Hebrews 4
Notes
Transcript
Premium Rest
Premium Rest
Introduction:
Usher come Down
Announcements
Drawing of the winners for Work out Challenge.
Newsletter GO over it. (Dont have)
Men Wild at Heart Retreat if you plan on going please stay for a few minutes after service today.
Where did this week go? Where did this summer go? There are just those times in our lifes that we feel like wow. Things are flying on by. Has anyone had one of those seasons recently?
Weve been moving into our new house, and now trying to unpack and get everything where we want it. While my major project this week was to set up my entertainment room so i can watch football this weekend. WHich how man y of yall watched football or maybe went to a game yesterday?
I know a few of you went to the carolina game yesterday.
Well prepare prepare prepare can lead you behind. Ever had that happen? YOuve been running around doing something that had needed to be done but instead it just porhibited you from doing what you needed to do?
Its like youre moivng faster then the things you need to do and theyve caught up with you and have now bitten you in the butt.
Well there a story i wanna read to you this morning that is so much more literal then the chores we miss.
There was this newspaper article that told how a new Navy jet fighter shot itself down. Flying at supersonic speed, it ran into cannon shells it had fired only a few seconds before. The jet was traveling too fast!
On Sept. 21, 1956, young U.S. Navy test pilot Tom Attridge took off in an F11F Tiger (BuNo 138620) from Long Island, New York, for a weapons test over the Atlantic. He climbed to 20,000 feet, started a Mach 1 dive, and fired two bursts of rounds from his 20mm cannons until the ammunition was expended at 13,000 feet. He continued his dive, and around 7,000 feet something powerful struck his windshield. Thinking it must have been a bird, he quickly realized he had a big problem on his hands—his plane was losing power.
Pulling up, he throttled back to 230 mph and began a return to base. Unable to maintain altitude, he attempted to apply more power, but the power would not exceed 78%. The plane went down into a sea of trees approximately a mile shy of the runway, traveling 300 feet and catching fire. It was a total loss. Attridge suffered a broken leg and several broken vertebrae but thankfully survived. As he later learned, it was not a bird that took him down. As it turned out, the crash was caused by a far more surprising source: his own rounds.
For me in this story its not that this plane shot itself down.
But for me its the fact that this plane which could reach mach 1 speed. This plane that could go Supersonic speeds couldnt reach its own destination.
This plane which was built to be the powerhouse of planes was hurt if youi will, was damaged and this damage prevented its power source from reaching its destination.
This plane couldnt get home, due to the lack of power it had.
We get so busy we self destruct. We hurt ourselfs. We cant tolerate those around us, we cant even tolerate ourselfs with the list of Work we must do before we can sit down and take a break.
Today i need us to have an inner look at where we are. Today is a perfect day for us to dwell in this Holy Place in The Midst of our Savior and focus on what and where we are going in our business.
We know we are in the study in the book of Hebrews right now and we know even more that this church era is struggling with keeping the faith. Today our passage is in Hebrews chapter 4 and to be honest with you guys i was going to skip over the beginning few chapters.
But when i took a step back and it was really for a flash of a second i realized how much more i needed this. I was excited to speak of the High Priest and vs 12-13 with this Double edged sword.
But its so easy to get caught up in my own buisness and stop paying attention to the Lords buisness.
And when its easy to do that its easy to fall away.
But God calls for a day just like today to be a turning point. A new Day a repentance day.
SO today were going to read Hebrews 4
Whats the ultimate thing the church should be doing?
If i asked that question in a questionaire this morning i do believe id get different answers.
Many will say Praising God, others Serving other People, Some may say Teaching the Word of God.
All really good answers. However there is a precursor to all of them.
We do understand 1 cor 12 that we are a part of the body.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
Its not a mission statement or a vision.
We must be Believers. Well what must we believe....Everything we’ve just talked about.
The book of Hebrews these last few Chapters has really been talking about Jesus and who and why he is above all.
Jesus is above Angels although once he was below them for a little while.
Jesus is greater than moses who has done amazing things and created and implied the house of the Lord. IF we can stretch the terminology a little Moses created the First Church Structure.
Jesus is greater than Joshua...
But as we talk about joshua there is a turn in how the author is addressing this issue. Because at the end of Chapter 3 and more so into 4-6 He talks heavy about the warnings of falling away.
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”
5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,
7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
A. What might we fall short of? Entering God’s REST!
1. God’s rest after creation
1. God’s rest after creation
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.
15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.
16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.
17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”
Last week we talking about the place we Go to on Sunday. How its known as the tabernacle. how this very morning were in a special place a set apart place.
Now only are we people that want to be set from the world we also want to go to the place dedicated to the lord. Amen.
We want to Be with God in a place God wants to be.
Not that God wont show up in your prayer closets or bathrooms. Or not that God wont show up to you in your reading time at home and your worship in the car on the way to Work but theres something special and we will actually unravel that here this morning just a little bit more.
However
Today the day, The day of Sunday that biblical day of sabbath. Weather its saturday friday tuesday or Sunday i know we celebrate it on sunday However it means nothing without the other 6.
One thing we mis interpret with rest is the work part of it.
Labor is nothing without money
Trust means nothing without Loyalty
Education is nothing without the Appreciation of it
Experience is useless or close without the Wisdom we gain from it
Sacrifice doesn't sound intriguing without the Success we find on the other side.
Peace of mind bring happiness
Endings are nothing without the beginnings.
Rest is nothing without the Work...
God was happy he was excited he loved what he had created. He sat back everyday looking at the work he had done and said yep i put my all into this project,
yep i didnt skip any steps
yep this is pleasing to me and to all of creation.
Because on day one he was thinking of you. He was preparing a world for you to live in and a specific thing that you would comeplety appreciate and love and find happiness inside of and on the 7th day. The day we all know of completion he left the work he sat down and he said today i will rest in this.
This rest We have portrayed to us is Rest From God’s Word. Not that he was done working, not that he was taking a break. But he did say hold on for a moment let me see this.
But this isnt the rest in this passage.
What about
2. Israel’s rest after they entered the promised land
2. Israel’s rest after they entered the promised land
Joshua in HIs faith like we talked about earlier walked the Hebrews across the jordan river and into the promised land, No enemy stood in the way when the Lord walked them into the promise of the Land.
Have you ever had someone make you a promise, not like ill do the dishes. My wife was up working in the kitchen this past week and i knew she was tired and needed to get to bed while i was downstairs working on the computer. I came up and told her to go lay down and ill do the dishes later. Well later still hasnt come and no im not happy about that lol.
A promise was made and i know i touched on it a little bit.
But this promise finally came to fruition,.
The rest that the hebrews recieved wasnt a rest of no more work, but of plenty. The land they were given came with plenty. Plenty of Cattle, plenty of farming opportunities. It came with it all.
God did it again he carved a path into a blessing that was given to generations of his people. And due to a faithful leader in Joshua whom was obident and loving upon God’s word he Was able to instruct and Guide.
How many of us need this at work. A leader who not only sees what his people need but that loves the lord and is obident to God’s word all the days of his life.
This would be a blessing. To know you can go into work and not only is there plenty of milk and honey in the workplace. To make that more abundantly clear, there is enought money and clear opportunities for you but that you know God is at the head of the ship stearing it.
You can come into rest. You can come into a peace and a place of Awe knowing you are protected even from the Top.
I believe many people get hurt in the work place and in families which builds this anticipation of hurt around us. Walls and barriers that have to broken down by the almighty God himself.
So as good as this Rest can be. its not the ulitmate rest.
For jesus even aboloished this.
In Romans 13 1
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
paul tells us that anyone in authority God put there for his will. We can see that God is in control even if the leader isnt as Godly as we would want or percieve. But our God who is matchless in any power or way is at control for the kingdom.
When we begin to want Godly people around us for our own benefits it begans to look like we just want this earthly kingdom to be sucessful not the heavenly one to come.
Which takes me to #3 our Premium Rest. The one we see in Chapter 4
3. The Premium Rest
3. The Premium Rest
So we actually see this is a different rest spoken of in Hebrews 4
to be obtained than these, as Psalm 95 documents
This rest is both Physical From labor but also Refreshing in Spirit.
Its the promised Rest from God.
The rest Jesus speaks about in Matthew 11 28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
In Hebrews chapter 4 we have a 2 fold rest.
3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
Now we who have believed enter that rest…Hebrews 4a
So it is for those who believe.
This rest is available to every Christian.
It is the rest of Faith.
The peace of knowing that Jesus saves us from eternal damnation, t
he peace of knowing that God is in control of all things.
And by His being in control nothing happens unless He allows it to happen and that there is a perfect reason for it to happen.
There is the peace of knowing that God will provide for all of our needs. And finally there is the peace of knowing that God will fulfill each and every promise that He has made to us in His word.
Only when we truly believe these things will we be able to live that restful life that Jesus has for us.
I call this a Faith/Rest life.
Having the faith that God is in control and rest on His promises.
To rest you must have faith.
This is not a lip faith where you say you have faith but a faith that is real and doesn’t waver. In verse 1 it talks about fear. This is the fear of not reaching this rest. He warns us about becoming lax in our service to Christ. He illustrates his point by pointing out that the Jews had heard the word but that they did not profit by it. In other words they did not have the faith to believe that which they heard preached. They new the word of God but yet they still rejected what Jesus offered them because it was not what they wanted. They wanted an earthly kingdom not spiritual redemption.
What about us? Do we not do the same thing? We become more concerned with our worldly lives than our relationship with God. Our Jobs, clubs, sports, and other activities become more important than our walk with Jesus Christ.
The Israelites had the word, they had heard the word preached, and they studied the word but it did them no good. They failed to unite the word with faith. The word really had no meaning to them. It was not important enough for them believe. You can know what you are supposed to do, but unless faith is present it is not profitable to you. We are to fear being like the Israelites who failed to accept God’s promised rest.
1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
hey accused God of delivering them out of bondage to their death, they failed to have faith in Him and rest on God’s promises of protection. I want you to capture what I am about to say, nothing that you have, your money, your house, the cars, your job, land, what ever it is you have, you did not earn. God gave everything that you call yours to you. He controlled the circumstances whereby you got your job; He controlled the situation so that you made your money. Now the question is what are you going to do for God with what He has given you.
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,
15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.