Father, we're thankful that we can count on you being here with us.
Lord, as we open your word, you are ministering to our hearts and in our minds in ways that we don't even know.
And we ask that you would do your will at this time, that you would humble us before you,
so that we can have joy that is eternal, joy that is beyond what the world can give.
So Lord, would you meet with us at this time, we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen. You may be seated.
So if you're like me, you're on vacation, and it's great.
You've probably been looking forward to this time for a very, very long time.
I know that I have. I know that the year was kind of difficult with studies and with work,
and I'm sure that you've felt that as well.
Well, maybe I'm looking forward, maybe I was looking forward to this vacation because I was working too hard.
I was overworked throughout the semester.
I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm a creature who loves to rest.
And so here we are, resting.
And if you're like me, next week you're going to catch yourself looking at your schedule
to see when is the next time you're going to have a break, next time that you're going to have a vacation,
so you can start planning for it.
We just love rest.
That's just the way that we are made.
You probably heard when Matthew was reading the Bible that it talked about rest quite a bit.
And if you're not a Christian, you might be kind of uncomfortable with the notion that God gives rest.
Maybe if you're not a Christian, you're thinking that God is a judge.
God is a God who sees everything, and he is waiting to just snap on us.
He's waiting to judge us and condemn us.
How can somebody rest when there's a God like that?
And so we're going to look at that today.
We're going to look at this passage in Hebrews, which talks about rest.
So if you have your Bibles with you, you can turn with me.
I would be a great help if you can turn to Hebrews chapter 4.
We're going to start at verse 1.
And while you're turning there, I'm just going to give a little bit of a background to the letter of Hebrews.
Basically what's happening here, there's a lot of speculation.
We don't know who the author is particularly, but there is...
So we kind of understand this letter to the Hebrews as a sermon.
So basically what we're doing is we're reading somebody else's sermon.
But we're at this part in the sermon where it's talking about rest,
and the threat is that the culture is putting a lot of pressure on the Christians to abandon Jesus,
to go back to maybe Judaism or go back to the ways of the culture.
So let's look at that in verse 1.
It says,
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands,
let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
So here it is.
The promise of entering his rest.
The promise of entering God's rest, that is.
It still stands.
And so it kind of seems like a shock that God would want rest for people
when he maybe is the God who is so demanding.
So let's...
Andrew, if we can have our first point.
I think...
Or...
Yes, thank you.
That's the second point.
So our first point is,
God loves rest and promised to share his rest with ordinary and extraordinary people alike.
We usually, in our points, we usually have ordinary people.
I put extraordinary people, just in case you associate more with extraordinary,
so that everyone here is in the picture.
So God loves rest and promised to share his rest with ordinary and extraordinary people alike.
Now, doesn't the Bible care more about judging people and telling people what to do?
This is kind of the question that we were wondering at first.
We'll see later on as the theme of rest develops.
But just to give a small little picture of what it means for God to have a rest for us.
When...
Well, I'm a musician.
Some of you know that.
I love playing music.
I play the French horn.
And I've recorded on some albums.
And one of the most exciting things when we're recording,
we love to play music together.
We love to do the process.
But at the end, when we're done,
we love to listen to the music.
We love to see the final product.
And I think this is the picture of rest that the Bible is trying to paint,
is that God creates everything, and now he dwells.
His presence falls on creation so that he can appreciate all the work that he has done.
And not just by himself.
He created human beings to appreciate it with.
And so this is the biblical picture of God's rest,
that God dwells with his people in full delight, with them,
enjoying the creation and the benefits of the creation.
So let's read verse 1 again.
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands,
let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
Now you're probably thinking, hold on a minute.
Fear so that we can enter rest?
Like, fear, like, that's usually, like,
something that is completely contrary to rest.
Like, when I fear, I'm restless.
Like, I don't want to fear so that I can enter a rest.
Like, that doesn't really make sense.
And maybe you're thinking of the old Lucasfilm proverb from a long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away,
where this little green guy said,
fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate,
and hate leads to the dark side.
Like, doesn't that seem more consistent with reality?
That fear leads to something like that.
Fear leads to anger and hate and all those things.
How can the Bible say that fear leads to rest?
Well, basically what's happening here is that
the writer is continuing an argument
that started in the previous chapter.
He's saying, fear your sinful hearts.
Fear the ability of your heart to sin against God.
See, fear is maybe not so much of a bad thing.
The Bible talks about it in two ways.
And you can read the blog.
There's a lot more detail on that.
I wrote a blog on fear and the fear of the Lord.
And so you can refer to that.
But basically, fear here is not to paralyze us spiritually.
God doesn't want us to be paralyzed spiritually
so that we can enter rest.
That's not what it's talking about.
It's talking about a fear that produces spiritual diligence,
that we are diligent in doing God's will.
See, when I was young, I was taught to fear fire,
fear the element on the stove,
because I would get burned.
But that doesn't mean that heat is evil,
that heat is bad to be avoided in all cases.
We need to master it.
We need to master heat so that we can use it for good purposes.
And so here, the thread of the argument that it's trying to say
is that we need to fear our hearts
and the deception of sin that comes into our hearts.
So if we can have our second point.
One of the wisest things that a mentor told me once
is that he said,
Jonathan, one of the things that we don't fear
is our hearts, is our sin.
See, it's amazing that when we look here at verse 2,
let's read verse 2.
It says here,
For good news came to them.
Good news came to Israel,
that God would deliver them from slavery
and bring them to a land of prosperity and security.
And now here, the good news is coming to us,
that Jesus, when he died on the cross and rose again
and ascended to heaven,
he delivers us from the slavery of sin
to bring us into a heavenly rest now.
And when we go to heaven to be in his presence,
we'll have rest for eternity.
And we can miss that.
We can miss that because our hearts can deceive us.
Our hearts can love sin more than loving the God
who has done everything for us
to enjoy eternal delight in his presence.
Our hearts are sinful and restless
until they find themselves in the God of purity and rest.
One of the things that people critique about Christianity
is that, you know, in order to be a Christian,
you need to have those same kind of views on morality
and politics and all those things.
But it's actually, that's not really the case.
That's not the case at all, actually.
Let's look at verse 2 again.
To be a Christian, it's not just kind of saying,
well, you're not at a buffet and saying,
well, I associate more with this religion
or this spirituality or this Christianity.
When we come to Jesus, we come to the realization
that we are sinful beings
and that God paid for our sins to make us right with himself.
We have nothing to boast about, only the cross.
That God would so love the world, send his son for us.
So looking at verse 2 again,
there's this thing here that it's talking about,
that though the good news came to them,
the message they heard did not benefit them
because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
Before I was a Christian,
I had all these strange ideas about God.
Even though I was kind of raised in the church
and I was taught certain things about the Bible,
I thought that by virtue of having,
you know, being raised in a maybe Catholic home
and having gone to a good school
and being part of a good family
and having, you know, a grandfather who was religious
and having friends that are religious,
I thought that somehow God would have mercy on me.
Just for having those things,
being in the right circles,
being born of the right family
and all those things.
But what this is saying is that
it's not about that.
It's not about being part of the right family,
being part of the right background
or all those things.
What verse 2 is trying to tell us is that
it's not about our group,
not our social class,
our religious experience,
our sexual orientation,
whether we're generous or whether we're frugal.
The fact that you've prayed before,
the fact that you've maybe thought
you never needed to pray.
It's not those things that will bring
God's favor upon us.
What it's saying is that salvation
is a free gift from God
that we simply receive by faith
and that we walk by faith.
Salvation is a free gift from God
that we receive by faith
and we must walk in faith.
So this verse here is kind of
alluding to Numbers 14 in the Old Testament.
Numbers is one of the books in the Old Testament
and tells the story of Israel,
how there were people who were part of this community
who received salvation from God,
who were taken out of the land of slavery
and they were walking with Moses
who believed,
they were walking with Joshua
and Caleb who believed,
but they didn't benefit,
they didn't enter the promised land
because they didn't believe.
So it's possible to be part of this group
of the church actually,
it's possible to be part of the church,
to go to the church on Sundays,
to even drive maybe an hour to get here
and to do your duty to be here
and yet not believe.
So this text is trying to move us
to the place of faith in the heart,
in the mind,
where do we actually believe?
Do we put our faith and trust in Jesus alone?
So let's, if we can have our next point.
So God delivers sinners
and promises them rest
after faithfulness through the desert.
So this is the picture
that it's trying to paint here.
So if you're a Christian
and you've been wondering
why you feel like your faith
is dry like the desert sand,
maybe you're dissatisfied with Christianity.
You've walked as a Christian for some time
and now you're just struggling
with not being content.
This is actually a fairly common thing
and I think a lot of Christians
do experience that
and the reality is that
we don't know what to do about it.
We don't know how to talk about it.
We feel like if we're going to talk about it,
people are going to think
we're lesser of a Christian.
There was a time when I was going through that
and I went to go see a Christian counselor,
which was a very good thing for me to do.
And what they did to help me
was that they used this imagery
that the text here is showing
that God saves us from slavery,
that God saves us
and he prepares us for the promised land,
eternal rest in his presence.
And so I was in the desert season
of my walk with the Lord.
I was going through desert season
and I could no longer remember
the salvation that he had given me.
I was thinking through how I've sinned
and my question was,
does God reject me
or is God finished with me?
So the question is,
is there hope if you're a Christian
and you've sinned
and now you feel restless over your sin?
Well, let's look at verse 3.
We'll be able to find something here in verse 3
that might be able to help us.
For we who have believed,
verse 3,
for we who have believed,
enter that rest.
As he has said,
as I swore in my wrath,
they shall not enter my rest.
And what the writer here is doing
is that he's using a negative
to prove a positive.
He's saying,
they shall not enter my rest
as though there is still a rest
to be entered.
And that's what we'll see here.
That's what he's trying to say.
So we who have believed,
enter that rest.
As he has 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 somewhere spoken
of the seventh day
in this way.
And God rested on the seventh day
from all his works.
And again,
in this passage,
he said,
they shall not enter my rest.
Since therefore,
it remains for some to enter,
and those who formerly received
the good news failed to enter
because of disobedience.
Again,
he appoints a certain day,
today,
saying through David
so long afterward
in the words already quoted.
So what this passage is saying
is that there is a theme
in the Bible for rest.
That God,
when he created the world
in six days,
on the seventh day,
he stopped his work
to rest.
And it wasn't just
to stop doing work.
It was to come into creation.
The word rest
also implies
that God's presence
fell onto creation.
It came down into creation
to dwell with human beings,
to see what was going on there,
and to delight
in the presence
of human beings.
And now,
because of the fall,
human beings have sinned
against God.
And we can't experience
that rest anymore.
We're separated from God,
or sin separates us from God.
And now,
God is the God
who is calling a people
to himself
to save them,
to make them
experience that rest again,
to restore things,
so that things can be like
in the paradise
of Genesis 2.
And now,
when Jesus comes into,
as an Israelite,
comes to live perfectly
under the law,
he comes to live
and die on the cross,
and in doing so,
he breaks the power
of the curse
so that we can
experience rest.
So that,
friends,
when you put your faith
in Jesus,
the Holy Spirit
comes into our hearts.
The Holy Spirit comes
and gives us
the assurance
of God's love
and gives us
this experience
of deep rest
in our hearts.
and what is happening here
is that it's eternity
breaking in
to time and space
into our hearts.
There's a rest
that's still to come,
a rest that is
at the end
when we die
or when Jesus returns,
there's a rest there
that is still to come.
But when we believe
in Jesus,
when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus,
there's the rest
that comes
and breaks into
this cursed creation,
this broken body
of ours.
And so we get a glimpse
of what it means
to rest in God
even now.
And so if we can
have our next point,
God's rest
in Messiah
is for me
if I do not
harden my heart
to his voice.
So how do I enter
this rest
that the text
talks about?
How do I enter
this eternal rest
in the presence
of God?
Well, first of all,
let's look at verse 6.
Since therefore
it remains
for some to enter it
and those
who formerly
received the good news
failed to enter
because of disobedience,
again,
he appoints
a certain day
today,
saying through David
so long afterward
in the words
already quoted,
today if you hear
his voice,
do not harden
your hearts.
So what do we do?
Well, this text
is saying
don't harden
your hearts.
And,
gosh, that's hard.
How do I not
harden my heart?
It starts with prayer.
God,
come into my heart.
God,
make your dwelling
into my heart.
Soften my heart
to your word.
And when we're
walking the Christian life,
same prayer.
God,
have mercy on me.
God,
you know that I've sinned.
Pour out your Holy Spirit.
Soften my heart
to your voice.
God wants you
to experience rest.
This text is saying
that rest is still
available to you.
Whether you've never
given your life to Jesus
or whether you've given
your life to Jesus
this morning
or ten years ago
or whether you
don't even know
when you gave your life
to Jesus,
you've always known Jesus.
His rest is available
to you.
So let's look at
verse 8.
For if Joshua
had given them rest,
God would not
have spoken
of another day
later on.
There's something
really interesting
in this passage here.
Joshua brought
the people of Israel
into the promised land
and yet it's saying
that they did not
have rest.
How is that possible?
How is it possible
to go into
the promised land,
the land flowing
with milk
and honey,
the land of
economic prosperity,
of political
stability
and security
from all your enemies
and still not
have rest?
How is that possible?
Well, again,
this text is saying
that it's about
softening our hearts
before God
to his voice
and so we will
experience rest.
The people,
when they entered
the land,
they did not
experience that rest
because they did not
obey the voice
of the Lord.
See,
it's interesting
that in our lives
we tend to pursue
things like,
you know,
maybe some form
of comfort.
We pursue rest.
We pursue
partying
and just enjoying life
and yet
we seem even more
restless.
How is it possible?
And it presents
a human problem
that we can have
prosperity
and we can have
security
in all these
earthly goods
and yet have
no rest.
The problem is
that we try
to satisfy
our deepest
longings
in things
that are temporal
of no eternal
value.
Now,
whether you're
a millennial
and searching
to make a difference
in life
and that's
your life goal
or whether
you're a professional
trying to earn
a living
or whether
you are retired
and hoping
to find rest
from your labors,
now these are
all good pursuits
but if that's
your only pursuit
you will not
find rest.
There is no rest
in these things
because they're
not meant
to satisfy.
I like to share
the story
of when I was
a child
and I used
to play
in the basement
with my brother
and we had
this big,
big metal
treasure chest
just where we
were playing
hide and seek
and I used
to walk by
and think
like wow
my parents
have this
huge inheritance
for me
like they have
gold in there
and diamonds
and I'm going
to inherit that
one day
and one day
I found out
when they opened
the treasure chest
that it was only
linens and covers
and all that
and I was so
disappointed.
Can you blame me?
I was so disappointed.
Why is that?
Because in a treasure chest
we don't put linens
we put treasures.
It's a treasure chest.
And so we go
through life
disappointed.
We walk the
Christian life
disappointed.
Why?
Because we feed
our hearts
with things
that aren't
supposed to go there.
With treasures
that aren't
supposed to fill
our longings.
It's God
who fulfills
our hearts.
It's to be
known by God
and to know him
that fulfills
our deepest longings.
Now I wanted
to make sure
that it's not
only Christians
who feel that way.
So I looked up
this song
by Mick Jagger
who sang
the song
I Can't Get
No Satisfaction
and he repeats it
for minutes and minutes
and apparently
this song resonated
with a lot of people.
A lot of people
don't get satisfaction
no matter how many times
that they try
and they try
and they try.
See he tells
in this song
how entertainment
how riches
how relationships
and even sexual relationships
cannot satisfy him.
they cannot satisfy him.
That's because
our only rest
and satisfaction
is in knowing God
and being known
by him.
So you're probably
thinking
boy that's the
most depressing
New Year's sermon
I've ever heard.
We're not done.
So let's turn
to verse 9.
To verse 9.
So then
there remains
a Sabbath rest
for the people of God
for whoever
has entered
God's rest
has also
rested
from his works
as God did
from his.
So here
it's talking
about a Sabbath rest
and you might have
noticed that
a few other times
that I talked about rest
it didn't talk
about Sabbath rest.
Now it's talking
about Sabbath rest
and even the Greek word
is different.
Here it's
sabbatismos.
Don't ask me
what that means.
Well actually
you can ask me
what that means.
I looked it up.
I did my homework.
It means Sabbath rest.
Okay.
So the implication here
it's actually
it's from a Jewish
word that says
that is
when we say it
it's Shabbat Shabbat.
Sabbath Sabbath.
And when we repeat it
twice it means
ultimate Sabbath.
This is not just
any type of Sabbath.
This is a celebration.
It's an eternal
celebration.
A festive celebration
with God.
See the Jewish people
used to celebrate
the
well they still do actually
to this day.
They celebrate the Sabbath
on the Sabbath day
which starts
Friday at sundown
and goes all the way
through Saturday.
And some of you
have been to a Sabbath dinner.
We've done that
over the years.
And what happens
at the Sabbath dinner
is that we have
the company of our friends.
We have wine.
We have fresh bread.
And we have a meal together.
We sing songs.
We pray.
We do all these great things
and it's so much fun.
And here the text
is saying that there
remains a Sabbath celebration
for the people of God.
That God's intention
is that we would
experience the eternal
delight of his presence
now and forever.
That when we put our
faith and trust in Jesus
we can experience
his Sabbath rest.
That's what awaits us.
See in a world
that is so hopeless
and so restless
Christians can have hope.
Christians can have rest.
Christians can know
for sure
that because Jesus died
and rose again
and promised us rest
that we will have rest.
There's not many people
who die and rise
from the dead.
But when somebody does
you better listen.
So maybe some of you
are looking forward
to tonight.
You're looking forward
to your New Year's celebration.
It's going to be fun.
There's going to be
friends, family,
maybe pop a bottle of champagne
and there's going to be
a warm fire,
nice dinner
and maybe even fireworks.
And this is great.
But tomorrow morning
if you party a lot,
if you party enough
you'll realize
that there's only so much
that these earthly rests
and earthly parties
and celebrations
can do.
There's only so much
that they can satisfy.
You might feel really,
really tired
and it might be hard
to get out of bed tomorrow
depending on how much
you party.
And that's just going
to prove to us
that these things
only point to
these parties,
these celebrations
only point forward
to God's rest.
Only point forward
to this eternal rest
where we will never
be tired of celebrating
in God's presence.
So if we can have
our next point.
God's rest is eternal
in quality and length
for us now
by faith in the
crucified Messiah.
Now what this point
is trying to say
is that
the quality of the rest
is eternal.
We don't understand that.
We're so stuck
in time and space
but it's when
eternity breaks in
and it's available
to us now
by faith
in the crucified Messiah.
So God is inviting you
to this rest.
Now let's read
verse 10 again.
For whoever has
entered God's rest
has also rested
from his works
as God did
from his.
Now there's an
interesting parallel here
that's trying to show
that there's a future
rest for Christians
in the presence of God
in the new creation
where there will be
no more toil
or anxious work
trying to make a living
nor will we need
to strive
anxiously for holiness.
All we'll know
is holiness.
All we'll know
is the delight
of purity
in our hearts.
See,
we spend so much time
working
and doing all
these activities
that are fun
whether you're an artist
you love to make music
or paint
or these things
and these are great things
but the problem
is that we lash
onto it.
We put our identity
in them
and the cross
severs that.
The cross helps us
to find our identity
in God.
As we conclude
let's look at
verse 11
with a final exhortation.
Verse 11 reads
Let us therefore strive
to enter that rest
so that no one
may fall
by the same sort
of disobedience
for the word of God
is alive and active
sharper than any
two-edged sword
piercing to the division
of soul
and of spirit
of joints
and of marrow
and discerning
the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart
and no creature
is hidden
from his sight
but all are naked
and exposed
to the eyes of him
to whom we must
give account.
Now before
anyone goes out
of here
to try to make
things right
so they can have
good rest
before anyone
goes out
to find a new job
or quit their job
or find new friends
and all that
what the text here
is trying to say
this exhortation
is saying
is moving us
to strive
to enter that rest
is saying
go to God's word
and let God's word
go to your heart
go to God's word
and let his word
go to your heart.
See verse 13 says
no creature
is hidden
from his sight
but all are naked
and exposed
to his eyes
to the eyes
of him
to whom
we must give
account.
See if you're not
a Christian
here today
and you read
something like this
it might be
frightening to you
and
you know
reading that
I would be
frightened too
but when you're
a Christian
when you put
your faith
in Jesus
this verse
brings comfort
that you are
completely known
by the God
who created
all things
and created
all things
for rest
that you can be
in his presence
fully seen
fully known
your heart
your mind
your thoughts
everything
known to God
yet loved
and cherished.
See since the fall
this picture
is of the fall
in the garden
where Adam and Eve
walked before God
naked and unashamed
and when they
sinned
they became ashamed
they saw their nakedness
and they wanted
to hide from God
so what they did
is that they put
fig leaves on them
on themselves
to hide them
to hide their bodies
to hide their shame
before God
and humanity
has been doing that
ever since
that we've been trying
to hide our shame
from God
that we're trying
to get rest
from God
because we know
that he sees us
we know that he sees
our hearts
we know that he sees
our thoughts
and it's led us
to do stupid things
really
we try to hide
from God
and we try to
start all sorts
of weird religions
that are causing
more anxiety
spiritualities
that are
that are just
causing more
restlessness
and we see
the culmination
of that
that when we
don't allow God
to expose
to come into our hearts
when we don't expose
ourselves to God
we see the culmination
of that
when Jesus
came
and he was crucified
by the religious leaders
in Israel
and the Roman soldiers
they crucified him
they crucified
the son of God
they tried to get rest
from the son of God
so they killed him
on the cross
what they didn't know
what they did not know
is that Jesus
is the great high priest
who entered heaven
what they did not know
is that Jesus
is the one who came
to fix them
to fix their problem
to clothe them
with righteousness
and that's what he does
at the cross
is that he died
for those people
who killed him
and he died
for you and me today
see when Jesus
as the great high priest
the priest is the one
who immediates
the presence of God
and humanity
and when Jesus
was crucified
he didn't shed
the blood of an animal
he shed his own blood
his sinless blood
so that by his blood
we can be forgiven
completely
and we can experience
that rest of God
that rest
that eternal quality
of rest
see in 2018
the year that's coming ahead
we're going to have
a lot of pressure
as Christians
to turn away
from the faith
to walk away
and to try to find rest
in things that
do not give rest
the things of the world
maybe passions
and riches
and all those things
and it's going to
even use force
it's going to
maybe
people are going to try
to push you away
from your jobs
and going to try
to put pressure on you
to abandon that
but what this is saying
is that you're going to
if you give up Jesus
you're going to give up rest
eternal rest
now and forever
so please stand
just to conclude here
I'm going to read
the next
three verses
that follow the text
that we've looked at
and it's going to help us
to understand the gospel
so at verse 14
since then
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 is unable
to sympathize
with our weakness
but one who
in every respect
has been tempted
as we are
yet without sin
let us then
with confidence
draw near
to the throne of grace
that we may receive mercy
and find grace
to help
in time of need
let us pray
Father thank you
that you have done
everything for us
to come into your rest
that Lord
when we try to find rest
in things that don't satisfy
you come
and you
you've done everything
for us
to be in a right
relationship with you
so that we can
experience that rest
and so that we can
look forward
to being in an eternal
rest with you
Lord would you
lighten our eyes
and our hearts
to that reality
help us to
to be more
affectionate with Jesus
to be faithful to Jesus
to persevere to the end
Lord give us grace
give us mercy
we come to your throne
in the name of Jesus
with that
the plea Lord
in Jesus name
Amen