Finding Inner Rest
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Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
In our world, we would think God would tell us Work Harder!
For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
But you would not,
Healthcare professionals have traced billions of dollars of medical conditions to overwork, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidental injuries, and cirrhosis of the liver, just to name a few …
A CNN study released earlier this year showed that those who work 11-hour days are (get this) 250% more likely to become depressed than those who only work 8-hour days.
Reasons:
It is how we provide for ourselves.
It is a source of identity. We can determine our worth by our work.
People will ask, What do you do?
Stay at home Mom: “I am socializing four Homo-sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia that God willed from the beginning of creation.”
Hebrews 4:3 (NKJV)
For we who have believed do enter that rest...
1. The Sabbath is instituted and established by God.
1. The Sabbath is instituted and established by God.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
a. The Sabbath reminded them that God was the point.
We weren’t created for a job; we were created for God.
b. Sabbath reminded them that God was the Provider.
2. The Sabbath is a day to reflect on our Salvation.
2. The Sabbath is a day to reflect on our Salvation.
Deuteronomy 5:12–15 (NKJV)
‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you… And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
vs 15 You were a slave, and now you are a son.
3. The Sabbath is the day we remember to rest in our faith in God’s Promises.
3. The Sabbath is the day we remember to rest in our faith in God’s Promises.
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Distractions are not Rest!
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my source of Identity.
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my source of Identity.
I don’t have to justify myself, or earn my place before God!
Christ Provides us with inner rest.
Without Christ you will work even when you are resting. With Christ, you can rest even while you are working.
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my source of Security.
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my source of Security.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my priority.
The Sabbath focuses me on, Christ as my priority.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.