Christmas is coming! Did you know that its only 57 days away? Any of you have your Christmas tree up yet?
I wondered when the earliest day it is appropriate to put up your Christmas tree. The magazine, Southern Living tells me that “Black Friday.” Yet, I often find myself humming Christmas carols all year, do you?
One of my favorite is the song: “God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” I love the song because:
a) If affirmed the birth and salvation of Christ
b) It recounts the nativity even and the love of God.
c) It reminds me of where real rest and peace are found.
Sometimes when we hear it in church during the Christmas season we might think that when it says, “God rest ye merry Gentlemen” it is an invitation to the guys to take a Sunday afternoon nap, yet I understand that some of the guys don’t wait till Sunday afternoon; they just go ahead and get started by nodding off right here in church. (Right?)
Yet, I made an interesting discovery this week. The phrase, “God rest ye merry Gentlemen” was actually an “old English” phrase that means something entirely different. In the old English language the word “rest” meant “to make “ and the word “merry” meant “mighty.”
So basically, it’s a Christmas song about how God makes men mighty. Therefore, think of it this way, the song is actually saying: “God make you mighty gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, remember Christ your Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray, O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.”
Transition:
In reality, the carol was spot on. To live a victorious life, we have to experience rest for our souls. We have to have confidence in life, an assurance of our salvation that will give us a peace in the most difficult of life’s storms and crisis. We have to live with hope.
As the writer of Hebrews talks about rest, He talks about a rest that no one can provide for you. In verse 8 this is confirmed as we read about the fact that “mighty Joshua” although he fought the Battle of Jericho could not provide the rest for the Hebrew nor any human soul.
Only Jesus can give us real and authentic rest as He promised saying: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking; I need some of that rest. After all, isn’t that what the sabbath day is all about? The ancient Jews day made God’s rest a priority and in doing so they honored the Sabbath or Shabbat as a mandate for weekly living. Yet, for them it was much more than a day off. It was a significant need for the human soul.
Transition: Today, lets allow the writer of Hebrew to explain and experience the kind of rest God wants for us in life. In this passage he instructs the Hebrews on how to enter into God’s kind of rest.
Transitional Sentence: How does God give us rest?
I. Through An Answer to One of Life’s Biggest Questions
Vs. 1- “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, if any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”
Explanation:
One of the things that troubles us most in life is the questions about “why?” Why has God let me go what I’ve gone through? Most people can’t and won’t answer the question but today I’m going to tell you.
Understand, I don’t have the answer. This is not my idea. It’s deep. It’s what God says. You may not like it. You may not want it. Yet, the answer is right here in Hebrews 4.
To provide the answer He takes us back to the wilderness wanderings. He reminds us of the Israelites and the tough 40 years of trial they experienced.
During that period of time, God was trying to prepare them for the Promised land. He wanted them to experience the goodness and the glory of what He had prepared for them.
Yet, write this down: They would never get to the Promised land without faith.
Unfortunately, the writer of Hebrews recalls many who set out on the journey to the Promised land never really got to the Promised land. They died in the wilderness. They never got to where God wanted and intended them to be. He wanted them to enter into His “rest” but they failed the test and missed the opportunity to enter the Promised land.
In recollection of this event, he warns us saying: “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, if any one of you may seem to have come short of it.” Vs. 1
He basically tells us what would be pretty scary in life. He says: “...let us fear ... if we’ve heard about God’s rest but miss it.” The Promised land was going to be different from the wilderness. The wilderness was dry-- and they had to trust God for water. The wilderness was famished of food-- and they had to trust God for food. The wilderness had no clothing stores or shoe store- they had to trust God to make their clothes and shoes last.
Listen: In life, many people want to skip the wilderness experience. Truthfully, we all do. We don’t want to deal with the trials of faith. We don’t want to really trust God. We want to have God as our best friend but not a God who we have to depend on.
The fact is: Like the children of Israel; all God’s children go through a wilderness. You may not like it but its necessary. It’s part of the journey. Your test of faith and my test of faith might be different; yet it has the same outcome--- it requires us all to live by faith.
It might be a health diagnosis. It might be a challenge in the family. It might be a fear that looks you in the eye every day. It might be an unexpected death you have to grieve through. It might be a plethora of things; but whatever it is; it will take you to the end of yourself and literally require you to depend completely and totally only on God.
What’s going on in your wilderness right now? Whatever it is, God is using it to take you to the end of your answers and provides the only answer to the reason why: The reason why bad things happen to good people is because God is using it to bring you to trust and dependence on Him because no one gets to the Promised land without going through a wilderness that brings them to a genuine, authentic, non-plastic faith -- that takes a heart of flesh and develops it into a heart of faith that completely relies on God.
Their wilderness was actually of their own making. They extended their trial by trying God and questioning Him. Yet, nonetheless, God was using even their own bad choices to seek to get them to the objective; to trust Him and fully rely on God.
Illustration: Frog- Fully Rely on God
Here’s how to remember what God is doing in you. Remember the word “Frog.” The word “Frog” provides the acrostic F- ully R- Rely O-On G- God.
Yet, in real life have you ever thought about how reliant even a frog is on God?
I was reading this week that there are over 7,500 frog species. Yet, to survive they all have certain needs that only God can provide.
Even though frogs are land creatures they all have to remain close to water during their adult lives to keep their skin wet. The frog breathes through their skin as well as their lungs so the skin has to be kept moist. Without a moist or wet environment; a frog ends up looking like this:
Out of the 7500 spies 4,700 of the frogs have sticky tongues. They flick at speed so fast that they out pace the human ability to blink. They are so adhesive that they can easily catch dusty crickets, slippery worms, hairy spiders, and anything else that comes into range for a snack.
Application:
As the writer of Hebrews recalls the events of the wilderness for the Hebrews he declares that they did not learn to fully rely on God; instead they grumbled and doubted God. Their lack of faith robbed them of rest.
Notice like a lawyer providing evidence of their failure to trust he quotes several Old Testament passages.
1) In verse 3 he quotes Psalm 95:11 declaring that they would not enter his rest.
2) In verse 5 he quotes Psalm 95:11 declaring that they would not enter his rest.
3) in verse 7 he quotes Psalm 95: 7-11 declaring that they hardened their hearts in unbelief.
He warns us all and encourages us to understand that the pivotal key to rest is the same key that gets us to the Promised land-- it is faith.
So let me ask you: Will you trust God in your wilderness of life experiences? If you do, rest will come.
Transitional Sentence: How does God give us rest?
II. Through Adapting To God’s Schedule
vs. 9-“ So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
Explanations:
One of the greatest signs of our faith and trust in God is adapting our lives to God’s schedule.
In verse 4 we read: “For He (God) has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: And God concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.”
Verse 9 tells us: “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
One of the things we are accustomed to seeing on a race track is a pit stop. It’s a necessary place on the track. Without it the driver and his machine can’t finish the race. Tires need to be changed. Gasoline needs to be refilled. A break needs to be had.
God knows this. So God provides pit stops. In verse 9 we read: “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” What he is saying is: “We have a rest stop God took the initiative to schedule one for us.”
In the Old Testament, from the time of Creation, God knew pit stops were necessary. Therefore, he built the Sabbath into our loves. In the Ten Commandments, God said: “Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.” It’s the 9th commandment.
Likewise, ultimately, Jesus would be say that He is the “Lord of the Sabbath.” Do you know what He was saying; He is saying, I am the one who initiated the Sabbath. In this Jesus identifies Himself as the Lord and Maker of all things.
Likewise, the Sabbath points to Jesus because He became the fulfillment of the of our sabbath rest. When he rose from the dead, the Sunday morning after the Jewish Sabbath; He was launching a “new day.”
Ultimately in this passage, Jesus is being presented as our ultimate “sabbath rest” because when He rose from the dead; our salvation was finished so today, many believers rest on the seventh day; in doing so, they declare that Jesus is our rest.
From the beginning God paused and rested. He called for an intermission. The people that saw the Jews do this would often ridicule them and call them lazy. Yet, the understood that God designed our lives and days with a sabbath.
After creating for six days God took a day off. He paused and reflected on what He had created and celebrated His expression of goodness.
Think about it: Our God never slumbers nor does He sleep, yet God took a Sabbath day off. He had a put stop. He set aside a day for man to cease from labor and take time for physical and spiritual rejuvenation.
He made the sabbath for us. In Mark 2:27 we read: : “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.”
One of the signals of your faith in God is to have a sabbath just like God did. It’s a time of appreciation, worship, and celebrating the one who provides for you and to trust Him with it.
Illustration: The mules in the blind
A man was passing on old coal mine in Pennsylvania one Sunday morning and saw a number of mules herded outside the mine.
Seeing the mules the man asked, “What are these mules for?” The boy replied, “These mules work in the mine all week long and today is their day off, so they have been brought out of the dark mine into the beautiful sunlight.”
The boy added, “Long ago, it was discovered that if mules were not brought up one day a week they would go blind.”
Application:
Today, what is worse is that man has become blinded and his eyes darkened to something God did from the beginning; he has forgotten the Sabbath.
Psalm 127: 2 says: “It is senseless for you to work so hard from morning until late at night... for God wants His loved ones to get their proper rest.” (LB)
During the Exodus wilderness, God provided manna each day, but before the Sabbath he provided two days of manna, showing that He is Lord of the Harvest and Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath and keeping it is part of revealing our trust in God.
Transitional Sentence: How does God give us rest?
III. God Gives Us Rest Through His Written and Living Word
vs. 11-13- “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as fast as the division of soul and spirit, of both joins and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions 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.”
Explanation:
The Book of Hebrews is written to a bunch of tired people. They spiritually needed rest to continue their journey because they were ready to give up on Jesus.
God knew their challenge and He wanted them to be victorious. II Corinthians tells us that life can be hard. Yet, what does it say? It says: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 KJV
Yet, they needed rest on the inside, not just the outside. How many of you know that you can be sitting on a beach in the calm beautiful sunshine and a hurricane be blowing on the inside.
This reality leads us to do what verse 11 says: “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience.”
We have to be diligent about rest don’t we? We have to be careful about whose example we follow. Following the unbelieving Jews example would lead the Hebrews to more chaos; not the Promised land.
With that said, verse 12-13 makes a connection that we often miss. It first introduces the rest provided by the written word. We read: “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
In your life, you need this book. You need the written word because it cuts like a knife. It does spiritual surgery on our mind (thoughts) and our hearts. (It reveals the intentions and motives of our life.)
If you want a place to regain your ability to keep going; you’re going to have to stop, slow down, and take a pit stop to let the Word of God refresh, renew, and restore what the world is beating your down with.
God’s Word instructs, it cuts away your fears, doubts, and refreshes and restores your mind, your thoughts, and cuts away the things that are weighing your down.
Yet, it doesn’t stop there. The word is two-edged and verse 12 tells us it is active and alive. Do you know why? The written Word will always lead you to the living Word.
You want to get in touch with Jesus? You want to get to the burden bearer? The written word is active and alive, because the one who spoke the Bible, woke from the grave!
The scripture tells us that the Bible is two-edged:
a) One edge is the written Word
b) One edge is the living Word.
And when you get in the Bible; you experience both! God will guide you to the book; and there you will find a place of rest at the feet of Jesus.
Jesus is the giver of the written word; to get the living Word, so He can give you what you the rest you need to keep on moving to get to the destination that God has for your life.
Conclusion: The song starts with a rest
One of the most universally recognized pieces of music of all times is Beethoven's 5th Symphony. You know the one: dun dun dun dunnnnn...dun dun dun dunnnnnn.
You know the song, but what you may not know is that the song starts with an 8th note of rest. A song that begins with a rest! As strange as that is, it creates a uniquely powerful melody.
The strategic 8th note rest continues through the entire song.
A rest is a highly unusual way to begin a piece of music. But realize that the Christian life also begins with a rest.
Before God can make a beautiful symphony of our lives, we must first find complete rest in His Son.
That’s why Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28-30)
So no matter where you are in life, let me ask you: “Why not start with Jesus? You need rest for your soul. He’s what the Bible is all about. His written word today is now leading you to the Living Word.”
We have an invitation to invite you to come to Him. Will you today? Right now? Find your rest; for the rest of your life, starting today with Him.
When the living Word and the written word get connected; that’s where rest is found.
Don’t harden your heart. Don’t doubt and be burdened down by unbelief. Trust in Jesus today.
