SPIRITUAL Rest – through Partnership

4 – SPIRITUAL Rest – through Partnership

Premise:

God’s rest comes from cooperation with God’s Word

God’s job – SPEAK the Word

Your job – BELIEVE His Word – to the point of ACTION

Hebrews 3:6 NLT

6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

Background:

Israel failed to enter the Promised Land due to unbelief.

Israel rebelled against God while He was trying to lead them to the Promised Land.

God’s People Blocked God’s Rest – Heb 3:7-11

· Tried God’s Patience

o God’s patience was tested despite miracles

o Many people say they would believe in God if they saw a miracle, but the entire nation of Israel saw God’s miracles for 40 years, yet refused to believe Him.

· Turned hearts away

· Refused to obey

· Made God Angry (40 years)

Trusting vs turning:

Hebrews 3:12–14 NLT

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

· “Rest” belongs to Christ

Hebrews 3:19 (NLT)

19 So we see that because of their unbeliefthey were not able to enter his rest.

Rest = 2663 κατάπαυσις [katapausis /kat·ap·ow·sis/] [1]

· A calming of the winds

1 – God’s Rest REMAINS

Hebrews 4:1 NLT

1 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.

“Still stands” – YAYYYY

· God is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and FAITHFUL to 1,000 generations.

· Yet…. How many believers are not experiencing God’s rest?

· They are saved, but restless

· Don’t miss out on anything that Christ died to give you

“Tremble with fear” = reverential obedience

· Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling

· Implies people may not be as close to God as they think they are

· Ask – yourself – “are you in the faith?” If so, By how much?

· Faith always has corresponding action

“Might fail to experience it”

· G5302 – fail to become a partaker – come short – come behind – lacking

· Lose a race

Hebrews 4:2 NLT

2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.

Word + Faith = Rest

· “Share the faith” – Word mixed with faith

· Good News does no good without faith

· Good soil – heard and DID

2 – God’s Rest can be REFUSED

Hebrews 4:6 NLT

6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.

How did God’s people FAIL to rest?

· They HEARD God’s promise

· They KNEW the Promised land was there – the spies saw it – they saw and ate the massive grapes

· They FEARED the giants

· They disobeyed God by refusing to believe God - accepted the evil report – bad news –

God’s people REFUSED to believe they could HAVE God’s promise

Examples different types of “rest”

· Healing “rest”– Healing is not “entered” because of unbelief that a person can obtain it

· Financial rest – God’s money is blocked by unbelief of the needy

Life Lesson: Unbelief disqualifies promise – (blessing)

· Chronic unbelief angers God – (even though He loves us) [action vs person]

· God apparently takes unbelief personally –

· unbelief is an insult to both His ABILITY and His INTEGRITY

3 – God’s Rest is RESERVED for believers

– Rescheduled

Hebrews 4:7 NLT

7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

· God’s rest is AVAILABLE for all believers

· Set another time = TODAY

“Hear His voice”

· Why? Because faith COMES by hearing – Romans 10:17

· Faith to believe what God said will actually come to pass in their life

· He who hath an ear

“Don’t Harden your Heart”

· Hardening comes from rebellion – 3:7

Examples that can lead to rest, if obeyed:

· God CALLS you –

o Start a business, leave a job, go on missions, join a church and submit your ministry to the pastor

· God challenges you –

o Give a gift (like a large offering) – perhaps to someone you don’t like

o Forgive a repeat offender – again

· God corrects you

o Addresses a secret sin in your life

o Grow up and stop making excuses

4 – God’s Rest must be RECEIVED

· God’s rest is desired FOR all believers (by God)

· God’s rest must be desired BY all believers – to the point of faith

· WE should want God’s rest for us as much as HE does!

Hebrews 4:8 NLT

8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.

Hebrews 4:9 NLT

9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.

· Don’t let Christ’s sacrifice for you to be in vain in any area – including rest.

Hebrews 4:10 NLT

10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.

· Rest from being a fixer – a hero – everything to everybody –

· Rest from struggling with religious works – the works that please God is to believe.

· Rest from being a worrier - worry does not prove that you care to people, it proves you are not in faith

Hebrews 4:11 NLT

11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

· Do our best – Continual effort – keep the spirit man built up and keep the flesh man down

· We know we are in God’s rest when we experience God’s peace

· We don’t have to wait to receive spiritual rest – we can have it now!

[1]Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.