Hebrews 4:1-10 Jesus Gives Rest
Notes
Transcript
Intro: What is the best way you recharge?
Intro: What is the best way you recharge?
When you think of getting some rest what comes to your mind?
Maybe a nap or good night’s sleep?
Is it a day off of work?
Maybe it is a vacation somewhere tranquil?
People will do all kinds of things to find physical rest and peace of mind
Meme: People who say, “Go big or go home” seriously underestimate my ability to go home.
At the same time some might be thinking, “My life is so busy that I don’t have
What if I told you there is a perfect rest that is available to you no matter if you’re busy or not
It is a rest for your soul and mind that can give you peace and joy no matter the circumstances
Read Hebrews 4:1-4
Read Hebrews 4:1-4
Transition:
Joshua vs. Jesus
Today we are going to see a comparison between Joshua and Jesus
Joshua led Israel into the promised land
It was to be a place of rest and God’s provision
Jesus leads us to the promises of God
It’s a place of rest from the requirement of the law and a place of peace with God
The basic idea of rest is that of ceasing from work or from any kind of action.
You stop doing what you are doing.
Action, labor, or exertion is over.
Applied to God’s rest, it means no more self-effort as far as salvation is concerned.
It means the end of trying to please God by our feeble, fleshly works. God’s perfect rest is a rest in free grace.
The only kind of fear a Christian should have is that of reverential awe
This is the fear of respect and honor, not the fear of condemnation or fear in the sense of terror, of which this text speaks.
Rest does not mean freedom from all hassles; it means freedom from being so easily bothered by them.
It means to be inwardly quiet, composed, peaceful.
To enter God’s rest means to be at peace with God, to possess the perfect peace
It means to be free from guilt and even unnecessary feelings of guilt.
It means freedom from worry about sin, because sin is forgiven.
God’s rest is the end of legalistic works and the experience of peace in the total forgiveness of God
To enter God’s rest, therefore, means to enjoy the perfect, unshakable confidence of salvation in our Lord.
We have no more reason to fear.
We have absolute trust and confidence in God’s power and care.
The rest spoken of in Hebrews 4 is full, blessed, sweet, satisfying, peaceful.
It is what God offers every person in Christ
The Promise of Rest vs. 1-2
The Promise of Rest vs. 1-2
To possess the rest Jesus gives you must understand the promise
vs. 1 What is this Promise?
vs. 1 What is this Promise?
There is a promise of rest
When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we receive a promise of rest
No more needing to do anything to justify ourselves before God
We can rest from the requirement of the law and enter into the joy of being a son of God
We start off this chapter with the word Therefore
This refers to Israel’s failure to enter God’s rest
Israel’s unbelief led to their failure of enter God’s rest in Canaan
A Christian’s unbelief can lead to a life of anxiety and fear
To make up for it we fill our life with works
When we try to prove ourselves to God or others we exit the rest God has for us
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
Jesus gives us rest from requirements and regulations of following him
He gives us peace in our souls
If we don’t have that rest and there is no peace we may have failed to reach it
One more note: You can go in and out of the rest of God
vs. 2 Receive it as a Gift
vs. 2 Receive it as a Gift
To get this promise of rest you must receive it as a gift
The Gospel came to both the Jews and the Gentiles
Many Jews rejected the Gospel and clung to the Law
They heard the message but in their unbelief it didn’t benefit them
They were not united by faith because of their unbelief
To enter into the promise of rest you have to receive it as a gift
The Gospel is a free gift you can’t earn or purchase
With that gift comes the promise of rest
That rest happens by trusting Jesus on a daily basis
Finding God’s Rest vs. 3-5
Finding God’s Rest vs. 3-5
To possess the rest Jesus gives you must know how to find it
vs. 3 Find it in Faith
vs. 3 Find it in Faith
“We who have believed enter that rest”
You find that rest, not in action, but in faith
You have to accept the rest that God giving you
The human nature defaults in wanting to do something
We either feel the need to earn everything we have or we feel compelled to make it better
Couple that with a view that idleness or stillness is being lazy
Do you know that many Christians feel ragged because they don’t know how to take a sabbath
God commands us to physically rest but we over fill our calendar
If you don’t believe God created you to rest you never will and subsequently you will never experience the peace and joy that He promises
That was Israel’s problem… they didn’t believe
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
The first generation never saw the promised land
They were constantly chasing after what they wanted
They didn’t listen to the Word of God, hence they didn’t know God’s ways
We can be guilty of the same thing
We do what’s right in our own eyes and neglect the Word of God and then are confused why our life is a mess and so chaotic
vs. 4-5 Resting from Works
vs. 4-5 Resting from Works
Here is the best part of this whole section
You can stop trying to impress God or feel obligated to deserve all of the blessings He has given
God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh
True rest comes from waiting and trusting in the Lord
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
Sabbath rest was instituted as a symbol of the true rest to come in Christ.
Adam and Eve were completely righteous when they were created.
They walked and talked with God as regularly and as naturally as they walked and talked with each other.
They were at rest, in its original and fullest sense. They relied on God for everything.
They had no anxieties, no worries, no pain, no frustrations, no heartaches.
They did not need God’s forgiveness, because they had no sin to be forgiven of.
They did not need His consolation, because they were never grieved.
They did not need His encouragement, because they never failed.
They only needed His fellowship, because they were made for Him.
This was their “rest” in God. God completed His perfect work and He rested.
They were His perfect work and they rested in Him.
But something terrible happened.
They trusted Satan rather than God.
And when they lost their trust in God, they lost His rest.
The entire purpose of the Bible and the entire working of God in human history have one theme: bringing man back into His rest.
Rest is another name for life, life as God meant it to be
Don’t Delay vs. 6-7
Don’t Delay vs. 6-7
To possess the rest Jesus gives make sure you don’t put it off
vs. 6 Missing Out
vs. 6 Missing Out
The rest He has provided, some will enter: It remains for some to enter it.
There are those who have heard the gospel and have yet to enter into that relationship God desires
The rest that God promises comes through the relationship God desires
Are you missing out?
We are saved by two things:
God’s will, expressed in His sending His Son to save men; and our will, expressed in our trust in His Son to save us.
We can be saved because He planned to save us before the world was created
Personal faith is necessary before God can apply His redemption to us.
Yet our personal faith is effective because the Father has first drawn us to the Son.
Because God wants us to be saved, we can be saved.
Only disobedience keeps us out
That disobedience hardens your heart
vs. 7 Don’t Harden Your Heart
vs. 7 Don’t Harden Your Heart
God appoints a certain day for you to hear the Gospel and make a choice
Israel had the Messiah walk their streets, show acts of compassion, and preach the Good News
They rejected him
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
Today isn’t referred to as a date, but one of
Enter that Rest vs. 8-10
Enter that Rest vs. 8-10
To enter the rest Jesus gives you must do it by faith
Joshua is an OT version of Jesus Christ
In fact, Jesus is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joshua
In Hebrew it is pronounced “Yeshua”
Joshua led the people into the promised land, a land of rest
It was to be filled with provision (Milk & Honey)
They would inhabit houses they didn’t build and harvest crops they didn’t plant
They would have rest from their enemies if they were obedient
Unfortunately they didn’t obey and entered one of it’s darkest time, the Judges period, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes
Jesus leads us into God’s rest, a spiritual rest
vs. 8 More than physical rest
vs. 8 More than physical rest
The rest Jesus brings is more than physical rest
It is a rest for the soul
While a nap might help from time to time, Godly rest helps all of the time
Your life can be hectic busy and still have the rest of God
Your soul can be content no matter the circumstances
And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
vs. 9-10 More than a Day Off
vs. 9-10 More than a Day Off
You can enter the rest God has for you
There remains a sabbath rest which is more than a day off
When we learn to trust the sovereignty of God we will find this soul rest
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
No more striving to impress God or earn your blessings
You discover that the finished work of Christ is in you
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.