Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I could see the frost on the window as we sat patiently in the car on that cold winter day. After waiting about twenty minutes, a truck finally pulled up alongside us. It was my granddad, who was picking me up to take me fishing out on Pelican Lake. I think I was about 6 years old, and had never been ice fishing before. When we finally got there, I remember bundling up in layers of clothing, as we sat down together on his snow machine. We ventured out onto the frozen lake as the snow blew across the ice like a snake slithering in the grass. When we finally got out to his fishing spot, I watched as he started a fire, and cleared the ice from the hole, shut the door, and dropped a lure down into the water. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, we whispered quietly, as a huge fish came into view. In the blink of an eye, his spear went sailing through the water and into its side. Up through the hole it came, and he threw it out the door and onto the ice.
As I had never been fishing before, it was the biggest fish that I had ever seen, a huge Northern Pike that looked like a little alligator. Curiously, I sat down in the snow to watch it for a while as it flopped all over the place. I could tell that it wanted to return back to the water, but the cold air was beginning to take a toll on its movements. Its body began to curl up, as if it was trying to conserve its heat, but the ice was already beginning to form on its back. After the next few minutes, I watched it as it slowly began to freeze, becoming motionless and lifeless as it became hardened by the brittle cold.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
As that fish froze to death out on the ice, I’m reminded that a human’s heart can become just as hard. It can become lifeless, cold and stiff, without any feelings of contrition, repentance, or warmth. Sin is very deceitful because just like the cold, it can slowly creep in all around you. You might not even feel it happening, as it slowly suffocates and drains your life away. The longer that people choose to live in sin, the harder the heart will become, hardened through unbelief, self-justification, and impenitence.
Hebrews 3:12-13 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 To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
The harder that something becomes, the more impervious it is to penetration. The more sin that is present in one’s heart, the thicker the wall becomes, slowly closing themselves off from the attributes of humble contrition and true penitence. Whenever somebody sins, they need to take care of the matter quickly, because each day that passes, another layer of pride forms upon their heart, just like layers of ice that form on a lake. We have pulled many gallons of water from our lake during the winter, but the thicker the ice is, the harder it is to break through. Likewise, the longer that you go without confessing and admitting your faults, the harder your heart will become, making it much more difficult to repent.
Hebrews 3:14-19 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
The further that you get away from scripture, the more you will accept the lies of this world. Like drinking water each day, we need to fill ourselves with a liberal dose of God’s truth in order to survive. Sin is very deceiving, because it can make you feel like you are doing the right thing, but it is completely contrary to the will of God.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
How many times have you been driving down the highway, and really believed that you were going the right way, but you ended up at the wrong destination. You can sincerely believe something, but at the same time, be sincerely wrong. Sin is very deceitful, because the more involved with sin that one becomes, the less inclined they will be to listen and accept the truth. This is because they begin to believe the lies of this world, rather than the teachings of God. Eve was so seduced and deceived by the devil that she actually believed that what she was doing was the right thing.
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Just like having breakfast each morning, we need to fill up every day with spiritual food, so we can continue to walk on the narrow path of Christ, and abide in God’s perfect will. The heart must be soft and pliable so that it submits completely to God’s Word.
James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
God’s Word needs to be a regular part of our daily lives, because the further that you distance yourself from the truth, the more lies that you will believe. Turning away from scripture will result in a cold and impenitent heart, refusing to repent of the wrongs that you have committed. This is because you believe lies instead. Sin is cold and cruel, and left unattended can have devastating consequences on the soul. Like a fish that has been thrown out onto the ice, the heart can grow steadily harder, to the point that it will no longer accept biblical truth. When this happens, it will only result in slowly freezing to death, just like that fish, outside of…
…..The Spearhouse
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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