7Q97BKjqxPs

0:52So I want to continue thinking through this concept of Sabbath rest, intentionally going slow through chapter 4, because I feel like one of the things that we really need to get in our minds and hearts is rest. The kind of rest that God wants us to enjoy, even as we wait for the ultimate rest when we're in his presence. But there is rest along the way to rest. And so that's what I want to look at, this Sabbath rest and entering into this Sabbath rest, and speak to you specifically about the... The one who enters it. Just by way of review, Sabbath rest is a kind of rest.

1:40And it's anchored in our understanding of the Sabbath of the Old Testament. God didn't make the Sabbath or mandate the Sabbath keeping until the Exodus generation. And the purpose that he did that was to sanctify Israel. He's going to set Israel apart from all the other nations. And one of the ways he's going to do that is set aside a day and certain times of the year that are rest. That's going to distinguish them. Exodus 31, 13 says, You shall surely observe my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. So God intended to set Israel apart from all the other nations by the way they rested in him. Same is true for the people of God today.

2:46You are marked by how you rest, who you rest in. You see, the life. Among that Exodus generation was organized around rest times. And so these rest times, these Sabbaths, would be the occasions that God would teach them to rest in Him and even enjoy the wilderness journey as they made their way to the land of rest. See, we need to rest in the Lord. Man needs to rest. That generation of Israel needed to learn rest. The Sabbath was to be a time of complete rest. It was to be a time of renewal. It was to be a time of humbling. It was to be a time of remembering what God had done in the past and what God had promised for the future. And that would give them something to celebrate in their presence.

3:58Oftentimes we forget what God has done in the past and we fail to look at what he's promised and then we get very anxious in our present. But the Sabbath was the time to reflect, renew, and remember and celebrate. And rest, anchored upon that seventh day of creation, was to involve reflection and appreciation for God's works. We just read in Psalm 92:4, You have made me glad by what you have done. And as we look and take in what God has done in our lives, in the world around us, what He has promised to do, it will make a heart glad.

4:52The problem is, we spend so much time looking at ourselves. We don't really take that holy day or those holy moments that He gives us to cease and to reflect, humble ourselves, and to remember Him. And even in that wilderness journey, there were times of rest and places of rest as they made their way to the land of rest. And the same is true with us today. We are on a journey. This world is not my home. What? We are passing through.

5:31And so we are like a collection of people going through this world. And we are to make times of rest wherever we are. It's nice just to take a holy day. One of the reasons why here at Emmanuel we like to say, let's put all the administrative stuff off for something other than the Lord's Day. Because no matter where we are in the life of this church, something's always incomplete. There's something that still needs to be done, there's relationships. That needs to be mended. There's all kinds of things that need to be done. But wherever we are, let's just stop, take the Lord's Day, let's humble ourselves, remember, reflect, and celebrate. And we'll get to our worldly affairs tomorrow. That's what a holy day is about: a holiday.

6:26But Israel's problem is that an idolatrous heart does not rest in God. Because an idolatrous heart is anxious and going after something else. That was Israel's problem. Ezekiel says it very clearly in Ezekiel 20:16. He says, As for my Sabbaths, they did not walk in them. They even profaned my Sabbaths. In other words, they made them common just like every other day, just like all the other nations. For their heart continually went after idols. So the bottom line why Israel didn't make it there is because they never learned how to rest.

7:15And that generation, that Exodus generation, because they were idolatrous at heart, never really entered into God's Sabbath rest, even though they could check the box that they had observed the Sabbath. You see, an idolatrous heart is too busy pursuing something other than God to take time to rest in him. Problem is not just Israel, is it? How is your soul today? Is it anxious about many things? I'll tell you what, if you are pursuing the things of this world, or if you are preoccupied with many other things other than God, I can assure you, your heart is too busy to really enter into God's rest. You may sit in church, you may hear the gospel, but your heart may be far from rest. Like Israel of old, you observe the Sabbath, or you may observe the Lord's day, but you do not enter into that Sabbath rest.

8:23Let me talk to you about some of you who grow up in church, and maybe some of you young people here. You're sitting here in church because you're forced to be here. And you really don't want to be here. You're forced to take a break, and you don't like it. Oh, you go through the motions. You may comply outwardly, but inwardly, your heart is far from God. That's the way Israel felt. Why does he make us take these Sabbaths?

8:55That's exactly why they didn't enter. It was good that God. Was giving them a rest, that God had instituted the Sabbath so that they would turn their minds to God Almighty and what God had done in the past and what God had promised in the future and the relationship that God wants with them today. But they say, Why does He make us take these Sabbaths? Many of you may have grown up in church and you may be bitter for having to be in church. You're just like Israel, and you need to repent. And you need to thank God that He has put you in a place where the gospel will be presented to you over and over. They cannot make you believe, but they can sure set the truth before you. So be thankful. Change your heart in that regard. Incline it towards heaven.

9:58Because what happens is those who feel like they've been forced to go to church all their lives and they actually come to despise the church and they leave the church afterwards. They're like, I'm never going back there. And they're just like Israel in the wilderness. They not only come to despise the Sabbath, but they despise the God of the Sabbath. And the God who wanted to give them rest, but they were unwilling. But all this comes out of an idolatrous heart.

10:30Who doesn't see God as worthy of pursuit? Well, that's where we've been. As we look ahead this morning's message, I want to remind you of the truth in Isaiah 30, verse 15. In quietness and trust is your strength. The Bible is clear that a person's strength is not in themselves nor of themselves. The strength of a person is in whom they rest. In quietness and trust is your strength. In repentance and rest, you will be saved. In quietness and trust is your strength. So I want to continue this morning looking at this Sabbath rest and the one who enters it, so that God will be the source of your strength. And such resting times will be renewal times.

11:41Oh, jumping right in, the one who enters Sabbath rest, first of all, learns how to spiritually rest in this life. The one who enters Sabbath rest learns how to spiritually rest in this life. It is a spiritual rest. And it is for this life. There's more beyond this life, but it don't want to lose focus that this is something that applies to us today. And we can enjoy today even while we wait for a greater expression of this rest in the future. Look at verse 10. Notice the first few words. For the one who has entered his rest, notice the verb. The one who has entered, the one who is in a state of having already entered. It's not a future verb. It doesn't say, for the one who one day will enter. That's not what it says. The verb speaks of somebody who has already entered. The reason I'm making a big deal out of this right now is because there are several, maybe not overwhelmingly, but certainly there's a number of commentators that dispute this and say that, no, the Sabbath rest that's here is either something totally in the past or it's something totally in the future.

13:15To come, heaven. But there's several reasons why I believe that the Sabbath rest is clearly referring to a rest that is to be enjoyed now. Not Just something in the future. Yes, in the future. Greater dimension. But it's a spiritual rest now. And it's a spiritual rest later. There will just be a greater capacity and more completeness. But it's a spiritual rest now. And let me explain a few reasons why this is so. Number one: the name Sabbath rest is not Canaan rest.

14:02See, the Sabbath was a time. Canaan was a place. And so Sabbath is emphasizing time of rest, not merely a place. So how they rested along the way determined if they would be fit for a greater experience of God's rest later. But since they didn't, were not faithful in the little, to rest in the things already, they were completely unfit and unprepared for a greater rest. Sabbath rest, not Canaan rest. Second, notice for the one who has entered his rest, his capital H I S. And that's a reference to God's rest.

14:53It's God's rest, not their rest. The Sabbath rest is. God's rest, His rest. It's something that God rests in, not merely something that man rests in. It's a participation with God in what He rests in. Third reason why this refers to a spiritual rest to be enjoyed now is that there is an association between rest or faith and rest. Look at 3:12. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

15:37For we have become partakers of Christ, verse 14, if we hold fast the beginning. And then, therefore, let us fear, verse 4:1, if while a promise remains of entering his rest. Faith leads to assurance, which leads to rest. That's the progression. Rest even in the face of great trials. Think about the context again where this book is being written and to whom it's being written. There's a lot of people thinking about let's leave the gospel. Let's abandon the gospel and go back to Judaism or scatter or something else.

16:27So. Another reason, the meaning of the word today, 3.15, while it is say today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Today means today. Be believing and be believing so that you will have that confidence, so that you will enter into that rest. But really, I don't need to lay out all those reasons because the verbs of verse 10 make it clear that this is a past event. Look at again, verse 10. For the one who has entered his rest has also rested from his works. Again, it's that the verb tenses are saying the one who has entered is already enjoying the benefits of resting. He has ceased from his works, not he will cease.

17:31So these verbs are very clear in their natural, plain meaning. This isn't just a future event, it's a spiritual necessity now. A rest while we're waiting for that ultimate rest. But the one who enters Sabbath rest learns how to spiritually rest in this lifetime. It is for this life. Second, they learn how to spiritually rest in this life by ceasing to trust in self-merit and idolatrous pursuits. Look, you've got to be able to cease trusting in every other thing. If you're going to enter into God's rest, you're going to have to cease trusting in all other avenues that you think or promise rest and come to grips with who the creator of your soul is and who knows how to give you rest.

18:41Look back at verse 10: for the one who has entered his rest has himself also rested, has himself, this refers to the person, one who has entered into God's rest, has himself also rested. He has ceased from his works, from his labors, from his strivings, from his efforts or activities. That's what works means, an activity is striving to accomplish something. But he's rested from that. He's ceased. So, in what sense has this person ceased working? Scripture makes it clear that the Christian life is not about inactivity. We were certainly. Created to do good works. In fact, Ephesians 2:10 says, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared for us to walk in. He prepared them beforehand that we should walk in them. So, even as he creates the universe, and on that seventh day, there are good works that have been prepared beforehand for mankind to walk in.

20:03So, what sense? Well, we need to cease from self-merit before God. We are to cease to trust in our own ability to wow God or to know more than God or to live apart from God. We've got to cease trusting in our self-merit. We also have to cease trusting in all the idolatrous pursuits of man. That's the reason why the Exodus generation did not enter into the land. They never ceased to trust in their own, and that's why they would always freak out. Oh, no, what are they going to do? No water. What are we going to do? No food. What are we going to do? They're big giants there. What are we going to do? They never got out of trusting in themselves.

21:01Or their own ability. But they also never got rid of those idolatrous things that pulled on their heart and put them in the ways they wanted to go. You see, we need to cease making idols. We need to cease pursuing the idols of man and the idols of our imaginations. We need to let God reveal Himself to us and we need to pursue Him. But God's been saying from the very beginning: man, you need to quit pursuing, create, stop making these idols and then pursuing them. Think again of the Exodus generation. What were they to do? They were to take time to rest in God as they journey to Canaan, where they would experience more of God's work and enjoy more fully what God was wanting to share with them.

22:08You see, that was to be a time of preparation, that wilderness wandering. And the more they experienced God along the way, the more they would be able to abandon confidence in themselves and forsake their idols and delight in God. That was to happen. And then when they came. To the land, it was just going to be a small step across the Jordan. Not even across the Jordan, right? Just go right up into it. Such spiritual growth would have prepared them for what God had in store next. But see, they weren't thankful in the little things that God had done. And let me say this: the big things God had done, yeah, drowning Pharaoh's army in the sea, that's a big thing, getting them out. They were quick to forget, and they weren't thankful for those things. And they weren't faithful in these little things, so they were not able to handle being faithful in other things.

23:15Think again, the number is staggering. How many of that Exodus generation didn't enter the land? Two out of 600,000 went in. Do you think there's a problem that even, do you think they thought they had it, God figured out? They thought they did. But only two entered. How few really enter into this spiritual rest that God wants all of us to enter into? They didn't enter in because they didn't cease their self-progress. Merit or trusting in their self-merit and their idolatrous pursuits. You see, those who do not make time to rest in God will never experience the beauty of this life and they will never know the glories of life to come. That's why it's very important that you learn how to rest in God.

24:24I do not suggest for a moment that the wilderness journey was easy, nor that I would have done any better. I'd like to think I would have, but only by his grace. I look, I'm reading the narratives, and it's difficult. It's not easy, and I'm not saying that life is easy either. Some of the things that you all face, I don't think I have the faith to face. But it's clear that the wilderness and the wildernesses are intended for us to grow in seeing God at work.

25:07And therefore, we can appreciate God at work in our own lives. And then, as we go through life, more and more we appreciate God and rest in Him. Let me tell you something I believe. It's true biblically, true theologically, and true experientially. And it's something that a lot of us would reject. But here's the truth: life is intended to get better. It really is. Life is intended to get better. Guess what? Marriages are supposed to get better with time. Relationships are intended to deepen. Enjoyment of life is intended to grow sweeter and sweeter with age.

26:09How do I know this? Because you see, the more you get to know God, the more you know there is to enjoy in the present, and the more you have to look forward to in the future. Life is a journey of knowing more about God. And the more you know about God, the more you know there is to celebrate, and you know there is more to look forward. Many people do not experience such life. You know why? Because they pursue the idols that they have erected in their own heart.

26:51Or they have not ceased self-sufficiency. Do you really believe that? Life is intended to get better. A lot of people live in the good old days. Oh, back then it was really swell. But then you look back to the good old days and like, no, they weren't all that swell. A lot of anxiety. I'm not suggesting that life gets easier. I'm suggesting it gets better. Why did the Exodus generation miss the life God had for them?

27:35Because they went after other gods. Psalm 35:15 says this: The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them. Yes, everyone who trusts in them. Why didn't they enter the land? They went after other gods. They became like the gods of the nations when they were supposed to be coming like the gods of the God of the universe.

28:27Why do so many people miss so much of life? Why are you going to miss so much of life? It's because you're going after other gods. And until you repent, until you turn of those trusting in those idolatrous pursuits, you're going to miss so much of life. Those who do not cease from the hack and hurry of life and take time to think upon the perfections of God and what he has done, yeah, they never will have a soul at rest.

29:15In fact, as we looked at Revelation 9, you remember chapter 9 and verse 20, tribulation time is coming upon the earth, and it's going to be a time of testing of all the nations when God is driving people to the very end of themselves to see will they really be honest with God and say, okay, God, you are God, all these idols are not, and we're going to forsake these idols and worship you. But this is what happens after plague, after plague. In Revelation 9, 20, it says, the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and silver and brass and of stone and of wood which can neither see nor hear. Hear nor walk.

30:02They wouldn't cease their pursuit of idols. What are some of the idols that we pursue today? I mean, we're not out here got statues, although some do. What are some of these idolatrous pursuits? Well, let's go with the S's today. I'm just going to mention a few S's: status. There's one. If I can have status, so I will orient my life to gain some sort of status or success. There's another one. I could be successful in my own eyes or in the eyes of others. Significance. Oh, that my life would be significant, that I would leave a mark, that I would make a name for myself, an idol, and so we will go after security. Oh, that I can put a hedge of protection around me and my family.

30:56Some even imagine that God demands us to achieve our own salvation or our own sanctification, and that God expects us to merit, to wow him. List others to that, but status, success, significance, security, or having to achieve our own salvation or sanctification. But in the gospel, we're given all of this. But life will never get better if you try to out God. God. You try to out God God by your own merits. Life will never get better if you try to continue pursuing things that are not God.

31:42In fact, trying to outgod God and pursuing things that are not God is a recipe for a very spiritually restless life. The one who enters Sabbath rest learns how to spiritually rest in this life by ceasing to trust in self-merit and idolatrous pursuits and by reflecting upon the perfections of God and by reflecting upon the perfections of God. Look back at verse 10. For the one who has entered his rest has himself also, mark that word, also rested from his works as, mark that word, as God did from his.

32:33Word also signifies a relationship. The one who has also, together with God, has rested as, as signifies a comparison, a comparison with God. A relationship with God has also rested as God rested. So there's this comparison between God resting from his works and Man, this one who enters into Sabbath rest, resting from his own works. But notice again how Sabbath rest is being described. It's his rest, capital H, God's rest. God rests in a certain area or arena when something has been completed.

33:29It's a state, God's rest, speaks of a state or an area of existence where God has ceased working because something is finished. And all that's left to do is enjoy it. Sabbath rest is participating with God in his own rest. It's a sharing. Our author has already quoted Genesis 2, 1 through 3 in chapter 4, where he says, 4, 4, Hebrews, for he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works. He refers to Genesis chapter 2, verse 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day, God completed his work, which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work, which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day, and Sanctified it because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. Why did God cease his work in creating the universe? Because it was finished, it was completed and it couldn't be improved.

34:49To continue working on something that's perfect would ruin the masterpiece. Growing up, my kids learned that my wife and I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches very different. And this is the saying that I would hear when I come in the kitchen: mom puts a little bit, but dad, he puts a whole lot. That was kind of a mantra in our home. Maximum goopy was how I liked the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In fact, when I would get through with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the kids, you kind of had to eat it with a spoon because there's so much goop. You know, the idea, if a little peanut butter is good, then a whole lot is even better. A little bit of jelly is good, then a whole lot. I learned this one day when Nancy's looking at me. Can I make my own just a thin, thin, but that's the idea. Like, dad puts a whole lot, mom puts a little bit. So you think about this. Like, if I was in charge of Creation. Man, that sun, it's so neat. It's good. It's great. It's beautiful. In fact, it's so great. I'm going to make 10 of them.

36:08Like, way to go, Tom. You just made it so nothing can survive on the earth. You see, God made things right and complete and perfect. He made everything just right. The sun, the moon, the stars, the waters, the dry lands, vegetation, animals, and peoples. Creation was a masterpiece that couldn't be improved. To add one more thing would ruin the genius of it all. And that's why God rested. You see, there comes a time when the artist puts down the brush because one more stroke would diminish the masterpiece. There comes a time when the composer ceases to add or subtract notes because the music is complete.

36:59Likewise, when God rested after creating the universe, he did so because there was nothing more to do except enjoy it, reflect upon it. And so God rested and delighted. And the purpose of a masterpiece, what's its purpose? It's to bless the one who beholds it. So to enter into God's rest is to. Enter into a state of reflection, of enjoying something so masterfully done that it's deemed perfect. Where can we see anything perfect? Well, it's not in the realm of fallen man, is it?

37:50It can only be found in God. Even the best of our works and most significant endeavors are riddled with ambition, self-ambition, pride, sin, and human limitation. Our rest can only be found in something of God. God is complete. God lacks nothing in His personality, in His ability, in His character. So when He finishes something as He did in creation, it too is complete, and there is nothing left to do but enjoy it. All of His works were meant to express Himself. To what can I compare Sabbath rest? What are some things? If I could just bring something alongside, how would I describe a Sabbath rest to make sure that you all get to it, understand it? Years ago, I'm a man, father, all excited to take his kids to Six Flags.

39:08Set the date, enjoyable. Kids looked forward to it. Three and a half-hour drive up to Six Flags, pulled into the parking lot, closed. All that time, all that effort. They got up there to find the theme park closed. They saw it, they didn't enjoy it. They didn't enter in to enjoy it. You can imagine that. Yeah, check your call ahead. But here's the point: they didn't experience the purpose for which the park was created. They looked for it, they went all the way up there, and there it was, but they couldn't go in and enjoy it.

39:58My oldest son, Josiah, when he was little, he would have these etching sketches, and he would spend hours on these most beautiful etchis sketchings. Amazing, masterpieces. And he liked to go up to Nancy, my wife, his mom, and say, Look, mom, look at this. And she, oh, just laugh. And he'd erase it. Hours. No, no, but that, and he loved doing that. Look at this nice work, mom. No, he wouldn't give his mom the time to enjoy the masterpiece.

40:49That's what Sabbath rest is. And I've got so many more illustrations, and maybe we'll save them for another time. But that's a picture. It's like Sabbath rest is about taking time to enjoy the purpose, to take in the masterpiece. That's what Sabbath rest is about. God has made something, God has done something. And so a Sabbath rest is about us sharing in God's delight in what He has done. God didn't create a world, and they go, sorry, isn't that neat? Too bad you can't enter it. On the contrary, He created it so that it can be enjoyed.

41:37God didn't give us salvation in Christ for it not to be enjoyed in this lifetime. It's a completed work. How come many of us don't live as if our sins are forgiven? Because you don't believe the gospel. We can enjoy a completed work. Work in salvation. Why are we anxious about tomorrow? Because you don't believe the gospel. He says, I will never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I will provide everything you need. Israel may have observed the Sabbath, but it did not enter into Sabbath rest.

42:26More to say on this, and I don't want to rush through it. I want to make sure that we get this idea of rest. We'll come back and revisit this again. Got more time, that's a good thing. But here's the problem: they didn't combine observance with faith. Yes, they had the Sabbath on their calendar, and they could stay away from the parts that wouldn't get them killed, but they never entered into that Sabbath rest and enjoying the perfections of God.

43:03Some of you come to church, but you do not rest in what we rest in. Spiritual rest comes by reflecting upon in faith the perfections of God. There's no rest in our own works, merits. Until something is perfect, there is always. Something to be done, isn't there? That's why we cannot rest. But when the perfect comes, when we reflect upon something perfect, then we can cease. And it makes our heart glad. In quietness and trust is your strength.

43:59Rest, repentance, and rest. Where are you this morning? Have you entered into Sabbath rest? One who enters Sabbath rest learns how to spiritually rest in this life by ceasing to trust in self-merit and idolatrous pursuits and by reflecting upon the perfections of God. Here's the good news: God wants to share with us those things that He delights in. Let Him reveal Himself. Let Him lead you. And friends, take time. No, let me make time to enjoy each station of life that you are in. It's part of it. There may be some wilderness aspects to it, but God's doing something in these times.

45:00Get to know him. That's what life's about. Do not be in such a hurry serving the gods of this earth that you fail to enjoy what God has for you in this station of life. Because this station of life will soon be over. Then you'll be on to the next and now on to the next. Life moves fast. Make time, take time to enjoy where you are right now and enjoy the God who is with you. And if you do not know him, call out to him because the good news is he wants to share with you those things that he delights in. And the thing that he delights in most is a person named Jesus Christ in whom he is well pleased. Relationship with him, that's the perfect humanity.

45:58God blesses the time when we appreciate his works. He blesses times like now, where we sit and think and contemplate God and his works. He didn't create a world and then not allow time to enjoy it. He doesn't provide salvation and then forbid the joy of it. He doesn't supply our needs and then not give us the time to satisfy us or for us to enjoy. The satisfaction, quite the contrary. God labors so that we may enjoy the outcome of his labors.

46:41And so, Sabbath rest involves this time, a place, and state, and everything else that's necessary to step in and appreciate along with God the things that he has done and the person that he is. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we know that there are many reasons why we need to rest in you. The gods of this world, the pursuits of man, do not give what they promise, and nor are they right, even if they did. Sin promises life, but it brings death.

47:41You promise life, you give life. And so, Father, we thank you for the perfect work in Jesus Christ. We thank you for the perfect high priest, perfect sacrifice, perfect king. It's to him we bow. We choose. His rest and help us to enter more fully into it. In Christ's name.