Greater than... How to win @ life

We are in a sermon Series in the book of Hebrews…Entitled - Greater than… this morning message is entitled “How to win @ life”…

I have yet to meet somebody who loves to lose at something… If you have competed or played on a team of some sorts - you will know that Winning always feels better than loosing. But we don’t always win do we!

Sometimes life can be hard and we feel that life is getting the better of us… we can feel that we in this cycle of hopeless and begin to question how we are going to get ahead?

You may identify with the young boy when playing chess with his grandfather says, “Oh, no! Not again! Grandpa, you always win!”

Grandpa says, “What do you want me to do, lose on purpose? You won’t learn anything if I do that!” But the boy replies, “I don’t wanna learn anything. I just wanna win!”

Sometimes life is throwing us all these lessons and we don’t what to learn we just want to win… That’s exactly like my golf game… I don’t want have to spend time learning… I just want go out there and play like Tiger Woods! But winning doesn’t work like that..

· Hebrews is a sermon to the Next Generation who followed the generation who had seen Jesus… They were experiencing external pressure…which was causing them rethink their faith and some were turning back to Judaism…

·Hebrews is exhortation to hold onto the promise that God has given—it’s about the certainty and assurance that God can be trusted. Its God promise of rest. This theme of rest comes up Eight times in this chapter…

The word Rest is used in three historical/theological senses:

1.the Promised Land of Canaan (v. 8, Joshua’s day, )

2.the opportunity to trust God (cf. v. 9 i.e. David’s day, )

3.the (v. 4) rest of God at creation (v. 10)

4.heaven (vv. 1 and 11)

As Tim Keller so aptly put it that the book of hebrews is a journey of isolation to the City of God.. The destination has always been the Rest of God,

• Israel had come to the Brink of the entering on promise land…(the rest God had offered … a land flowing with milk and honey)—but instead of persevering in Faith they gave up… they fell short..

· instead of Believing GOD they began to doubt all that God had said— we are told that their hearts were hardened … and fell into unbelief... they forfeited. The last verse of Chapter

Hebrews 3:19 ESV

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

(ESV): 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

When we talk about winning at life we are talking about the need of Perseverance… The inventor Thomas Edison said that

“Success is 10 % inspiration and 90% perspiration”

· Thomas Edison was once interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, "Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp." And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb.

• Winning at the Christian life is about perseverance… it’s not a sprint… it’s a marathon… It’s the same lesson we learned in Kindergarten - that it wasn’t’ the hare that won the race but rather the tortoise — slow and steady wins the race.

• The Bible teaches that when you give your life to Christ, your eternal destiny is altered, you experience a radical reorientation of your priorities, you find a new purpose in life, and you encounter the power and work of God in your life.

• But when it comes to the challenges and difficulties of life — God never promise that he would wipe away every problem we faced....The psalmist tells is that.

Psalm 34:19 ESV

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

ESV

ESV

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

• Message Bibles says it like this. “Disciples so often get into trouble, sit, God is there every time..

• God is committed to the righteous… there is no guarantee of a trouble-free life… but in his closeness to us the Lord is our safeguard… God chooses us … offers himself to us as a place to take refuge…

• Winning @ life is not the absence of pressure… but th promise of His presence

It’s about Perusing God and his Presence… Paul the Apostle

Philippians 3:13–14 ESV

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

ESVBrothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul paints for us the picture of perseverance… Considering that you didn’t get this far on your own…but for the grace of God…(life is a Gift) Therefore… let go of the past…. Like an athlete at the finishing line… leaning forward to win the prize….lean into a Christ…. Straining forward…. Paul believed that the key to our success was centrality of our calling in Chris… winning at life… How do we win at Life?

Ingression.. I want to share with you three principles how to win at life - How to enter God’s promise of Rest. Through perseverance.

The first is...

1. Recognize the Opportunities that are right in Front of you.

· In Hebrews Chapter 3. The preacher tells us that ….The children of Israel came to the borders of the promised land, then they sent out scouts to spy out the land, however ten of the twelve scouts came back with the verdict that it was a good land but that the difficulties of entering into it were insurmountable … only Caleb and Joshua came with a good report…they saw the exact same think as the other 10 -- but came up with a different conclusion.. they said…. They saw that the land was good and they could surely possess it…

· Israel on the other hand were swayed by the message of fear…, instead of believing the good news... they listened to the the voices of unbelief, and the result was a whole generation dying in the wilderness—

---Israel had the promised land Right in front of them…yet failed to enter the promise land. It is takes Faith and perseverance to enter the promise of Rest… lets look at our test.

Hebrews 4:1 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.

ESV

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.

Therefore - refers to the promise that God made to Israel.. The preacher wants his hearers to feel that they have something in common with the ancestral generation. You see both have heard the word of God, and each must make the appropriate response to that word.

Since failure to believe prevented some of the ancestors from entering the promised rest…the same is true today.

The big lesson with Israel is that they started in Faith… When Moses told the People…to pack their bags..

… they heeded God’s command to make the sacrifice of the Passover lamb…placing blood on the lentils and the door posts of their home… They had heeded the voice of Moses to go into the wilderness… but as they began to face challenges and obstacles they drifted from faith into unbelief… they saw the whole Egyptian army drown in the Red Sea… but struggled to believe God to supply for their physical needs… they began to complain…long for the pleasures of Egypt and harden their hearts to the word of God…

There is a warning here.. “let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

The definitions for Fear here is reverence or awe… The preacher is not saying we today need to fear least we loose our Salvation. we can have assurance of Salvation… the fear is about not reaching this place called Rest…

The preacher Makes a case for the Rest of God…skip ahead a few verses..

Hebrews 4:7–10 ESV

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.

ESV

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…

The preacher tells us that The Message was given through David in the psalms... it was written in the present tense…Today if your hear his voice…

By the way the timing of obedience is a critical factor. There is a “window” called “today - The opportunity of obedience is opened --- but so is the opportunity of disobedience. Some people wait until tomorrow… my grand dad was a self-accomplished man… but when it came to faith – he put it off… until… his death bed… not everyone is given that opportunity… The Bible tells us that today is the day of Salvation… There is window for obedience…

The preacher makes the point that David Spoke about Rest…

I David hears God’s voice saying to the people that if they do not harden their hearts they can enter into his rest.

So…500 hundred years after Joshua had led the people into the rest of the promised land, God is still appealing to them to enter his rest. There is more to this rest than merely entry into the promised land...

Not only was REST a principle after Joshua but in Genesis we learn that God rested from his creative work…Seventh Day --- God ceased from his labors…

We struggle with rest don’t we…

Tim Keller says something quite unique… when you put you work down… what you are saying is

““I am not a cog in a machine. I am not a slave to the materialistic society in which I live. I am not a slave to the identity system of my society. I am not a slave to the identity my society demands of me. Rather, I am declaring my freedom of my identity in God. I am not a slave.”

When you go back to and 2, we know God created the world. Then we’re told God rested from his work. That immediately is helpful because it throws in the relief that there’s a lot going on in this word rest, because as soon as you think of the idea of God resting, you begin to realize God can’t get tired the way we do. How could God rest from his work? Does he get weary? Does he get physically weary? Does he get emotionally weary?

The point is that REST is an eternal principle… Israel was invited to the same kind of rest that we offered today.

… So let’s sum this up…

There was first an initial promise of rest (cf. ); there was second a historical fulfillment (Joshua); there was third a later opportunity (David’s day); and there is still a fourth opportunity for anyone who chooses to exercise faith in God’s promises.

Rest that is being offered is God’s kind of Rest..

Those who find the rest of God are those who discover the strategy of God, submit to His timing for events, and appropriate the resources God provides,

Rest isn’t about a coming day. It is about a person who already came

How do we win at life?

1. Recognize the Opportunities that are right in Front of you.

2. Maximize the Benefits through Believing.

We have come to believe that Technology saves us time… I wonder if this a true statement or not? I am thankful for Technology – but what technology has done is made our work more accessible to us… We are so accessible to our work that it can seem like there is no escape… In a culture than doesn’t understand Rest… how do we secure God’s rest?

Hebrews 4:2–5 ESV

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.”

ESV

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 lieved 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.”

The preacher makes the comparison between the message (Good News) Israel had received and the good news they had received in the gospel. Israel had heard the message but not acted on the word and therefore it was not Beneficial -- it was not helpful... Good News can be delivered... …when united with Faith... The word mixed means

to be compounded v. — to be or become assembled into a unified whole by the mixing or combining of different parts.

A number of years ago Pam's mom put together the families Recipes into a booklet... and we love cooking from it.. One of the recipes is a Chocolate mouse... and it is good... but I made it and followed everything exactly... except I didn't whisk the egg whites properly and it tasted good... but it wasn't light and fluffy... This is what is meant here... In order to Benefit from the word. Faith has to be a key ingredient… without Faith the whole mixture falls flat…

Hearing the message of good news does not guarantee what has been promised will be received. Only faith as confident expectation for the future can secure the promised reality.

Not only must God’s message be heard, it must also be combined with faith before it will be effective.

Why did Israel not embrace the offer of Rest?

Despite all they’d seen in their exodus from Egypt and their experiences of God’s day-to-day leadership and preservation, the Israelites nevertheless doubted God’s character.

Why? Because they had not yet been weaned from living on their own provisions and by their own power. They didn’t trust the abundant inheritance that was theirs, already present in the signs of the life-giving waters from the Yam Suph to Meribah to the desert rock. By believing, however, Joshua and Caleb entered the true spiritual rest that the land signified long before they crossed the Jordan into Canaan.

Believing in Jesus may seem easy, almost effortless, just a nod, a quick prayer, or a walk forward at a church service. While making a profession of faith in Christ is simple, truly believing in Jesus leads to a life of commitment and discipleship takes perseverance/

The Scripture clearly teachers us that God rested...

God rested, not because he was tired, but to indicate the completion of creation. The world was perfect, and God was satisfied with it, so he rested In the creation story in and 2, there is a strange fact. On the first six days of creation, it is said that morning and evening came; that is to say, each day had an end and a beginning. But on the seventh day, the day of God’s rest, there is no mention of evening at all.

From this, the Rabbis argued that, while the other days came to an end, the day of God’s rest had no ending; the rest of God was forever. Therefore, although long ago the Israelites may have failed to enter that rest, it still remained.

How do we win at life?

1. Recognize the Opportunities that are right in Front of you.

2. Maximize the Benefits through Believing

3. Discover true Success through Entering into Rest .

There is a legend about a man named John Henry who was known for race against a steam powered- hammer to drill tunneling through a mountain. He used his bare hands and a sledge hammer and beat the machine, only to fall dead from the superhuman effort.

There is a syndrome named after John Henry - It is in reference to people who believe that anything can be conquered as long as you work hard enough--They believe that with enough effort and determination they can regulate all outcomes… This is exactly what our culture tells us…. As long as you are willing to work harder you will make it… The preacher of Hebrews tells us that we are to strive to enter into rest…

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.

ESV

ESV

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, pierc

The word rest can be a little misguiding… because it doesn’t mean that we do nothing… Joshua and his contemporaries soon discovered that life in Canaan demanded courageous heroes, not relaxed spectators…God fought on Israel’s behalf… but when they went against Jericho… can you imagine.. how much Faith — to tackle a city full of Giants… God says listen march around the walls every day and on the seventh day--- March around the city 7 times and blow your trumpets. and the Lord will defeat your enemies..

The idea of Rest is completion and not of inactivity.

It takes no effort to get stressed and anxious… Reacting to life.... it takes a lot of work to face life with Faith and obedience…

When John Wesley returned to England from being a missionary in to the Native Indians in Georgia he was discouraged… no salvations…He was on a boat with a group of Moravian Christians. and they hit the storm --- while he panicked these Christians sang songs of praise… This changed Wesley....

The children of Israel had been promised the good land, but it wasn’t theirs until they possessed it. All believers must diligently work out their faith, seeking to obey Jesus day by day, drawing closer to God through experiences in life (). There is no time while living on earth at which a Christian “arrives” at spirituality. Each day God’s people are making a choice either to grow closer to him or to drift away.

Working @ at Apply the Word of God -

A good definition for Striving is to “Give diligence” i. Diligence is the opposite of “drifting” (). How do we give diligence? By paying close attention to the Word of God… It takes effort to read and understand the scriptures.... The word of God is like no other book....

God’s word is like a two-edged sword, sharp as a scalpel, discerning every twist and turn of the human mind.

It can scrutinize the unspoken thoughts and hidden conceptions of the heart of man. It can reach deep down where, because of earth’s bewildering and preoccupying noises, no other voice can easily be heard. This word probes more deeply than the mere voice of man however interesting or eloquent. It goes to ‘the inmost recesses of our spiritual being and brings the subconscious motives to light’ (Bruce).

Resting means obedience to the word of God… letting the word of God work fully in our lives… it is also means

Working @ drawing Near to the Throne of Grace.

ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We draw close to the High Priest or the Bridge builder who passed through the heavens… and he is one who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

sympathize with our weakness” A. T. Robertson gives another possible alternative translation, “suffer with our weakness” (cf. 2:17–18).

Our High priest is not so lofty or separated that He is incapable of understanding our human situation. Rather He is one who is totally familiar with it, having been tempted at every turn of the road just as we have been

COCLUSION:

In the movie Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell competed against each other in the Olympics.

In the movie Harold Abrahams says something like, “I’m running the 100-yard dash because when that gun goes off I have 10 seconds to justify myself. I’m working hard so I can feel good about who I am.”

Eric Liddell says, “… God made me … fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure.” He doesn’t say, “I earn his pleasure.” He says, “I’m trying to please the God who loves me and delights in me and has given me this.”

One man is running in order to be sure of who he is. The other man is running because he knows who he is. As a result, there were two men working hard, but one man was always weary even when he was resting. The other man was always resting even when he was working. Which do you want to be? You say, “How do I get there?”