Hebrews 3:7-19 - Today is the day

Here in verse 7-11, the Hebrew author is quoting Psalms 95:7-11. 

“Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” - ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭95:7-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is how this opens. TODAY - IF - DO NOT. 

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We have time, a condition, and a command. Let’s take time. Today, this means now, currently, as you are reading this and literally and figuratively now. Think about what you have planned for the day. Maybe you have a friend coming over to swim, so you need to get the house cleaned up, the pool needs cleaning and the towels need to get cleaned up in the backyard. You evaluate your “today,” and you take action to make today be the best it can be. How does your today look in planning to hear the Holy Spirit? Are you doing the work, preparing, planning, and making the most of the day, today, to be in a position to hear the Holy Spirit? 

Next is the condition. If, if you hear his voice. This means it is possible not to hear his voice, but this also communicates it possible to hear his voice. If we hear his voice. This makes me think about my condition and my position. Think about listening, the actual position you take to hear someone speak. Have you ever been in a busy and loud restaurant, and trying to hear your spouse or friend speak? When it’s really loud, you need to pay attention to the other person's lips, position your body as close as possible to the other person so you can hear, maybe even tilt your head to your ear, has a better line of sight to the person's mouth. To hear the other person often your condition and your position needs to change. This is the same for the Holy Spirit; we need to adjust our condition and position to hear him speak. I find what Charles Spurgeon pointed to be very insightful:

“Besides, he waits to execute his favourite office of a Comforter, and he cannot comfort an ungodly soul, he cannot comfort those who harden their hearts.”

What jumps out to me about Spurgeon’s thought here is, he cannot comfort an ungodly soul.  This really plays into our condition, where we are spiritually, mentally, and physically in our lives. I so often hear people tell me they just can not hear God, do not have any sense of the Holy Spirit...so this leads me to wonder and ponder what position or condition that might need to change. Just like we shift our position and condition in a loud restaurant to hear our friends speak, we watch their lips to be able to hear them, and we might need to evaluate and change our condition to hear the Holy Spirit. 

Last is the command, DO NOT. Do not harden your hearts.  The author presses into this even more in v12.

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The truth and reality we all face is life is tough. We walk through situations and circumstances that can take our razor-sharp faith, and belief and overtime dull our blade. We can start sharp, and if we are not intentionally sharpening our faith and relationship with Christ, we will overtime become dull, and our hearts will become unbelieving and turn away from God. It’s in our nature; it’s a part of the devil's scheme to lead us towards ourselves and not Jesus. This, I believe, is why in v13 it talks about community, and the others we must have around us. You must warn each other EVERY DAY!

“You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today, today, today! The Holy Spirit will never prompt us to get right with God tomorrow, or trust in yesterday...the Holy Spirit moves, breaths and works in the today. Time, condition, and command. The time is now to have our condition and posture right to hear and respond to God’s voice. Lord, bring urgency to our soul for today, adjust our posture and condition to see as you see and hear as you hear, and give us the courage to respond and act on what you tell us. Amen.