Title: I will give you rest
Text: Hebrews 4: 1-16
Subject: How do we enter God’s rest?
Complement: by faith, obedience, honoring his word, & leaning on our priest.
Preaching idea: I will give you rest.
4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.12 For the word (Logos) of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 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. 16 Let us then (therefore) 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.
Introduction; What does rest look like for you?
• The couch? (and a nap?)
• Reading a good book?
• Fishing?
• Hiking ?
• A cruise?
***It depends in part on whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert.
Q. What does stress (worry) look like?
• Everyday stress...stress is an everyday thing!
• Kids food...clothes...activities...
• Balancing the dollars and cents
• Work
• Chores
• Busy, busy – no margin.
then there's stress created by crisis events - sickness... joy loss... divorce...grief.
The Biblical context of hebrews is this: stress was everywhere for these believers
From the Roman Empire ... the fear of persecution was everywhere... the young, upstart church is still “underground.”
Persecution was frequent.
The people to whom this book is written were looking for stress relief!!! ...
and ... here’s the shocker... here’s how desperate they were - their solution was, “let’s go back to what we had before – Judaism.”
Chapters 3 and 4 are an extended plea to believe – and include a warning against unbelief.
3:12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Why is the temptation to unbelief so strong?
Have you ever thought of doing this?
Many people today seem to agree - Church engagement/attendance in Canada is at historic lows.
That’s what’s happening in this local church in Rome. “Let’s fold up the tent...call it quits”
It's not the first time it's happened... in the OT, Israel’s history of one of rebellion & idolatry... a turning to other gods.
It's similar to the Exodus story – travelling through the desert from Egypt to the promised land.
The promise from God was to receive “a land flowing with milk and honey!!!”
• 4x in Leviticus we find this mentioned.
• 4x in numbers
• 6x in Deuteronomy
But listen to these complaints born of unbelief:
**Numbers 11:4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
Let's go back to Egypt.(Numbers 14:4)
Numbers 14:1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
*** it gets worse...
And here’s a shocker - in Numbers 16:13 Egypt, yes Egypt (!) is called the land of milk and honey!!!
Numbers 16:12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!
Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves?
• Egypt is now the land of milk and honey
• Moses is the slave driver – not Pharoah.
How is that?
**There's an old Keith Green song called - “So you want to go back to Egypt”
...Let’s go back to the Egypt - Pharoah wasn’t such a bad guy... I mean someone had to build those pyramids. At least we had food and homes... life on the road – in the desert – with 2 million other travellers is not a walk in the park... can someone say “are we there yet?”
How About You – Are You Travel Weary?
So the chapter now talks about following God as entering into rest.
** the use of the word “rest” leverages a core Jewish practise - SABBATH .
In Egypt – there was no sabbath... no rest.... work as slaves.
In the 10 commandments – God gives his people a day of rest – a sabbath.
Here in Hebrews 4, sabbath is used to point beyond Judaism to the ultimate “Sabbath” of heaven – our true place of rest. And, just as Jewish sabbath observance had conditions, loyal obedience is required to enter God’s heavenly rest.
Our context:
• A Christian dies far too young to cancer.... the tension which cannot be ignored at funerals – a prayer for healing isn’t delivered – a promise of victory over death is celebrated.
• Brad N - accident;
• William L- suddenly gone
• a lost baby- heartbreaking.
• a lost child
The promise of a “Sabbath Rest” still stands – in spite of the suffering/sorrow: v 1-3
• v. 1 - “the promise to enter his rest still stands...”
• this good news has been announced to us.
• it did them no good – because they didn’t believe it (v. 2)
• “only those who believe will enter God’s rest” (v. 3)
We can only enter this rest by faith in Christ and obedience - This is the whole focus of the book: v. 6-
**Verse 7 Says There’s “another rest” For God’s People!
• Phase 1 – the Promised land (Israel)
• Phase 2 – the gift of Salvation - and ultimately heaven itself is the ultimate rest.
Obedience is critical... (obedience & faith are two sides on the same coin)
• V.6 they disobeyed
• V. 11 “if we disobey we will fall..."
The Call To Obedience Is Now Connected The Scriptures: V. 12-13
verse 12 says the Word is alive, powerful, and sharp.
The Word of God holds us accountable – we cannot get to heaven on our own terms.
We cannot have salvation on our own terms... nothing is hidden from the word of God
Runners in the Toronto Marathon have rules to follow
• Register. ($200 fee)
• Stay on the course
• Support other runners
***there's a strong warning here: Learn from Israel’s mistake of disobedience and recall chs 2 and 3
2:1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away...
3:12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
*** NOT everyone goes to heaven!!!
*** And people need much encouragement along the way.
Why???
Faith is fickle...and in need of continual encouragement
This drifting away is happening today in North America and Europe.
• Why?
• Cultural pressure
• church scandals become excuses
Hypocrisy discourages people – and hearts become hard.
But, to love Christ is to love his church!!!
= attend... serve...give...pray...witness
research says, the Church in the West is dying... but is also being renewed!
• yes, the Church indeed needs renewal/revival
also know this - the Church in the Global South is booming!
locally, People get left behind when no one cares or doesn't miss them
We have work to do here... like every church...
Do you like people? Do you love your neighbour?
Make a call!!!
It's not that complicated – you can do it!
Start in the church foyer... meet someone new to you!
Finally, when faith is wavering... we turn to our Priest, Jesus! (14-16)
We have seen our weakness – and our tendency to discouragement... and quitting
Verse 14 says hold firm.
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.
Jesus offers mercy & grace!
Jesus knows... he understands our weakness... he is our priest/intercessor/savior.
Come to him with confidence – receive his mercy/grace.
There Is an Important apologetic purpose here.
**What if we can’t reconcile a loving and all-powerful God with suffering/tragedy?
Well then, our faith crumbles like a house of cards!
We’ve lost some people to sickness far too young... and it causes us to ask questions... why?
Where is God?
How do I make sense of this?
I was in Italy last week... David's cancer is back...
His Mom asked me...
Q. How will this affect Tim (age 10) in his relationship with God?
I texted Tim,
Tim, you have Two books in the NT named after you! Read these 2 books!
( 2 tim 1:5-7) I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
He thanked me.
**That’s what’s at stake in chapter 4...and the entire book
That’s in part what’s happening in Canada today...
The latest stats indicate Christianity is down in every province.
Why?
Is it in part because we don’t attempt to reconcile tragedy with the gospel?
Is there any place for suffering in the gospel? Do we have a truncated gospel – it's all about blessing and we don’t talk enough about a theology of suffering??
If true - That’s not being honest.
And it's not working – did it ever?
And it forces Christians into false expectations.
Conclusion: Always remember, Jesus has the last word – and the last word is this:
(1) SALVATION -= “REST” ...
The old hymn says this “heaven came down and glory filled my soul. When at the cross the saviour made me whole; my sins were washed away and my night was turned to day. Heaven came down...
Jesus is our priest!!! It's by his blood that we are redeemed.
And secondly, Jesus says
(2) “I am coming back!”
o He will Fix this broken world top to bottom.
o He will set up his government
o He himself will be on the throne – king of all kings.
***That’s the ultimate Sabbath – to which all other Sabbaths point.
**There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God!
Closing Story: Toronto Marathon – the finish line scene is very powerful.
A few weeks ago Val, Julia and I were there to watch and cheer for Heather.
At first we found a spot about 10 kms into the race... we saw her go by -Then we moved to the finish line.
I wasn't prepared for that experience... at times it was very emotional.
• People leaning over the fences hoping to catch a glimpse of a friend as they crossed the finish line.
• Some people had posters
• Some had bells
• Some cheered
• Everyone had their phone to take pictures.
When Heather came by (3 hours 48 minutes)...we yelled her name and wanted her to see us... to make eye contact... to see her face... her smile!
It was a tough race... gruelling... her feet blistered and then the blisters broke.She still finished the race.
I couldn’t help but think about heaven... and crossing the finish line... home... at rest... sabbath
** The next day she told me – “I can’t imagine running that race without someone there to meet me at the finish line...someone cheering for me... to see me complete the race.”
I conclude with these words of Jesus – “come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
