Hebrews 4 | Rest

Intro

Hey y’all how are y’all? Everyone good? Good.

y’all know what season it its? Not Pumpkin spice, it’s apple crisp.

So who has instagram or TikTok? porbably more of you are on tiktok than insta.

Alright so i don’t have tiktok, but pretty much everything makes it’s ways to reels like a week later, and i can live with that.

But the cultures are about the same on Reels and TikTok and one of the things we have probably all have seen is the hustle culture, or money hacks, finance advice.

Y’all know what i’m talking about? Quit your 9-5 with these side hustle tips, or something stupid.

I made 60k in three months by drop shipping frying pans or something.

i think my favorite side hustle was this guy goes to Ross and TJ Max and looks up how much things are selling on amazon, buys them if they’re cheaper than resells them on amazon.

You can make 1000 dollars in a hour.

Which in theory works until you realize TJ Max only keeps like 4 things and you gotta go to a bunch of TJ Max, and you burn your profit in gas in shipping.

Idk, I guess you could make some money doing those.

or the hustle gym bros, not knocking going to the gym, but the chasing a rich lifestyle, flexing culture, is wild, and just kinda weird if you read some of the quotes and mantras are out there.

i searched the hashtag hustle quotes, and their just kinda cringe.

Like “Be a mess no one dares mess with” and there is a lion in the background. ooo, so edgy.

Just dumb sounding stuff that

Literally one of the things i saw is, work hard now, you can sleep in your Rolls Royce later.

Cool, idk about you, but id rather sleep in a house, with a bed, than a car, it might be a rolls, butttt it’s still sleeping in car.

But the idea behind both of those things, is this idea of never resting and hyper self determination. Its almost this idea of creating your own salvation from your own efforts.

But anyways, this is one of the prevailing mindsets in our culture, you all know someone like this, I’m sure some names are popping up of people who have this mindset.

Sleep is for the week, never rest, never satisfied.

And that’s the issue isn’t, never being satisfied. Nothing in this world can bring you actual joy, so the pursuit becomes what drives people.

So that’s where we are gonna be tonight, looking at this idea of rest. What does it mean to rest, what does scripture say about rest, what do we do with idea of hustle culture. What does rest look like for followers of Christ?

Context

So, Hebrews 4 is where we are at tonight, Hebrews 4:1-12 does anyone need a bible?

I you need a bible, go ahead and throw a hand up, cool cool,

who needs a bible?

okay so while you’re there let me give you some context, remember Jesus is greater is the theme of the book, thats the over arching thing. In this passage it is building onwhat we looked at last week, and really explores rest. What is rest?

so let read this passage, then talk about rest.

but before we do that. let’s pray for our time in the word tonight.

pray

okay read this with me Hebrews 4:1-12

Hebrews 4:1–12 ESV

1 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. 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. 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. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 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.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 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.

what is rest?

okay, cool, so what do we mean by rest? what is rest? how do we rest? whats going on here?

So first thing we need to see is that in verse 1 is that the promise of entering in to the Lord’s rest still stands,

so what does that mean?

Last week we talked about entering in to the promised land, the was the rest given to the hebrew people, that they would see the place prepared for them by God.

But what is the rest being talked about here? this was 600 years removed from the promised land, so what is the rest?

The rest is salvation. This is new covenant, the rest being offered is the gospel.

Look at verse 2, Heb. 4:2 “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.”

The good news is rest, rest found in Christ. and why that didn’t benefit them is because they didn’t really believe what they had heard.

Faith brings Rest not, works.

They heard this is rest, they heard this is salvation, they didn’t really believe. They got to the promised land and said no we can’t do it, we’ll do it a different way. we’ll do it our own way.

any of you have a friend that likes to ask for advice then do the opposite of the advice you gave them? everyone? cool.

who has been that person? also everyone? cool?

how’d that work out for you?

When i was about 19 maybe? my family and i went to the beach, and my mom is a great mom, she is always looking out for her boys, and this trip like many other trips, we are getting ready to go out to the beach for the day, we are all day beach people, when i go to the beach, i’m on the beach at like 7 am, getting my spot, setting up for the day. When Lauralee and i went she’d meet down there about 10, but i get it from my Dad, all day beach people. once i sit down out there i’m only getting up to get in the ocean.

so we are getting ready, and my mom is like, here is some sunscreen, and i said, “meh, i’m good, it’s gonna be over cast today.” to which my mom replied, you still are gonna want some sunscreen and I again said, i’ll be alright, i’ll have on a long sleeve shirt, and a good hat, i’ll be alright. and Mom said, atleast put someon your legs, and i said nah, and i didn’t put anything on, because 19 year old me was a literal genius, peak mental performance was given by 19 year old me.

so we get out there, and it’s not even that hot, lots of cloud coverage, good breeze, it’s not a bad beach day. so we sat out there from like 8 am to 5 pm, just sitting out there, and I had a fishing shirt on, that was long sleeve, arms were fine, had a big hat, sunglasses, kept my feet under the sand. I’m doing great, 5 pm rolls around, we stand up to go, and when I stand up, i notice, that my knees sting. and i look down, and my knees are red. cool.

see my shorts came down to about here, and didn’t cover my knees, and you know what i didn’t put on my knees, sunscreen. but i’m like, it’ll be alright, i’ve been sunburned before.

so we go in, get ready, and i put on jeans, and you know how sunburn gets worse later, like in the moment, it’s not too bad but like later that night and especially the next day, it’s awful. This was the worst sunburn i’ve ever gotten, like my knees the next morning weren’t red, they were like blood purple, they looked bruised. and they hurt like crazy. I hurt to walk, hurt to sit hurt to really do anything, and so the rest of the week, i had the reminder of when i was a genius and defiantly knew better. to this day, i’ll put sunscreen on my knees if im at the beach.

So that’s the hebrew people, they thought they knew better, they said, we’ll all die if we go in there. and the thing that actually happened was a whole generation died before any of them got to go in there.

So this rest that is salvation brings actual rest. they were not united in faith, they didn’t trust God, that is what faith means, the greek word for faith, also means trust. They didn’t trust God to save them.

That is the crux of salvation, do you trust God? — Yes, rest in that.

Faith brings rest, not works.

They had no faith in God, they didn’t enter his rest, they tried to make their own salvation. They tried to earn it for themselves. They died.

How often is that us, even if you are a follower of Christ, we still can fall in to thinking that we need to do these things to be a good little christian when instead we need to rest in what God has done.

and what has he done?

He has saved us from sins, saved us from ourselves. He saved us from trying to earn our way.

This is what the culture is pushing us to do, hustle, make your own way, pull yourself up, you do this, you create this, you do this.

and if we take that mindset in to following jesus, we are just walking next to jesus telling him there is a better way. That’s not the christian life.

Faith, trust, brings rest, not works. Because if we are trying to work to gain salvation, we are going to work ourselves into death. That is were works lead to, death.

That’s what Galatians is all about, the law brings death, christ brings life. You can’t hustle your way in to salvation, you can’t work hard enough to earn it.

God gives it.

We find rest in Christ alone

So how do experience this rest?

First we have to trust that God keeps his promises, That God is the one who does the work in salvation. We find rest in the person and work of Christ. And what doez that look like, how do we experience Christ?

It starts in His word. John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the word, the perfect revelation of God, scripture is the final revelation, in scripture we have the person and work of Christ. Scripture is living and breathing.

look at verses 11 and 12 Hebrews 4:11-12

Hebrews 4:11–12 ESV

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 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.

Scripture reads us, more that we read scripture, The Word of God is living and active, dwelling on the words of Jesus, resting in the words of Christ bring about actual rest. Rest brings us closer to the throne room.

Scripture is our starting place.

Theology, doctrine, devotionals, quotes, podcasts, are great things, they help us understand scripture, they inform our thoughts, they inform how we think about things. but all of it has to start with scripture, it can’t go from doctrine informing scripture, but scripture in forming doctrine.

We have to start with Christ. because if all have is knowledge, we have nothing, but knowledge,

scripture gives us life and trust and faith. Scripture gives us rest, it informs our theology.

it is one things to know about something, it is a whole other thing to find rest in a thing.

So Price, my daughter, doesn’t want to miss things. That girl is super alert during the day, she’s watching everyone, seeing what they’re doing. And she is only 3 and a half months, and like all 3.5 months olds she cries.

and that’s okay, that’s how she communicates with us, its how we know she needs something.

She cries when she hungry,

she cries when she needs to be changed and she cries when she’s tired.

Now how would it help her if when she’s hungry and I was like, well, the bottle is on the counter, theres an open formula in the fridge, it’s right over there.

or when she’s wet and I was like, hey Price, diapers, are right there, make sure to wipe good.

or when she just crying I was like, hey you know, there in no real reason for that, you’d be better off if you just closed your eyes, and went on to sleep.

Would that actually help her? I have given her the knowledge, given her the tools, can she do it though? no, she needs us, she can’t do it for her self. she need us.

so what do we do when she’s screaming her head off? we pick her up, we hold her really close, i’ll put her head right here, pat her back. What she wants is to be loved. what she wants is the security that we are there for her.

She wants to held by us, to know that we are there.

That’s a new picture of God’s grace in my life, when the world is spiraling around us, God is there to give us rest. Christ says, he come sit with me, coem sit right here.

When suffering comes and life is just kicking you in the teeth, God is not like, “Hey have you read John Pipers book on suffering?”

No, God is like, he I’m right here, and I’m what you need. Come rest in this, let me do the hard work, what ever is going on, it will be made right now, or in the end of all things when redemption to this world comes.

Christ says come be with me, trust me, know that I am here. We find rest in Christ alone. Rest in Christ is the hope that can’t be taken from us.

Rest is not idleness

So, we see that ultimate rest is salvation, rest in Christ is our hope, that He keeps his promises.

But i want to look at what rest is not.

In scripture we see Christ is the one who gives rest, but Christ is the one who also gave us a mission.

So are we resting or doing the mission?

Both, rest is not idleness, rest is trusting, rest being built back up in Chirst, rest is recharging.

look at verses 3 and 4 Hebrews 4:3-4

Hebrews 4:3–4 ESV

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. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”

On the 7th day of creation, God rested, God didn’t need to rest, but gave us an example, he rested, en enjoyed what he had created. He is not just sitting there idle though, He is God, He is holding everything together.

Rest is not idleness, rest is Sabbath. In your rest we worship. Old english preaher put it like this,

Hebrews The Believer at Work

God rests, yet He works. Heaven is a place of rest, but it is not a place of idleness: there is holy service still to be done there; so you Christian people, who are perfectly saved, devote all your strength to the winning of others for Christ

We have the hope of salvation, and we rest in that, we are edified in that, built up in the fact that we have hope. This rest is what gives us the strength to carry out this mission.

P2Christ

So what do we do with this? What’s the point, why are we talking about this?

How often are the we the ones who forget this and buy in to the idea that we have to always be doing something.

at some time, it’s all of us, we think if we aren’t being productive then we are being lazy.

Even in ministry, even in carrying out the mission, you can’t be everything all the time, for everybody, you sometimes need to be poured in to instead of pouring out.

That is where rest comes in, that is where sabbath comes in. This is how we rest, we let the scriptures pour in to us.

We rest on the sabbath, that is why we worship on the day of rest, it’s for the church to come together, to encourage and rest together, to eat at the table of the Lord.

That’s why we are doing communion on Sundays to remind us that Christ has done the hard work, we get to rest and eat.

So if you’re a follower of Christ, this text is calling you to look at how you rest, are you resting? IF you aren’t you need to find a way to rest, you need it. you know how you don’t function if you don’t sleep, your relationship and walk will suffer if you aren’t resting. Open the word, and let sit next to Him. Get still before the lord. Ask the lord to give you rest.

if you aren’t a follower of Christ or aren’t sure what you believe, the only real rest and hope you can have is in christ. Could be that you’ve been trying to earn this salvation, trying to be a good person. None of us are good, the only good in us is Christ is us.

Know that you can’t do it your way, you can’t earn your salvation, you can’t hustle your way to heaven. hustle only leads to more work, which leads to death. Christ is calling you to rest in him, to see him as the only place of hope and rest.

If you’ve got any questions come talk to me, talk to a friend, talk to someone,

Come see Christ as Lord, come see Christ as King .