Pilgrims of God in a Weary Land

Text:  Hebrews 3:7-19

Thesis:  Keep a tender heart towards God and be grateful for all that He has done  for us.

I. God’s people have always been Pilgrims in a harsh land.

A.      The Israelite nation experienced a literal forty years of wondering in the desert on their way to the Promise Land.

1.      Land was unforgiving but God let them experience it for a time of testing.

B.      Christians live in a world today that is hostile to Christ and his people.

1.      Two thirds of the Christians in the world today are persecuted for their faith.

2.      Our forefathers came to American so they would have religious freedom.

Ø Today prayer in school is denied.

Ø Today we can no longer display the Ten commandments in our courthouses.

Ø Today the law violates the Sixth Commandment by murdering our unborn babies.

Ø Today the Biblical definition of marriage is being challenged.

II. God recognizes the difficulty of staying faithful to him in a hostile world.

A.      God has compassion on all mankind.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Matthew 9: 36

B.      God tells us in verse 13 to “encourage one another daily as long as it is called ‘Today’ so that none of you may be harden by sin’s deceitfulness.”

III. God says, “Today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.”

vs.7-8

A.      The message in this passage is:

§   Don’t turn from God’s truth.

§   Don’t be ungrateful for what you have.

 “All man’s ways seem right to him but God weighs the heart”  Proverbs. 21:2

B.      A whole generation of people did not make it be cause they grumbled against God and hardened their hearts.

C.      God is not an absentee parent.

IV. In the past God provided Moses for his people pilgrimage but “Today” he

has provided his son Jesus Christ.

A.      If rebellion against Moses kept a whole generation of people from entering the Promised Land, what will be the inevitable consequence for denying or accepting Christ.

1.      There are only two choices in life ~ either trust in Jesus or experience eternal chaos.