Striving For Rest – Hebrews 3:7-4:13

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Hebrews 3:7–4:13 (ESV) — 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ” 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. 1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Intro:

The passage today from Hebrews is a warning about having something so precious but treating it flippantly or neglecting it.

The shock of handling something so flippantly -- like checking your phone in the car and almost hitting someone while your kids are with you. Why would you risk something so precious over a trifle?

What is it that Hebrews is warning us about? Neglecting the rest that comes with trusting God.

The restlessness of our hearts and lives — an evergreen subject. We are a society plagued with anxiety and restlessness. We try to ease our restlessness with security, pharmaceuticals, social media, relationships, endless noise and distraction, etc.

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” – Augustine

The myth of sisyphus

An Evil And Unbelieving Heart

Hebrews 3:7–14 (ESV) — 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ” 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Psalm 95

A warning to “take care of an evil and unbelieving heart”

It is the most offensive thing not to trust God at His word - Brian Borgman

Author and Finisher

Hebrews 3:15–19 (ESV) — 15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Theme of “Today” repeat

There is a sense in which this text calling for rest can make you anxious. We can turn introspective and uncertain, always wondering if we are being faithful and resting in Christ, but notice the reference of the wilderness. Where the Hebrews fail, Jesus succeeds. Where they complain and indulge, He holds on to the promises of God.

Jesus’ success in the wilderness is our substitute

King James Version Chapter 12

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This gets at other themes in Hebrews such as...

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) — 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

What Is The Rest of God?

Hebrews 4:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”

“Let us fear” — “the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith”

In context, the Hebrews were afraid to trust God in the wilderness and to enter into Canaan. But we are to fear God over man. The irony is, the fear of man leads to stress and anxiety, but the fear of God — of trusting Him and obeying Him — brings peace and joy and rest.

What is the rest? Is rest salvation? Or in heaven?

The rest here is rooted in Genesis — God resting with His creation.

The curse of sin severed this sense of rest and brought in distrust and anxiety and fear and restlessness.

The messiah was to come and give rest.

Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” (Matthew 11:29–30, ESV)

A beautiful example of this is Jesus in the midst of a storm with His disciples — he is sleeping and he rebukes them for their lack of faith.

In Christ, everything is ok. All things have been taken care of. Today, tomorrow, eternity, death, our shame. All tears will be wiped away.

Romans 8:1 (ESV) — 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:6–10 (ESV) — 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

The writer of Hebrews is interpreting David’s psalm (Psalm 95)

David looks back to the Exodus and calls for his readers to rest “today”

Joshua’s rest, the rest of Canaan land, was only a small illustration of the rest of God. Our goal isn’t geography or conquering our enemies. The goal is God.

“Whoever entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His” — we are to enter into God’s rest. This isn’t merely kicking our feet up — God was not tired after creation. This is a wholeness — a fullness of fellowship and joy.

John 17

Jesus telling the disciples about the prodigal son and what the Father is like — rest and feast and belonging and fellowship — joy.

Hebrews 4:11–13 (ESV) — 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The word exposes and reveals, discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Faithlessness is easy — fear and doubt and restlessness cloud our eyes from seeing God’s face and cover our ears from hearing His word, numbing our hearts. But God’s word sharply cuts to the heart, awakening us to our need and to our remedy.

I tell my kids at night that they need to go and “take a rest”. They need to seize the opportunity for sleep. In much the same way, the Christian needs to “take a rest” by seizing the word of God. See you savior sovereign and strong, your shame removed, your eternity set, and your soul at rest.

Applications:

“Exhort one another”

The powerful apologetic of Christian rest — is our sense of joy and rest palpable?

Giving rest in our homes. Is our home a place of fear or of faith? There is the ability for the Christian to retreat from the world in a sense of fear

How does this truth change our view of the sabbath? Remember, it is the first day of the week. We start and proceed our days from a place of rest - the world lives for the weekend, for a sense of fleeting rest.

How would this rest change our views of Sunday worship? Singing, reading, feasting, and of fellowship?

Conclusion

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7, ESV)

"Are all my troubles, Satan's temptations, the world's scorns and jeers, come to this? O vile nature, that resisted so much, and so long, such a blessing! Unworthy soul, is this the place you came to so unwillingly? Was duty tiresome? Was the world too good to lose? Could you not leave all, deny all, and suffer anything for this? Were you loathe to die to come to this? O false heart, you had almost betrayed me to eternal flames and lost me this glory! Are you not ashamed now, my soul, that you ever questioned that Love which brought you here? Are you not sorry that you ever quenched His Spirit's prompting or misinterpreted His providence, or complained about the narrow road that brought you to such a destination?

"Now you are sufficiently convinced that your blessed Redeemer was saving you, as well when he crossed your desires, as when he granted them; when he broke your heart, as when he bound it up. No thanks to you, unworthy self, for this crown; but to God be the glory forever!" -- Baxter, The Saints Eternal Rest