1 00:00:14,139 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,659 --> 00:00:26,899 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,780 --> 00:00:41,700 We're gonna continue in Hebrews, and I'm very excited about this passage as 5 00:00:42,759 --> 00:00:44,539 I am probably about all the passages, right? 6 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:50,619 But it's it's it's so fun. Just like even how Jesse was sharing, you know, how seeing the Lord 7 00:00:50,619 --> 00:00:57,539 throughout Scripture and in the Old Testament as well, you know, I think it's 8 00:00:57,539 --> 00:01:03,020 so interesting how the Lord made it a point to reteach the Scriptures to his 9 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:08,859 disciples so that they would see them in a new perspective coming through Jesus. 10 00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:14,200 And we have the privilege because we know Jesus in reading and learning the 11 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:22,239 Scriptures in the same way. Amen. So we are turning to Hebrews chapter 3, and 12 00:01:22,239 --> 00:01:25,739 there's a lot of verses, but we're not gonna stop once we get reading because 13 00:01:25,739 --> 00:01:30,799 it just is such a great portrayal of what we're gonna talk about today. But 14 00:01:30,799 --> 00:01:37,180 today's message is entering God's rest, and you know what that looks like. How 15 00:01:37,180 --> 00:01:44,019 do you enter into rest? And we're gonna dive into that, but the Lord is, does 16 00:01:44,019 --> 00:01:49,700 want to bring rest to our souls, doesn't He? In fact, when He was preaching in 17 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:56,780 Matthew 11, He said, Matthew 11, 28 to 30, He said, Come to me, all you who are weary 18 00:01:56,780 --> 00:02:03,120 and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls, right? Take my yoke 19 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:09,199 upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will 20 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:17,919 find rest for your souls because my yoke is easy and my burden is light. You know, 21 00:02:19,699 --> 00:02:27,020 this world puts a yoke upon us of all kinds of things, of comparisons, of fear, of 22 00:02:27,020 --> 00:02:34,919 anguish, of envy, you name it, right? Sadness, sorrow. This world has so many 23 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:40,860 yokes that the enemy just puts upon us, and the Lord is saying, Well, you just get 24 00:02:40,860 --> 00:02:47,060 that yoke off, and let me put my yoke on you. And what He's saying really is, I 25 00:02:47,060 --> 00:02:51,659 picture His yoke as almost like a hug. You know what I mean? Like He's saying, 26 00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:58,379 Let me wrap myself around you, and I will carry you through this life. I 27 00:02:58,379 --> 00:03:04,080 will take the burden of this life for you and carry you through it. As we 28 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:08,699 are praying in the prayer room and talking about these things, I envision, 29 00:03:08,879 --> 00:03:15,400 remember the poem of the beach, and you see two footprints, you know, next to each 30 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,699 other walking along, and then all of a sudden there's only one, and then 31 00:03:20,699 --> 00:03:24,599 the person says, Lord, you know, I thought you were walking alongside of me my 32 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:29,099 whole lifetime. You know, what happened? How come the footprints, there's only one 33 00:03:29,099 --> 00:03:35,520 set? The Lord said, they're mine. I was carrying you. You were on my back, and I 34 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:40,219 believe that's what the Lord does. He carries us through, and He does give us 35 00:03:40,219 --> 00:03:46,080 rest. So we're gonna talk about that today, and I love how, again, as we study 36 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:55,800 Israel and the Scriptures, because the Lord, His interaction with His chosen 37 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:05,000 nation on earth, Israel, draws so many parallels to God's relationship with His 38 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:11,199 heavenly nation, which is us, right? We are a holy nation, we are a heavenly people, we 39 00:04:11,199 --> 00:04:18,180 are heavenly, and we can compare the Lord's interactions with Israel to 40 00:04:18,180 --> 00:04:23,560 interactions with us, because throughout Scripture there's so many typologies, 41 00:04:24,679 --> 00:04:31,339 analogies, metaphors, all these things can be compared, and if you're not used to 42 00:04:31,339 --> 00:04:34,860 reading the Bible, you might think, now why, how do you connecting these two 43 00:04:34,860 --> 00:04:38,459 things? Well, throughout Scripture, we can see the Lord doing this again and 44 00:04:38,459 --> 00:04:43,899 again, and there's no greater spot than in Hebrews, and especially in these 45 00:04:43,899 --> 00:04:48,379 verses we're looking at, because the Lord is going to connect all of the 46 00:04:48,379 --> 00:04:54,079 interactions with Israel, with interactions with His holy nation, the 47 00:04:54,079 --> 00:05:01,240 Christian faith, right? So let's dive in and start reading in Hebrews 48 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:06,860 chapter 3 verse 7, and we're gonna read a little slow just so we can really 49 00:05:06,860 --> 00:05:12,220 absorb it. So Father God, we ask You to speak to us through Your Word this 50 00:05:12,220 --> 00:05:18,740 morning, Lord, as we engage with it, Lord, we ask Your Spirit to pierce through any 51 00:05:18,740 --> 00:05:25,819 distraction, anything that isn't of You, any words that don't, aren't what You 52 00:05:25,819 --> 00:05:31,579 would want to be said, Lord, we ask You to speak through Your Word with Your 53 00:05:31,579 --> 00:05:38,899 Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out, in Jesus' name, amen. So verse 7, 54 00:05:38,899 --> 00:05:46,420 therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today if you will hear His voice, do not harden 55 00:05:46,420 --> 00:05:52,399 your hearts, as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your 56 00:05:52,399 --> 00:06:01,079 fathers tested me, tried me, and saw my works 40 years. Therefore, I was angry 57 00:06:01,079 --> 00:06:06,939 with that generation, and said they always go astray in their heart, and 58 00:06:06,939 --> 00:06:13,500 they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not rest, they shall 59 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:20,939 not enter my rest. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of 60 00:06:20,939 --> 00:06:27,800 unbelief, in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily while 61 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:33,339 it is still called today, lest any of you be hardened through the 62 00:06:33,339 --> 00:06:40,259 deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the 63 00:06:40,259 --> 00:06:46,300 beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said today if you 64 00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:52,879 will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion. For who 65 00:06:52,879 --> 00:07:00,000 having heard rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 66 00:07:00,519 --> 00:07:08,379 Now, with whom was he angry 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned? 67 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:14,500 Those corpses fell in the wilderness, and to whom did he swear that they would not 68 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:21,480 enter his rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not 69 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:29,079 enter in because of unbelief. In chapter 4, almost there, therefore, since a promise 70 00:07:29,079 --> 00:07:34,639 remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come 71 00:07:34,639 --> 00:07:41,360 short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but 72 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:47,500 the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in 73 00:07:47,500 --> 00:07:54,680 those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has 74 00:07:54,680 --> 00:08:00,360 said, so I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Although the works 75 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:05,819 were finished from the foundation of the world, for he has spoken in a certain 76 00:08:05,819 --> 00:08:11,439 place of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from 77 00:08:11,439 --> 00:08:17,899 all his works. And again in this place, they shall not enter my rest, since 78 00:08:17,899 --> 00:08:23,079 therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was 79 00:08:23,079 --> 00:08:28,699 first preached did not enter because of disobedience. Again he designates a 80 00:08:28,699 --> 00:08:36,179 certain day, saying in David, today, after such a long time as it has been said, 81 00:08:36,659 --> 00:08:42,919 today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had 82 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:47,919 given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. 83 00:08:47,919 --> 00:08:53,240 There seems another, therefore, arrest for the people of God, for he who has 84 00:08:53,240 --> 00:09:01,340 entered his rest has himself also seized from his works, as God did from his. Let 85 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:08,860 us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the 86 00:09:08,860 --> 00:09:15,039 same example of disobedience. So there we go, that's a lot of scripture we just 87 00:09:15,039 --> 00:09:21,460 read through, but it's such a perfect picture. And so what are we talking about? 88 00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:28,879 This whole thing of the Lord leading his people to a promised land, which they 89 00:09:28,879 --> 00:09:34,220 refused to enter. So we're gonna show a little map, Nicole, if you, thank you, 90 00:09:34,659 --> 00:09:38,679 that map up there, and we're gonna just take a little memory tour of what 91 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:43,179 happened to the Israelites, okay? They were here in the land of Goshen, 92 00:09:43,179 --> 00:09:49,620 Goshen, the best land of Egypt, okay? And then the Lord sent Moses, okay, 93 00:09:49,659 --> 00:09:54,940 out from the desert to rescue his people, okay? And after nine plagues, 94 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:59,799 finally the tenth came, which was Passover, okay? And they spread the blood 95 00:09:59,799 --> 00:10:04,440 of the lamb on the doorposts, all of that being a symbol of who? 96 00:10:05,799 --> 00:10:09,159 Jesus, right? He is our Passover lamb. John the Baptist said, 97 00:10:09,159 --> 00:10:13,340 behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, right? 98 00:10:13,940 --> 00:10:19,019 And so after Passover came, the Egyptians were paying them to leave. 99 00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:22,019 They had enough. These plagues, they couldn't take anymore, right? 100 00:10:22,279 --> 00:10:27,240 So get out. So they're all leaving, and as they approach the Red Sea somewhere 101 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,720 here, and there are different, there's all kinds of different schematics on 102 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,980 their actual route, but this is generally the agreed upon major 103 00:10:36,980 --> 00:10:44,600 traditional view of the path they took, right? So they passed through the Red Sea, okay? 104 00:10:45,100 --> 00:10:51,200 And as they did, they went on to Mount Sinai. Some say it's up here. 105 00:10:51,379 --> 00:10:56,620 I prefer down here, but so they reached Mount Sinai, and that's where the law 106 00:10:56,620 --> 00:11:02,240 was given, okay? And because they rejected, because they sinned against the law, 107 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:11,120 3,000 people fell. That was on the day of Pentecost. That was 50 days after Passover, okay? 108 00:11:11,700 --> 00:11:18,120 Now, Christians celebrate Pentecost, because again, it's 50 days after Christ 109 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,440 being crucified, the Passover lamb, and what happened to our Pentecost? 110 00:11:24,059 --> 00:11:30,840 The Holy Spirit fell, and 3,000 lived. 3,000 people came alive, 111 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:36,740 right? So you see the parallels are uncanny, right? The Lord, this is all demonstrated 112 00:11:36,740 --> 00:11:43,139 by the Lord. He planned this all out to be a picture to the future seed of Abraham, 113 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:50,379 those who believe in faith. Are we, am I making sense so far? Okay, so then, so this whole 114 00:11:50,379 --> 00:11:57,399 picture. Now, as we read this, okay, well, let's move on. And so they answered, so they moved on 115 00:11:57,399 --> 00:12:04,399 from there, and about the 14th, between the 13th and 14th month, they finally came to the Jordan 116 00:12:04,399 --> 00:12:09,580 River. Now, some say this is actually, if you walk fast, you can walk it in 11 days. I don't know, 117 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:15,139 I never measured it, but it wouldn't take 14 months. But there was a lot of them, okay? There's 118 00:12:15,139 --> 00:12:20,399 like 3 million people or more in the desert, and they're constantly grumbling and complaining. 119 00:12:20,399 --> 00:12:29,139 They had a lot of picking up their tents and moving, so it was a big operation, right? So they 120 00:12:29,139 --> 00:12:36,419 finally got to the Jordan River, and the Lord said, okay, send 12 spies over to spy out the land, 121 00:12:36,500 --> 00:12:42,600 right? And so there was one from each tribe sent over, one of which was Caleb from the tribe of 122 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:49,159 Judah, okay? And also Joshua went over as well. And as they went over to spy out the land, 123 00:12:49,159 --> 00:12:55,639 they came back. And when they came back, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. They keep saying 124 00:12:55,639 --> 00:13:02,299 that same phrase, milk and honey. What does milk represent? Fat, right? It's a fat land. I mean, 125 00:13:02,299 --> 00:13:08,759 it has everything you need, and it's sweet honey, right? It's a fat and sweet land over there, 126 00:13:08,799 --> 00:13:14,179 right? So they all came back, and they're bringing like this huge, you know, staff of 127 00:13:14,179 --> 00:13:18,419 grapes hanging there, and they probably had all kinds of stuff, and they're like, wow, 128 00:13:18,519 --> 00:13:23,500 this is amazing, right? Where'd you get these grapes on the side of basketballs? Well, maybe 129 00:13:23,500 --> 00:13:27,899 that's an exaggeration, but they're big, right? And so they're talking to them, and they're like, 130 00:13:28,059 --> 00:13:32,779 this is great, you know? We got to go over, Joshua and Caleb are saying. We got to take 131 00:13:32,779 --> 00:13:37,580 that land, but the other ten are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's giants over 132 00:13:37,580 --> 00:13:45,379 there. The sons of Anak, we can't go over there. Like the cities are tall, the walls are grand. 133 00:13:45,879 --> 00:13:51,759 Those people will destroy us. Well, wait a minute, didn't God leave them there? You know, 134 00:13:51,799 --> 00:13:59,360 we forget where God guides, he supplies, right? He provides, he provides. And so, you know, they were 135 00:14:00,060 --> 00:14:06,899 falling into disbelief because of fear. We cannot enter that land. So they started rebelling, 136 00:14:06,899 --> 00:14:11,080 okay? And then Caleb and Joshua were like, no, no, no, no, we can do it. We can do it. They were 137 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:16,039 ready to stone those two guys. And so with that, the Lord said, okay, well, guess what? 138 00:14:16,700 --> 00:14:23,700 It's gonna be a long time for each day. They were over in spying out the Promised Land and came 139 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:31,659 back and refused to go in. Each day will equal a year. Okay? So those 40 days they spied out 140 00:14:31,659 --> 00:14:35,679 are now going to be 40 years. You are going to wander through the wilderness, 141 00:14:35,679 --> 00:14:41,399 and everyone from the age 20 up is gonna die in the desert. That's what this whole thing we just 142 00:14:41,399 --> 00:14:47,799 read is all about, okay? The day of their rebellion, okay? What's interesting is a few of them had the 143 00:14:47,799 --> 00:14:53,919 bright idea, okay, after they heard this 40-year sentence of death, they said, you know what, 144 00:14:54,039 --> 00:15:00,019 all right, let's go over anyway. And suddenly a few of them got up some nerve, didn't bring the 145 00:15:00,019 --> 00:15:04,840 ark, didn't worry about God going with them and protecting them and fighting all their battles. 146 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:10,019 And they tried to go in without God. And of course, as soon as they approached the border, 147 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,779 they were just decimated and pushed back into the land they came from. And they're like, yeah, 148 00:15:16,779 --> 00:15:22,740 that's not gonna work. And so from there, they wandered around throughout the wilderness for 149 00:15:22,740 --> 00:15:34,820 40 years, you know? I sometimes think, well, let's first say this is a whole picture. This 150 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:43,500 you know, when we first came out of our own Egypt, our own land of bondage to sin, 151 00:15:44,700 --> 00:15:50,820 because in the word, Egypt is compared to our bondage. When we were, before we came to Christ, 152 00:15:51,019 --> 00:15:55,639 we were actually slaves to sin, right? In Romans, we just read through that over the last few 153 00:15:55,639 --> 00:16:03,419 months. We were slaves, but the Lord took us out of slavery, right? He took us out of slavery. 154 00:16:03,419 --> 00:16:11,019 And so as we came out, okay, we were then hopefully baptized, baptized by the Holy Spirit, 155 00:16:11,279 --> 00:16:18,740 the Holy Fire, okay, some kenna, okay, we got some kenna. And, but Holy Fire, but then also, 156 00:16:18,980 --> 00:16:25,980 hopefully you were submerged. And that doesn't save you, but it's a tradition to signify what 157 00:16:25,980 --> 00:16:32,100 happened on the inside. If you're a believer and never been baptized, no rebuke, no guilt, 158 00:16:32,100 --> 00:16:39,360 but get baptized, man, just do it. It's a sign of obedience, right? And so here for the Israelites, 159 00:16:40,799 --> 00:16:47,600 as they came through here with the cloud of glory above them, that was their baptism. 160 00:16:48,519 --> 00:16:54,759 But for us, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit when we come out of slavery. So you see the 161 00:16:54,759 --> 00:17:01,240 parallel, okay? Just as the Israelites came out of slavery, so do we, and we are baptized, okay? 162 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,500 And then as we wander through the wilderness, and this was me by the way, for at least a year, 163 00:17:07,019 --> 00:17:12,859 I said yes to the Lord, I accepted him. And for at least a whole year, I'm trying to save myself. 164 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,240 And I'm just like, this isn't working. Like I'm always, I always feel guilty. I always feel like 165 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:22,740 there's something else I have to be doing. And I was always beating myself up. And I just, 166 00:17:22,819 --> 00:17:27,880 I don't think it's stuck. I don't think it's real. I wonder if it's even real for a solid 167 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:34,480 year. And then finally, I just had my moment. And I just was like, I was like, Jacob wrestling God 168 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:40,140 before he went across to meet Esau. I was fighting with God. I said, I thought you were saving me. 169 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:45,460 Why does it feel like I'm saving myself? I was like the guys going into the, 170 00:17:45,660 --> 00:17:50,579 into the promised land without God's protection. I was fighting with God. And finally, 171 00:17:50,579 --> 00:17:59,180 I just like felt this complete surrender. I bawled my eyes out. Like I've never cried before. 172 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:05,359 I was explaining that to my doctor last week. This Jewish doctor I have. And I was explaining, 173 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:07,859 he goes, how do you know any of this is real? Because he's not a believer. I'm like, 174 00:18:08,099 --> 00:18:15,119 oh, I know. Because when I accepted Christ and really surrendered, I had an emotional meltdown. 175 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,920 And I was never the same after that. I was baptized by the Holy Spirit. I'm telling you, 176 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:25,740 I was just revitalized. So that was me for a whole year saying, I don't know. I don't know. 177 00:18:25,799 --> 00:18:32,519 Let me work it out somehow and do this myself. Finally, I entered. He just wants us to press in 178 00:18:32,519 --> 00:18:40,440 and actually go in and experience that fat and sweet life of the Holy Spirit, 179 00:18:40,819 --> 00:18:47,839 letting him do all the work, letting him change us, entering that rest. 180 00:18:47,839 --> 00:18:55,079 You know, there's such beautiful pictures in scripture of demonstrating how this whole 181 00:18:55,079 --> 00:19:02,799 picture of Israel was all really about Jesus. They were baptized in the cloud. Jesus, right? 182 00:19:03,019 --> 00:19:10,920 He was the rock that gave them water. He calls himself out of me will flow living water. 183 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:17,960 Okay. And he also is the manna that fell from heaven. He calls himself that in John six. He says, 184 00:19:18,299 --> 00:19:25,299 I am the true manna that fell from heaven. So all of this was a picture of Christ and us. Isn't 185 00:19:25,299 --> 00:19:32,240 that beautiful? Like it's all a metaphor. It's all a parallel analogy, but it all actually happened. 186 00:19:32,819 --> 00:19:38,579 And it all was pointing to how we are living life now. You know, someday we were actually 187 00:19:38,579 --> 00:19:44,880 getting to heaven and that is a promise eternal life. But right now we can experience 188 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:53,140 that promised life now. Another analogy, if you notice, like to Israel, it was all about the land, 189 00:19:53,579 --> 00:20:00,599 the land, the land, the promised land, right? But for us, it's the promised life. 190 00:20:01,519 --> 00:20:07,059 He promises to give us an abundant life. And when we allow him to do that, 191 00:20:07,059 --> 00:20:12,700 when we have an open heart to him and let him actually come in and do that in our lives, 192 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:20,500 we experience that rest. I don't have to strive to please God because he's doing all the work 193 00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:24,240 in me. Remember Paul, he just said, I work harder than all the other apostles, 194 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:30,140 but it's not me. It's the work of God in me. You know, it's all him, you know, 195 00:20:30,140 --> 00:20:37,140 that's God. And he's saying, you know, enter in to that rest, that promised life. 196 00:20:38,079 --> 00:20:44,859 You know, I was thinking about this Sinai Peninsula. That's what it's called, that little 197 00:20:44,859 --> 00:20:51,020 kind of tongue that we were just looking at, right? And if you could just show that 198 00:20:53,289 --> 00:21:01,309 map again for a second. So see this, you know, it's really all about the heart. 199 00:21:02,950 --> 00:21:10,349 What we just read mentions six times about a heart. It's a heart issue. Like entering from there to 200 00:21:10,349 --> 00:21:18,849 there is all in the heart, isn't it? It's all about our heart posture towards God. And 201 00:21:19,329 --> 00:21:25,670 several times we've read in here that the Israelites had a hardened heart, okay? A heart 202 00:21:25,670 --> 00:21:33,430 that was hard towards God. Who else had a hardened heart? Pharaoh, right? It says again at least 12 203 00:21:33,430 --> 00:21:38,390 times, Pharaoh had a hardened heart. The Lord hardened his heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart. 204 00:21:38,589 --> 00:21:43,289 Lord hardened his heart. I think it all worked together, okay? He had a hard heart. They left 205 00:21:43,289 --> 00:21:49,410 a land and here they had the same heart of their master, that hardened heart of Pharaoh. 206 00:21:50,009 --> 00:21:54,869 So it was all a heart issue. And it talks about this hardened heart. If you have that next slide, 207 00:21:54,970 --> 00:22:01,390 I just want to show you some of the comparisons. A hardened heart was compared to ignoring the voice 208 00:22:01,390 --> 00:22:09,930 of God. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Do not harden up your heart. 209 00:22:09,930 --> 00:22:17,430 Do not like resist God. Don't ignore him. Hardened heart is also unbelief. 210 00:22:18,390 --> 00:22:24,349 You know, it's easy to feed unbelief. Do you know that? It's easy to feed belief too. Like faith is 211 00:22:24,349 --> 00:22:28,250 so easy to feed. You just, you know, we're not going to do that today, but there's a lot of 212 00:22:28,250 --> 00:22:33,930 things if you have any questions. It's so easy to feed your faith. And one of them is actually 213 00:22:33,930 --> 00:22:38,869 just to work it out, right? To actually exercise your faith. It's like a muscle. You ever hear 214 00:22:38,869 --> 00:22:43,789 that? Faith is like a muscle. If you're not exercising your muscle, what happens? Atrophy, 215 00:22:44,389 --> 00:22:48,730 weakness. If you lay in the bed for, you know, if you're sick and lay in the bed for a couple 216 00:22:48,730 --> 00:22:53,329 of weeks and you get up, you're skinny and you're shriveled and it's just, you're dying. 217 00:22:53,549 --> 00:22:59,990 Your muscles are actually dying, right? If you're not exercising your faith, you're losing it, 218 00:23:00,210 --> 00:23:06,690 you know? And I hate to say this really, but it's true. So here it's unbelief is don't accept 219 00:23:06,690 --> 00:23:12,569 that in your life. If you have questions, if you have doubts, press in, seek out people that have 220 00:23:12,569 --> 00:23:18,630 faith that's way beyond yours, okay? You know, faith to faith. We really, we, we encourage one 221 00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:24,289 another in more faith, right? And you can never have enough of it, you know? It's something that 222 00:23:24,289 --> 00:23:29,829 you can exercise. It's a spiritual gift. And yet we're all born with a measure of faith, 223 00:23:30,029 --> 00:23:34,630 you know, otherwise there would be people born without the capacity to believe in God. But we 224 00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:39,589 know that's not true because he wants none to perish, right? So faith is something that you 225 00:23:39,589 --> 00:23:46,849 can exercise. Don't accept unbelief in your life because it will lead to a failure in your walk, 226 00:23:46,950 --> 00:23:54,829 right? The next thing is deceitfulness of sin. People wander from the faith because they are 227 00:23:54,829 --> 00:24:02,170 perpetually in a sin that they, that they have not let go of, okay? And in some sense, because 228 00:24:02,170 --> 00:24:10,630 God is merciful and benevolent and compassionate, perseveres with them, they don't see the immediate 229 00:24:10,630 --> 00:24:15,789 results of their sins, right? Well, I got by again on that one, you know? You know, the Lord, 230 00:24:16,049 --> 00:24:20,349 he's okay with that part of my life. Well, what happens is, of course, your heart, 231 00:24:20,490 --> 00:24:27,930 your heart starts to get hardened or calloused towards God because you're getting away with it 232 00:24:27,930 --> 00:24:32,930 because you don't see any ramifications. You see you're being blessed in other areas. And then all 233 00:24:32,930 --> 00:24:39,430 the sudden the Lord reveals it. It's like he just throws open the curtain, you know? I, you know, 234 00:24:39,509 --> 00:24:45,490 it's sad when you hear people in ministries getting found out. It's, it's, it's sickening, 235 00:24:45,609 --> 00:24:51,170 right? But how did that happen incrementally? Oh, I got by this time. No one's telling on me. 236 00:24:51,569 --> 00:24:57,150 We all have a lot at stake here. Let's just keep this quiet amongst us, right? And what happens? 237 00:24:57,150 --> 00:25:02,609 The sin just starts to get thicker and thicker. Your heart starts to get more and more insulated 238 00:25:02,609 --> 00:25:09,109 from God's touch, you know? You become not, you're no longer impervious. Is that the word, 239 00:25:09,210 --> 00:25:14,529 impervious or pervious? Whatever that is. You don't, you don't allow the Lord in, okay? 240 00:25:14,950 --> 00:25:20,750 You repel his goodness and it becomes an act. That's what it becomes. It becomes an outward 241 00:25:20,750 --> 00:25:25,289 act, but it's not true on the inside. You know what Jesus said? Clean the inside and the 242 00:25:25,289 --> 00:25:29,950 outside will be clean also, right? And so that's what happens, the deceitfulness of sin. 243 00:25:30,390 --> 00:25:36,250 And finally, just rejecting to rest, trying to serve, like I was doing, trying to prove myself 244 00:25:36,250 --> 00:25:40,730 to God, you know? Trying to say, Lord, I was worth saving. Let me just show you. Okay? 245 00:25:41,170 --> 00:25:45,710 You know, just move aside, God. I got this handled. I don't need you on this one. 246 00:25:45,910 --> 00:25:50,450 Yeah. Yes, you do. You need them more desperately than you think, apparently, 247 00:25:50,450 --> 00:25:56,430 you know? Because, so these are the things that become like a hardened heart. And the Lord 248 00:25:56,430 --> 00:26:02,829 really demonstrated that in this passage. And I have this little graph, just to more 249 00:26:03,750 --> 00:26:09,029 put our brains around it. But we see this hardened heart, okay? And one of the things, 250 00:26:09,150 --> 00:26:14,930 again, we just went over disbelief, ignoring the voice of God, you know, just saying, 251 00:26:14,930 --> 00:26:22,069 I know Lord, I know, but I'm going to do this right now. And sin and rejecting rest, 252 00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:28,150 rejecting to just settle in. You know, there's some times the best thing we can do for God is 253 00:26:28,150 --> 00:26:36,890 nothing. Okay? Just stop what you're doing and just rest. And just pray and just read the word. 254 00:26:37,630 --> 00:26:44,650 Just commune with your brothers and sisters. Just chill out. Like some of the best 255 00:26:44,650 --> 00:26:52,849 revelations comes when you're just resting, like relaxing, just enjoying God. Do you enjoy God? 256 00:26:53,690 --> 00:26:59,809 Like, I really, he's so much fun. Like, do you think of your Abba Father as fun? 257 00:27:00,650 --> 00:27:06,730 He is fun. Let me just say he's a good time, okay? In fact, he has the best times for you. 258 00:27:07,309 --> 00:27:12,430 You know, I love it. In fact, I'll just brag on Zachy a little bit here. My son Zach, 259 00:27:12,430 --> 00:27:17,009 I was just over his house the other night. I share this with Jill, but it was so cute because 260 00:27:17,729 --> 00:27:23,210 like Joel and Hayes, all they want to do is be with dad all the time. Like I'm there talking, 261 00:27:23,390 --> 00:27:27,910 trying to keep in a conversation with Zach. We're just talking about this, but Joel's throwing him 262 00:27:27,910 --> 00:27:32,750 a ball, throwing a frisbee, throwing dad, dad, dad, watch this, you know, and it's jumping off 263 00:27:32,750 --> 00:27:37,809 of things. And if you know Joel, he likes jumping off of everything, right? But like, it's so cute 264 00:27:37,809 --> 00:27:44,049 because dad's fun. Dad's a good time. Dad's always building things in the yard for them. 265 00:27:44,549 --> 00:27:50,970 Dad loves them so much that he loves to see them have fun. Yeah, that's our Abba Father. 266 00:27:51,609 --> 00:27:56,789 He's not taking stuff away. When we're holding on to things we shouldn't have, he's like, no, 267 00:27:56,809 --> 00:28:00,930 no, you got to put that down. That's going to hurt you, okay? But he has the best things. 268 00:28:01,150 --> 00:28:05,009 In fact, he's the father of lights, right? The giver of every good and perfect gift, 269 00:28:05,009 --> 00:28:11,210 which comes down and there's no darkness in those gifts. It's all good at all. That's right, Jim. 270 00:28:11,650 --> 00:28:18,769 It's a blessing. It's all good. That's our Abba Father. He just loves us so much. Amen. And he 271 00:28:18,769 --> 00:28:22,750 wants, you know, in a sense, it almost, if it's all, you know, in a sense, it almost, 272 00:28:22,910 --> 00:28:28,289 if it's all a picture of the heart going from Egypt into the Promised Land, and we're going 273 00:28:28,289 --> 00:28:35,309 to complete, continue to complain against God, and we're going to always wish we went back to 274 00:28:35,309 --> 00:28:39,690 slavery. I mean, they did that over and over again. They said, if we could have only died in 275 00:28:39,690 --> 00:28:43,589 Egypt, well, that's a weird thing to say, or if we could have only died in the wilderness, 276 00:28:43,809 --> 00:28:47,069 instead, you're trying to bring us here to the Promised Land so that we die. I mean, 277 00:28:47,150 --> 00:28:54,410 complaining constantly, right? And so if it's all a matter of the heart issue getting from here 278 00:28:54,410 --> 00:28:59,009 to there, and then I started looking and thinking, yeah, it kind of looks like a heart. So I have a 279 00:28:59,009 --> 00:29:04,750 graphic of a heart in the next video. And see that? I mean, a little bit? No? Anybody seeing it? 280 00:29:05,029 --> 00:29:11,089 All right. He's going off as rockers. Okay. But anyway, so, but if you have to really imagine 281 00:29:11,089 --> 00:29:16,309 too much, maybe it doesn't. Okay. But, but the idea is really, it's all about the heart, 282 00:29:16,490 --> 00:29:22,170 the Lord leading us through a time that could be a wilderness, you know, you might have gotten 283 00:29:22,170 --> 00:29:25,190 saved, then all of a sudden you get sick and you're like, what Lord? I mean, 284 00:29:25,769 --> 00:29:32,089 you took me out of Egypt to bring me into a wilderness. Keep going, keep going. Winston 285 00:29:32,089 --> 00:29:36,990 Churchill once said, if you're going through hell, keep going, right? Because there's a Promised Land 286 00:29:36,990 --> 00:29:43,750 on the other side. Just keep pressing in because the Lord knows where he's leading us to. 287 00:29:44,150 --> 00:29:50,549 But to get there, we need a soft heart. We need an open heart. We can't have a hardened heart, 288 00:29:50,549 --> 00:29:55,130 right? Because if we have a hardened heart, we're never actually going to receive what God's given 289 00:29:55,130 --> 00:30:03,789 us. You know, the word says it's better to give than to receive, right? And that's true with people 290 00:30:03,789 --> 00:30:08,210 really, because really the Lord just keeps backfilling, right? When you give something away, 291 00:30:08,329 --> 00:30:15,390 when you give your love, your time, your tithes, your whatever, your resources, you know, 292 00:30:15,410 --> 00:30:19,529 the Lord just says, I got plenty more. Just give it away, give it away, give it away. And 293 00:30:19,529 --> 00:30:23,549 he gives more back to you, right? And that's the way he is. But, you know, with God, 294 00:30:24,269 --> 00:30:32,190 you can't give him anything. He gives with God, it's better to receive than give. Because when 295 00:30:32,190 --> 00:30:38,410 he gives you, you have more than an abundance. It's overflowing. You can just keep pouring out 296 00:30:38,410 --> 00:30:45,490 to others, but you need a soft heart to receive from God. You know, we need to have an open 297 00:30:45,490 --> 00:30:50,990 heart. We sang about something about a heart in worship, because it's the idea of just, I want 298 00:30:50,990 --> 00:30:56,390 an open heart. I want a subtle heart. In fact, the word even talks about a circumcised heart. 299 00:30:57,069 --> 00:31:02,750 You know, that outer layer just sheared away so that you could be vulnerable to God, 300 00:31:03,309 --> 00:31:09,170 sensitive to God, receiving God. You know, I just picked up the guitar the other day 301 00:31:09,170 --> 00:31:15,769 for the first time in years. Okay. And I just started playing for like about a minute and my 302 00:31:15,769 --> 00:31:21,349 fingers are getting real, real tender. Okay. And they're like, I can't do this. I can't play. 303 00:31:21,569 --> 00:31:26,750 In fact, it feels like it's cutting into my fingers. They're so weak. But like with the Lord, 304 00:31:27,069 --> 00:31:32,470 that's a good thing to be, to be like soft. Lord, like I want to sense everything you're 305 00:31:32,470 --> 00:31:37,769 doing. I want to hear everything you're saying. I want to perceive everything you're seeing, Lord. 306 00:31:37,769 --> 00:31:45,170 I want to be totally soft towards you. Not hardened. I love what Ezekiel said in the prophecy 307 00:31:45,170 --> 00:31:54,150 as the worship team comes forward. Ezekiel said this, that someday I will give you a new heart 308 00:31:55,129 --> 00:32:04,150 and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you 309 00:32:04,150 --> 00:32:11,630 a heart of flesh. And in this case, flesh is seen as something alive. You know, sometimes flesh is 310 00:32:12,310 --> 00:32:19,390 regarding the soul is seen as a worldly, lustful thing when they say flesh. But really in this 311 00:32:19,390 --> 00:32:27,869 sense, it's a living heart. Don't you want a heart that beats for God? That like attracts his heartbeat, 312 00:32:27,869 --> 00:32:36,150 you know, and really senses that Lord, I really sense you in my life. I can, I can see the person 313 00:32:36,150 --> 00:32:40,150 you want me to talk to. I had so much opportunity. I don't know if you know, I was back in the 314 00:32:40,150 --> 00:32:45,410 hospital, not all about me, but, and, and, and it was so awesome because after I got out of ICU, 315 00:32:45,410 --> 00:32:51,190 I went into a normal room and there was a guy there and the exchanges, he didn't accept Christ, 316 00:32:51,430 --> 00:32:56,569 you know, but we talked so much about God. And I'm thinking, I said, this is why I'm in 317 00:32:56,569 --> 00:33:03,950 your room right now. Like I'm here for a reason. And it was like so much fun discussing God with 318 00:33:03,950 --> 00:33:10,009 this guy I never met before. And he was a talker. He was a lot of talk. You know, he was, it's funny. 319 00:33:10,130 --> 00:33:14,430 I go into the room and he says, Oh man, anything but the last guy that was in here, he wouldn't 320 00:33:14,430 --> 00:33:20,970 shut up. He literally said that guy just kept talking and talking. I'm like, okay. I don't 321 00:33:21,049 --> 00:33:27,069 know what that's like. But it was so cool because he loved to talk and so do I, you know, 322 00:33:27,289 --> 00:33:33,769 so we just talk so much about the Lord and about these things. And I don't know if I ever see him 323 00:33:33,769 --> 00:33:39,730 again. You know, I texted him, but like I saw him there, like that's the idea. He wants us to have 324 00:33:39,730 --> 00:33:47,210 just a soft heart so that we can step into every environment and say, Oh, I get it, Lord. That's 325 00:33:47,210 --> 00:33:55,130 why I'm here. That's the promised life. You know, in a sense, all of us might sense in it 326 00:33:55,130 --> 00:34:00,950 to a degree we're still in a wilderness, but you're not, you know, if you just walk with him, 327 00:34:01,150 --> 00:34:08,070 he is guiding you to that fat and sweet life. Amen. Let's all stand and we're going to finish 328 00:34:08,070 --> 00:34:17,269 up with some worship. And perhaps today, you know, you just, you just know you're missing out. 329 00:34:17,929 --> 00:34:23,429 You know, I believe when it says, you know, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 330 00:34:23,889 --> 00:34:29,469 I believe it's the fear of missing out. I don't want to miss out on God. Do you? I mean, 331 00:34:30,150 --> 00:34:34,630 imagine getting to heaven someday and realizing some of the things that could have been 332 00:34:34,630 --> 00:34:41,190 on earth. And I know some of our theology might, well, there won't be any regret or any of that. 333 00:34:41,409 --> 00:34:47,050 Okay. But if there is, I don't want to learn it up there. I just want to live it to the fullest 334 00:34:47,050 --> 00:34:52,190 down here. I want it. Don't you want to live your life to the fullest? Why wander around 335 00:34:52,769 --> 00:34:58,690 in the wilderness when we can enter that promised life? So father God, we thank you 336 00:34:59,230 --> 00:35:04,989 for this great family. Lord, we thank you for the fun. We're going to have as we walk out of this 337 00:35:04,989 --> 00:35:11,309 room and continue to fellowship. Thank you for these children that just sang songs for you 338 00:35:11,829 --> 00:35:17,869 and, and worship you, Lord God. Thank you for this baby dedication, Lord God. We know that 339 00:35:17,869 --> 00:35:24,130 Jovi is going to serve you all the days of her life, Lord God. And she is going to be an 340 00:35:24,130 --> 00:35:31,389 inspiration, a motivation to hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions, Lord God. We can't put any 341 00:35:31,389 --> 00:35:37,869 limitation on what you can do in any saint's life. So we thank you in Jesus name. Amen. 342 00:35:38,289 --> 00:35:49,429 Let's give the Lord a round of applause. Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church 343 00:35:49,429 --> 00:35:55,309 as we praise God and discuss His word. Don't forget to join us for Worship Live Sunday 344 00:35:55,309 --> 00:36:01,190 mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. Be blessed and have a great day!