Hebrews 4:1-13 Jesus -Rest in HIM

The main ideas from this information are that the theme of the passage is "rest" and it is mentioned nine times. The passage discusses entering God's rest by faith and the ceasing of efforts, works, and worries. It also talks about being at peace with God, free from sin, and not concerned about man's approval or rules. The passage emphasizes leaning on Jesus, relying on His love and righteousness, and having absolute trust and confidence in Him. The author refers back to Israel and their failure to enter God's rest due to disobedience and unbelief. moment. Dear Lord, thank you again for this day and this time together, this day that you've made, and to help us to be glad and to rejoice in it because we're getting to study your Word. Thank you for your Word, which is living and active and sharper than any twitched sword, divides to the soul and the spirit, joins to the marrow, is a discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. So with our hearts, dear Lord, we pray that we would open our heart and our mind to you, that we would hear your Word clearly, and we would be willing with your Word to be willing to live it, and not our own will, but your will. Thank you for this evening, pray your blessings upon it, protect our time, guide us with your Word, and pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Alright, we're ready. Thank you, David. Alright, so tonight we're going to look at verses 1-13 of Hebrews 4. And the predominant theme in that segment of Scripture is a four-letter word that starts with R and ends with T. Rest. Not rent. Rest. When you think about the Bible, you don't think rent, you think rest. Rest. The English word rest is in this passage of Scripture nine times. So what do you think the theme is? Rest. And so, Jesus, rest in Him is how I titled it, and we're going to look at four aspects of it by faith while there's still time, fully and completely and diligently. So, it's going to be, I think, an enjoyable discussion tonight. We're going to see what the word is. There's actually two different Greek words that are used, that are translated rest. One eight times and one one time. So, eight times we're using one type of rest, one time a different type of rest. And there's a reason for the difference, so we're going to explore that as well. So, that being said, let's just start reading. Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed, we have had good news preached to us, just as they also. But the word they heard did not profit them. Who do you think He's referring back to? In the past weeks, right? He's always referring back to who? The Jews, but which Jews? The ones that won't accept the Word. Right. But He goes all the way back to the Old Testament, right? All the way back to those that came out of Egypt. The Israelites. The Israelites. There you go. Who's getting the gold star for that one? Joyce? Good job. Yeah, good job. The Israelites. They came out of Egypt. And so, we're going to look at that again in a minute, but just context so you can see that, all right? So, but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest. Now he's talking about the Jews that are being written to by this letter, who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior, all right? So, we who have believed entered that rest. Just as He has said, as I swore to my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said some were concerning the seventh day, and God rested in the seventh day from all His works. So, we're going to stop right there, and we're going to kind of explore this. Jesus rested in Him by faith. That word rest translates to katapostas, which means to cease from work or any kind of action. It also means freedom from whatever worries or disturbs you. From being so easily bothered by the nuances and hassles of life, to be inwardly quiet and composed, to be at peace. So, when you enter God's rest, we've got some questions we're going to answer. What efforts, works, and actions are ceased by you? When you enter into His rest, and that rest meaning spiritual rest, okay? When you enter into His spiritual rest by faith, what ceases? All your worries? All your worries about what? All your worries about, um, as far as I thought through it. Okay, Ed? You're striving to earn your salvation. There you go. There's a gold star, Ed. Thank you. Right? There's no more work required of you. All the things that you were trying to do to get right with God, it ceases. Now, back to worries, Bill. What worries go away, then, if you are spiritually at rest? Worries about your eternal soul. There you go. Your eternity is secure. Right? So, here's a way I... Let me just ask you a question. Anybody in here who has not sinned this week, would y'all raise your hand? Not. Not sinned. Okay. So now I know, right? We're all in the same boat here. Now, next question. Since we all sinned this week, did any of those sins that you committed, did they cause you one second of worry about your eternity with God? No. Right? You didn't... I don't even think... When I sin, I don't even think about the eternal ramifications of that sin. Because they've already been dealt with. Now, when I sin, I think about how I've disappointed God for the moment. I think about how I've disappointed my wife, if it's in some way related to her, for the moment. Right? I've got some cleaning up to do, because I've made a mess. Right? But I'm not worried about eternity. I'm worried about the here and now, and making sure it's right now. Does that make sense? That's rest. That's rest. What else? What else are you not going to... It's going to cease. We talked about self-effort for salvation. Trying to please God by our works. Legalistic works. All that goes away. With whom are you at peace, and from what are you free? Well, we talked about that. You're at peace with who? God. And you're free from... You're worried about what? Sin. It's forgiven, just like I said. It's forgiven. Not that you shouldn't treat the sin. You've got to do 1 John 1. If you don't do 1 John 1. What happens? You lose fellowship. You lose fellowship. It tends to snowball, doesn't it? It tends to snowball. It tends to... It impacts your attitude. It impacts your relationships. Y'all might have heard me say this before. And I'll repeat this again. I'm sure... Because every time I get in front of a group, I say it at some point in time. My first mentor, a long time ago, a long time ago, we were at a dinner with he and his wife. They were about to leave to go to Georgia. And he said something that's stuck with me ever since. He said, he's just a couple years older than me. He's just fresh out of seminary a long time ago. He said, you know one thing I've learned from Brother David? He's from Georgia and had that Georgia drawl. He said, you know one of the things I've learned from Brother David? I've learned this. He said, if I miss my time with the Lord one day, the Lord knows it. If I miss my time with the Lord two days in a row, Allison knows it. I can tell you, Terry knows it. Right? If I miss my time with the Lord three days in a row, the world knows it. That has stuck with me ever since. The reality is, right? The time with the Lord is when the Spirit of God does business with you. That's when all of a sudden that sin that you'd forgotten, or the sins you knew was there and you've got to clean up, right? That's when you do the cleaning. How else are you going to do the cleaning if you don't spend the time with the Lord, right? Because it doesn't say if you just think about your sin He's faithful and just to forgive you. That's what it says. It doesn't say if you'll forget about your sin He's faithful and just to forgive you. That's what it says. No, it says what? You have to confess. Which means you have to agree with Him that that is sin. But that agreement means that you are remorseful for having done it. And, that you are determined to go the other way. I don't want to do it again. Whew! Man, right? I got off the track. Let's get back on track. I guess so key is that we don't worry about the eternal ramifications of sin but we do need to be concerned about our daily walk. What is no longer considered a factor in how you live or what you think? Well, now this is important. You're no longer concerned about what? What is it you're no longer concerned about? How about man's what? Man's approval. How about another man's what? Man's rules. Man's rules. Man's philosophies, right? Man's rules. Man's ways, right? What about other religious activity, right? Don't worry about religions. You're not worried about lifestyles. Those things that the winds that blow, the fads, the ideas that come, right? All that stuff that can persuade you one way or another, right? Once you have settled at rest with God, all that stuff goes away. Why? Because you know His truth and the truth is all you need. And all the rest of that stuff doesn't line up, does it? It's no longer having any influence in your life. At least it shouldn't be. Right? It shouldn't be. On whom do you lean and what do you rely? You lean on who? Jesus. And what do you rely on? His? His love. His love? His? His rest? Righteousness? Righteousness? His? Truth? His? Strength? His encouragement? I mean, word? We can just fill in the blank. But it's all Him. All Him. In whom is your absolute trust and confidence? The Lord. Why? Because our salvation is complete in Him. It's complete. It was attained by His power and was given to us as a result of His care for us. So rest. Rest. Cease from work. Be at peace with God. Therefore, now we get to the therefore. Therefore refers to what the author had just stated about Israel. Hebrews 3, 15-19. So we'll go back over here and we'll read that. Kim, do you want to start tonight? While it is said today that you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me. For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those whose sins, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. So, what happened to Israel and why? They failed to enter what? His rest. Why? Because they didn't believe. They didn't believe. But there's another little word in there. Disobedience. Disobedience. So, here's what's interesting is the linking of disobedience and unbelief. Because of unbelief they disobeyed. Okay? Because of unbelief they disobeyed. That's true of every sin. I think that's a carte blanche statement we can make. Because of unbelief, we disobey. You say, well, wait a minute. Well, think about it, right? When I wag my tongue, which is the number one sin of most Baptists, right? The tongue wags, right? I'm disobeying, but I'm not believing that it's as bad as what I think it is. I'm not believing that God's going to really be disappointed when I'm really telling the truth about the guy I'm talking about. Right? I'm middling, I know, because our tongues wag. And mine does a good job. Right? That's the point. It's that we don't really see sin the way God sees it. We don't see how seriously He takes it. And we don't understand the impact it has. And in essence, we don't really believe. So we disobey. So back to the wilderness. What did they not believe? When God said go, and they said no, what did they not believe? They didn't believe that God could do what He said He could. Exactly. They didn't believe. Isn't that a head-scratcher? We've talked about this the past several weeks. What did they witness? They witnessed His deliverance from Egypt, out of bondage, across the Red Sea on dry ground, provision in the wilderness, manna from heaven. I mean, it goes on and on and on, and then He says go, and they say no. Because they didn't really believe He could do what He said He would do. Wow. Concerning God's rest, what is to be feared and why? Let's look at Matthew 10, 28 and see what Jesus says. So when it comes to God's rest, it's either enter the rest or enter what? Reject the rest and go where? Hell. There is no gray area here. It's either you're in or you're not. And if you're not, you're not going to be in a good place. Fear God, because He has the power to commit you to hell. What's the only kind of fear a true believer should have? Let's look at 1 Peter 2, 17. What kind of fear do you think that is in the context of that verse? Honor, love, honor. What? Honor. That's the kind of fear we're talking about. Honor. Honor Him. Stand in awe of Him. Adore Him. Exalt Him. Give Him His due. Worship Him. That's the kind of fear we're talking about. Okay? So in the context of this letter, what opportunity still existed for whom? So it says, Therefore let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest. Who does that still exist for in this letter? He's writing to who? The Hebrews. And which Hebrews here is He referring to? Remember we said three different groups of Hebrews. The Hebrews that heard and had received. The Hebrews that had yet to hear, but see is the right answer. The Hebrews who had heard, but had yet to receive. So, in this context, the opportunity still existed for Israel to be saved and enter His spiritual heavenly rest. I ask the question, is the same true today? Yeah, right? Yeah. There's a massive movement of Jews for Jesus out there. Right? There's somebody here in this room I think that supports that cause, if I recall correctly. Is that right or not? Support Jewish missions. I knew it was something like that. Yeah, several different ones. Point being again, right? Point being, there's an opportunity for them to come to faith in Jesus. They're not cut off yet. They're not. And that's what this is saying as well. So, alright. Moving on. To experience God's rest, what is an absolute necessity? Alright, let's look at verse two and three. Faith. The absolute necessity is faith. Or back to what we said a while ago, they didn't enter because of unbelief. So faith, belief, whatever you want to call it. Faith and belief. Alright? And I ask the question, what's not enough? Let's look at this again. Indeed we had good news preachers, just as they also. But the word they heard did not profit them. It's not enough to, what? Just hear the gospel. That's not enough. It's not enough to know, you can recite the four spiritual laws. But if you have never acted upon them by faith and received Jesus as your personal Savior, that's not enough. You've got to have faith. Alright. Next. For how long has God's rest been available? Look at this again. So. Verse three. Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. Did y'all understand this, right? This has already been completed in the mind and heart of God. By the time he had finished with creation. By the time he finished, he already had in place what was going to happen in order for his people to be at rest once Adam and Eve sinned. It's since the foundation of the world that plan's been in place. So who experienced that rest to begin with? I just gave you the answer a second ago. Adam and Eve. The only two people in history who've ever known what it's like to be at rest while they were alive physically. Only two people. Well, besides Jesus, but we don't count him, right? The only two people in history. What happened? What happened? Genesis chapter three, right? Everybody can say it, right? Genesis chapter three. What happens in Genesis chapter three? The slippery slithering serpent comes into play. Right? And what does he do? He starts questioning the veracity and the authenticity and the authority of God and what he says. And he convinces them that he's right and not God. Get that. Look at this. They lost their trust in God. And as a result, his rest. Why? Because they believed and trusted Satan rather than God. Think about it. That's exactly what they did. And this world is no different today. Y'all agree with that? It's absolutely no different. Turn on the TV and watch just a couple, five minutes or so and you will see the reality. This world has bought it hook, line, and sinker. I'd say it's worse today if Adam and Eve didn't have a crowd of people who were falling short. Encouraging them to conform to the world. I agree with you. Yeah. We're cursed with modern communication, aren't we? And the modern abuse of communication. Right? We're cursed with it. Yeah. Good point, Tom. So, since then, everything that God has done has been for one purpose. His plan since He finished creation was His omnipotence knowing what would occur. He says, alright, I've got a plan to overcome. And to bring those that I've created back into my rest. He has one purpose, to bring man back into his rest. To accomplish this, what had to be removed? Go ahead, Ed. Sin and guilt. Sin and guilt. Sin and guilt, right? Because what? He's holy and we're not. And sin cannot coexist in His presence with Him. That's a barrier. So, He's got to deal with that barrier. And, of course, we know the answer how He dealt with it, was the cross. Right? So, that's how He dealt with it. A perfect sacrifice bearing the eternal judgment of God against all sin. Reflection. Oh, by the way, rest is another name for the life God had planned for man to enjoy with Him forever. It was His plan, guys. That we would be at rest and enjoy in Him. That's the way He created it to begin with. That was His plan. That's still His plan. So, now His plan has been accomplished, but it was accomplished through the cross. For all those who, what? Believe. So, you rest in Him by faith. Do I struggle with being at rest in Jesus? What doances and hassles of life bother me the most? Everybody can say here, I'm sure, there are certain things that bug us. Right? And, especially in DFW on the roadways. Yeah? I mean, down here, right? Okay. I'm just saying, right? There are certain things, but the question is, how can we be at rest with all that mess going on around us? It's by maintaining what? Fellowship. My team fellowship, right? What do I need to do to experience the peace of God to the max and gain victory over those things that bother me? And it goes back to what Brother Keith said. If I miss my time with the Lord one day, it's already gone away. By the third day, the whole world knows it. Jesus rests in Him by faith. Rests in Him while there's still time. And again in this passage, they shall not enter my rest. Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience. He again fixes a certain day. Today, saying through David, after so long a time has just been said before, today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. So what's the opportunity that still exists? Again, the word is starts in the orange with a T. Rest. Rest. For whom? Get this. Since it remains for what? Some. Some. That still exists right now. There remains an opportunity for some to enter His rest. Enter His rest. How are they going to enter? By faith. Why does this opportunity still exist? Why has God not ceased it and said enough with it? Ed, go ahead. Well, that's just out of His patience. He's still trying to bring more people in. Exactly. It's His creation, right? It wouldn't be, it would be out of character even. Right? It would be out of character for Him to say enough. Remember, here's what's interesting. Remember when He says to Moses, I'm done with this people. I'm going to wipe them out and I'm going to start over fresh with you. Right? And Moses says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, I don't know how Moses had the guts to do that. It blows me away every time I think about it. Just a minute, God. Time out. Let's think about this for just a second. Now, God, if you do that, what message are you sending to the people back in Egypt? That you weren't capable of taking your people into the promised land. Whoo! Now, Moses, but God heard Moses and said, you're right. You're right. That's His character. Right? He is more than capable of taking those that will believe into His eternal rest. And the word says it is not His will that any, right, any should what? Perish. But that all should come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That's what He wants, so He can't take the opportunity away and still accomplish what He says. There's still a chance for some of them to rest. Now, there's going to be a day. There's going to be a day when the depravity in this world gets so bad and the gospel has been heard throughout creation. And at that point in time, see, all the excuses are gone. Right? When the gospel has been preached to the entire world, there is no one then that can say, I've got an excuse I never heard. No, now you've heard. Now you've heard. There's going to come a day when He says, okay, get your bride. That's going to happen. But right now we're not there yet. There's still a chance for some to enter. And that's why we need to do something about our business of helping them to enter. So, who failed to take advantage of the opportunity and why? Well, it was unbelieving Israel due to their disobedience. We already talked about that. What day is fixed for the hearer of the good news of entering God's rest to take immediate action and why? Alright, let's look at this again. Therefore, since there remains for some to enter, and those who formerly had good news, so, it comes back to, you've got to hear the good news. When you've heard the good news, when you've heard the good news, then the clock starts ticking in essence. And the today that Chris asked about last week comes into play. Because you don't know how much time you've got. But you've heard the good news. If you've heard it, you need to respond to it. That's what he's saying. If you've heard it, you need to respond to it. What's to be avoided and why? Well, a hard heart. Because the opportunity to respond and enter His rest may be missed. So, rest in Him while there's still time. If you hear His voice, don't harden your heart. Act on it and receive Him as your Savior. So, do I hear Him when He speaks? And immediately take action on what He tells me to do? Now, in our case, we're not talking about salvation. So, this little application point is taking this principle and driving it home to everyday life for us. When I hear Him speak, what do I do? How do I respond? You know, I can give you lots of examples of how I've heard Him speak to me over the years. So, the question is, what do you do when you hear Him speak? What's the number one way He speaks to you? I'll hold this up because I have my Bible with me. This is how He speaks to you. Right here. That's how He speaks to you. Number one way. When He speaks and the Spirit of God prompts you and you've read or heard, your response needs to be, Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Okay. Flip page. Resting Him fully and completely. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day after that. So, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered his rest has himself also rested from his works But what was the nature of the rest God provided through Joshua? When they did enter the land, right? The promised land. What did you say Ed? I was going to say that was the rest of the office. The promised land. They didn't rest from war, did they? Right? They fought. They had to earn their promised land. Right? What was interesting is when the fights took place, did you ever stop and look at the history of how one-sided those fights were? I mean, they were one-sided, guys. I'm talking about hailstones being rained down from heaven that killed more guys than the Israelites wielding the swords. Man, I'm talking one-sided. Amazing how God came through and they got the promised land. And when the time came and they actually had secured what they were going to secure, at that point in time they began to rest from the war. Right? But still this rest is what kind of rest? It is a physical rest. That's not the same thing as the rest we're talking about here, right? We're talking about a spiritual rest. So that rest brought on by Joshua was not sufficient because it was just a physical rest. It wasn't a spiritual rest. Spiritual rest has always been the greatest need. It goes back to Genesis 3, right? Ever since Genesis 3, we really hadn't been at physical rest. You think about it. All of our days are in trouble. But those of us that have received his gift of salvation, we are at spiritual rest. Alright, here comes that extra word of translation here. The Greek word translated Sabbath rest is sabbatismos. It is entirely different than kataphasis, which is used the other 8 times. Sabbath rest refers to the 7th day of creation. So what happened on that day and why? Well, what does God do on the 7th day? He does what? He rests. Why? Because creation was what? Finished. And it was good. Okay, here we go. God had looked upon His creation, declared it was good. It was a rest of contentment. Contentment. He was contented with it. God looked upon His creation, a man, declared it was very good. It was a rest of satisfaction. He was satisfied. God looked upon all He created and declared it to be complete. Nothing else needed. It was complete and perfect rest. One that is characterized by happiness and joy. So what's the nature of the Sabbath rest for the people of God? Now, I can tell you that moment when I first received Jesus as my Savior. I was young. I was young. I was right at 6 years of age. But I never forget how I felt that night. I mean, the joy that just flooded me. The happiness that just was I was exuberated. You know, just expressing my happiness and my joy. The next day I go out to play with a friend across the street. We're shooting baskets and I said, guess what I did last night? Guess what happened to me? I couldn't help but tell. Because I was thrilled with what God had done with me. Right? Can you all recall back to that day for you? Do you remember what it was like the moment you said yes to the Lord and you received His gift? Wasn't it good? Wasn't it good? And it was in college for you, wasn't it? So you'd already lived kind of a life where you weren't sure what was going to happen and all this type of thing? Well, I grew up in church, but I kind of strayed away and I realized I didn't know Christ. Okay. Go ahead. Share your testimony. I was going to a basketball tournament which probably surprised you since I'm so short. I was with a guy riding riding the Grand Rapids from Lansing. And last time I got in his car, I had to move to the Playboy magazines. But this time all I could talk about was Jesus. Oh, so his life had been changed. Oh! And I realized in that hour of conversation that I didn't have what he had even though I'd gone to church all my life. So after, I think we won the tournament, that night I knelt and prayed and asked God to come into my life and He really transformed me in a tremendous way. How did you feel that moment? I felt peace and excited about the future. Yeah. I had a direction change in my life. Yeah. Yeah. I tell you, I say it this way. He put a spring in my step and a song in my heart. Right? I mean, it was a great day. It was a great day. It was a great day. People don't realize what they miss when they miss the Lord, do they? Man! Thanks, Ed. It's perfect and complete. It brings contentment, satisfaction, and joy. And it comes through Jesus Christ. In context, to whom does the people of God refer? Again, the Israelites or Jews? Let's look at Romans 1.16. Bill? Can you get to that? For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. So who's first? To the Jew first. Well, it's interesting that he says that. In this context, though, that's what he's saying. He's saying, hey, Jews, this is your opportunity. This is your opportunity. Don't waste a day. Right? Don't miss it. So when does a believer fully and completely experience Sabbath rest or enter His rest and rest from His works? When is that day? It's the day you what? One or the other. Either you breathe your last breath in, whichever comes first. That nanosecond. Right? I'm not sure how thinly you can divide that time slot. That time. Whatever it is, it will be instantaneous that you enter into His eternal rest. What a glorious thing that is. Having watched both of my parents do it in the past three years. Three years? It's been three, hasn't it? Two. Twenty-one. Yeah, two. There was not one. I mean, I shed tears because I miss them. Right? But for not one second was I concerned about their eternity. Not one second. We had celebration. We celebrated life. And one thing I can tell you without any doubt is I will be reunited with them. Right? I will be reunited. What a great thing that is. Talk about peace. Talk about peace. So, it is a future rest that's eternal. Reflection. When faced with the challenges of life, do I focus on the promised rest that's to come? Or do I have the same perspective that Paul professes? Look at this, what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4.15-5.1 For all things are for your sakes, so the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose our heart, but though our outer man is decaying. Who wants to testify to that? Anybody in here want to testify to our outer man decaying? Right? Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. For we look at things, not the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. What we're going through doesn't even begin to compare with what we're going to experience in glory. It's not even close to a comparison. Now that's the perspective you should have as you are faced with the trials of life. These are temporary and they're nothing compared to what I got in front of me. Nothing. Isn't that good? Okay, finally. This is where it gets fun. If you haven't got fun yet, we're about to get fun. Rest. Jesus rests in him diligently. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience. Then Ron's favorite verse. Go ahead Ron, repeat it for the Word of God. Go ahead. The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any tool of the sword. It divides to the soul and the spirit, so it's in the barrel, the discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. So, the use of the word diligent indicates a sense of urgency. Right? Urgency. Intense purpose, concern. How does one diligently enter God's rest? We've been saying it all night. By what? Starts with an F, ends with an H. Faith. By faith. What happens if you don't? You may lose the opportunity. There's your warning. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall to the following example of disobedience. Either you enter or you lose the opportunity. The source of the commands, warnings, admonitions, encouragements to take seriously the purposes of God and enter into His rest is the Word of God. Let's look at what the characteristics of God's Word include. Okay? So, again, the Word of God, and again, this author that we're talking about who wrote to the Hebrews, right? He's not talking about the New Testament that we like to refer to all the time. He's talking about the Word of God from the past and what we call the Old Testament. That Word of God is living and active and sharp and two-edged sword. That's the Word of God he's referring to. They didn't have what we've got today. That's the Word of God. Yeah, hadn't had it, right? When we think about it, we think about New Testament. But, no, in the context, that's what he's talking about. Because the New Testament didn't exist when he wrote this letter. Now, the truth holds true for the New Testament as well as the Old Testament, right? That's the reality of it. But, again, in context, he's writing to the Jews, to the Hebrews of his day. That Word of God. And so, again, he's saying I'm warning you and I'm basing my warning on what God has already said in His Word. And His Word is something you need to understand and understand His full power and His full effect and His full purpose. The use of the word diligent, we talked about the source of the commands, warnings, admonitions, encouragements. Here we go. The characteristics of God's Word include living. That's a present participle. For those of us who are fluent in Greek, Ed, just teasing. It is continuously alive. Continuously alive. That's what the author was telling his audience. This Word of God is not dead. It's continuously alive. It still is in full effect today as when it was written by Moses, by David, by the prophets, by all the other authors from the Old Testament. It's still in effect and still alive today. That's what he was saying to those Jews he's writing to. It's still alive today too, isn't it? It's continuously alive. See what Peter said about it. 1 Peter 1 23-25. One of Ron's other favorite verses. For you have been born again out of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and enduring Word of God. For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the Word which was preached to you. Now, that's what I call an ever lasting living Word. How is it alive in you? Alright? Everybody can say with me, it saved me. Right? Everybody can say with me, it is, another S starts with S, sanctifying me. Right? In other words, it continues to make me into who I was created to be. Another one of Ron's favorite scriptures about the Word. It's for what, Ron? Doctrine. Correct? It informs my theology. Right? Doctrine. For reproof. Right? It corrects me. What's next? Instruction and righteousness. It tells me how to what? Live. Right? But there's a purpose in that. So that the man of God may what? May be thoroughly adequate, thoroughly equipped for every what? Good work. Look at that. Look at what the Word of God does in me. Does He do it in you? Yeah. Everybody say, yes, He's doing that in me. Yeah. That's the living Word of God. Isn't that good? Isn't that good? I love God's Word. It's active. Another word for active is powerful. Depends on the translation. Sometimes it says powerful, sometimes it says active. It can be translated energy. Let's look at Acts 19-20. Chris? The Word of the Lord is growing mightily and prevailing. Okay. One thing is it grows mightily and prevails. Right? Psalm 119-11 It keeps me from what? Sin. Keeps me from sin. I said purifies, prevails, keeps me from sin. Matthew 4-1-4 And He said to me, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live in bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth. So what does it do there? I've got it written down for you. It defeats Satan. It overcomes his temptations. It gives energy, direction, pushes us on, protects us, and gives us victory. That's what the Word of God does. That's how powerful it is. Alright. Then we're going to look at the next word, sharper. Sharper than any two-edged sword. That word sharper means to cut. It's an all-cutting edge. In other words, both edges are sharp. And whichever way it slices, it cuts. Alright? It's all about God's business. All about God's business. It hit me when I was getting ready for this. That's the way God does business with me. Conviction. Conviction. That's the way God does business with me. He takes His Word and He just jumps off the page and says, Look at this, David. And I said, Oh. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. I ain't got time to tell you all the stories. I'll tell you one. A brief one. Through a series of leadings by the Spirit of God. And there's no question, we'll tell you the story the whole way at some point in time. Terry and I started a new ministry and a new class. We were the directors. We came from a class where on Sunday we had 66 people in attendance. And that was about our average. We were a little bit under that average. That was probably a little bit high. First week in our new class, we had 19. Brand new. We were in a class that needed a lot of healing. There had been some upset and turmoil. So we were asked to take this role to try to help it to come back. He does his tricks. He pulls out his bag of tricks. He does all his stuff he does. And you know, do my thing. And so the second week we had nine. I got to tell you, we walked through this journey together. And we knew we were where we were supposed to be. Doing what we were supposed to be doing. No doubt in our mind. But that Sunday when we had nine, I thought, oh my. Invitations given Sunday night. We had Sunday night services back then. Invitations given. I grabbed her by the hand. Went down to the altar. Got on her knees. I cried out to God. I said, God. Nine. I'm doing what you told me to do. What's the deal? Watch what He did. Psalm 127. Just bang. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. I mean, it was just clear as a bell. It's almost like He said to me. I almost heard it audibly. You just do what I tell you to do, bucko. And I'll take care of the rest. Oh, I got that message loud and clear. I got it loud and clear. He did business with me that night. He made me understand I'm just His instrument, and that's all I need to be. And it doesn't matter what He assigns me to do. The results are up to Him. I just need to be obedient and be in on it. And let Him do what He's going to do. Let me tell you what. He does business with me. That's that two-edged sword that just cuts right through and gets your attention. Let's see what else we can look at. Piercing, as far as the division of soul and spirit, is as sharp as a needle. It pierces through all that stands in the way. Our prejudices, our heart, our heart that wavers, right? Our hypocrisies, our self-righteousness, our self-sufficiency. All that stands in the way, it pierces right through it. It's able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. What that word means is it sifts and analyzes evidence and comes to a conclusion about what we profess, how we live, what we think, our motives, our intentions, and our ambitions. It's like the prospector, or not the prospector, the flower sifter, as you sift, you're sifting out the impurities. Right? And what's falling through is the pure stuff. And what's left in the sifter, on the screen, is the junk. It has a way of showing me all my junk so I can understand what I need to do to get rid of the junk so I can be pure in His presence and usable by Him. It sifts the junk out of our lives. By it, all is revealed about us. I said before, right? I'll say it again. The more I get into it, the more I understand who God really is, and the more I understand who I really am, and the more I understand just how much I don't have what it takes. It reveals me to me. We see ourselves for who we truly are, and realize that we will have to give an account for ourselves face to face. That word, open, means face to face. It's interesting when I study that word. Back in that day, there was two uses of that word in the Greek. One word is in wrestling match. Where a wrestler would get his opponent by the throat, face to face. And that opponent can't go anywhere because he's got him by the throat, and he's staring him right in the face. It's as if God's saying, His word gets you to where you have to be face to face with God. The one that you're going to have to give an account to, right? The other use was really interesting. It was of a prisoner who had been condemned. And what they would do He'd been found guilty, and he'd been condemned. What they would do before they'd march him out to his execution, is they would strap around his neck a leather strap of some sort that would hold a dagger up under his chin, forcing him to have his head up as he walked towards his death. He couldn't lower his head without piercing his chin. His chin. He had to face his accuser. He had to face his judge. He had to face his executioner, eyeball to eyeball. That's that word open. That's what the word of God does. He reveals everything about me, and it makes me realize I've got to give an account for just how much I have failed. Praise God. We don't have the ultimate accounting that we have to deal with, right? Because he took it for us. So this is what the author is saying. He's saying, guys, God's word is this way. So what I'm telling you is you take seriously this warning I'm giving you. Enter into his rest while you've still got a chance. Receive his gift of salvation by faith while you've still got a chance. Because when the day ends, you're going to have to give an account face to face. That's pretty sobering, isn't it? Do I just only read God's word and live my life in obedience to it? What can I do while we're doing it? Which one? The one who created us in judgment? Created us in judgment? Yeah. Face to face to the one who created us in judgment. In other words, Right. Again, he's talking about this God who created you. It's His word that you refer to. And I'm referring you to His word. And His word is going to force you to have to give an account to your Creator in judgment. So you need to take heed while you've got an opportunity. That was great. That's great, David. This passage is really convicting, isn't it? Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than a sword. So I'd like to talk about Sabbath rest. So when is the Sabbath? Technically. Theologically. But spiritually, when is Sabbath? When is the Sabbath? When the work is done. Well, it is. That's right. And when it's completed, right? So isn't it interesting that then Sabbath could be any day. It could be today. See? I think that that's the question we need to ask. When is it really? According to J. Vernon McGee, it's every day. And so the Sabbath is when we finish the day. We do our best. We're exhausted. We're laying down and saying, what good was this day anyway? And God would say, it was a very good day. Because He's in it. And I think that that's one of the things that we need to look at. When God does His work, He does it completely and does it well. And so the work of God is in us. See, the secret and mystery of life, like Colossians says, Colossians 1.27, it says, the secret and mystery of life is Christ in us, the hope of glory. So what brings glory to God is the day that He's in it. And He's in us. So that means every day is a good day. You know, Psalm 118.24. This is the day that the Lord has made. And He, and He alone is helping us to be glad and to rejoice in it. Because He rejoices in us. Even though we fall flat on our face. And being as old as I am, I fall on my face a lot. That's why I have a flat nose. But you see, God smiles at us, doesn't He? He says, like in Romans 5.3, He says, be thankful in your suffering because suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. And character produces hope which never disappoints. Because of the love, agape, of God that's bountifully poured into our hearts by the power of God's Holy Spirit. That's God's work. That's God's completeness. That's God's and He's satisfied with that. Even though we fall flat on our face. Hmm. Doesn't that give us a different perspective though? See. So God is talking about in His passage and David did so very well. I guess you have to get an A plus for that one. But an A plus to infinity, David, because now we realize that what God is talking about, He's talking about a rest of a spiritual rest. See. Not just resting physically because, you know, we plop down and I sit down and I fall asleep. I don't know if any of you do it. But I was at Mission Harlington the other day. No, you never do that, right? You know, I was I came home on Monday and I was going to watch a football game. And when I woke up, the football game was over. Well, if you've watched it for 49 minutes and it's not worth it, just go to sleep. I saw the score and it was well worth it to just fall asleep. But, you know, even in defeat physically, God says there's good in it. So now we realize that what we're talking about is the fact that now He made the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. See, so now the whole idea is well, when is the Sabbath? It's every day. It's this day. It's this moment. Now we get to treasure the preciousness of the moment that He gives us. Now when you get really old, Chris, you know, you guys are you young guys, you know, when you get really old and you appreciate when you look back, man, that was good. I'm glad I lived through that. Because there are things that I did I think all of us older guys can say we did that we should have been killed physically. You know, and I realized I was in over my head. But I think that one of the neatest things to do is to reflect upon that. And we realize that now we realize that what happens is the way that we look at life, you know, and we look at rest in life. It's a rest that is significant and meaningful when we rest in the Lord. That's spiritual rest. So there are three kinds of rest that we really do need. That's the spiritual rest that we need. We have redemptive rest that David talked about so well, and that's salvation. For by grace we are saved through faith and not of ourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works as any man should boast because we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus. It all happened at the moment Jesus on our cross at Calvary asking God to forgive all of mankind and us included for our sin. Our sin of unbelief. That's why Jesus was on the cross. And so God granted that. To prove that He granted that asking God the Father for forgiveness He raised Jesus on the third day. We know that we have been forgiven. Now all we have to do is be willing to accept that by grace through faith. Once we accept that, then what happens is what happened with that. You know, you know that it happened in your heart. Because you're on your knees in tears and that's what happened to me too. I was in my freshman year of medical school and my roommate had lost his wife, lost his child. Should have been just totally devastated. Yet he maintained the fact that he wanted to become a physician and God wanted him to be a physician. You know, he was still an honor student. In college when we roomed together or were together in college and now we're rooming together in medical school and I asked him the question how is it you survived? How could you not just give up and you know, just you know, just go someplace and just hide, you know, away from all this stuff. He said, I had a relationship with someone that's more important than even my wife and child. I said, well who is that? And he said, Jesus Christ. Then he shared John 3.16 with me that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. He knew he had everlasting life. That's redemptive rest. That's salvation rest. So now we realize that now we have an intimate relationship with him. So now we want to know him. You know, like Philippians 3.10 says we want to know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering and the identification of his death, burial and resurrection. That we are in fact crucified with Christ. Galatians 2.20 Yet nevertheless we live, yet not us but Christ lives in us and the life we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. So not only is there a redemptive rest spiritually but there's also a royal rest spiritually and that's the process of sanctification. And sanctification is saying God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And what's his purpose? Romans 8.29 For whom he foreknew he also predestined for us to be conformed to the image of his Son Jesus Christ. Now what is that like to be conformed to Jesus Christ? God's about the business of transformation. See so now we throw into the mix not only Romans 8.28.29 we throw into the mix Romans 12.1.2 Like Romans 11.36 says for him, through him, to him are all things. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Sounds like the end of Romans. But then he goes to Romans 12.1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercy of God that you present your whole self, your soma, your whole body, mind, soul to be which is your reasonable service of worship. And then verse 2 says be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you may know and understand the good and perfect will of God. Now we realize that the moment when Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration, he shows us who he really is. He's the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And through that he gives us the power to become intimately acquainted with him. To know him intimately. And so now we see that he's giving us the opportunity in sanctification now to move to another level. And that level is the level of transformation of the heart. And in 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 5-10 he says I have given you everything that you need to survive. I've given you my love the moment that you're saved in redemption in salvation. I've given you my agape love, 1 Corinthians 13. I've given you my fruit of the spirit, Galatians 5 22-23. I've also given you my wisdom from above, James 3-17. Which is risen from above is first of all pure and peaceable, considered, submissive, full of mercy, full of good fruit, impartial and sincere. I've given all these for you the moment that you were saved. But now I'm going to give you the opportunity to grow and to cultivate those in your life so that all will know that you are my disciples by your love one for another. So now he's saying that what I want you to do is I want you to be diligent to add to your faith. The faith of salvation is the same faith of sanctification. I want you to be diligent to add to your faith for 2 Peter 1-5. Virtue. And the virtue is the courage to excel in all that we're doing. Do the best of what you can do. Be the best you can be. To add to virtue knowledge, God's word, to knowledge self-control, the last of the fruit of the spirit, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, holiness, to holiness, brotherly kindness, phileo love, and to phileo agape. For if you do these things in increasing measure, your life will be neither unfruitful nor unproductive in the Lord. That's why Jesus in the upper rooms says in John 13-34, a new commandment that I give you that you love one another as I have just loved you by being a foot washing disciple maker. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have this kind of foot washing love for one another. There's where the action is, right? The action of the heart. That's the royal rest that he has for us. The royal rest of sanctification. Then there's eternal rest, which is kingdom rest. All spiritual. Because now we know why we're doing what we're doing. The reason why we're going to do what we do is because at the moment of eternal rest, kingdom rest, by grace alone through faith, God says in 1 John 5-13 he says, God the Father says, these things have I written to you that believe on my son Jesus Christ that you may know for certain that you have eternal life. Not only for today but forever. How good is that going to be? Isn't that wonderful? Now we realize that now Jesus means what he says. So when we come to grips with our life and we look back and we see what God is doing, it's a come to Jesus moment. Today, every day, and forever. That's why Sabbath rest is every day. Jesus says, come to me all you weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Sabbath rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I'm gentle and humble of heart and you'll find rest for your souls, your hearts. Our soul and heart is made up of our mind, our will, and our emotion. We'll talk about that more as we go through this study. The important thing about that is the fact that God is working on us totally. Our heart, when he works on our heart and our soul, he's working on our mind, emotion, and our will. Why would we want to do what God asks us to do anyway? David, I think you covered that really well. Why would we want to do that anyway? We're going to get killed. You know, the world is after us. But you know, the Satan, he's a liar and a deceiver. He deceived and lied to Adam and Eve and he's going to lie and deceive us as well. But like John 10 says, the devil came to steal and kill and destroy us. But Jesus came to give us life and to give us abundantly by redemptive rest, salvation rest, royal rest, sanctification rest, and eternal rest, kingdom rest. The only way that we can do this is with him. So, Micah 6.8 is so true, right? What does God require of us? To live justly, to love his merciful kindness, his grace, and to walk humbly with the Lord. And so the walk humbly with the Lord, you know, is really something that God wants us to do. And Peter says it best, I think. You know, in 1 Peter 5.5, he says, God mocks proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble. So therefore humble yourselves into the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him because he cares for us. But be alert because there's somebody called the devil who's crawling around like a roaring lion seeking who may devour him. He's after us. But God says, or through Peter in verse 9 says, but resist him. Stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ because this is the struggle that all of us that are dispersed in the world have. But the promise in verse 10, but the God of all grace who has called us to his eternal glory that after we've suffered a while he'll restore us, complete and perfect us, and make us firm, strong, and steadfast in him. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is superior to the angels and to the prophets and to the priests as we'll find out later. But he's also superior to anything and everything in all creation. So the ultimate goal is to realize that what he's done in Romans 8 he tells us the fact that he causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And what's his purpose? For whom he foreknew he also predestined for us to be conformed to the image of his son Jesus Christ. So in verse 29 it says, for whom he foreknew he also called and those he called he also justified and those he justified he also glorified. So what can we say then? If God is for us, see we all have the answer. Who can be against us? No one can stand up against this wonderful, wonderful God, Godhead, the triune God, God the Father, God the Son and hope the Holy Spirit so. He said come to me all you weary and heavy laden and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I'm gentle and humble of heart and you'll find rest for your souls. Because my yoke is easy and my burden is light because he wants us to share it. He wants us to share his love and his grace and his wisdom to everyone we have the opportunity to meet. Joyce has a friend who has some terrible disease. It's unmentionable but Joyce asked me to talk to this person and Joyce never asked me to do anything. She always tells me to. So I said yes dear and you know the wonderful thing about that is that we as a body can reach out to touch the lives of people by sharing the needs of others. You know and like David and Terry did with this small group that shrunk down from 19 to 8 or 9. But you know the thing is that even if there was one person in that class that life is precious to God and that's what we have the opportunity to share. And that's what we leave with today. Wow, what an opportunity we have to be light and salt in a very dark, needy world. And I think that that's a wonderful lesson. So now we realize that there's a soap technique that we always want to be reminded of. The soap, the S is scripture, the word of God. The O is well what does it say, what does it mean objectively. The A is the application of God's word like we're sharing today. The P is for prayer. The only way that it can happen is the power of prayer. And then the S is to share with others. And that was the lesson of today. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the lessons you give us. And the fact that Sabbath the rest is resting in you. And that's an everyday opportunity and privilege that we have to rest with you. So help us to come to you when we're weary and heavy laden and you give us that rest. Help us to take your yoke upon us and learn from you because you're gentle and humble of heart so we'll find rest for our souls and that's rest in you not only today but forever. We thank you for your word which is living and active and sharper than any twitted sword. Divides to the soul and the spirit. Joins to the marrow as a discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. Help us to love you with all our heart. Help us to trust you with all our heart. Thank you for helping us to rest in you with all our heart. We pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Thank you so much. To be continued...