Redemptive Rest

This time I want to read Hebrews chapter 40 this morning.

first one

therefore while the promise of entering his rest still stands. Let us fear lest any of you should seem to a failed to reach it for good news for excuse me. 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 said as I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest. Although his Works were finished from the foundation of the world. 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 the Disobedience again, he appoint a certain day today saying through David so long afterward and the words already quoted today. If you hear his voice do not Harden your hearts for Joshua had given them rest dog would not have spoken of another day later on. So then the remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God Whoever has enter God's rest also rested from his works as God did from 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 piercing to the division of the soul and a spirit of joints and Mario and Discerning the thoughts and intention of the hearts and no creature is hidden from his sight, but and no creature is hidden from the site, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him. We must give an account. Spray father this rest that we're going to talk about this morning is necessary for every aspect of our life every aspect of every part going on in our church body every aspect in part going on and just family life and friendship. And today may we take deep refuge and deep rest in you and in who you are and what you have done speak to us in this time in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So the last couple of weeks we spent time talking about work and what work rhythms look like and then last week we begin to tackle this idea best and really what we began to do was talk heavily on a physical rest and mental rest being important for our lives so that we can actually do our jobs and parts of life. Even better. Today. We're going to finish this out with this idea of Redemptive rest. And how it applies to our hearts and how it applies to our lives to see if we can exhaust ourselves in this portraits world trying to drop identity from what we do. I hope you guys all remember this. I have the six deep within our hearts and souls is not necessarily just that I do this for a living there for that's who I am. That's one way we think of identifying with our work but really when we identify with our work we're saying we get satisfaction. We feel completely fill hole because of what people are telling us about the job that we are doing there for our jobs can serve as functional Idols in our lives. They can serve as saviors in a sense where if I'm doing well and Performing I'm rewarded on one hand and if I'm not doing so well that I'm crushed through the floor and I can feel that wait upon me and I must be some sort of failure. I must be missing something and what happens then as we become a slave to our work and have to put every effort in order to perform in order to feel like a decent human being in the world today. And what does does it Act He pulls away from what God has said about us how God has defined us what God has called us too and we can do this with all aspects of work. We talked heavily and focused on those in the work first Force currently, but in this church, we also have people who are retired and they go, you know, I have ceased from labor but no longer pays me but you don't cease from the labor that God has called you to in ministering to others and caring and developing friendships and being Stewart gospel and stewards of what God has given you. In fact, you're probably familiar with Titus that talks about the older pouring into the younger. And there's ways in which we can work. But even in those ways can become what defines us our work can become what tells us who we are and dropped has a remedy for this first and foremost. He says physically harassed so you can remember God rooted in creation taking a break. He says not just physically but mentally you need to rest you need to be able to take a step back from all the thoughts that consume you from all the things that burden your mind and turn your mind to the worship of God being transformed by the renewing of our minds in the New Testament. This is talked about over and over again by Paul pacifically stating that you have been renewed and your spirit even made a Hole by Jesus Christ and now to renew your mind because the way we think what we do in our lives, it controls our actions and there is a lot out there that you cannot and I cannot control There are things that people do to you that do to me that do to us that are out of our realm of handling. It'll tell you what, we can control our minds our thoughts. And so Paul says to take every thought captive. Paul says to be renewed And we rest by coming before him and focusing on God. Thirdly. There is so rest and really the only way to have mental rest and to have physical rest is to actually have this soul rest Matthew. 11:29 says take my yoke upon you learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart. You will find rest for your souls acts 3:19 repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Then In this passage and Hebrews the author of Hebrews goes to Great Lengths to talk about what rest looks like and what he is doing is taking this picture from The Exodus story. If you're not familiar with the Exodus story, you have these brothers who had gotten rid of one of their brothers Joseph by selling him into slavery into Potiphar's pans and household in which he ultimately ended up in a prison worked his way up the ranks in Egypt became second-in-command and during that season. He brought his family his other eleven Brothers down with him and the begin to multiply in the land of Goshen and then an Exodus chapter one. It says Affair did not know he did not have knowledge of Joseph, but he didn't care that Joseph had actually helped save all of Egypt and they begin to enslave. The Israelites the begin to put heavy burdens upon him and with that backdrop, the author of Hebrews says there is a rest. There is a Deliverance at the Lord is taking you from any taking you to a land. Did you know that as a slave they were not given appropriate work breaks or height? You didn't get 15 every 4 hours. You didn't get a half an hour lunch you woke up at 8 and probably hope to carried you through the day their working conditions were far beyond harsh. And it was day after day generation after generation, and the people of God were trying out to God saying Lord save us Lord help us Lord, give us rest. They wanted physical Deliverance. God raises up Moses and he delivers them out and in Deuteronomy 15. He says remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm there for the Lord. Your God has commanded you to observe the sabbath day now last week we talked about the s word Savvy and we looked at how there was the stringent rules and stringent laws that the Pharisees placed on with really great intentions. How many of you when you go on vacation like to chill? How many of you married somebody who does not like to chill? You better tell that boo. You're sorry. Right baby. I I am sorry. I did not raise my hand to that the Sabbath was a day to rest and to chill and the Pharisees come along and they're like that person gun. We're getting up at 6. We got all of these events. I got all these things planned and it's really for your good and you're going to enjoy this trust me, but the other person doing this is miserable. These laws he's rules these regulations and they said we're just trying to help you have a good time. I don't want to have a good time. I want to have my good times and my marriage. I'm the one dragging her. All right, so she's not up here. I'm okay today. So here's here's the deal. All right. Hopefully she doesn't hear it. Here's the deal. They have these great ideas, and they said to rest and they really just perverted this rest. Convoluted and messy, but it doesn't take away from what God would love and she creation that human beings are not human machines that we actually need to rest. And the first way that God uses rest here is the Declaration of freedom. The Declaration of freedom for the Israelites. They are no longer slaves and when you are resting prior to this, they work 24/7 7 days a week is kind of the mentality that we can conjure up in our heads work work work work work work. And God says no more. You need to lay down when you come into the land you need to say I'm not a cog in the machine. I'm not a slave to a materialistic Society. I'm not a slave to an identity of the system. It's a declaration of Freedom that got us physically giving us to say I am going to rest and we live in a Restless generation and a Restless culture and is a restlessness that is stirring in us and we're having to fill every second of every moment of every day with some kind of information coming our way. We have to stay busy. We have to keep going we have to keep doing and then we believe that we actually need all of that in our life to keep Society up and running. God is saying you need to rest but it's more than that. I got his doing here in this rat. It's a revolutionary act for the Israelites a declaration of their freedom, but in Genesis as we looked at last week chapter 2 you see what it means when God rested he was satisfied with what he had done. He was satisfied and he said this is good. In fact what God Said in the When he was done resting at the dead spot, he said it is finished. His work was finished. But that just think those words of God saying it is finished a really interesting about all of this in Hebrews and I want to go back over for 2. It says for good news came to us that we're good news for the gospel 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 listen to what he's referring to as those that wear their wandering in the wilderness our prior to the wandering getting ready to go to the promised land. They were giants in the land and there were two that said we can do this God has called us to this but take the land but the rest were swayed from that and believe the fear of man was far more important than what these two stepping forth were saying and so they held back they didn't believe and they did not enter that rest and wandered in the wilderness and yet the author of Hebrews brings us to this point in the present tense. He says believing the gospel brings you rest. For the Restless and weary this morning. It is incredibly important to remember the gospel. And yes to have made a proclamation of the Gospel is truth for them to walk in. The reality that the gospel is truth. It's one thing to declare something and then yet we're now being told that he was the active present tense of the Gospel working and manifesting itself in our hearts. And in our life to where there can be a deep soul rest that resides in each and every person but Hebrews then takes a drastic change. We love to Quote verse 12 all the time. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It compares to the Bone to the Joint to the morrow. What does this verse actually sing within the context of Hebrews though. Have you ever thought about that? Here? Is the author rest rest. Rest. Rest. Rest rest. Oh, by the way, the word of God makes you naked literally translated here for us it reveals something in you and what the gospel declares and each and every person is that there is a Spiritual death inside of every person who does not know Christ and it is the very word of God that hit that the hearts the thoughts and intentions and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to his eyes who we must give an account. The word is sharp. It penetrates. It will show you your real motivations. A lot of people want to look to the Bible for inspiration. That's okay. A lot of people want to look in the Bible for motivation. That's fine. Maybe you want some encouragement. That's great that's in there. But here it says that it's actually looking deep within you and reviewing your spiritual deadness that you're uncovered and naked before God. There's a spiritual nakedness happening and this is all with the connection that God promises a rest to us, but that rest doesn't come about till we realized how broken Can we realize who we are that was committed Cosmic treason before God and our sin has separated us him. Listen, every human being when you step out of the store. What do they believe in a God or not a God, they're all trying to get jumped by one way or another. They're all trying to tell the world. They matter we can popcorn some ideas of how people do this. I'm a great parents. I'm a great worker. I'm a great employer. I'm a great father. I'm a great husband. I'm a great kid look at me. I'm great justify. I want justification. I want righteousness and we're constantly having to justify our actions to other people to tell them that were this great person. But when you come before God, bisane, I see you to the very bone of your so icy with you and you need to grasp something your depravity your wickedness. It is great and there is nothing you can do in your efforts in your righteousness. to make yourself whole Oh my goodness. That is the word piercing my heart and yet we're all striving all the time and no matter how much money we have mass and how many friendships we gain how many hearts we get on Instagram doesn't matter. It will never make us feel that deep soul rest What's the answer? What do we do Hebrews 4:14 since then we have a great high priest.

What did the high priest do in the Old Testament? One day a year on the day of atonement and wrap the Rope around his leg cuz it's treacherous to go into the presence of God and he would walk in on this day of atonement and he would sprinkle the blood and he would pray to God. I mean the holies of holies and then he'd come out and he didn't drop dead and declare to all of Israel sins are forgiven and they would go yes. Yes amen and they would party and they would celebrate and they would feast and they would have a great time. Well, it says here we have a great high priest. The language is uncanny it is incredibly an optional. It is relating Jesus to the actual fulfillment of the high priest that he doesn't just go in it says a great high priest you pass through the heavens Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. Would you not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses? The one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in the time of need. Yes before God. We are spiritual person, but then he goes on in Hebrews and says, here's the good news. You can draw close to this God because of what our high priest has done not because of what you can do is our high priest has gone before us you can have soul rest and how does that all play? In Genesis 2 when God finishes the creation of the world there it says it's finished. God rested. And when he's finishing his almost kicking his feet up and saying yes, there's satisfaction. There's peace the Shalom with one another noun Isaiah 66:1 it says that says the Lord heaven is my Throne you got God space. That's how we think of that way up there way out there. We don't really think of it and much other terms and if you seen Tom and Jerry, you've really got a bad depiction characterization of what happened is not like what we do have this concept that God has space up there and here and Isaiah. It says that the heavens are his throne room. And then what is it go on to say in Isaiah and is my footstool my footstool my resting place my foot. What is that house that you should build for me? And what is the place of my rest? Where am I going to Abode God's whole intention and purpose and Creations to have relationship with us. He wants to Well in unity with his people, however, when we sin and rebelled against. We severed that relationship we broke it and we were kicked out of the garden. And that was wrecked and ruined in the rest of the presidents. Even on Earth with God in his space god creates. God is King and his Seated on his Heavenly wrong picture of the cosmos peeing his throne and the Earth Is His footstool and God is relational. It creates man. God is Holy and in the garden at that time God and man can't dwell together. Here's a great commentary. His name is John Walton on the NIV commentary says the functional Cosmos. Big Cosmos is not set up only with people in mind. The cosmos is also intended to trade a function related to God on the 7th day. We discovered that God has been working to achieve a rest the seventh day is not a theological appendix to the creation account just to bring closure. Now the main event of creating people have been reported intimated the purpose of creation and of the cosmos God not only set up the cosmos that people of a place he said that the Kosmos to serve as his Temple. God had a temple and he said that the cosmos as that for him and Hebrews 9 would begin to get language that God had the Israelites set up a tabernacle Dalton Italy temple in which he would dwell and now functionally in the Garden of Eden was that place we're having kissed Earth Eden was that place where the cherubim and seraphim that we sing about Dwele. Actually, that's the Muppets man is cast out in order that they would not come back in and say holy set apart place for relationship, but I'll tell you what if you walk into the presence of the holy God and you are unclean. It will not go well for you. What is God going to do that his face our space. But how do we interlock those spaces? When the Old Testament we see times that God met with Cain and Abel met with Moses. Take off your shoes. Run Holy Ground came before Isaiah and he said will want to meet I am an unclean man. And he took the colder and touched his lips and she went clean and we see that God had come and he revealed himself in different ways. But house. Ultimately going to do this will in the creation of the Tabernacle and in the creation of the temple the same word in Hebrew that was used for it is finished in Genesis is also used at the completion of the Tabernacle and of the completion of the temple because it's finished all of these places were the places that God dwells with man. That's what you crave. That's what we want to dwell with God. Why is it such a big deal? John 1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the word is God. Skip Down 2 verse 8 and the word Tabernacle. The word dwelt among us. Jesus is the Living Word and he comes and he doesn't just say you come to me. He says I am now coming to humanity because the temple would no longer be a place that you come to worship but a person that you never come to worship. Every religion sets of temples that they believed would how's the dog you would come to the gods and sacrifice to the gods why to get what you want from them think about are functional saviors today. What do you sacrifice for work? Family rest enjoyment pleasure's all sorts of things. We can sacrifice for what tends to be the primary Idol within our culture. Today. We're going to go countercultural reboul against idolatry and listen to God say we want rest. But even in that day they came with their offering Christ is so different because he doesn't say here. I am in my temple come to me and worship. Because I am not Tabernacle Lane among you now. What does he say on the cross? It's an aromatic. It's not in Hebrew, but he says pay the last die. It is finished. What did God say when he finished the creation of the world spin? What was finished? Relationship there was a closeness with man and God the Tabernacle serving as a way for us to come unto God for the Israelites part me to come unto God. What did you say its completion? It is finished. What do you say it is finished in a relationship with me. Now. How is this ultimately fulfilled it is Christ to on that cross Cries Out is finished. Now, it gets even better cuz in Revelation 21:1, we see that there's this new heaven new Earth and in Revelation 21 that goes on to read I saw a new Heaven new Earth for the first Heaven the first Earth passed away. There is no longer any see the Seas depiction of chaos. I saw the holy city New Jerusalem coming down out from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the Tabernacle of God is among men and he shall dwell among them the Tabernacle. Dwelling amongst men God in Revelation 21 and present physically there with man and now he says he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes as she no longer be any death no longer be any morning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. He who sits on the throne said behold I am making all things new and he said right for these words are faithful and true and he said to me it is done. It has been done has been completed his pain pinched. That is the emphasis. I want to make their I am the alpha the Omega the beginning and the end. I will give the one who thirst from the spring of Water of Life without cost. There is a theme in our Bible and it runs from Genesis to Revelation and it's speaking of an ultimate. So rest of your heart race. And there is a problem in society culture in the world. It is chaos destruction and Devastation. It is sin that we do to ourselves. It is done from us to others. It is sin that is done from others to us and it is a reminder that we are so broken so fallen and so craving to be put back together, but too many people look to put themselves back together with the wrong processes and steps. They think if I could just not please fill in that blank. Think about your if I could just I could just gets that new place that new job another kid

I can just get married. I can just be single if I could just think about this for a second. Think about this. When those things do happen, do they save for Phil and satisfies in the way? We think they would have that moment. They do not my numbers of if I could just List long we can roll out here. And God whether he said yes bread. I'm going to go ahead and answer this is to show you that it won't satisfy you or somehow in my own workings made it happen. I have no idea. I believe in a sovereign God has control things. Alright, so here's the deal. He's reminding me constantly. Those things don't satisfy the rest you crave comes from me. It is finished presents with God there for chapter 4 again. We see his promise of entering his rest stands still has a promise of rest and it is for you. It's a freedom from the wrong motivations of work. It's a freedom to say I can take a day off and I can rest it's a freedom that says though your sins are like Scarlet. I have made you white as snow. She ultimately what we see in the scriptures that Jesus is our Sabbath rest. He is our help and if you want rest this morning and if your soul is Restless come drink from the well that will satisfy and give you everlasting life is salvation and Redemption celebrated. And we say no and are kind of cultural to the way the world of press on us and we say yes to the ways of Cheese's we begin to see how good and great and gracious and kind of this God has given us granted us for those who are in Christ a deep soul rest because it is finished and then he says I saved you absolutely but walk in the freshness of this.

or this morning We cry out to you. We know we need to cling to you. We know that our weary Souls needs to rest and that from the garden and Genesis you desired relationship with us and no we severed it all throughout the history of humankind you paired and planned a way for us to enter into deep relationship and presents with you. Through your son Jesus Christ. There is hope and forgiveness of sin. There is a rock that we can go to when we're tired and weary and we can clean too and that you give us rest for our souls in Jesus name. Amen.