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Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 477 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text -- Brother Thomas: The third chapter of Hebrews is what I want and beginning in verse 7. I'm not going to keep you too long. It looks like we're going to have to knock out some walls back there to make more room for people. ( laughter ). "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware 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 living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end." I think that's sufficient. What I'm trying to do here is to show you that most of the people who hear the Word in any measure--it would especially apply to those that had the Word and access to it repeatedly or for a period of time.... But this is a type, of course, of what He is trying to say to us here in the Bible at this time. Those that come out of the wilderness and come out of Egypt, how they hardened their heart and actually went back, they never entered in to that rest. They never entered in to that land that he had promised them because of that. And much of it was the lust of their own flesh and the desires of their own flesh. They wanted the onions, and the leeks, and the garlic. And they longed for those things. And eventually it pulled them--it didn't do it, their own lust did it--( congregational amens ) pulled them out and they went back as a result of that. And I personally don't think they got what they ought a get to begin with, do you? Anyway, I want you to notice. Let's go back over these scriptures a little bit. And notice, He says, "Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years." Now that generation of people, they saw His works, and they went along 40 years with that exposure to the power of God, to the blessings of God. Now I'd have to say that they, no doubt, had a greater access to those things than we are today. But I will say this too, in defense of our gospel and in defense of what God has given us. I don't believe there's a group of people anywhere in the world that's had more truth, greater truth, and the Holy Spirit presence to help them than we have. ( congregational amens ). And I don't believe we're bragging by saying that. But think of the people that's come and gone over the years. I don't know how many we'd have here tonight if they were here that was here last year. -- Brother Jimmy Robbins: It wouldn't hold them. -- Brother Thomas: That they'd be quite a few. The thing I see is this--man does not realize what's happening when he's exposed to the word of God. He's not aware of the fact that the consequences are such because God ... if this is God's work. Now if we were called up to go in to some great man or some important human personality, we'd be very careful to listen. We would be very attentive. We wouldn't just let it pass by. But we'd do all we could to grasp every word. And we'd like to have it down in writing so we could go back over it. Because we realize that that's not just trivia, but it's the words of a great man. Well what about God's word? ( congregational amens). What about His word? -- Brother Jimmy Robbins: Most important of all. -- Brother Thomas: It's more important. This is stedfast. It's sure and stedfast. And this is why, in verse 7, he says, "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith...." He did not attribute it to Paul, to Silas, or anyone. But he says the Holy Ghost is saying this. ( congregational amens ). Now that makes a difference doesn't it? That's God speaking. Now if a man speaks by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by the anointing, then it's God. ( congregational amens ). It's not man. You're being exposed to God's Word. God is speaking and it's not just to anybody. It's to you who are present. And what's going to happen if you don't listen? What's going to happen if you just take it carelessly? Say there'll be another time. You're being presumptuous to say that. You don't know where there'll be another time or not. You don't know whether you'll ever be able to come to church again or not. After this service, you don't know. Right now is your time. ( congregational amens ). That's why he says, "Today if you will hear his voice." He didn't say tomorrow. He didn't say last week or next week. He said today! These people were hearing the Word of God and he wanted them to realize the urgency of not just passing it by, but letting it go, see. And here's what he says, "Because they did always err in their hearts." They always...and man gets in a habit of these things. He gets in a habit of putting it off and saying, well, I'm 20 years old, I have plenty of time. Or I'm 30 years old. Or I'm 15 years old. Or I'm 10 years old. And he's got an answer. He uses some kind of logic of his own kind, you know. And uses something to say no now. And you have no promise of tomorrow. And besides what happens if your heart does get hardened? -- Brother Jimmy Robbins: Oh my. Have mercy. -- Brother Thomas: You can't be the same once you've heard God's word. ( congregational amens ). You don't remain the same. You hear God's word tonight, the likelihood that you will hear it tomorrow is less, and less, and less. Some of you have heard it, no doubt, all your life to some degree, some measure, somewhere. And you have thus far, said no. You say, well I'm still young. You are? But only God knows, only God understands how young you are and how long you're gonna live. You don't. Like Phillip, he didn't know he was going. He had no idea that he was going. But he did. God said, come on, and he came. And when God says to you, come on, regardless of the means that's used, you will come on. So that's why he says, "Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart." At the very least your heart is going to begin to get hard. There's a process. It makes it easier the next time to say no. There's a process that starts working in you and in your heart, in your will, to cause you think, well, I've got another time. I've got another chance. How do you know you have? How do you know that you've got another chance? How do you know? Don't be presumptuous. No wonder Paul said, "Today..." He didn't say tomorrow, or next week, but "Today, if ye will hear his voice..." And it's God's voice that you have to hear. And it's God's voice that comes through man. God doesn't speak through jackasses anymore. God doesn't speak through eloquent men necessarily. He can speak sometimes through men that are not eloquent. They may murder the King's English. They may not be very literate. They may be just plain, simple people. But somehow or other they got in contact with God and God has blessed them. And God has anointed them. God has put his Spirit upon them. If that spirit upon them is not just there for pleasure, it's there to speak to you. ( congregational amens ). It's there to speak to you. I remember old preachers back yonder, years ago. All these would be dead and gone by now. But I remember them preaching. And I knew there was something there besides just man. I listened to them, you know, and the Holy Ghost would just move on me. And I knew it was God. You ought to know it's God. You ought to be sensitive enough to know it's God. Because I'm going to say this, there's not one preacher that comes along out of 500 that has the anointing. I probably shouldn't give any numbers, but that's true. Very seldom will you hear a minister of the gospel that has the anointing of God upon his life, and today, more than ever before. That's simply because they got it canned up. That's right. They're not free. Preachers are not free. They're a victim. They're part of the system they're in. They're part of it and they want to be true to it. Praise God, we're free! ( congregational praise ). Praise God, we're free. We don't need to be with a halter on us. We need to preach God's word as he gives it to us. And that's why Paul says this. "Today," he says, "if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart as in the provocation." Now he's talking about what happened in the wilderness. That was a type. They did that. They came out of Egypt all right. They'd left Egypt behind, but their hearts were unchanged. They went over...they tried to go over in to the land like that. But they couldn't. They were turned back. And if you don't get right with God you, too, will be turned back. And God, it says, he "sware in his wrath they shall not enter into my rest." And the rest of God is real. It's not imagined, it's real. Of all the things that I can remember when I got saved, that was the greatest. It felt like a big truck had been lifted off of me, or a load of bricks, or a load of cordwood. Why? It had been lifted. God had took it off. I turned to Christ and he had took my burden. ( congregational praise ). He says, "I'll carry it for you now." You don't have to worry about it. Hallelujah! No wonder the word of God says, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you..." what? -- Congregation: Rest. Brother Thomas: "Rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." He will too.He'll take it off of you and he'll be your burden bearer. ( congregational praise ). And think of the people that one day will march before that throne and they still carry that burden. They still have it. They've never had it moved. I'm glad I've had it moved. I'm glad I have one to carry it. Amen. John says... 
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