EXHORT ONE ANOTHER
Tuesday – September 12, 2017
Have you encouraged someone today? Why not? Do you like to be encouraged? Our Scripture text tells us we are to be building others up daily.
Hebrews 3:12-15 (KJV)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
The Greek work translated ‘exhort’ in Hebrews 3:13 is most commonly translated beseech and second most commonly as comfort. It can also mean to call near. Synonyms for the word ‘exhort’ include to urge, to press, to push, to encourage, insist, spur, goad or prod. We all have probably had a day or two where we just felt like saying “to hell with it” and walking away. Then someone came along and gave a little encouragement and away we went refreshed ready to kick some serious devil butt. Remember to always be led of the Spirit in exhorting people, He knows exactly what they need and we are generally just guessing.
Notice from our text that at least one mechanism by which our hearts can be hardened is by the deceitfulness of sin, however let me say that we sin as a result of internal or external deception. Internal deception is an unchecked, uncontrolled, undisciplined passion or lust that is not of God. A hard heart is a stubborn unwilling to change heart. Just by way of a reminder, the use of the word ‘heart’ is talking about our beliefs, our thought life. Eve placed the deception (the lies) of The Serpent above the Word of God and Adam placed his wife above the Word of God and thereby they both choose to enter sin, darkness. Scripture tells us that we deceive ourselves when we allow ourselves to be drawn away by lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and pride of life.
Also, know that judging people can preclude the mercy of God in our own lives, for by the level to which we hold them to we also are then held to the same level. Tempting us to judge others is a trick of the enemy to bring us into greater judgment by God. Most of us need the mercy of God at a high setting even on what we might consider one of our good days. However, as we mature and become more like Him we should need to call on that wonderful mercy less and less. The mercy of God is always functioning in our lives however in the aspect that God does not allow us to experience temptations greater than we are equipped to handle.
Each of us must boldly at the Throne of Grace declare that we reject a hard heart, a heart that is stubborn and unwilling to change. We must declare our eagerness and readiness to change in line with the Word of the living God. The cry of our heart must be: “teach me O Lord, I am determined to be more like you today”.
The more one sins the easier it is to sin (hardening of the heart) and the sin originates in our thought life when we do not reign in our lusts (inordinate focus, yearning, desire). Lust is not a passing thought but one upon which we dwell. For example, Jesus said that if we have lusted after a woman we had already committed adultery in our hearts (Matthew 5:28). Sin is deceitful because it is a violation of light (Scripture) and brings us into increasing darkness. The more we embrace darkness the more darkness we will get (sowing and reaping), it will fit our paradigm. Because we did not test our thoughts instead choosing the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, the pride of life, unforgiveness, or the judging of people over our knowledge of God, soon that darkness was light to us, a deception. Consider the following.
Matthew 13:12 (KJV)
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Matthew 6:23 (KJV)
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
All of this separates us from our Heavenly Father, perhaps not in terms of making Heaven but in terms of seeing the Kingdom manifested in our lives.
John 14:21 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
So, let us exhort one another daily to avoid a hardening of heart by ongoing persistent sin. Let us receive the Word of God with readiness of mind and examine it, prove it and change in line with it to be more like Jesus.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
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