"The Promise of Rest" : Hebrews 4:1-13 : Pastor Ryan Nichols: Sunday Morning Service 8:30AM

Good morning, church family, all nine of you.

Oh, gosh, that's hilarious. Well, before you get to bed, why don't we just stand? I love you guys. Father, we just come before you this morning, and I just thank you for allowing us to be here, Lord God. I know a lot of us are probably struggling with the old time change this morning, so I just ask for an extra measure of grace and ask that you'd be with us and help us to focus on you this morning.

Be with those who are running late this morning, and just get them here safely, Lord. We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Father God, I just thank you. And we just want to thank you, Lord, for giving us a way out of sin and death, Lord God. For fixing that broken relationship, Lord, that was broken in the garden. You took us out of our... You took us out of our Egypt, and you set us free, Lord God. You set us in a new land, Lord. You gave us freedom. You gave us new life, Lord God.

And we give you thanks for that this morning, Lord. We give you praise.

Would you guys stand with me for the last one? I just want to take a moment to express our gratitude. Gratitude for your creation, Lord God. We just thank you, Lord God. We thank you for our sin. Lord, we just thank you for what you're doing in our lives.

That you're turning us into the old person, and making something that's broken in us, Lord God. And fixing it and making it all new. When it comes, Lord God, I just pray that you would overflow him with your Holy Spirit, Lord God. Lord, speak mightily through him, Lord. Speak mightily to our hearts this morning, God. Your word says that your word is a sharp, double-edged sword.

Able to divide down to the marrow. To separate right from wrong, Lord God. Cut away anything in our hearts, Lord, that shouldn't be there. Lord God, do your work in us this morning, Lord God. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Take some time and have some fellowship.

Good morning. If you could begin to locate your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us. A handful of things to take note of. As always, on the left-hand side, the things that are going on. In the middle section, just a reminder that the March Madness event is coming up on the 21st. All of the sign-ups for things are out there in the lobby. And my understanding is that there's still a couple of slots open for the chili cook-off contest.

So feel free to get signed up for that. A couple of things that I failed to get into the bulletin this week. Number one is that there is a women's breakfast this coming Saturday. Is it at 8.30? 9. 9. That's it. It's at 9. So 9 o'clock for that. So ladies, come on out for that. And then the past few years, it's time to start thinking about camp. Because the past few years, we have been sending kids out to Prairie View Christian Camp.

Particularly the 3rd through 5th grade kids. And so today, out in the lobby, Phil Weiss, who is the director of Prairie View Christian Camp, will be out there answering any of the questions for the parents. Just kind of being available. So go check that out. And if you have questions, get with him. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced.

And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 8. Psalm 8. Looking at the New American Standard for this part. So that hopefully we all sound the same. If you need a copy, there should be one around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 8, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

Psalm 8. For the choir director, a psalm of David. I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen in the even verses. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who have displayed your splendor above the heavens. From the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength because of your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained. What is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than God. You have crowned him with glory and majesty. You make him to rule over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet.

All sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field. The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea. Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. And read verse nine with me. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. And so, Father, we do praise you for how great you are. And yet, Lord, in your greatness, you saw fit to make yourself known to us.

And so, Father, I pray that as we spend time in your word this morning, that your Holy Spirit would begin to minister to our hearts. Lord, that you would give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to perceive. Exactly what your word says. That's what your word has to say here this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter four.

Hebrews, chapter four. Well, the title of the message this morning is The Promise of Rest. And I didn't intend that on the day that they robbed an hour of sleep from us to make the subject rest. But it is what it is. I thought about it this morning as I was preparing the message. I was like, oh, God. Gosh, I may be preparing everyone for rest this morning. So, listen, I had a teacher in Bible college.

And he always told us, he was just the happiest guy you'd ever been around in your entire life. And I remember he taught an afternoon class that was right after lunch. And Tom Mouch was his name. And Tom told us all, he said, listen, I understand what it's like to be in Bible college. I understand what it's like to sit through a class after lunch. And so, I'm going to give you the words.

I'm going to give you the words that Jesus gave to his disciples. If you get really sleepy, it's okay. Sleep on. Just know there's a test. So, the promise of rest is there. We just have to be ready for it. But it's interesting. So, in the last chapter, in chapter three, he was talking about the children of Israel. And he was talking about their unbelief. He had told us how much better Jesus is than Moses, which sparked a discussion about the children of Israel.

And the unbelief and the hardness of heart. And what the children of Israel went through, especially when it was time for them to enter into the promised land. Or as we, in the New Testament, refer to it as entering into God's rest. And we know that they failed to enter rest because of unbelief. Well, that statement about failing to enter the rest is what prompts this entire discussion in chapter four

on the promise of rest that there is for the New Testament believer. Now, rest is an interesting subject in Scripture. Because if you go all the way back to Genesis chapter two, and this will be referenced in the Scripture that we talk about this morning. In Genesis chapter two is the first time rest is mentioned. And we're told in Genesis chapter two, verse two, that on the seventh day, God had finished his work.

And so he rested from all of his work. And he established and he sanctified the seventh day for man. And from that, we have established a seven-day work week. And one day, God said, would be a really good idea to rest. Because rest is important for us as people. Well, if you keep moving through the Bible, when you come to the Ten Commandments, you find that one of the commandments is the commandment of Sabbath day.

That there should be one day a week on the Sabbath that you set aside for rest. Not only spiritual, not only physical rest, but spiritual rest to take time to reflect on God, to spend time focused on the Lord. Now, as you travel all the way through the Old Testament, you find that the Sabbath is an important thing. As a matter of fact, there was to be a Sabbath year.

Every 49th year, they were to give their land rest. They were to give the land rest from all of the labor. And God said, I will bless you if you will allow this rest to take place. And all of these things were pointing to an ultimate fulfillment of rest that would take place in Jesus Christ. Because it's interesting, when you go into the book of John in the New Testament,

when Jesus was teaching, he said, come to me, all you who weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. And we find that the law of rest that was given to us in the Old Testament was a shadow of a fulfilled rest that we would ultimately find in Jesus Christ. Which is why, as New Testament believers, we don't have to keep the law of Sabbath because we keep the law of Sabbath by finding its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, by finding our ultimate rest in Jesus.

Which is why we... We, as the church, no longer meet on the Sabbath day because the Sabbath day was fulfilled in Jesus, who was resurrected on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. And so, we, as the church, can have this Sabbath rest. And so, as he ends chapter 3 in verse 19, he says, so we see that they were not able to enter the rest because of unbelief.

We now move into what he tells us in chapter 4. So, follow along as I read chapter 4 to us. Starting in verse... In verse 1, it says this. Therefore, let us fear. If while a promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you may seem to 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

because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as he said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day, and God rested on the seventh day from all of his work. 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 to them preached, or preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, he again... This is a certain day. Today, saying through David, after so long a time, just as he had said before, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of any 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, as God did. 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 a two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

And there's 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. Therefore, since we have such a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The promise of rest, now there's three things that he tells us in this chapter about the promise of rest. He's going to tell us about the promise. He's going to tell us about the diligence. And then he's going to tell us about the high priest.

The first thing that we'll look at this morning is we will look at the promise. The first thing he gives us in this promise is a little bit of a warning, a warning of the fear of failure. Notice what it says in verse one. 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. It's interesting.

It's interesting. It's interesting the way he starts this off because what seems like should be a happy chapter about the promise of rest actually starts off with a fearful statement when he says, let us fear. Now, why does he say that? Well, he links everything that took place in chapter three with what he's going to say in chapter four because in chapter three, he told us of their failure to enter into the rest of God, which caused them to wander in the wilderness of defeat, to wander in the wilderness of death, to wander in the wilderness, to wander in the wilderness of fear, if you will, because they did not enter into the rest.

And he says, let us fear if knowing that there is a rest for us that we would come short of it. He says, let us fear because a promise remains of rest. Now, I started asking myself a question. I actually asked myself three questions. I don't think I wrote all three of them down, but I started asking myself three questions. The first of which was, what is rest?

If there's a promise of rest, then I think it's really important that we identify what rest actually is in our lives. What does that mean for us? And so I did a little reading of some other translations and some dictionaries, and this is what I came up with for what rest is. Rest is inner peace because we are confident in our salvation and assured of his power.

Let me read that to you again. Rest is inner peace because we are confident in, in our salvation and we are assured of his power, confidence and assurance. That's what rest is. Rest is confidence in who we are and assurance of who God is. And that really settles so many things in our life. It's the ability to live in the peace that God has always intended for us to live in.

It's the ability to live not only with, in the peace that we have with God, that's what's settled through the blood of Jesus Christ, but it's living in the peace that we can have in God because we completely trust in him. Rest begins the day that you come to know Jesus as your Lord and savior. But if we're following the Old Testament example, that's deliverance from Egypt, right? Deliverance from Egypt is salvation.

The entering of the promised land is the entering of rest. The rest that God intends for us to live in, the peace and the confidence that God intends for us to live in. We must understand that in the Old Testament illustration, crossing the Jordan to possess the promised land is not heaven because in heaven there won't be conflict. In heaven there won't be battles.

In heaven there won't be things to overcome. But on earth there will always be another battle. There will always be another conflict. There will always be something else to overcome. But we can do those things with the peace of God in our lives because we can rest not only in who we are in Christ, but in who he is for us. That's why he says, let us fear lest knowing that there is a promise of rest,

you and I would fall short of it. That you and I would come short of everything that God has intended for us. Because what are the consequences of not entering into rest? I'm probably getting ahead of myself here, but the consequences of not entering into rest are first of all, living with the constant fear that God would not have us to live in. But oftentimes,

the consequences of not living in God's rest are ultimately the falling away from God. Because we will either fall into a system of works that we will put our trust in that's not God, or we will fall into sin because we have given up on any hope of ever living as God has called for us to live. And so if we can't overcome it, we may as well join it. Those are the consequences of not living in God's rest.

So he says, therefore, let us fear. If knowing that there is a rest that remains, for us, listen, we should come short of it. We should come short of it. That phrase to come short speaks of a running contest. And it speaks of any distance of coming short of the leader. The idea is the leader's in front of you, but you can't catch up. And that's what he says, I don't want you to do.

I don't want you to live a life where you never fully catch up, where you never fully know the victory that there is in Christ. He says, there is a fear of failure. But the second thing that he tells us about underneath of this promise is the necessity of faith. Notice what he says. He says, for indeed, verse two, we have had good news preached to us, just as they also,

but the word they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard. Some of your translations may say, for the gospel was preached to them, just as it was to us. Well, what are the two gospels that he's talking? What gospel was preached to us and to them? Well, the gospel that was preached to the Old Testament believers, to those children of Israel,

there in the book of Numbers, the gospel that was preached was the promise of the land, that I have given you this land and you can possess this land, even though there are giants in the land, even though there are enemies in the land, even though there are enemies in the land, even though there are walled cities in the land, you can possess the land because I have given you the land. Now you just have to walk in the land, walk in and possess everything that I've already given to you because the battle already belongs to me. It's interesting. One of my favorite verses in the book of Exodus says that I will not give you the land all in one year.

Slowly but surely, you will take possession of the land so that the animals, so that the beasts of the field will not overtake. And I'm referring to the book of Exodus. And I'm reminded that that's the way our lives are supposed to be too, that slowly but surely God gives us the promised land of victory, but not all in one year. It's a lifelong process of becoming who God wants for us to be while resting in who he already has made us.

That's the gospel that was preached to those Old Testament saints. The gospel that was preached was the promise of the land. Well, you and I have a promise as well. The gospel that's preached to us is not only freedom from the penalty of sin, but freedom from the power of sin in our lives, that we can have this freedom that we walk in. Will there be giants in the land?

Absolutely. Are there walled cities that we have to take? You bet. But God has already promised us great and precious promises that are ours if we walk in them. What are we told in the book of Ephesians? That you are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he has before ordained that you should walk in them. He says the gospel that was preached to us

is the same that the gospel was that was preached to them. But here was the problem. Notice what it says at the end of verse two. But the word that they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard. The word that they heard did them no good because they did not believe it. Because they would not put their faith in it. I love God's word.

I love reading God's word. I love studying God's word. I love learning the nuances and the information, the history, the way it all ties together. I love all of those things. But God's word will do me no good if I don't begin to believe it for me in my life. God's word will do me no good if I don't believe and begin to appropriate that word by faith into my life.

Otherwise, that's just words on a page and great decorations for my house. That's all that it is. It's wonderful pithy statements that I can make to people, wonderful little philosophical notes that I can give to people to hopefully make them feel a little bit better unless I begin to believe and appropriate it into my life and say, that's not just true for some people, that's true for me. That's not just something to make me feel a little bit better.

This is the statement that I live by in my life. This is the word that I mix with faith in every aspect of my life. This is the word that I mix with faith in every aspect of my life. This is the word that I mix with faith in every aspect of my life. This is the word that I mix with faith in every aspect of my life. every aspect of my life and if i don't begin to do that then i just like those old testament

believers will find myself falling short of the promised land falling short of the rest let me give you a little bit of an example and from my own personal life and this is what i share with people all the time i've shared it with several people just this week early on in my walk with the lord as i've shared with you lots of times before i battled anxiety i battled a lot of fear and anxiousness i still have my moments but but i've entered the promised land in a lot of ways where this is concerned i've i've crossed the jordan where these things are concerned but this is the process that i had to take this is the process that i had to follow i had certain fears

in my life that i was experiencing most of the spiritual in nature a lot of them having to do with guilt over past things and so and so as these fears began to pop up in my life they began to overtake me and and they began to bring me down and that anxiety began to rule my life until i the secret of what it is to overcome these things in my life i had to first of all identify what the enemy was that was a big part of it that was a hard part of it and to identify what the enemy was and what the fear actually was and then i had to identify what god had to say about it what does god say about this fear in my life after all the bible is full of precious promises right

but those promises aren't just decorations that you put on a doily to hang on your wall or on your table those precious promises are how we go to battle that is the sword that we use to pierce through the heart of the enemy and so so i started identifying all of those promises in my life and and this is what god's word has to say about it and then every time it came up i had to believe i had to make a choice to believe what god had to say now i didn't always feel it in the moment i didn't always like get the warm fuzzies on the inside when i would say but lord this is what your word says and so i'm going to choose to believe faith is not a feeling faith is a choice faith is a choice that you make every single day in your

life sometimes multiple times i don't even mean sometimes always multiple times in a day to choose over and over again to believe what god had to say i think that's what joshua and caleb did as they were going through the land they would see how great everything was that they but then they see the giant and they have to say no but but lord you've said you said you would give us the land even though there's giants you said you would send your your uh your angel before us to drive out the inhabitants of the land so lord i'm going to believe that you are going to defeat that enemy and i'm not going to let that rule me which is why when they came back all of the other 10 believed the lies of the enemy

they believe the lies of their feelings they believe the lies of their emotions and they said there's no way we can take it while joshua and caleb said everything they said about how hard it's going to be is right but this is what god says and they missed it and they missed it with the the word that god gave them with the faith that they had to believe this is what's true you see that's what it means to learn to rest in god and i'm going to make you a promise if you begin to believe truly believe to put all of your faith and hope and desire upon what god has to say i promise you you will begin to overcome i don't care if that's the battle with anxiety i don't care if that's the battle with anxiety i don't care if that's the battle with

temptation i don't care if that's the battle with fear i don't care if that's the battle with depression i don't care if that's the battle with self-harm whatever it is you have to choose to believe what god says because the reason they couldn't enter into the land is they had the exact same truth preached to them but they didn't believe it and we know they didn't believe it because they didn't act on it because faith always produces action and so he says there's this necessity of faith that we have to have in our life why because the next thing he tells us is about the finished work for we verse three who have believed enter the rest just as he said i swore in my wrath they

shall not enter my rest although his works were finished from the foundation of the world he says listen you have to understand something we who have believed we enter that rest in the same way that those who have not believed will not enter the rest he uses that as a uh as a comparison or a contrast there to show the difference we who have believed have entered the rest and listen those of us who have really learned to rest ourselves on the truth of who god is have learned to believe and we have learned to enter into that rest it's not to say that it's not still a battle but but that's the lesson that we've learned is to is to enter into the rest because the work is not a battle it's not a battle it's not a battle it's not a battle it's not a

work is already finished i love that statement because his works were finished from the foundation of the world sometime you should go to some sort of a bible study search engine and just write the foundation of the world and see all of the things that have been finished from the foundation of the world you will find that jesus christ was crucified from the foundations of the world you will find that the work was finished from the foundation of the world you will find that the work was finished from the foundation of the world you will find that the will find that your name has been written in heaven from the foundation of the world there were two or three others i didn't write all of them down those are three main ones that i wrote

down i think there were seven six or seven things all together that had to do with the foundation of the world it's fascinating because when you realize that you realize that because god rests outside of time and space that because god rests outside of everything that we are bound by you find that the work was finished before the world was completed i've always thought that there has to be something more to that statement in genesis chapter 2 verse 2 which is what he's going to reference here in just a moment matter of fact he goes on to say for he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day and god rested on the seventh day from all his works i've always thought

there's something so much more to that statement than we realize there's there's something so much more to that than god just ceased his creative works although that is the direct context but i believe that aspect of the fact that god ceased from his works is so much more important than just the creative work that he ceased from because god rested on the seventh day from all of his work because it was all sealed at that point in time and now we learn to rest in the finished work of christ don mcclure when he was talking about chapter one he was funny that dude is hilarious so quick story about him him teaching only so many people can get away with what i'm about to tell you that he did but when you're a legend like he

is you can do this like he he got up there and that dude's been teaching for a very long time and he gets a little bit scattered in his teaching and and and um you know there's these tvs that are back there that are telling him what time he's got to be finished only he's not paying attention to the tvs because he's just rolling and i appreciate that because that's what happens to me too he's and he looks over at robert furrow who's the pastor of calvary tucson that puts the whole thing on he goes what time am i supposed to be done bearing in mind is about about 9 52 at this point in time he said 8 45 and he goes well god bless and he just walks off the stage he doesn't

finish his sermon he doesn't say goodbye nothing just well lord bless and just walks off and we're just like only a legend can do that only a legend can walk off with no conclusion and just ends it but something he shared was fascinating to me because he was talking about adoption the adoption of the saints because that's who we are we have been adopted into the family of god right and he shared a story about a friend of his growing up he said there was a there was a boy that lived in my neighborhood and we played together all the time and and this boy was uh was from hungary and he had been adopted by the family that lived next door to us wonderful christian

family they adopted this this young boy this young boy came from abject poverty he had nothing and no food just it was it was a terrible situation when he showed up for the first time he didn't speak the language he didn't understand the family and he didn't know that that he didn't have to hoard food and he said that when they first brought him there they had a barbecue to celebrate with the entire neighborhood that they just adopted this boy because they wanted him to feel loved and they wanted him to feel special and so they're grilling burgers and they give him a burger and and they give all the other little kids the burgers and they they sit down at

the table and they say pretty soon they look over and the other kids are crying because because this boy stole all their burgers he he said he just kept stealing everyone's hamburgers because because that's all he knew you see he didn't know he couldn't rest in the fact that there was always going to be food because in his life there had never been food he said they they they took him upstairs and showed him his room and and when they showed him his room and they had gotten him some new clothes they were pretty close to his size and they got him the bedding and everything and and they put him to bed and and they get up the next morning and there's no food in the fridge and there's no

food in the pantry they went up to his room and all underneath of his bed and in all of his drawers was all of the food from the entire house why because he had not yet learned that the work was finished he had not yet learned that this was his family and he was never going to have to struggle like that again that they were never going to let him go hungry that they were always going to love him that they were always going to be there for him and he had to learn to rest in his position in his family as an adopted child as one who had been brought into the family as a new family member and as i'm sitting there listening to him share this i thought this is so good and i'm going to share this with you and i'm going to

this is such an apropos statement for for why we struggle when we come into the body of christ is because all we knew before that was sin all we knew before that was rejection all we knew before that was failure and so we come into this body of christ and jesus says i love you no matter what i love you so much i died for you you are 100 my child nothing's ever going to change that and yet what do we do we hoard the food because we're scared we can't enter into the rest we can't rest in the fact that god's always going to be there for us we can't enter into the rest we can't enter into the rest we can't love us we can't rest in the fact that our position is secure and part of learning who

you are in christ is learning to rest in your position in the family because the work has been finished and that's what he says here he says we who have believed entered the rest just like those who didn't believe didn't enter the rest but his works have been finished from the foundation of the world because god has rested on the seventh day from all of his works therefore he says they shall not enter my rest because they won't believe in who they are in christ and brothers and sisters that's what god desires for us is god desires for us to come to the place where we rest in our position in christ therefore we can start to rest in the victory that we have through him and so he shared with us the fear

of failure he shared with us the fear of failure and he shared with us the fear of failure and he shared with us the necessity of faith and he's shared with us the finished work but now he tells us one last thing there is a rest that remains it says in verse six therefore since it remains for some to enter it and those who formerly had good news to them preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience he again fixes a certain day today saying that day through david after so long a time just as has been said before today if you hear his voice do not harden your heart for 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 as god did from his he says there is a rest that is there for us there's a sabbath rest that is promised for us because when he spoke to david he said today is the day don't harden your heart why does he say today well because it wasn't a rest that joshua could bring the people into this is a current day rest that god has for us because he who has rested has ceased from all of his works i have a question for you are you still trying to earn god's love are you still trying to earn your position in the body of christ are you still trying to make sure that you've done enough to be accepted by god can i tell you a really sad secret you'll never be able to earn god's love

you'll never be able to earn your place in the body of christ you will never ever be able to do enough to be accepted by god listen that's why he sent jesus because what the law could not do and that it was weak through sinful flesh god did by sending his son in the likeness of sinful flesh he condemned sin in the flesh that we might be made the righteousness of god through him so that's what jesus did for us that's why he says today this rest is available for you today this is what god wants for you is he wants you to cease from all of your works i was called i was called trying to work for your salvation running on the treadmill of spiritual life right like i can't run at all right now and i just that's

a whole other subject for a whole other subject but i'm going to run at all right now and i just a whole other day that i can't get into but when i was still able to do active things i like to run only i hate running in the cold because the older i get the more cold bothers me and uh if it gets much below 40 degrees if it gets much below 50 degrees i really don't like to run outside anymore so basically from like november 1st on uh through about this time of year i run on treadmills you know what the most frustrating thing in the world to run on is a treadmill you know why because you get really really tired and you never get anywhere right you run on that thing and you're

sure sports center's on that's fun i can find out what's going on in the sports world sometimes fox news is on sometimes when i go to the rec center it's telemundo that's on there and like i get to find out what's happening in whatever spanish soap opera is being watched right now and so it's but other than that i accomplish nothing i'm just running here i am the whole time that's me that's the guy on the treadmill next to me just running the whole time sweating worn out exhausted and where have i gotten to nowhere exact same spot brothers and sisters those of you that think that you can work to earn god's love samesies okay it's a whole lot of hard work and you end up right in

the exact same spot you never get anywhere i'll never forget this crazy hippie guy that was at bible college when i was there and i remember him saying dude ever since i jumped off the treadmill of works i have just been resting in the race of god's love and i was like i don't know why but that absolutely makes sense to me that is that's probably the coolest statement i've ever heard some of y'all need to jump off the treadmill of works and start really resting in the race the race that god's made for you to run where you're actually getting somewhere because you're confident in who you are he says today is the day because today is the day that is for you for the one who has entered his rest has also rested from his works as god did

from him the promise the second thing he tells us about is the diligence notice what he says therefore 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 far as the division of the soul and the spirit of joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart now depending on what translation you read i think it says like work to enter god's rest or and you're like what that doesn't make sense be diligent he just said rest from all of your works but be diligent to enter the rest the math doesn't seem to be mathing on that one it's okay i mean let me make it make sense okay

the word diligent there is with the idea of to make every effort to make every effort he says therefore therefore if a promise remains therefore if some have failed to enter the promise if god has finished his work and faith is required and today is the day therefore be diligent make every effort to enter god's rest the idea is this we are to be diligent to appropriate god's promises by faith be diligent to appropriate god's promises by faith in other words you have to meet every thing head on with faith if you if you think about it when the children of israel came to the edge of the promised land all they had to do is be diligent to enter into it god said now go take

the land if they would have diligently appropriated the promise if they would have diligently said i will put one foot in front of the other and walk in every victory that i have made in the last day that you have given me to walk in then they would have entered the promised land the first go around and not experience the 40 years in the wilderness that's being diligent to enter the promised land that's being diligent to enter god's rest faith is not passive it requires diligence to trust in and rely upon jesus so what does diligence look like for us well i sort of spelled it out for you earlier diligence first of all looks like identifying the enemy in our life identifying the areas where you need to learn to rest

in your life you have to identify where do you struggle to rest in christ is it is it with a temptation that you can't overcome you're not resting in christ because the the temptation always rears its ugly head and you keep going back to the exact same thing over and over again is is that where you struggle to rest in christ do you do you struggle to rest in the love that god has for you do you do you struggle to rest in the fact that you don't have to work to earn anything. You need to be diligent to enter the rest and believe what God has to say. The diligence is the continual to belief and then to act upon what God calls you to do. For instance, if it's an area of temptation in your life, you need to believe that no temptation

has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But with the temptation, God is able to make a way of escape. Therefore, you believe that God's going to make a way of escape, but then you take the way of escape. When God goes, here, take door number one. Don't take door number two. Take door number one every single time. And God's like, if you just do this, there'll be a way of escape. Sometimes the thing that God is calling for you to do is to

believe that a life of discipline will actually produce so much freedom in your life. And you're like, Lord, those two things don't make sense. How does discipline produce freedom? Lord, I don't understand it, but I'm going to believe it. And I'm going to act upon it. And so you begin to live a life of discipline and you realize, oh, discipline really does produce freedom because I do feel better when I go to bed at a good time

at night, right? I do feel better when I eat the things I'm supposed to eat. I do feel better when I spend time in your word. I do feel better when I dedicate myself to prayer. And what the world says is bondage because it's discipline. God says it's actually freedom because I'm setting you free from the real bondage. See, that's being diligent to, to enter God's rest. But the biggest part of being diligent to enter God's rest is to operate

from a proper standpoint, to operate from the proper place. You see, there are two places you can operate from when it comes to obeying God and believing his promises. You can either operate from a place of, gosh, I hope I'm saved, or you can operate from a place of, but I know I am. You see, when you operate from the place of confidence, which is where rest actually comes from, when you operate from the right base of operations, it's amazing how much confidence is produced in your life. When you first rest in your position

in Christ, then you can rest in every other victory that he has for you. But if you're not resting in your position in Christ, then you will think that you overcoming an area of temptation in your life is what will actually produce salvation. Forgetting that salvation isn't produced in victories. Victory is produced from God. Does that make sense to everybody? Everybody following me on that? You have to operate from

the right place. Because if you don't, you will think with every new victory, you've earned yourself another spot on God's little mantle up there. You've earned yourself another trophy with God. Oh, look, God's going to be really pleased with me here. Forgetting that you are already secure in Christ, and now you're walking in the victory that God has for you. He says,

be diligent to enter the rest. Why? So that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience. So that no one will fall. What do you fall into if you don't, if you're not diligent to enter God's rest? Well, again, I think there's two categories of things that you fall into. You will either fall into the category of works. And I see this happen with people sometimes. They don't enter what rest

God has for them. And so they don't enter what God has for them. And so they don't enter what rest God has for them. And so they don't enter what God has for them. And so they don't enter what God has for them. And why does dough do that? Well, and that's the beginning. Drawing out the human confidence through the work that goods do. And we talked about theMAN where doing the WORKS. So, bring out the WORKS. And

start with the inform Music, things like this to help with your life, what do you actually and the reaction to the work that you've done sollte with your life? Beforearkan works as the root and faith as the fruit. It's two very different things. You operate from two very different places. And so if you're not diligent to enter the rest, you will fall into legalism.

You will fall into some system of works. I've watched it happen. I've watched people from this church leave and fall into a system of works. I'm just going to be honest about that. And I hope that they come back, but it is what it is. I have to trust that with God. Or, as I said before, you will give up and you will fall into sin. You see, if you don't rest in who you are in Christ,

you'll eventually go, this is way too hard for me. I'm just going to go and live however I want to live. And I see this happen sometimes too. I see this happen with people where pretty soon they're giving into all the things of the world and you start looking at their life and you're going, what do you do? And they're like, you know, I realized I've got a lot more freedom than most other people do.

And I'm thinking that's not called freedom. That's called license. You just gave yourself a license to sin because you gave up because it was too hard. And they start walking into things of sin. Sometimes they just completely walk away from the Lord. It's because they failed to enter the rest, which is why he says you have to be diligent to enter the rest. Well, there's two wonderful tools that we have

that God has given to us to enter the rest. The first is the word of God. I want you to notice what it says. It says, for the word of God is living. And it's active and it's sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of the soul and the spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

He says, the first thing that we have is we have the work of God's word. The work of God's word. God's word in our life is both living and active. And I think we fail to see sometimes just how living and active God's word is. And so we don't use God's word. We're like, listen. Those are great words on a page, but that's all that they are is their words on a page.

It's really hard to understand. It's really hard to read. It doesn't always make a whole lot of sense to me. So I just kind of set that aside and read it every now and then when I can. I read the verse of the day on my phone, which is great, but it's no context to it. I don't really even know what it says, but I sure like that verse of the day. I'm not trying to criticize anybody

that reads the verse of the day on your phone, but that's all that you read. You're really missing out on a lot because the word of God is living. It's active. I've watched this happen over and over again in my life. No matter what I'm going through, God's word always is able to speak to the issue. God's word is always able to speak to the situation. I think I've shared with you before.

I try to write down as often as I can. This is what I'm struggling with today. The reason why I write that down is because I want God's word to speak to it. God's word's really good at speaking to those things. It's kind of amazing how the very thing that I'm going through, God's word will minister to that day. I hear some of you all say this on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night.

They're like, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that. You're like, I'm like, you're right. I didn't have any idea how much you needed to hear that, but the Holy Spirit did. And so he used his word in a living and active way in your life. But not only is it living and active, it's sharp. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. It's able to pierce as far as the division of the soul and the spirit,

the joints and the marrow. See, God's word is sharp because it cuts through all the things in our life. And it cuts through in our lives to reveal to us. It sounded like the fire alarm for just a minute, but I think we're good. It cuts through to reveal to us the areas of unbelief that we have in our life. It cuts through and reveals to us the areas of disobedience

where we're falling into sin or the areas of disobedience where we're falling into legalism. It's sharp enough to pierce those things in us, which is why sometimes we don't want to get into God's word because it's going to show us something wrong in our life. We're like, I don't like that book because every time I go, I go to it, it tells me I'm wrong. It's like, well, it's doing its job.

It's living and it's active. It's sharper than a two-edged sword. Not only that, but it is able to discern or judge the thoughts and the intents of the heart. It's able to get past the lies that we tell everyone else. And it's able to get right down to the nitty gritty of who we really are and reveals who we really are. He says, if you want to be intentional,

if you, if you want to be diligent and intentional about entering God's rest, I would use God's word. Remember what I said? You have to identify the problem and then you have to identify what God says about it. The only way that you can do that is if you are in that living and active word of God. But not only is it the word of God, but there is also the work of God in our life.

Notice what it says in the next verse. He says, and there is no creature hidden from his sight, verse 13, all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. See, the beautiful thing is that no creature is hidden from God's sight. There's nothing in my life that's hidden from God. Oh, I can try to cover it up just like Adam and Eve did, right?

But when God came up to find Adam and Eve and he said, where are you? It wasn't that he didn't know where they were. He wanted them to think about where they were. And that's what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. That's the work of God in our lives. As we are in God's word, God himself begins to do a work and he begins to say, what are you doing here? I see what's going on in your life

and I want you to have victory over it. Let me not only show you through my word, but let me empower you through my spirit to do what I've called for you to do, to enter into the rest that I have for you. All things are laid open before him. Well, we've seen the promise. We've seen the diligence. And now we see the high priest. Therefore, verse 14, since we have a great high priest

who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw, draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. He says, therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, what does he mean by that?

A great high priest who came down and dwelt among us, a great high priest who came down and lived among us. Since we have such a great high priest, let us hold fast our confession of faith. Have you noticed, this is the third chapter in a row that he has told us to hold fast to our confidence, to hold fast to our confession. It almost seems like he's writing to a group of people that were struggling with this right now.

He's writing to a group of people who were wanting to give into the world, who were wanting to give into the works or maybe give into the sin because it had gotten hard and as it got difficult for them to live life, as it got difficult for them to make a stand of faith, he says, no, make the stand because there's a rest that God, God has for you and I don't want you to fall short of it. Therefore, since we have a high priest who understands, hold fast to your confession because this high priest that we have is not one who can't sympathize with our weakness. But this high priest that we have is one who has been tempted in every way that we are and yet without sin. See brothers and sisters, our greatest asset that we have in this walk of faith

is the high priest who has gone before us. The high priest who has gone before us. The high priest who has gone before us. Is the high priest that we have ministering to us. And that high priest is Jesus who was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin. So not only can he sympathize with our temptation, not only can he sympathize with our weakness, but he can empower us with his ability.

He can not only teach us how to live, but he can empower us with what we need to live because we don't have a high priest who can't understand us. He can't understand. He's been through all the things that we've been through and he did it all without sin. And he's right there ready for us always. Therefore, knowing this, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Therefore, let us draw near to the throne of grace in other words, let us approach God on a continual basis of drawing near to him. Because when we come to the Lord, we find two things. Number one, we find mercy. We find mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And we find mercy from God

who looks at us and sees us in our sin and failure and says, I will not give you what you deserve because of your great high priest who is not just offering sacrifices for you, but was the sacrifice for you. We can draw near to God because we first of all find mercy in him. We find that mercy that is necessary. But not only do we find mercy in him, but we find grace to help in our time of need.

We find everything, all the strength, all the ability, everything that we need to help in our time of need. But what is the one thing we have to do? You got to draw near to the throne of grace. You have to live a life of pouring out your heart to the Lord. Live a life of rolling everything onto the Lord and letting him carry your burden for you. Remember the verse we talked about in the very beginning?

Jesus said, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, all of you who carry a burden that is entirely too heavy for you to carry, all of you carrying things that are too much for you to hold on to, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Brothers and sisters, we're living in a culture, we're living in a time where we're bearing a lot of burdens. We're living in a time where life is very heavy, and we find ourselves struggling to rest.

We find ourselves struggling to rest in who God is because of the heaviness of the world that we live in right now. And God does not want you to carry the burden on your own. He wants you to carry the burden on your own. He wants you to lay the burden on him so that he can carry it for you and so that you can walk alongside him. That's his greatest desire for you.

And so I don't know what burdens you brought in here this morning. I don't know what areas of your life you need to rest in. I don't know where you need to be diligent to enter God's rest, but my prayer is that you will know that there's a promise of God's rest, that you will know that God has given you all of the diligence that you need to enter that rest, and that you know that there is a high priority, a priest advocating for you to give you mercy and grace that you can draw near to, to give you the rest that you need in your souls. Amen?

Let's all stand.

And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you now. And Lord, I want to lift up every person that's in here this morning. Lord, I know everyone's a little extra tired because of time change. Lord, I know that the world is heavy. Lord, I know that the burdens can be heavy. And Father, I know that there is a need for rest. And so Lord, for every person in here this morning

that's carrying a personal burden, Lord, for everyone who's struggling to rest in who they are in you, for everyone who is still trying to earn their place in heaven, everyone who is still trying to earn their position, I pray that you would begin to work in their hearts the rest that they need. Father, I pray for every person that's burdened with the events of the world that they feel like they need to be left alone. like they have to carry. After all, if they don't carry it, no one else is going to.

I pray that you would give them the rest that they need to know that you are sovereign and you are in control and they can continue to lay those on you. And Father, I lift up every person in here that just simply needs to know that they're loved this morning. And God, I pray that they would rest in the love of Jesus Christ that surpasses all knowledge. Lord, that they would know that you are more than able to handle what concerns them today.

And Father, we lift these things to you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Father, God, I thank you for another day, Lord. I thank you for your word this morning, Lord. Lord, help us to rest in your finished work.

We can't earn our salvation, Lord. We're as saved as we're going to be. Lord, help us to rest in that fact today. Help us to rest in your finished work. Help us to rest in the fact that even though we are saved, Lord God, you're still doing a work in us and that you're going to complete that work. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week.

God bless you guys.