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For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end, while it is said, "Today if you will hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, as in the rebellion." For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn't it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Hebrews 3:15'16 WEB.

When Joshua and Caleb returned to the Israelite camp after spying on the promised land, they encouraged the people to cross the river and begin taking possession of it. But the people gave into fearful reports from the other spies and decided to stone Moses, appoint a new leader, and return to slavery in Egypt. As they began to gather rocks to stone Moses and Aaron, the Glory of the Lord descended on the tent of meeting, and He was very displeased (Numbers 14:4-12). The Lord told Moses: "How long will these people despise Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?"

This is called "the rebellion," and it's what the writer of Hebrews is referencing. The Lord told the people to do something, to enter the promised land, and they said "No." They heard God's voice, but they didn't take action, and their hearts were hardened. This is a dangerous pattern to fall into.

When the Lord speaks to us, two things can happen:

1) We obey His voice and become more sensitive to the prompting of His Holy Spirit, and it will be easier to hear Him the next time He speaks to us.

2) We choose to ignore Him, and we become hardened and less sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Eventually, His word bounces off us like water off a duck's back.

For example, you may hear a message about "bla bla" and feel convicted about it, but you brush it off and do nothing. The next time you hear about "blah blah," it will be a little less convicting. Soon when you hear someone passionately preach about "blah blah," you won't feel a thing. You become desensitized to His word, spiritually hardened, and you may never see the breakthrough that He wanted to bring about in your life. When that happens, is it His fault? No, it's our own. He can lead us to the promised land, but we must choose to follow Him across the river and not let our fear hold us back.

Whenever we come under conviction while hearing the truth, we must take immediate action or suffer spiritual loss. If the Holy Spirit urges us to pray for someone, then we must pray for them. If He is urging us to give something, then we must give. If He urges us to encourage someone, then we should encourage them. Our faith is proven by our actions, and we have to do our part, for faith without works is dead. Too many today have ignored God's voice for so long that they can no longer hear Him at all. It's spiritual deafness.

A great oak tree starts as a small seed but grows, so it is with our faith and our hearing. Practicing will make you become better at it. If God is speaking, we must answer or suffer spiritual hearing loss. If we continue to ignore His voice, we will eventually not hear Him at all. If we practice listening and acting on His words, we will sharpen our hearing and increase our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus spoke a lot about people hearing the Spirit, and He made it clear that not everyone can. A phrase that Jesus used a lot was, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" This is quoted at least sixteen times in the New Testament.

The Pharisees in the Gospel accounts had become so hardened that they could no longer hear God speaking to them, even when He stood face to face in front of them. They were spiritually deaf. Jesus said in Luke 8:18, "Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

If you ignore His voice, eventually, He will stop speaking to you about it until you begin listening. He doesn't waste His time by yelling at spiritually deaf people. Jesus didn't spend His time begging the hardened Pharisees to listen to Him. Instead, He taught the spiritually thirsty. We can improve our hearing anytime we choose by simply listening and obeying.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. No matter what has been in the past, we can make a new start today. If God is speaking to us, we must not put off our obedience. It's always the right time to do the right thing.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You give me another chance at hearing Your voice. Please help me know when You are speaking to me, and give me the grace to obey. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: This morning, we will be hosting our RHM Live Online church service. This is a special time of worship, prayer, fellowship and an inspiring message. All are welcome! Here is the link to join: RHM Live

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