The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - L Nov 17, 2019 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20191117.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, Today we will look at the importance of hearing to the saving of the soul. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button Sunday November 17th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17L ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made [set in place] the worlds [ages]; We might recall that the Book of Hebrews began with the statement that in time past God had spoken to the fathers, OT Israel, by the prophets and in these last days, the last 2 Days before the coming of the 7th Day, God has spoken to us in the person of Son. a). And it is this Son who is ‘appointed heir of all things’, the very same who has set the ages in an orderly arrangement with a view to the fulfillment of this purpose. And it is the coming of this Son, both His first and second advent that was spoken of by the prophets – Lk 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. This is the Word, ‘Moses and all the prophets’, the complete OT Scriptures, that was made flesh. The physical embodiment of God’s purpose with respect to rulership and the 7th Day. b). And what God has spoken to us in the person of Son has one central focus, the gospel of His coming glory, when He will inherit all things, fulfilling God’s purpose, the same focus with which the Book of Hebrews was written – Heb 2:1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? 5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. It is the inhabited world that will not be in subjection to angels in the age to come that is the subject of the Book of Hebrews and is the foundation of Jesus’s message to the Jewish people at His first advent - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And, as we know, this was a message given to a people who were already eternally saved through God’s provision for sin, the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, year by year. c). This was a message exclusively for the Jewish people, not about eternal salvation, for this they already knew through the Law of Moses, but about the salvation which the Book of Hebrews calls ‘so great salvation’ – the salvation that can only come through receiving the implanted word after a particular fashion – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. The salvation that can only come as a result of our faith being brought to its end goal – 1 Pe 1:9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. This then is a message concerning the salvation of the soul in relation to the coming of Christ’s glory when he will inherit all things, ‘which at first began to be spoken by the Lord’, and then ‘confirmed to us by those who heard Him’ – 2 Pe 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter is not only one of ‘those who heard Him’, to whom was given the revelation, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’, but along with James and John was an eye witness to the revealing of that future Day of the coming of Christ’s regal magnificence, the day when all that was spoken by the prophets in time past was confirmed. A spectacular revelation on the holy mountain, when God spoke from heaven, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ c). And it is the coming Kingdom rule of Christ over a world no longer in subjection to angels that God has spoken to us in these last days in the person of Son. Let us be in no doubt about it. d). And it is the absolute certainty of the coming of Christ’s Kingdom because of his experience on the mountain confirming the OT Scriptures, that compelled Peter to instruct us to be even more diligent to make our call and election into that coming Kingdom sure by adding to our faith to the saving of the soul, virtue etc. leading us to brotherly kindness and love, to be partakers of the Divine nature, so that we might be one of the many sons to be brought to glory. And so important was this to Peter that he was careful to ensure that we always have a reminder of these things, even after his death. e). All of this being said, we might now recognize the significance of the fact that the Book of Hebrews quotes the same thing from Psalm 95 three times – Heb 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And the example we are given of not hearing His voice comes through the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, of whom we are told, ‘They always go astray in their hearts’. Where the word translated ‘astray’ has to do with roaming away from the truth, roaming away from safety. Or we could say, from our previous weeks of study, not making straight paths for their feet. f). And the consequence of not making the straight paths for their feet is not hidden from us – Heb 3:18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. So, what was it that they did not believe that prevented them from entering His rest? Well certainly it had nothing to do with the outcome of killing the Passover lambs as that was done and dusted - Ex 6:7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” They did not believe what God had said concerning that which lay beyond the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs about the land to be received as an inheritance and what it would take for this inheritance to be realized by them. Ex 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. And unbelief and disobedience are the very antithesis of faith – Ro 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Heb 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. Faith to the saving of the soul can only come by hearing and hearing comes only through the word of God – ‘Today if you will hear His voice’, ‘in these last days’ God has spoken to us in the person of Son – the gospel has been preached to us… And with respect to this we are admonished in Hebrews 3:12 to beware, unless there is in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, which is followed at the beginning of Chapter 4 with – Heb 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ‘His rest’ in Hebrews 4:1 in relation to us, is the same ‘rest’ seen in relation to the first generation of Israel in Hebrews 3:18. It is the Day of Rest foreshadowed in Genesis Chapter 1, the day when God would rest from His work that would make the establishment of the 7th Day possible. Eternally saved Israel had come short of it because of unbelief and we are told to fear in case we would come short of it also through having an evil heart of unbelief as they had. g). And for us, our inheritance is to be found in heaven – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, [which inheritance has been laid up and is now kept guarded in safe deposit in heaven for you] 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And our inheritance is inextricably connected to the salvation ‘ready to be revealed in the last time’ – Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Inheritance is something to be received by an heir within the family, something then that can only be accessed by those who are in the family of God, those who have already received the free gift of eternal life – Ro 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. To become a child of God through the free gift of eternal life makes us an heir of God with respect to the endless ages which we call eternity, the time period to which eternal life applies, but to be a joint heir with Christ, with respect to the Millennial Kingdom, the 7th Day, the age to come, that precedes the endless ages, we must suffer with Him so that we may be glorified together with Him, just as He appeared to Peter, James and John on the holy mountain – ‘ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and then enter into His glory’. And Christ has left us the example that we should follow. h). Our inheritance then, as with the first generation of Israel, lies beyond the death and shed blood of our Passover Lamb and we are to believe that which God has said about this inheritance and what it will take on our part for us to realize this inheritance. And let us not think that God will deal with us now differently from the way He dealt with His adopted firstborn son, Israel in the past, He cannot, His Divine righteousness would not allow it – Mal 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; 2). And the unchangeableness of God with respect to this is exactly what we find in – Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” We are to constantly make sure we don’t refuse Him who speaks from heaven, ‘Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts….’ And the word translated ‘refuse’ means to decline, to avoid, to make excuse – Lk 14:16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ Although this parable was given to show Israel’s spiritual condition at the time of the Lord’s first advent, it does give us an excellent insight into refusing Him who speaks. All of those seen here, we could say in our modern parlance, had ‘busy schedules’ which provided for them the excuse to decline the invitation to the great supper. Each of the individuals seen in this parable would no doubt have considered they had a very valid reason for declining the invitation. But we would know that, that to which they gave their attention could not come remotely close to the enormity of that which could have been theirs had they accepted the invitation. a). Here then, we find an excellent example of those who refused Him who spoke on earth at the Lord’s first advent and this would be a valid observation on our part, but contextually the reference in Hebrews 12:25-26 is to the first generation of Israel at Sinai – Ex 19:12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. It was at Sinai that the Law was given, at Sinai that the Theocracy began and from Sinai that the march was made to the borders of the Land. But those who heard Him speak on earth refused Him, instead roaming into unbelief and disobedience, roaming away from safety – Nu 14:1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”…………………… 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. What this generation lost through being consumed in the wilderness was not that accomplished through the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, but that which lay beyond it – their inheritance in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By refusing Him who spoke on earth, they refused His purpose for delivering them from Egypt. Their deliverance from Egypt was total and complete, but the purpose for it was lost. b). And the Holy Spirit through the writer of Hebrews makes plain that if those who refused Him who spoke on earth did not escape, the carcasses of that whole generation except Joshua and Caleb, falling in the wilderness, then ‘MUCH MORE shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven’ – from the Son through whom God has spoken in these last days. c). As with the type given though Israel, our deliverance from the world is total and complete as it is the result of Christ’s finished work on the cross – Jn 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” [and stands complete] And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. There is nothing that can reverse what Christ accomplished on the cross, but as we have already seen, our inheritance, God’s purpose for delivering us from the world lies beyond receiving the free gift of eternal life. It is an inheritance inextricably linked to salvation to be revealed in the last time. And if we refuse Him who continues to speak to us about this very thing, as with Israel, we will come short of entering His rest and we will experience the equivalent of being consumed in the wilderness for the duration of the Millennial Kingdom as we will have refused God’s purpose for delivering us in the first place. d). For those who have heard the Gospel of the glory of Christ, to refuse Him who speaks from heaven would have to be a deliberate act, unless they allow their hearts to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin or they stop looking carefully to see if a root of bitterness has sprung up. But for so many, even though He still speaks – Re 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ” Although He still speaks they do not comprehend - 2 Co 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How has the god of this age blinded those who do not believe the gospel of the glory of Christ? Through the proliferation of Scriptural error, denominational intransigence, the traditions of men, to name but a few. e). But we may be encouraged that despite even this, ‘if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me’. All it requires is, ‘he who has an ear, let him hear…….’ f). Or if we take this back to James it requires ‘laying aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls’. g). And in the midst of this let’s not forget what is at stake – Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - L Nov 17, 2019 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20191117.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, Today we will look at the importance of hearing to the saving of the soul. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button Sunday November 17th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17L ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made [set in place] the worlds [ages]; We might recall that the Book of Hebrews began with the statement that in time past God had spoken to the fathers, OT Israel, by the prophets and in these last days, the last 2 Days before the coming of the 7th Day, God has spoken to us in the person of Son. a). And it is this Son who is ‘appointed heir of all things’, the very same who has set the ages in an orderly arrangement with a view to the fulfillment of this purpose. And it is the coming of this Son, both His first and second advent that was spoken of by the prophets – Lk 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. This is the Word, ‘Moses and all the prophets’, the complete OT Scriptures, that was made flesh. The physical embodiment of God’s purpose with respect to rulership and the 7th Day. b). And what God has spoken to us in the person of Son has one central focus, the gospel of His coming glory, when He will inherit all things, fulfilling God’s purpose, the same focus with which the Book of Hebrews was written – Heb 2:1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? 5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. It is the inhabited world that will not be in subjection to angels in the age to come that is the subject of the Book of Hebrews and is the foundation of Jesus’s message to the Jewish people at His first advent - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And, as we know, this was a message given to a people who were already eternally saved through God’s provision for sin, the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, year by year. c). This was a message exclusively for the Jewish people, not about eternal salvation, for this they already knew through the Law of Moses, but about the salvation which the Book of Hebrews calls ‘so great salvation’ – the salvation that can only come through receiving the implanted word after a particular fashion – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. The salvation that can only come as a result of our faith being brought to its end goal – 1 Pe 1:9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. This then is a message concerning the salvation of the soul in relation to the coming of Christ’s glory when he will inherit all things, ‘which at first began to be spoken by the Lord’, and then ‘confirmed to us by those who heard Him’ – 2 Pe 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter is not only one of ‘those who heard Him’, to whom was given the revelation, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’, but along with James and John was an eye witness to the revealing of that future Day of the coming of Christ’s regal magnificence, the day when all that was spoken by the prophets in time past was confirmed. A spectacular revelation on the holy mountain, when God spoke from heaven, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ c). And it is the coming Kingdom rule of Christ over a world no longer in subjection to angels that God has spoken to us in these last days in the person of Son. Let us be in no doubt about it. d). And it is the absolute certainty of the coming of Christ’s Kingdom because of his experience on the mountain confirming the OT Scriptures, that compelled Peter to instruct us to be even more diligent to make our call and election into that coming Kingdom sure by adding to our faith to the saving of the soul, virtue etc. leading us to brotherly kindness and love, to be partakers of the Divine nature, so that we might be one of the many sons to be brought to glory. And so important was this to Peter that he was careful to ensure that we always have a reminder of these things, even after his death. e). All of this being said, we might now recognize the significance of the fact that the Book of Hebrews quotes the same thing from Psalm 95 three times – Heb 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And the example we are given of not hearing His voice comes through the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, of whom we are told, ‘They always go astray in their hearts’. Where the word translated ‘astray’ has to do with roaming away from the truth, roaming away from safety. Or we could say, from our previous weeks of study, not making straight paths for their feet. f). And the consequence of not making the straight paths for their feet is not hidden from us – Heb 3:18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. So, what was it that they did not believe that prevented them from entering His rest? Well certainly it had nothing to do with the outcome of killing the Passover lambs as that was done and dusted - Ex 6:7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” They did not believe what God had said concerning that which lay beyond the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs about the land to be received as an inheritance and what it would take for this inheritance to be realized by them. Ex 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. And unbelief and disobedience are the very antithesis of faith – Ro 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Heb 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. Faith to the saving of the soul can only come by hearing and hearing comes only through the word of God – ‘Today if you will hear His voice’, ‘in these last days’ God has spoken to us in the person of Son – the gospel has been preached to us… And with respect to this we are admonished in Hebrews 3:12 to beware, unless there is in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, which is followed at the beginning of Chapter 4 with – Heb 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ‘His rest’ in Hebrews 4:1 in relation to us, is the same ‘rest’ seen in relation to the first generation of Israel in Hebrews 3:18. It is the Day of Rest foreshadowed in Genesis Chapter 1, the day when God would rest from His work that would make the establishment of the 7th Day possible. Eternally saved Israel had come short of it because of unbelief and we are told to fear in case we would come short of it also through having an evil heart of unbelief as they had. g). And for us, our inheritance is to be found in heaven – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, [which inheritance has been laid up and is now kept guarded in safe deposit in heaven for you] 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And our inheritance is inextricably connected to the salvation ‘ready to be revealed in the last time’ – Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Inheritance is something to be received by an heir within the family, something then that can only be accessed by those who are in the family of God, those who have already received the free gift of eternal life – Ro 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. To become a child of God through the free gift of eternal life makes us an heir of God with respect to the endless ages which we call eternity, the time period to which eternal life applies, but to be a joint heir with Christ, with respect to the Millennial Kingdom, the 7th Day, the age to come, that precedes the endless ages, we must suffer with Him so that we may be glorified together with Him, just as He appeared to Peter, James and John on the holy mountain – ‘ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and then enter into His glory’. And Christ has left us the example that we should follow. h). Our inheritance then, as with the first generation of Israel, lies beyond the death and shed blood of our Passover Lamb and we are to believe that which God has said about this inheritance and what it will take on our part for us to realize this inheritance. And let us not think that God will deal with us now differently from the way He dealt with His adopted firstborn son, Israel in the past, He cannot, His Divine righteousness would not allow it – Mal 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; 2). And the unchangeableness of God with respect to this is exactly what we find in – Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” We are to constantly make sure we don’t refuse Him who speaks from heaven, ‘Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts….’ And the word translated ‘refuse’ means to decline, to avoid, to make excuse – Lk 14:16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ Although this parable was given to show Israel’s spiritual condition at the time of the Lord’s first advent, it does give us an excellent insight into refusing Him who speaks. All of those seen here, we could say in our modern parlance, had ‘busy schedules’ which provided for them the excuse to decline the invitation to the great supper. Each of the individuals seen in this parable would no doubt have considered they had a very valid reason for declining the invitation. But we would know that, that to which they gave their attention could not come remotely close to the enormity of that which could have been theirs had they accepted the invitation. a). Here then, we find an excellent example of those who refused Him who spoke on earth at the Lord’s first advent and this would be a valid observation on our part, but contextually the reference in Hebrews 12:25-26 is to the first generation of Israel at Sinai – Ex 19:12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. It was at Sinai that the Law was given, at Sinai that the Theocracy began and from Sinai that the march was made to the borders of the Land. But those who heard Him speak on earth refused Him, instead roaming into unbelief and disobedience, roaming away from safety – Nu 14:1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”…………………… 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. What this generation lost through being consumed in the wilderness was not that accomplished through the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, but that which lay beyond it – their inheritance in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By refusing Him who spoke on earth, they refused His purpose for delivering them from Egypt. Their deliverance from Egypt was total and complete, but the purpose for it was lost. b). And the Holy Spirit through the writer of Hebrews makes plain that if those who refused Him who spoke on earth did not escape, the carcasses of that whole generation except Joshua and Caleb, falling in the wilderness, then ‘MUCH MORE shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven’ – from the Son through whom God has spoken in these last days. c). As with the type given though Israel, our deliverance from the world is total and complete as it is the result of Christ’s finished work on the cross – Jn 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” [and stands complete] And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. There is nothing that can reverse what Christ accomplished on the cross, but as we have already seen, our inheritance, God’s purpose for delivering us from the world lies beyond receiving the free gift of eternal life. It is an inheritance inextricably linked to salvation to be revealed in the last time. And if we refuse Him who continues to speak to us about this very thing, as with Israel, we will come short of entering His rest and we will experience the equivalent of being consumed in the wilderness for the duration of the Millennial Kingdom as we will have refused God’s purpose for delivering us in the first place. d). For those who have heard the Gospel of the glory of Christ, to refuse Him who speaks from heaven would have to be a deliberate act, unless they allow their hearts to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin or they stop looking carefully to see if a root of bitterness has sprung up. But for so many, even though He still speaks – Re 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ” Although He still speaks they do not comprehend - 2 Co 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How has the god of this age blinded those who do not believe the gospel of the glory of Christ? Through the proliferation of Scriptural error, denominational intransigence, the traditions of men, to name but a few. e). But we may be encouraged that despite even this, ‘if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me’. All it requires is, ‘he who has an ear, let him hear…….’ f). Or if we take this back to James it requires ‘laying aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls’. g). And in the midst of this let’s not forget what is at stake – Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing.