Psalm 95: Praise and the Warning Against Hardened Hearts
2026-09-29 · 3.975 MHz · 0600 PST
The Bible reading
Psalm 95
The study focused on Psalm 95, marking a shift in the Psalter from laments about enemies to a section dedicated to praise and worship. The psalm presents two primary reasons for worship: God's identity as a great King above all gods and His actions in creating and redeeming His people. The text urges believers to approach God with zealousness and joy, rather than with coldness or hesitation.
A significant portion of the discussion addressed the warning in verses 8-11 against hardening one's heart, referencing the Israelites' rebellion at Meribah and Massah. The study connected this to Hebrews 3 and 4, emphasizing that unbelief prevented the Israelites from entering the promised land, serving as a caution for believers to maintain steadfast faith. The contrast between God's loathing of the unbelieving generation and His delight in those who trust Him was highlighted.
Participants also explored the literary structure of the psalm, noting the shift from the psalmist's voice to God's direct address in the latter half. The theme of listening to God's voice was linked to John 10, where sheep recognize the Shepherd's voice. The study concluded with a discussion on how natural appetites and needs, such as thirst, point to God's provision and how Jesus fulfills these metaphors as the bread and water of life.
Insights
- The shift in the Psalter from laments to praise in Psalm 95 signals a change in the believer's posture from seeking deliverance to expressing gratitude.
- Zealous worship is not about cultural expression but about the heart's enthusiastic engagement with God's greatness.
- Unbelief is characterized by a refusal to trust God's promises in the face of difficult circumstances, leading to spiritual death or missing out on God's rest.
- The 'voice of strangers' represents influences that encourage rebellion or a return to worldly comforts, contrasting with the Shepherd's voice that calls for obedience and trust.
- God's reaction to His people depends on their faith: He is disgusted by those who reject Him but delights in those who believe and follow Him.
- Natural appetites and needs are gifts from God that should be enjoyed within His design, but they also serve as reminders of our dependence on Him.
- The study highlighted the importance of maintaining a tender heart to God's voice to avoid the pitfalls of unbelief and rebellion.
Transcript
0:00before we get everything all squared away on that.
0:03So, Brian, thank you for that labor of love for the West Coast Bible Study.
0:07All right, any other check-ins this morning?
0:09Please come down.
0:12KM5F.
0:13Well, KM5F, go ahead.
0:15Yeah, it sounds like the name of a new band, the Siddling Condéters.
0:21Yeah, copy that.
0:23Okay, any other check-ins?
0:24Please come down.
0:25Okay, I heard Lee, AL7KG.
0:35Everybody listen up.
0:36He's just below my noise level.
0:37I recognize his voice.
0:40And see if you can get Lee, AL7KG.
0:43Lee, AL7KG, come back to us.
0:45Tell us how you're doing.
0:51Hello, good morning, Matt.
0:52Good morning, Matt.
0:55All right, any relays on what Lee said?
1:00Go ahead.
1:09Okay.
1:09All right, Lee, we got you checked in.
1:11Appreciate you being there, brother.
1:12If you got a prayer request, text message me, okay?
1:15Because you're just below everyone's noise level today,
1:19so the band isn't the greatest.
1:21And so, Lee, thank you for being there.
1:23We got you checked in.
1:25All right, this is WB7MX.
1:28Just checking in, AL7KG.
1:30Any other check-ins, please come down.
1:39Keith is in there.
1:41Keith is in there.
1:42Thank you for that relay.
1:44Keith, K7NEB.
1:45I'm going to listen on the Utah.
1:47Keith, go ahead.
1:48Good morning, all of you.
1:49Good morning, everybody.
1:50All right, Keith said good morning, everybody.
1:58I picked him up on the Utah.
1:59Good morning, Keith.
2:00Good to have you with us, and appreciate you being there.
2:04How are you guys doing?
2:05Over.
2:06Doing fine, Pastor Matt.
2:12All right, real good.
2:13I'm glad to hear that you're doing fine.
2:16Appreciate that.
2:17All right, that is Keith, K7NEB.
2:23All right, any other check-ins?
2:24Please come down.
2:25W6YSI, checking in.
2:32Good morning.
2:32No prayer requests.
2:34All right, Steve.
2:36W6YSI, got you checked in.
2:37No prayer requests.
2:38Copy that.
2:39Good to have you with us.
2:40All right, any other check-ins?
2:41Please come down.
2:42Keith, K7NEB, were you ever able to find a place for your mom to take care of her?
3:00Over.
3:03K7NEB, the answer is yes.
3:05We'll look out a solution right now.
3:07It might take a moment to go.
3:09No.
3:12Hey, good.
3:13Glad to hear you're able to work on a solution, and we'll continue to pray that that works out well
3:18and that she'll have the proper care that she needs.
3:22All right, Keith, K7NEB, appreciate that comeback.
3:25All right, any other check-ins?
3:27Please come down.
3:35All right, I'm going to pick up a couple of people off of our SDRs,
3:38and that would like to recognize Dan N6T&I there in North Highlands.
3:43Dan, good to have you with us.
3:44Appreciate you being there.
3:46And also we've got Peter, KJ7B8.
3:50Good morning, Peter.
3:51Good to see you there on the Utah SDR as well.
3:56And let's see, who else do we have here?
3:58I think I've got everyone else checked in by voice, and Peter says good morning to everyone,
4:06so thank you for that, Peter.
4:07Appreciate that.
4:08And we don't have anybody over on half of the day.
4:12All right, so we've got Dan N6T&I and Peter KJ7BA.
4:16Everyone else is checked in by voice already.
4:20Okay, any other check-ins?
4:21West Coast Bible Study, please come down.
4:22WB7VZL.
4:26And good morning, Roger, WB7VZL.
4:28How are you doing?
4:31Feeling pretty good after that warm bath.
4:34Good.
4:35Roger, can you read Psalm 95 for us today?
4:38Over.
4:39Yeah.
4:40We read it with my wife last night in the NIV,
4:44and we'll go with the NASB this morning as usual.
4:47All right, that sounds good.
4:48So, yeah, we're not quite ready yet, but we will be ready in about a minute and a half.
4:53So if you could stand by to read Psalm 95, that'd be great.
4:56Roger, any prayer requests?
4:58Go ahead.
5:00Well, my wife is playing in the Walla Walla Symphony tonight.
5:04Some very challenging music, but some beautiful music from a violinist that plays with an apparatus
5:14because he apparently has or lost a hand or genetically never had a hand.
5:22He's playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto tonight.
5:26And so we're going to be amazed by what somebody can do with a defective hand.
5:31Over.
5:31Yeah, praise the Lord for that.
5:34Okay, so the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto tonight, Daylene, his wife, is playing.
5:39And so we'll pray that that goes well.
5:41Roger, thank you for that.
5:43That is Roger, WV7VZL, wife Daylene, playing tonight in the Mendelssohn Concerto.
5:50All right, any other check-ins?
5:52Please come now.
5:53All right, well, let's get started with the West Coast Bible Study.
6:04It is now 6 o'clock, 6-0-1, actually.
6:07And we're going to be looking at Psalm 95.
6:09But before we do that, we want to open in prayer.
6:12So, Will, keep in like five-foot stride.
6:13If you could open in prayer for us this morning, we'd sure appreciate that.
6:17Go ahead there, Will.
6:17Okay, I'm 5F.
6:19Let's all bow our heads.
6:21Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessings that you give us each day,
6:26especially for this West Coast Bible Study, Lord.
6:28We pray that you would hear our prayers and supplications.
6:33Lord, we just ask for your blessings on the propagation this morning.
6:39It seems to be a little touchy.
6:42Lord, we just thank you for each and every person that will be listening to God's Word
6:46and for the prayers that we have at the start of the meeting and those at the end.
6:51We pray that you will work in those that have health issues.
6:56And for me, Lord, especially for those that also have cancer, Lord, we just ask for your blessings upon them,
7:04that they would use the time with their acquaintances to minister and work to people and witness to them.
7:13Lord, we pray that you would keep the evil out of our lives.
7:17Lord, we ask for your blessings upon this great nation.
7:21In Jesus' name we pray.
7:23Amen.
7:23Amen, Will.
7:25Thank you so much for that prayer.
7:27I really appreciate that.
7:29All right.
7:29This is WB7MAX.
7:30We're in Psalm 95 today.
7:33And we're going to have a little shift in emphasis here.
7:37A lot of our previous psalms were about enemies and about the plea for justice and those kind of things.
7:43But in Psalm 95, all the way through to Psalm 100, they all begin with a summons to sing praise to the Lord.
7:54And although each psalm has a distinctive emphasis in the content of that praise and the reason for that praise,
8:02each of them call upon us to express that praise.
8:06And so, therefore, we're entering a section of the psalter whose focus is on praise and worship.
8:14And in Psalm 95, the psalm that we're going to be looking at today,
8:19the subject matter is that of praise and an invitation to, and an exhortation as well, to praise and worship God.
8:28And our psalm today tells us there's two reasons why we should praise and worship God.
8:34First of all, it tells us we should praise and worship God for who He is.
8:38He's a great God and a great King above all gods.
8:42And we see that in verse 3.
8:45And then second of all, we should praise God for what He has done,
8:49both in creating us and also in redeeming us.
8:53So He made us and He saved us.
8:56He is the rock of our salvation.
9:00And, of course, He is the one who has made us.
9:04And so, in light of all of that, in light of who He is, and in light of what He has done,
9:11it would be the height of folly to turn away from this King, to resist this King, to ignore this King,
9:18and, worst of all, to rebel against this King.
9:21So the psalm closes with an exhortation to not harden our hearts against God.
9:27If He made us, and if He has created us, and redeemed us, and He's a great God above all gods,
9:37why would we ever harden our hearts against Him?
9:39And so the psalmist here stirs us up to worship and obedience and to praise and submission.
9:47And the other thing that is emphasized in this psalm is the zealousness with which we are supposed to praise and worship God.
9:57He moves us with a special sense of urgency to be very vigorous and loud and zealous in our praise of God.
10:07And, you know, we're often backward and cold and slow in our worship and in our obedience.
10:13And recognizing this, our psalm stirs us up to fervency and faithfulness to God's worship and God's service.
10:21So that's a little sketch and background of our psalm and the shift of emphasis that we're going to be looking at.
10:28And, anyway, appreciate you all being here for us to study this psalm together.
10:34Roger, WB7VZL, is going to be reading to us Psalm 95.
10:39Roger, please go ahead.
10:43WB7VZL reading at ASB in Psalm 95.
10:49O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
10:55Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
11:00Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.
11:04Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
11:09For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods,
11:14in whose hands are the depths of the earth.
11:18The peaks of the mountains are His also.
11:22The sea is His, for it is He who made it.
11:25And His hands formed the dry land.
11:29Come, let us worship and bow down.
11:32Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.
11:36For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
11:42Today, if you could or would hear His voice,
11:47do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the days of Massah in the wilderness.
11:54When your fathers tested me, they tried me, though they had seen my work.
12:01For forty years I loathed that generation and said they are a people who err in their heart,
12:11and they do not know my ways.
12:16Therefore, I swore in my anger, truly, they shall not enter into my rest.
12:25WB7VZL. Back to you, Max.
12:27All right, Roger, great reading. Thank you for that.
12:30All right, any comments on Psalm 95?
12:34Please come down with your call sign.
12:39WB7VZL.
12:40Roger, please go ahead.
12:42Yeah, this side margin reference just a moment ago helped me.
12:48Just before I read it, I looked at verse 8, and the definition of Meribah in verse 8 is a place of strife.
13:02And then in verse 2, I mean, excuse me, in verse 8, and then the second, Massah, or Massah, or whatever, however you like to pronounce it, Max.
13:14It means temptation, or a place of strife.
13:20And then I glanced just before the net, Exodus 17, 1-7, and that's where they were so upset at Moses, they were about to stone him.
13:36At least Moses thought they were rebellious to the point of rebelling against Moses and stoning Moses.
13:46So they were an unruly bunch, and they had forgotten how God had given them freedom.
13:55Wow. So anyway, they just couldn't, they didn't have spirit-controlled temperament for sure, Oliver.
14:07Yeah, that's for sure.
14:09Yeah, thanks for explaining to us the meaning of those words.
14:14You know, in verse 8, it says,
14:15Harden not your heart.
14:16In the King James, it says,
14:18As in the provocation.
14:20And that word can also be translated,
14:22Contention.
14:23And in the day of temptation in the wilderness,
14:28When your fathers tempted me, improved me, and saw my work.
14:31You know, that could be a reference, Roger, to any number of situations where they provoked God to anger
14:37with their unbelief, with their rebellion,
14:41and with their rejection of God's appointed leader.
14:45And so you're right.
14:46Exodus chapter 17 is certainly one of those cases.
14:51They didn't have water to drink.
14:53And the people basically were ready to attack Moses.
14:58And they were ready to stone him to death because there was no water.
15:02And, of course, we know that that's when Moses struck the rock, as God told him to,
15:07And water came out of the rock for them to drink.
15:11And, you know, there was another time, of course, when they were supposed to go into the promised land,
15:17and they rebelled and rejected and didn't believe God.
15:21And then there was a time they complained about the manna.
15:24There was a rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and of Byram.
15:29There was a bunch of situations in which they provoked God with their hard hearts.
15:36And when they questioned God's faithfulness, God's promises, God's provision and care for them,
15:46and instead of trusting him, they angered him because of their unbelief in the explicit promises that he had made to them.
15:55And so it's like, you know, we have passages like, you know, God's going to work all things together for good.
16:02And for us to say something like, oh, God intends no good towards me whatsoever.
16:07That would be a provocation, wouldn't it?
16:09It would be a denial of the promises that he has made.
16:13And so the exhortation here is, look, don't do what the Israelites did in relationship to God.
16:21Instead, be among those who are filled with humility and submission and gratitude and faith in who God is
16:33and what God has done and is doing and will do based on his promises.
16:39So, Roger, thanks for pointing out this whole concept of what is our response going to be to who God is and what God has done.
16:48Well, let it not be the response of the unbelieving Israelites.
16:53Let it be the response of those who are strong in faith, giving glory to God,
16:59and believe that whatever he has promised, he is able also to accomplish.
17:05So, all right, any other comments on our passage, please come down.
17:09Okay, let's read a little tiny bit of the message here.
17:31Come, let us shout praise to God.
17:35I love this.
17:36Raise the roof for the rock who saved us.
17:40Let's march in his presence, singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hands.
17:46This is how you praise, Max.
17:49Amen.
17:50And I really appreciate you bringing out the degree of zeal that is being exhorted to us here.
17:55I think he used the phrase, raise the rafters.
17:58And, you know, verse 2, make a joyful noise with psalms.
18:03Verse 1, make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
18:08In verse 1 and verse 2 in the King James, it says twice, make a joyful noise.
18:13And so the idea here is that this is not quiet worship.
18:19This is not embarrassed worship.
18:22This is not, oh, no, what will the people next to me think if I raise my voice to God in praise?
18:29You know, God is a great God, and therefore he deserves great praise.
18:35And that means making a great noise to the Lord in our praise.
18:41You know, when you go, Jeff, to a football game, nobody holds back, do they?
18:47You know, if there's a touchdown or something, everybody's on their feet, and they're yelling and waving their arms.
18:52They're like, yay.
18:53Well, how much more should we praise God, who's so much more significant than a football touchdown, of all things,
19:01and offer him the praise and worship that he deserves?
19:06And I recognize there's going to be different types of expression in different cultures
19:11and people with different backgrounds.
19:14You know, praise is going to look different in Africa in the way that people behave
19:19with their voices and their bodies than it might in America.
19:23And, of course, from church to church in America.
19:26Some people lift their hands, some people don't.
19:27But the idea here is that the heart is to be enthusiastically engaged with all of its might.
19:35And, you know, over and over again we read, sing loudly to the Lord.
19:40And the idea here is that the worship is to, as you said, Jeff, raise the rafters.
19:46And so when you're in church and you're singing praises to God, sing loudly to the Lord.
19:53Jeff, thanks for that comment and observation.
19:56All right.
19:56Any other comments?
19:57Please come now.
20:04I think coffee is a short supply out there this morning, Max.
20:08Yeah, copy that.
20:10Yeah.
20:10We're going to have to get everyone stirred up here.
20:13All right.
20:15You know, this unbelief that's in the latter part of this psalm, right, when it says, pardon
20:22not your hearts, as in the provocation, verse 9, when your fathers tested me, verse 10, 40
20:29years long as I grieved with this generation.
20:32You know, the contrast to that, right, is Hebrews 11.
20:36And when you read Hebrews chapter 11, these are people who did respond with faith and did
20:44respond with belief.
20:47And, you know, verse 13 of Hebrews 11 says, these all died in faith, not having received
20:53the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them
20:59and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth.
21:03And so here are people who believed God, and it says in verse 16 of Hebrews 11, but now
21:12they desire a better country that is a heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their
21:17God, for he has prepared for them a city.
21:20So here's God embracing his people.
21:23He's thrilled to have these folks as his people.
21:26Why?
21:26Because they believe him.
21:27And, of course, you know, we read, and I think Roger said when he was reading in the
21:33New American Standard, in verse 10, 40 years long did I loathe this generation.
21:41He was disgusted with his people.
21:44And so God can either be disgusted with his people, or he can be glad to own them as his
21:50people, depending upon whether they believe him or not.
21:55And that's the contrast.
21:58So we need to respond in faith to God and to his promises, and we need to trust him in
22:05the face of puzzling and difficult providences.
22:08But, you know, whatever he does, it's praise the Lord, thank you, Lord.
22:14Lord, what will you have me to do in this situation?
22:17And, Lord, you're great, and I'm not, and I just want to submit myself and humble myself
22:25before you and follow in your will and your ways.
22:28And that's the difference between a people that God loathes and a people that God is delighted
22:33in and glad to own as his people.
22:38All right, other comments.
22:39Please come now.
22:44AK6OK follow-up.
22:45A follow-up, Jeff.
22:46Go ahead.
22:47Okay, so I'm noticing a change in authorship here.
22:51So is David, is this a psalm written by David?
22:56You know, we don't know if this is written by David or not.
23:01Some of the psalms are directly ascribed to him.
23:03This one has no ascription.
23:06So I can't say if it's David's or not, because, you know, I appreciate and understand what you're
23:13saying about a change of authorship, because there's a change of content here, right?
23:16A lot of the psalms that David writes are about warfare and about enemies and about crying
23:23out to God for deliverance, because as the political leader of the nation, he was, you know, the general of the army.
23:33He was a soldier, and yet he was also a prophet, and in that sense, he was a spiritual leader of the people of God.
23:42And so sometimes we see all this battle imagery and whatnot in the psalms, and sometimes we see this tremendous praise and worship imagery in the psalms.
23:53And the same guy could be doing both, but it could be someone else, too.
23:59We just don't know.
24:00Does anybody have any insight on the authorship of Psalm 95?
24:04Come now with your call sign.
24:05Well, the reason I ask, if you look at 7, it says, drop everything and listen.
24:16Listen as he speaks.
24:18I assume this is referring to God.
24:20Don't turn a deaf ear as the bitter uprising.
24:23As on the day of the wilderness test, when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.
24:30Now, that's talking about two different people here.
24:34For four years, they watched me at work among them as over and over they tried my patience, and I was provoked.
24:44Oh, I was provoked.
24:45Can't they keep their minds on God for five minutes?
24:49Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?
24:53Exasperated, I exploded.
24:55They'll never get where they're headed.
24:56Never be able to sit down and rest.
25:00Yeah, so what we have here, Jeff, is God speaking in the first person.
25:05And so here we have the psalmist in the present tense, verse 1.
25:12Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord.
25:14Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
25:16And then what we have in verse 7, for he is our God.
25:21And then he voices God himself when he uses the word me and I.
25:33And so now the voice has shifted from the voice of the psalmist to the voice of God.
25:38So now God is providing direct address to his people.
25:42So that's the reason for the question about, well, who's speaking here?
25:47Well, the psalmist speaks in the first part.
25:51And then in the second part, God himself is speaking directly to his people.
25:55And we see this from time to time in the psalms where the psalmist will speak and then God will give direct address through the voice of the psalmist to his people.
26:05Back to you there, Jeff.
26:06I just want to clarify that, Max.
26:10You know, a guy like me with ADD and dyslexia, do you know what that does to my head?
26:16It wraps me around a peg, over.
26:18Yeah, copy that.
26:19But that's also why you're so intelligent and you can do all the things you've done.
26:23So it both has a negative and a positive.
26:26It's kind of like being tall, Jeff.
26:27You know, there's huge advantages to being tall.
26:29And there's disadvantages to being tall.
26:32And there's huge advantages to ADDD and dyslexia.
26:37And there's disadvantages.
26:39And we just focus on the advantages and we appreciate that.
26:43So, yep, understand that sometimes that can be a little weird in processing, especially written communication.
26:50Over.
26:51Yep, I get it.
26:52I'm glad we ran across this because I see this once a while in the psalms.
26:56And I always have to stop and go, wait a second, did the tense just change here?
27:02Yeah, that's exactly right.
27:04The person speaking changed from the psalmist to God himself with direct address.
27:10All right, Jeff.
27:11Glad we cleared that up.
27:12All right.
27:13Any other comments, questions, observations?
27:15Please come down.
27:15WV7MAX here.
27:22I need to recognize Gene.
27:25Let's see.
27:27K7GWR.
27:28Good morning, Gene.
27:29Good to have you with us.
27:29Also, Dave.
27:32KE7WKI.
27:32Dave, good to have you with us as well.
27:35Thank you, guys.
27:35Thank you, guys, for being there.
27:37And we got you checked in.
27:39All right.
27:39Back to our psalm, Psalm 95.
27:42Any questions or comments?
27:44Please come down.
27:45WV7VZL.
28:01Roger, please go ahead.
28:03Well, it was quite apparent that Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 4, I believe.
28:14Oh, no, 3, Hebrews 3, it says, quoting in Hebrews 3, 7, this is the psalm that he leans on.
28:27Over.
28:27Yes, he does.
28:29So, Hebrews chapter 3, it says in verse 12, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.
28:41But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened to the deceitfulness of sin.
28:48So that's the exhortation.
28:51And the basis of it is verse 14 and 15.
28:56For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
29:03That is, we don't go apostate.
29:04We continue to believe.
29:06Verse 15, while it is said, today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
29:13For some, when they had heard, did provoke, albeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
29:20But with whom was he grieved forty years?
29:23Was it not with them that had sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
29:27And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
29:33So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief.
29:36And that brings us to the end of Hebrews chapter 3.
29:40And so the idea there is that it's not that sinless people or perfect people enter into heaven.
29:47It's the people that keep on believing that enter into heaven.
29:51And so the exhortation here is to not apostatize.
29:56That is, not throw Jesus overboard and decide you're all done with Christianity and Christ just because things get hard.
30:06And just because there's challenges that face you and things that you didn't expect happen.
30:12So the exhortation here is to hold steadfast your confidence to the end of your life.
30:21In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1, let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, that is, entering into heaven, any of you should seem to come short of it.
30:33Just like the Israelites did.
30:34Remember, they never made it to the promised land.
30:36They died in the wilderness because of their unbelief.
30:39Verse 2, for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, here it is, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
30:51For we which have believed do enter into rest.
30:55So just like the Jews who believed, remember Caleb and Joshua, they did believe God's promises about the land.
31:02They were able to enter the promised land.
31:05And the unbelievers, they didn't.
31:07They all died in the wilderness.
31:08And that's a picture of people who don't make it into heaven because they don't believe God and his promises.
31:13And then, of course, the people who do make it into heaven are those who believe God and his promises, in particular, his son Jesus Christ, who died to save them from their sins and says to us, believe in me and I will save you and you will be forgiven.
31:33And so the difference between entering the promised land, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, both in time and eternity, is do you believe or do you not?
31:45Do you trust or don't you?
31:47Are you going to exercise faith in God or are you going to turn against God?
31:53Are you going to trust Jesus or are you going to try to enter the promised land based on your own merit and works?
31:59So, Roger, thank you for making that connection between our Psalm 95 and Hebrews chapter 3 and chapter 4.
32:09Back to you there, Roger.
32:12Yes, I think that what really tipped me off was in chapter 7.
32:20Today, excuse me, I'm sorry.
32:24It was in verse 7 in Psalm 95, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
32:36And then this is the beginning of the quote that you quoted, Max.
32:41Today, if you would hear his voice, that's what triggered the Hebrews passage in my mind.
32:52Do not harden your heart.
32:56And I find it fascinating that just before that quote, today, if you would hear his voice, he highlights in verse 7 the sheep, the pasture and the sheep of his hand, emphasizing his hand.
33:19And when we go to John 10, we need to know how to listen to the voice of the shepherd.
33:27So, being aware of listening for the good shepherd and his voice keeps us, our hearts tender and it keeps us from rebellion, which they had.
33:47But I found it fascinating.
33:49Right there in verse 7, we're sheep and we listen to the good shepherd that we won't be into messed up with unbelief.
34:01W.B. 7 of Israel.
34:02Amen, Roger, and thank you for making the connection, not only to Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 15 and following, but also to John chapter 10.
34:12It says in John chapter 10, verse 4,
34:14And when he, that is, Jesus, puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
34:25And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.
34:32And then in verse 27 of John 10,
34:36My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life.
34:43And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
34:48So, you're right, you know, instead of being those who harden their hearts, we need to be those who, like sheep, hear the voice of our shepherd, follow the voice of our shepherd, and ignore other voices that tell us to rebel against our shepherd.
35:06That's the voice of strangers, strangers to the kingdom of God, strangers to the grace of God, strangers to the Son of God, strangers to the people of God.
35:17They will try, like Nadab, or pardon me, like Koradathan and Abiram, to talk us into going a different way.
35:27You remember at Kadesh Barnea, the people were saying, oh, let's go back to Egypt, right?
35:33That's the voice of strangers.
35:34Kenneth and Joshua were saying, no, let's go forward into the promised land.
35:38Let's believe God.
35:39Let's trust God.
35:41That's the voice of the sheep.
35:43And so, you know, you can tell the difference between the voice of strangers and the voice of the sheep as to what they are telling you to do in relationship to God.
35:53And what is the psalmist telling us?
35:55Sing to the Lord.
35:56Make a joyful noise.
35:58Come before his presence for thanksgiving.
36:00He is a great God.
36:02Let us worship and bow down.
36:05Let's kneel before the Lord.
36:07He is our God.
36:08We're his people.
36:10Well, that's a completely different voice than the voice that says, let's go back to Egypt, right?
36:14Let's go back to the world.
36:16Let's go back to the leeks and the garlics, you know, the bars and the dance halls and the whorehouses and the drug dens and all those ugly things the world has.
36:25Let's not go back there, okay?
36:28Let's go forward with the Lord and with following him.
36:32So, Roger, once again, great connection with the New Testament, both in Hebrews 3 and 4 and also in John chapter 10.
36:41All right.
36:41Other comments on our passage, please.
36:43Come now.
36:43While you're thinking, once again, for the 400th time, we see the psalmist talking about God being creator, right?
37:05It says, verse 6, let's bow down and kneel before the Lord, our maker, okay?
37:16And so, verse 5, the sea is his.
37:19He made it.
37:20And his hands formed the dry land.
37:23And verse 6, he's our maker.
37:25You know, the doctrine of creation, of God being the direct creator of all that is, the Bible is just saturated with it, with literally thousands of references in the Bible to God being the creator.
37:41And this is the reason why we utterly repudiate the science fiction of evolution, is because what that is is the declaration that says, no, God didn't create it, okay?
37:54It came into existence through purely naturalistic processes without any divine involvement or intervention.
38:03Everything came out of nothing.
38:05Life came out of death.
38:08And here we are, just magically appearing through the combination of time plus energy plus chance.
38:16And, you know, it's just the lie of the devil that robs God of his glory when it denies divine creation of all things that exist.
38:31Only God is capable, with his voice, of calling something out of nothing and creating, as the theologians say, ex nihilo, out of nothing into what we see.
38:43So, let's just double down and reinforce our belief in God, which, of course, is more scientifically justified than the theory of evolution, that it was created by an intelligent design that didn't come through random events.
39:05All right, other comments.
39:07Please come now.
39:07All right.
39:13Roger, please go ahead.
39:19Yeah.
39:20Yeah, I'm waiting patiently for anybody else that wants to throw in their thoughts about this incredible song.
39:28As you highlighted, as you highlighted, the creative work that the Fourth Commandment certainly highlights.
39:36I really feel like in the two examples that verse 8 gives us, both in Meribah and then the other, the Exodus 19, excuse me, 17 passage, it is their thirst.
40:01And, you know, we were talking about voices.
40:06Well, I think one of the main voices that wars against the soul is even our flesh.
40:14It's our, it's the voice of appetite, even for necessary things, that he is training his people, that even the necessary needs are not naturalistic, that they are all from God.
40:36But, there's one writer that says, every loaf of bread comes because of the cross of Christ, ultimately, and the bread of life.
40:48And so, here the people are thirsty, and both situations, Max, involve thirst for water.
40:59Over.
40:59Yeah, copy that.
41:01And, you know, what's interesting is in the Gospel of John, Jesus addresses that.
41:09And it's in John chapter 7, and in verse 37, it says,
41:15So, you're right.
41:39All of these metaphors find their fulfillment in Christ.
41:44He is the bread of life.
41:46He is the water of life.
41:48He is the resurrection and the life.
41:52And so, over and over again, Jesus identifies himself as the one who provides and fulfills all of the types and the metaphors of the Old Testament.
42:03And so, what a blessing it is to have a Savior who not only feeds us, but also who provides us with all we need to drink.
42:15Because that's the essence of life, right?
42:17You've got to have water and you've got to have food.
42:19And Jesus is the bread of life.
42:22Jesus is the water of life.
42:24And so, he's the one that we look to and trust in for eternal life.
42:29And, you know, you're right, Roger.
42:31We have natural appetites.
42:32We have appetites for food and drink, for sexual pleasure, for meaning, purpose, fulfillment, for creative work.
42:46And God provides us with all of those things.
42:50And the devil perverts all of those things.
42:53And so, what we need to recognize is that, you know, legitimate appetites of the body have been given by God.
43:03And we rejoice in the way God meets those physical appetites in the way in which he has designed and to the degree which he has intended.
43:14And when we do that, we have a huge blessing.
43:17But when we overindulge in those things or we indulge in ways that are contrary to the plan that he has for us, then those things wind up being a curse to us.
43:30And that's why he has given us regulations.
43:33Do we need property?
43:35Yes.
43:35But we don't steal to get it.
43:37Right?
43:38Do we need sexual fulfillment?
43:41Yes, we do.
43:42But we don't engage in adultery in order to accomplish it.
43:46Do we need justice?
43:48Yes, we do.
43:49But we don't go out and murder people in order to get it.
43:51And so, over and over again, the Bible says to us, okay, these are things you need.
43:57Here's the way to get them.
43:59Don't get them in these other ways or to these wrong degrees.
44:04And so, do we need water?
44:06Yes, we sure do.
44:08But I know of people who have literally died from water poisoning, from over-drinking, and it upset the chemistry in their body, and they died.
44:18So, the bottom line, God gives us richly all things to enjoy.
44:23We need to enjoy them in the way he's designed and in the proportion that he's designed.
44:28And that's where the blessing is maximized.
44:30And we try to maximize blessing by going outside of that.
44:34We just wind up with cursing.
44:36Back to you there, Roger.
44:38Yeah, thank you, Max.
44:39Yeah.
44:40All things to the glory of God.
44:42Yeah, it's the appetite, the wars, as Romans 7 talks about, and the flesh and the spirit, our intention.
44:52So, it really does sound like that they had forgot God in their desire for thirst to the point where they were going to stone their leader that God had appointed in light of all the spiritual deliverance that they had.
45:09Max, if you ever want to see a movie that is totally inspiring, it's called Moolie.
45:21Moolie.
45:23And that's what it is.
45:24It's Moolie.
45:25M-U-L-L-I-R-Y.
45:31It will help you find that movie.
45:35And it's available on YouTube.
45:37Moolie is the most modern example of a guy who heard the voice of God through a dream for the sake of water.
45:52And it's almost like a modern day example of following the voice of God.
45:59If you will hear my voice as the good shepherd.
46:04And he found water that has supplied this incredible orphanage ministry of going to the streets of Nairobi and picking up the abandoned children and forms an orphanage by following the voice of the Lord.
46:25But it is how he struck water and that well has supplied the whole community.
46:34But it was just incredibly listening to the voice of God.
46:39WB7 of Isidale.
46:40Well, sorry, Roger.
46:42Thank you for that and that recommendation.
46:45We'll close with that.
46:47We need to go to prayer.
46:48It's 340.
46:50Pardon me.
46:51It's 642 now.
46:52So we need to close in prayer.
46:54But what a great discussion.
46:56What a great psalm.
46:58It's like this psalm says two things.
47:00It says, worship God.
47:02Don't turn your back on God.
47:04If we wanted to summarize this psalm in just a simple sentence.
47:09And so, verse 1, come let us sing to the Lord.
47:12Let's make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
47:15Verse 8, harden not your heart as in the day of provocation.
47:19So turn toward God.
47:21Engage in the worship of God.
47:23Don't turn your back on God and walk away from God in unbelief.
47:27All you're doing is robbing yourself of the incredible blessings that he intends for you to have both in time and in eternity.
47:36And that's a loser's game.
47:38And those who follow that by just dying in the wilderness, fall short of entering into heaven and all the blessings God has designed for them there.
47:46All right.
47:47Let's go to prayer.
47:48I'll be closing in prayer today.
47:50Are there any final prayer requests before we go to prayer?
47:53Please come now at your call time.
47:57All right.
48:00Well, let's go ahead and pray together.
48:02Our kind and gracious Father, we thank you so much for this psalm.
48:06And, Lord, our heart's desire is to sing to you, to make a joyful noise to you, and to express our thanksgiving for what you have done.
48:17Father, you have made us.
48:19You have redeemed us.
48:21You are a great God and a great king above all gods.
48:25And so, Lord, we love you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.
48:31And, Lord, we pray that we would always be turning towards you and not away from you.
48:36And, Lord, when you put us under stress, it seems as if there's no water.
48:41Lord, help us to just tumble down and pray and seek your face and turn from our wicked ways and know that in that avenue, your blessing and refreshment will come.
48:56Lord, just forgive us for the times when we thought it was appropriate to get angry at you and to become unhappy with your dealings.
49:07And, Lord, we just pray that we might instead have that attitude of humility, submission, and thanksgiving.
49:15And when we're puzzled, engage in praise instead of pouting.
49:21Father, we just ask now that you would be pleased to look upon our needs and meet those needs.
49:26Father, we just want to praise you that Roger's wife, Daylene, is getting back into playing her violin, and she'll be able to be playing tonight.
49:37Lord, give her special skill to be able to bring glory to you through music and a witness to all those who listen as they hear the melodies that you have inspired people to write and to express.
49:52Father, may it just be a symphony of worship of God.
49:56Father, we just want to pray for Roger's friend, Gary, the 80-year-old of the urinary tract infection.
50:03We pray for his healing.
50:05Father, maybe he needs surgery, maybe he doesn't, but meet Gary's needs and bring healing into his life.
50:11Father, we thank you for our brother, Al, N6MOT, and his wife, Toni, who has an aneurysm in her abdomen.
50:19Father, I pray that you would not allow that to break.
50:23I pray that you'd strengthen those blood vessel walls.
50:27And, Lord, I just ask that if surgery is needed, it will be accomplished, and she will be freed from the threat of the sudden rupture of this blood vessel.
50:39Lord, just give Al and Toni peace as they go forward with this new challenge in their life.
50:46Father, we just want to thank you for our brother, Jerry, KG6J, who's having to bear a double load, as his boss, Rochelle, is getting radiation treatment.
50:59And she's having to deal with the cancer in her neck and possibly elsewhere in her body.
51:06Lord, give her healing.
51:07And give Jerry, KG6J, a special grace and strength to handle that double load of work that is on him.
51:16Lord, may he make wise decisions and have the energy and focus he needs to plow through the challenges that are before him.
51:25Father, we continue to pray for Ed in 6XOH's brother, Lawhead.
51:29We pray that he'd be able to get proper medical treatment to deal with his heart arrhythmia.
51:34Lord, I pray that he'd be able to find a doctor to treat him in Washington.
51:39Father, continue to pray for our brother, Kevin, KB7ZXN, and his daughter, Montenroyo, who in the U.K., still waiting for a date for a gallbladder surgery.
51:49Lord, I pray that you would speed that so that she can have relief from that.
51:55Father, we continue to pray for Keith, K7NEB.
51:57We thank you that there's some progress being made in finding a place for his mom to be able to live.
52:05And, Lord, I pray that that would work out.
52:07She would be able to settle in and that, Lord, her needs would be met.
52:11Father, we continue to pray for Laura, KD7RID, who's having health complications from the pacemaker implant.
52:19Lord, just pray that you'd be pleased to meet her needs and bring healing to her body and stability to her heart rhythms.
52:28Father, we pray for our brother, Beck, Alpha Alpha 5 Yankee.
52:31Thank you that he made it home from the hospital yesterday.
52:34And, Lord, he's healing up from a urinary tract infection.
52:38Father, we just thank you that he's better.
52:40We pray that you'd completely heal him.
52:42And, Father, give him good sleep and rest so his body can do the work of overcoming a disinfection.
52:48We just pray that you would continue to heal his double vision and his loss of hearing in his ear.
52:55Lord, I ask that you would cause the doctors to have wisdom in knowing how to correct those two issues in his life.
53:05Father, we pray for his neighbor, Nancy, who needs healing from terminal cancer and also needs salvation.
53:12Lord, thank you that Nancy's shown some improvement.
53:15We pray for Kathleen Vaughn recovering from her neck surgery.
53:20Pray that she would just continue to have full healing, complete mobility, and freedom from pain.
53:27Father, we pray for Jan Burkhardt that she would learn to walk on her partial foot.
53:32And, Lord, we pray that her husband, Ken, would have stability in his heart, in its rhythms.
53:39Father, we pray for Mike at K7RSB, his wife, Liz, who's fighting cancer.
53:45We pray for her effective chemo treatment, Lord, that you would be pleased to deliver her from this cancer.
53:52Father, we pray for Joe, KD7QDL, that the doctors would have wisdom in diagnosing and treating his health issues.
54:02Father, we pray for Will, KM5F.
54:04Lord, we pray that his cancer would be brought into remission, not only through the hormone treatment, but also through this radiation that he's currently undergoing.
54:14Father, we pray for this man, Joe, who Will was able to give a Bible to.
54:21Lord, we pray for Joe's salvation.
54:24And, Father, we just continue to pray for peace and comfort for the family of Ben who passed away.
54:31Lord, his memorial service was on September 26th.
54:34We pray the things that were said there, the encouragements that were provided, would lodge into the hearts and minds of all who heard them,
54:43and that it would provide ongoing comfort to them.
54:46Father, we continue to pray for our brother, Jeff, AK6OK.
54:50Thank you that they were able to get the antennas all fixed and squared away there in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
54:57Lord, just give he and Peter real wisdom in the management of that station and all the technical challenges that are there.
55:04And, Lord, bless them as that station's going to be used and has been used for the service of the Lord.
55:09And, Lord, we just ask that these airways might bring glory to you as your word is spoken over them.
55:18Father, we pray that you bring Jeff home safely and his net control operations tomorrow.
55:24Father, may that just go really well.
55:26Give me a safe journey, Father, to New Jersey.
55:29And, Lord, just thank you that we'll be able to talk while I'm there.
55:33Father, and give me wisdom as I teach as a seminary student, the book of Revelation.
55:40And, Father, help them to absorb it, understand it, and then be able to preach it to their congregations in the future.
55:48Father, we just want to pray also for Jeff's Bibles as they go out.
55:52Father, may they accomplish that word until you've sent them, the salvation and sanctification of our military soldiers.
56:01Father, we just want to ask that there would be no more rejection of Bibles at military bases by overzealous officers who want to restrict a soldier's access to the scriptures.
56:17Lord, we continue to pray for Patty and the healing of her broken wrist.
56:21Father, I pray that the rehab would go well.
56:23I pray, Lord, that she would gain increasing use and mobility.
56:28Lord, give her freedom from joint pain.
56:30And, Lord, I just ask that everything would heal together well and she would have as much strength as she did before this fall that she had.
56:41Lord, we just want to pray today for Carol, KK7TPO, and her son-in-law, Chris, who's recovering from back surgery.
56:50Lord, that's a long process.
56:52And we pray for continued progress in his healing.
56:55And, Lord, may you strengthen him in his back so that he can do his work of caring for his wife and his family.
57:05Lord, we continue to pray for Tom, WW17.
57:09Thank you that his antenna got back up and that he's able to get on the radio again.
57:14Lord, we know that he sleeps in oftentimes in the morning and therefore doesn't get on the net here.
57:19But thanks for the conversation I had with him.
57:22And, Lord, we just pray that you would provide for him to be able to get to physical therapy.
57:26And, Lord, we pray that you would provide him with a wheelchair that he needs for his lack of mobility that he has in his body.
57:36Father, we continue to pray for my pastor, Pastor Jeff Black.
57:40And, Lord, thank you that he was able to be sitting in the morning service this morning.
57:46And, Lord, I just pray that you would continue to heal him.
57:50And, Lord, this is a slow process.
57:52But may this new medical treatment he's giving be effectual in bringing healing to his ulcerative colitis.
58:00Father, we continue to pray for Cody's, Uncle Doug, that you would clear up this infection that he has in his brain.
58:08And, Lord, I pray that he would know deliverance from this infection that he's having that is the result of his accidents that he had over his head.
58:26Father, we pray for Steve at W6YSI.
58:29We pray that his pastor's granddaughter, little Emma, Lord, that you would protect her from any further infection.
58:36Thank you that she's home.
58:37And, Lord, I just pray that she would be free from any infection that would follow up on this pneumonia.
58:45Father, continue to pray for Scott, KD7YQT.
58:48Father, we thank you for the good report of Kendra's improvement in her arthritis.
58:53Lord, we pray that she would continue to have relief from it.
58:56Lord, you know what causes it, and you know how to cure it.
58:59And, Lord, we pray that you would cure the arthritis in Kendra's hands.
59:03And, Father, all her other chronic health needs as well.
59:07Pray that Pam would have a good day today.
59:09And that, Lord, her lupus would go into remission.
59:13Continue to pray for Mike, KK7N, with a stage 4 cancer.
59:17Lord, we pray the chemo treatment would be effective in his life.
59:21Lord, we just continue to pray for our brother Al, KD7QQH, his son John, that you would heal him from cancer.
59:28Thank you, Father, that his numbers are looking good.
59:32But, Father, we pray that he would have a complete and total removal of that cancer from his body.
59:38We pray for our neighbor Lucas, Lord, that he would be able to get that cochlear ear implant, and that it would go well for him.
59:46Lord, I pray that he would be able to sell his auto shop business.
59:49And, Father, move into retirement because of his condition of unable, the fact that he's unable to hear, as well as he needs to and should.
60:00Lord, pray for my friend Rick Belfinger, that he would sell his business.
60:05Just pray for a buyer to come and purchase it.
60:07Lord, we continue to pray for Judy, who has stage 2 lung cancer.
60:11Pray that you would heal her.
60:13And, Father, for Doc W6RLJ, for the establishment of the dental clinic on Fiji.
60:17Lord, we just want to thank you today for your mercy and grace to each one of us.
60:24And thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ, in whom we trust.
60:28Help us to remember the lessons of Psalm 95 and walk in light of them today and always.
60:33In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.
60:36All right.
60:36This is WB7MX, NetControl for the West Coast Bible Study.
60:40I want to thank all the stations who checked in and also those who stood by to give us a clear operating frequency.
60:46We meet here seven days a week at 6 a.m.
60:50In order to read the scriptures, understand their meaning, message, and application,
60:54and then pray for grace and mercy to be able to live out what we learn
60:57and for God to meet the needs that are in our circle of fellowship.
61:02I'll be returning this frequency now to regular amateur use.
61:05This is WB7MX.
61:07I'll be clear and standing by.
61:09Thank you, Max.
61:15We'll handle it for tomorrow and Saturday, and you have a good trip.
61:19All right, Jeff.
61:19You have a good trip today, too, and I appreciate you filling in,
61:23and I'm glad things went well for you and Peter up there.
61:26All right.
61:27WB7MX, listening.
61:28Anybody want to chat?
61:29Throw out your call sign.
61:31Yeah.
61:32WB7V's at L.
61:33Roger.
61:33Please go ahead.
61:34So you're leaving.
61:37Wow.
61:38Well, you've got a mission for sure.
61:41But, yeah.
61:42Jeff, have you seen the movie Moorley?
61:45Over.
61:46I have not.
61:47Go ahead.
61:49Oh, it is a priceless transformation story.
61:54It's based upon this abandoned child because of an alcoholic father.
62:07And it traces his conversion and how the Lord brought him into a tremendous wealth.
62:16And then he saw the abject poverty that he had gone through as a child, and the Lord spoke to him.
62:26But what relates to our passage today, again, was the incredible answer to prayer regarding water,
62:38where all the professionals could not find water on his location.
62:44And how the Lord spoke to him, and they have a well that actually waters an incredible oasis of production for the kids that have been abandoned that he's taken in.
63:01And he's not anonymous, you know, but he's, you know, he's gone stateside and told a story.
63:15But that movie is a marvelous tracing, and a lot of it is some original footage that is rolled in.
63:24But it's priceless when it really illustrates this Psalm 95, where the people complained about water and how Moorley listened to the voice of God.
63:38And they struck water in a, it's a divine affirmation for hearing the voice of God.
63:46Over.
63:48Wow, that's amazing.
63:50Is that something playing in the theaters at the moment?
63:52Oh, no, no, no, no, this has been out for quite a while.
63:57But how I found it out, I was going to Kenya, you know, to work on this deaf school,
64:07and with my sister-in-law, primarily Candy and May, who Max has met.
64:12And when I went to my ophthalmologist, his wife, Lisa, who's a professional counselor,
64:20when she found out that I was going to Kenya, she said,
64:25before you go, make sure you watch Moorley.
64:31And she says, I have watched that movie multiple times, and it is such an inspiration to me.
64:41And so I did, and whatever I have a chance, when it, when it speaks of water and impact.