Do not harden… (3 points)

• 1^st – Example of a HARD heart… vs. 7-11
  • A better REST…
    • As the author continues to show Jesus is BETTER than EVERYONE and EVERYTHING…
      • He will next show Jesus is a better REST – Hebrews 3:7-4:13
      • The word REST – appears ELEVEN times in this section!
      • Contrasting Jesus – and the REST promised to Israel in the SABBATH / PROMISED LAND!
    • But in making the case Jesus is a better REST…
      • The author will first give the SECOND of FIVE warnings in the book of Hebrews…
      • The FIRST warning – give the more earnest heed – lest we DRIFT AWAY – Hebrews 2:1-4
      • The SECOND warning – is about the DANGER of a HARD HEART!
    • To ILLUSTRATE the DANGER – we see the EXAMPLE of Israel…
      • The author takes us back to the EXODUS of Israel – Quoting – Psalm 95:7-11
      • When God redeemed Israel from the bondage of Egypt – with MIRACULOUS power…
      • Yet in SPITE of all God had done – Israel HARDENED their hearts towards the Lord! 
  • 1^st – TODAY if you will HEAR… vs. 7
    • The first thing we see about the EXAMPLE of Israel – is WHEN a HARD heart begins…
      • Therefore – as the Holy Spirit SAYS [present] – He is ALWAYS saying…
      • TODAY – more literally this day – IF you will hear [subjunctive] His voice – Psalm 95:7
      • The urgency of listening TODAY is repeated – Hebrew 3:13 / 3:15 / 4:7
      • The Holy Spirit is ALWAYS trying to SPEAK to us – TODAY – EVERY day!
    • What is the Holy Spirit telling us – to NOT have a HARD heart…
      • John 16:8 – “He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…”
      • When we make mistakes – when we SIN – the Holy Spirit CONVICTS us…
      • The question is are we willing to LISTEN to what He has to say!
      • CONVICTION is good – the work of the Spirit telling us not to sin – but REPENT!
      • In contrast – CONDEMNATION is bad – focusing on our failures dwelling on our mistakes…
      • When we are focused on our mistakes – we are not looking to Jesus…
      • We are CONDEMNING ourselves – even though God says we can be FORGIVEN…
      • We just need to get our eyes off ourselves – and start LISTENING to the Holy Spirit!
      • Romans 8:1 – “There is… no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
  • 2^nd – Do not HARDEN… vs. 8-9
    • Do not HARDEN your hearts as in the REBELLION – the day or TRIAL – Psalm 95:8
      • HARDEN [subjunctive] 6x in NT / 4x here in this passage – to be STUBBORN…
      • When did Israel HARDEN their hearts – in the REBELLION and TRIAL…
      • REBELLION – [מְרִיבָה] – to quarrel or argue – we would say REBEL against God…
      • TRIAL – [מַסָּה] – to test – or the day of TESTING…
      • When Israel arrived at Horeb – they REBELLED because there was NO water!
      • Exodus 17:7 – “[Moses] called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
    • Your fathers TESTED / TRIED me – though they saw my works for FORTY years – Psalm 95:9
      • Israel TESTED the Lord by asking – is God REALLY with them or not [אִין] …
      • Even though they had already SEEN [indicative] His WORKS!
      • They had seen God reign down TEN plagues on Egypt – drown their armies in the sea…
      • They had a cloud by day and a PILLAR of fire by night to lead them…
      • They had seen God part an OCEAN – so they walked through on dry land…
      • They walked out every morning to see MANNA – so they had food to eat…
      • Yet they were HARD – causing them to QUESTION God – and REBEL!
      • We are in DANGER of having a HARD heart – if we DOUBT God will be FAITHFUL…
      • It is easy to talk about how God took care of us yesterday – but what about TODAY…
      • As if somehow God changes – He took care of us before – but maybe not this time…
      • When we face the challenges of life – we ONLY need look back to see…
      • God has always been faithful to take care of our needs – and He always will be!
      • Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
  • 3^rd – No REST… vs. 10-11
    • Therefore – God was ANGRY with that generation…
      • Because they ALWAYS go ASTRAY in their hearts – and have NOT known My ways…
      • He swore in His WRATH – they will NOT enter into My REST – Psalms 95:10-11
    • It ONLY takes ELEVEN days from Horeb to the PROMISED LAND – Deuteronomy 1:2
      • The PROMISED LAND – was the REST – God had promised to give to Israel…
      • But when Israel arrived – they sent out SPIES to who gave a bad report!
      • Numbers 13:32 – “They spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there.” [NLT]
      • Because Israel was HARD – NOT listening to the Spirit / DOUBTING God…
      • They REBELLED – and did NOT believe they could ENTER the Promised Land…
      • Therefore – God swore in His wrath – everyone over 20 would die in the wilderness…
      • Wandering for FORTY years – ONE year for every DAY the SPIES were in the Land…
      • They were SAVED from the bondage of Egypt – but because of their HARD heart…
      • They would NOT enter the into His REST – Numbers 14:29-35
    • DOUBT – leads to no REST…
      • REST – katapausis [noun] x9 in NT – 8x here in this passage…
      • It comes from a ROOT word [pauō] that means – to STOP sinning!
      • We have all been saved from the world (Egypt) …
      • But NOT all of us have entered into the Promised Land – abundant life in Jesus…
      • Many people – like Israel – find they are left to WANDER through the wilderness…
      • They will miss out on ALL God has for them – they drift aimlessly through life!
      • But God wants us to ENTER in – He wants to give us the VICTORY over sin!
      • If we want to have a fruitful – effective WALK – we need to LISTEN to the Holy Spirit…
      • NOT be HARD – trusting the Lord – so we can enter into His REST!
      • Matthew 11:28 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden… I will give you rest.”

• 2^nd – Warning against a HARD heart…  vs. 12-15
  • 1^st – BEWARE brethren… vs. 12
    • Second warning…
      • The SECOND warning in the book of Hebrews…
      • BEWARE [present / imperative] – we are commanded to ALWAYS be watching…
      • Lest there be [future] in ANY of US an evil heart of UNBELIEF [apistia] …
      • And we DEPART – aphistēmi (to leave our foundation) – from the living God!
      • There are those who believe ONCE saved ALWAYS saved…
      • They point to verses like no man can take you out of My hand – John 10:28
      • Or nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus – Romans 8:39
      • Arguing that we are BORN again – and there is no way to be UNBORN – John 3:3
      • The problem with this is – people DO walk away from their FAITH – APOSTACY!
      • Even in the Bible we have examples like Demas – who loved the world – II Timothy 4:10
    • Arguments…
      • They argue people who DEPART from the living God – were NEVER really saved…
      • Others argue – those who DEPART lost their salvation – both TERMS are inaccurate!
      • But this misses the point – I do not care about SEMANTICS – why are they NOT saved…
      • This WARNING is written to BROTHERS (saved) – but we do not LOSE our salvation!
      • The question we need to ask then – is WHY do people DEPART…
      • What CAUSES a BROTHER [believer] to have [future] an EVIL heart of UNBELIEF!
      • An EVIL heart – that then CAUSES him to CHOOSE to DEPART from the living God!
      • The ANSWER comes in a SECOND command!
  • 2^nd – EXHORT one another… vs. 13
    • EXHORT [imperative] – parakaleō – we are commanded to come along side each other…
      • EACH and EVERY day – while it is still called TODAY – emphasizing this is needed DAILY…
      • Lest our hearts be HARDENED [subjunctive] though the DECEITFULNESS of sin!
      • When I first learned guitar – my fingers bled from pressing on the steel strings…
      • But eventually with lots of use – they grew calluses and became tough!
      • When we first commit a sin – we bleed with CONVICTION (hearing) from the Holy Spirit…
      • But if we CONTINUE to sin – we can create a CALLOUS on our hearts – becoming HARD…
      • Sin is devastating – if we REFUSE to repent of our sin – it will HARDEN our hearts…
      • The danger is we can end up DEPARTING from God – preferring to live on in our sin!
      • Romans 6:1 – “Shall we continue in sin – that grace may abound… God forbid.”
    • How many SINS does it take to HARDEN…
      • When Pharoah CHOSE to HARDEN his heart – God continued to send Moses to warn him…
      • But there came a point when God let him have his way…
      • The Lord HARDENED the heart of Pharoah – Exodus 9:12 / 10:20 / 10:27
      • HARDENED – [חָזַק]– to set in place – to make FIRM [piel]
      • God does not make anyone enter into His REST – He only provides the way…
      • Just because He offers us the door – it does not mean we have to walk through…
      • We still have a choice – we still have to CHOOSE to listen to God – or CHOOSE sin…
      • But there can come a place when we have said so many times – we do NOT want God…
      • That God finally agrees and SETS IN PLACE our CHOICE!
      • Genesis 6:3 – “The LORD said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever…”
    • That is why we EXHORT each other DAILY…
      • A woman came to me one day and said she wanted to leave her husband…
      • She assured me her CHOICE was not unforgiveable – but I corrected her…
      • I did NOT question if God would forgive – GRACE is greater than ANY sin – Romans 5:20
      • My fear was she would NOT ask for forgiveness – she was surprised by my answer!
      • In church / reading her Bible / prayer – the Spirit would REMIND her of her CHOICE…
      • She could either listen to Him and REPENT – or HARDEN and DEPART…
      • She would stop going to church / reading her Bible / praying – to NOT be REMINDED!
      • It is hard to confront people with their sin – especially those who we care about…
      • We might think it is better NOT to confront someone who is sinning…
      • But the truth is leaving someone in their sin – is risking them DEPARTING…
      • Therefore – we are called to EXHORT them in spite of how we fear it might hurt them…
      • Not that we can make them REPENT – it is their CHOICE – but we can warn them…
      • Our motive needs to be love – we want to see them clean / forgiven – Ephesians 4:15
      • We want them to TURN – see them restored to their relationship to Jesus!
      • And if we do NOT warn them – God will hold us ACCOUNTABLE!
      • Ezekiel 33:8 – “If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to warn them about changing their ways, then they will die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths.”
  • 3^rd – Till the END… vs. 14-15
    • For we become PARTAKERS of Christ…
      • PARTAKERS [perfect] – to share in – in context we can SHARE in His REST…
      • IF we HOLD [subjunctive] the beginning of our CONFIDENCE – steadfast to the END…
      • CONFIDENCE – hypostasis – used to speak of our FOUNDATION in Christ!
      • There is a DANGER to living a lifestyle of sin – it will HARDEN our hearts…
      • And if we are NOT careful – we might not HOLD our CONFIDENCE until the END!
      • II Timothy 4:7 – “I have finished the race, I have KEPT the faith.”
    • If we do NOT harden our hearts as in the rebellion – Psalms 95:7
      • This might make some people uncomfortable – saying we can HARDEN through sin…
      • But this is the same TRUTH Jesus gave to us when He spoke about ABIDING…
      • We have ABSOLUTE security in our FAITH as we ABIDE / HOLD onto Jesus – John 15:4
      • But if – like ISRAEL – our hearts are HARDENED by sin – we may DEPART!
      • John 15:6 – “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

James 4:4 – “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

3^rd – The problem of UNBELIEF…  vs. 16-19

1^st – THREE questions… vs. 16-18

The author returns to the EXAMPLE of Israel – and asks THREE questions…

Who HEARD – the Holy Spirit – and (still) REBELLED?

Answer – was it not ALL (accept Joshua and Caleb) who came out of Egypt – led by Moses!

It is VERY Jewish response to answer a question – with a question!

The point being ALL of Israel HEARD the WORD of God…

They were ALL there at Mount Sinai – they SAW all the MIRACLES…

Yet in SPITE of what they HEARD – they refused to LISTEN to the Holy Spirit!

They HARDENED their hearts – and REBELLED against the Lord!

Who was He (God) ANGRY with for FORTY years?

Answer – was it not those who SINNED – whose corpses fell in the wilderness!

The RESULT of Israel being HARD – was everyone over TWENTY perished…

They wandered for FORTY years in the wilderness till they were all DEAD!

Who did He (God) swear they would NOT enter His REST?

Answer – those who did not OBEY!

WHY did Israel not LISTEN – why did they have a HARD heart…

They did not OBEY – apeitheō 16x in NT – to refuse to believe…

Israel was CONVINCED the world (sin) was BETTER than what God offered (rest)!

Numbers 14:3 – “Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

2^nd – One CONCLUSION… vs. 19

We SEE – Israel could [passive] NOT enter in because of UNBELIEF…

UNBELIEF – apistia – literally to NOT have FAITH…

We all have FAITH – Roma 12:3 – the question is where we put our FAITH…

Matthew 8:10 Jesus talked about great FAITH – Matthew 8:26 little FAITH…

That would lead us to believe FAITH is measurable – strong / great or little / weak…

But Jesus would clarify when the disciples asked to INCREASE our FAITH…

Luke 17:6 – “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree…”

FAITH is not about quantity or quality – it is about WHO we put our TRUST in!

If we put our TRUST in this WORLD – rather than in Jesus…

Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters…”

We all have to make a CHOICE – we cannot serve two masters…

Trying to love this world – is in essence rejecting Jesus…

Ultimately the only reason someone rejects Jesus Christ…

Is because there is something else that they LOVE more than God in their life…

If we live for this world – then we will NOT be able to ENTER into His REST…

We will NOT listen to the Holy Spirit – we will become HARD – and DEPART!