Sermon Cloud

Striving to Enter God’s Rest

Hebrews 4:3-10

Grace Fellowship Church

September 2, 2007

Series 3 Sermon 12

 

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,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵ And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” ⁶ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ 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.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. ⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Introduction

The warnings have been clear.  They have been sounded.  The writer of Hebrews has communicated the fact that the way of faith in Christ Jesus is a difficult journey.  The narrow way is a difficult way.

Listen to the words of our Lord in Matthew 7:13-23.

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ "For the gate is small and the way is narrow (or difficult) that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵ "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹ "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
²¹ "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles ?' ²³ "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

 

Christ is clear in this passage.  The narrow way will be distracted from by false prophets and there will be those who are on the broad way who believe they are on the narrow way. 

 

John Bunyan’s work, Pilgrim’s Progress, is a work that will define the Christian life in your mind.  It is filled with Scripture references and points us to the narrow, difficult way.  I want to read a portion of the book to you this morning as Christian, the main character in the story makes his way to the Wicket or the Narrow Gate.  If you have not read this classic work of Christian literature I pray this will whet your literary appetite. 

 

Let me set this up for you.  Christian has a dream.  In that dream he sees the city in which he lives is about to be destroyed because of wickedness.  He wakes up, realizing his own wickedness and knows he is under the condemnation of God.  He comes upon a man named Evangelist and I will start reading here.

“I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, and he asked, “Wherefore dost thou cry?” He answered, “Sir, I perceive, by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment,; and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.” Then said Evangelist, “Why not willing to die, since this life is attended with so many evils?” The man answered, “Because, I fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the grave, and I shall fall into Tophet.. And Sir, if I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to judgment, and from thence to execution; and the thoughts of these things make me cry.” Then said Evangelist, “If this be thy condition, why standest thou still?” He answered, “Because I know not whither to go.” Then he gave him a parchment roll, and there was written within, “Fly from the wrath to come.” The man therefore read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully, said, “Whither must I fly?” Then said Evangelist, (pointing with his finger over a very wide field,) “Do you see yonder wicket-gate?” The man said, “No.” Then said the other, “Do you see yonder shining light?” He said, “I think I do.” Then said Evangelist, “Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.” So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! life! eternal life!. So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain.

The neighbors also came out to see him run, and as he ran, some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to return; and among those that did so, there were two that were resolved to fetch him back by force. The name of the one was Obstinate and the name of the other Pliable. Now by this time the man was got a good distance from them; but, however, they were resolved to pursue him, which they did, and in a little time they overtook him. Then said the man, “Neighbors, wherefore are you come?” They said, “To persuade you to go back with us.” But he said, “That can by no means be: you dwell,” said he, “in the city of Destruction, the place also where I was born: I see it to be so; and dying there, sooner or later, you will sink lower than the grave, into a place that burns with fire and brimstone: be content, good neighbors, and go along with me.”

I will stop reading there and fill you in on a few more details.  On the way to the gate Pilgrim walks with Pliable and falls into the Slough of Despond.  He meets Mr. Worldly Wise and Worldy Wise tells him how he can have the burden removed from his back without the Book that Evangelist gave him and without all the danger of going through the Wicket Gate.  He follows and it is Evangelist who steers him back to the correct path.  He goes through the Wicket Gate and receives much instruction and warnings.  He sets out on his journey to the Celestial City and that is where the real danger begins.  It is challenge after challenge.  It is struggle after struggle.  It is trial and persecution and all along the way he is tempted top stray from the path. 

 

This has been the message of the Epistle to the Hebrews.  I keep reminding myself and you of this fact because it is so easy as we move through a book of the Bible to lose the context of what we are studying.  The writer has been reminding the readers that the Christian life is not meant to be easy.  There is no ease in Zion.  When you become a follower of Christ by that very thing you make yourself an enemy of the unbelieving world.  So the way into God’s rest is difficult.  The narrow way is the difficult way. 

 

PNP

In our text this morning there are four questions that are inferred and answered by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews about God’s rest.  Today we will cover three of them and next Sunday we will look at the fourth.  Here are the questions. 

 

1.  Who gets to enter this rest?

2.  Was the rest of God thwarted by the unbelief and disobedience of the Israelites?

3.  Was the rest of God fulfilled when Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land?

And then for next week:

4.  Who is an example for us to look at to see how we enter God’s rest?

 

Purpose

My purpose in preaching this text is to show you that a rest indeed remains for the people of God and to show you an example of godly, faithful, obedient living that we should emulate on our journey to God’s rest.  

 

I am often amazed at the amount of Old Testament knowledge that is assumed by the writers of the New Testament epistles to their readers.  Often these folks were Gentiles who were not familiar at all with the Old Testament until after their conversion.  Sometimes they were God-fearers who were and other times they were Jews who were very familiar with the Scriptures. 

 

In our text this morning the writer assumes a great deal of biblical knowledge.  Specifically about the life of Joshua.  We will deal with this within the fourth point.

 

RPNP

So look with me at three of the four questions that are inferred and answered by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews about God’s rest.  

 

The first question is:

1.  Who gets to enter this rest?

Look at the first part of verse 3 for the answer. 

³ For we who have believed enter that rest,

We looked at this last week in depth but for the sake of our memory and for those who were not here we will review. 

 

Chapter three is filled with warnings to not miss God’s rest.  Then we get to chapter four and we have verses 1 and 2 which are the immediate context of verse three.  Look at verses 1 and 2.

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. ² For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

 

So who gets to enter God’s rest?  The answer is directly from verse three and that is all the believing ones.  These are the ones who have spiritually checked themselves to make sure they are in the faith.  They have looked to see if they have a heart that has been changed by God and not an evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  These are the ones who have heard the Gospel message and have received that message with faith.  The believing ones are those who are entering God’s rest. 

 

Lets now ask the second question. 

2.  Was the rest of God thwarted by the unbelief and disobedience of the Israelites?

This was an important question for the Israelite.  After all the readers of this letter were probably not in Palestine, the Promised Land anymore.  More than likely, they were part of the Dispersion when many Jews were forced to leave Israel and migrate westward to other parts of the Roman Empire.  If you think about the history of the Jews there had only been brief periods of peace during the history of Israel. The reigns of King Saul and King David were marked by wars and corruption.  Before them the book of Judges chronicles the constant struggle of the Jews in Palestine with the other nations.  There was constant struggle and battle and many times the people were being carried off into captivity, killed in battle, dying of diseases, and living in outright disobedience. 

 

God’s covenant with Israel was clear.  Keep His commandments and the Lord would give you blessings abundantly in the land.  But national faithfulness was not a characteristic of Israel.  So the second question is legitimate.  Was the rest of God thwarted by the unbelief and disobedience of the Israelites? 

 

The writer answers that question by answering a very important theological question for us as well.  The obvious answer is no, God’s plan was not thwarted.  But the underlying important theological question has to do with the sovereignty of God even in the cases of man’s disobedience. 

 

Was God surprised at the sin of Adam and Eve?  Was God surprised that He had to flood the earth and save one family?  Was God surprised that the children of Israel would grumble and proclaim the whole journey from Egypt to the Promised Land and then refuse to enter?  Is God surprised when people today reject Christ and choose to go to Hell instead?  Look at the rest of verse 3 and verses 4 and 5.  

“As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵ And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”  

Did you notice verse 3, especially the end?  Look at it again. 

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

 

This idea of foundation of the world is an important one in the Bible.  It highlights the providence and the sovereignty of God in redemptive history.  Here is where the theology hits the pavement. 

 

We have been reading through our confession of faith.  As God’s providence would have it we encounter this question as we are reading through chapter three of the confession that has to do with Gods decrees.  Listen as I read the second sentence in the confession.

 

Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

 

In other words God did not just look out across history, which He has the power to do, and say, “Well if the Israelites do this then I will do that but if they do this then I will do this.”  God did not make a plan to react to man’s action.  That would make man sovereign and God at our mercy.  God is the sovereign One and all that He has decreed will come to pass.  He knows the end from the beginning.  Some how and in some way God sovereignly controls every human decision.  Sometimes who moves on the heart of people to faith and obedience and other times He chooses not to act on them thus leaving them to their own depravity.  All of this is in the will of God and He does what He pleases as God and in His actions He is both righteous and just.  But let’s get back to our phrase at hand.

 

This phrase “from the foundation of the world” is used several times in the New Testament.  Listen to Matthew 25:34.

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 

Listen to John 17:24 part of Christ’s High Priestly prayer.

"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

 

Listen to Ephesians 1:3 and 4.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him .

 

This verse in our context is very important because those who are the believing ones in verse 3 of Hebrews chapter 4 are those who have been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. 

 

Revelation 13:8 says this same thing.  Listen to the verse.

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

 

The verse is very clear. Those that are saved have been written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world.  These are the believing ones who enter into God’s rest.  So if you are a believer this morning then biblically speaking God has foreordained your salvation in Christ and in the proper time and place the Holy Spirit of God used the Gospel message to convict you of sin and brought you to faith and repentance resulting in salvation in Christ. 

 

This is why we can be secure in our salvation.  Because if we are truly saved then it is not because we were sincere and meant it with our whole heart.  It is because a Sovereign and holy God wrote your name in the Lamb’s book of life and said, “That one is mine.  I will redeem him or her and they will walk in my ways.” 

 

There is an opposite of this.  There are those whose names have been written and there are those whose names have not been written.  Listen to Revelation 17:8.

"The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

 

In Moses day and many days after there was a whole group of people that were exposed to the Word of God and were privileged to see miracle after miracle and yet still did not believe and the reason they did not believe is because they were dead in their sins and trespasses and loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.  And God had eternally decreed their destruction.

 

This is why the charismatic preacher is wrong when he stands up and declares that the reason people are not getting saved is because miracles are not taking place in the church and if we would just believe God for miracles then more people would get saved.  There could have been a video recorder, a live feed satellite at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, or even a group of people that gathered and watched it live and there would still be people who did not believe.  And it all goes back to the phrase, from the foundation of the world. 

 

So the question now has a very obvious answer.  Was the rest of God thwarted by the disobedience and unbelief of the people of Israel?  And the answer to that is absolutely not, it was part of redemptive history.   That is what the passage is telling us.  Look at the passage again starting in verse 3.

 

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵ And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”  

God’s works were finished , He rested, and He declared that the Israelites would not enter His rest.  Before the Fall, before the foundations of the world were laid, our Lord had a plan for the redemption of mankind and particularly His people.  The plan was declared in eternity past and has not changed.  Nothing that happens in this world is a surprise to God.  It is all part of His greater plan of redemption to the praise of the glory of His grace. 

 

Within this question is another question and that is whether or not there remains a rest for the people of God and this has to be answered within the context of verses 3 and 4.  If there is a rest then the only ones that will enter that rest are the believing ones.  So is there a rest?  Look at verses 6 and 7.

⁶ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ 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.”

 

Here is the Gospel call.  There are four preconditions in these two verses to the call to enter God’s rest. 

The first one is that there indeed remains a rest for some to enter.  Look at verse 6 again. 

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it,

The second precondition is to understand that entering God’s rest requires belief and as a result of that belief obedience.  Look at the rest of verse 6.

and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

 

The third precondition to the call to enter God’s rest is that “Today” is your only opportunity.  Look at verse 7.

⁷ again he appoints a certain day, “Today,”

The reason is because today is the only day that you have.  Tomorrow is not promised. 

 

The fourth precondition for entering God’s rest is hearing the voice of God.  Look at the rest of verse 7.

saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

 

So to answer the first question, the ones who will enter God’s rest are the believing ones.  The second question tells us that God’s plan of rest for His people has not been thwarted by Israel’s disobedience but rather His sovereign plan for redemption is set before us Today.

 

The third question can be answered very briefly.  The third question is:

3.  Was the rest of God fulfilled when Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land?

We know from reading our Bibles that Moses did not get to enter the Promised Land and Joshua led the second generation into the Land.  So the obvious question for the Jewish believer in the first century was whether or not that was the extent of God’s rest and if indeed Joshua was the one to give Israel rest. 

 

So the writer of Hebrews answers that question in verse 8.  Look at the verse with me.  Did Joshua give the people rest? 

.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

The passage the writer of Hebrews has been using is Psalm 95.  This is what he is referring to in verse 8 when he says that if Joshua would have given the people rest then there would have been no need for Psalm 95.  And then we have verse 9.  Look at the passage.

⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,

The writer now strongly affirms the reality of this rest by linking it back to the creation story.  He switches Greek words on us.  He uses the word from Genesis 2:2 which is the word Sabbath.  For the believing ones there remains a Sabbath rest.   

 

The question now must be asked, when do we enter that rest?  Let me tell you there is a lot of tension between commentators on this point.  Some will say that we are in the rest now in the confines of the church.  Others will say we are going into the rest at death as we enter glory. 

 

So when is the rest of God?  Listen to Revelation 14:13.

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

 

Listen to Psalm 116:15.

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

 

So what do I think about when this rest takes place?  I think it is both.  I think the rest of God is one of the “already but not yet” realities of Scripture.  The rest is secured for us and in communion with God through Christ and in the fellowship and worship of the church we do indeed find rest for our souls.  But we will experience perfect rest, the Sabbath of God, when we are ushered into His presence eternally. 

 

It is the Lord Jesus who promised us this rest.  Listen to Matthew 11:28-29.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

Think about this, are we really in a rest at salvation or is that when the real work begins?

 

Ephesians 2:10 says that once we have been given the gifts of repentance and faith by God’s grace then we have good works that we have been given to walk in.  So is the Christian life a life of rest or a life of service?  And the answer is it is a life of service to the King.  In this world we will have tribulations.  But the next world will be a world of peace where death is abolished and life is eternal and sin does not exist.

 

How many of you have reached sinless perfection?  Then you have no rest yet from the war of the flesh.  We will be raised incorruptible.  But now our bodies are wearing out and deteriorating to the point one day that our lives will end.  We still suffer the ravages of the curse. 

 

The other day when I was working in the yard the curse was in full force.  There were a tremendous amount of weeds and sticker bushes and thistles that stuck in my pants leg and arms and hand.  I reached for a limb to cut it off and a yellow jacket stung me on the finger.  And talk about the sweat of my brow.  I was sweating like a politician on election day. 

 

But it’s not all bad.  When we come together as a congregation of those called out from the world to the Lord it is a picture of the rest of God on earth.  Within the confines of the church there are redeemed people where we can worship corporately and fellowship together in the Lord and the Lord is with us as we do. 

 

But there will come a day where the Lord will be with us in our worship and we will see Him face to face and worship in His very presence in a way that none of us have yet experienced. 

 

We sing The Doxology every week and for that I am thankful.  Part of the song says, “Praise Him all creatures here below.”  That is us right now.  But one day we will be able to do with the other part of the song says.  “Praise Him above ye heavenly host.” 

 

The rest that we experience now is great.  Life is hard and difficult but the rest that we will experience in the Divine presence is unexplainable.  If you read the Book of Revelation what you should notice is that John struggles with his vocabulary to try and explain what he sees.  The reason for this is because mere human language can never describe and declare the full glory of God’s presence. 

 

So we have a rest yet to come that happens after our death when we are brought into the presence of the Lord.  Otherwise, if this life is the best there is then why a yearning for Heaven?  Why do we pray each week, “Thy Kingdome come?”  Why did Paul say in Philippians 1:23, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better…”  

Let me ask you this morning, are you going to enter that rest?  Have you continuously checked your own heart to make sure it has been changed? Are you holding on to Christ in faith as your only hope for salvation? 

 

Can you look past the difficulties of this life with its trials and troubles and heartaches and look to the rest that is to come?  Can you see in faith as the writer of Hebrews proclaims to us and the rest of the Bible confirms that the rest to come is the most wonderful rest that anyone can imagine? 

 

This is why we are commanded to not love the world or the things in the world.  This is why we are commanded to avoid the deceitfulness of riches.  This is why we are told to not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt but rather store up treasures in heaven.  This is why we are told to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  This is why we are told that this world is passing away and all the things in it.  This is why we look forward to a New Heaven and a new earth that will be uncorrupted by the sin of mankind.  That is why when we stand over the grave of a loved one we hear this passage read.  It is 1 Corinthians 15:50- 58.

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable , and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. ⁵⁵ "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

 

The final admonition for this rest comes from Jeremiah 6:16.  This is the passage that the Lord Jesus quoted in Matthew 11.  It will be familiar to you. 

Thus says the LORD,
"Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.

 

Let’s pray.