From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all his fullness to men and women in all their need. my soul hath found, hath found in Thee alone. The peace, the joy I sought so long, the bliss, the love unknown. The God, the Christ, and satisfied, the lover made for me. There's love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, love in thee. I sighed for rest and happiness, I yearned for them not me. But while I passed my Savior by, His eye made gold on me. The none but Christ can satisfy, none other name for me. There's love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus loved in me. I tried the broken cistern's lock, but now the water's fed. He as I stood to drink they fled, and mocked me as I wept. None other Christ can satisfy, none other name for me. There's love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, one in me. The pleasures lost I sadly mourn, but never went for thee. He'll praise the sightless eyes we see, by God we dares to see, the love of Christ We do welcome you to our service as we gather around God's Word. We're glad that you're with us. and we trust that the Lord would bless his truth to your hearts as we consider it tonight and we study it. We're going to look at Psalm 95, and we're going to commence our reading at the verse number one, and read down through the entirety of this Psalm. Psalm 95, verse one. O come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it. And his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart as in the provocation and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness. when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said, it is a people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways. Unto whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. Amen. We'll just still our hearts before the Lord. We'll ask for his help as we come to consider his precious truth. Our Eternal Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee that we can come into Thy presence. In the attitude of prayer, we thank Thee that we come in and through the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And Father, we thank Thee afresh today for Thy Word. We thank Thee that it is truth. We thank Thee that it is that which is forever settled in heaven. And Father, we pray that You will help us as we gather around it for a few moments. We pray that You will write it upon our hearts and You will speak to all that would be in earshot of Thy Word going forth And Father, we pray that you'll give help even to this preacher. We look to thee for the fresh and filling of God, the Holy Ghost, for it's in our Savior's precious and worthy name we ask. Amen. The account of the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years by the children of Israel is perhaps one of the most well-known accounts that we have recorded for us in the Word of God. Not only is it recorded for us in the Old Testament scripture, as we've read, even today, with the main focus being, of course, in the book of Exodus and the events that surround the children of Israel leaving Egypt and making their pilgrimage through to the promised land. But it's an account that is referred to right throughout the pages of God's holy truth. Even when we turn to New Testament Scripture, we have reference made to this great part of history. Hebrews chapter 3, for example, it makes reference to the very wilderness wanderings that we've read about this evening in Psalm 95. And our text here, it brings us right to the heart of that moment in history, the account of the children of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness with that focus, with that desire, with that heart's mind to enter into the land of Canaan. that God had given to them. And of course, there's many lessons for us as we look at God's Word, as we consider the wilderness wanderings, as we think of the pilgrimage of these children of Israel, as we think of their journey towards the promised land. There are great and many lessons for us to consider. There are many aspects that we could look at. We could think of the miracles that were wrought. We could think of the crossing of the Red Sea. We could think of the manna that was provided from heaven. We could think of the water that was provided in a miraculous way. We could think of the many promises that God had granted to His people and many accounts that we could glean from and that we could learn as we look at Scripture. Whilst this is an historical record, physical things that really took place in the history of time, yet there are many spiritual lessons, much spiritual application for us to learn from as we look at God's truth. You see, the pilgrimage of these children of Israel seeking to make their way to the promised land, navigating their way through the wilderness, it is a great picture of our pilgrimage here on earth. We're only here, of course, for a season. Not only does Scripture tell us that time and time again, but the reality of the world around us proves that. We're only passing through. We're only here for but a short moment, as was the case with the children of Israel. They were looking for the promised land. They were focused on that land that God had given them. That was their desired destination, but many, did not enter into the rest. Many did not make that final destination. And the same is true when we make that comparison to our own lives. When we look at our pathway through this life, this is not our home. We're only passing through. There is an eternity after death. This is not all that we have, but there is a hereafter. And whilst it is the desire of many, no doubt today, to reach heaven, even those that would say they're not religious, even those that maybe don't attend church, those that maybe don't take time to read God's truth, yet if we were to ask them, do they want to go to heaven, I'm sure that many would answer, yes, it's the desire of many to enter into that rest, to reach that promised land. and to enter into that peace that will be granted to God's people in the glory. And yet there are many, sadly, that will pass through this world, many that will make their pilgrimage through this scene of time. And no matter what their desire might be, They will never enter into that rest because of the unrepentant sin in their hearts. And upon their death, they will not enter into the kingdom of heaven, but into the kingdom of Satan himself. In our text tonight in Psalm 95, we want to look at the verses 8 to 11. And here the psalmist signs forth a warning. to our hearts and to our souls. And dear friends, today it's a warning that by God's help I want to sound forth to your heart and to your soul. The warning is found so solemnly and so starkly there in verse number eight. And we read those words, harden not your heart And we want to apply it tonight in this way. Harden not your heart to the message of the gospel. Harden not your heart to Jesus Christ. Harden not your heart to the way of salvation as revealed in God's holy word. While you're still in the day of grace, while you're still in this pilgrimage, in this scene of time, harden not your heart, but trust in Jesus Christ as your own and personal Savior. That's our subject for the next few moments. Harden not your heart. There are four things very briefly we want to consider as we look at God's Word. Firstly, look here at the disobedience of the generation. The disobedience of the generation. Verse number 10 of our text in Psalm 95 says, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said it is a people that to err in their heart and they have not known my ways. God is speaking here regarding some of those that formed this people that had escaped from Egypt. They had been released from their bondage and their captivity and they were now wandering in the wilderness. And we're told here that they were a people who erred in their heart. They were a people who did not know the ways of God. That's the description that God gives to them here. And it's important as we make our way through this life that it is what God thinks that matters. It is not how the world views us. It's not how we view ourselves. It's not how we're judged by society or by philosophy or by anything else, but it's what God thinks of us. It's how God sees our heart and sees our soul. There are many today, and they will view themselves through their own standard or through the standard of society, and they will deem themselves to be good They will deem themselves to have done well. They will deem themselves to have earned and to merit a place in heaven. And so when they're confronted with the message of the gospel that they need to repent, well then, they turn away from such a truth. How dare anyone call me a sinner? Might be their response. Sure, I'm good. I have done my best." Maybe that's your attitude as you're listening to God's Word. You've judged yourself by your own standard. You've judged yourself by the parameters that are set by society, and you think that you've done all that is well. But I want you to understand as we look at this account, that as God looks upon us tonight in our sin, we are a people that have erred in our heart. People that have not known the ways of God. The end of this life, as you pass into God's eternity, it will be God's judgment that will matter. And God judged these people in this way. They had erred. They had not known His ways. They were a sinful people. And in our sinful, fallen state, we are just the same. We have erred. We have not known the ways of God. We have a heart that is corrupt, a heart that is sinful, a heart that has fallen. It wasn't just the case here that God looked in the outward appearance, that God looked upon their actions, but he saw into their heart, he saw into their soul, and he saw that they had erred, and they had strayed from him. And dear friend, no matter how good you might think you are, when we strip it all back and as God looks upon the soul and upon the heart, it is not a pretty picture. Your soul is tainted with sin. Your soul is marred. It is plagued with the great disease of wickedness. Scripture reminds us that the heart is desperately wicked. It is deceitful above all things. There is nothing more wicked than the sinful heart of man. And the problem that you have tonight, whilst it will eventually manifest itself outwardly, it's a problem of the soul. It's a problem of the heart. We're born as enemies of God. We're born in bondage. We're born in captivity to our sin. It doesn't matter how good living we might be. It doesn't matter how often we go to church. If we have never repented of our sin and trusted in Jesus Christ, we have not known the ways of God. We see also here in verse 10 how God speaks of how this generation have not known his ways. Now, this was a generation that had been given to them by God through Moses, God's holy law. It was a generation that had seen many mighty and wonderful things done by God. They had witnessed some amazing miracles that are recorded for us in Scripture, and yet God here makes this remark that they knew not the ways of God. Oh, they knew of them, but they didn't know them. They knew how they ought to be living before the Lord, but they weren't. They knew what they needed to do to reach the promised land. But they failed and erred. And the same is maybe said of your heart tonight. Oh, you've so many privileges. You maybe heard the gospel time and time again. You're tuning in from somewhere in the world, listening to the gospel message again, and you know off the ways of God, but you don't know them. You're not walking in them. You're not trusting in Jesus Christ as your own and personal Savior. And how God views this generation here in Psalm 95 is how God views your soul this evening. The disobedience of this generation. Notice secondly here, the displeasure of God. The displeasure of God, verse 10 again, tells us 40 years long, was I grieved with this generation. We've already thought about why God was grieved. It was because of the sin of his people. But the word used for grieved here in the authorized version of God's holy truth, it means to be cut off. And it speaks to us, I believe, of the righteous anger, the wrath that God has toward the unrepentant sinner. Now, we must be clear tonight, we don't want you to misunderstand. It's true that God is a God of love. God's a God of grace. God's a God of mercy. We could turn to many portions of Scripture and prove that to you, that God is a God of wonderful love, perfect love, everlasting love, a love that was displayed and manifested so perfectly in the sending of a son, Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary's cross to shed his blood, to redeem sinners from their sin. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And God's love is not in question. However, there are those in society today and they misrepresent the love of God because they will tell us that men and women can do whatever they want. They can live however they please. They can either take or leave the law of God because God is love and God will never cast anyone from His presence. God will never throw anyone into hell because His love outweighs everything else. And so we can live as we please. That's not what God's word teaches. Yes, he's a God of love, but he's a holy God. He's a just God. He's a righteous God, and we see here that He's a God who is offended by sin, a God who is grieved by those who sin against Him. He is a God who is angry with the sinner. He's a God who will one day justly and rightly and in a holy, perfect manner pour out His wrath upon those who enter His eternity without Christ and the forgiveness of sins. It's not the case tonight that God looks upon you in your sinful fallen state and turns a blind eye, or ignores your sin, or accepts your sin, or weighs your good to be greater than your sin. No, tonight God looks upon your soul, he sees your sin and he's grieved. And he's angry, and he's offended because you've sinned against him. And dear child of God, what an application, what a solemn application to our hearts. Oh how we're not to sin against God. There's no such thing as a trivial sin. No such thing as a little small sin. For when we sin against God, we grieve him, we offend him. Here it's revealed to us in these words in verse 10, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. Remember that Hebrew word means cut off. That's what we are in our sin. We're cut off from God, we're the enemies of God. And one day unrepentant sinners as they pass through the veil of death and enter into God's eternity, we will be cut off forever. Cast off from the presence of God as a result of sin. But there's great encouragement in the scripture because you can be saved. You can know forgiveness of sins. You can know peace with God. You can know that adoption into God's family. You can know acceptance with the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, who shed his precious blood to save sinners. But you must repent, and you must trust in Jesus Christ as your own and personal Savior. But whilst that's true, there's a warning here. to harden not your heart, for God is angry with the sinner. God is grieved with your sin. And one day God will pour out his judgment for all eternity upon your sin if you fail to accept Christ as your own personal Savior. God was grieved and angry with this generation. The disobedience of the generation, the displeasure of God. Notice thirdly here the damnation that was given. Verse 11 of Psalm 95 says, unto whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. What solemn words we have here. What a judgment poured out by God. To whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. Hebrews 3, we referred to it at the beginning of our message. The verse 19 of that chapter is referring to the same account that we read off here in Psalm 95, and it says this, so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. What happened to those in this generation that sinned against God? What happened to those that rejected God's ways? What happened to those that did not walk the path of righteousness, that did not accept God's means of salvation? Well, we learn here that they were not allowed to enter into the promised land. They were not allowed to enter into rest. They were not allowed by God to enter into Canaan, that place that was prepared for God's people. In fact, back in Hebrews 3, on that account, in the verse 17, we read these very striking words, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Their carcasses fell in the wilderness. They never made it to the promised land. They perished in their sin. They perished in their pilgrimage, in their wanderings in the wilderness. And dear friend, the same damnation will fall upon your soul if you reject Jesus Christ, if you reject the ways of God, if you reject God's only way and method of salvation. One day you will perish in your sin. One day you will never enter through the gates of heaven. You will never enter into eternal rest and peace because there will be no sin where God is. There will be no sinner where God dwells. And you will not enter into rest. And you will not know the peace of God. And this damnation that has been uttered here in verse 11 will be the damnation that will be passed upon your soul, unto whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. And therefore, your sin needs to be dealt with today. Therefore, while we're still in the day of grace, to be cleansed through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who was sent from glory to die on the cross to save sinners from their sin. And if you do that, then you will enter into rest. You will enter into that eternal security. But without Christ, you're lost. Without Christ, there is eternal damnation. You might think you're good. You might think you have merited heaven. But without Jesus Christ, this verse 11 applies to your heart and to your soul. Then lastly, we see here the deliverance that can be granted. You see, all hope is not lost. Oh, it's too late, as we've said already, when you die. It's too late when you enter into eternity then. All hope is lost. There is nothing that will be done or can be done for your soul when you pass from this scene of time, when your pilgrimage on this earth ends. But today, while still in this life, while still in this day of grace, there is a deliverance that can be granted to your soul. That deliverance, as we said already, it is found in Jesus Christ alone, the way, the truth, the life, the only way of salvation. There is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. Scripture tells us that it is Christ that has come to seek and to save the lost. And oh dear friend, you can be changed in an instant. You can be changed in a moment. You can go from being in the same damnation as some of these children of Israel were not walking in the ways of God. heading to a lost eternity, going to perish in the wilderness. But by repenting of your sin, by trusting in Jesus Christ as your own and personal Savior, you can enter into the eternal promise that God has given, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Think of that great gospel promise in John chapter 3 and the verse 16. For God so loved the world. And here's the love of God again that's revealed. that he give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. By God's grace, you can change. By God's grace, you can be no longer under the condemnation of God, no longer heading to that eternal wrath poured out upon your soul, but by repenting of your sin and trusting in Christ, You can enter into that eternal promise. You can be assured of that eternal rest. You can be guaranteed that you will enter into the promised land. And that when you die, for you, it will be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Think about that warning that is given to us here in verse number eight. And we leave this warning with you. Harden not your heart. Harden not your heart to Christ. Harden not your heart to the ways of salvation. Harden not your heart to God's truth. Do not turn away from the precious Word of God. Do not turn away from this gift of salvation. For if you do, as we've seen, there are eternal consequences. But we urge and encourage and exhort you to come to Jesus Christ. We'll bow in a word of prayer as we leave the Lord's Word tonight. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for time spent around Thy precious truth. We thank Thee for this warning that is exhorted to us in Scripture, that we're to harden not our hearts. And Father, what a solemn warning it is, that if we do, we will never enter into that eternal rest. But Father, we thank Thee afresh for Jesus Christ, that man of Calvary, the one who shed his precious blood, who bore the wrath of God on our behalf, so that if by his grace we repent and believe on him, we shall be saved. And we will have that promise of eternal security. Write thy word upon our hearts, we pray. Save precious souls for thy glory, for it's in Christ precious and worthy name we ask. Amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the word of God. 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