Entering into God's rest. How utterly amazing.
We must enter into God's rest, it is something so incredible, a gift that has been given to us and a gift that has been DENIED to some, denied because they hardened their hearts, they tempted God, they erred.
Heb 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
If we long to follow God we cannot HARDEN our HEARTS.
Psa 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Psa 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psa 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
Psa 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Psa 95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psa 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
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.
For forty years people God rescued from slavery by miracles, many, many miracles- tested God. God revealed His love to them and all they could do was test Him, over and over again. They hardened their own hearts against God.
Once again we have to ask ourselves why. Yet, today don't we do the same thing?
God rescues us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and then we turn around and continue to try God over and over. God has given us all He can give us, the rest is up to us, not to God. We want some spiritual protection shield placed around us so we don't have to ever be tempted to sin again. We don't want to be faced with the choice to sin or not sin. We want some special stamp to stamp us and mark us as impervious to being tempted. We want something not even the Son of God had!
Our Savior was tempted!
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Mar_1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
We flail at our situation and toss blame around saying if only we weren't tempted, but even our Savior was tempted and you can be sure He was not only tempted like we are, but probably a lot more than we ever are. When He walked the earth, God in human form subject to temptation Satan had to pull out all his best temptations ruthlessly attacking Christ with them. This was Satan's chance to prove he was just and God unjust. He failed! Praise God, He failed!
So while we continue to tempt God, not following Him, choosing to rebel, we cannot hope to enter into His rest.
And last week during a study this thought was brought to my attention- days one through six of creation all end with this… 'And the evening and the morning were the…' first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth day. But the seventh day doesn't end that way, we are never told the evening and the morning were the seventh day. Why? It begs a question, doesn't it? Why?
The Seventh Day was a day holy and sanctified, blessed by God, a day set aside. Yet could it also be that mankind and all creation were never supposed to leave God's rest? They were to live in God's rest. It's just a thought, but one that is very provoking. The day made holy, the day sanctified, the day blessed not as a day of creating, but day of resting. A day of completion.
When the slaves were freed from Egypt by the many miracles, they were drawn away to live a new life, a life under God's rule. God gave them His laws of love and in that law was a law that told them to keep the Sabbath holy. To keep the day of rest that God created, holy. A stark contrast to working under the Egyptian rule which never demanded rest for them. A holy day, a day of rest, a day dedicated to the worship of God, one day out of seven of them, the seventh in the week. Rest. Commanded to rest. How many of us wish we could be commanded to rest? Seriously? We live in a society where playing is as important to us as our working and to be ordered to rest, well, sure, cool, wonderful, no problem. Yet, this isn't a selfish rest we are called to but a rest of remembrance.
A rest of remembrance.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
All in HIS LOVE!
We must enter into God's rest, it is something so incredible, a gift that has been given to us and a gift that has been DENIED to some, denied because they hardened their hearts, they tempted God, they erred.
Heb 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
If we long to follow God we cannot HARDEN our HEARTS.
Psa 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Psa 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psa 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
Psa 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Psa 95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psa 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
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.
For forty years people God rescued from slavery by miracles, many, many miracles- tested God. God revealed His love to them and all they could do was test Him, over and over again. They hardened their own hearts against God.
Once again we have to ask ourselves why. Yet, today don't we do the same thing?
God rescues us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and then we turn around and continue to try God over and over. God has given us all He can give us, the rest is up to us, not to God. We want some spiritual protection shield placed around us so we don't have to ever be tempted to sin again. We don't want to be faced with the choice to sin or not sin. We want some special stamp to stamp us and mark us as impervious to being tempted. We want something not even the Son of God had!
Our Savior was tempted!
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Mar_1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
We flail at our situation and toss blame around saying if only we weren't tempted, but even our Savior was tempted and you can be sure He was not only tempted like we are, but probably a lot more than we ever are. When He walked the earth, God in human form subject to temptation Satan had to pull out all his best temptations ruthlessly attacking Christ with them. This was Satan's chance to prove he was just and God unjust. He failed! Praise God, He failed!
So while we continue to tempt God, not following Him, choosing to rebel, we cannot hope to enter into His rest.
And last week during a study this thought was brought to my attention- days one through six of creation all end with this… 'And the evening and the morning were the…' first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth day. But the seventh day doesn't end that way, we are never told the evening and the morning were the seventh day. Why? It begs a question, doesn't it? Why?
The Seventh Day was a day holy and sanctified, blessed by God, a day set aside. Yet could it also be that mankind and all creation were never supposed to leave God's rest? They were to live in God's rest. It's just a thought, but one that is very provoking. The day made holy, the day sanctified, the day blessed not as a day of creating, but day of resting. A day of completion.
When the slaves were freed from Egypt by the many miracles, they were drawn away to live a new life, a life under God's rule. God gave them His laws of love and in that law was a law that told them to keep the Sabbath holy. To keep the day of rest that God created, holy. A stark contrast to working under the Egyptian rule which never demanded rest for them. A holy day, a day of rest, a day dedicated to the worship of God, one day out of seven of them, the seventh in the week. Rest. Commanded to rest. How many of us wish we could be commanded to rest? Seriously? We live in a society where playing is as important to us as our working and to be ordered to rest, well, sure, cool, wonderful, no problem. Yet, this isn't a selfish rest we are called to but a rest of remembrance.
A rest of remembrance.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
All in HIS LOVE!
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