with God
where God hardens their heart. I've taught on that in the past. I'm not going to take the time to
go there but I do want you to understand that it is also possible for
Christians to harden their heart. Now obviously a Christian
doesn't lose their salvation or anything like that but there are some consequences
regarding a hard heart. We're going to talk about that but here's a verse for you that kind of
illustrates the fact that a Christian can have a hardened heart. Mark 6, 52. Look at it.
For they. Now I'm not going to take the time to go through the context but the word they
there is referring to the disciples. Literally the twelve disciples, the apostles
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says for they
considered not the miracle of the loaves. Notice
these words. For their heart was hardened.
And here in the Bible, and again I'm not going to take the time to go through the whole story, but there's a story about the fact
that Jesus just got done doing one of the greatest miracles recorded in
scripture where he multiplied the loaves and fed
thousands of people. Literally a miracle, one of the most famous miracles
in the Bible. And the Bible tells us when we look at Mark 6, 52
when we get a little bit of insight from the Holy Ghost, narrating the story and
commentating the story, he tells us that this was at a time when the disciples
were a little bit backslidden and their hearts were hardened and in fact
they were there when Jesus performed the miracle but they weren't impressed by it.
They weren't amazed by it. In fact if you read the story, if you remember
the story, you remember the fact that they were actually supposed to take a day off.
They were supposed to go and take a day off with the Lord Jesus Christ but ministry
got in the way and Jesus said sorry guys we're not going to
take a day off today and he began to minister unto these people and the Bible was telling us that
their hearts got a little hardened as a result and they considered not
the miracle of the loaves. They missed what God was doing
because of their hardened heart and I will say this, when your heart
is hard it becomes callous to the great things
that God is doing around you. You got to be careful with that.
I believe that God is doing some wonderful things here at Verity Baptist Church
at this time in the life and ministry of our church and some of you are missing
it. You're here, you're present
but you're missing it because your heart has been hardened so
I ask again, how's your heart? How's your heart?
You got to get a heart check spiritually.
You got to get a heart check and you got to ask yourself how's the condition of your
heart because it is possible for New Testament
Christians to grow calloused
hardened hearts. So we see the condition of the heart
but I'd like you to notice secondly, keep your place there in Mark if you would and go back to Hebrews chapter 3
not only do we see the condition of the heart but we see
the complication of a hard heart because you might say
okay well if I have a hard heart what's the big deal?
Well the big deal is this, that your condition
your heart disease spiritually has some complications
that come along with it. Notice the complications
In Hebrews 3 and verse 8 we see this, hardened not your hearts
He says as in the provocation and again we've already been looking
at this in the book of Numbers so this should be familiar to you
in the day of temptation in the wilderness, notice what the Bible says
this is God speaking, when your father has tempted me, the word tempt
often times when we think of the word tempt we think of like a sin and the Bible definitely uses that
word in that way but the word tempt means more than just
being tempted to sin, it can also mean to be tested, whether temptation to sin
can be a test but there are also temptations or testings
that are not sinned, for example God, the Bible tells us in the book of Genesis
that God did tempt Abraham when he asked
Abraham to offer his son Isaac upon the altar, that was not a temptation to sin
but that was a temptation or a test
the word tempt can mean attempted or adventure to test
and here the Bible says, God says that your father has tempted
me, in the idea he says
you were testing me, you were putting me up to the test
and prove me, notice, and saw my works forty years
here's what he's saying, he's saying the complication
of a hard heart, the problem with a hard heart is this
that a hard heart will put you at odds with God
because a hard heart will cause you
what was it that happened with the children of Israel
at the border of Canaan land, when the spies came back with an evil
report and they refused to go in, what happened, what was the complication
what was the result of their hard heart, they doubted God
remember that? They lacked faith, they allowed fear to
settle in and because they did not have faith in God, they began to
doubt God, they began to question God, remember they began to question
not only God, but they began to question the man of God, they began to question
Moses and they said, why did you bring us out here, did you bring us out in the wilderness to die
were there not enough graves in Egypt, you brought us out to the wilderness
to die, remember they said, we remember Egypt and they said let us make a captain
to go back to Egypt, they began to doubt God and question God
they began to test God and they stood in judgment of God
and let me tell you something, a hard heart always
shows itself in criticism and
complaining against God, you might say
well I don't complain against God, I only complain against my spouse or I don't complain against God
I only complain against my boss or I don't complain against God, I only
complain against my pastor, but remember that those are all individuals that God
placed in your life and when we complain about, when a wife
complains about the husband that God gave her, when a husband complains about the job or the
boss that God gave him, when a church member complains about the pastor that God gave him
when a child complains about the parents that God gave him, always remember that that is always a complaint
against God and we are testing God and
putting God up to this idea, we're putting him in
judgment and we are proving him and saying why would you do this
God and whenever we get to the place where we begin
to question God, remember
it's the condition of a hard heart, the problem with a hard heart is that it puts
you at odds with God, and look I get it
you may have gone through some difficulties, you may have gone through some hard things
and those hard things have resulted in a hard heart, but remember
and realize that the problem with a hard heart is that it often gets us to
question God and when we question God and say God why would you do this and why would
you allow this and why wouldn't you do this and why wouldn't you step in in this situation
all of that is a result of a hard heart and the complication
with a hard heart is that it puts us at odds with
God and if that doesn't matter to you
let me say this, not only does a hard heart put you at
odds with God, but a hard heart then puts God at
odds with you, look at verse 10
wherefore, in verses 8 and 9 we saw
their hard heart towards God as in the provocation, in the day of temptation
in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my
works forty years, he said your hard heart puts you at odds with me because your
hard heart causes you to doubt God, question God, put God to a test
or stand in judgment of God, and then the Bible says in verse 10, he says
wherefore, the word wherefore means for that reason because you stood in judgment
of me, God says, he says wherefore I, this is God speaking,
I was grieved with that generation, he said
they began to question me and I grieved that generation
I was grieved with that generation and said they do always err in their hearts
and they have not known my ways, so I swear in my wrath that they
should not enter into my rest, look at verse 16
for some when they had heard did provoke, when you and I
have a hard heart and we question God, we're provoking God
for some when they heard, verse 16
did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses, but with whom
was he grieved forty years, the question is who was he upset with forty years
was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness
to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest
but to them that believed not, so we see that they could
not enter in because of unbelief, and listen to me, when you and I
allow a hard heart to enter into our lives and we allow
that hard heart to make us bitter and angry and hard towards the things of
God and we begin to question God and complain against God and criticize God
that puts us at odds with God and that puts God at odds with us
you might wake up forty years later
realizing you've wasted your life in the wilderness
because God was grieved with you
and he swore in his wrath that they shall not enter into his rest
so we saw number one, the condition of a hard heart
we saw number two, the complication of a hard heart
like you notice thirdly, the consequence of a hard heart
look at verse 10, he says, wherefore I was grieved with that
generation and said, here's the consequence, they
do always err, you see that word err there?
we would use the word err
they always mess up, they always
make a mistake, they do always err
in their heart, and here's why
and they have not known my ways, the consequence
of a hard heart is this
that an erring heart will lead you to
damage your life, the consequence
of the hard heart, not just the condition of the hard heart
that you have a hard heart, and not just the complication of the hard heart
that now my hard heart has put me at odds with God and has put God at odds with me
but the consequence that you'll leave with is this, that when you and I allow a
hard heart into our lives, then we begin to err
we begin to mess up, we begin
to make mistakes, and it is because we have not known
God says because they have not known my ways, let me give you a
cross reference, go to Mark chapter 12, if you kept your place in Mark, go back to Mark 12
look at verse 24
see an erring heart
will lead you to damage your Christian life
because when your heart is hard, that's not the time for you
to be making any sort of decisions
that's not the time for you to be deciding because, you know, things that could affect
your life, things that could affect your marriage, things that could affect your children
because the Bible says they do always err in their hearts
for they have not known my ways, here's how Jesus said it, Mark 12, 24
and Jesus answering said unto them, do ye not therefore
notice the word err, why?
because ye know not the scriptures
neither the power of God, see the consequence of a hard heart
is this, that it causes us to err, it'll bring
damage, and listen, please understand this
people with hard hearts will make decisions because their
heart is hard towards God
and it comes hard towards others
I mean the Bible says, be ye kind one to another
tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you, and when we have a condition of a hard heart
then wives make decisions, husbands make decisions
and they err not knowing the scriptures
not doing what God wants, and then they damage their marriage
because of a hard heart, parents make decisions
they're hardened, you don't think parents get hardened towards their own children?
join the ministry, unfortunately it's something
we see all the time, often times we're trying to
tell parents, hey love your kids, love them enough, don't give up on them
don't quit on them, but parents will sometimes their hearts
will get hard towards God, and their hearts will get hard towards their own children
and they'll err, and make decisions
and have regrets, and damage relationships, and the consequence
of a hard heart is that that erring heart will lead you
to damage your Christian life
so parents, please realize that
your lack of knowledge of what God wants you to do
could have an effect on your children
I mean the children have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years with their parents
it wasn't their choice
not only do erring hearts cause you to damage your
Christian life, but erring evil hearts will cause you
to depart the Christian life, keep your place there in Mark, we're going to come back to it
go back to Hebrews 3, look at verse 11
they shall not enter into my wrath, verse 12
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
notice what he says, in departing from
the living God
before anyone quits a church like this
I mean physically, disappear
stop attending, we don't see them anymore
their hearts left way before that
because an evil heart will lead you to depart the things of God
he says lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
in departing from the living God, and these are the consequences of
a hard heart, it will cause you to make errors and damage relationships
damage people, do hurtful things, do painful things
and it will cause you to depart from the things of God
it's the consequences, like you'll notice
fourthly, the cause, look at verse 13
Hebrews 3, 13, we saw the condition of a hard heart
we saw an Old Testament example and a New Testament exhortation, we saw the complication
of a hard heart, we saw that it puts you at odds with God
and it puts God at odds with you, we saw the consequences of a hard heart
it will cause you to err and damage your Christian life, it will cause you to be evil
and depart from the Christian life, and then I want you to notice
the cause, why does it happen, look at verse 13
Hebrews 3, 13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today
lest any of you be hardened
notice the words, through the deceitfulness of sin
the deceitfulness of sin will cause a hard heart
again, I want you to notice it, go to Mark, Mark chapter 4, notice what Jesus said
Mark chapter 4, look at verse 18
Mark chapter 4 and verse 18, the Bible says this
and these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word
notice, these are individuals, they're sown, they hear the word
verse 19, and the cares of this world
they care more
and they are filled with care, anxious about, is what the word care means
and the cares of this world
and, don't miss it, the deceitfulness of riches
in Hebrews we saw the deceitfulness of sin
but these things are often put on the same shelf
because the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil
and because Jesus said you cannot serve God and mammon
and the idea is this, that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches
and the lust of other things entering in, notice it, don't miss it, choke the word
they harden a heart to the place
where the word of God cannot have an effect, they choke the word
and it becometh unfruitful, what is the cause of a hard heart
it's always the deceitfulness of sin, it will cause a hard heart
the deceitfulness of sin, and sin in
your life, in my life, in anyone's life, will cause
and bring forth a hard heart
notice it's not just that, go back to Hebrews chapter 3
look at verse 17, not only is the cause
a deceitfulness of sin, but we see
that another cause is the distrust of unbelief
look at verse 17, but with whom was he grieved forty years
was it not with them that had sinned
whose carcasses fell in the wilderness
to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that
notice the words, believe not
so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief
and listen to me, the reason
that so many people do not enter in
to the promised land of their life, whatever that is
in whatever area, God's perfect will for your life
whether it be marriage, whether it be parenting, whether it be
your job, your career, your health, whatever area
it is, is because we see what the Bible says
we know what the Bible says, we know what God wants us to do as a husband
or as a wife, or as a father, or as a mother, or as an employee
or as an employer, or as a church member, or whatever it is
we see what God tells us to do, but let's just be honest, we don't do it, why?
because we really don't believe it
it's this distrust that says, well if I did that, that would never work
but that's what God said to do, and a wife says, I could never submit to my husband
in that way, I mean if I did that, but let's just call it what it is
you don't trust God, it's not about your husband
although your husband may be an idiot, I don't know what to tell you, you married him
he probably is an idiot, but God's good
and a husband says, but if I love my wife
the way that Christ loved the church, and if I did what Christ told me to do
because husbands, they get this idea, well I'm the boss, so therefore
I never have to do anything and you're my servant, well that's not what Jesus said
Jesus said that you are to love your wife
like Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, Jesus said that you are to love
sacrificially, and you are to love selflessly, and look, here's what I'm telling you
when a husband and wife get this, when they actually believe the Bible, and a wife says
I'm going to submit to the authority of my husband, he's God's leader in my life
and I'm going to put myself, yeah, maybe in a position that is vulnerable
but I'm going to just believe that God knows best and that God knows how to do it
and when a husband says, well I'm not just going to rule and be arrogant and be lazy
but I'm actually going to sacrifice and love my wife like Christ loved the church, I'm going to sacrifice and be selfless
here's what I'm telling you, when you do it, it works
why don't people do it? Let's just call it what it is, you don't actually believe the Bible
you think you're smarter than God, you tempt him
and provoke him and say, I don't think
this is going to work, it's like the children of Israel at the
borders of Canaan saying, I don't think we can do this
the deceitfulness of sin and the distrust
of unbelief is the cause
of a hard heart and the problem is that it brings
these consequences where you damage your Christian life, you depart from the Christian life
it puts you at odds with God, it puts God at odds with you
and it ruins your life
so we saw the condition of a hard heart, we saw the complications
of a hard heart, we saw the consequences of a hard heart and the cause of a hard heart
let me give you lastly tonight
the cure for a hard heart
notice what the writer of Hebrews says
he spent this whole time explaining to us why you don't want a hard heart
because it puts you at odds with God and it puts God at odds with you
it makes you to tempt God, to provoke God, to question God, doubt God
to say, I don't really trust it, I don't really, then why do we do it?
because of deceitfulness of sin, because of distrust and unbelief
it causes you to err and you have errors and you have regrets
and you have damage and it causes you to depart and quit on God
and it's your heart
I wish we'd be honest about it, I wish when people quit church they would just say
I'm backslidden, my heart is hard towards God
let me give you the cure for a hard heart
look at verse 12
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God
and then he says this, he says, take heed, the word heed means to give attention to
pay close attention to, take heed, brethren, verse 13
he says, here's what you should do, but exhort one another
daily while it is called today
and then he says this, lest any of you be hardened
say, well how do I keep myself from being hardened, according to Hebrews
you exhort one another daily while it is called today
you say, what's the cure for a hard heart?
number one, don't isolate yourself from God's people
don't isolate yourself from God's people
what I've noticed is that when people often, when their hearts get hard
the first thing they begin to do is to isolate themselves
they begin to back off, they begin to miss church services
they stop going to activities, they stop talking to fellow brothers and sisters
in Christ
and God says, what you need to do when you have a hard heart is to exhort
one another daily
the last thing you need to do when you have a hard heart is to isolate
in fact, the cure for a hard heart is to not isolate yourself
don't isolate yourself from God's people
in the book of Hebrews, let's look at it, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse number 25
Hebrews 10, 25, notice what the writer of Hebrews says
Hebrews 10, 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together
as the manner of some is
but exhorting one another, you see that word exhorting, that's what he said in Hebrews 3, 13
but exhort one another daily, but exhorting one another
and so much the more, as you see the day approaching
I don't know how it works and I can't explain it to you, I can just tell you what the Bible says
the Bible says that what you and I need is to be in community with other
believers and the worst thing you can do when you find your heart
starting to harden is to isolate yourself
and the interesting thing is that it seems to be just the thing
that people want to do, it's like our flesh just automatically, the moment your heart starts
getting hard towards the things of God, you want to start isolating
it's the worst thing you can do, you know what the Bible says, the Bible says
be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour
the Bible says that the devil
is a roaring lion walking about
seeking whom he may devour and if you've ever taken the time
to watch any sort of nature shows and watch how lions hunt, you know what they
how they hunt is, they isolate
they don't take on four or five animals
at once, they start running towards these animals
who start running away from them but what do they do, they try to separate
one, usually it's the youngest, usually it's the
weakest, usually it's the oldest, usually it's one that was just kind of
not too close to the rest of the herd
the Bible says the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour
and you're just doing exactly what he wants
exactly what he needs is isolating yourself, it's the worst thing you can do
the cure for a hard heart is don't
isolate yourself from God's people, look I can't explain it
but there's something about being with God's people, it does something that the preaching of the
word of God doesn't do and I'm not minimizing the preaching of the word of God, in fact we're going to talk about it here in a minute
you know yesterday, last night
at the harvest party, I mean it was just a wonderful time
I don't know how many people were there, we definitely had over 200 people there
there was no preaching, I didn't stand up and open up a Bible
and preach at all, but you know a lot of spirituality was happening
as brothers and sisters in Christ were just spending time together
fellowshipping together, having fun together, clean fun, laughing
playing, having a good time, hey there's just something about exhorting one another daily
while it is called today, you need it and I need it
it's not something that we can livestream
it's something you need to be, you need to be with the people of God and the worst thing you can do
is to isolate yourself from God's people
so the writer of Hebrews tells us that the cure for a hard heart is don't
isolate yourself from God's word, but then he says another thing
look at verse 14
if we remain partakers of Christ, if we hold
the beginning of our confidence
steadfast unto the end, that's the opposite of departing from the Lord
that's staying with it, sticking with it
notice what he says in verse 15
it's interesting because he's highlighting this for us because in verse 13
he said while it is called today, but exhort one another
while it is called today, here's what he's saying, you need to spend
time with God's people today
oh well one day I'll go to church, no no, today
while it is called today, but then he says in verse 15
while it is said today, if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts
as in the provocation, see the problem with a hard heart
is that it hardens you towards the word of God, remember we saw it
in Mark, it chokes the word of God
and he says look, what you need to do is today
if ye will hear his voice, and remember, remember where we started
tonight, this is all connected, where did we start in verse 7
as the Holy Ghost saith, holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost
what is the cure for a hard heart? number one, don't isolate yourself from God's
people, but number two, don't insulate yourself from God's word
what do I need
when my heart is hard? you know what you need is the preaching of the word of God
you know what you need is to read the word of God, you know what you need, you need to remember
that when you hear the word of God preach, when you read this King James Bible
you are hearing the voice of God, it is
the word of God, and I often find myself frustrated
something that I constantly talk with my wife about is
how in ministry sometimes it's so difficult
you have individuals and they're having problems and they're having issues and sometimes it's
so difficult to try to help them because there's really just nothing we can do
the problem is they have a hard heart
and I think to myself, I don't know what to say to this individual, I don't know what to do for this individual
and often my wife and I can kind of find ourselves just at a loss
well what can we do to help this person and what can we do in this situation
it's not just they need a ride
it's deeper than that, it's their heart
and we can pray for them and we can talk to them, but let me tell you something
there is something that a human being cannot do that the word of God can't
I can't fix the heart, but the Bible says that the word
of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword
piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart
and what I've learned
is that the word of God can do something for you
that no one else can
so the writer of Hebrews says, when you have a hard heart
don't isolate yourself from God's people
and don't insulate yourself from God's word
and it's interesting to me because what people need the most
when they find themselves starting to get backslidden
is to be with Christian people under the preaching of the word of God
and it's the thing they do least
they start skipping out, they start fading out
they stop hanging out
they start isolating and insulating
they reap the consequences
they damage their life, they damage their marriage, they damage their children
they damage their relationships
they break everything in their lives
and then they sit there and say, I don't understand what happened, I can tell you what happened
you isolated yourself, you insulated yourself
you put yourself at odds with God and you put yourself at odds with everyone else
and now you're reaping the consequences
so why don't you cure that
why don't you open up your King James Bible tomorrow morning
and look up to heaven and say, open down mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law
and ask God to do a work in your hearts
ask God to begin to melt that hard heart, to begin to break that hard heart
and start spending time with people and encouraging people and exhorting people
and allowing them to encourage and exhort you
melt that hard heart away
look at verse 16, we'll finish up
he ends by saying this
Hebrews 3.16, and you should know this because we just talked about this in the book of Numbers
for some when they had heard
did provoke
and if you remember this is the story of the 12 spies
10 spies came back with an evil report, 2 spies came back with a good report
and then the people responded and here's what Hebrews says
he says, some when they heard did provoke
when they heard the evil report, they hardened their heart, they provoked God
they wasted God, they doubted God, they questioned God
they put themselves at odds with God, they put God at odds
with themselves, they damaged their lives, damaged their relationships
departed from the Lord, wandered in the wilderness and wasted their lives
that's what some did
for some when they had heard did provoke
here's a part that encourages me as a pastor, how be it not all
how be it not all that came out of Egypt
by Moses, because not everybody hardened their heart
Moses didn't, Aaron didn't, Joshua didn't
Caleb didn't, their hearts were tender towards God
they trusted God and they had confidence in God
they didn't question God and God helped them along the way
so I ask you again, how's your heart?
is it hard?
callous? bitter? critical
complaining? covetous? cursing?
how's your heart? are you the some
which did provoke? or are you in the how be it
not all group?
Lord we love you
thank you for your word
Lord I pray that you would do a work in our hearts
that only you can do
Lord I pray that you'd help us to be a people that would be tender
that our hearts would be tender and soft
towards your word
towards your work
help us not to have hardened hearts
we'll damage, we'll damage ourselves and we'll damage people around us
we'll waste our time and wander in the wilderness
and wonder how we ended up there
Lord help us to be the people
like it says in the bible, how be it not all
people who kept their hearts tender towards God
they didn't isolate, they didn't insulate
they allowed the word of God to do a work in their hearts
and they stayed tender towards the things of God, Lord we love you
my prayer is that we would be those people in the matchless name of Christ we pray
Amen. We're going to have brother Moses come up and lead us
in a final song, I just want to remind you a couple of things, first of all don't forget
there is PE tomorrow for the homeschool group
so ladies don't forget about that, mothers with the kids, don't forget about PE tomorrow
10 a.m. and also if you have any questions about that of course you can see
my wife and she can get you the information you need and then don't forget
that we have workdays tomorrow as well starting at 8 a.m.
so if you guys signed up for that just don't forget about that and
we'll have Lord willing several good days
we're making a lot of work done, there's still some slots available guys
so if you want to go by tonight and look at those clipboards and sign up we would appreciate your help with that
and see where you can help and what you can do, if there's anything that we can do
for you please let us know and of course be in prayer for the
workdays, for the men that are working that they stay safe, be in prayer for the Sunday
services and again no soul winning on
Thursday and Friday, it's postponed but we have soul winning on Saturday
10 a.m. so we'd love for you to join us for our soul winning time. We'll have brother Moses come up and lead us
at this time.
Please enter song books page number 261
page 261
turn your eyes upon Jesus
page 261
and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first
oh soul are you weary
and trouble
no light in the darkness you see
there's light
for a look at the Savior
then light for
abundant and free
turn your eyes
upon Jesus
the goal in His wonderful
face
then the things of earth will grow
strangely dim
in the light of His glory and
praise
page 261 on the second
through death into life
everlasting
He passed and we follow
Him there
hold us in no more
than cockers we are
turn your
eyes upon Jesus
the goal in His wonderful
face
and the things of earth will grow
strangely dim
in the light of His glory
and praise
let's go ahead and sing it out on the last
His word shall not fail you
He promised
believe Him and all will be
well
God is satisfying
His perfect salvation
to tell
turn your eyes upon
Jesus
the goal in His wonderful
face
then the things of earth will grow
strangely dim
in the light of His glory
and praise
Great singing. Can I please have brother Darryl close us on a word of prayer?
...
Amen
...