WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.500 If you've got your Bibles this morning, please turn with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 95. 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.060 Psalms, chapter 95. 00:00:08.380 --> 00:00:12.820 It is such a privilege for me to be here with you this morning for several reasons. 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:17.059 It's always a privilege to be able to go anywhere and preach God's Word. 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:21.559 It's also a privilege being able to preach for Fred. 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:24.940 I will have to say, in light of what Brian has said, 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:33.700 if you read his newsletter article carefully, it actually says he's the son of longtime friends of Lisa and me. 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:35.000 But that's just nitpicking. 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.760 But we do have a whole lot of respect and love for Fred and Lisa. 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:43.040 We have known them a long time. 00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:51.000 He has known me longer than I have known him, though, as I can't even remember when our families met. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.840 And we respect him so much, his commitment to the Word. 00:00:55.259 --> 00:00:56.559 His commitment to the truth. 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:03.959 And he is, as Brian mentioned, and I can testify firsthand, he is such an encouragement to younger pastors. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.259 And I was one for 11 years. 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.000 And so I'm very grateful for his commitment to younger pastors. 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:18.159 Also, I'm thankful to be here because even though I've never lived in Pickens before, 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:22.379 my family lived here, I think, about 160 years. 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:32.579 And so I have grown up hearing about what it's like to pull up turnips and poke salad and things like that just a few miles north of here. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.340 So it feels like home. 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:41.859 Anyway, we'll be in Psalm 95 this morning as we think about the calling of God's people. 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:44.259 Let me begin reading now with verse 1. 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.380 Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. 00:01:47.940 --> 00:01:51.500 Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:54.680 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:58.620 Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. 00:01:58.620 --> 00:02:03.579 For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. 00:02:04.300 --> 00:02:06.340 In his hand are the depths of the earth. 00:02:06.660 --> 00:02:08.819 The heights of the mountains are his also. 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:11.500 The sea is his, for he made it. 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:14.000 And his hands formed the dry land. 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:16.860 Oh, come, let us worship and bow down. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:18.939 Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:21.319 For he is the Lord our God. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.280 And we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:30.539 Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:32.879 as on the day of Massah in the wilderness, 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:36.680 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:38.340 though they had seen my work. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.840 For 40 years I loathed that generation and said, 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:44.479 they are a people who go astray in their heart, 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:46.360 and they have not known my ways. 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:51.939 Therefore, I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. 00:02:51.939 --> 00:02:53.539 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:56.520 Father, we do thank you for your word. 00:02:57.020 --> 00:02:59.140 We thank you for speaking to us, 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.580 and I pray that you would continue speaking to us through your word. 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:07.840 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.479 be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, our rock and redeemer. 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:12.080 Amen. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:18.080 As we come to Psalm 95, we see what we, as God's people, 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:21.759 those who count ourselves to be God's people, 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:26.219 we see three things, I believe, that we are called to do in this passage. 00:03:26.399 --> 00:03:27.939 Two of these things are privileges, 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:31.199 and the third thing, as we'll see, is a challenge. 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:33.399 The first thing we'll see in this passage 00:03:33.399 --> 00:03:36.000 is that we are called to praise God, 00:03:36.079 --> 00:03:38.979 or praise the Lord with exuberant joy. 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:41.659 The second thing that we're going to see in this passage 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:46.060 is that we are called to worship the Lord in humble reverence. 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:49.420 And the third thing that we're going to see as we look at this passage 00:03:49.420 --> 00:03:54.120 is that we are called to heed the Lord with eager attentiveness. 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.080 So let's look at that first thing this morning as we meet. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.020 This is in verses 1 through 5. 00:03:59.140 --> 00:04:02.819 We see that we are called to praise the Lord with exuberant joy. 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:04.159 It says in verse 1, 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:18.500 So we are called to praise the Lord. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.100 It was C.S. Lewis who said in his reflections on the Psalms 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:26.699 that before he was a believer, passages like this made little sense to him. 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:31.339 If you think about what the Bible is, inspired by God, 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:35.000 the writers here are speaking with the voice of God. 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:41.159 And so it is as if God is saying to us today that we are called to praise Him. 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:49.039 Lewis said that when he thought of people telling other people to praise themselves, 00:04:49.659 --> 00:04:52.419 it seemed petty, and it seemed vain, 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:55.779 and he didn't understand why you would do that. 00:04:55.779 --> 00:05:02.539 But what we see in this passage is that it is a privilege to be able to praise the true God, 00:05:02.619 --> 00:05:03.379 the living God. 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:08.579 And God doesn't tell us to praise Him without giving us a reason to do that. 00:05:08.659 --> 00:05:12.839 We see two clear reasons that we're called to praise Him with exuberant joy. 00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:14.779 The first reason is a little subtle, 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.299 but if you look carefully in verse 1, you'll see it. 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:18.839 It says in the second half, 00:05:19.179 --> 00:05:24.579 Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:27.680 God is the rock of our salvation. 00:05:27.979 --> 00:05:30.699 Now, when you think of a rock, I don't know if you're like me, 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.439 when I think of a rock, I think of something that you can pick up, 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:37.360 something that you might try to skip at the lake over the surface of the water. 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.539 That is not the type of rock that God is to us. 00:05:40.919 --> 00:05:46.479 God is a huge rock in the Middle East that you would build a fortress on. 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:51.240 It is the type of thing that you felt safe if you were on that rock. 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:53.480 A rock was safe for many reasons. 00:05:53.640 --> 00:05:57.420 If you were in the ancient world and a huge invading army was coming, 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.319 you would go into the fortress or the stronghold on the rock. 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:03.840 And first of all, you were higher than your enemies. 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:08.800 So it was easier for you to throw things on them than for them to get to you. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:13.879 And secondly, they couldn't crawl underneath or dig a hole underneath the wall 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:18.060 and come in the inside to get you. 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.560 And so you were safe if you were on a rock. 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.920 And the Bible says that that is what God is to us. 00:06:24.280 --> 00:06:27.800 We face enemies in this world if you seek to follow the Lord. 00:06:27.960 --> 00:06:30.420 We have the world, the flesh, and the devil. 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:35.220 The world that is the spirit of the age, that is against God, that opposes God. 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:39.460 And if we seek to try to follow God, they oppose us as well. 00:06:39.900 --> 00:06:40.760 We have the flesh. 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:43.360 It is though the enemy is within us. 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:48.680 We have desires that labor against our souls or war against our souls. 00:06:48.780 --> 00:06:53.080 And we also have the devil who would love to destroy each and every one of us. 00:06:53.440 --> 00:06:54.580 How can we find hope? 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:55.880 How can we find protection? 00:06:56.460 --> 00:06:57.960 God is that to us. 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:00.140 And so we can praise him for that reason. 00:07:00.220 --> 00:07:04.460 He's the rock specifically of our salvation. 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:10.579 He is the only one that has our salvation, our only hope of salvation. 00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:14.039 And this salvation is past, present, and future. 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:19.719 As I mentioned earlier to the worship team, I'm so grateful for the songs that we've sung this morning. 00:07:20.039 --> 00:07:24.579 We started out thinking about our living hope, that is salvation in the future. 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:32.419 We've thought about also how God has cleansed us on the inside of our sins, that's salvation in a present sense. 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:39.319 And we've also thought about what Jesus is as the lion and the lamb and how he has died for our sins in the past. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.800 God's salvation is past, present, and future. 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:44.680 And he is our rock. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.220 That's more than enough reason to praise him. 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:54.180 Secondly, we see that we are called, the second reason we're called to praise him with exuberant joy is a little bit later on. 00:07:54.180 --> 00:08:01.040 In verse 3, it says, for the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:04.800 God's greatness is a reason that we can praise him with joy. 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:10.879 We have the honor of being able to know the God who has made all things, who has made the universe, 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:15.660 who owns, as it says here, the peaks of the mountains and the depths of the sea, 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:21.420 which the psalmist was not even aware how deep the sea really was in his day. 00:08:21.580 --> 00:08:27.020 And so this passage can mean more to us than it did when it was originally written. 00:08:27.020 --> 00:08:32.080 As we think about those deep trenches in the Pacific Ocean or we think of Mount Everest, 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:34.120 God owns every bit of that. 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:38.279 It is a privilege for us to be able to praise him. 00:08:38.560 --> 00:08:42.920 Now, when we think of those privileges and the reasons that we have to praise him, 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:47.899 it helps us as we think about praising God with exuberant joy. 00:08:48.459 --> 00:08:53.179 As you may have seen in the newsletter article, I work at a school, a Christian school, 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:57.479 during the week and this past week was picture day for our school. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:02.439 And since it is a small school, even though I teach mainly ninth through twelfth grade 00:09:02.439 --> 00:09:06.559 and I work with sixth through twelfth grade, I still work with the administrators 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:11.379 who deal with the elementary school as well and the kindergartners and the K-4. 00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:18.240 And one of my co-workers came in during a break from picture day, came into our office 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:22.220 and she was talking about the K-4 and the kindergartners. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:27.179 And she said, they're so cute and they smile so weirdly. 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:34.360 Because the thing is, and you may have experienced this or perhaps, or maybe you didn't 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.299 and you just had higher emotional intelligence than I did. 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:44.179 But when I was a kid and your mom or your dad, somebody says to smile when you're taking a picture, 00:09:45.199 --> 00:09:49.959 it is just so unnatural to try to smile on command if you're a child. 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:50.959 Or it was for me. 00:09:51.079 --> 00:09:55.399 And so what it looks like for me and many others when they were children, 00:09:55.699 --> 00:10:00.579 is you just kind of stretch out your face and hope it looks something like a smile. 00:10:00.580 --> 00:10:05.540 Well, emotion is hard to summon on command, isn't it? 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:10.379 And then as I got older and I realized, okay, this picture thing is just not working out for me. 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.660 I realized I needed to think of something that made me happy. 00:10:14.020 --> 00:10:17.480 And then it was more natural when that would happen. 00:10:18.280 --> 00:10:24.980 Well, as we look at this psalm, it says there's the idea of joy praising the Lord. 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:29.539 So it says in verse 1, well, first of all, in verse 1, let us sing to the Lord. 00:10:29.680 --> 00:10:32.860 Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:36.659 Those words are also used in the context of battle. 00:10:36.920 --> 00:10:43.120 And as armies were about to go out to fight and they would cry out and they would shout in the midst of battle. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.279 But we see the idea of joy here as well. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:48.440 So it is exuberant joy. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:50.100 How do you praise the Lord? 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:52.320 How do you sing to the Lord with exuberant joy? 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.379 You remember who He is and what He's done. 00:10:55.900 --> 00:11:03.300 And when you remember those things and you remember how great it is to have a rock in this world of enemies. 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:06.780 How great it is simply to be saved. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.360 To be saved past, present, and future. 00:11:09.520 --> 00:11:11.379 The hope that we have as well. 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:17.180 When you think about the greatness of God and what a privilege it is to be able to sing to Him. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:19.920 The joy will come naturally. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:24.099 We are called to praise Him with exuberant joy. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:29.079 The second thing that we see in this passage, this is specifically in verses 6 through 7, 00:11:29.339 --> 00:11:32.159 is that we are to worship Him with humble reverence. 00:11:32.459 --> 00:11:35.179 We are to worship Him with humble reverence. 00:11:35.479 --> 00:11:36.199 Verse 6 says, 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:43.120 O come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker. 00:11:43.459 --> 00:11:47.079 So we are called to worship, bow down, and kneel. 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:56.720 Now the thing about all three of those words, including the word that is translated in my translation, the ESV, worship. 00:11:57.139 --> 00:12:09.100 All three of those words originally referred to a physical action that symbolized or represented a spiritual reality. 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:18.820 And so for you to worship initially, the word meant to go all the way down to the ground to where your face was on the ground. 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:26.879 And then of course, we have a little bit more literal translation, at least in my copy of God's Word here, to bow down and kneel. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:35.379 All three of those acts are used to recognize the worth of someone else or the significance of someone else. 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.639 Abraham does that in Genesis chapter 18. 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:44.039 At first, he doesn't realize who the three figures that have come to visit him are, 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:51.179 but he bows down before them because he realizes right from the beginning how significant they are. 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:54.960 That is what we are called to do to God. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.420 I believe that the most important aspects of these things, worship, bow down, and kneel, 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:04.680 are the spiritual realities that we are supposed to do. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:09.920 In other words, we can figuratively, we can symbolically be kneeling down. 00:13:10.060 --> 00:13:15.040 We can be recognizing the worth of God even in the pews, in our seats, 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:19.840 even as we pray in perhaps different positions at home. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:27.320 What we see in these words is an attitude of humble reverence, where we respect God. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:29.440 We come to him with a holy fear. 00:13:29.780 --> 00:13:33.139 Now, these things balance each other out beautifully, don't they? 00:13:33.540 --> 00:13:37.920 We have, on the one hand, exuberant joy in the first five verses, 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.879 and then in verses six and seven, we have humble reverence. 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.019 They balance each other out. 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:52.179 If all we had was humble reverence, then sometimes our worship can become solemn, 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:57.379 and perhaps dour, and depressing, or melancholy. 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:03.279 On the other hand, if all we have is exuberant joy, our worship can get out of control, 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:08.899 and we can begin analyzing our worship in terms of how much joy it brings us. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:15.699 What we see is a perfect balance here, that our worship is to be joyful and reverent at the same time. 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:22.220 As with praising the Lord with exuberant joy, we see in these verses, verses six and seven, 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:27.039 that God gives us a reason that we are to worship him with reverence. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:29.240 It first of all says that he is our maker. 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:32.779 God has caused us to be who we are. 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:38.079 He's, in a sense, made us, in a double sense, if we count ourselves to be redeemed. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:43.000 If he has saved us, he has made us, he's created every human being, 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:45.420 but he has recreated you. 00:14:45.560 --> 00:14:48.040 If you have been saved, you've been born again, 00:14:48.180 --> 00:14:53.920 and so we have all the more reason to worship him because he has done great things for us. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.580 But the second reason that we see in these two verses, 00:14:57.800 --> 00:15:00.379 why we are to worship him with that reverence, 00:15:00.920 --> 00:15:05.040 is because we can call out to him as our God. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.339 It says in verse seven, for he is our God. 00:15:08.819 --> 00:15:12.500 Now there's a difference between worshiping God, 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.279 worshiping the God, 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:15.879 worshiping the only God, 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:17.139 worshiping the true God, 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:17.899 and so on, 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:23.939 and worshiping the God who you can call out to as your God as well. 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:28.039 You recognize the fact that he has brought you into his family 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.120 by his grace and his mercy and love. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:35.759 And of course, for us, looking at this passage from the other side of the cross, 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:41.519 we see at what great cost it took for us to be able to say that God is our God. 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:46.820 Jesus had to come in his great love for us 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:52.240 and speak truth and die on the cross for our sins and rise from the dead 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:57.940 and give us the Holy Spirit for us to be able to call out to God as our God. 00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:02.639 What great reason that is to worship and bow down and kneel before him. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:04.159 He is our God. 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:08.960 And we, it says in verse seven, are the people of his pasture. 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:13.279 Again, as we think of this verse through the lens of the cross, 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:15.080 through what Jesus has done for us, 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:16.259 we can't help perhaps, 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:18.080 but to think of what John, 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.940 excuse me, what the Lord says in John chapter 10, 00:16:21.280 --> 00:16:22.720 that he is the good shepherd 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.460 and the good shepherd lays his life down for his sheep. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:29.379 We think also of the Old Testament 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:33.639 and how truly to come into the presence of God 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:38.920 was only available for one person, one time of year. 00:16:39.300 --> 00:16:42.960 Think of the cube in the center, first of the tabernacle, 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:48.379 and then also in the center of the temple later on. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:51.620 And just the high priest could come into the presence of God 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:56.900 one time a year into that is the Holy of Holies. 00:16:57.400 --> 00:17:02.440 And yet God in his grace has saved us through Jesus Christ. 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:05.100 And we are able to come into that presence. 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:07.500 Think of the curtain that was torn in two 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:09.660 when Jesus died for our sins. 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:13.180 What a privilege it is to be able to be part of his people 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:15.279 and the sheep of his hand. 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.660 So we see we're called to praise the Lord with exuberant joy. 00:17:18.820 --> 00:17:21.980 We're called to worship him with humble reverence. 00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:25.160 Thirdly, we see in the second half of verse 7 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:26.560 down through verse 11 00:17:26.560 --> 00:17:30.400 that we are to heed the Lord with eager attentiveness. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.660 We are to heed the Lord with eager attentiveness. 00:17:34.620 --> 00:17:36.860 It says there at the end of verse 7, 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:42.319 Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:43.599 So there's a warning. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.979 So what we've done is there's been quite a pivot here. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.879 We're praising the Lord. 00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:51.719 We're thinking about what a privilege it is to worship him. 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:53.379 And then it changes. 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:57.639 It sobers everything up here. 00:17:58.159 --> 00:18:02.519 If you hear his voice, who is the you that he's talking to? 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:04.259 If you, who are you? 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:09.720 It's God's people, or at least those who call themselves God's people. 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:12.519 It's the same people who are called to praise him and worship him. 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.220 He's talking specifically to his people. 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.099 When is he talking? 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:19.559 When is this happening? 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:23.319 He says today, as the author of Hebrews points out, 00:18:23.379 --> 00:18:25.480 and I'll mention that again in just a moment. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.740 Do not harden your hearts. 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:30.599 What does it mean to harden your hearts? 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:39.000 Your heart in Scripture is more than simply the seed of emotions as it is for us. 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:44.919 For us, if you're talking to someone and encouraging them playing sports, 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:46.039 put your heart into it. 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:50.679 You basically mean that you want them to do it in a more emotional way. 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:53.279 You want them to be passionate about what they're doing. 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:56.919 The heart in Scripture is the center of who you are. 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:02.080 Not only your emotions, but your will and your mind, what you think about, what you choose. 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:10.640 And the warning here is for us, at the core of our being, to ignore, 00:19:11.080 --> 00:19:15.000 or the warning is specifically not to ignore the voice of God. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:21.700 The thing is, sometimes we think, if we know that we need to do something, 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:25.119 or if we know that we don't need to do something, 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:30.400 sometimes we think we can ignore it, and we'll have a choice later, 00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:32.539 or we can repent of that sin later. 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:38.500 But the Bible says we need to be extremely careful about doing that, 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:43.759 because what often happens is that our hearts, that is the core of who we are, 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:50.460 becomes harder as we resist God's voice, and as we resist His will, 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:52.579 and things begin to change. 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:57.339 One of the things, the first time I read this in the book of Revelation, 00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:58.960 it just perplexed me. 00:19:59.220 --> 00:20:02.440 One of the things that you see is when God is pouring out His judgment 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:07.620 in the book of Revelation, the people who experience that judgment, 00:20:07.820 --> 00:20:11.580 it says refuse to repent and give Him glory. 00:20:12.360 --> 00:20:16.759 And you think, why would you not change now? 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.720 Think also of Pharaoh in the Exodus. 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:25.259 His magicians are saying, stop this, let these people go. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:27.380 It says He hardens His heart. 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:30.500 And of course, it also says in a providential sense, 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:32.880 the Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart as well. 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:36.720 But we see it was a conscious decision for Pharaoh to harden his heart. 00:20:36.859 --> 00:20:38.079 Why would he do that? 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:43.259 It's because we can grow calloused to God's will for our life. 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:47.839 And His word, and the threat for us, or the warning for us, 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:49.299 is not to do that. 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:53.579 We can count ourselves to be God's people and do that as well. 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:58.019 Again, the author of Hebrews applies that to the situation in his day. 00:20:58.019 --> 00:21:02.500 Specifically, he quotes this passage in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4. 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:06.879 What had happened was the church that he's writing to, 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.660 things had become difficult for them. 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.039 They were beginning to experience some persecution. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.279 Life was difficult if you called yourself a Christian 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:19.920 for the recipients of that letter. 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:24.700 And they were thinking about giving the whole thing up. 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:31.559 They were thinking about saying, okay, being a Jew is being safer than being a Christian. 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:34.019 Life was easier when we were Jews. 00:21:34.360 --> 00:21:35.819 Let's just go back to the synagogue. 00:21:36.420 --> 00:21:38.539 Let's just go back to being Jews. 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:39.940 And we'll quit this thing. 00:21:40.539 --> 00:21:42.620 And the author of Hebrews says, 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:47.819 this passage applies to you today, to that church. 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:52.299 And so as we think about this, this applies for us. 00:21:52.299 --> 00:21:55.220 And so today, for each one of us in this room, 00:21:55.779 --> 00:21:59.059 we are called, if we hear the voice of God, 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:01.559 and if we read Scripture or we hear Scripture read, 00:22:01.639 --> 00:22:03.339 we are hearing the voice of God. 00:22:03.919 --> 00:22:06.819 If we hear His voice, when we hear His voice, 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:09.659 we do not want to harden our hearts, 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:12.740 as the people of Israel had done beforehand. 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:16.299 For, the author of Hebrews says, 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:18.019 after quoting this passage, 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:19.559 in verse 12, 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:22.960 the Word of God is living and active, 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.859 sharper than any two-edged sword, 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:30.359 piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.000 of joints and of marrow, 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:35.200 and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:39.119 The Word of the Lord is sharp like a sword. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:41.539 And it will come to us. 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:43.059 And we must heed it. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:44.700 We must listen to it. 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:49.200 What are the things in your life that are calling you to harden your heart, 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:52.539 that are influencing you, perhaps, to harden your heart? 00:22:52.600 --> 00:22:54.799 These things often are subtle, aren't they? 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.340 They're often not obvious. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.279 It's not like, 00:22:58.580 --> 00:23:00.600 it's not like all of a sudden, 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:03.340 something just comes out of nowhere and grips you, 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:05.360 and you're ready to walk away from the faith. 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:08.660 It's a process when that happens. 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:11.900 It is, the love of money, perhaps, 00:23:12.100 --> 00:23:14.100 is growing in your heart, 00:23:14.259 --> 00:23:17.940 and you experience the thrill of making more and more, 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:22.060 and it's beginning to crowd other things out of your life. 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:27.980 Perhaps it is an over-familiar relationship with a co-worker, 00:23:28.100 --> 00:23:30.740 and you're beginning to speak in ways to your co-worker 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:34.259 that you would never say if your spouse were present. 00:23:34.620 --> 00:23:37.759 And that desire is beginning to grow, 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:39.559 and you don't even realize that. 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:41.339 If you hear his voice, 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:43.259 do not harden your hearts. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.539 The people of Israel had done that several times. 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:50.019 They had seen what God had done. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:54.220 Now, we need to understand a few things about this passage. 00:23:54.539 --> 00:23:56.200 He goes on to say in verse 9, 00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:59.059 when your fathers put me to the test 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:00.819 and put me to the proof, 00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:02.319 though they had seen my work. 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:05.759 So there's a warning in Scripture about testing God 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.579 or making God prove himself. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.659 Now, it helps if we take a step back and say, 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:12.439 what does the Bible say, first of all, 00:24:12.639 --> 00:24:14.939 about people who are experiencing doubt? 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:18.179 Doubt can come in many different forms, 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:22.480 but what about someone who really is wavering, 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:23.939 and they don't know if, 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:26.259 should they continue following the Lord? 00:24:26.399 --> 00:24:27.419 Is God real, 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.839 and they're going through a difficult time in their lives? 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.939 We see in several places in Scripture, 00:24:33.259 --> 00:24:35.299 Jude is very clear about this, 00:24:35.679 --> 00:24:36.799 that certain individuals 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.139 who are going through seasons of doubt in their lives, 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:44.480 mercy and gentleness are required for those people. 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:46.839 It's kind of like the way the Lord treated Thomas. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.839 For all of Thomas' audacity, 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:51.279 when he didn't see the Lord, 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:53.779 to say, unless I stick my hand in his side, 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:56.720 unless I see with my eyes the marks the nails made, 00:24:56.879 --> 00:24:57.859 I'll never believe. 00:24:57.859 --> 00:24:59.879 For all his audacity, 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:03.879 where was Thomas one week after saying those words? 00:25:04.379 --> 00:25:06.359 He was still with the apostles. 00:25:06.959 --> 00:25:09.619 So he used big words, 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:13.399 but there was inner turmoil we can see in his heart. 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:14.279 No, I don't believe, 00:25:14.419 --> 00:25:17.399 but I'm just going to hang out with you guys just in case. 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:19.619 He was wavering, 00:25:19.699 --> 00:25:22.199 and the Lord was gentle with Thomas as well. 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:23.859 So there are certain types of doubt 00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:28.000 that the Lord walks with us through those seasons. 00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:31.279 But then there are other forms of doubt, 00:25:31.979 --> 00:25:36.759 which are just smoke screens for resistance to God and who he is. 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:39.039 Think about the people of Israel earlier on. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.899 They had seen what God had done time and time again. 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:42.559 First of all, 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:45.139 God sent Moses in answer to their prayers. 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:49.219 God performed these incredible miracles. 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:50.759 He parted the Red Sea. 00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:52.059 They walked through that. 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:55.819 And then when they were in the midst of the desert in Exodus 17, 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:58.519 and they were facing some physical difficulties there, 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:00.980 we shouldn't have done this. 00:26:01.100 --> 00:26:02.160 Why are we out here? 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:04.000 And they're quarreling and they're doubting. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:05.839 They put God to the test, 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:09.920 even though God had given them ample reason to trust him. 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:11.500 That's what it's talking about here. 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:16.039 And if we know Jesus Christ and we've experienced him, 00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:18.680 and often we can point to the seasons in our life, 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:22.680 and God has answered this prayer and that prayer again and again and again, 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:28.160 we need to make sure that our doubt is not simply a smoke screen 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:31.180 for resisting God and his word. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:34.660 They put him to the test out of resistance to him. 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.960 And it says in verse 10, 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:44.740 In other words, they had resisted. 00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:48.840 They had become stubborn to God and his will and his ways in their heart. 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:51.460 And they had gone astray. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.140 And it says that God loathed him. 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:57.440 Or a way to think about that is God was disgusted with them 00:26:57.440 --> 00:26:59.380 because of their attitude and their decisions. 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:00.620 God was also patient, 00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:04.579 which Psalm 95 does not say right here. 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:12.019 This whole process lasted probably from Exodus 17 until about Numbers 20 00:27:12.019 --> 00:27:16.079 when we see these things take place. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.179 So God had been patient, 00:27:17.379 --> 00:27:20.299 but this hardness in their hearts built over time. 00:27:20.399 --> 00:27:21.699 And it says in verse 11, 00:27:22.179 --> 00:27:24.240 Therefore I swore in my wrath, 00:27:24.639 --> 00:27:26.960 they shall not enter my rest. 00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:29.159 Now, rest, what does that mean? 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:31.740 Why does Scripture say right here? 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.439 What does it mean by rest? 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.039 Well, the word rest can also be translated a resting place. 00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:40.920 And it can be a reference to someone who is on a journey 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:44.519 or perhaps like Ruth and Naomi, 00:27:44.740 --> 00:27:49.100 their whole life was a journey and they find a resting place. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:51.019 They have to sojourn no more. 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:52.460 They found their home. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:54.920 The people of Israel were like that as well. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.940 They had been wandering in the wilderness 00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:01.539 and they were shut out because of their unbelief of God's rest, 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.460 that home. 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:06.000 But it is something more than simply not having to travel. 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:09.200 It is rest from your enemies. 00:28:09.460 --> 00:28:12.720 And so the Bible says in Joshua 21, verse 44, 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:18.420 that God provided rest from their enemies under Joshua's leadership. 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:20.340 So rest from your enemies, 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:22.340 rest from your wondering, 00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:25.779 and also rest from inner turmoil 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.539 is what we can see in Scripture as well. 00:28:28.939 --> 00:28:32.559 God has provided that for us. 00:28:33.139 --> 00:28:36.379 The promise of rest is before us. 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:38.240 Eternal rest. 00:28:38.659 --> 00:28:40.139 And as St. Augustine says, 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:41.679 our hearts are restless 00:28:41.679 --> 00:28:44.919 until they find their rest in God. 00:28:45.199 --> 00:28:47.319 He has provided that for us. 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:49.879 In order to experience that, 00:28:50.419 --> 00:28:53.119 we must be careful not to harden our hearts. 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:54.539 Now that's not to say 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:58.159 that someone who has genuinely been born again 00:28:58.159 --> 00:29:00.659 can ever lose that salvation. 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:02.720 But what it is to say 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.659 is that we demonstrate 00:29:04.659 --> 00:29:06.899 that we have truly been born again 00:29:06.899 --> 00:29:08.720 through our endurance, 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:10.399 through when we fall, 00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:11.159 when we sin, 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:12.859 repenting of that sin 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:13.899 and getting back up 00:29:13.899 --> 00:29:15.179 and following Jesus 00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:17.400 and confessing our sin to the Lord. 00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:18.500 We see in John, 00:29:18.600 --> 00:29:20.460 1 John 2, verse 9, 00:29:20.820 --> 00:29:22.240 John's talking about some people 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:23.519 who walked away from the faith. 00:29:23.820 --> 00:29:24.500 And he said the fact 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:25.539 that they've walked away 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:27.660 proved that they really weren't of them 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:29.380 from the very beginning. 00:29:29.980 --> 00:29:32.700 So the promise of rest is before us. 00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:34.600 What's holding you back? 00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:36.980 What voice in your life 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:39.400 is pulling you to go astray? 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:41.500 Don't harden your hearts. 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:43.880 We have immense privileges 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:45.760 to praise the Lord 00:29:45.760 --> 00:29:47.400 for His great salvation, 00:29:47.560 --> 00:29:49.300 to praise Him with exuberant joy. 00:29:49.660 --> 00:29:51.600 We can worship the Lord in reverence, 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:53.400 knowing that He's included us 00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:54.540 into His family, 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.840 that we can call out to Him 00:29:55.840 --> 00:29:57.080 as our God. 00:29:57.320 --> 00:29:58.600 But we are called also 00:29:58.600 --> 00:29:59.920 not only to hear 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:01.360 the voice of the Lord, 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:04.300 but to heed the voice of the Lord 00:30:04.300 --> 00:30:07.060 with earnest attentiveness. 00:30:07.780 --> 00:30:09.140 Let's go to the Lord in prayer 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:10.120 as we close. 00:30:11.300 --> 00:30:13.180 Father, I thank You for this congregation. 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:17.180 I thank You for what I've experienced 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:19.799 and seen here this morning 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:21.480 for the songs of praise 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:23.180 that we've been able to sing to You. 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:24.740 And Lord, I pray that You would help 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:26.920 each one of us in this room 00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:29.960 to praise You with exuberant joy 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:32.299 for the privilege of being able to praise You. 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:33.900 I pray that You will help us 00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:36.820 to worship You in humble reverence as well. 00:30:36.860 --> 00:30:38.200 And I pray that You will help us 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:40.160 to heed Your voice and Your Word 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.220 with earnest attentiveness 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:44.660 that we might find the rest 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:46.180 that You have for us. 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.320 I thank You as well for their pastor, 00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:49.560 his faithfulness to You, 00:30:49.660 --> 00:30:51.340 his faithfulness to the truth. 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:52.400 And I pray Your blessings 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:54.200 upon him and his wife 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:55.180 in this revival. 00:30:55.620 --> 00:30:56.980 And we do pray that it will be 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:58.279 a Spirit-led revival. 00:30:58.440 --> 00:30:59.440 We do ask these things 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.540 in Jesus' name. 00:31:00.800 --> 00:31:01.100 Amen. 00:31:01.100 --> 00:31:03.180 If you feel led now, 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:04.300 you can come to the front. 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:05.940 Pastor Jeff will be here. 00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:07.940 Amen.