Hebrews 4 begins with the promise of rest. There is a promise of rest in Him for those that are obedient and keep His word in their hearts. Last year we looked in depth at the promise of rest as one of the Promises of God. The rest we receive only profits us if the Word we hear preached to us is mixed with the faith we have in the One who gives us faith.
Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
The "they" that the writer of Hebrews is talking about are the children of Israel. We know the Children of Israel were grumblers and complainers. There was very little they did not complain about. From the daily provision of manna to the people in the land the spies spoke of when they reported back to Moses. Remaining in a constant state of dissatisfaction can cause unrest, which will prevent us from moving into the rest of God that is promised to believers. Beyond that, verse 2 says the word they heard was not mixed with faith.
Hebrews 4:7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "TODAY," after such a long time, as it has been said: "TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."
What can cause us to harden our hearts toward God and prevent us from entering His rest? A number of things can make our hearts grow hard. We can have unrepentent sin in our lives.
1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Any unrepentent sin in our hearts can keep us separated from Him. By confessing our sins, be it anger, lust, lying, gossiping, or whatever, He is faithful and just to forgive us.
Proverbs 28:13-14 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (14) Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
As humans we have a tendency to want to cover our sins and hide them in the dark to protect our reputations. We think if we hide them long enough they will just eventually go away. But that isn't the case. Proverbs above says clearly that when we cover our sin, we will not prosper. Where do we hide the things that we want to protect or to keep anyone else from finding out? I believe they hide within our hearts. We can't live that life of abundance Jesus gave His life to give us when we harbor things within us that are in contradiction to the Word of God. What we have is a heart condition we must deal with so that we have a free flow of life between us and the Father. Jesus said,
Luke 6:43-45 "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (44) For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. (45) A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
What we have in our hearts is what comes out of our mouths. My parents always told me growing up that what we put into our spirits is what comes out. In other words, garbage in = garbage out. Jesus said something similar above. Whatever we have the most of in our hearts is what we speak. Are we good trees bearing the fruits of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, meekness, self-control? Or are we bad trees that are negative, hateful, and angry all the time? Whatever we spend the most time tending is what will grow within us. Which is why:
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
How to keep our hearts is no mystery. Keep means to maintain or preserve. So, how do we keep our hearts with all diligence?
Proverbs 4:24-27 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. (25) Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. (26) Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. (27) Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
We are to separate ourselves from the things that grow bad fruit within us. We can only do that by keeping our focus on the One that gives us life. Ponder above means "to prepare, revolve, or weigh." We are to consider the path we are walking and prepare ourselves. He will establish our ways within Him if we are focused on Him. We do not look around and wonder what it would be like to make a detour into sin and out of His will for us. We are to continue with Him. We will face disappointment, we will face unrest, dissatisfaction and discontentment. If we do not keep our eyes on Him with the very hope of our faith, then our hearts can indeed become hardened against Him...and against others if we are not careful.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
We know the word of God is alive. We know the Word of God is powerful. After all, Jesus used the word by saying "it is written" to the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:12 above also says it is sharper than any two edged sword. Do you have a favorite knife in your kitchen that you use all the time because it is so sharp and takes such little effort to cut through what you are cutting? I do. I also have a sharpening stone that I use to sharpen the knives I use on a regular basis. After so many uses, the knives' blades can become dull and not cut as well or end up tearing instead of cutting the food item I am preparing. The Word of God does not dull. It is alive and it is powerful. It is sharper than a two edged sword. It is so sharp that it can separate the soul and spirit. It is so sharp that it can separate bone from the marrow inside it. That is sharp. The beauty is, the Word of God can also discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We do not know what is in our own hearts sometimes, but God always does. We have to remember that our ways are not His ways and His ways are higher than our ways. If we do not keep our eyes on Him and on the path in front of us, then we cannot be established in His ways.
So how are we supposed to prevent our hearts from hardening? Forgiveness plays a huge role in how our hearts are hardened. So much so that Jesus said,
Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Instead of holding onto that pride, hold onto your confession. What is your confession? Mine is simple: My Jesus saved me from the pit of hell. He has restored my heart to Him and prospered my soul. He has healed my broken spirit and my broken body. He walks with me and He never leaves me. He is my All in All.
Jesus knows what we go through. We have discussed that before. He has been where we are. He has been tempted and He makes mediation with our Father on our behalf because He does sympathize and understand. BUT even though He was tempted and is sympathetic to our plight, He did not sin through the temptations. So, we can come to the throne and ask for forgiveness and repent from the sin we are walking in and find the mercy of a loving Father and the grace that is all sufficient for us.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Aren't you thankful we can come boldly to a High Priest who understands? So often we get wrapped up in the condemnation the enemy attempts to place upon us that we can forget that Jesus understands.
So, how are we supposed to keep our hearts from hardening?
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; (24) And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
What can cause us to harden our hearts toward God and prevent us from entering His rest? A number of things can make our hearts grow hard. We can have unrepentent sin in our lives.
1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Any unrepentent sin in our hearts can keep us separated from Him. By confessing our sins, be it anger, lust, lying, gossiping, or whatever, He is faithful and just to forgive us.
Proverbs 28:13-14 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (14) Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
As humans we have a tendency to want to cover our sins and hide them in the dark to protect our reputations. We think if we hide them long enough they will just eventually go away. But that isn't the case. Proverbs above says clearly that when we cover our sin, we will not prosper. Where do we hide the things that we want to protect or to keep anyone else from finding out? I believe they hide within our hearts. We can't live that life of abundance Jesus gave His life to give us when we harbor things within us that are in contradiction to the Word of God. What we have is a heart condition we must deal with so that we have a free flow of life between us and the Father. Jesus said,
Luke 6:43-45 "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (44) For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. (45) A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
What we have in our hearts is what comes out of our mouths. My parents always told me growing up that what we put into our spirits is what comes out. In other words, garbage in = garbage out. Jesus said something similar above. Whatever we have the most of in our hearts is what we speak. Are we good trees bearing the fruits of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, meekness, self-control? Or are we bad trees that are negative, hateful, and angry all the time? Whatever we spend the most time tending is what will grow within us. Which is why:
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
How to keep our hearts is no mystery. Keep means to maintain or preserve. So, how do we keep our hearts with all diligence?
Proverbs 4:24-27 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. (25) Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. (26) Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. (27) Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
We are to separate ourselves from the things that grow bad fruit within us. We can only do that by keeping our focus on the One that gives us life. Ponder above means "to prepare, revolve, or weigh." We are to consider the path we are walking and prepare ourselves. He will establish our ways within Him if we are focused on Him. We do not look around and wonder what it would be like to make a detour into sin and out of His will for us. We are to continue with Him. We will face disappointment, we will face unrest, dissatisfaction and discontentment. If we do not keep our eyes on Him with the very hope of our faith, then our hearts can indeed become hardened against Him...and against others if we are not careful.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
We know the word of God is alive. We know the Word of God is powerful. After all, Jesus used the word by saying "it is written" to the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:12 above also says it is sharper than any two edged sword. Do you have a favorite knife in your kitchen that you use all the time because it is so sharp and takes such little effort to cut through what you are cutting? I do. I also have a sharpening stone that I use to sharpen the knives I use on a regular basis. After so many uses, the knives' blades can become dull and not cut as well or end up tearing instead of cutting the food item I am preparing. The Word of God does not dull. It is alive and it is powerful. It is sharper than a two edged sword. It is so sharp that it can separate the soul and spirit. It is so sharp that it can separate bone from the marrow inside it. That is sharp. The beauty is, the Word of God can also discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We do not know what is in our own hearts sometimes, but God always does. We have to remember that our ways are not His ways and His ways are higher than our ways. If we do not keep our eyes on Him and on the path in front of us, then we cannot be established in His ways.
So how are we supposed to prevent our hearts from hardening? Forgiveness plays a huge role in how our hearts are hardened. So much so that Jesus said,
Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
"First be reconciled to your brother..." We have to be willing to set our pride down and make our apologies to others from a repentent heart. That can be so difficult can't it? It can be for me. Our minds equate forgiveness with weakness sometimes. Or mine does.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Instead of holding onto that pride, hold onto your confession. What is your confession? Mine is simple: My Jesus saved me from the pit of hell. He has restored my heart to Him and prospered my soul. He has healed my broken spirit and my broken body. He walks with me and He never leaves me. He is my All in All.
Jesus knows what we go through. We have discussed that before. He has been where we are. He has been tempted and He makes mediation with our Father on our behalf because He does sympathize and understand. BUT even though He was tempted and is sympathetic to our plight, He did not sin through the temptations. So, we can come to the throne and ask for forgiveness and repent from the sin we are walking in and find the mercy of a loving Father and the grace that is all sufficient for us.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Aren't you thankful we can come boldly to a High Priest who understands? So often we get wrapped up in the condemnation the enemy attempts to place upon us that we can forget that Jesus understands.
So, how are we supposed to keep our hearts from hardening?
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; (24) And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
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