He also hath ceased from his own works

Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

We are promised a rest. How sweet that sounds. Even when we sleep, even when we are physically well rested we often don't feel truly rested do we? Any rest we get here and now isn't a true rest. We wake with the burdens of life surrounding us. We wake with the heaviness of life weighing down upon us so that life seems like a chore at times and not the true miracle it is. The Bible tells us, Heb 4:1 'Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.'


A promise is left to us, a promise of entering into Jesus' rest.


A promise was left to those in Moses' day when He led the freed captives through the wilderness and a whole generation of them did not enter into the promised land, why? Because they lacked faith in God. We are promised a rest in Jesus but we won't realize that rest without faith.


God created the Sabbath for us. God created a day of rest- His rest for us. God did this as a permanent reminder to us that He is our Creator, our Savior. By faith we are going to enter in Jesus' rest, the rest that is promised in Him when as the gospel reveals He comes again to take His redeemed to heaven those that are alive and those that are dead in Him will be raised to life at that time. We can ONLY enter this rest by ceasing from all our own works and the Sabbath strives to teach us this. The Sabbath reveals God's true power over His creations and by observing the Sabbath we bow down to our Creator giving up ourselves and putting Him first fully. By faith we have to surrender ourselves to God. We have to think about what it means to cease from all our own works. We can't save ourselves we have to trust in Jesus to save us. When we believe that our salvation rests with us we deny the power of God to save us. Truly we have to believe and have faith in Jesus to save us, not faith and belief in our own works.


May God open our hearts and minds to understand His true rest and our need to cease from all our works and surrender by faith to Him and His power to save us. By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ now and forever.


Amen.