Summer 2011 Bible Study: Week 3 Day 6

So, here we are, back in the Word and ready to see what it has to say about rest. There is nothing I love more than sleeping in on a Saturday morning. Although, to sleep in and wake up to warm, chocolate glazed donuts from a certain grocery store tops it off. I adore sleep. I love afternoon naps. When I was in college, I never took an early class unless I had to and then I was always late. But never the less, I love to sleep! And Praise Sweet Jesus, He has blessed me with a son who loves to sleep as well! I tell ya, Jesus has been good to this mama, because my son never had any issues sleeping. I can move him from bed to bed and not wake him up, he loves to rest in his playroom/closet. We are teaching him to be comfortable with alone time, to have quiet time, which is different than nap time. Because, one thing I have learned from this study on rest and the Sabbath is that having a day of rest does not mean sleeping the day away. Although, it could very well mean, sleeping in, taking an afternoon nap and early to bed. But, it is more than sleep… so let’s dive in…

Lord, teach me. I want to know You more and I want to know Your word. Amen.

Turn with me Hebrews 4 and take a moment and read the entire chapter, which is 16 verses.

This is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest.

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to “enter in” to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, “They shall not enter into My rest” (Hebrews 3:11).

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it” Hebrews 4:1

The promise that still stands is the promise of salvation through God’s provision—Jesus Christ. He alone can provide the eternal rest of salvation through His blood shed on the cross for the remission of sins. God’s rest, then, is in the spiritual realm, the rest of salvation. Faith, he goes on to assert, is the key to entering God’s rest. The Hebrews had had the gospel preached to them, just as the Israelites knew the truth about God, but the messages were of “no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Hebrews 4:2). Some of those Paul was addressing had heard the good news of Christ, but they rejected it for lack of faith.

In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them—and us—not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:9-11).

Carefully read over Hebrews 4:9-13…

These verses explain the nature of this faith. The kind of faith that enables us to enter into God’s rest is a faith that first demands that we rest from relying on our own works. Then the writer seemingly contradicts himself by telling us to make every effort: “For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:10-11). What this apparent paradox means is that such biblical faith involves our submissiveness to God, and our efforts in that area.

I believe the Sweet Jesus’ Father wants us to enter into His rest. He wants us to experience His peace.

Though we desist in our self-efforts to earn salvation and the promised eternal rest, we also “make every effort to enter that rest” by choosing to depend solely on God, to trust Him implicitly, to yield totally to the promises of God through the free grace of His salvation. Why? So “that no one will fall by following their [the Israelites] example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). We either trust ourselves to save ourselves, or we trust God to do that for us through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. By failing to trust God fully in His promises, we become disobedient and fail to enter the rest that is eternal life, just as the children of Israel did when they failed to enter the Promised Land.

So how do we stop trusting ourselves? How do we place our full trust in God and His promises? We enter into God’s rest by first understanding our total inability to enter God’s rest on our own. Next, we enter God’s rest by our total faith in the sacrifice of Christ and complete obedience to God and His will. “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief” (Hebrews 3:18-19). Unlike the Israelites whose unbelief prevented them from entering the Promised Land, we are to enter God’s rest by faith in Him, faith which is a gift from Him by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).

There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labor of our own works. Praise Him for His plans for our lives include rest, the Real Rest, from Sweet Jesus.

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think about today’s topic… I’d love to hear your opinion.

Lord, I have loved learning from you. I have enjoyed our time together. Thank You for being the giver of peace and the Father of the Prince of Peace. Thank You for providing rest to my body. Bless me with rest and help me overcome the guilt of the enemy that says I don’t have time to enjoy Your gift. Remind me to rest. Teach me to rest. Bless me when I do rest. Amen