There is Rest in Faith

Hebrews 4:1-11

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. 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. 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. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 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.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Pray

I do this thing when I start my truck. I say, “Thank you, Lord.” I drive an older truck and she runs like a top, but I have had issues with her in the past. I suppose that thanking the Lord for little things is good practice, but I don’t have full faith that my truck is going to start each time I sit in the seat even though it has worked 99% of the time.

My marriage is different. I can freely be myself, pursue what I feel the Lord is calling me to, plan, dream, take leaps of faith, all the while knowing that I have the full support of my wife. There is a rest in full trust, or as the author of Hebrews would say, there is rest in faith.

Before we dive into chapter 4, we have this word, “therefore”, that we must address. The preceding chapter three is talking about those Israelites in the desert that were freed from Egypt. Last Sunday we talked about how God had provided for them and protected them, yet there was a number of those people that had seen and experienced all of that goodness from God and still did not believe that He would continue to take care of them. Because of their unbelief, the author says in Hebrews 3:18-19

And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

To bring back the analogy of a marriage, it is hard to find rest in that relationship if you do not believe that the other person loves and cares for you.

This rest that the Israelites were not going to be able to enter into is the land God had promised them and his eternal comfort. These people were brought to the border of that land and they sent in 12 spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel. You can read this full story in Numbers 13 and 14. When they had scoped out the land for 40 days, they came back and gave word to the others and 10 of the spies said that the land was good, but there are giants and big cities that they would never be able to conquer. They didn’t trust that God would fight those battles for them. Only 2 of the twelve spies trusted God and they tried to encourage the people to go into the land but the voices of the many quieted the few and fear and disbelief swept over the people. Because those spies and that generation did not believe God, they were not able to enter that rest in a great land, but it wasn’t just the land, it was also rest in the Lord. Being satisfied with him. God’s wrath was poured out on the unbelievers in that he killed them in the desert. Were they also eternally separated from Him, the text seems to indicate that they were. Why? Because of their unbelief. This is the historical backdrop that the author is setting up as he walks into chapter 4.

This nation of people were offered life. They were offered a country flowing with milk and honey, but they saw obstacles and they chose to believe the lie that God could not be trusted with their future. Make no mistake, this is the sin. They were saying, “God you are not big enough to give me a great future in light of what stands before me.”

That offer to believe in God and trust him was offered and there were some that believed, but most didn’t. This takes us to chapter 4.

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.

The first part of that should give you great hope. The promise of entering His rest still stands. There were a lot of Israelites that were able to enter His rest. That unbelieving generation died off, but the generation after that and the new generations born during the 40 year punishment period in the desert were able to enter.

The author is telling us that it is still available to those that believe in Christ. The “rest of God” is still offered, but there is still this group that is within these walls and without that are still unbelieving.

That second part of verse one should raise a question, “let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” “Zach, are you saying that I should live in fear of my salvation every day of my life?” You should only fear if you lose your faith, is what the writer is saying.

I was listening to John Piper on this topic this week and he had an analogy that is fitting. I’m going to adjust it to fit something a little more personal to me. For a while we lived over here on North Ave. Clive was little. I think we lived there when he was 3-5. It had a great big front yard with big oak trees and a nice back yard with grass that didn’t have any stickers. There was a little guest house and even a shop he could run and play in. The one feature that I never cared for about that location was North Ave. People went down that road too fast all of the time. The one rule Clive had was, DO NOT GO DOWN TO THE STREET. We taught him to fear the street. We told him that to keep him alive. He was rarely unsupervised but I wanted him to have that voice in his head saying, “The street is bad and my dad will spank me if I go there. Stay away from the street.” You know what never affected him? Not being able to play in the street. He had all of the yard, the guest house, the shop, the house, a big long driveway. He just knew that playing in the street was off limits.

This is what we are told here. Losing faith in Christ is the one thing that you cannot do. You fall, you make mistakes, you sin, but the faith should always bring you back. You have someone playing in the street that says, “Come on. It’s fun to play in the street.” You have to remember, that your faith is in something greater. Your faith is in the one true God. The Creator of Heaven and Earth. This faith is what we hold on to, it is the only thing that matters. The faith is the bedrock of our life. We have all of these freedoms in Christ. We can love with abandon, we can give freely, we can enjoy our family, we can have great friends, we can eat and drink to the glory of God, we can find contentment and satisfaction in our work, we can vacation for the glory of God, but all of that is built on this foundation of faith. If I didn’t give the warning to Clive to not play in the street and he did and was killed by a vehicle accident, all of the other great things in his life are for naught. Our faith in God is what preserves our life. He is telling us, don’t lose that faith.

What is this faith built on?

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

Let’s look at this closely. The author is telling us that the “good news”, that is Gospel talk, was presented to those people in the desert. Was the gospel preached in the Old Testament? Psalm 103:1-14

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust.

This is the bedrock of what the Israelites walked away from, but is also the same good news that is presented to us. Without reading anything in the New Testament, doesn’t that sound like a God worth following? He will give me his benefits, he will forgive me of my sins, he will pull me out of the pits that I put myself in, he will separate my sins as far as the east is from the west and he will love me like a father loves his child if I believe in him.

When you then turn from Malachi to Matthew and you read the Gospel account of Jesus and you see the very imprint of that nature in human form and then He goes a step further and takes on our death as His own in order that we might live and all He is asking is that we believe in that one who was sent. This is the greatest news in the world.

Do you understand that when you follow Christ, what is offered to you is complete freedom? All the things I mentioned before, enjoying your marriage and family to the fullest extent, being able to love open and with everyone, casting off all the things that you hate about yourself, the list goes on and on and all He asks is that you believe that He is the Lord.

It does you no good to hear the good news of Jesus if you do not follow it up with belief. You might say, “Yeah but my situation is too bad.” “I don’t have any money or car or resources. He can’t help me.” He makes a way. “Yeah but you don’t know my past.” Your past means nothing to God if you believe in Him. There is no sin too great because our God is not small. He has promised you these things. He has promised to provide, He has promised to change your heart.

The Israelites received news of a rest in the Promised Land, but they did not believe that God would do it. They did not trust Him, even though God said He would give it to them.

Numbers 13:1–2

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel.

He already promised it to the people. What more can He do? Just as He promised the Israelites, He has promised you. Continuing on in verse 3…

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,’ ”

The ones that believed entered into that rest and the ones that did not incurred the wrath. They were killed in the street because they did not heed the warning of the Father.

This rest of God is from the very beginning of creation when the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit were satisfied in each other. This peace, this unity is something that the Lord longs for us to commune with Him in. He wants us to be His children so that we can share in His blessings. I was talking to a friend the other day that is in a blended family and he said, “I am most content in a house full of kids.” I thought that was a beautiful example of God’s heart for us.

As I read this next portion of today’s Scripture, I want you to think of a large table that is set. Dishes are down, the room is comfortable, you can smell the food and you are looking forward to the great company as you share the meal. The invitations have been sent out and all you need to do is come, but there are some that did not come.

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.”

If God’s work is finished, he has promised you a great salvation, Jesus has come, then all that is required from you is belief. You aren’t working for it, you are not planning for it and hoping for the best, you have no responsibility in it except for the sin needed to warrant your salvation.

This gift has been given to you for no other reason than you are His children. There is no more need for sacrifices at the alter, all the ceremonial rituals, this list of things to do in order to stay in the good graces of God are obsolete. To the Israelites in the desert, God was saying, I want to give you this place that is good for you. It is good country for growing, it is heavily watered, it is a place that can sustain you all the days of your life. No longer are you a slave in Egyptian captivity, you are now my people and I will be your God. They just needed to trust that He would do what He said He would.

This generation that finally got to enter the rest of God in the Promised Land that He gave them still pointed to a greater rest to come.

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.

As you read the Old Testament, there is, from the beginning, shadows of the new. While it is good to take a rest from your labors, there is a much better rest that we get to live in all the days of our lives. There is a saying that I’m sure you have heard, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” That is great and it is true, but when you are loved and truly enter the rest of Jesus, work becomes worship. Loving your spouse become worship, not worshipping your spouse but by giving your love freely and without exception, you are worshipping God as you serve your wife and kids and church and neighbors. There is a peace that is given that is beyond comprehension for most people.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

I fear that some of you will hear that word “strive” and think “work”. I would like to challenge that idea. I was thinking this week about sin and the struggles that people face. When they realize that they have sin or they see the abundance of sin in their life, they tend to list out what they need to work on. For instance, if someone is struggling with alcoholism, they may say, “I’ve got to stop drinking.” Or if someone lies to stay out of uncomfortable situations they may say, “I’ve got to stop lying.” You might say after today’s lesson, “I’ve got the hold on to this faith.” All of those are true, but if I realized that I wasn’t loving my wife well, the only thing I can do is spend more quality time with her expecting nothing other than drawing closer to her. If you are struggling with your faith or sin or doubt the only thing you need to do is draw closer to God. When you are in that relationship and reading the word that He has given to you, there is a change that happens in your heart. You will find that it is not you that is getting rid of the sin, but the Holy Spirit in you. Your affections toward that sin start to turn to hatred of that sin and affections start stirring toward the things of God. Make no mistake church, any change in you is brought on only by the Lord. He desires rest for you, but true rest that only comes when you are living in His presence in the right order where you are his people and He is your God.