Do Not Harden Your Heart - [Hebrews 3]

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Our Father in heaven how grateful we are again to be able to come into this place and we counted a great privilege
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To be called the people of God. We know that it is all of your grace. It is all of what you've done
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With religion, it's do and with Christianity. It's completely done It's finished the work of Christ and we're we're grateful for that.
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We're so thankful. We are we are your people the people of your hand the
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The the loved ones of your heart the apple of your eye and Lord We know that you love us and nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
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Lord Thank you for the day that we've had the things that we've experienced the fellowship
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The rest the food the air that you've allowed us to breathe Or the clothes that we wear the homes that we live in now we come to a service like this where we can sing
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To the praise of God we can be glad to do so Lord we can open up the
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Word of God the precious Valuable gift that we have that we hold in our hands that that as our brother who had prayed earlier
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Said the freedoms that we have not not only just to be able to hear the Word of God preached to preach the gospel
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But to be able to gather like this to be able to meet as it were in the house of the Lord We thank you for that so much.
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Thank you for your great care for us and we now ask that It might be so that you would shut us up in this place that we would hear your word and That Dave Jeffries would decrease and Jesus Christ would increase
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Lord that that you would hear You would hear our cry this evening
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That we might open up our mouths wide and be filled with the finest of wheat
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Bless us we pray in Jesus name. Amen As you if you would please turn to the book of Exodus I'd like just to read a portion of the book of Exodus and the
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The title of the message tonight is hardened not your heart Boy, I must have the
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I can you you can hear me pretty good. I can hear me This must be the pastor Mike volume setting back there. This is like Sounds good
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Exodus chapter 8 This is the account of God delivering his people out of the clutches of Pharaoh the king of Egypt I'm just going to read the first 15 verses from the
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King James Exodus chapter 8 Exodus 8 1 and the Lord spake unto
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Moses Going to Pharaoh and saying to him thus saith the Lord let my people go that they may serve me
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And if thou refuse to let them go behold I will smite all thy borders with frogs and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly which shall go up and come into thine house and into thy bedchamber and upon thy bed and into the house of thy servants and Upon my people and in thine ovens and into thine kneading troughs
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And the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon my people and upon all thy servants And the
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Lord spake unto Moses saying to Aaron stretch forth thine hand With thy rod over the streams over the rivers and over the ponds and cause frogs to come up from the land of Egypt come up upon the land of Egypt and Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt and the magicians did so with their enchantments and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt and Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said and treat the
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Lord that he may Take away the frogs from me and from my people and I will let thy people go notice
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He said if you do it, I'll let him go That they may do sacrifice unto the Lord and Moses said unto
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Pharaoh glory over me When shall I entreat for thee and for thy servants and for thy people to destroy the frogs?
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From thee and thy houses that they may remain in the river only Very strange reply from Pharaoh and he said tomorrow
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And he said be it according to thy word Moses says that that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the
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Lord our God and the frogs shall depart from thee and from My houses and from my servants and from my people they shall remain in the river only
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Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which had he had brought against Pharaoh the
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Lord did according to the word of Moses and the frogs died out of the houses and out of the villages and out of the
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Field and they gathered them together upon heaps and the land stank And once you think at that time that everybody in Egypt would be doing this and Pharaoh would be doing this and it's
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I'm gonna let Those people go no verse 15, but when Pharaoh saw that there was respite or rest he hardened his heart and Harkened not unto them as the
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Lord had said I Wonder if you've ever met someone who was stubborn
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Self -centered who's always wants their own way and who is obstinate about what they want
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And God says that this person has a heart condition and he calls it
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Hard -heartedness as in Pharaoh's case here Pharaoh in verse 15 hardened his heart.
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I read in a commentary that a definition for hard -heartedness is the ability to say no to God in Spite of all the overwhelming evidence to say yes
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Repeat that again the ability to say no to God in spite of the overwhelming evidences to say yes
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We face this great problem in our nation And we also face it in our homes in our relationships and in our churches
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This problem has existed from the beginning of time Adam and Eve should have said yes to what
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God had commanded them to from the beginning and they Sinned when they said no and one of the keenest examples of this hard -heartedness is
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This account of Pharaoh the king of Egypt This man was told and shown the truth over and over and over again.
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This man had seen the power of God He had seen the hand of God as a matter of fact in chapter 15 here when the magicians could not repeat the lice the
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Dust being changed into lice it says in verse 19 that even the magician said to Pharaoh.
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This is the finger of God God did this we can't replicate this they replicated some of the other things with their with their magic
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But the one there they could not do and they they said to Pharaoh you have seen the finger of God You've seen
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God working doing something mighty in your midst and yet Pharaoh's heart still
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Would not soften he heartened his heart His life is an example of what happens to a person who refuses to submit to God and bend one's will in order to obey
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God's command and God is as said gave Pharaoh ample warnings time and time again
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Moses came before him with God's request to let the people of Israel go and there was in this case
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Plague after plague sign after sign miracle after miracle wonder after wonder and he still refused to obey
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God He kept still kept saying no and the same thing happens today, doesn't it?
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People see the works of God They see the handiwork of God in the local New Testament Church and God proves himself to be
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God God's truth reigns God's truth is proclaimed. God's truth is evidenced in the lives of the of the conversions of those that are in the church and Yet people still say no to God and Exodus 15
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Exodus chapter 8 and in verse 15 It says that Pharaoh hardened his heart and if you read the example at the end of the chapter
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When it deals with the flies it says that when they were done done away with it says that verse 32
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Pharaoh Hardened his heart as at this time also neither would he let the people of God go he hardened his heart
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He wouldn't listen to Moses and therefore he was not listening to what God had said or what God was doing in spite of Overwhelming evidences he said no and that is
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One of the things that we need to be careful about too today is in the in in in the evidence
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The overwhelming evidences that are around us that God is real that God is alive that God is on his throne that God's truth shall reign forever
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But we can come to the place where we say no In spite of those evidences
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What did Pharaoh see water turned to blood frogs out of the rivers the dust turned to lice flies?
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the plague of death upon the animals the boils and blisters the thunder in the hail and the
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Like fire running up and upon the ground the locusts or grasshoppers the complete darkness for three days in the death of the firstborn
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God repeatedly showed Pharaoh who he was but Pharaoh would not bow to the
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Lord Nor would he submit to God's Word He refused to listen to God's warnings and when faced with all the awesome and overwhelming
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Evidences that he was wrong. He still would not give in Pharaoh refused to acknowledge that God was greater than he was he refused to believe that God was right and he was wrong
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This shows us his pride contributed to his hard hardness and I'll touch on that later and he had to suffer the consequences
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I Believe that we as Christians today and the day in which we live our homes on our jobs
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The role that we play in the function that we have in a local New Testament Church if we are to be a wise people today
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Enlightened by the Word of God, I believe that we as Paul said in 1st Corinthians chapter 10
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We need to look back on these Old Testament Examples and learn from them be warned from them be encouraged in the way that we ought not to go
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If we have read the Bible or maybe we as children We're growing up in a in a Christian home where we hear the
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Bible taught and what God says about how we should think or speak Or act then isn't it a dangerous thing to say no to God?
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To fight against God, I mean I I think of the the
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New Testament Church preaching the gospel and you remember when they put him in prison and Gamaliel took the leaders aside and he said refrain from these men talking about the
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Apostles refrain from these men and Let them alone For if this council or if this work be of men, it will come to naught
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But if it be of God you cannot overthrow it lest happily you'd be found to be fighting against God And I think of just lately
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I've been flipping through the channels and I see some of that crazy boxing or foot kicking whatever they're doing and people are just pulverizing each other and and out cold with one hit
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Anybody goes in the ring with God you're out cold. You're you're done. It's over You might as you might as well throw the towel in before you even get into the ring you cannot fight against God What Pharaoh did is not so far -fetched.
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I mean saying I mean we think about it we look at it we look all through Scripture and we see people fighting against God and and refusing in the spite of all the evidence and it happens today too we we can become stubborn and try to put our will before God's will and make our ways seem more sensible than God's way and pride leads to stubbornness and stubbornness leads to hard -heartedness and hard -heartedness leads to judgment and destruction the consequences of sin
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Proverbs 28 14 tells us happy is the man that always fears But he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief
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And Proverbs 29 1 says he that being often reproved Hardening his neck or we or we get mad and we we don't want to pay attention
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And and we just get a stiff neck like that those ones that you remember with Stephen in the book of Acts He said you stiff neck generation.
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You won't listen to God people get a hard heart and a stiff neck The proverb there says they shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy
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There's no way that you can stop the awful outcome of that downhill slide We walk on a dangerous path if we do what
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Pharaoh did and refuse to submit to God's ways For our lives and after all we have believed upon the
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Lord Jesus Christ have we not we've believed on the Lord Jesus Christ Therefore if we have bowed the knee to Christ We say that he is master and he is
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King and he is Lord. Not only it's easy to say that he's Lord of creation We sing about that.
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It's easy and maybe we come to the place where we say he's Lord of salvation He does what he pleases there
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But when it comes to our individual lives, there are some people say oh don't touch my life.
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I Like it just the way that it is And I don't want any entrance there. Just don't upset my apple cart but Christ is
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Lord of our lives and Sadly to say like the place that I went to this morning to preach at I let them know that Christ is
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Lord of this church and you don't miss With the Lord's possessions
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He rules and reigns over the church. He's the head of the church The definition of a hard heart hard heartedness is to make your heart callous
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To make your heart unfeeling or to be stubborn and Pharaoh thought he was
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Pharaoh thought that God was wrong and that he was right, but he was deceived and he developed a hard heart
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Anyone who fights against God's Word or the Spirit of God the Spirit of God's ministry with the in the
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Word of God is headed for a calloused heart And we need to be careful, but we don't need to be completely in despair
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God is so good to us. He gives us the Word of God lessons like this recorded in Scripture people's lives so that we can look at this and we can see who
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God is and and what he thinks about things and what he thinks about how people Deal with him and the word that comes to them the commands that come and we see and we see in Pharaoh's life that God through Moses God through Aaron is is commanding
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Pharaoh to do something and Pharaoh's refusing to do that and we see the consequences of that and ultimately with all of the plagues with all of the misery that comes upon that kingdom and eventually the the killing of the firstborn and the weeping and the wailing in that nation and then
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Pharaoh again hardens his heart even after He said lets the people go and sends the chariots after him and they're all drowned in the sea
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Every single one of them and God's people went over the on dry land It's an example
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Of God warning us by showing us the direction not to go in isn't it? and that's just a tremendous mercy of the
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Lord the Lord is so good to us because He is leading us into the path that we need to take and listen to this to experience victory
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Over the evil desire to assert our rights over God's truth It is an evil desire.
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It is wickedness It is sin to want to assert our rights over God's truth and yet people do it day after day after day
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I I Over the years in ministry and I know the other pastors
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I know that you as believers as you're dealing with people One of the things that breaks your heart more than anything is to be dealing with someone who knows
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Exactly what they need to do and yet they refuse to do it I'm gonna give you some reasons why in a moment why
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I believe that they do that, but they harden their heart they Stiffen the neck so to speak
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But thankfully the Lord Allows us to hear a message like this To help us
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And it is good for us to remember that our Creator has all the rights Creation doesn't have the right to dictate to the
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Creator. He's the Potter We are the clay he does with us as he pleases and we're hearing and studying this account this
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Evening so that we can be instructed in the way that we ought to go ought to live the way that we ought to apply
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The truth of the Word of God to our lives and this may sound so basic and so simplistic
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But the most practical things sometimes are the things that we overlook and it's a very practical thing.
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I believe That we should never never never come to ever in a place in our lives where we say no to God Only a foolish person person would do that for it says in Psalm 14 1 the fool has said in his heart
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And then you take out the italicized words there that that were put in the fool has said in his heart no
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God no No Absolutely, not. I mean as a pet as a parent one of the things that just kind of grates upon your soul like sandpaper is
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When you want your child to do something and you get that no And it might not be in words, but but it could be an action.
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It could be in an attitude Facial expression it's a no And there isn't anything that grieves the heart of our father more than When he has commanded us to walk in a certain way he has given us the
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Word of God the truth that we Can have it as a lamp under our feet and a light on our path and take it up and walk in it and we say
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No, and I know that Pharaoh is a lost man and he's dealing with it
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This is what he did But I'm just a plaquing that and applying it to us and hopefully so that we have a warning today and I'll go into Hebrews chapter 3 after a while also and Show you a
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New Testament passage with a little bit different of a twist to it. That will help us as far as is
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Being a people who take heed to the warning harden not your heart Do not harden your heart ever
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The foolest person says no And saying no to God, especially when we know he is right especially in the face of overwhelming evidences
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Just puts another crusty layer around our hearts Well what I got I need I need to have some points don't
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I because for those of you taking notes? I haven't gone anywhere just getting this thing off the ground. It's just a just an introduction
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You got to have some points to write down right you're itching to have some points Well, I have six signs of a hard heart six signs of a hard heart
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We need to guard against these in order that we might keep our hearts soft before the
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Lord. The first sign is stubbornness The first sign is stubbornness fair Pharaoh was stubborn and obstinate
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But aren't we also guilty of this sometimes in our own lives? How many times have we said something like this and you're not gonna say it outwardly, of course
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How many times have we maybe inwardly we're thinking this I? Know I shouldn't do it, but I'm gonna do it anyways
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That Romans 7 battle I Want to do good I ought to do good and I don't do good the things they ought to do
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I don't do and the things I ought not to do I do God speaks to us through his word
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Maybe through a good counsel of a parent or a Christian friend or a pastor we hear the truth over and over again
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But we refuse to listen and we do it our way and want to do it our way Anyways, and our hearts are hardened by our stubbornness
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Now if you would please turn to me hold your place here and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3
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Hebrews chapter 3 this this book written to Jewish people who are struggling
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With what it means to leave the ritual Ceremonial practices of the
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Old Testament and hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to be saved by grace alone and having those remnants and Christ is better and and all of that than the sacrifices in Hebrews chapter 3.
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I want you to notice and I did not even see this until When I was last kind of refreshing and looking at this chapter.
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I want you to look in Hebrews chapter 3 I'll just show you these three in verse 8
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Hardened not your hearts and In verse 13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today
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Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin again the word hardened and in verse 15 while it is
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While it is said today if you will hear his voice hardened not your hearts as in the provocation
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Now what's really good and where I get off the hook here as far as summer in the Psalms This verses these verses in this portion here is a quote directly from pastor
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Mike's message last week Psalm 95 verses 8 through 11, so I've done my I've discharged my duty.
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All right But seriously This is this is from the
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Psalm if you if that portion of Scripture troubled you last week that pastor Mike Preached on beginning positive kind of the end the warning and the negative things and don't let allow this happen in your life the writer of Hebrews Is saying to these people who are on the fence there they're not fully committing to Jesus Christ They're they're on the fence and he is warning them and he's saying don't do what your ancestors did in the
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Old Testament And what did they do? What is it? What were the evidences in the life of the history of the children of Israel?
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Somebody tell me just give me some things and I'll repeat them onto the tape What did God do with a mighty hand for the children of Israel Old Testament during this time?
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deliver Deliver right. Is that what you said deliver them? Okay, he delivered them
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Out of Egypt and when he was doing that, what did he do? What did he demonstrate by power?
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He parted the sea he did that and they and I and I mentioned a little while ago and they went over on dry land
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What else did he do before the parting of the sea Bernard? Did you have some? 40 years manna and Along with that man are 40 years, which is an equivalent
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I've read someplace that it was equivalent of about 40 train boxcar loads per day of manna coming out of the sky
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Miraculous God taking care of them. Yes Jericho even afterwards right but what about even before the deliverance when
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I was reading the beginning? How did I begin the message the plagues the ten plagues? marvelous hand of the
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Lord anybody else Yes, Justin. Well just to bring them to Egypt was a mercy of God to spare them from the famine at that time.
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Yes, Louis Destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea the closing of the sea upon them in their chariots.
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They were killed Yes, so one last one maybe Carol. Oh, what a segue.
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I mean, I didn't I didn't set her up either on this No, God Delivers them with the plagues out of Egypt and Then he he brings them to the
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Red Sea Mountains all around them on either side the ocean in front of them in Pharaoh's chariots coming after them and God puts himself between you remember the the cloud there and And and holds back the army so that they can get across on on dry land
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And then God moves and removes himself in Pharaoh and the chariots come in and they are they are drowned in the sea and then and then afterwards when they send the spies into the land and there's the bad report and God is displeased with them in spite of all the overwhelming
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Evidences of what God had done. They still would not trust God They still would not believe
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God they still would not And because of that God judged them and that whole generation was killed off and they did not enter into the promised land because Hebrews chapter 3 of their unbelief listen and look at this as we go down Hebrews 3 in Verse 8 harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of the temptation in the wilderness
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When your father's tempted me now the Paul the I believe it's possible Paul He's writing this here saying to these
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Hebrews look you're on the fence You've heard of Jesus Christ that he saves him and him alone.
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You need to leave the ceremonial Practices of the past the Old Testament sacrifices.
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It's not of works. It's all of grace You need to trust him, but they're they're not fully committed
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And he says you're not fully committed to Christ. Don't do what your father's did in spite of everything that God has shown you they still would not believe and He says they saw it says in verse 9 when your father's tempted me proved me and saw my works for 40 years
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And God blessed them for 40 years. He took care of them It says in verse 10 wherefore
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I was grieved with that generation and said they do always air in their heart And they have not known my ways.
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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
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Living God but exhort one another daily while it is called today Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sins 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 you will hear his voice
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Harden not your hearts as in the provocation for some when they had heard did provoke
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I'll be it not all came out of Egypt by Moses But with whom he was grieved 40 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
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Rest but to them that believed not In spite of all the overwhelming evidences the people of God Would not believe and like Pharaoh When these evidences were coming to him he
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Quickly got over his fear. I Mean for a moment there.
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He's afraid God is doing these things and his king. His kingdom is getting decimated and for a moment.
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He's afraid But then when it's removed His heart rises up His stubborn heart rises up and he hardens his heart and he quickly gets over his fear just like that Israel in spite of all of the evidences of God and what
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God was doing and How he could be trusted and how he would get them into the land and he would fulfill his promises to them
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They quickly got over their trust in God And I think the same thing happens in the
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Church of God today and I think we need to be warned not in spite of all the evidences of the truth that comes our way and the way that God demonstrates his self in our himself in our lives by his
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Providential dealings with us and the way he takes care of us day in and day out and we see his mighty hand in our lives
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The Lord is our Shepherd and we never lack He takes care of us surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the
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Lord forever our God is good to us. And yet we come to the place where we quickly leave our trust and we get hard -hearted and I believe that if the warning comes to us this evening that we need to be we need to be very careful not ever to Be stubborn.
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Well, secondly, what is another sign of a hard heart? It is a lack of concern for spiritual things a hard heart is also a dull heart
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How many of you ever had a callus you ever had a callus? I remember back in 1980s a friend of mine taught me how to play the guitar and it had the nylon strings with the
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Metal wrapped around it and just playing that guitar for for hours and hours upon end and one day
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I noticed I looked down and there were calluses all on my fingertips and I would touch them and if you touch them
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There's hardly no feeling in that area. You have a callus on your foot It's insensitive
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And a hard heart As I said earlier do not harden your heart that means do not make your heart callous to the things of God Because a hard heart is a callous heart and a calloused heart is
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One that loses feeling or when it comes to the things of God we become we become
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Important and God no longer takes The preeminent place that he ought to we become big and God becomes small
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The hard heart wants God off the throne and self proudly sitting on it And the stubborn heart refuses to obey
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God and the calloused heart Becomes dull to the things of God Out of touch
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Insensitive What is this all about? Why do I even come to church?
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What does this mean? I mean, I'd rather be doodling on a piece of paper than listen to what he's saying back there
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That brother Dave and that brother Steve man, they they can keep going on. What are they? What are they doing? I gotta get out of here.
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I got things to do insensitivity a hard heart becomes callous and that's something brethren we ought to be always always careful of because we know that the
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Lord Desires for us to have what kind of a heart a soft heart One that is moldable one
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That is that God can take in shape in the way that he would desire to but when we have a calloused heart
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Our schedule for the week is more important than God's our work comes before worship Somebody with a hard heart will find all kinds of excuses for not coming to church for not serving in the church for not seeking
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God as they should and you know, you know that you have and I kind of touched on this already You know that you have a hard heart or a calloused heart when you were in church and you don't want to be there
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I mean you'd rather be someplace else You can't wait till it's over. I mean, this is boring.
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It's you know, I'm just staring yawning. I'm doodling I'm not saying that this gentleman had a hard heart
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But when I was preaching this morning a gentleman came up to me afterwards and he handed me this That's me,
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I Mean, he's a he sketches. Well, and I was thankful. I was grateful. I mean, he made me look better than I that I do
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But I don't know if what I was preaching was so boring that he needed to do this
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I don't have any idea, but I know that when I'm at work sometimes When the topic it's just so monotonous and it's like they're dragging this thing out
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I I'm I got the agenda before me and I'm drawing pictures, you know, I'm really good. I can do the
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Greek alphabet I mean just I think I can do it backwards now I just do the Greek alphabet and Greek words and and draw pictures and stuff but when it comes
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To the serious sacred Gathering of the people of God in Jesus name
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How dear we ever have calloused hearts and Be insensitive to the things of God We ought to come into this building and say as a psalmist said and he's he's gonna open up his mouth
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Feed us with the finest of wheat God.
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Would you not rain down righteousness from above as the Prophet would say? Lord, would you not?
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Please deal with me because I know that I am in such great need help me help me
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I was sharing this a couple weeks ago with somebody If you read through the Psalms and you see
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Oh The cry of the psalmist. Oh, oh God Early will
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I seek thee my soul thirsts for thee my flesh longs for thee the O the O Sadly to say is missing in Christianity today because I believe this this idea that you can just have this simple easy
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Nickety -split type quick ABC type superficial salvation message and you can just kind of Tag Jesus onto your life
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And it's just not real it's not genuine and it doesn't it doesn't affect the the whole being of the person and Then when
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God's Word comes powerfully preached or you read the Word of God and people look at that I know it. I know what
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God says there, but I'm not gonna have any I'm just stubborn and Calloused and not listening and become insensitive to the things of God selfishness will creep in God's business crowds your plans
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You got other things that you'd rather be doing and you want to choose your way instead of God's way Pharaoh did this and we?
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Cannot afford to be unconcerned with the things of God. I believe that whatever is important to our
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Savior ought to be important to us and what's important what's important to him is the glory of his name the honor and majesty and the wonder of his blessed name and We ought to be a people who as pastor
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Mike had preached. How would be thy name that ought to be something stamped upon us? That we want to be a people of God who honor him always in our with lip in life
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The Word of God is important to God It's settled forever and it ought to be so dear and precious to us and we ought to love it
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We ought to submit to it The people of God are precious to God and the people of God ought to be precious to us and we ought to be willing to do the one another in bearing one another's burdens and loving one another and caring for one another and so on the things that are important to God the things that the things that are are in the forefront of the
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Lord ought to Be in the forefront of our minds, too And if we if we find ourselves having a calloused heart, then we we ought to be praying that God would just strip it away
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Whatever it would take in our lives for God to give us a soft heart That beats after God thirdly sign of a hard heart is ignoring the testimony of others
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Pharaoh saw the difference between the people of his kingdom and God's people
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Israel there was a dividing line I mean the plagues and the and all those things would hit
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Pharaoh, but the land of Goshen had rest I mean, I can't remember but I can't remember the reading but it's it was almost like The saying was is like not even a dog would bark that way.
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I mean, you know, it was just quiet The Lord took care of them and there was undeniable evidence right before Pharaoh's eyes
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But he repeatedly ignored it all and this is a sure sign of a hard heart and I'm fearful
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And I want to just kind of talk to the children today. I once in a while do that speak to the children here children in Christian homes
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Who have evidences they see things day in and day out they hear the Word of God taught around the family altar family devotions the mom and dad quote scripture
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They try to teach them and instruct them with scripture They see
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God's blessings upon the lives of their parents there there, you know children your mom and dad if they're believers
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Weren't always the way that they are now They used to be ferocious
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They used to be uncaring they used to be sinners angry with God And now they've been changed and you are witnessing what
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God has done in their lives their marriage is different Maybe you've seen that difference because God has changed them
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But I'm fearful for children because they hear their parents instruction. They see the testimony of God in their home yet they
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Repeatedly put their fingers in their ears sometimes and I'm not saying all children But there are some who don't want to hear
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I just don't want to hear this anymore They refuse to listen in Zachariah chapter 7 it speaks of God Instructing his children and when they didn't listen, it said that they pulled away the shoulder as you as a parent
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Have you ever had that you're trying to talk to your child and and instruct them and you come up to them and you and you
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Just you you touch them on the shoulder and they do one of these They just don't want to have anything to do with your authority or you they pull away the shoulder
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So to speak and a person with a hard heart pulls away the shoulder God is is coming with this word
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God is coming in mercy and instructing us and we pull away the shoulder And may it never be so Children in the home as I said, they they stop their ears.
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They refuse to listen. It says about the children of Israel in Zachariah That they make their hearts an adamant stone an adamant stone is a very hard stone or substance
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It's unyielding and it's inflexible And it's almost like the picture there is is that the people make their hearts so hard that not even
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God's Word penetrates dangerous place to be in Or maybe children in the home they just kind of go along with it because Well, it's just not so important, but they don't want to ruffle anybody's feather and I'll just play the game.
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I'll just play the game But life is not about games and I'll touch on that as we as we go forward
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And this fear that I have is not just for children But it's also for people of all ages who sit week after week hearing one message after another
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One Bible study after another one Sunday school lesson after another one radio conference radio broadcast after another a conference a book studies
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And yet they still harden their hearts they still will not respond to the imitations that come to them in God's Word Where he would have desire for them to obey his word and he will be their
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God To submit to the claims of God upon their lives to submit to the claims of the gospel
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They feel that they know better than God. Did it work for Pharaoh? I mean tell me did it work for Pharaoh?
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Certainly it didn't It didn't work for Egypt to be stubborn and to ignore the testimony that is right before their that right before their very eyes and it certainly won't work for you or For me how dangerous and how sad well fourthly.
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What is another sign of hard -heartedness is Recognizing sin in your life and yet refusing to deal with it
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Recognizing sin in your life and yet refusing to deal with it It's kind of like Pharaoh with the frogs that I said earlier.
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I mean, did you catch that Moses asks Pharaoh? when did he want God to take the frogs out of his bedroom and Pharaoh says tomorrow.
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I mean I would have said right now Pharaoh says tomorrow And I know that this is just an application
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This is Dave Jeffries and you you don't have to write this down in your notes, but he slept one more night with the frogs
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You think of the application of that how many more nights are we going to sleep with our frogs?
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But the consequences of our sin and our rebellion and our our stubbornness and our ignoring of God and our insensitivity
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And the callousness that's there. Isn't it time? For us to humble ourselves before the
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Lord and pray that God give us a soft heart. I believe I believe that it is By one more night with the frogs
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I mean we know there is sin in our lives and we and we will not deal with it We hear the message and God speaks to us.
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There's something where we're not doing James 4 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and do with it not to him it is sin if you know
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You should be doing something. You don't do it. You know that you know that you should supposed to be running away from the sin that you're you're playing with and you're you're just kind of Cherishing it and holding it on to it maybe you're to stop bickering or stop murmuring or stop gossiping or To get rid of the bitterness that you have in your heart towards somebody stop nagging and Stop living a life that isn't glorifying to God Stop being lazy in the things of God and start serving the
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Lord. Maybe as a husband You're not really loving your wife as you should you're not a demonstration of Christ loving the church or as a wife
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You're not truly submitting to your husband always blows me away when I see that Sarah called
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Abraham Lord That's a respect for his position Maybe you're not doing well in that area.
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I'm not saying that you go around calling your husband Lord But you know what? I mean? Children, maybe you're not obeying your parents
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You know that the Bible says for children obey your parents in the Lord for this is maybe a good thing to do
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No, this is optional. No, this is right It's right for you to obey
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I was gonna I was gonna commend one of the young children in the bathroom this morning I saw the father instructing the child and the child submitted and willingly obeyed and I was gonna
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I was gonna go by and say if they had already gone out the door and said, you know When you when you do that That's the right thing to do and that not only puts a smile on the face of your father
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But God is pleased with that when you obey your parents in the Lord. It is right to do that Maybe on your job you have totally blown it
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Maybe you maybe you are demanding. Maybe it is that you are just so critical of everybody
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Maybe it is that you just want it your way and it's time for you just to submit to your boss Even though that boss is not a believer, even though that boss doesn't know what's going on in your life but you just need to submit as Unto the
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Lord serving the Lord there on your on your job. Maybe that's what you're not doing Well, maybe your speech isn't well me.
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Maybe your speech is just filled with with Nails and trickle prickles where I see to our speech is supposed to be seasoned with salt, isn't it?
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Maybe as a church member You've been kind of riding on the fence just kind of sitting there.
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I'm not gonna serve I'm gonna let other people do it. Maybe it's time To just deal with a hard heart that is so insensitive and callous to the things of God and just roll up your sleeves and Get busy for the
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Lord serve God. Maybe that's what you're not doing a work ethic Whatever not maybe you're to get rid of stealing or lying or cheating or hating or envy or or whatever it might be
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The problem is with some is they come and even hear a message like this evening and go away
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Absolutely unaffected and it blows my mind as a good old friend of mine used to say it blows my mind
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And oh how hard it is To fight against God in this way to be a person who refuses to deal with the issues in their lives
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Well fifthly when we got two left Fifthly fifth sign of a hard heart is pride and I and pride says
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I know better than anyone else and I even know better than God You see it and you hear it all the time
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And I've counseled people in my life and please please please don't ever say this.
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I know what God's Word says, but Please please please don't ever say that I know what
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God's Word says but because you know what comes after the but somebody give me a clue what comes after the but something contrary to the
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Word of God rebellion stubbornness obstinacy Sin comes after the but I know what
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God says word says but Is that Barbara Streisand I did it my way
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I don't know she's the one that says that saying that you know, maybe not Frank Sinatra, I'm sorry. See how versed
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I am and all this all stuff but back to the Bible. I Know what
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God's Word says, but I'm not going to do it. We think we know everything. We're the experts
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We're unteachable no matter what anybody says we're right But let's hear God's Word.
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Let him that thinks he stand take heed lest he fall. What does God do to the proud God? Resists at the
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King James or that means God opposes the proud the proud person Steve touched on it this morning
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The proud person is the person who sets themself in a military array against God.
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I Mean that's smart, isn't it to set yourself in a ray against God? As I said earlier who's gonna win
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God every time hands down He's king of heaven and earth and you he's all nippet in you
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Can't you can't fight against God and win and we have puny little man setting himself an array against God and God Is your enemy
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God is opposing you God opposes the proud but on the other hand We have a person who has completely dismantled their array
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They have raised the white flag. They have thrown in the towel. They have thrown down the sword and they have bowed the knee to Jesus Christ and They are humbling in themselves before the
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Lord and what does God give to the humble? grace God gives his grace and favor you tell me what camp do you want to be in?
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Where God's grace and favor is poured out upon you or God is opposed to you and you're fighting against the
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Lord another text Lean not unto your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge
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The Lord Jeremiah said in chapter 7 obey my voice And I will be your
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God and Daniel chapter 5 the Bible tells us of King Nebuchadnezzar Who thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread?
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And the world all revolved around him his heart was lifted up in pride Because of his accomplishments and it says these exact words in that chapter
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His mind was hardened with pride or his mind his heart was hardened because of his pride
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Know what an enemy our pride can become to our souls Pride does come before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall and because of this
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Nebuchadnezzar was made to come down off his throne and pride took his glory from him every prideful person
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Who will not easily take instruction? Even if they are wrong
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That prideful person who hardens their heart Who will continue to argue the matter even when they do not have a leg to stand upon will certainly fall
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Pride is a sure sign of a hard heart the root of Pharaoh's Pride and Nebuchadnezzar's hard heartedness of the root of their hard heartedness both of them was their pride.
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Well six Lee What is the sixth and last sign of a hard heart Acknowledging our sin, but trying to make a deal with God.
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Did you notice Pharaoh doing this if you've read the account? the plague comes Pharaoh in the kingdom.
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I mean, they're just hurting because of it Moses comes let my people go and Of course
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Pharaoh doesn't do it. The plague comes that Moses comes before him and Pharaoh says if you if you get rid of this
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Whatever it is. I'll do it I'll obey trying to make a deal with God instead of repenting and turning away from sin a hard -hearted person will rationalize it and try to strike up a deal with God so that they can keep going on sinning and Pharaoh did just that with every plague
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He saw the mighty hand of God as I told you in chapter 8 of Exodus in verse 19
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He saw the finger of God over and over again Overwhelming experience that God is
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God and that Pharaoh should say yes Pharaoh should submit But in spite of it all that he's seen he still says no instead
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He tries to make a deal With every plague he saw the mighty hand of God in the middle of the flies the lice the frogs and so on and he promises to let
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God's people go if God would only remove the plague and And then you'll notice if you read chapter 9 that he
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Hypocritically confesses his sins and says God is righteous and he and his people are wicked and he wants
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Moses to pray to the Lord For them, but it's all a sham. He's just saying words. He's playing. Let's make a deal with God You remember that show
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Monty Hall? Let's make a deal Well, you don't do that with God. You don't play games with God.
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You don't play church with God You don't play house with God. You don't play work you don't play at Christianity with God and certainly when things are happening in your life and God is is
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Through his his word that is brought to you or through the circumstances the providential dealings of the
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Lord that come to your life You don't play It's real and we ought to be genuine
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We ought to be people like David people who are after God's own heart and not like Pharaoh Just saying the words just trying to get out of the situation
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Pharaoh will not fear the Lord Too many people are doing the same. I wonder if you could be one of them even this evening
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Are you trying to make a deal with God to get you out of your trouble out of your business trouble or? Financial trouble or physical disease or marital issue or family concern some church or relationship issue or legal trouble?
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The sad thing is is when it's all made better or when you're out of it you quickly
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Lose that fear like Pharaoh did or you quickly lose that trust in God and God is forgotten
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There's no fear of God before the person's eyes and when a person tries to make deals with God it gives birth to more and more troubles and puts greater distance between them and God and More than anything their heart becomes more hardened
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The admonition to us over and over again is hardened not your heart Those are the six signs of the six signs of a hard heart or a heart that is becoming hard stubbornness
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Saying no to God in spite of the overwhelming evidences Where on the other hand we ought to be?
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willing and Ready to go in the way of God secondly a lack of concern for spiritual things or a callousness the dullness a spiritual dullness
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Where rather than that we we should be we should be saying like the psalmist created me a clean heart
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Oh God, and in the other psalm. He says revive thy people Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee
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Desiring to have our hearts warmed every time we gather together and worship the
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Lord The third sign is ignoring the testimony of others and never never ever and please ignore
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What God is doing in the church or what God is doing in your life and children You have a great a great heritage being passed to you in that if you have
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Christian parents who are seeking to serve the Lord and the desire and to teach you in the Ways of God and God is dealing in your lives.
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They're leaving you something special and cherish that And don't fight against that Fourthly recognizing sin in our lives, but refusing to deal with it whereas Instead of that we should be truly repenting
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Sixthly I'll go to the go to the sixth point acknowledging sin, but trying to make a deal with God We should never never do that just so that we can go keep on sinning but more importantly
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I purposely did this pride pride is a sign of a hard heart and We ought to Heed the admonishment over and over again in the
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New Testament humble yourselves Therefore under the mighty hand of God that he might lift you up God resists the proud but he gives grace to those that are humble.
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Do any of these signs jump out at you? If so, what needs to be done about it, what steps do you need to take?
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In your behavior in your speech and your thought life the way that you treat others
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What could you do differently after you leave this place this evening? That would show that you're guarding yourself against Obtaining a hard heart.
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I Think we need to watch for these signs in our lives guard our hearts over and over again Proverbs to guard our hearts
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Our response really isn't it? So true that our response to this book the
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Word of God determines Or shows whether or not our heart is hardened or a heart is soft if we embrace the
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Word of God if we love it If we seek it if we submit to it if we open our ears to it if we walk in the ways of it
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Then our hearts are soft That's we've become a person who is willing to obey the Lord and saying yes in the spite of all are all overwhelming evidence we say yes, and we ought to But a person who shuns the
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Word of God hates it fights against it turns from it ignores it refuses it stops their ears
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Has the signs of the hard heart and they say no to God in spite of all the evidences and from The point of view of the scripture, there's only one remedy for hard -heartedness and I understand
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That it is God's and God's sovereign plan That like the prophet
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Ezekiel said a new heart also will God give us and a new spirit will God put within us
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He'll take out a stony heart and give us a heart of flesh a heart that beats for God. That's what
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God does When he saves us that's exactly what he does We're new creatures in Christ and we have new affections and we get a new heart
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But it's also our responsibility as believers to be a people who stay soft
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Watch out for those calluses. I mean you have a callus you want to get removed, right?
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it's a it's a inconvenience it hurts and You've in your foot or hand is insensitive in that area and you want it removed and We ought to pray that God forgives us our sin and he will
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True repentance honest real heart -rending genuinely turning from our sin where our no
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Becomes a yes to the truth of God and we submit wholeheartedly to the Lord True repentance is evidenced in a changed life and it's time to stop the excuses
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As to why we can't change our lives and just do it and do it to the glory of God Isn't this example this record of Pharaoh in the
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Old Testament? Isn't it gripping? I mean it is just gripping it. It's not just an account. We read is that all that happened?
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That was something that was a man's life That was a nation's life that was affected
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By their sin of obstinacy and stubbornness and hardening their heart. We see it in the
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New Testament Pharisees and the Sadducees They stiffen their neck to the gospel.
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It would not hear it. They would not let Jesus Christ rule over them And they're in hell today
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Because they refuse the gospel of Christ And I believe that in any church if we ever become to the place where we harden our hearts
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It's just a downhill slide on the other hand contrary. Let me leave it sometimes
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Dave you just let him have it tonight. Well, I needed this Probably more than you did and I've been dealing with people over months that this is a repetitive theme
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It is just really basic This is what God's Word says.
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Let's do it and too many times people say I know better You get a hard heart and all kinds of trouble follows
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May we be a people who have that softness in our heart for the Lord for the things of God that That just we don't quickly get over our trust in God We quickly don't get over things
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But we we hear what God says to us as we read the Word of God, and we simply obey it