Rest
Matthew closes out the 11th chapter of his Gospel with these very familiar words. True words. God breathed words.
Words that maybe God brought you into this room today the second Sunday of the year 2020… to speak directly to your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Words that you may have heard before, but this morning are they are about to come alive and be active in new and fresh ways.
OKAY – picture Jesus saying these words to you.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28
Weary – (Kapiao) = to be tired, to feel fatigued, to be exhausted with toil, burden or grief
(It is the word used in Luke 5 where Peter says to Jesus, ‘Master we have worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything’)
Ever experience that kind of weariness?
Heavy burdens – (phortizo) to place a heavy burden or a load upon…
(It’s the word used in Luke 11 – by Jesus to the religious leaders who were putting heavy burdens on the people that they could not carry and they would not even lift one finger to help them out)
Come to me…
• all who have worked hard all (night, week, month) and maybe even for years and haven’t caught anything
• all who are overloaded by things that they cannot carry
And I will give you REST.
Rest – (anapauo) to cause or permit someone to cease from any movement, to recover and collect one’s strength, to be refresh
(It is the word used in Mark 6:31 – when so many people were coming to the disciples that they did not have time to eat… (ever been there) So Jesus said ‘come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and qet some rest.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(I will refresh you and help you recover your strength)
Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30
Prayer
NOW - if you were here last Sunday… you had the opportunity to hear Josh Smith (from College Ministries of Virginia) speak on effecting change in our own lives and in the lives of others, using Daniel as an example of a guy who did just that.
I listened to message on Monday morning and man, Josh really crushed it.
In fact we talked on Monday and I told him just that.
AND – among other things he told me how much he loves to come to Maple Grove.
HE SAID - you guys are great and that he can always sense God’s presence and movement among us.
NOW SINCE – Josh was speaking I took the opportunity (along with my daughter Mei-Leigh after we cooked for the breakfast club) to drive up to Chantilly Virginia to worship with HIS body at New Life Christian Church.
And the message was about how Jesus can bring peace to our storms, to the Chaos that so often invades our lives…
MAYBE - you know the story, the disciples in a boat, going to the other side of the sea of Galilee because Jesus told them and then a fierce storms begins crashing against the boat…
AND - the storm was so rough that even the 4 seasoned fisherman were freaking out.
And where Jesus, asleep on a cushion in the back of the boat.
HEY – do you remember what the disciples shouted as they woke up God… “Teacher don’t you care if we drown?”
(Ever want to ask Jesus the same question?)
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” - Mark 4:39,40
YEAH – last Sunday was a good start to the New Year…
Here at The Grove as Josh shared a great message
AND – also at New Life in Chantilly.
OKAY SO THIS SUNDAY – is my first conversation of 2020, and I want to share with you a word, that I think could be a great word for you to embrace as the theme for this new year.
NOW - I have heard of people choosing a single word to be a theme for a year before.
IN FACT - my daughter Chelsea and her husband choose the word 'Trust' as they began 2019, and little did they know how much they would need that word, as Ezra their baby boy born in May had (and still does have) many health issues.
I talked with her on Friday after she text me about Ezra being sick with a fever… I called to pray with her, and she mentioned that her word for 2020 is ‘joy.’ She said that she is not sure if she is going to do this word thing again.
WELL - on Sunday while driving home from Chantilly, I felt God lead me to the word that needs to be my word for 2020.
Like I said, I have never done this before.
BUT - to be honest, I know that I totally need this word.
AND – who knows, just maybe - you need this word as well.
What is my word for 2020? REST
QUESTION – as you look back on the past year… is that a word that you would use to describe your 2019… REST?
IF SO – great… let me buy you some coffee, we need to talk.
BUT MAYBE – as you look back there are other words that come to mind…
• Tired
• Weary
• Burdened
• Anxious
• Fear
• Depressed
• Stressful
• Tense
• Chaotic
• Exhausted
• Lost
• Afraid
• Sad
• Frustrated
• Angry
• Overwhelmed
• Unproductive
• Unsettled
• Pointless
NOW – I don’t which, if any, of those words describe your 2019…
BUT – there are a few words in that list that would describe mine.
UNDERSTAND – the Bible talks a lot about REST…
A few verses.
Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10
I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:1,2
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1
NOW – I gotta be honest… for much of this week I did not feel much REST as I worked on this conversation.
IN FACT – I felt pretty much the opposite of REST.
I felt a lot of stress…
MAINLY – because I ran into a passage in Hebrews about REST that at first was pretty confusing to me.
AND – I could not find any of my commentaries on Hebrews
(I think I loaned them out… but can’t remember when or who)
AND – so I was like…
OKAY – I need to get this thing going, Sunday is coming and I need a sermon…
BUT – it just didn’t feel right to be freaking out and stressed working on a sermon about REST.
AND BESIDES… I keep telling myself that this is much more than a 40 minute Sunday conversation…
BECAUSE – I am convinced of two things…
#1 – God gave me this Word #2 – I need this word
Seriously, I do.
YOU SEE – more often then I care to admit or live out, those other words describe my life…
tired, weary, afraid, frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed,
anxious, pointless, unproductive
AND SO – I keep battling through…
ASKING GOD – what He wanted to say to me, so that I can begin this journey of entering His REST.
OKAY – so here is how I want to attack this mornings conversation, by unpacking 4 statements…
• Rest, God Wants Us To Have It
• Rest, What It Is
• Rest, Why It Isn’t Working
• Rest, Entering Into It
I. Rest, God Wants You To Have It
R/L – “God wants you to have rest”
Listen He really does… and He has from the very beginning…
IN FACT – Genesis 49 we find one of the many OT prophecies about the coming of Christ (The Messiah).
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” – Genesis 49:10
(shiloh = rest)…
AND – in Jeremiah chapter 6 even though the people were rebelling and messing up… God still wanted them to have REST…
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘we will not walk in it” – Jeremiah 6:16
AND - as I read in the very beginning of our conversation this morning, Jesus clearly wants us to have REST…
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28
YES – God wants us to have rest…
NOW – a word that is obviously synonymous with REST would be the word peace… and as with rest, throughout Scripture we see God wanting His people to have peace.
IN FACT – one of the titles for Jesus found in Isaiah chapter 9 is ‘Prince of Peace.’
AND – in Luke chapter one when Zechariah prophecies over his new born son John the Baptist, he tells how Jesus will …
“guide our feet into the path of peace.” - Luke 1:79
AND – In John 16…
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
AND LISTEN - some of the final words were, that Jesus spoke to His guys after He conquered death, sin and the grave….
“peace be with you” (Luke 24, John 20)
AND – do you know what words Paul includes in the opening of every one of the 13 letters that he wrote?
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. – (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3…etc)
AND – in in Ephesians 6:15, Paul refers to the Gospel as
‘The Gospel of Peace’
AND – guess what words we find as Peter, John and Jude open up their letters…?
Grace and peace be yours in abundance. – 1 Peter 1:1
May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. – 2 Peter 1:2
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, - 2 John 3
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. – Jude 1:2
AND THEN – in the final book of the Bible we read…
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
- Revelation 14:13
II. Rest, What It Is
OKAY – so just what is this REST that God wants us, want you to have? Let me try to paint a picture…
This REST…
• Is drinking the water that Jesus provides and never being thirsty or unsatisfied in life again (John 4:13,14)
• Is living out the full, abundant and satisfying life that Jesus came to bring us, and bought for us on a cross (John 10:10)
• Is experiencing the peace that Jesus gives even though we live in a world that is still so full of trouble (John 16:33)
• Is the complete confidence that there is no condemnation
for those who are in Christ and that we are saved by grace alone.
• Is knowing - THAT nothing we will ever suffer compares with the future glory that awaits us, THAT God works all things together for the good AND THAT - in Christ Jesus in all things. we are more than conquerors (Romans 8)
• Not worrying or being anxious about anything, but instead experiencing the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
• And it’s being fully content in all circumstances, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4)
• Is having pure joy in the face of trails of various kinds (James 1)
• Is about our new birth into a living hope and it’s about experiencing an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 Peter 1)
SO – would anyone here like to live in God’s rest…
I MEAN IT SURE BEATS…. - tired, weary, afraid, anxious, exhausted, burdened...
III. Rest, Why It Isn’t Working
AND – for many of us, if we are honest this promised REST of God is not working so out so good.
QUESTION – is ‘Rest and Peace’ the overriding characteristic or theme of your life?
SO – like, what gives.
I MEAN – if God wants us to have rest (and He does) and if Jesus came and to bring us rest (and He did).
THEN WHY – isn’t it working?
LIKE – where is…
• The living hope and that joy that is glorious and inexpressible
• The contentment and satisfaction whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want
• The peace that transcends all understanding
• The full and abundant life
• The freedom, and this being free indeed
• The pure joy in the face of trials of many kinds
• The new life and being a new creation that God has promised (and why am I very often, still so hungry and still so thirsty… like, I’ve been jumping through all the ‘being a good Christian hoops that people have thrown in front on me…
Why isn’t this following Jesus thing ‘really’ working?
Where is the rest?
WELL – this is where Hebrews chapter 4 comes in…
NOW – I am going to need you to suit up, because we are going to dive down deep and come up wet.
Let me give you some background for the waters we are about to dive into…
The book of Hebrews was essentially written to warn believers in the first century who were considering leaving Christ and going back to the ways of the law and Judaism.
Yeah I know it sounds crazy, like why would anyone ever want to do something like that.
Makes no sense, right?
However that is exactly what is happening.
And in Hebrews chapter 4 the writer uses an event in Israel’s History, one of, if not the most significant event, in the entire Old Testament…
The Exodus, the deliverance of God’s people from 400+ years of Egyptian slavery.
You probably know the story.
God uses Moses to perform mighty miracles to bring both Pharaoh and the entire Egyptian Empire to it’s knees.
AND - the last plague, God’s wrath, ‘Passed Over’ the homes of His people because they had put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of their homes.
SO - they are free (and that is really great news),
BUT LISTEN - God has much bigger plans for them then just their deliverance, YOU SEE - He wants to lead them through the wilderness… He wants to lead them to a new and better life,
TO - a RESTFUL LIFE in the land of promise…
AND – if you know the story, you also know that because of (fear, doubt and unbelief) the people refuse to go into the promise land and instead wind up wandering in the wilderness
(a place that God never intended for His delivered people to stay)
THEN AFTER - that unbelieving generation has died in the wilderness, Joshua leads a new generation into the land…
Okay that is a very brief background of our text…
And before we dive into Hebrews 4…
It is important to keep in mind that much of the Old Testament is intended to be a shadow or a picture of the greater reality that was to come with Christ and His new covenant.
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. – Colossians 2:17
AND – to also keep in mind that these people and these events were intended to teach, encourage and to warn us…
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. – Romans 15:4
Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. – 1 Corinthians 10:11
OKAY – let’s do this…
AND LISTEN – if you are someone who feels like, why isn’t this Jesus thing really working for me?
I would encourage you to lean and listen to His God-breathed Word alive and actively…
AND – as we read, remember that…
• REST for them meant leaving in the promise land
• And that REST for us means living out, the promised life
AND – also keep in mind, that after being saved from Egypt there were only 2 paths that God’s people could walk…
the wilderness or the land of promise.
UNDERSTAND – walking the path of the wilderness meant…
• Aimlessly wandering in unbelief
• Constantly whining and complaining, and wishing for another, a different, a better life
• Living in a land that was dry… relationally… spiritually
Wilderness is a life excluded from the land of promise.
ON THE OTHER HAND – walking in the land of promise meant…
• Living a life of REST and provision
• Having real purpose and clear direction
• And instead of always longing for something better, it meant experiencing satisfaction and contentment
• Living a life of VICTORY over all enemies
AND PLEASE UNDERSTAND B/S…
THAT – as with the Israelites, after our deliverance (after our salvation) these ‘are’ the 2 paths that our Christian life will Ultimately, and Unescapably be…
GET IT?
BOTTOM LINE – this passage is intended to warn us to never settle for ‘Wilderness Christianity’
I MEAN – how tragic it is to be saved… but to never really experience God’s promise land of REST and abundant life.
OKAY – I think we are ready for Hebrews 4…
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. – Hebrews 4:1,2
They heard the good news of the land of promise but that hearing was not mixed with faith.
Understand it was their unbelief in the land of promise that closed the door to them entering the land.
AND MGCC – in like manner it is our unbelief that keeps us from living the full and abundant life of REST.
UNDERSTAND – for some reason we have the faith and belief that God can save and deliver us from our sins…
BUT – (and let’s be honest with ourselves)… we do not really have the faith and belief that He ‘really’ can give us…
THAT - full, abundant, content no matter what, peace beyond understanding, more than a conqueror in all things life.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32
NOW – let me be clear, living in the land of promise does not mean there will never be giants to face, battles to fight, or fierce storms that beat against and crash over our lives, I MEAN…
Ask the disciples
Ask Paul
HOWEVER – it does mean that no matter what happens ‘out there’ we can and will have REST and abundance in here (in our heart and spirit)…
Let’s continue… and here is where we see God getting extremely upset with those who choose wilderness wandering over land of promise living…
For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
UNDERSTAND – God has wanted his people to live in His REST since creation…
IN FACT – His REST was part of the very creation account…
For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
- Hebrews 4:3-5
YES – God’s REST in available to everyone of us, but unbelief will keep us out of the land of promise, just as it kept God’s people out of the land of Canaan.
B/S – we so underestimate, we so trivialize, we so…
OKAY - what I am trying to say is that we do not really think that our unbelief in regards to His promise of the abundance and fullness of life, is that big of deal.
BUT LISTEN – I am starting to see how unbelief is perhaps one of the greatest sins, that I commit as Jesus-follower.
AND – it incurs God’s wrath…
“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’
On Friday morning I wrote the following in my new ‘2020’ journal…
January 10, 2020
Good morning Lord – it’s 4:30 am. I woke up an hour ago amd could not get back to sleep.
SO – here I am right where I need to be, with you.
Lord, Father – I need REST…
I want to REST in 2020.
I am so tired of worry, stress, fear, doubt, insecurity…etc
Help me with this message, because I really need it.
You did not deliver me so that I can wander in the wilderness
(so many did in Numbers)
YOU – did not deliver me…
• So that I will think that I still have deliver myself from bondage
• And secure my forever so that I would still worry about tomorrow
• And put Your Spirit inside of me, for me to try in my own power to live the life you called me to live…
MGCC – when people that God has both delivered and saved… refuse to live like they are saved. It incurs His wrath.
UNDERSTAND – God did not (set us free and deliver us) at the cost of His one and only Son…
(He did not set us free and deliver us)…
• To watch us fret and worry about so many different things, when He has promised to work all things out for the good of those who love Him
• To watch us - doubt who we are, question our worth, be wavering in what we can accomplish for Him… When he has already created us anew in Christ Jesus as His masterpiece so that WE CAN do the good things He planned for us long ago.
• So that we can live in FEAR, when His perfect love has cast out all fear.
• To watch us still tremble and retreat because of the giants and obstacles we face – when in Christ He has made us more than conquerors.
NOW – let me be clear being more than a conqueror
DOES NOT MEAN that you will spend you’re here living in Disney world.
YES – you will have trials, YES - you will have difficulties,
YES -you will have troubles, YES - you will get hurt.
UNDERSTAND – Paul was still more than a conqueror when he sat in a Roman prison and also when he faced the edge of a Roman sword… Because He rose above all of that.
YOU SEE - what had Paul nothing in this world could touch or take away.
As most of you know my first wife Judy died (or rather her body died and she went home, because of cancer)…
BUT – there was something she said that showed me that even as the cancer ravaged her body… that she was more than a conqueror … “I may have cancer, but cancer will never have me… because I am His”
B/S – I really hope you are tracking with me…
BECAUSE – God did not deliver you, for you to live a life of ‘wilderness Christianity…’
AND LISTEN – there is a very real and present danger in remaining in the wilderness?
UNDERSTAND IF YOU – do not enter and experience the REST of God, you will begin to look for REST (and life and peace) in cheap and often deadly substitutes that do not and cannot ever bring real REST or life.
LISTEN LISTEN – you will never find rest for you soul in…
Money, stuff, success, worldly accomplishments, pleasure, a relationship
Like the psalmist says…
I am at rest in God alone – Psalm 62
So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.
So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is TODAY. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “TODAY when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” - Hebrews 4:6,7
Today matters!
IN FACT – God cares more about your today than He cares about your tomorrow.
UNDERSTAND – God really only asks one thing of us…
(we think it is many, but it is really just one) to every day have a habit of faith.
To every day - believe in Him, in His Son, and in His promises laid out in His Word.
Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.
For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their works, just as God did after creating the world.
We can and must REST in the finished work of Christ.
So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. – Hebrews 4:6-11
‘Do our best’ (spoudazo) to be diligent, to do our best, to exert ourselves, to make every effort.
UNDERSTAND – because the promise of His REST is so great the warning is so strong.
IV. Rest, Entering Into It…
OKAY – we would be absolutely crazy not to want to enter His REST, amen?… and the only way by faith…
The only way is to fully believe in His promise of life, rest, peace and abundance…
BUT – where does that kind of belief come from?
NOW THAT’S a great question and do know what the very next verse is?
It is a verse you probably know.
It is one that I have known and quoted for years.
BUT – it was not until this week… that I saw this verse in the context of entering the REST of God.
Brothers and sisters, let us be diligent, let us do our best to enter that rest.
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. 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. – Hebrews 4:12,13
AND PAUL – said the following…
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16,17
Inspired – (Theopneustos)
Theos = God New stos = breathe
The bible is literally God’s outward breathe.
NOW – there are 3 times in Scripture where we see God breathing out and each time something supernatural happened.
• In Genesis God breathed on some particles of dust and they became a living being.
• In John 20 Jesus breathes on His disciples and their dead hearts come alive and they receive the Holy Spirit.
• And then God breathed His word become an alive and active double edged sword.
UNDRSTAND - this is not just a book
It is supernatural
It has the power to change and reshape your life.
AND - it is how to develop the faith that will allow you to both enter and live in the promise land of God’s REST.
SO – how do you enter His REST…. Through faith and belief… and where does that faith come from? From God’s alive and active word…
I MEAN – that is exactly what Paul said…
Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. – Romans 10:17
SO – to enter God’s rest you need God’s word
AND LISTEN… - you need something or should I say someone else.
UNDERSTAND MGCC – that like the Israelites..
You need a Joshua… to lead the way into God’s REST
(now, both Moses and Joshua are ‘types’ or pictures of Christ)
MOSES – delivered and brought the people out of bondage
JOSHUA – led them into the land of promise
Jesus does both…
He delivers us from bondage and brings us into the a life of REST, into the promised life.
LISTEN – right after talk about the word of God in the context of God’s REST the Hebrew writer talks about Jesus, or Joshua.
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. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:14-16
OKAY – lean in because we are about done.
So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their works, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. – Hebrews 4:6-11
UNDERSTAND BROTHERS AND SISTERS…
There is a special REST waiting for the people of God in 2020.
Waiting for you…
LISTEN
• When you sin and fall short
• When you do not see the results you are laboring for
• When a trial comes your way
• When you feel weak when life seems to big for you
• When the enemy attacks your worth and your identity
• When your tomorrow seems so uncertain
• When you are not sure what to do
REST IN HIS – word, grace, hope, plan, hands, rest in His promises!
Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10
I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:1,2
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1
