Faith to Rest In (2)

2023 Spring Branch

A Faith to Rest In

*Read: John 20:24-29– Thomas did not believe, would not believe until He had seen the Lord and touched Him. Thomas would not rest in second hand knowledge; he needed an encounter with Christ Himself. And Christ appeared to Him and revealed Himself to Thomas. But, Jesus said, “You believe because you have seen and touched, but blessed are those who believe without seeing.

That’s how we operate a lot of times isn’t it? We trust with our eyes, we trust with our hands; we trust with our own senses, maybe more than another person’s word or testimony. We want to feel… We want to feel it...

But, Jesus, in His mercy and great love, appears to Thomas and allows him to see the risen lord, allowing Thomas to see, touch and feel His glorified body and Thomas cried out “My Lord and my God.” (For those who are asking “who is Jesus,” this is our reply as well)

And Jesus says this: “You believe because you have seen, but blessed are those who believe without seeing. We know that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people before He ascended and it was their testimony of the risen Lord that brought others to faith. Those that have followed after Christ from that point on has done so by faith and not by sight.

What is faith? *Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence or conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:6 – It is impossible to please God without faith. 2 Cor. 5:7 – We walk by faith, not by sight. The righteous shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

Many critics will say that Christianity is blind faith, but it isn’t. But, we have the testimony of those who were with Jesus, appeared to by Jesus, we have the writings of those men. We know that we have a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eye witnesses.

Outside of the testimony of Scripture, God has opened our eyes to see spiritual realities, to see God and His promises by the Holy Spirit that has been given to all Christians. The tribe around the world without a Bible, who has received Christ, will have the Holy Spirit… and they will die for Jesus.

We are not feeling around blindly; this is not a blind faith, but a faith that sees the reality of the Living God and His Word, and in Him we rest and move, act and respond. He has opened our eyes to see Him for Who He is – We are no longer blind to Him or to His ways; it is through Christ we see everything as it is.

Our reasoning is submitted to Christ: Charles Spurgeon said it like this - “Faith is Reason at Rest in God.” Rest...

Now: When we look at the Bible we see some words like “faith, believe, and trust” and we see them closely related, if not equated. When we have faith in God, in Christ, we believe and we trust in Him. We don’t physically see Him standing before us with scars to feel and a body to touch, but we do see Him, through the eyes of faith and we go to Him and with Him trusting and resting. (To believe is to do this)

*Proverbs 3:5-6– Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths. To believe is to trust, is to lean, rely, to rest on or in God. We are to lean, to rely, and to rest in God’s Person, Promises, Truth.

As Christians: We read or hear the Word of God we come to a place where God brings us to see Him for who He is, and believe Him for what He has said (for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. –Romans 10:17) It can but doesn’t always happen all at once; but a change occurs within the heart and within the mind of men and women who trust in the Lord, who have faith in God. When faith forms... A Change will occur…

As we have learned from Abraham – Faith will move us. Trust takes us places. Christian belief is not merely a profession, it has a look… it has power... It hold us, convicts us, comforts us, secures us, directs us… changes our direction and life.

John, the author, says in verse 31 that his writing is “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in His Name.”

And he is saying: This is what we can believe in and rest in, this is what you can lean on dear reader, this is what you can lay down on and walk in - This truth will hold you if you’ll rest.

Listen: Without faith… you will not rest in Christ or His Word.

Listen: Before we can ever do anything pleasing for God and walk out our Christian lives, we must rest in Him, and learn to continue to rest in Him.

**When we ask one another about our Christian walk… I want our answers to change a little bit. Often times, our reply is: “Well, I am going to church, reading my bible, and I am praying some...” All of this is good. But, I want us to start saying, “I am making progress; I am progressing; I am pressing on; I am resting/trusting/relying… I am making progress in my Christian walk.”

So: How do we make progress and apply the Person, the Work, and the Promises of Christ to our lives?

*I like using the chair illustration: And this points to different stages that people go through:

1. Many people that may come in here or if you were to put this chair in another location, people would walk by it and never see that there was a chair there to begin with. It is as though somebody has to direct them to the fact that there is a (Person, truth or promise) chair.

2. Some people would walk by and see the (Person, truth, promise) chair but would not understand its purpose or significance and would look at it and then would walk away. It was though they needed someone to explain it.

3. Then you would have some to have all the information about the chair, all the dimensions, all the angles, all the length, height, and depth (have all the information). But they themselves will never sit, rely, trust, or rest in it…

That’s none of that is faith; that’s not belief; that is not trust. What does faith look like?

*Lean on, Sit in the chair. This is faith; this is trust; this is belief. I am leaning, relying, resting in this chair knowing that it will hold me up, knowing that it will not fail, knowing that it will not fall apart, knowing that it will hold me secure as I rest in it.

1. Salvation from sin and judgment. (Its not about feeling)

a. Trusting/Resting in the finished work of Christ, not ours

b. Trusting/Resting in Christ’s righteousness, not ours

c. Fall on the Lord. Rest on the Lord.

2. Salvation from false condemnation and guilt.

(Its not about a feeling)

(Look at Who I Am in Christ)

a. Trusting/Resting in what God says about me, not Satan or others.

b. Trusting/Resting in our Christian identity, and the liberty that He calls us into.

c. Trusting in the helmet, the breastplate, the shield and the sword

d. Guilt after sinning – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us…”

3. Salvation from fear. (“) Not about a feeling

(Look at Who I am in Christ)

a. Trusting/Resting in God’s perfect love. (nothing cannot separate us from it)

b. Trusting/Resting in God’s Word (the spirit of fear does not come from God)

c. Rest in your Home, your Refuge

4. Salvation from loneliness, depression, hopelessness.

a. The Lord will never leave me nor forsake me, He is here and now

b. The Lord knows my pain, He cares for me, The Lord is my Shepherd, the Lord is coming back for me, The Lord will take care of me, the Lord will sustain me

c. I will fix my mind on the Lord, on the truth, on His promises, and on my future with Him.

*We are living in and out of faith everyday. We are living out of the Gospel everyday.

Sometimes, Christians,we don’t practice our faith: We don’t rely, we don’t lean; we don’t rest. And we are not at rest; we are weary and heavy laden, and we suffer…

Sometimes, Christians, we may be like the fella in Mark 9:24 – Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

At some point throughout the day, the week… all throughout life… we find ourselves here...

Sometimes we kick our legs out in our rest; sometimes we ball up in the chair, and sometimes it seems like we are holding on to dear life, but the chair never moves; the chair holds. And as we cling and embrace the chair, we grow in our love towards it, and become so connected to it we begin to look like it.

*Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 11:28; James 1:22 – Blessed are those who hear the Word and obey the word of God. These will not sink or be destroyed.

For those who are struggling because you struggle with faith… welcome to the family. And listen… I believe God is most glorified and pleased when you don’t feel anything… but you take a step in faith. You don’t physically see… but you reach out. You have the fear… but you move into courage and act… because He said so…

Blessed are those who believe without seeing. Blessed are those who will trust, rely, and rest in the Lord today… even though their feelings tell them otherwise… Blessed are the children of God who trust in their Lord.

Do you need rest?

Has your faith found a Resting Place, an Anchor for Your Soul?

Come to the Word of God and meet the God of the Word. Come to the Stream of Living Water and to the Living Bread; stand upon the Rock of your salvation and rest!

Stand in the promises of God today!

(Hebrews 12:2) Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, will be faithful to complete the work that He began in us (Phil. 1:6) – He is faithful, and will be faithful until the end. Our command and joy is to rest in Him, lean on Him, cling to Him, hope in Him – And when we do so, we will not be disappointed.

Rest in the Lord today.

“For we who believe enter into that rest that is found in God through Christ.”

But for those who will not rest in Christ… They will be destroyed...