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HEBREWS 3: 7, 8

"THE PERILS OF PROCRASTINATION"

Intro: To whom written. The danger facing them. The danger of procrastination  recognized in
       natural realm. "No time like the present. Don't put off till  tomorrow." The call of
       Christ to men - so many lack just one thing, a full  surrender to Him.

I. THE ASSUMPTIONS OF THE TEXT.
        A. Human responsibility begins when you hear His voice.
                1. Some may see a loophole here and say I have never heard His  voice.
                        a. It may never come with the articulation of human utterance
                        b. The voice may seem to be of your own mind.
                        c. "Work out your own salvation - for it is God that worketh in  you."
                        d. God's final voice to you will never come through human  lips.
                        e. How do I know if it is God's voice or not?
                                1. The content of the message spoken.
                                2. Call to a higher life? Submission? Folly of trying to  
                                   satisfy your life with things of dust.
                2. Never heard God's voice? Think again.
                        a. Ever felt inner rebuke when you did wrong?
                        b. Ever feel the Iovliness of Jesus Christ?
                        c. Ever desire freedom from some wrong habit or desire.
        B. The freedom of my will, "Today if ye shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
                1. We can harden them, if we want.
                2. We can see the light and choose darkness.
                3. When God speaks, I am free to obey or disobey.


II. THE WARNING OF THE TEXT, "TODAY"
        A. The sense of the immediate - the danger of procrastination.
                1. One hears the call and intends to answer, postpones till some  more 
                   convenient time.
                        a. I believe that this one thing has caused more people to miss  he 
                           highest and descent to the lowest than in any other way.
                        b. Not antagonism of God, but admiration and postponement  of decision.
        B. The perils of procrastination.
                1. To refuse to obey is to soon lose the sense of urgency.
                2. To fail to walk in the light is to soon lose the admiration for the  light.
                3. To lust linger in the gleam will cause it to fade and finally we will think
                   it was just our imagination.
                        a. Thousands of case histories attest to this fact.
                        b. Men who were once close - saw ideal, felt drawn,  hardened.

Ill. THE GOSPEL IN THE TEXT.
        A. Suggested in the one word "Today."
                1. No music in that word?
                2. The world's dark night is fast approaching, but it is still today.
                3. Today suggests immediate possibility and warns of consequent  peril.
        B. The voice of Christ is speaking to men.
                1. Not speculative.
                2. Not a philosophy.
                3. Authoritatively.
                        a. It calls you too high life and promises you all the powers to  
                           attain.
                        b. It calls you to sacrifice and promises full compensation.

Do not listen for His voice through my lips. He speaks when I have ceased. I have given you 
His truth, He will make those truths grip your heart. That voice tells you to forsake your 
evil to come to the higher life. It commands you to the cross and to Jesus Christ. To delay is 
to blaspheme, only one reasonable time for action, "Today."