Listen to the Holy Spirit

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Revelation 3:22

Today's sermon at Calvary Chapel Sydney centred around the words of the Holy Spirit to believers not to harden their hearts, and the words of Jesus to the seven churches in the book of Revelation also urge us to hear what the Holy Spirit says.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit was sent to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment, and He continues to do so today:  instructing, reminding us of God's word and warning us as needed.  The 10 plagues God visited upon Egypt when Pharaoh hardened his heart are a sobering illustration all people ought to take to heart if we justify continuing in hardness of heart--Christians included.

Interestingly in Hebrews 3:7-11 the Holy Spirit did not say to Hebrew Christians, "Don't be like Pharoah who hardened his heart" but not to be like their Hebrew fathers who hardened their hearts and provoked Him after He delivered them from slavery in Egypt with miraculous signs.  It is a small thing for an idolatrous, proud king to harden his heart against the word of the LORD, but it is awful when God's people who claim to follow and obey Him provoke Him by unbelief, disobedience, murmuring and complaining.  For 40 years they saw God's works firsthand, eating the manna He provided daily as His presence went before them in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.  When God brought them to the land He promised to give them they refused to enter in, and thus He caused them to perish in the wilderness.  God was grieved with that generation because they erred in their hearts, did not know His ways, and thus could not enter His rest.

While the whole of scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, He also spoke through Paul in 1 Timothy 4:1-5:  "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ² speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."  In these last days the Holy Spirit warns people will depart from the faith because they will give heed to false doctrines, will speak lies, and their conscience will be seared.  They will lack sensitivity to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit because they refuse to heed God's word.  Such use God's word deceptively to impose their legalistic will on others without consideration of what Jesus accomplished on the cross when He established a new covenant.  A seared conscience leads to hypocrisy, commanding others to submit to human ordinances while at the same time disregarding God's voice and the testimony of the whole Bible.

The indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to have a clear conscience by instruction in God's word, knowing God created foods to be received with thanksgiving.  Since we believe and know the truth we remain pure before the LORD even when we eat food that is not kosher under the Law of Moses, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.  People may use the Bible to this day to point out certain foods are unclean, yet God has made a new and living way to a relationship with God by faith in Jesus--not by works of the law that cannot justify a soul before God.  May we stand corrected and humble ourselves before men when we have been convicted by the word of God, and having been made to stand let us continue by faith in God, loving one another and holding fast to the Gospel of grace.