26/04/2020
TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice , Do not harden your hearts as [your fathers did] in the rebellion [of Israel at Meribah], On the day of testing in the wilderness , Where your fathers tried M e by testing [My forbearance and tolerance], And saw My works for forty years [And found I stood their test]. Therefore I was angered with this generation , And I said , ‘They always go astray in their heart , A nd they did not know My ways [nor become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them]’; So I swore [an oath] in My wrath , ‘They shall not enter My rest [the promised land].’ ” Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God.
Hebrews 3:7-12 AMP
The children of Israel witnessed God's mighty works, how delivered them from the slavery in Egypt but they were guilty of a wicked and unbelieving heart- testing God.
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late.
Hebrews 4:1 AMP
What becomes of your life is your responsibility.
From the day God created man, the bible states that God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit in the midst of the garden- in the day eat it they would die
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].”
Genesis 2:16-17 AMP
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6 AMP
They had the free will to choose to obey God but they didn't.
You can choose to negotiate your destiny with God. Even though people may have brought prophecies to you or you've seen dreams or visions, you can choose to secure yourself in the throne of God- in his love which is greater than dreams, visions and prophecies.
Is it possible to come short of entering into the rest of God? Yes it is.
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late. For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard. For we who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God] enter that rest [so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power], just as He has said, “As I swore [an oath] in M y wrath , T hey shall not enter M y rest ,” [this He said] although His works were completed from the foundation of the world [waiting for all who would believe]. For somewhere [in Scripture] He has said this about the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all H is works ”; and again in this, “T hey shall not enter M y rest .” Therefore, since the promise remains for some to enter His rest, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to [grasp it and did not] enter because of [their unbelief evidenced by] disobedience,
Hebrews 4:1-6 AMP
The children of Israel did not mix what they heard with faith. Another example of this type of nonchalant attitude can be seen in Eli- He heard that his sons were evil, God was going to destroy him and his lineage- instead of him to repent and sit up, he said," It is the Lord,let Him do as He pleases"
The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will ring. On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken concerning his house (family), from beginning to end. Now I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the sinful behavior which he knew [was happening], because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves [dishonoring and blaspheming God] and he did not rebuke them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the sinful behavior of Eli’s house (family) shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. And Eli said, “It is the Lord ; may He do what seems good to Him.”
1 Samuel 3:11-14, 18 AMP
You can choose to have a solid covenant with God that nothing like Covid-19 will reach your doorstep. These are not the days to treat God as a trivial thing. You need to honor God and align yourself in His will.
God forbid that you are trying to undo the works that have been finished.
We pray not to go and do another work when every works have been finished by God from the beginning.
The children of Israel did not enter in because of unbelief.
Study for the week: Exodus 1-13
Let us comfort one another this season
Prayer- God please give us leaders after your heart.
The kind of leaders we have in Nigeria reflects the state of the heart of Nigerians.
We need to pray that God performs a reconstructive surgery in our hearts as a people.
Remember: what becomes of your life is your responsibility.
In Exodus 14, let's look at the children of Israel's reaction when Pharaoh's armies were closing in on them:
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord . Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”
Exodus 14:10-12 AMP
God took over the situation
The angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, on their war-chariots and their charioteers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal flow at sunrise; and the Egyptians retreated right into it [being met by the returning water]; so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and tossed them into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers, and all the army of Pharaoh that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them survived. But the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians [lying] dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord , and in His servant Moses.
Exodus 14:19-20, 26-31 AMP
Imagine seeing all these miracles and wonders God did and still habour unbelief in your heart?
The word of God was preached to them but they were destroyed because of unbelief.
Prayer- Having seen the great works of God, let's pray not to be destroyed because of unbelief.
- We pray we will not return back to the thing God has delivered us from in Jesus Name Amen.
Next week, we'll be looking at topic titled- the Egyptian Spirit (the spirit of Egypt that was still in them even after leaving Egypt)