Traveling On
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Good morning! How did everyone enjoy our third winter? I love snow, but I really could have used a rest from it on Tuesday. See, Tuesday was the day that I had to drive to Springfield to pick up Joshua and Rachel from the airport, and when I left it was just pouring down the snow - it was hard to see, you have people doing 50 mph and others doing 90 - and it stayed like that until I got to Strafford, so really most of the trip down. It was better on my way back, but man, on the way down I was just so tense that someone doing 90 was going to run into someone doing 50 and it was going to be ugly at any moment. So by the time I got to Springfield, I needed some rest. But once I got there I knew that I was going to have to travel back home with the kids. And I was not really looking forward to driving back through the snow again on the way home. But I knew I had to keep going. But on our way back from the airport was a completely different type of weather - it was sunny, and by the time we made it back most of the snow was gone. We got home, and I was able to rest.
And that’s where we’re going to pick up in Hebrews chapter 4 this morning. Let’s pray.
If you have your Bibles here, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4.
As you’re turning there, Hebrews 3 and 4 are chapters in the life of Israel that remind us of a people who would not go on to maturity. They settled for less than God had for them.
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.
The account the author of Hebrews is talking about is that account we saw last week from Numbers 13-14.
As a result of Israel’s disobedience, they were condemned to ceaseless wanderings in the wilderness until they were overtaken at last by death. They were a people who trusted God to bring them out of Egypt, but lacked the trust in God to bring them to the promised land. As a result they lost not their salvation but rather they lost the joy, peace, hope, and rest God intended for them.
These Hebrews that wandered in the wilderness knew about perception, but lacked the reality of the promised land. They perceived that they knew what they wanted, but their reality was that God had much more blessing for them.
The writer of Hebrews is concerned that these New Testament believers may fall into similar habits, and so he sees those who have made a good beginning and he’s urging them to continue on, to follow the Lord, and to take possession of the blessings God has for them.
There’s a poem that puts it this way:
They came to the gates of Canaan,
But they never entered in.
They came to the land of promise,
But they perished in their sin.
And so we are ever coming,
To the place where two ways part;
One leads to the land of promise,
and one to a hardened heart.
God was calling them to a land of rest. Not the kind of rest where we just kick our feet up and watch TV or sleep or whatnot, but Rest in total reliance on Him.
Rest is a word that means to settle down. In classical Greek it was used of colonization. Here as we go through this part of scripture it means to live settled down with God. To live totally dependent upon Him. It is a key element to a life that is lived by faith. The opposite of rest is unbelief.
And before we wag our fingers at the Hebrews in Numbers who found it difficult to leave the known for the blessing of resting in God, we need to look back on our own lives and consider those times in our lives where we did the same thing. Those times where we don’t surrender our desires for His promises, those times where we don’t follow where He leads.
It’s real easy to condemn the Hebrews that had to wander the wilderness for their unbelief, but how often do we fail to trust God in our own lives.
As the hymnist wrote, prone to wander Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.
Remember, these people being addressed are informed but not responding to the information. These Jews not only know the basic truths of the gospel but even had renounced Judaism. The warning the author is providing applies to anyone who is hesitating in committing themself fully to Jesus Christ and can be summarized like this:
Do not harden your hearts. Don’t become insensitive to God’s Word.
Obviously this rest we’re talking about is the blessing that is missed if we refuse to go forward and instead harden our hearts against His word.
So let’s just take a few looks at the rest found in these verses of chapter 4.
1. THE PROMISE OF REST. v.1-3
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.
Let us fear - we shouldn’t fear God in the sense of being frightened of God. He’s not the big mean God that’s just waiting to smite you when you get out of line. What the verse is telling us is that we should be careful “lest any…should seem to have failed to reach it”.
It’s a holy anxiety in that we we need to be cautious of how we treat the promises we have in Him.
In other words, if we have not trusted in the promise of our salvation through a relationship with Him, as in we still act the same as we did before, not acting like that new creation, we should be working that out a bit and really kinda fearful of where that leaves us relationally with Him.
Sure, Romans 3:23 tells us
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and we know that even as Christians our flesh still gets the best of us, but this fear that this verse should be talking to are those that are lost and haven’t given their personal lives to Him.
Mom and Dad’s salvation, your grandparent’s salvation, your brother or sister’s salvation - that’s just it it’s their salvation, it’s their personal relationship with Jesus. If you’re going to church or claiming Christianity without having that personal relationship with Him, you have a very good reason to be fearful.
Verses 2 and three give us
3 Truths about entering His rest:
1. Communication
Look with me at verse 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.
Now the KJV and the NKJV here say “Gospel was preached” but I want to make this a plain as possible. The Gospel was preached by more than just preachers. Believers were telling other believers. It’s why I don’t really like the title “preacher”, because we’re all supposed to be proclaiming Christ.
Good news came to us just as to them, look with me at the Numbers account again:
Now the ones speaking here aren’t Moses or Aaron, the “preachers” that we would be wrong to assume here, but the 2 spies that came back telling the Israelites that the land was good, Joshua and Caleb. and here’s what they said:
and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.
If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
The good news came from 2 spies that up until this point we had never heard of. Sure, Joshua was mentioned as an assistant to Moses in chapter 11, but that’s it. 2 guys, not even elders, proclaiming the good news of God in the Old Testament.
2. Identification
Look again at verse 2, the second half or so:
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.
Did not benefit them - why? Because they were not united. The Hebrews at Kadesh-Barnea did not identify themselves with Caleb and Joshua. The report of the good news had no effect on them.
Understand folks that not everyone is going to believe you. Not everyone is going to believe the words in this book. They aren’t going to understand what we’re saying if we speak Christianese, and they certainly aren’t going to understand the Bible if they don’t identify with it’s truths.
So that’s why it’s our job to proclaim Christ in the simplest way possible, we’re communicating effectively, and then we’re identifying with each other because we can now speak that same language, and that leads to
3. Appropriation
When you look up the word appropriation, you get some interesting synonyms. Grant. Allocation. Allotment. Look with me at verse 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.
We who have believed enter that rest - the answer to all of our fear and failure that comes from our own humanness is faith. We do not work to enter into the fullness there is in Christ, we simply believe.
His works were finished from the foundation of the world - we who believe and have entered into that relationship with Him do so because the work was already done, and we acknowledge that He did the work. It was already claimed through a Heavenly accomplishment.
When Joshua and Caleb were attempting to get Israel to trust God, they were trying to remind them to have Faith in the God that has promised all these things.
Have. Faith.
For us it’s a principle found in Colossians 2:6:
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
If you have received Christ as Lord and Savior, you’ll trust Him, walk in the confidence of your salvation, and you’ll be walking by faith which produces change - His work, not your work.
Now you might be saying Jeremy, what does that rest look like? Well now let’s look at
2. THE PICTURES OF REST. v.4-11
and the first picture of rest that we come to is
A. Creation Rest. v.4-5
We talked a little bit about this one last week.
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.”
God created the universe in a six day period of time. On the seventh day God rested. It was the rest of completion. The sabbath day commemorates God’s creation work.
That Sabbath rest was broken by man’s sin. Jesus declared this clearly when the Jews accused Him of breaking the sabbath - look at John 5:17:
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Now the context of the verse was Jesus Healing on the sabbath at the Pool of Bethesda. And note the response to His answer and the response of Jesus back.
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
God is working because sin is still present.
It’s interesting, the Jews don’t realize how hard they’re working against God because God is working on the Sabbath to bring rest to the weary. It’s real hard to rest when you can’t let go of something.
B. Canaan Rest. v.6-8
Talked about this one last week a little bit too, look at verses 6-8:
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.
The promised land was first offered to Isreal at Kadesh-Barnea. Joshua made the offer once again when all of those adults had passed when he assumed command of Israel.
In verse 7 the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95 verses 7 and 8.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
He’s saying that David did speak of a rest for the people of God. The thing is, this rest didn’t occur during David’s reign, which should lead us to believe that it was messianic-it was to happen at a later time. We now look forward to the reign of Christ for our rest.
The third picture of rest from these verses is
C. Calvary Rest. v.9-13
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.
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.
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.
Today God rests in Christ’s words in John 19:30;
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
It. Is. Finished. God rests in these words. If we have believed Him, we rest in those words as well. Our rest is based on His finished work.
Verse 11 reminds us that the child of God must deliberately choose for themself the rest that Jesus has secured for them.
We close with a story.
A missionary in Africa offered a ride in the back of his pickup truck to a man who was walking along and was struggling under the weight of a heavy load he was carrying. The African man gladly accepted the ride. After a few miles the missionary glanced in his rearview mirror and was astonished to see the man standing stiffly upright in the back of the truck, still holding his load on his shoulders. The missionary stopped the truck to see why the man was still carrying the load. The man replied “I didn’t know the truck could carry both me and my load”.
Calvary rest frees us from the burden of our sin. We can rest it all on Christ along with all the other heartaches and problems of life.
Christ already did the work of carrying the load, now all we have to do is accept that He is our only hope of rest. Seek His rest today.
Let’s Pray.
Father God thank you for this message today. Thank you for dwelling in our lives and Lord we ask that you forgive us in our neglect for your promise and for our church to seek you in all that we do. Lord thank you for giving us your Word and for working in our hearts to give us a perspective that focuses on your promise for our lives.
As you keep praying today, I want you to really take a moment and just think of God’s promise in your life. Have you been allowing God to work through you and are you seeking His will, or have you drifted off course and allowed the things of this world to cloud your perspecive? Have you given it all to Him, have you surrendered to His will for your life? Are you experiencing freedom, or are you still bound by the promises of sin? Today, give it all to Him. You can come forward, there are people who will pray with you if you like, or you can simply pray by yourself right where you are, but today, give it all to the only one who can lead you to the promised land.
Father, guide and direct us to your rest so that we may have your peace in our lives. Show us your will, and Lord help us to stay on that path that leads to your promises. When we start to go astray send someone to keep us on track, give us the perspective we need to remain in you. Help us to have pure hearts. Help us to reflect you in our lives, and Lord speak boldly through us to proclaim your message that you are THE way and THE truth and THE life, and that we can live our lives fully devoted to your current and coming Kingdom.
And as you remain in prayer there are some here that may have realized that they don’t have a relationship with Christ. The bible tells us that if you don’t have Christ as your Lord, you have satan as your lord. And that king of lies is telling you that you’re ok, you’ve been a churchgoer for years, you’re a good person, you’re not like those people that do evil things in the world - but the problem is that you can never be good enough or do enough to save you. Or maybe something has occured and you’re here because something or someone brought you to this point, and you don’t know God personally. Maybe you’ve been trying to “find God” on your own, maybe your family were believers or took you to church. Maybe you’ve always looked at God as a God in the past or as not active today, but let me tell you today that He is an ever present and and ruling King, and if you feel like there’s something missing It’s Jesus. You’re tired, you’re looking for a savior, and the way to that Savior is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And there are those of you who Christ desires to reveal Himself to today. So today, call on His name, Jesus, the Son of God who to save you was born in a manger without an earthly father so He didn’t inherit the sin nature, so that He could be your Savior, becoming sin on the cross, shedding His blood, dying, and being raised to life so that anyone who calls on His name will be saved. That’s why you’re here.
If that’s you, if God is calling to you to draw into a relationship with Jesus, answer Him today. If you don’t know how it’s as simple as ABC. A- admit to God that you are a sinner, B-believe that Jesus came to redeem you through that sinless life, death, and resurrection, and C- confessing Christ as Lord and Savior with your mouth, choosing to follow Him. if you don’t know how to start, you can simply pray something like this:
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. Lord I believe that you came to free me from the bonds of sin and hell, and Lord I thank you for what only you could do. Lord I choose you, to follow in all that you are and to walk in the Spirit in a relationship with you, and to spend eternity with you. In Jesus name, amen.
Father, thank you again for this body, and Father as you are speaking to those here today, I pray that they will follow you where you lead, that they will see you revealed, and that we will follow in your presence today.
If you need someone to pray with you come forward and myself or one of the leaders will come to pray with you. Don’t delay, don’t let this moment pass you by, answer His call today, come as He leads, as the music plays softly for a moment, this is your moment.
Questions for the Week
1. When we look at the accounts of the Israelites and their time between Egypt and the promised land, how easy is it to just think, wow, they had all of the answers right in front of them and they still couldn’t see the error of their ways?
2. Have you fully examined your life and your relationship with Christ and seen some similarities between your life and the Israelites?
3. In what ways are you actively pursuing to grow closer to God? Are you actively seeking discipleship? Are you in a small group? Are you called to do more?
Are you resting in the promises of God (have you surrendered everything in your life to Him) or are your still trying to carry it all on your own?