THE SOLEMN CAUTION

HEBREWS 3:7

A. "TODAY, IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS"
  1. The history of the Jews is replete with helpful instructions:
    1. We cannot review that history without learning how God loves His people.
    2. But deep depravity of the heart increased the difficulty for God to help them.
    3. We perceive, also, how patient and long suffering God is toward those He loves.
  2. But God's dealing with His ancient people shows, also, that God will not always strive with men: Gen. 6:3
B. "TODAY, IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE"
  1. "His Voice":
    1. The voice of mercy -- Note carefully what He says through Isaiah - Isa. 61:1-3; and what He said in person to His people - Luke 4:18
    2. It is the voice of authority - Matt. 28:18; Heb. 12:25-27
    3. It is the voice of Him who is directly connected with our salvation - Matt. 1:21; Acts 4:12
  2. This voice speaks directly to us:
    1. Through the written word - John 5:39, 46, 47; 2 Tim. 3:15-17
    2. Through the Holy Spirit - Rev. 22:17
    3. This voice is heard, also, in the events revealing the divine providence - Matt. 24:6-8; Acts 9:1-11
  3. Implication of God's seeking to arrest our attention:
    1. He wants us to know that He is personally interested in our salvation. This makes the voice doubly important for us.
    2. It is a pleading voice - Isa. 63:8, 9; 65:1-3
    3. It is the voice of final appeal - "Today, if ye will hear His voice".
  4. The specified period for hearing Christ's voice: "Today, if ye will hear His voice":
    1. Today is God's appointed time for us to be saved - 2 Cor. 6:1-3; John 9:4
    2. Today is the only time in which God gives any promise of salvation - Luke 13:25-33; Matt. 25:1-12
    3. Today is a short time and very uncertain - Jas. 4:13-16; Luke 12:16-19
  5. The solemn caution:
    1. There is deadly danger of hardening our hearts when we are inattentive to the voice of the Lord.
    2. Every time we refuse to heed this voice, we make it more difficult for Him to help us.
C. THINGS THAT TEND TO HARDEN THE HEART
  1. The refusal to obey the voice of God:
    1. That was the final downfall of Pharaoh; every time he refused to obey the voice of God, his heart was hardened more.
    2. That was the reason for the destruction of the people in the days of Noah - Luke 17:26-29; Gen. 6:1-3
  2. By yielding to the spirit of unbelief: Heb. 4:1-11
  3. By a sordid attachment to the sins and pleasures of the world:
    1. The lust of the eye.
    2. The lust of the flesh.
    3. The pride of life - 1 John 2:15, 16; Hos. 4:17
  4. We sin against the voice of God when we misuse the light God has given to us: Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26-29
  5. It is 'the' most serious matter for us to refuse to heed the voice of God because we know that the voice of mercy is our only hope: Rev. 22:17
  6. The voice of God is, as yet, not the voice of judgment, but the voice of compassion: Matt. 11:28-30; Isa. 65:1-3
  7. Let us heed this voice of love and mercy for our own good!


Design © John Bryant 2011