God's Promised Rest
Notes
Transcript
A New Business Rule: Giving 85% Effort
Business consultants are calling it “The 85% rule.” An article in The Wall Street Journal explained how it works:
Are you giving it your all? Maybe that’s too much. So many of us were raised in the gospel of hard work and max effort, taught that what we put in was what we got out. Now, some coaches and corporate leaders have a new message. To be at your best, dial it back a bit.
Trying to run at top speed will actually lead to slower running times, they say, citing fitness research. Lifting heavy weights until you absolutely can’t anymore won’t spark more muscle gain than stopping a little sooner, said one exercise physiologist.
The trick—be it in exercise, or anything—is to try for 85%. Aiming for [100%] often makes us feel awful, burns us out and backfires. [Worse yet, what about 110%?] Instead, count the fact that you hit eight out of 10 of your targets this quarter as a win. We don’t need to see our work, health, or hobbies as binary objectives, perfected or a total failure.
Source:
Rachel Feintzeig, “Try Hard, but Not That Hard. 85% Is the Magic Number for Productivity.” The Wall Street Journal (9-10-23)
Interestingly, six out of seven equals, guess what, 85.7%. If you truly remember the Sabbath—one day out of seven—devoting six days of your week to work, you will actually be benefiting from God’s original 85% rule. As we briefly explore Heb 4:1-13 we will delve into a wonderful promise that God has in store for his people.
1 Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware that none of you be found to have fallen short.
2 For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith.
3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,” even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.
5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest.
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
7 he again specifies a certain day—today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
The author of Hebrews repeats a startling warning several times using different words. In verse 2, it says
2 For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith.
In verse 6…
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
and again in verse 11…
11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
We are told that the good news or the gospel was preached to the Hebrews of the Exodus, but it did not benefit them. What was the good news proclaimed to the children of Israel?
32 “Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or the left.
33 Follow the whole instruction the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, prosper, and have a long life in the land you will possess.
God promised to conduct the Israelites safely to the promised land if they would teach and follow his “statutes and ordinances.” (Read Deut 5:31).
31 But you stand here with me, and I will tell you every command—the statutes and ordinances—you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.’
One might wonder why this promise would be equated to the gospel. The gospel is the good news about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection that will ensure the salvation of all who believe and receive Christ as their savior from sin. Well, think about it: Jesus has made it possible for us to be saved. His provision (birth, life, death, and resurrection) assures believers they will be safely conducted to the heavenly promised land.
Thus, the promise of assurance of entering the promised land is the gospel! In fact, to illustrate the good news, God gave the Israelites the Sanctuary, which will be addressed in a future message. Touching briefly on one aspect of the Sanctuary, God said,
8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them.
Similarly, God promises to dwell with us in the heavenly Canaan.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
When we are in the true promised land, the place where the lion and the lamb will dwell together, then we will truly have rest.
Furthermore, the author of Hebrews reminds readers in verse 8 that Joshua did not give God’s people rest when they finally inhabited Canaan.
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
Thus, verse 9 says
9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
God gave humanity the Sabbath as a token of the eternal rest that the faithful will enjoy in the earth made new.
Hebrews 11:16 says,
16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Isaiah tells us that …
23 All humanity will come to worship me from one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another,” says the Lord.
The Sabbath, the token of God’s authorship and care for his creatures, will be celebrated throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.
The promise of rest, eternal rest, was God’s promise to his people, but sadly, a majority of Israel rejected God’s promise and hardened their hearts against him. Thus, God was prompted to declare in verse Heb 4:3
3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,” even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
But this declaration was not one of anger or rage but pain. Deut says…
29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
Again in Eze
11 Tell them, ‘As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’
It deeply pains God to reject his people.
When studying Heb 4, I was confused by the apparent abrupt change between the first eleven verses and verses 12 & 13. [Brief re-read] After prayer and further study, I found the connection between the first eleven verses and verses 12 & 13.
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
7 he again specifies a certain day—today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
then verse 12 says
Hebrews 4:12 (CSB)
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, […].
Do you see the connection? “His voice” is the word of God that we are warned not to harden our hearts against. “His voice,” the word of God, knows us better than we know ourselves, so much so that nothing is hidden from him.
The Word of God told the people not to cook and prepare food on the Sabbath, just rest, but many hardened their hearts and said we will do things our way. The Word of God told the people not to work on the Sabbath, just rest, rest in God’s completed work, but the majority in Israel refused. The Word of God told the people not to buy and sell on the Sabbath, just rest… The Word of God told the people not to go out to collect manna on the Sabbath, but… This is the pattern of disobedience that we are warned not to follow. God delivered the people from Egypt with the express intention of bringing them to the promised land. Still, the people murmured against God and his servant Moses every time they came up against some difficulties–essentially calling God a liar. They even tried to stone Moses on a few occasions, saying, “You brought us into the wilderness to kill us!” This is the pattern of disobedience that we are warned not to follow. God did not bring you this far to abandon you. He intends to take you home; trust him and his 85% plan.
Jeremiah 7:23–26 (CSB)
23 However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.’
24 Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.
25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, I have sent all my servants the prophets to you time and time again.
26 However, my people wouldn’t listen to me or pay attention but became obstinate; they did more evil than their ancestors.
The core issue with the people was following their “own advice and their own evil hearts.” Many in Israel were naturalistic in their thinking. “The manna falls daily; surely it will fall on the Sabbath.” Moses said to collect double the amount on Friday, but I don’t believe that the leftovers will not breed worms, stink, and spoil, unlike the other days.” They depended on their own reasoning instead of obeying God’s word.
10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
When we rest from our own works on the Sabbath, we enter God’s rest. When we rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment, we are saying by faith, “I trust you to do whatever work is necessary to ensure that I make it to my heavenly home where I will truly be at rest. I trust your 85% plan.”
I recall the first time I went to a Chiropractor after suffering an injury from an accident; I lay down on the table and positioned myself as he told me. Then he attempted to make an adjustment, but I was too tight. He told me, “Relax, let me do the work.” He tried again, but I unintentionally moved in such a way that was an attempt to help him. Again, he told me, “Just relax, just rest, let me do the work.” He kept repeating, “Just let go, let go.” It was only when I finally let go, only when I finally rested in his hands, that he was able to make the needed adjustments that brought me relief and rest from the pain I was suffering.
11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
God is saying, the word of God is saying, “Just trust me; just rest. Don’t try to rationalize how you will make ends meet. I know you better than you know yourself.” “I know you deeper than the level of your soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” “Don’t try to rationalize why you need to work on the Sabbath. “Trust in my 85% plan. My promise is to bring you home. Surely, I will take care of you.”
The word of God is saying, “I know you think that you will only pass that exam by studying on the Sabbath. My 85% plan works. Please rest, trust me, and let me be your success.”
9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
Benediction
Benediction
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.