WEBVTT 00:00:15.819 --> 00:00:19.760 The transcendentalist, philosopher, poet, essayist, 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:23.620 and lover of nature, Henry David Thoreau, famously 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:30.280 said, the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:36.920 In other words, people are not at rest. But we 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.880 live in a world that is obsessed with it. People 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:45.700 talk about needing a break, getting away. unplugging, 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:50.659 taking a vacation, protecting their peace. And 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:54.159 yet for all the ways that people try to find 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:59.719 rest, very few people actually are at rest. Truth 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:02.500 is, you can lay your head down at night and not 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:06.900 be at rest. You could take a week off from work 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:10.540 and not be at rest. You can lay with your feet 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:14.260 in the sand on a beach. be listening to the waves 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:18.120 crashing in and not be at rest. Because real 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:22.079 rest is way more than just physical. It's even 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.739 way more than emotional. Real rest is not just 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:30.920 the absence of noise or activity. There is this 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:34.359 deeper kind of rest that human beings are longing 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:38.180 for and looking for whether they know it or not. 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:42.280 What we're going to do this morning as we continue 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.780 in the book of Hebrews We have now been led to 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:53.000 this very idea of rest. What is rest? How do 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.359 we get it? Can you fake it? And those are all 00:01:57.359 --> 00:01:59.120 questions that we're gonna be wrestling with 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:01.640 and dealing with this morning So I will ask you 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.760 to turn to Hebrews chapter 4 we're gonna read 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:08.979 the first 13 verses and look at the rest of God 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:15.099 Hebrews 4 verse 1, therefore, while the promise 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:20.360 of entering his rest still stands, let us fear 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:25.379 lest any of you should seem to have failed to 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:31.840 reach it. For good news came to us just as to 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.259 them, but the message they heard did not benefit 00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:41.129 them. because they were not united by faith with 00:02:41.129 --> 00:02:45.789 those who listened. For we who have believed 00:02:45.789 --> 00:02:51.629 enter that rest. As he said, as I swore in my 00:02:51.629 --> 00:02:54.569 wrath, they shall not enter my rest. And although 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:56.650 his works were finished from the foundation of 00:02:56.650 --> 00:02:59.330 the world, for he has somewhere spoken of the 00:02:59.330 --> 00:03:02.849 seventh day in this way. And God rested on the 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:06.699 seventh. from all his works. And again, in this 00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:10.419 passage, he says, they shall not enter my rest. 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:14.219 Since therefore it remains for some to enter 00:03:14.219 --> 00:03:17.620 it, and those who formerly received the good 00:03:17.620 --> 00:03:20.180 news failed to enter it because of disobedience. 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:24.080 And again, he appoints a certain day, today, 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:28.530 saying through David, so long afterward. In the 00:03:28.530 --> 00:03:32.189 words already quoted today, if you hear his voice, 00:03:32.530 --> 00:03:37.530 do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:41.289 given them rest, God would not have spoken of 00:03:41.289 --> 00:03:45.110 another day later on. So then there remains a 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:47.949 Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever 00:03:47.949 --> 00:03:52.689 has entered God's rest has also rested from his 00:03:52.689 --> 00:03:57.780 works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:05.000 to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.020 the same sort of disobedience. For the word of 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:11.060 God is living and active, sharper than any two 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:13.979 -edged sword, piercing to the division of soul 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:17.180 and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:20.600 the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:24.389 no creature is hidden from his sight. but all 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:28.310 are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom 00:04:28.310 --> 00:04:34.529 we must give an account. Amen. Before we talk 00:04:34.529 --> 00:04:41.069 about striving for this rest, we need to understand 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:44.220 what this rest actually is that the author is 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:46.720 talking about here in Hebrews. Because the entire 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:50.660 warning of this passage only makes sense if we 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:53.420 understand what is being offered. This rest that 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:56.120 is being offered, the warning makes sense because 00:04:56.120 --> 00:04:59.459 we have to, because we understand the rest. And 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:03.420 so the writer of Hebrews is assuming something 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:07.420 about his audience. He's assuming that the audience 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:10.579 knows something about this category of rest. 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.959 Okay, he's assuming that the original Jewish 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.420 hearers would know that when he uses the word 00:05:18.420 --> 00:05:23.740 rest they had categories for this already The 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:26.720 the idea of rest in Hebrews chapter 4 is not 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.649 something that is new to the Jewish mind And 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:33.790 what the author is doing here is not a new idea. 00:05:33.850 --> 00:05:36.389 He's not going to do something here that the 00:05:36.389 --> 00:05:38.910 entirety of the New Testament does not do because 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:40.870 what he's going to do is he's going to take this 00:05:40.870 --> 00:05:44.149 old category of rest and he's going to interpret 00:05:44.149 --> 00:05:48.029 it for them. He's going to say, listen, the Old 00:05:48.029 --> 00:05:51.689 Testament uses this word rest. Our fathers talked 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:54.709 about this word rest. We understand this idea 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:56.870 of rest, but we're not interpreting it properly. 00:05:57.769 --> 00:06:00.750 We need to interpret and understand what this 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:06.709 rest really is. What does God actually mean by 00:06:06.709 --> 00:06:10.529 rest? And so he's going to do what the New Testament 00:06:10.529 --> 00:06:14.449 does, interpret the Old Testament for us. Jesus 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:17.410 does this, by the way. Jesus says in Luke chapter 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:21.339 24 verse 27, It says that beginning with Moses 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:25.100 and all the prophets, Jesus interpreted to them 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:28.839 in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.040 Now the name Yeshua of Nazareth was not used 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:33.759 in the Old Testament, but you know what Jesus 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.800 did? Is he took the Old Testament and interpreted 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.720 it for them in light of himself. These are what 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.769 all of this actually pointed to. He does the 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:47.009 same thing in John chapter 5 verse 39 when he 00:06:47.009 --> 00:06:49.629 says you search the scriptures because you think 00:06:49.629 --> 00:06:53.170 in them you have eternal life and It is they 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:57.610 that bear witness about me So the Old Testament 00:06:57.610 --> 00:07:00.009 scriptures were always pointing to something 00:07:00.009 --> 00:07:03.029 greater that's why we use the language of fulfillment 00:07:03.029 --> 00:07:05.990 Jesus is the fulfillment of all of this Old Testament 00:07:05.990 --> 00:07:09.050 language And of course Jesus says that about 00:07:09.050 --> 00:07:11.550 himself. The apostles do the same thing. Paul 00:07:11.550 --> 00:07:14.269 in Colossians chapter 2 verses 16 and 17 says 00:07:14.269 --> 00:07:18.089 the laws, the festivals, the Sabbaths are all 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:20.709 shadows of the things to come but the substance 00:07:20.709 --> 00:07:24.829 belongs to Christ. So the writer of Hebrews is 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:28.389 doing the very same thing. He's taking something 00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:31.089 that is in the Old Testament and he is interpreting 00:07:31.089 --> 00:07:35.850 it for them in light of Jesus. The rest that 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:38.610 the Old Testament talks about was never ultimate. 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:42.089 It was a shadow. It was a picture. It was preparing 00:07:42.089 --> 00:07:45.069 them for something greater. So he takes this 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:48.709 concept of rest and he interprets it for them. 00:07:49.209 --> 00:07:52.509 Now, most people, most Jewish people, when they 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:55.750 were to first read this, when the idea of rest 00:07:55.750 --> 00:07:58.089 popped up, they would have immediately gone to 00:07:58.089 --> 00:08:00.149 the promised land. That would have been the first 00:08:00.149 --> 00:08:02.970 place that they went to. The idea of rest. We 00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:06.170 enter out of slavery, we've wandered in the wilderness, 00:08:06.430 --> 00:08:08.410 God has promised this land to us and we come 00:08:08.410 --> 00:08:12.050 into it and now we are at rest. The author knows 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:14.529 this and so that's why he begins talking about 00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:19.389 the rest of the promised land. The land flowing 00:08:19.389 --> 00:08:23.199 with milk and honey. A place that was promised 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.920 to Israel and they were looking forward to this 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.920 rest and what they would experience in this rest. 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:32.259 In Deuteronomy chapter 12, verses 9 and 10. while 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:34.299 they're in the wilderness, as they're making 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:36.759 their way toward the promised land, but not yet 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.419 there. Here's what is said, for you have not 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:42.259 yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:44.720 the Lord your God is giving you. But when you 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.980 go over the Jordan and live in the land, and 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:50.360 when he gives you rest from all of your enemies 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:54.320 around so that you live in safety. So here's 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:56.240 the promise that God gives them. You're gonna 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:57.960 eventually get out of this wilderness, you're 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.259 gonna cross over the Jordan, and God is going 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:03.559 to give this land to you and you will experience 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:05.759 rest. We talked about that when we did our Joshua 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:10.379 series. And eventually they do receive this promised 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.980 land of Canaan from the Lord. As we read in Joshua 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:19.879 21, 44, it says, the Lord gave them rest on every 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:23.399 side, just as He swore. to their fathers. So 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:26.559 God promised the land, now they're in this land, 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:29.059 and for Israel they would have felt like that 00:09:29.059 --> 00:09:32.799 was the end of the story at first. Enemies defeated, 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:36.299 land secured, promise fulfilled, but the author 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:41.759 of Hebrews forces us to ask a question. If the 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:45.779 rest was the promised land, then why does scripture 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:50.860 talk about another rest? If that was it, Then 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:55.200 why does the scriptures talk about another rest? 00:09:55.799 --> 00:09:58.940 As we read in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 8, for 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:02.899 if Joshua had given them rest, God would not 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:08.039 have spoken of another day later on. So the rest 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.940 cannot be the promised land. The rest cannot 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:14.120 be Canaan. Now some young Jewish theologian may 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:15.980 jump up at that point and raise their hand and 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:19.080 say, oh, I know what it is. It's the Davidic 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:22.250 kingdom. So it wasn't just getting into the promised 00:10:22.250 --> 00:10:25.190 land. It was once God set up his chosen king, 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:32.330 then we have this later day rest. It's the Davidic 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:35.389 kingdom. That's the height of Israel as a nation. 00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:40.269 Well, the author anticipates that as well. So 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:44.419 we go to David. Because after the conquest, after 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:47.320 the land was settled, after Israel was established, 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.580 there was another season that looked like even 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:54.779 more rest than the following one. Speaking of 00:10:54.779 --> 00:10:57.620 David, the author of 2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:00.679 1 says, when the king lived in his house and 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:05.320 the Lord had given him rest from all of his surrounding 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.110 enemies. That language sound familiar? Didn't 00:11:08.110 --> 00:11:10.330 we just read that language about the promised 00:11:10.330 --> 00:11:12.289 land? Now we're reading it about the Davidic 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:21.250 kingdom. If Canaan looked like rest originally, 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:25.990 then the Davidic kingdom looked like even more 00:11:25.990 --> 00:11:30.789 of it. This is the golden age of Israel. This 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:34.330 must be what all the rest is pointing to. This 00:11:34.330 --> 00:11:39.220 is it. But again, the Bible does something unexpected 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:43.200 for us. Because David himself writes in Psalm 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.460 chapter 95, remember last week when brother James 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:48.600 was quoting Psalm chapter 95? Well, David does 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.899 something in Psalm chapter 95 that lets us know 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:55.179 that God is even going further than that. Because 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:58.240 David writes in Psalm 95, today if you hear his 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:01.639 voice, do not harden your hearts. And God says 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.659 again, they shall not enter. my rest. Now I need 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:06.679 you to stop and think about that for a minute. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:13.659 In the promised land, in the Davidic kingdom, 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:18.779 enemies have been subdued, land has been secured, 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:26.639 Israel is at its peak glory, and David writes, 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:31.100 today don't harden your hearts but enter into 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:35.210 the rest. Now he's not writing that to people 00:12:35.210 --> 00:12:37.629 who are in the wilderness. He is not writing 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:39.990 that speaking of people outside of the land. 00:12:40.110 --> 00:12:44.289 He is writing Psalm 95 for people who are already 00:12:44.289 --> 00:12:47.110 living in this Davidic Kingdom in the Promised 00:12:47.110 --> 00:12:52.870 Land. He speaks of entering God's rest as something 00:12:52.870 --> 00:12:55.090 that is still open and out there for them to 00:12:55.090 --> 00:12:58.370 go get, which means the Davidic Kingdom cannot 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:01.389 fulfill the rest that God was speaking about. 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.419 Even at the height of Israel's history, the land 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:07.779 did not exhaust it, the kingdom did not fulfill 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:11.120 it, and the promise of rest was still open. And 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:15.659 the author of Hebrews grabs one word out of that, 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:19.730 and it's the word today. I need you to catch 00:13:19.730 --> 00:13:21.909 what the author of Hebrews is doing. He's saying 00:13:21.909 --> 00:13:26.370 listen, when David wrote Psalm 95 and he said 00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:28.929 today to those people who are living in his kingdom, 00:13:29.230 --> 00:13:31.370 today don't harden your heart so you can enter 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:35.210 into the rest. Hebrews grabs the word today and 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:38.830 says it still applies now. That today is still 00:13:38.830 --> 00:13:46.340 this today. This is helping us understand what 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:50.320 kind of rest we're talking about today if you 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.679 hear his voice. So the author is taking Psalm 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:59.000 95 and he's applying it to this today, the today 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.039 that they were living in. I would say we are 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:04.320 to do the same thing. We're still living in the 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:06.799 Christian age. If it was today for the writer 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.399 of Hebrews and those that read this, it is today 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:14.600 for us as well. The opportunity of God's rest 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.139 is still available. It is not closed. It has 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:20.960 not expired It's still being offered and that's 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.399 what he says in Hebrews 4 7 again. He appoints 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:29.080 a certain day today saying through David so long 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:33.279 afterwards in other words long after Joshua long 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.399 after the land long after what looked like fulfillment 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:43.750 God was saying Enter into my rest Okay, you get 00:14:43.750 --> 00:14:46.950 that so far It's it wasn't the promised land. 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:51.929 It wasn't King David in his kingdom We can't 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.230 reduce it to that. It must be something greater 00:14:54.230 --> 00:14:57.049 something deeper something that those things 00:14:57.049 --> 00:15:01.049 were pointing to all along So to define this 00:15:01.049 --> 00:15:04.389 true rest the author is going to take us to the 00:15:04.389 --> 00:15:08.259 beginning He goes back to Genesis In Hebrews 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:11.179 4 ,4 he says, for he has somewhere spoken of 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:14.200 the seventh day in this way, and God rested on 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:17.519 the seventh day from all of his works. This is 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:22.179 where now he begins to make the rest clear of 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.399 what God meant. Because God's rest was not like 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.980 Israel's rest. God was not resting because he 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:31.620 was tired on the seventh day. It's not like God 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:35.299 was like, man, all this creation stuff has worn 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:40.879 me out. Let's take a break. God didn't grow weary. 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:44.299 He didn't need to recover. He wasn't exhausted. 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:50.440 You know what it was about? Completion. Genesis 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:52.879 2 .2 says, on the seventh day, God finished his 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.000 work that he had done and he rested on the seventh 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.759 day from all of his work that he had done. Notice 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:04.629 the connection. He finished, he rested. This 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:08.090 is the rest of finished work. This is the rest 00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:11.330 of satisfaction. This is the rest of everything 00:16:11.330 --> 00:16:13.490 being as it should be. And there's something 00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:15.409 very important I need you to understand about 00:16:15.409 --> 00:16:19.190 the seventh day. In Genesis chapter 1, when God 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:23.159 creates, He always at the end of that day, at 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:26.679 the end of that yom, He always says, and the 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:30.379 evening and the morning were the first day. He 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:36.019 puts a completion on the day, an ending phrase 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.480 on every single day. You know what you don't 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.679 have on day seven? Evening and morning. That's 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:47.559 very important theologically. God did whatever 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:51.549 He did on day one. evening and morning end, day 00:16:51.549 --> 00:16:54.289 two end, day three end, day four end, day five 00:16:54.289 --> 00:17:00.450 end, day six end, day seven, no end. Why is the 00:17:00.450 --> 00:17:05.470 author of Hebrews bringing up rest and day seven? 00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:08.950 Because he's letting us know the rest of God 00:17:08.950 --> 00:17:12.890 is not just something that God did, it is something 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:17.509 he's inviting humanity into. The seventh day 00:17:17.509 --> 00:17:23.049 is open. God is perpetually in His seventh day. 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:28.329 No ending formula, no closing statement. God's 00:17:28.329 --> 00:17:31.589 rest did not stop. It continued. It's an ongoing 00:17:31.589 --> 00:17:34.809 reality. And that is exactly why the writer of 00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:37.089 Hebrews is taking us back to Genesis chapter 00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:40.670 2. Because if God's rest is still ongoing, then 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:44.230 it's something that can be inserted into. And 00:17:44.230 --> 00:17:46.369 now the writer of Hebrews is going to connect 00:17:46.369 --> 00:17:50.180 us to that. Verse 10 of Hebrews four, for whoever 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.940 has entered God's rest has also rested from his 00:17:53.940 --> 00:18:00.660 works as God did from his. So God stops his work, 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:04.019 completes it, fulfills it, satisfies seventh 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:06.980 day, open -ended. Here comes human history and 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.740 God says, enter into my rest. Enter into being 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:14.359 satisfied, enter into being fulfilled, enter 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.160 into being complete, but you don't do it by working 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:28.279 your way in. This is the key. It means the rest 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:32.480 of God means that we stop trying to justify ourselves 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:36.799 before Him. It means that we stop trying to earn 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:40.859 our way. into God's rest. It means we stop trying 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:45.420 to work for our righteousness and we begin resting 00:18:45.420 --> 00:18:49.740 in a righteousness that can only be given to 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:55.380 us. You know the first person we read about this 00:18:55.380 --> 00:19:00.680 explicitly being said about was Abraham. Abraham 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:04.539 believed God and it was credited to him as a 00:19:04.539 --> 00:19:07.470 righteousness. I would argue that what we're 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:11.369 learning in Hebrews four is that Abraham believed 00:19:11.369 --> 00:19:18.910 God and entered into God's rest. Abraham experienced 00:19:18.910 --> 00:19:21.250 that rest. Whether he was in the promised land 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:25.630 or not, he entered into this rest. He was credited 00:19:25.630 --> 00:19:29.990 to him as righteousness. That's why Romans four, 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:33.369 five says, to the one who does not work, but 00:19:33.369 --> 00:19:37.549 believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, His 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:41.750 faith is counted as righteousness. That is rest. 00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:46.309 Rest is when a human being doesn't come to God 00:19:46.309 --> 00:19:48.769 and say, let me tell you why I should be justified 00:19:48.769 --> 00:19:51.609 before you. Let me tell you while I'm righteous. 00:19:51.690 --> 00:19:53.650 Let me tell you why I'm good. Let me tell you 00:19:53.650 --> 00:19:56.829 why I deserve to come to heaven and be in relationship 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:59.309 with you. You will never have rest that way. 00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:01.769 Why? Because you're always trying to measure 00:20:01.769 --> 00:20:03.950 up. You're always trying to earn it and do it 00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:06.250 and work it and God says that is not my rest. 00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.190 It is trusting instead of striving. It is believing 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:15.829 instead of earning. And guess what? All of this 00:20:15.829 --> 00:20:19.549 finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. All of 00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:23.589 it. Because he is the one who the finished work 00:20:23.589 --> 00:20:26.130 is all about. Remember what Jesus said on the 00:20:26.130 --> 00:20:33.920 cross? It is Finished. The way into this rest 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:39.619 is done. He accomplished everything necessary 00:20:39.619 --> 00:20:42.500 for our salvation. He lived a life we could not 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:45.700 live. He died a death we deserve to die. And 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:49.299 he rose again in victory. And now he offers God's 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:53.240 rest to us, not by us adding work to his work, 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:59.000 but by us trusting in his work. That's why Jesus 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:04.079 says, Matthew 11 28, come to me, all you who 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:08.579 labor and are heavy laden and I will give you 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:16.440 rest. Not a break, salvation. He is inviting 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:20.019 us into the rest of God. Dennis Johnson writes, 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:23.799 the rest of God is an uninterrupted, unthreatened 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:28.920 communion with God himself. So now we can finally 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.720 say what this rest is. It's not Canaan. It's 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:35.519 not the Davidic kingdom. It's not external peace. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.960 It is entering in to the rest of God through 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:41.859 the finished work of Christ. It is being reconciled 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:44.579 to God. It is resting in a righteousness that 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:47.440 is not your own, but that is given to you. And 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.700 it is this ongoing, unbroken relationship with 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:52.319 God. But there's one more element we need to 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.039 see here. Because the author doesn't just stop. 00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:59.940 with the definition of it's being justified before 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:07.779 God. This is what theologians call realized eschatology. 00:22:08.900 --> 00:22:12.420 I like to say it better like this, already, but 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:15.259 not yet. That's another way that it gets explained. 00:22:16.059 --> 00:22:21.539 It's already, but not yet. In one sense, The 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:24.960 rest that God offers is something that Christians 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:29.480 have already entered into. Amen? You are justified 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:33.700 before God right now, by faith. By faith, you 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:36.220 have been made righteous before God. You are 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:38.859 right with God, by faith. That is something that 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:42.519 we are in right now. You've trusted Christ, you've 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:44.220 stopped trying to earn your way, you've stopped 00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:47.119 trying to work your way, and you rest in the 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.480 finished work of God. You're already in the rest. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:56.640 However, That present rest is not all of the 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:01.039 rest Because at the same time that we are at 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.900 rest we have not experienced the fullness of 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:07.819 the rest We still live in a fallen world. Don't 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:12.759 we? We still struggle with sin. We still Deal 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:15.220 with the effects of the curse. We still suffer 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:18.680 and we still die So we are already experiencing 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.859 the rest of God and the same time we're wanting 00:23:23.210 --> 00:23:29.650 the fulfillment of all that rest. That's why 00:23:29.650 --> 00:23:33.650 Hebrews chapter four, verse nine says, so then 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:37.809 there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of 00:23:37.809 --> 00:23:42.410 God. You're at rest by faith, but there still 00:23:42.410 --> 00:23:45.730 remains a Sabbath rest that is coming as well. 00:23:46.390 --> 00:23:50.660 So you got it and you're gonna get it. That's 00:23:50.660 --> 00:23:52.460 why we talk about salvation as being something 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:56.099 that did happen, something that's happening, 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:59.640 and something that will happen. You entered into 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:01.819 the rest of God the moment that he brought you 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:04.539 into new life and by faith you entered in you 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:06.819 are you are in it right now and Experiencing 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:09.079 that rest and you are waiting for the day that 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:11.460 you will experience that rest in its fullness 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:14.619 This is still something that is ahead something 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:17.640 some kind of greater rest that we're waiting 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:22.000 for and this rest is not just spiritual You see 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.160 when this is why we talk about new heavens and 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:27.630 new earth around here And let me clarify a couple 00:24:27.630 --> 00:24:30.269 things real quick about new heavens and new earth. 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:31.490 This is in the notes, but I feel like I need 00:24:31.490 --> 00:24:35.269 to clarify this. When the language of new heavens 00:24:35.269 --> 00:24:38.650 and new earth is used in the New Testament, they 00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:42.430 are quoting from Isaiah, okay? Isaiah uses the 00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:44.369 language of new heavens and new earth. Often 00:24:44.369 --> 00:24:46.430 in the New Testament, they just say new heaven 00:24:46.430 --> 00:24:50.430 and new earth. And what some people think is 00:24:50.430 --> 00:24:53.930 that means the heaven where God is is gonna be 00:24:53.930 --> 00:24:57.819 made new. That is not what that means. It is 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:01.160 not God saying, I'm going to make where I'm at 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:04.559 new. It's talking about the literal heavens. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:09.440 Okay? The atmosphere that we're in, outer space, 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:13.539 the cosmos, all of the heavens and this earth 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:15.140 are gonna be made new. Does that make sense? 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.180 God doesn't need to make the present heaven where 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:23.099 he is at right now new. We're gonna fix this 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:26.279 first. That doesn't make any sense, okay? He's 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:29.640 talking about the heavens. So when we say new 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:32.400 heaven and new earth, that's what we mean, okay? 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:40.940 The cosmos, the universe, the creation. And a 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:45.819 lot of people do not understand this idea of 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:48.799 new heavens and new earth. Because a lot of people, 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.480 praise God, not around here, but a lot of people 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:53.839 in a lot of churches don't talk about the new 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.019 heaven and new earth. They just talk about the 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:57.839 present heaven. When you die, you go to the present 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:59.339 heaven. When you die, you go to the present heaven. 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:02.940 And is that wonderful? Of course. To be absent 00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:05.359 from the body is to be present to the Lord. Paul 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:08.700 said, I'd rather be with the Lord. But then Paul 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:11.420 says, but I don't want to be naked. You know 00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:13.740 what he means by that? I don't want to be without 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:17.940 a body. Everyone that has died up to this point, 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:20.660 that is in the present heaven, does not have 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:23.700 a resurrected body yet. I cannot tell you how 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:26.000 many funerals I've been to, where, praise God, 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:27.779 Brother James hasn't said this, or I haven't 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:29.900 said this, but where I've heard the minister 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:33.180 say that they're up in heaven with their new 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:38.440 body, and I'm like, no, they're not. There's 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:40.539 the dead body right there, and that body's gonna 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:42.140 get resurrected. They don't have a new one yet. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.579 And the reason why that all works its way in 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:49.400 is because we got this idea, by the way, from 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:54.059 Plato, philosopher Plato, this is where all this 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:56.759 comes from, and it's worked its way into Christianity, 00:26:57.160 --> 00:27:00.720 the idea that all of this flesh earth stuff is 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:03.299 bad and wrong and we need to get out of here 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:08.579 to the spiritual plane. That's Platonism. Plato 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:13.599 made that up. That's not, that's not. Christian 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:17.099 doctrine. When we die, we do go to the present 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:21.500 heaven. But the rest that is coming for us is 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:27.160 not just a spiritual rest. It is a physical manifestation 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:31.579 of the rest. That's why in the book of Revelation, 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:35.200 it says, behold, the dwelling place of God is 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:38.980 with man. Where? On the new earth. Behold I saw 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:42.039 a new heaven and a new earth and the dwelling 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:46.559 place of God is with man why because God Unites 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:49.099 in all of its fullness heaven and earth back 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:52.759 together again When God made everything at the 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.059 beginning heaven and earth were united sin caused 00:27:56.059 --> 00:27:59.140 a a rip and a separation of heaven and earth 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:02.579 Guess what Jesus did when he came back He brought 00:28:02.579 --> 00:28:06.029 him back together. He was heaven on earth 100 00:28:06.029 --> 00:28:11.529 % God, 100 % man. We call it the hypostatic union, 00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:14.829 the connection between God and man in one person. 00:28:16.009 --> 00:28:18.769 But we haven't experienced the fullness of that 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:23.130 yet. That was the beginning. What we're experiencing 00:28:23.130 --> 00:28:25.769 is the beginning. What is going to happen is 00:28:25.769 --> 00:28:28.630 Jesus is going to come back. He's going to make 00:28:28.630 --> 00:28:31.549 his dwelling with human beings on the new earth, 00:28:31.630 --> 00:28:35.089 and we will experience the kind of rest that 00:28:35.089 --> 00:28:37.769 Hebrews chapter four is saying, or Hebrews chapter 00:28:37.769 --> 00:28:40.109 four verse nine is saying is coming for the people 00:28:40.109 --> 00:28:43.910 of God. This is only the beginning. This is just 00:28:43.910 --> 00:28:47.349 the taste of the Sabbath rest that is coming. 00:28:50.329 --> 00:28:53.329 What we're experiencing now is kind of like a 00:28:53.329 --> 00:28:56.690 down payment, a promise of the ultimate that 00:28:56.690 --> 00:29:01.730 one day we will not just rest by faith, we will 00:29:01.730 --> 00:29:07.529 rest by sight. We will dwell with God forever 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:09.769 and we will finally experience the fullness of 00:29:09.769 --> 00:29:11.490 the rest that God has been offering from the 00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:14.130 very beginning. As John Owen writes, believers 00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:18.289 enter into God's rest by faith in Christ and 00:29:18.289 --> 00:29:21.150 yet there remains a fuller eternal rest to come 00:29:21.150 --> 00:29:25.950 in the enjoyment of God forever. Amen? That's 00:29:25.950 --> 00:29:31.259 point one. We have two more. So, but that's what 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.119 you got to do first, right? Before you can get 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.500 to the urgency of God's rest, which is the second 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:39.400 point, but before you get into the second and 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:41.700 third point here, we have to define what is the 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:43.740 rest of God? What is it the writer of Hebrews 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:46.440 believes about the rest of God? Now he can talk 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:52.359 about the urgency of this rest, the weight of 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.099 why we can't miss this. That's why he says in 00:29:56.099 --> 00:29:58.799 verse one, therefore, while the promise of entering 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:04.720 his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:07.339 of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:14.119 In light of this rest, in light of what is at 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:21.019 stake, let us fear. Not panic, not despair, but 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:25.910 a serious sober awareness. that it is possible 00:30:25.910 --> 00:30:31.390 to miss this. You don't enter this rest just 00:30:31.390 --> 00:30:37.789 because you're a human being. As Hebrews chapter 00:30:37.789 --> 00:30:41.690 4 verse 2 says, for good news came to us just 00:30:41.690 --> 00:30:44.390 like it did to them in the Old Testament, but 00:30:44.390 --> 00:30:47.990 the message they heard did not benefit them. 00:30:48.549 --> 00:30:53.839 Why? Because they were not united by faith. That 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:58.160 is the issue. Same message, same promise, same 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:00.740 opportunity, two completely different outcomes. 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:04.299 They hear, but they do not enter in. They were 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:06.259 exposed to truth, but they did not receive it 00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:09.559 by faith. And that tells us something very important 00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:13.640 for us today. Hearing the gospel is not the same 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:18.059 as believing the gospel. Being proud of the things 00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:22.490 of God is not the same as belonging to God. Using 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.329 religious language is not the same as having 00:31:25.329 --> 00:31:29.289 a relationship with Jesus. Proximity to truth 00:31:29.289 --> 00:31:32.410 is not the same as possessing the truth. And 00:31:32.410 --> 00:31:34.769 you can sit in church every week, you can hear 00:31:34.769 --> 00:31:37.230 every single great sermon by everybody that's 00:31:37.230 --> 00:31:39.809 ever preached it, you can know all of the language, 00:31:40.109 --> 00:31:42.609 you can understand all of the concepts and still 00:31:42.609 --> 00:31:45.289 not enter the rest of God. That is the urgency 00:31:45.289 --> 00:31:48.559 here. The author knows this and he says, let 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:53.460 us fear lest we should miss this. This is too 00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:58.759 important to miss. There isn't just the danger 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:01.819 of rejection, there's a danger of self -deception. 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:09.220 Oh, I'm good. I go to church. Hey, do you know 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:15.119 Jesus? Yeah, I go to this church. Hey, do you 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:22.569 believe the gospel? Yeah, I do this thing. He 00:32:22.569 --> 00:32:25.890 says, lest any of you should seem to have failed 00:32:25.890 --> 00:32:29.069 to reach it, you can appear to be on your way 00:32:29.069 --> 00:32:33.269 and never actually arrive. You can look like 00:32:33.269 --> 00:32:38.190 you belong and not truly be his. This is why 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:42.650 this passage calls us to fear and then verse 00:32:42.650 --> 00:32:48.069 11, to thrive, to strive. Look at it, verse 11, 00:32:48.349 --> 00:32:52.200 let us therefore strive to enter this rest. The 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:55.380 word strive here, it's a strong word. It means 00:32:55.380 --> 00:32:58.380 with every effort. It means to press in. It means 00:32:58.380 --> 00:33:02.839 to pursue with urgency. It is a striving to enter 00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:05.759 the rest. It is the kind of striving that refuses 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:08.539 to drift. It is the kind of striving that refuses 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:11.839 to settle for appearances. It is the kind of 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:15.059 striving that says I will not just be content 00:33:15.059 --> 00:33:19.759 with hearing, I must believe. And that brings 00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:23.019 us. to making sure we define faith properly. 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:26.500 If the writer of Hebrews is going to say, listen, 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:32.299 the way into this rest is faith, it's belief, 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.440 then we better understand what faith and belief 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:43.059 means. Because I'm convinced the reason why this 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:46.359 is so dangerous is because people can say they 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:50.190 believe and have no clue what actual biblical 00:33:50.190 --> 00:33:56.150 faith is. Because to our ears, the natural man 00:33:56.150 --> 00:33:59.190 goes, wait a minute, I believe and I enter the 00:33:59.190 --> 00:34:01.809 rest and yet I'm supposed to strive for the rest? 00:34:01.849 --> 00:34:04.390 That doesn't make sense. It does if you understand 00:34:04.390 --> 00:34:08.570 the definition of faith. If you understand what 00:34:08.570 --> 00:34:12.309 real faith is, you have no problem with the language 00:34:12.309 --> 00:34:16.170 of, by faith we enter into the rest, now strive 00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:19.500 for the rest. Biblical faith says both of those 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:23.000 things. You're like, what, how? Listen, this 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:25.400 is why it is so important that we understand 00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:30.260 this definition. We strive to enter into this 00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:35.860 rest, but it's not the kind of faith, but it's 00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:38.800 the kind of faith that holds fast. It is the 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:41.699 kind of faith that transforms. It's the kind 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:46.000 of faith that enters in and not. not the kind 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.679 of faith that just says, I believe this thing 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:52.880 mentally. I agree this thing is true. I'm accepting 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:59.480 the concepts as if they are real. But then there's 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:06.940 actual no transformation, no pursuit. See, biblical 00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:12.059 faith is this thing that is given to us by the 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:16.380 grace of God, whereby we never stop going after 00:35:16.380 --> 00:35:21.260 God. And if somebody comes to the place where 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:24.719 they say, listen, I'm not into this Christian 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.360 stuff anymore, then you never have biblical faith 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:30.880 to begin with. Because biblical faith never stops 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:40.559 striving. It never stops going. Real faith lays 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:45.079 hold of Christ. Real faith rests in Christ. And 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.579 once it does, it never lets go. That's why James 00:35:47.579 --> 00:35:49.579 says, this is a passage that confuses people 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:52.079 so often, because they don't understand the definition 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:54.960 of faith. People say, or they read James 2 .17, 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.260 faith by itself, if it does not have works, is 00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:03.179 dead. Guess what that means? If you say you have 00:36:03.179 --> 00:36:07.260 biblical faith, but you do not pursue Jesus with 00:36:07.260 --> 00:36:10.489 everything that you have, not perfectly, but 00:36:10.489 --> 00:36:12.969 it's the deepest desire and so you're going after 00:36:12.969 --> 00:36:17.670 Jesus, then that's not biblical faith. There 00:36:17.670 --> 00:36:20.929 is salvific faith and there's these false professions 00:36:20.929 --> 00:36:23.150 of faith that people have where they just say, 00:36:23.409 --> 00:36:25.530 I believe, but then they don't pursue Jesus. 00:36:25.869 --> 00:36:32.170 Real faith makes you pursue Jesus. You have to 00:36:32.170 --> 00:36:35.269 because it transforms your will and your mind 00:36:35.269 --> 00:36:38.269 and it changes everything about you and so you 00:36:38.269 --> 00:36:43.420 go after Jesus. This is what Paul means when 00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:46.059 he begins talking about faith moving and faith 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:49.239 enduring and faith pressing Philippians 3 12 00:36:49.239 --> 00:36:53.059 I press on to make it my own because Jesus Christ 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:57.880 has made me his own Paul doesn't see the contradiction 00:36:57.880 --> 00:37:00.920 there Paul says if Christ has brought me into 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:03.000 the rest then guess what I go after the rest 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:06.719 of my life rest Because I know where it's found 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:09.619 I know what it looks like to lay hold of the 00:37:09.619 --> 00:37:12.360 rest, to strive for the rest, to go after the 00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:17.099 rest. I press on. That's the Christian life. 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:22.260 You're not striving to be accepted. You're striving 00:37:22.260 --> 00:37:28.159 now because you are accepted. You do not pursue 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:31.599 Christ to earn him, but once he is freely given 00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:34.679 himself to you, then you pursue Christ to grab 00:37:34.679 --> 00:37:37.519 ahold of him. Years and years and years ago, 00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.159 I did a series on Wednesday night called Thirsty, 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:44.659 and I talked about the paradox of thirst. Jesus 00:37:44.659 --> 00:37:47.019 says, come and drink, right? Come and drink, 00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:50.000 come and eat. We talked about that on Easter 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.480 Sunday morning. Come and drink and come and eat. 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:55.139 So we come and we're thirsty and we drink the 00:37:55.139 --> 00:37:58.320 river of the spring of life. We drink it and 00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:01.000 we take it in and guess what that spring of life 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:04.119 makes us the rest of our life? Thirsty for more 00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:06.880 in all of it. We don't drink it and go, okay, 00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:11.900 I'm done with this. I got it. Thanks Jesus. It 00:38:11.900 --> 00:38:16.920 makes us desperate to drink more. Once we enter 00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:19.480 into the rest, then we're desperate for more 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:23.019 of that rest. I want it spiritually. I want it 00:38:23.019 --> 00:38:26.079 in my day -to -day life. I'm longing and pursuing 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:28.519 for the day that Jesus brings it all in its fullness, 00:38:28.539 --> 00:38:31.719 and I go after it with everything I am trying 00:38:31.719 --> 00:38:33.820 to take hold of it. This is what theologians 00:38:33.820 --> 00:38:38.139 call the perseverance of the saint. We persevere 00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:44.099 to the end. We do not drift away permanently. 00:38:44.260 --> 00:38:47.039 We do not remain unchanged. We do not stay indifferent. 00:38:47.179 --> 00:38:50.659 We persevere. Not perfectly, not without struggle, 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:55.099 not without weakness, but we keep going. You 00:38:55.099 --> 00:38:59.300 may be so in the mud that you feel like you're 00:38:59.300 --> 00:39:03.019 not moving. But you know what God calls us to? 00:39:04.099 --> 00:39:07.019 Just reach an inch further. And you're like, 00:39:07.059 --> 00:39:11.719 right now that's all I got. Okay. Okay. God's 00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:16.699 excited that that one inch took place. You keep 00:39:16.699 --> 00:39:19.980 going. And you keep going. And you keep going. 00:39:20.380 --> 00:39:22.280 And eventually, at some point, you're gonna get 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:24.480 out of the mud. And maybe with your death. You're 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:27.139 like, man, the last 30 years of my life, I look 00:39:27.139 --> 00:39:29.539 like I barely moved. I just sludged around in 00:39:29.539 --> 00:39:32.219 the mud forever and I could barely. And God says, 00:39:32.340 --> 00:39:36.280 yeah. But that faith I put in you wouldn't let 00:39:36.280 --> 00:39:38.260 you sit there, would it? Yeah, you didn't feel 00:39:38.260 --> 00:39:41.110 like you moved very far. Well done, my good and 00:39:41.110 --> 00:39:44.289 faithful servant. Now come enter into the fullness 00:39:44.289 --> 00:39:53.530 of this rest. This passage says both, we who 00:39:53.530 --> 00:39:56.369 have believed enter the rest and let us strive 00:39:56.369 --> 00:40:00.760 to enter the rest. Faith does both. It rests 00:40:00.760 --> 00:40:03.000 and it presses on, it receives and it pursues. 00:40:03.179 --> 00:40:05.019 John Calvin, one of his most famous quotes, he 00:40:05.019 --> 00:40:07.639 says this, It is faith alone that justifies, 00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:10.400 but the faith which justifies is never alone. 00:40:16.460 --> 00:40:20.119 Now we come to the sobering reality of this text. 00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:26.000 The exposure of false rest. You cannot fake this 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:33.760 kind of faith. You can't fake it. After calling 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:36.099 us to fear, after calling us to strive, after 00:40:36.099 --> 00:40:39.639 showing us what the real faith is and how we 00:40:39.639 --> 00:40:41.699 enter in, the author reminds us of something 00:40:41.699 --> 00:40:46.860 that we cannot escape. God sees everything. Hebrews 00:40:46.860 --> 00:40:49.199 412, it says, for the word of God is living and 00:40:49.199 --> 00:40:51.440 active, sharper than any two -edged sword, piercing 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:53.980 to the division of soul and spirit, joint and 00:40:53.980 --> 00:40:56.340 marrow. This is not a dead word. This is not 00:40:56.340 --> 00:40:58.699 a distant word. It is a living word. It is an 00:40:58.699 --> 00:41:01.559 active word. It does not just inform you, it 00:41:01.559 --> 00:41:06.090 examines you. It doesn't just speak to you, it 00:41:06.090 --> 00:41:10.130 searches you. It pierces you deeper than anything 00:41:10.130 --> 00:41:13.250 else can to the division of soul and spirit of 00:41:13.250 --> 00:41:16.010 joints and marrow. In other words, there is no 00:41:16.010 --> 00:41:19.869 place in you that God does not search and seek 00:41:19.869 --> 00:41:27.070 and look and see. And He discerns the thoughts 00:41:27.070 --> 00:41:30.250 and the intentions of the heart. Not just what 00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:34.460 you do. but the motivation for why you do it. 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:39.860 Not just your actions, but why you do what you 00:41:39.860 --> 00:41:42.559 do. And that is what makes this so serious, because 00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:46.880 it is possible to fool people, isn't it? It is 00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:48.760 possible to come to church, do all the religious 00:41:48.760 --> 00:41:52.579 stuff, and fool everybody. Maybe even fool yourself. 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:56.340 To act like a Christian, to talk like a Christian, 00:41:56.639 --> 00:42:00.480 but you cannot fool God. Verse 13 even presses 00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:03.880 this forward. No creature is hidden from his 00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:06.940 sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes 00:42:06.940 --> 00:42:10.599 of him who they must give an account. No pretense 00:42:10.599 --> 00:42:15.780 here, no pretending here, naked and exposed before 00:42:15.780 --> 00:42:18.679 God. Most theologians agree this is courtroom 00:42:18.679 --> 00:42:22.519 language. It means fully seen, fully known, fully 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:24.760 revealed, one day you're gonna stand before God 00:42:24.760 --> 00:42:27.500 and it will not matter what you appear to be. 00:42:27.539 --> 00:42:30.920 It will matter what you really were. And he's 00:42:30.920 --> 00:42:35.900 gonna know it. A .W. Pink wrote, God knows us 00:42:35.900 --> 00:42:38.619 as we truly are, not as we appear to others or 00:42:38.619 --> 00:42:43.400 even to ourselves. So do we have true faith in 00:42:43.400 --> 00:42:46.639 Christ? Have we entered into that rest or have 00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:50.699 we just been around it? Have we just been exposed 00:42:50.699 --> 00:42:53.039 to that kind of rest? Maybe the language of rest? 00:42:53.280 --> 00:42:55.619 Maybe the language of the gospel? Maybe the language 00:42:55.619 --> 00:42:58.860 of satisfaction? Or have you actually entered 00:42:58.860 --> 00:43:02.000 in? And this is why this passage presses us the 00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:03.780 way that it does at the very end, because it's 00:43:03.780 --> 00:43:06.219 not about religious activity. It's not about 00:43:06.219 --> 00:43:08.840 outward appearance. It is about real faith, real 00:43:08.840 --> 00:43:11.760 rest, and real salvation. And the Word of God 00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:14.880 exposes the difference. God's judgment will expose 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:23.519 the difference. This is a heavy passage. Like 00:43:23.519 --> 00:43:26.199 it starts off, we're like, yes, enter into the 00:43:26.199 --> 00:43:28.239 rest. I love this is rest and it's the rest of 00:43:28.239 --> 00:43:30.579 God and satisfaction and completion. And then 00:43:30.579 --> 00:43:33.440 it's like, yeah, and be fearful and strive for 00:43:33.440 --> 00:43:35.659 it because it's very possible that you don't 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:39.460 get it. Because you've never actually had real 00:43:39.460 --> 00:43:42.480 faith. And you could fake everybody else, but 00:43:42.480 --> 00:43:46.199 you can't fake out God. And also in the end of 00:43:46.199 --> 00:43:52.139 this little section here, you go, whoa. And it's 00:43:52.139 --> 00:43:57.480 meant to be heavy. It's meant to be very weighty. 00:44:01.059 --> 00:44:04.619 But I want to end this way. The rest of God is 00:44:04.619 --> 00:44:11.219 open right now. And I'm convinced the author 00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:14.340 wants you to feel the weight so that he causes 00:44:14.340 --> 00:44:19.000 you to do something with this. He's not just 00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:23.730 trying, it's not a scare tactic. This is getting 00:44:23.730 --> 00:44:28.250 down to the real of it and demanding that you 00:44:28.250 --> 00:44:32.630 deal with it. Do something with this. You can't 00:44:32.630 --> 00:44:34.969 just read this and walk away, not different. 00:44:35.769 --> 00:44:38.670 He's demanding you do something with this because 00:44:38.670 --> 00:44:42.070 the rest of God is open. The invitation still 00:44:42.070 --> 00:44:45.070 stands. And the question isn't whether or not 00:44:45.070 --> 00:44:48.400 the rest is available. The question is, Are you 00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:51.099 going to put your faith and your life into the 00:44:51.099 --> 00:44:53.780 hands of Christ by faith and enter into that 00:44:53.780 --> 00:44:59.760 rest? Have you entered it? Do you want to enter 00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:01.800 it? Are you willing to enter it? He's never going 00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:04.179 to turn anybody away. He's never going to stand 00:45:04.179 --> 00:45:06.420 there and go, my rest is available. Oh, but not 00:45:06.420 --> 00:45:11.500 you. Oh, no. You've done too much. You've gone 00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:18.809 too far. You're 95 years old, not you. Come to 00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:22.489 me all who are weary, heavy laden, those who 00:45:22.489 --> 00:45:24.369 labor, those who have worked, those who have 00:45:24.369 --> 00:45:27.289 gotten to the place where they're like, I can't, 00:45:27.730 --> 00:45:31.329 I'm so done with myself. God goes, yeah, that's 00:45:31.329 --> 00:45:36.349 right where I need you. Now come into my rest. 00:45:39.429 --> 00:45:42.269 And those of us that call ourselves Christians, 00:45:43.230 --> 00:45:46.050 we have to treat each other like Christians. 00:45:46.739 --> 00:45:52.039 based on our profession. Right? You have no clue 00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:56.400 whether I'm a Christian or not. I could have 00:45:56.400 --> 00:45:59.420 fooled all of you for all these years. You don't 00:45:59.420 --> 00:46:04.000 know. God's the only one that really knows. You're 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:07.659 going by my profession. Okay? Because there may 00:46:07.659 --> 00:46:09.400 have been some times that you looked at my life 00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:11.559 and gone, well, that dude ain't a Christian. 00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:15.659 Look at those things he's doing. Just like the 00:46:15.659 --> 00:46:18.519 man that had a heart like God's or was a man 00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:21.460 after God's own heart. Just depend on when you 00:46:21.460 --> 00:46:22.840 looked at his life, whether or not he was a man 00:46:22.840 --> 00:46:25.000 after God's own heart, right? You're like, you 00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:28.559 know that whole murder and sexual abuse thing 00:46:28.559 --> 00:46:30.780 and everything that went down? I don't think 00:46:30.780 --> 00:46:35.619 that's someone after God's own heart. So only 00:46:35.619 --> 00:46:39.900 God really knows. And so you get passages like 00:46:39.900 --> 00:46:45.079 this that say, guess what? Keep going. Keep pursuing 00:46:45.079 --> 00:46:52.940 Keep going after it keep striving One day it's 00:46:52.940 --> 00:46:56.280 all gonna be worth it because one day Jesus is 00:46:56.280 --> 00:46:59.679 gonna come back and This rest that we've we've 00:46:59.679 --> 00:47:03.280 gotten a little foretaste of Those these moments 00:47:03.280 --> 00:47:05.079 in life where we can time where we kind of just 00:47:05.079 --> 00:47:10.500 go I'm just resting in God right now for a moment 00:47:10.500 --> 00:47:14.010 and then our flesh gets in the way and we start 00:47:14.010 --> 00:47:15.690 trying to like take control of stuff again and 00:47:15.690 --> 00:47:19.409 we, you know, start messing things up, right? 00:47:19.409 --> 00:47:22.909 We all do this. But there are these moments where 00:47:22.909 --> 00:47:28.369 like, okay, right, I'm resting right there. Those 00:47:28.369 --> 00:47:34.429 moments are a taste of the infinite meal that's 00:47:34.429 --> 00:47:38.429 coming. And so we don't quit until the day he 00:47:38.429 --> 00:47:41.809 comes back. If you got a real faith, we keep 00:47:41.809 --> 00:47:47.570 going. and I'm gonna go, and you're gonna go, 00:47:48.090 --> 00:47:49.429 and I'm not gonna have a clue whether or not 00:47:49.429 --> 00:47:50.989 this is real, because you may quit next year. 00:47:51.349 --> 00:47:53.630 And then I went, oh, well, thought you were running 00:47:53.630 --> 00:47:58.730 with me. But those of us that will persevere 00:47:58.730 --> 00:48:02.170 to the end, that will be the demonstration of 00:48:02.170 --> 00:48:05.289 a real faith that we've put in Christ. And if 00:48:05.289 --> 00:48:07.210 you're here today, and maybe you've been around 00:48:07.210 --> 00:48:10.019 the religious stuff, Maybe you can talk the talk, 00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:13.239 you can walk the walk, you can say all the words, 00:48:13.300 --> 00:48:15.599 you get the concepts and principles, and you 00:48:15.599 --> 00:48:18.880 get it all, but you're like, I have never truly 00:48:18.880 --> 00:48:22.699 taken my life and entered into the rest of God 00:48:22.699 --> 00:48:26.320 by faith through Jesus Christ. The rest of God 00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:31.280 is open today. Do not harden your hearts. Do 00:48:31.280 --> 00:48:32.099 not harden your hearts.