Sermon Tone Analysis
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Bible Talk:
There is a door leading to rest open for all of us TODAY, not just in the future!
The writer of this letter is writing to those who have believed in Christ.
Those who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit
Who are holy.
Who are new creations in Christ.
What they’re struggling with is perseverance.
In the face of persecution and hardships, they need encouragement.
Friend, maybe you’re like these brothers and sisters in Christ this morning.
You remember the day when you first heard the good news of Christ, of his death for you in your place on that cross, and his resurrection, and you believed.
You put your hope in him.
You came to him with your sin and brokenness, and as he took it from you, he clothed you in forgiveness and wholeness.
You remember the feeling of rest, of peace, of joy.
But that day seems like it was a long time ago.
That feeling seems like a distant memory.
If this is you, hear God’s living and active word speaking to you this morning.
God says his rest remains for you to enter in to TODAY.
It wasn’t just for when you first believed.
It’s not just for when you reach heaven.
It’s for you to enter into and experience TODAY.
Maybe you’ve never experienced God’s rest before.
You’ve never known the feeling of being unconditionally loved, indescribable peace, joy, freedom, wholeness and acceptance from God.
Well, this message is likewise for you.
God’s rest is for you to enter into TODAY.
We remain in God’s rest the same way we first enter into it.
All of us have tried all kinds of things to create life and ease our brokenness and restlessness haven’t we?
Food
Porn
Sports
Shopping
Real Estate
Job
Movies
OCD Picking
Mindless internet surfing.
We’ll try anything to find rest.
To find peace.
To find love and acceptance.
To find joy.
Wholeness.
To feel complete.
But our attempts are like bungy cords.
In the brief moment we feel the thrill of the escape, the joy of peace, but then the cord goes tight, and we spring back to where we started, but this time we’ve got a bruise to show for it.
All our attempts actually make us more broken, more desperate, more restless, more enslaved.
The end result is that if we die in this state of brokenness, in this state of unbelief, we’re forever shut out from his rest.
We enter into a place of eternal restlessness, brokenness, agitation.
There’s one word that sums it up, from the mouth of Jesus.
And that’s torment.
There’s a real warning to this group of people and to us.
V1: “Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware (fear) that none of you be found to have fallen short.”
How do we fall short?
By neglecting God’s Promise.
By continuing to pursue our bungy cord attempts at rest, seeking our methods of fixing our brokenness, instead of God’s method.
Many of us have heard this before.
We know what God has said.
We’ve even experienced the rest that comes from trusting in God’s love shown at the cross where Christ died.
We’ve experienced the Holy Spirit work in our hearts as we’ve gazed at Jesus, filling our hearts with peace, wonder, joy, amazement, rest.
But we’ve so easily forgotten his word, and become trapped again by sins deceitfulness.
We have to combine what we hear with faith.
V2: 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 hear it in faith).
“did not combine what they heard with faith.”
There is some disagreement here among translators as to whether the issue was them not being united with those that heard with faith, being Joshua and Caleb.
Or whether the issue was them not uniting their faith with what they heard.
The point of this whole section is the need to combine faith with hearing.
It doesn’t help us to hear God’s promises of rest.
Hearing only benefits us if we combine it with faith.
As Jesus said, ‘whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
They all had ears to hear what he was saying, but only some of them believed what he was saying and made choices based upon it.
All of us are in real danger of not entering God’s rest TODAY.
Why?
Because of unbelief:
- Too much to lose, we’re content with our bungy sins and we don’t want to lose them.
- We don’t believe all the good things will really be found in him.
- We don’t believe God’s really that generous and good
- We Fear that we’re too trapped in slavery to our sins to ever change
- Ultimately we don’t combine faith in what we’ve heard
- Thinking it’s all wishful thinking
But there are some of us, hopefully many of us who have entered God’s rest, and our continuing in that REST.
Why?
Belief:
- We Reckon the promises our own
- We see with eyes of faith and receive God’s Word and apply it to ourselves.
- We see sin clearly for what it does to us, and we’ve run to Christ.
- The rest is so joyful and so satisfying we’re content.
We don’t want to go anywhere else.
V3a: For we who have believed enter the rest...
Result:
o We don’t incur God’s anger.
We don’t remain in slavery.
§ INSTEAD, we enter HIS rest!
V3b: ...in keeping with what he has said.
“So I swore in my anger, they will not enter MY rest.”
This is what God was offering to the people of Israel.
HIS REST.
And God’s rest has been going on for 6000 thousand years and counting!
Since he finished his work of creation.
V3bb-5Even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.
Again, in that passage he says, “They will never enter my rest.”
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