EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26, 2020.
SUBJECT: ENTER HIS REST!
Memory verse: "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11 vs 10.)
READ: Hebrews 4 vs 3 - 10:
4:3: For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath,‘ They shall not enter My rest,’ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4:4: For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;
4:5: and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest..”
4:6: Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
4:7: again, He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after so long a time; as it is said: “Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
4:8: For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
4:9: There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
4:8: For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
4:9: There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
4:10: For he who has entered His rest has also ceased from his works, as God did from His.
INTIMATION:
For Christians, God’s rest is peace with Him now and eternal life on a new earth later. God desires that we enter into rest with Him. He offers us the opportunity to enter His ultimate place of rest—He invites us to come to Christ. To enter His rest, you must believe that God has this relationship in mind for you; you must stop trying to create it, you must trust in Christ for it, and you must determine to obey Him. However, those who are disobedient by refusing to maintain an obedient faith, will not enter into rest with God. Today is the best time to find peace with God. Tomorrow may be too late.
We do not need to wait for the next life to enjoy God’s rest and peace; we may have it daily now! Our daily rest in the Lord will not end with death but will become an eternal rest in the place that Christ is preparing for us (John 14 vs 1 - 4). Christ has done everything that needs to be done about our sins, and obtained a clean bill of health for us. Our own work is to believe in Him and His finished work for us in redemption. Jesus said that the work of God we are to do is to believe in Him whom God sent (John 6 vs 29). And those who have believed enter into God’s rest.
The yoke of Jesus emphasizes the challenges, works, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus’ yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative of being a toy in Satan’s hands. Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But it is a shared yoke, with weight falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power is in front helping. Suddenly you participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner—and now that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.
So many Christians turn back from their promised rest in Christ because of the difficulties of the present moments which overshadow the reality of God’s promise, just as the people in Moses’ day had turned back from the Promised Land because of the difficulties they faced at the time, and their doubts that God will fulfill His promises. Consequently, they try doing things on their efforts. When we trust on our efforts instead of Christ’s power, we are in danger of turning back. Our own efforts are never adequate; only Christ can see us through.
One finds peace in realizing that his or her sins are forgiven by the grace of God. One finds peace of mind he or she understands that God has loved us and delivered us from our sin through the cross of Christ. In Christ, one is not under the curse of law, that is, having to keep law perfectly in an effort to save oneself (Galatians 3 vs 11 - 14). In Christ one can cast all anxiety upon God who cares for our emotional and spiritual well-being.
Since the creation of man, God has given man the hope of an existence beyond the creation. The hope that the world is not all there is was promised to man from the very beginning. If one does not have faith in the word of promise, then he or she will reap the same consequences as those in Israel who did not believe (Psalm 95 vs 11). The final rest of heaven has been in God’s plan since before the creation of the world.
Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of obedience and absolute faith in You, and finished work of Christ for me on the cross, that I may be a partaker of the inheritance You have given me in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
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