Will you please turn with me to Hebrews?
I think we'd better read a couple chapters,
for surely the written word will convey its
own blessing.
Hebrews, chapter 3 and chapter 4.
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our
confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him
that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful
in all his house.
For this man was counted worthy of more
glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath
built the house hath more honor than the
house.
For every house is built by some man,
but he that built all things is God.
And Moses verily was faithful in all his
house as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after.
But Christ as a son over his own
house, whose house are we if we hold
fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end.
Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost said today, if
ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, 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, said,
they do always err in their heart, and
they have not known my ways.
So I swear in my wrath they shall
not enter into my rest.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any
of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily while it is
called today, lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ if
we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast
unto the end.
While it is said today, if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as
in the provocation.
For some, when they had heard, did provoke,
howbeit not all that came out of Egypt
by Moses.
But with whom was he grieved forty years?
Was it not with them that had sinned,
whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
And 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.
Let us fear therefore, lest a promise being
left us of entering into his rest, any
of you should seem to come short of
it.
For unto us was the gospel preached as
well as unto them, but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in them that heard it.
For we which have believed do enter into
rest, as he said, as I have sworn
in my wrath, if they shall enter into
my rest.
Although the works, his works, were finished from
the foundation of the world.
For he spake in a place of the
seventh on this wise, and God did rest
the seventh day from all his works.
And in this place again, if they shall
enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter
therein, and they to whom it was first
preached entered not in because of unbelief.
Again he limiteth a certain day, saying in
David, Today, after so long a time, as
it is written, Today, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest, then
he would not spoken afterward of another day.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people
of God.
For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from his.
Let us labor therefore to enter into that
rest, lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief.
For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart.
Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight, but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him
with whom we have to do.
Seeing then that we have a great High
Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God, let us hold fast
our profession.
For we have not an High Priest which
cannot be touched with the feelings of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like
as we, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.
I note in passing the contrast in the
last few verses about the reasons concerning him
with whom we have to do.
And one is a reason for inward examination.
For, he says, the word of God is
quick, that is, alive and powerful, sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
And there are many of God's people who
do not understand the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and cannot discern between that which
is only the product of the man himself
with his aspirations, and that which is the
product of God in his new creation.
It divides between those, and of the joints
and marrow, just as a sword or a
butcher's knife would cut between joints and marrow,
so the word of God can divide in
us, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart, neither is there
any creature that is not manifest in his
sight, but all things are naked and open
unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do.
So, if we try to conceal anything, we
don't deceive God, we just deceive ourselves, and
put us out of the place where God
can operate on us.
So, as far as we are concerned, we
must allow the sharp dividings and the keen
searchings of the word of God to have
their total effect in analysing and dividing the
inward man.
That by itself would be disconcerting and fearful.
But he immediately adds the balancing truth from
verse fourteen to sixteen, and says, seeing that
we have a great high priest, touched with
the feelings of our infirmities, those very infirmities
which are exposed by the examination which the
word brings, we have a high priest, touched
with the feeling of our infirmities, who has
passed into the heavens, he was in all
points tempted like us we are, yet without
sin, let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, knowing how the word has
cut us to pieces, let it be so,
and stand in the assurance of a high
priest who undertakes for us as we are,
in the most fearful of the revelations and
examinations of the word of God.
He knows.
And therefore, we may accept the examination and
not hide from it, and still come with
boldness to the throne of grace, as we
look away to the great high priest of
our confession.
I think that contrast is very, very exciting.
But what I want to talk about particularly
is that phrase that occurs over and over
in these two chapters, quoted from Psalm 95,
today, if ye will hear his voice, harden
not your heart.
I guess you've heard it before, and I
have heard it before.
When I was over in Minnesota on holiday
last summer with my daughter and son-in
-law, we were seated around the table of
our hosts, and we were looking at these
chapters, and I was just going to expound
on how we entered into rest.
And what I had in mind was this.
We which believe do enter into rest.
And that's what I was going to talk
about.
When, to my great surprise, out of the
word of God came this thing.
Today, if ye hear his voice, harden not
your heart.
And I thought, oh, steady, I'd better be
careful what I'm saying.
It's not quite so evangelically simple as I
was going to try and make it.
It's not just believing and entering in.
There is something else.
There is this today, if ye hear his
voice, harden not your heart.
But not only did I find myself having
to look at the Scripture again, but when
I got back to Elin, I found somebody
else talking about the same thing.
And then a week later, I heard somebody
else saying the same thing.
And I thought, what's going on?
I was reminded of those old days when
they used to break up the roads by
hand.
Can you remember them, you older folk, when
a gang of four laborers would come, and
one would be armed with a spike, and
the others with huge sledgehammers.
And the fellow would kneel down on the
tar road and put his spike in the
mecanum, and the others would stand around and
swing their great sledges.
I used to marvel, I thought, supposing they
missed and hit that chap on the head.
But they didn't.
They seemed to swing in rhythm, one, two,
three, one, two, three, one, two, three, until
the tarmac cracked and they got down to
where they wanted to go.
And so I felt that God is saying,
today if you hear his voice, today if
you hear his voice, today if you hear
his voice, cracking us open to get at
the thoughts and intents of our heart.
And I have found, not only that, but
almost everywhere I have been, God has been
talking to his people out of these things,
cracking us open.
Hallelujah.
Today, if ye hear his voice, harden not
your heart.
There is a rest that belongs to God
the Great Creator.
A rest to which he, about which he
spoke to the people who he called out
of Egypt, and he promised that when they
entered into the land, they would be sharing
a little bit of his rest.
And they missed it.
And the writer points out that the psalmist
says, a long time after, today if ye
hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as
they did so long ago.
And he points out that the rest of
God still remains.
If you look in Genesis, you will find
that the evening and the morning were that
first day, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.
But the seventh day isn't closed.
It still goes on, so that God says,
enter into my rest.
The works were finished from the foundation of
the world, and he says, come, I'm resting,
I want you to share my rest.
And then the psalmist says, a thousand years
later, today if ye hear his voice, harden
not your hearts.
And then the writer of the Hebrews picks
it up again and says, this means you.
There remains a rest for the people of
God.
And once again, in chapter four and verse
three, we which have believed do enter into
his rest.
It's a rest in heaven, and it is
a rest now.
Verse nine of chapter four, there remaineth therefore
a rest for the people of God, which
is our birthright.
Birthright of rest.
I was down by Long Island, oh, and
I was observing the swans.
What lovely creatures they are.
And sometimes at Elim, we look up and
we see the Canadian geese moving overhead, going
north.
They're wonderful creatures in flight.
You wouldn't think so to see them on
land, but when once they're airborne, they are
wonderful.
They fly in formation with a leader, and
all the others ride in the slipstream of
the leader.
And you can see them going very, very
gently, just the tips of their wings moving,
as the leader forges ahead, and all the
others are dropping behind, one behind another.
And they fly in rest.
They can go thousands of miles.
And I'm told that many of them sleep
on the wing, keeping close to the airstream
of the leader, sleeping as they fly.
Isn't that tremendous?
They enter into rest.
And if you watch carefully, you'll see one
or two of them come out of rest.
Those on the extreme end, and then they'll
flap as loudly as they possibly can, and
labor to enter into rest.
And then they come back into line.
Hallelujah.
Although God calls us to service and to
action, He intends that all our service should
be in rest.
There remaineth a rest for the people of
God.
Not a rest of laziness, a rest like
Jesus had in glorious activity, knowing calmly and
certainly that His Father had planned the day
for Him, knowing that all things were going
to work together for good, including the machinations
of His enemies.
And even those who were plotting His crucifixion,
working hard at it, knowing no rest, sweating
in their hate and bitterness, even they would
be compassed about and gathered in to God's
glorious purposes.
And Jesus always moved in rest, all the
way to the cross.
Praise the Lord.
And He calls us to enter in.
It says, Be eager, let us labor therefore,
to enter into that rest.
And in verse 4, let us fear, lest
a promise being left us of entering into
His rest, any of you should seem to
come short of it.
And He's not talking to unbelievers, He's not
talking to those who don't know the Lord.
All the exhortations in Hebrews, no matter how
people try and cut it to pieces, they
all belong to the Lord's people.
Every exhortation.
He doesn't say you've got to get saved,
He doesn't say you've got to get born
again, He says you've got to continue.
So He's talking to the Lord's people who
know Him.
Amen.
Let us labor to enter into our rest.
I have a railway pass that I got
in America.
And the other day, I went to the
station, and there was my pass, which gave
me a right to travel anywhere in Britain
by British Rail.
But believe me, between here and the time
I sat down in the train, I labored
to enter into my rest, doing a scout
trot with two bags when the buses didn't
come.
You see, there was a rest, I had
a right to it, it was mine by
title.
But in order to enter in, I really
had to put myself out a bit.
And Hebrews is talking about that kind of
thing.
Talking about the swans again, they're wonderful birds.
A family of them on the tidal water
there.
And Father is a wonderful family man.
He always seeks the same lady.
And he takes great care of his cygnets.
He hates any water skiers, because one of
them killed some of his cygnets.
But he came up to me out of
the water.
He was looking around for little bits of
bread, but I didn't have any.
So, after having a little fellowship on the
shore, he turned tail and made his way
back to the water.
Poor beast, have you ever seen anything as
ungainly as a swan on land?
Grey, clumsy body.
Awkward little legs and webbed feet.
Struggling through the mud and the weed.
There never was a more awkward or uncomfortable
creature than a swan on land.
You should see him laboring to enter into
his rest.
But oh, when he got to the water,
and he tucked up his legs, he was
in rest, because he was in his right
element.
And, induea, our element is God.
And out of that element, we're like the
old swan on land.
It's all struggle, it's all effort, and nothing
goes right, and our very body's a burden
to us.
But oh, when we're in our element, then
we're in rest, and we can move in
rest.
Away went Father Swan, gracefully, graceful as a
picture, to join his wife and family.
Hallelujah.
Let us labor to enter into our rest.
And so, it's not just by believing, although
believing is important.
Verse 2, For unto us was the gospel
preached as well as unto them, but the
word preached did not profit them, not being
mixed with faith in them that heard it.
I'm not sure that this is a right
illustration, but I have an idea that when
you do a bit of amateur building, and
you have to mix up your cement, you
haven't got it ready made, you get your
aggregate and your sand, and you mix that,
and you mix in the cement.
But although all the quality is there, it
still requires the right proportion of water, which
you get from your own tap, to really
get the thing going.
And it won't profit you unless it is
mixed.
And they had the word of God, pure
and holy, but they didn't mix their faith
with it, so they never built anything.
They failed and came short.
It didn't profit them.
And so, there has to be our faith
mixed with the word of God.
But more than that, and this is particularly
what I feel God is saying to us
in this day, today, if ye hear his
voice, that is, our faith is not merely
in the written promises, but the present revelation
of God who is faithful to your heart
and spirit.
If ye hear his voice, harden not your
hearts.
Most of us are good at hardening our
hearts.
We're good at making excuses.
We're good at listening to other voices and
getting the whole thing confused.
But God has a way of speaking to
his children, and your true rest depends daily.
And today, while it is cold today, my
true rest depends here on hearing his voice
and not hardening my heart against it.
How does he speak?
There are several ways outlined in this book,
but I would say that the first way
that God speaks to a man is spirit
to spirit.
And especially to the children of God, as
many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are the sons of God.
The voice of God is already resident in
his children.
Even the unsaved hear it sometimes, praise the
Lord.
How much more should those who are born
of his Spirit recognize the inward voice?
It is there, very near to your conscience.
Not always the same thing as your conscience,
because your conscience can be educated not to
eat all sorts of things.
But the voice of God is original from
him.
It doesn't require educating, it requires being listened
to, hearken to, so that you don't harden
your heart against it.
And very often you'll find that where you
are busy rationalizing, you know, working out all
the theory, making it all fit, and you
find that you have to patch up your
rationalizing every now and again, and make sure
it all clings together.
In those areas, if only you would stop
your reasoning and start listening, you'll find that
for a long time God has been saying
something you didn't want to hear.
Today, if ye hear his voice, harden not
your heart, as in the day of provocation,
as in the day of temptation in the
wilderness.
Someone the other day offered me a canoe,
and there's a nice little lake near Ealing,
and not only a canoe, but lead boards
and sail with it, and the paddles and
the life jackets all free.
That's what I love.
And so I was just going to write
back and say, um, uh, thanks very much,
I'll come and get it, when I stopped
a moment and said, Lord, what do you
say about it?
And to my greater knowledge, he said, no.
So I kept on arguing about it for
a long time.
But every time I referred back and said,
I said, Lord, what do you say?
He said, no.
Just like that, without any explanation.
God doesn't always explain things to us.
I suppose we'd argue too much if he
did.
But eventually I had the sense to listen
to him and write and say, well, thank
you very much, brother, but I just have
to say no, thank you.
And now, looking back, I can see what
God was doing.
There were some other things he wanted to
talk to me about.
And if I had got involved in that,
I wouldn't have been able to listen to
him a bit.
I'd have been thinking canoes, lead boards, outriggers,
and all sorts of things all day long.
And so, by his grace, I had the
sense to hear him and say, oh my
Lord, I won't harden my heart against what
you're saying.
And I'm glad I didn't.
I hope one day he'll say yes.
But, so now he said, no.
And I had lots of other little schemes
on hand.
You have lots of schemes.
I throw them like weeds.
But how wonderful it is, how blessed it
is, when we have the sense to say,
just a minute, Lord, have you something to
say?
And you don't have to look around far,
because his voice is somewhere around near solar
plexus.
Uh, saying, either no or yes, he's there.
And if you want to walk in the
rest which God has designed for your life,
you'll have to learn to hear the inward
voice and not harden your heart against it.
Praise the Lord.
It's one of the great rules.
In Hebrews chapter, there are several ways in
which the voice of God is mentioned.
Hebrews chapter two, therefore we ought to give
the more earnest heed to the things which
we have heard, lest at any time we
should let them slip.
For if the word spoken by angels was
steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a
just recompense of reward, how shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation?
Don't shout it at the lost, it belongs
to the Christian.
Which at first began to be spoken by
the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him, God also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders, and divest
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost according
to his own will.
It is a word of the gospel spoken
with power.
With power.
Please don't, uh, let us think that we
are superior to the area of miracle confirming
the word.
We're not, we're in, uh, saying, I don't
know, yes, he's there, and if you want
to walk in the rest which God has
designed for your life, you'll have to learn
to hear the inward voice and not harden
your heart against it.
Praise the Lord.
It's one of the great rules.
In Hebrews chapter, there are several ways in
which the voice of God is mentioned.
Hebrews chapter two, therefore we ought to give
the more earnest heed to the things which
we have heard, lest at any time we
should let them slip.
For if the word spoken by angels was
steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a
just recompense of reward, how shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation?
Don't shout it at the lost, it belongs
to the Christian, which at first began to
be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him, God
also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and divest miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost according to his own will.
It is a word of the gospel spoken
with power, with power.
Please don't let us think that we are
superior to the area of miracle confirming the
word.
We're not, we're inferior.
The normal thing is for the gospel to
be preached with signs following, the word of
God with power.
See that you don't harden your heart to
it and become so clever in the in
higher reaches of philosophy that you miss out
the the simple way that God talks.
The word spoken by them that heard the
Lord Jesus and confirmed unto us by others
and also borne witness to with signs and
wonders and different miracles and gifts of the
Holy Ghost according to his own will.
This is a way in which God speaks
by the word of the gospel of power.
Beware how ye hear, let there be what
the Bible calls the hearing of faith.
I tell you all sorts of folk are
moving in these days because God in his
mercy is releasing again the gospel with confirmation.
And people you would never think are coming
to know God in a new way.
People who are doctrinally not quite right.
Thousands of them who still haven't dropped their
rosaries have found the Lord Jesus and are
loving him and rejoicing in him and loving
their neighbor.
I can't understand it but I know I've
met them, I felt the thing, I know
what's happening.
They're hearing the gospel which is confirmed with
signs and they're rejoicing that Jesus is alive
and their hearts and lives are being changed.
Praise God.
I can't understand what's going on but God
is speaking to them a gospel confirmed with
signs and they haven't hardened their hearts to
it.
Isn't that wonderful?
Some of them have of course and they
go straight back into bondage.
Hebrews 1 God has spoken to us in
these last days in his son whom he
hath appointed heir of all things by whom
also he made the world who being the
brightness of his glory and the express image
of his person and upholding all things by
the word of his power when he had
by himself purged our sins got sat down
at the right hand of the majesty on
high entering into his rest in him.
God has spoken not just in gentle Jesus
meek and mild but in the man who
upholds all things by the word of his
power.
We have to adjust all of our thinking
to the revelation of the deity and power
and dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today if you hear his voice concerning the
greatness and the majesty of our risen Lord
you who are called to be a resurrection
company hear his voice and harden not your
heart.
We are not to think naturally we're not
to think on the level of other men.
All our mind is to be renewed and
tuned into our great pioneer who who made
the world who upholds all things by the
word of his power who has by himself
in all his greatness purged the miserable detail
and entail of my sins.
Hallelujah.
God has spoken to us in his son
and our whole thinking must be renewed from
that word.
The word in his son and praise God
he comes to indwell us in his mighty
dominion.
Let us be aware of dropping back to
the to the mere gentle Jesus meek and
mild aspect.
Praise God it's there but we who are
resurrection people need to know the majesty of
his power and hear that word and be
tuned to it.
It'll change us.
It'll lift us out of commonplace thinking.
Today if you hear the dynamic of that
word harden not your heart.
Let it break you.
Let it remake you that you may enter
into rest with him.
Praise the Lord.
In when Peter made that magnificent blunder on
the Mount of Transfiguration and offered to go
in the booth making business for Moses and
Elijah and Jesus he got his theology all
mixed up so the Lord straightened him out
and as he was a trifle confused removed
Moses and Elijah from the scene and said
this is my beloved son hear ye him.
If you hear his voice are you tuned
into the Christ-centered message and there is
another remarkable passage in John 6 and 45
which is worth noting.
As it is verse 44 no man can
come to me except the father which hath
sent me draw him and I will raise
him up at the last day as it
is written in the prophets and they shall
all be taught of God one of the
new covenant clauses everyone says Jesus therefore that
have heard and have learned of the father
listening to the inward voice cometh unto me.
Amen.
That's how I can check if I if
I'm really hearing the voice of God it
will turn me to Jesus in every part
of my life and chapter 12 Hebrews 12
we have come he says and he lists
those things that we have come to in
contrast to the to Mount Sinai and in
verse 24 and to Jesus the mediator of
the new covenant and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of
Abel not only the blood shed that blood
which speaks of pardon but the blood sprinkled
that is the blood that the mediator of
the new covenant sprinkles upon those who receive
the covenant the blood of sprinkling which speaketh
better things than that of Abel see that
you refuse not him that speaketh through the
blood of that covenant says Jesus he when
he took the cup he he linked he
linked his death with all that the old
testament had spoken about the the promised covenant
he said through that blood it is shed
for many for the remission of sins this
is my blood of the new covenant and
the old testament says that in that blood
of sprinkling there is a new heart a
new spirit a new obedience a new knowledge
of God the blood speaks these things to
everyone who lays hold of the covenant which
God made with those who couldn't keep the
first covenant praise God when you discover yourself
to be among those who couldn't keep the
first covenant then you are a claimant for
the new covenant hallelujah and you can come
along in your distress and defeat and failure
and say lord i want to come under
the blood of sprinkling of the new covenant
when God begins to take over inside me
see that you refuse not him that speaketh
through the blood of the new covenant and
then in the same chapter chapter 12 and
verse 25 see that he refused not him
that speaketh for if they escape not who
refused him that spake on earth much more
shall not we escape their little words are
stuck in let's read let's leave them out
much more we if we turn away from
him that speaketh from heaven whose or him
from heaven whose voice then shook the earth
but now he promised yet once more i
shake not the earth only but also the
heaven and this word yet once more signified
the removing of those things that are shaken
as of things that are made that those
things which cannot be shaken may remain wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken
let us have grace whereby we may serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for
our God is a consuming fire the day
is coming i believe don't you when God
will speak to the creation that men see
and the whole lot will collapse in fire
in order that he may might bring in
says the scripture a new heavens and a
new earth that the writer to hebrews is
applying this here and now and he says
look you are partakers of a kingdom now
which can't be shaken don't refuse him that
speaketh because his word will come to you
and shake everything in you which is not
of God hallelujah hallelujah his word will do
it not your resolutions not your nice feelings
his word will do it see that you
refuse not him that speaketh harden not your
heart let the word have its disastrously shaking
effect on everything in which you have confidence
which isn't of God hallelujah because when he
speaks that word that destroys in us in
order that new creation might be manifest if
you're conscious that in any place or if
any of us are conscious that in any
area we have been hardening our hearts to
God listening to our own schemes listening to
men's voices it's time to repent see that
you refuse not he doesn't say an awful
lot about making up your minds he says
the thing is don't harden your heart because
the word itself has creative power if you
don't harden your heart against it hallelujah born
again of the word of God born into
newness born into new creation the creation that
the creative power that can enable me to
stand in the kingdom that cannot be moved
comes as my heart opens to his creative
word of the new covenant see that you
refuse not him that speak oh just one
more thing today hallelujah right here right now
he is speaking amen we've heard his voice
in the we've heard his voice through the
written word but also he speaks somewhere inside
you praise his name see that you refuse
not him that speaketh