Hebrews 3:12-15 ( NKJV )
Beware, 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 have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Most everyone I know that is in any way sensitive to the moving of the Spirit of God believes that there is a revival at hand. I have been praying for it since 1984 when I saw it in a vision. I believe it has come to the point where we must have a move of God in order to bring about the changes in the church and the world necessary to see real results from the preaching of the Gospel. What is holding it up?
Although there are many things we could look at, I believe one answer is evident. We have become hard in our hearts. Now don’t stop reading, I am not saying we are all the “Grinch who stole Christmas”, but I think that there are some things that need to change in us before God will really move the way He wants to. This is not to say He can’t move until we change. It is to say that He loves His children and wants us to be co-workers with Him.
Let’s look at the above scripture for a moment. Just before these verses the author is speaking of Israel and their failure to enter the promised land. Think of who these people were and what they had seen. They were all born into slavery. They had no choices, no future and lived under hard bondage. They were forced to build things that brought them no benefit. They were tortured and abused. They were considered less than human in their society.
In response to their cries, God sends them a person to be a deliverer for them. There could be no doubt in their minds that what was happening was God. The level of supernatural power on display would not be equaled until the ministry of Jesus. Even then the nature of the power under Moses was different. In the ministry of Jesus, the power of God was present to heal and set free. In the days of Moses the power of God was a weapon brought to bear for their personal deliverance.
Plague after plague came upon Egypt. The Nile and all the rest of the water of Egypt was turned to blood, but not the water of the Israelites. There were different physical plagues that effected all the people of Egypt and none of the people of Israel. The Egyptian livestock and crops were destroyed but not those of Israel. Egypt was in darkness for three days while Israel was not. In the end the first born of all those who did not mark their home with the sign of God’s covenant were destroyed and those who acknowledged the covenant did not.
Once they were free from Egypt Israel continued to see the wonderful power of God on their behalf. They found themselves trapped on the banks of the Red sea. The trap, however was not set by the Egyptians but by God. It was not Israel who was trapped at all. Can you imagine the sight as the Egyptian army bears down on Israel and suddenly a huge pillar of fire erupts and they are prevented from attacking? Can you imagine the wonder of Israel as they see the same thing? Israel looks on as Moses raises his rod and the sea before them parts. They all go through on dry ground.
As they are passing through the waters the pillar of fire disappears. The Pharaoh of Egypt sees his chance to get his slaves back and rushes into the parted sea. As Israel looks on, the only power on earth that could bring them back into bondage is destroyed. They are finally free. After God has given them the law and established them as a nation they come to the doorway of the promised land. You would think they would go in with no problem. They had seen the wonderful power of God with their own eyes. There was no power that could keep them from their destiny. Yet they did not go in. Why?
The deliverance of Israel is a type of what Jesus did for us. He destroyed the power of the enemy that held us in bondage. (Heb. 2) He made an open show of Satan’s defeat. (Col 2:15) There is no power that can keep us from fulfilling our destiny in God. Yet we often do not go in either. Today we do not see the manifestation of God’s power in revival. Why? The same reason Israel did not. We have allowed our hearts to be hardened. The good news is that there is a solution to this problem. That’s what we will talk about this week.
(I have a book on this topic called “How to Deal With Hardening of the Heart.” It is available as a free PDF file at http://www.livingwordgreene.com/media/books/Overcoming_Hardening_of_the_Heart.pdf)
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