Entering Rest

What would you fear missing most? Does it bring stress when you realize all the tasks that must be done in a day? How many of us fear failure? How can we find rest for our souls?

Pattern through this passage:

The promise of entering God’s rest remains

God, who has spoken, is speaking

Therefore...

Fear Falling Short

1-5 Read 1-3 - The promise of entering His rest still stands…6x in verses 1-5 it mentions God speaking to us: a promise, good news, the message came to us…(3) we who believe His message enter that rest. The message: Jesus has done the work necessary for us to be restored, to have fullness of life in God, to find rest in God.

What does it look like to rest in God? The end of verse 3 says that God finished His works of creation on day 6, and He entered the seventh day. This doesn’t mean He became idle. The rest of the Bible is all about all the activity of God after creation. He is very much engaged. But He knew when He had done enough creating. He had done all the work necessary. He knew it was time to enjoy the creation. Time to delight in all that He had made, first and foremost, to delight in us.

We are being called to enter that same kind of rest. Some have found their delight in things other than God. These are those who do not enter His rest. But God has finished another work, the work of redemption and restoration for our souls in and through Jesus.

So, for us to enter His rest is to delight in the finished work of God in creation and in redemption through Jesus. There is only one thing we should fear – missing out. Out of all the things you fear leaving undone - we are running ourselves into the ground because we fear leaving things undone, we fear being left out, we fear missing our best life, and it is so hard to rest and it’s making us numb - here’s the one fear that should be at the top of the list. Fear falling short of resting in the finished work of redemption God has completed in and through Jesus. Fear missing out on the delight of resting in God. Fear missing out on the joy of abiding in Jesus Christ.

How do we fall short and miss out? Verse 2 says that the Moses generation missed God’s rest because they heard the word of God, but it was not united by faith. Their hearts weren’t in it. Which brings up the next pattern.

Today is Your Day

6-8 - “Since therefore it remains for some to enter it...today, if you hear His voice”

God offers the opportunity to enter His rest to each generation. The Moses generation had the opportunity. Our writer points out that the invitation was repeated by David to demonstrate that God is still speaking as long as we have a “today”.

Verse 6 tells us that past generations have failed to enter because of disobedience. What does that word do in your heart? The word for “disobedience” is literally, “apathy”. This is disobedience through apathy. They didn’t care to listen and do something in response to God’s words. Apathy is a curse. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. We buy alcohol, drugs, video games, tv and Netflix subscriptions so that we won’t have to feel what’s really going on in our souls. What if God was to speak to you today? Would you be sensitive enough to listen and find rest for your soul by doing what He says?

But God is gracious. The emphasis in this section is on the fact that God has spoken good news again and again. You can hear His voice every day. Today is your day. God exists in an eternal “today.” The day He has chosen for His eternal abode is a day of delight and joy, an eternal Sabbath. If you are receiving the invitation to join Him there this day, will you harden your heart? The therefore in this round of the pattern is, do not harden your hearts. We’re back to the heart again...

Strive to Enter

9-13 - We learn that the rest to which we are called is God’s rest, which is a rest from works. Verse 11, “strive” to rest from works seems contradictory. Is this an oxymoron? The root of the word for “strive” is to hurry, be zealous, eager, in modern advertising we would say, “Act now!” This offer of rest is based on the Sabbath, the seventh day on which God rested from His works.

Jews since at least the time of Moses were commanded to rest with God on the seventh day of every week, every seventh year, and every seven sevens of years. For a Hebrew to truly enter rest on one of these Sabbaths, there was much work that must be done. Farm chores, business transactions and food preparation must all be finalized before the Sabbath began. So, the message could be, be just as eager to rest in God as you are to work hard for profit.

But the tone of this passage adds another dimension. The Sabbath rest this author is writing about is available every day. It seems to be a lifestyle. Living in the delight of God’s finished work of redemption in Christ is a lifestyle. It is the lifestyle Jesus called abiding. And it is a lifestyle from which you can fall away through apathetic disobedience.

1. Get over your apathy. Let God’s word do its work in your heart. Verses 12-13. Let it pierce you to the core of your soul. Let yourself feel something again. One way I do this is to read my Bible, and when some word, phrase, promise, commandment, encouragement or correction catches my attention I have to read it twice, I stop there. I’ve read far enough. Time to pay attention, to be present to God, let His Spirit lay me bare and expose what’s inside. When was the last time I responded to God’s words? Have I been insensitive?

2. Strive to enter God’s rest. It takes effort these days. Our default is business. The modern disease of measuring fulfillment by the number of activities I can fit into one day has infected all of us. God measures fulfillment by delight in His work. You can measure the fullness of life by the depth of your roots in God’s love for you. You can measure your health by the desire you have for the presence of God in your life. How hungry are you to hear God’s voice for yourself?

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