Beware of an Evil Heart of Unbelief
Hebrews 3:7-14
Remember:
1. It 's all about Jesus! #1 He is God.(1:1-14) #2. He is Man.(2:5-18) #3 He is the author of our salvation (2:10), the sacrifice for our salvation (1:3&2:17), and the "administrator" of our salvation as our High Priest.(2:17) Neglect the great and gloroious salvation that is in this God/Man to your own peril! And I don't mean just going to church consistently!!
2. If you belong to Jesus, you are a lively stone in the Spiritual House of Jesus Christ(3:1-6), chosen for the purpose of being priests who live for the purpose of offering up spiritual sacrifices unto God.(Romans 12:1-2, I Peter 2:5)
I. Pay Attention—the Holy Spirit is speaking! 3:7
A. Note that this passage is quoted from Psalm 95:6-11, where we are commanded to bow down to our Maker, Jehovah God, then stating that this Jehovah spoke these words. Here in Hebrews they are attributed to the Holy Spirit. We can conclude that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah!
1. Note that our author writes that the Holy Spirit "says", not said—past tense. He may be quoting from the Old Testament, but the Holy Spirit has never stopped saying this! God is speaking, let all the earth keep silent before Him—Listen!!
B. I Corinthians 10:1-14 Flee idolatry! Our idols aren't usually sticks and stones on mountains or special places in our houses—or are they? I John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world……"
Note: The Holy Spirit knows nothing about an "occasional Christianity" or an "accessory Jesus". Are we Jesus" house? Then He is talking to us!
II. The Warning—"Don't Harden Your Hearts!" 3:8-11
A. The rebellion, the "day of trial" in the wilderness. How long was Israel in the wilderness? Forty years!! That is a long day!
Nehemiah 9:16-21 This passage speaks of Israel's hard hearts, disobeying God's commandments, "not being mindful of your wonders that You did among them." After each testimony of their stiffnecked and rebellious behavior, it recounts God's Gracious and Merciful treatment of them. "You also gave them Your Good Spirit to instruct them." "Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness." Even in their continual sin and rebellion, God remained merciful and took care of their every need!
1. How long is your day of trial, your wilderness journey? Remember I Corinthians 10:13—God is faithful—pay attention, don't harden your heart in the day of trial! Remember His Mercies!
B. "They saw my works forty years!" But they did not acknowledge them, they were not thankful. They lived by the "what have you done for me today" principle.
1. We should be recounting the works of the Lord constantly in our assemblies lest we take His Goodness for granted.
C. Rebellion is a heart matter! Vs 10 & 12 Psalm 81:8-12
1. A hard heart leads to a stiff neck! Deuteronomy 31:24-29
2. This is why we must have the Holy Spirit—we all have hard hearts. Ezekiel 36:25-28
D. Beware of the evil heart of unbelief! Vs 12
1. How do I tell if I have an evil heart of unbelief?
a. "In departing from the Living God!" Beware of any temptation to go back to Egypt! We should all ask what are our "Egypts" so that we may be vigilant and thankful for the Mercies of the Lord.
III. The Preservative--:Exhort one another daily." Vs 13
A. Fellowship is essential! Hebrews 10:23-15
Sin is deceitful and we are often blind to it in ourselves. We need brothers and sisters with 20/20 spiritual vision. We need to know them well enough to trust them. We need to love them enough to listen to them.
B. God's Replacement Heart, a Heart responsive to His Blessings!
1. Seeking God is the priority of and the path to a rightly responsive heart.
II Chronicles 15:1-4 "Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa and said to hum: Hear me, Asa, and all of Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble, they turned to the LORD God of Israel and sought Him, He was found by them."
2. But I'm such a sinner, He won't receive me if I seek Him? If that is your case, carefully consider II Chronicles 33:1-20. Pay attention to Manesseh! No one could have enraged the Holy God of Heaven more that he!! But dwell upon verses 12-15!
"Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God." The following verses are the evidence of a new heart!
3. Seeking God is the only path to blessing and confidence! Ezra 8:21-23
"The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him" Vs 22b
IV. Another Warning! Vs 14 Unto the end—there is no room in eternity for quitters!!
A. This is a continual message in Hebrews—the proof is in the perseverance!
2:1 Give more earnest heed—lest we drift away.
3:6 Whose house we are—if we hold fast the confidence,,,,,,unto the end.
4:11 Let us be diligent to enter that rest—lest anyone fall
4:14 Let us hold fast our confession.
6:11 show the same diligence—to the full assurance until the end.
10:22 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering
12:15 Looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.
13:16 Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.
And with all these exhortations to press on, the book ends with—"now may the God of peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, MAKE YOU COMPLETE in every good work to do His will, WORKING IN YOU what is well pleasing in His sight, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, to Whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.
Hebrews 3:7-14
Remember:
1. It 's all about Jesus! #1 He is God.(1:1-14) #2. He is Man.(2:5-18) #3 He is the author of our salvation (2:10), the sacrifice for our salvation (1:3&2:17), and the "administrator" of our salvation as our High Priest.(2:17) Neglect the great and gloroious salvation that is in this God/Man to your own peril! And I don't mean just going to church consistently!!
2. If you belong to Jesus, you are a lively stone in the Spiritual House of Jesus Christ(3:1-6), chosen for the purpose of being priests who live for the purpose of offering up spiritual sacrifices unto God.(Romans 12:1-2, I Peter 2:5)
I. Pay Attention—the Holy Spirit is speaking! 3:7
A. Note that this passage is quoted from Psalm 95:6-11, where we are commanded to bow down to our Maker, Jehovah God, then stating that this Jehovah spoke these words. Here in Hebrews they are attributed to the Holy Spirit. We can conclude that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah!
1. Note that our author writes that the Holy Spirit "says", not said—past tense. He may be quoting from the Old Testament, but the Holy Spirit has never stopped saying this! God is speaking, let all the earth keep silent before Him—Listen!!
B. I Corinthians 10:1-14 Flee idolatry! Our idols aren't usually sticks and stones on mountains or special places in our houses—or are they? I John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world……"
Note: The Holy Spirit knows nothing about an "occasional Christianity" or an "accessory Jesus". Are we Jesus" house? Then He is talking to us!
II. The Warning—"Don't Harden Your Hearts!" 3:8-11
A. The rebellion, the "day of trial" in the wilderness. How long was Israel in the wilderness? Forty years!! That is a long day!
Nehemiah 9:16-21 This passage speaks of Israel's hard hearts, disobeying God's commandments, "not being mindful of your wonders that You did among them." After each testimony of their stiffnecked and rebellious behavior, it recounts God's Gracious and Merciful treatment of them. "You also gave them Your Good Spirit to instruct them." "Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness." Even in their continual sin and rebellion, God remained merciful and took care of their every need!
1. How long is your day of trial, your wilderness journey? Remember I Corinthians 10:13—God is faithful—pay attention, don't harden your heart in the day of trial! Remember His Mercies!
B. "They saw my works forty years!" But they did not acknowledge them, they were not thankful. They lived by the "what have you done for me today" principle.
1. We should be recounting the works of the Lord constantly in our assemblies lest we take His Goodness for granted.
C. Rebellion is a heart matter! Vs 10 & 12 Psalm 81:8-12
1. A hard heart leads to a stiff neck! Deuteronomy 31:24-29
2. This is why we must have the Holy Spirit—we all have hard hearts. Ezekiel 36:25-28
D. Beware of the evil heart of unbelief! Vs 12
1. How do I tell if I have an evil heart of unbelief?
a. "In departing from the Living God!" Beware of any temptation to go back to Egypt! We should all ask what are our "Egypts" so that we may be vigilant and thankful for the Mercies of the Lord.
III. The Preservative--:Exhort one another daily." Vs 13
A. Fellowship is essential! Hebrews 10:23-15
Sin is deceitful and we are often blind to it in ourselves. We need brothers and sisters with 20/20 spiritual vision. We need to know them well enough to trust them. We need to love them enough to listen to them.
B. God's Replacement Heart, a Heart responsive to His Blessings!
1. Seeking God is the priority of and the path to a rightly responsive heart.
II Chronicles 15:1-4 "Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa and said to hum: Hear me, Asa, and all of Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble, they turned to the LORD God of Israel and sought Him, He was found by them."
2. But I'm such a sinner, He won't receive me if I seek Him? If that is your case, carefully consider II Chronicles 33:1-20. Pay attention to Manesseh! No one could have enraged the Holy God of Heaven more that he!! But dwell upon verses 12-15!
"Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God." The following verses are the evidence of a new heart!
3. Seeking God is the only path to blessing and confidence! Ezra 8:21-23
"The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him" Vs 22b
IV. Another Warning! Vs 14 Unto the end—there is no room in eternity for quitters!!
A. This is a continual message in Hebrews—the proof is in the perseverance!
2:1 Give more earnest heed—lest we drift away.
3:6 Whose house we are—if we hold fast the confidence,,,,,,unto the end.
4:11 Let us be diligent to enter that rest—lest anyone fall
4:14 Let us hold fast our confession.
6:11 show the same diligence—to the full assurance until the end.
10:22 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering
12:15 Looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.
13:16 Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.
And with all these exhortations to press on, the book ends with—"now may the God of peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, MAKE YOU COMPLETE in every good work to do His will, WORKING IN YOU what is well pleasing in His sight, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, to Whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.