Supernatural Rest Through God’s Word Hebrews 4: 8-13
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
I think it’s necessary to point out that Christ and the Word of God are the same. God’s word- the Bible is His heart and soul for us, it’s His love letter, written with love and blood; however, we in return, are His hands and feet. Scripture records the examples of those in the wilderness with Moses, those who entered Canaan with Joshua, and those who received the same opportunity in David’s day. It is the Word which must be believed and obeyed and the Word which will judge the disobedient.
Listen to Psalm 95:7-11NLT for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! 8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. 9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,even though they saw everything I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ 11 So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
Trusting God through His word, and entering His rest are similar. (A person can’t receive anything significant without belief through the scripture.)
Three powerful truths emerged:
1. No Human Would Have Written A Standard As High As The Scriptures Teach. No husband would have written to treat your wife like Christ treats the church. No wife would have written to obey your husband. No teenager would have written that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him. No rich man would have admitted that he that trusts in his riches will fail.
2. The Changes That Occur In Those Who Embrace The Word Of God Are Supernatural. Drug addiction has been broken. Alcoholics have been set free and delivered. Those who are violent have become meek and submissive.
The Very Presence Of A Bible Often Produces An Aura And Change In The Atmosphere. I have noted an entire group of people become instantly silent when I pulled out my Bible. No novel of fiction affects men like this. Encyclopedias do not affect men like this. Lay a dictionary on a restaurant table. Nobody looks at you twice. But, lay a Bible on a restaurant table in visible view, and they will stare at you the entire meal. The magnetism of The Word of God is indescribable, irrefutable and unforgettable.
Hebrew 4:12a For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...
While God’s word is comforting and nourishing to those who believe; it’s a tool of judgement and execution for those who have not committed themselves to Jesus Christ.
Some history: In this day in time, some of the Hebrews were merely going through the motions of belonging to Christ. Intellectually, they were at least partly persuaded, but inside they were not committed to Him.
God’s word would expose their shallow beliefs and even their false intentions.
Listen to John 12:48NKJ Jesus said, He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Hebrews 4:12b ...piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Listen to I Corinthians 14:24-25NKJ But if all prophesy, ( It means to publicly proclaim the word of God) and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
God’s word-His Sword, will save, heal, and deliver!
Jeremiah 23:29NKJ “ Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “ And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
In Jeremiah’s day, the shepherd’s of the land were giving out false messages of hope, but God’s word brought irresistible qualities to prevail over deception.
As ‘One’ trust is God, through His word, ‘One’ enters into a rest, a trust, that draws others.
Psalm 1:1-6NKJ Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so,But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1:1-6TM How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. 2-3 Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. 4-5 You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust— Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. 6 God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.
Prayer
