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Please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4. Be looking at verse 1 today. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1. My message really boils down to two words today. Two words. And it's two words that I counsel myself every day. It's the two words that I basically counsel everybody that I talk to.

And the two words sum up the very message of our exhortation here at this church. It is our message to the world, these two words. And if these two words do not become a reality in your life, you will never know the peace of God in your life, and your eternity will be hell.

Two words. What are those two words? Trust God. Trust God. This is what I tell myself every day, and it's what I tell others. It's what we tell. It boils down to put your faith and trust in God. Now, why do I even have to say that? The answer should be, in a world without sin, duh.

Yeah, trust God, duh. Why do you state the obvious, Pastor? Why is it that anybody would be so foolish as to oppose God? Why would there be anybody so short-sighted to complain or grumble against God about the lack of His provision? Obviously, He created us, and obviously He's going to provide for us because He wants us to be.

So, why do you have to trust God? Why do I even have to mention that we should trust God because He created us and He's going to provide for us? Why would anybody be so senseless as to dismiss God's instruction? I mean, you think about it. These are levels of insanity.

Why do you think we would, anyone would think they know more than God? You know, no one knows the product of better than the original manufacturer. In other words, no one knows Ford better than Ford. No one knows Toyota better than Toyota because they are the manufacturers. They know how to make an automobile.

They know all the parts. They know the big parts, the little parts. They know how it's necessary to run. They know how all they fit together. The same is true about human existence. God knows it from the inside and out. He made everyone and everything in the universe.

He understands life and he created us to live. Why is it so difficult that we would not trust his guidance? He knows it. He created us. Of course, he's going to provide for us. And of course, he's going to guide us in the right way. It's because sins in the world.

That's why we have to tell ourselves to trust God. That's why we have to tell others we live in a fallen world. That's why we have to keep stating the obvious. Trust God. Trust God. Put your faith and trust in God. In a world without sin, this would be self-evident.

And one day you don't need preachers. Duh. We trust God. In fact, it's insanity. Three levels of insanity. Opposing God, grumbling against Him, and dismissing His guidelines. This is the effect of sin. It's foolish not to trust Him. You and I were made to image God. And yet, as we look around our world, fallen man, the world in which we live in, has no idea who He really is.

And there are some of us here today who really have no idea who He really is. You see, spirit. Spiritual death really boils down to this one thing: not trusting God. What has happened that the very ones who are supposed to make the invisible God visible to image Him, how is it that we became so ignorant of Him and thoroughly opposed to Him?

What has happened? The answer is sin, the sin of unbelief. Look, chapter 4, verse 1. Therefore, let us fear if while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. As we reorient to Hebrews, this therefore, verse 1, is there in light of what has just been said.

Back up to verse 14. Let me read this in chapter 3. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end. While it is said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me.

For who provoked him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the Wilderness. And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, because they did not enter, because of their unbelief, therefore, let us fear while a promise remains of entering his rest, that any one of us may seem to have come short of it. You see, life is fundamentally about trusting in God.

And if you'll notice, our verse this morning makes a connection between trust and rest. Trust and rest. See, the bottom line is: those who do not trust in God will not rest in God. But those who grow in trusting God will grow in resting in Him. And that's the Christian life.

We initially start by trusting in Him, and we grow in that trust in Him. See, chapter 4, excited about what all is coming in chapter 4 because chapter 4 has much to say about God's rest. And we're going to be looking at a lot about God's rest. Rest in the weeks ahead.

So I encourage you to stay with us. We need to be a people who rest in God. And this can only happen if we trust in God. So my goal this morning is to do a little more than to just introduce you to this concept of God's rest and then look at several examples of those people who didn't enter into that rest.

Because ultimately, I want us all to be a people who will enter into God's rest. Well, two truths are very clear this morning in our passage. God's rest, first of all, is available today. It is available to you today. It is available to me today. Look back at verse 4:1 again.

Therefore, let us fear if while a promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you may seem to have fallen short of it. Therefore, therefore, looking back in light of that unbelieving example of that Exodus generation, in light of that, there is something that remains here for us today.

The idea of remaining is like one being left behind. There's something that has. been left behind, something still abiding, something staying back with us. And what is that? It's a promise. Look back. Let us fear if while a promise remains, a promise remains. A promise that is still in effect for the audience of the Hebrews and for us today.

A promise that is lingering back, that still abides with us today. What is that promise? Look, it's a promise of entering his rest. Energy. A promise of entering something, to come in, to be on the outside, to move from the outside of the thing promised to the realization of it.

And many of us live on the outside of God's promises. Many people who congregate and listen to the word day in and day out, or even study the word, often live much of their lives outside of the things promised because they do not combine their readings and meditations with faith.

Enter. You are, there's a promise that's remaining for us to enter into something, to enter to enjoy. And what is that? Look back, his rest. What is the promise? It's rest. That's the promise that is lingering behind and is still in effect for a promise of entering his rest.

Now, rest, where it could speak of a place of rest or it could speak of a state of rest. In some ways, both. But what is this rest? What is this rest? Well, if you're reading the context of Numbers 14, you know, it's a speaking of the physical land of Canaan.

It's certainly in view. Yes, the spiritual rest that would accompany that. But there is a land of Canaan. That was what they were not able to enter. A reference, a marker. That was the goal of the Exodus, if you'll remember, to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and to bring them into the land of Canaan.

In Exodus 3:7, the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry because of their task. Masters, for I am aware of their sufferings, so I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians.

So God's deliverance, God's salvation, is from the power of the Egyptians. And then he continues, and to something, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite place. He called them out.

The goal of the Exodus was to bring them from one land into the other, where they would experience wide open space, be free from their bondage, abundant provision flowing with milk and honey, place to settle them. Yet we know the Exodus generation died in the wilderness. They didn't enter the land of Canaan.

Future generation did, but that Exodus generation did not. They roamed unsettled in the wilderness until their bodies fell to the ground and returned to dust. They never rested because they didn't believe God. So they did. Experience the goal of their deliverance from Egypt. You see, what that generation was supposed to do is they were supposed to learn rest as they traveled to the place of rest.

They were to learn how to spiritually rest in God, to trust Him as God, to trust Him with provision, to trust Him with guidance. And because they never learned how to spiritually rest, they were unfit and unable to enter the place of rest. Where is the writer going with all this?

Well, it's clear that when you come to Hebrews 4, we're not talking about the land of Canaan anymore. The promise of entering into the land of Canaan isn't the lingering promise that's left behind. The writer of Hebrews isn't trying to rally another crusade. Let's go back. The property is still ours.

It's still lingering behind. Let us go and let's take by force. Let's convert them by force. No. The writer has something else in mind. And I want you to look at. How he describes this promise that is remaining for his audience and for us today. Look back at verse 1.

He calls it his rest. Not just rest, but his rest. It's something that God rests in. See, the land of Canaan was a shadow of a spiritual reality, a shadow of a spiritual rest. You see, Israel must experience a spiritual rest before the physical rest will set in.

And the same is true with us. We must experience a spiritual rest before we will experience a physical rest. So, how do we get our minds around rest, God's rest? Well, a good place to start is at the beginning of the Bible, where we come to the first rest that we encounter in Scripture.

It's always a good place to start. You can turn there if you want to. Genesis chapter 2, verse 1. I'll read a few verses. It's very important that as you start getting your mind around what it means to rest and what God rests in and what. What we are to rest in, we are to start with the very first time we encounter rest.

Genesis chapter 2, verse 1. You'll remember what has just happened in chapter 1, the creation of the universe. Chapter 2, verse 1 of Genesis, 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. A few questions. What does rest mean? Shabbat. It means to cease, to stop something, to stand still. In fact, in Genesis 8:22, remember these words, God's promises, while the earth remains, seem time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Going to continue. What are you saying? So the idea of rest is to cease something. It's a ceasing. Why did God rest? Was he tired? Well, Isaiah 40, verse 28 answers that question. He says, This, do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired.

So even in creation, Isaiah is saying he doesn't become weary or tired, but he rested. Why did God rest? And the answer is because something had been completed. Look back at Genesis 2:1 and listen to this. Several times he says this. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, all their hosts, by the seventh day.

God completed his work which he had done. He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. In verse 3, God had created. There's something that's complete, something that is finished. And so, because there was something that was completed and something finished, God took time to reflect on it.

What was the result of this rest? It was a day of reflecting upon the completed work of God. It was a day of reflecting upon something that God had completed. Finished. It's a moment of reflecting, a time of reflecting. That was the first rest. Come back to Hebrews 4.

We're talking about a spiritual rest in chapter 4 of Hebrews. What is it? Well, it's entering into a satisfaction of the completed work of God. It's us entering into the satisfaction of something that God has completed. God's rest is where we're going to find our rest. You see, when God called that generation out of Egypt, he had a spiritual rest in mind for them.

Before they could be settled in a new land and be blessed in that land, they had to be settled in their relationship with God. That's the trouble with many of us. We're not settled in our relationship with God, and our world is in turmoil. In Israel's case, physical fruitfulness in the land was going to be directly related to their spiritual rest in their relationship with God.

And the same is true with us. Just as Israel must learn to trust in God before they can be at rest, And fruitful in the land that God gives them, so we must learn to spiritually rest in God before we will find rest and fruitfulness in the land that God gives us.

But know this: it's available today. A promise remains. This spiritual rest, God's rest, is something for you to enter today. It is promised. And God wants you to enter into that. And you do so by trusting Him. Trust God. Well, our text makes something else very clear this morning.

Not only is God's rest available today, but many do not enjoy it. Many do not enjoy it. Look back at Hebrews 4:1. Therefore, let us fear if while a promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. There's a propensity for God's rest to be available and very few to find it.

Over 600,000 of those men who came out of Egypt did not enjoy spiritual rest, and therefore they did not enter. The numbers are astounding. Even after all that they had seen and all that they had heard, you see, we've got to root out those very deep pockets of unbelief in our own hearts.

Trust God. Trust God. Look back at verse 4:1. There's that word, therefore, in light of the example of the Exodus generation, there is something that remains, but there is also something for us to fear. Look back. Therefore, let us fear. Let us be afraid. Let us be frightened.

Let us be anxious. Let something put us into a state of fear. And the kind of fear that takes God's word seriously, that's the kind of fear. There is something out there that is so ominous, it's a passive verb. There is something that should frighten us and galvanize us to action.

You see, fear can be healthy if it motivates us to appropriate action. Fear can be healthy. In other words, this one anxiety is to consume all your other anxieties. The fear of not believing God's word, the fear of not entering into that rest with God should consume all your other fears.

That one stands alone. God, I will enter your rest because I'm afraid not to. Your soul will never be at rest until you learn to trust God. You see, trust is not saying, I should trust him, but I choose to trust him. And there's a difference. Afraid some of you might leave today.

Yeah, I should trust God more. You've missed the point. I'm not here to try to convince you intellectually that you should trust God more. I think we'd all say that. Yeah, I should trust God more. But will you leave here this morning and say, I choose to trust God no matter what I face today, no matter what I hear today, no matter what I think today, no matter what my heart tells me, no matter what my mind tells me, no matter what I see, I will trust him.

I choose to trust him, even if I don't get the full picture or even understand. I choose to trust him. That's faith. And you either trust God or you don't. Do you really think that whatever is going on in your life is bigger than God? Well, then you don't know him.

He calls you to trust him in the midst of this world. There's something about this word, look at this, that comes short. Let any one of you may seem to have come short of us. Let us fear. There's a promise that remains behind for us, and that promise is entering into his rest.

But there is a problem. Some of us may think we have come short of it, or seem to have come short of it. The idea is to miss it, to fall short, to be excluded from this rest somehow. But the plain meaning of the verb is to come too late, is to fall short by coming too late to something, in which case it would read something like this.

Therefore, let us fear while a promise remains of entering his rest, if any one of you may be thinking you have arrived too late. Let me tell you. You, what my middle name is. At least I thought what my middle name was all my life. Still is in some ways.

Thomas, late to the game, Baber. You ever felt like you just go through life late to the game? I remember one of my first conversations with my wife. I'm only three days older than her. One of our first conversations, she said, Well, we're 25 years old. She said, I've been out of college for three years, and you're just entering your senior year.

How did that happen? She wasn't being rude. But she was just asking that, help me get my mind around it. Where did that happen? Well, let me tell you what my name is. Thomas, late to the game, Baber. I was late to graduate high school. I flunked a year.

I was late to then graduate college. Couldn't make up my mind, several things. And so, yeah, it took me an extra year in high school, took me three extra years in college. Thomas, late to the game, Baber. One time I was talking to a really good cyclist, and he indicated to me that, you know, you could have been a good cyclist.

Had you started several years later, I mean, earlier, you had just gotten started several years earlier, you might have made something of yourself in the world of cycling. Thomas Late to the game Baber. I originally wanted to go to seminary earlier, but I was late. I really would like to be finishing my 30th year as a pastor now.

Instead, I'm just finishing my 20th because my name, Thomas Late to the Game Baber. Let me tell you when kind of the Scotch started. I'll go back. It was 109 years ago. I was in the third grade. All my friends were signing up for baseball, and I said, I want to sign up too.

So at the school that I was at, all my friends, and there were two teams: there was the Lions and the Tigers. I got the memo late, told my mom I wanted to sign up, but it was too late. I couldn't sign up. But there was another little league team across the town that would still take me.

They weren't the Lions, they weren't the Tigers, they were the athletics. And I'm like, well, why do I want to be on a team called the Athletics? That's not very scary. All my other friends were. Playing, had shown up on the right time, signed up on the right day.

I was late to the game. And not only that, I got my hat and there was a number on it of my batting order, number 15. I don't know if you know how many players there are on a baseball team, but there's nine. I got number 15. Why?

Because I was late to the game. I remember getting up there to bat one time. This is T-ball. I'll show them. Finally, after several games, I get out there and show up to bat, strike one, T-ball. Strike two, T-ball. Strike three, your batter is out. Have you ever seen a kid strike out in T-ball?

That was me. But there was something that was, I looked back, there was one thing that was nice about that. I got a maroon hat. Texas AM Aggie maroon. That was the color. Oh, the other teams, there was the green, gold, there was the crimson red. There was the purple, yellow.

And then there were some burnt orange. I was the only one in my school, and we would wear those. I had the maroon hat. We lost every game. But I learned then that I would rather wear maroon. I love the maroon hat. It's a prettier color. I love the maroon.

And I shed a tear of pity on all those who had to wear the other colors. I would rather lose all my games, wear maroon, than become the World Series champions and have to wear burnt orange. All that to say, there was something really neat about God's timing.

I felt late to the game, but I can tell you this: if I had graduated college when I would have thought it would have been good, I wouldn't have met my wife. I wouldn't have had the children I had. If I had gotten started in ministry, I wouldn't be pastoring this church right now.

I have come to love my life. I love my life. I love what God has given me. I love this church. I love my wife. I love my kids. Had I hurried through life, I would have missed it all. I love God's timing. Some of you may think you're too.

Late to the game spiritually. Listen, you are not too late to enter into God's rest and enjoy a fruitful relationship with Him. He's got all this in control. What He wants you to do today is trust him. Trust Him. But you do need to learn from those who failed to enter into God's rest.

And so I want to take the next few minutes. And I want to look at three generations of Israelites who did not enter into God's rest so that we will learn from them. Ten lessons that we'll learn, most of them from the Exodus generation, but some from subsequent ones.

First of all, we can learn from the Exodus generation. Number one, to rest is to cease from trying to save yourself. Those who try to save themselves will not enter into God's rest. You remember Exodus 14, Pharaoh, children of Israel, Red Sea, one end. Exodus 14:13, Moses said to the people, Do not fear.

Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians who you have seen today, you will never see them again. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. We must let God save us. Trust him. Number two, to rest is to cease from being frightened by that which hounds you.

To rest is to cease from being frightened by that which hounds you. You remember in Exodus 14, as Pharaoh drew near, in verse 10, it says this, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened, so that the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.

But then we read these words in Exodus 14, 30. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. You see, those who are easily debilitated by life's harassing threats or destabilized by its perplexing challenges do not enjoy God's rest.

Look, even for those at rest, even the guilt of sin can no longer hound. God's people. Trust God. Cease from being frightened of that which hounds you. God can deal with it and will. Third thing we can learn about rest is to rest is to cease from inward turmoil while waiting upon the Lord.

To rest is to cease from inward turmoil while waiting upon the Lord. Remember in Exodus 16, the whole congregation goes in and they start grumbling against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And in verse 3 of chapter 16, they say, Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

You see, an unbelieving heart is quick to fret over circumstances and slow to wait for God. Like, we don't always know why we experience the things we do. But those who trust God know that that's enough. God has a good and sufficient reason for allowing us to see the things that we see, to experience the things that we say.

He hasn't going to abandon us. And knowing that God is thorough and complete in himself, And he has promised to be with us, that's enough for me. Even if I don't understand the beginning from the end of it, knowing that God is engaged and sees is enough for those who trust in the Lord to quiet their souls.

Number four, to rest is to cease vain pursuits and shifting allegiances. To cease vain pursuits and shifting allegiances. You remember in Exodus 32, the people saw that Moses delayed. So what did they do? Let us make a God for ourselves. Let's make a calf. You see, those who are constantly vacillating between religious opinions or easily caught up in the latest theological or ideological fads have not entered into God's rest.

For those who trust God, there is stability and loyalty. To rest is to cease vain pursuits and shifting allegiances. Number five, to rest is to cease complaining in the face of anxiety. Remember in number 11, Numbers 11, people, verse 1, now the people became like those who complain of adversity.

Things got difficult, and they again complained. But to rest is to cease complaining in the face of anxiety. Difficulties and adversity. God consumed some of them, you remember. And they didn't enter into God's rest. They died in the wilderness. Number six, to rest is to cease being greedy for more.

To rest is to cease being greedy. Remember again in Numbers 11, the rabble, verse 4, who were among them, had greedy desires. And also the sons of Israel wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and the onions and the garlic.

But now our appetite is gone and there is nothing at all to look at except this manna. And many of those were buried that day in the wilderness. You see, an unbelieving heart is discontent with God's provision. Greedy people have not entered into God's rest and therefore will not enter into God's ultimate rest.

Are you resting now? Where your rest is now will indicate where your rest will be later. Number seven, to rest is to cease fighting and be secure where God has placed you. To rest is to cease fighting and be secure and settled where God has placed you. Deuteronomy 12:10, God says this: When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He has given you rest from all your enemies, so that you live in security.

Rest is a place of security. No more self-effort, no more insecurity, but confidence in God. Cease fighting. Be secure and settled in the place that God has you. These are just a few of the lessons that we can learn from the Exodus generation. There's a couple more generations that we can learn something from.

You can learn from the Babylonian exile generation. You see, failure to trust God was the reason that Israel could not keep the land once they entered it. Remember that Babylonian generation? Listen to Jeremiah 6:16. Thus says the Lord: Stand by the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and you walk.

Will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it. And I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not listen. Therefore, hear, O nations. God wants to say something to the whole world. Hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

Hear, O earth, behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to my words. And as for my law, they have rejected it also. So, number eight, rest is ceasing to contend with God's ways. Rest is ceasing to contend with God's ways.

Just trust God and walk in His ways. But then there's another generation that we can learn from, and that is the crucifixion generation. The crucifixion generation. Number nine: To rest is to cease trying to be the master of your fate. To rest is to cease trying to be the master of your fate.

Remember Jesus, Matthew 6 and 31, he said this, Do not worry then, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. For your heavenly Father knows. Knows that you need all these things, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Isn't it nice to know you don't have to be the master of your faith? God who made us will provide for us and will guide us to our journey's end. You can rest and trust God. There's another thing we can learn from the crucifixion generation. Number 10: to rest is to cease striving and come to Jesus.

To rest is to cease striving and come to Jesus. You see, Jesus' ministry was aimed at bringing people into a spiritual rest. Listen, what Jesus says in Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my soul upon you.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. One of the things, Jesus had compassion as he looked out in Matthew 9. He saw the sheep. He saw people like sheep without a shepherd, distressed, disturbed.

And he came to give them rest. But the majority didn't receive. Him. That's why we read these words earlier in the service, Matthew 23, 37. The end of his ministry there to this generation that would ultimately crucify him. He said, This, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

Behold, your house is being left to you desolate. You see, when you reflect upon God and his works, and you combine your reflections with faith, you will find rest for your soul. You must put your faith in something completed, something finished. And only God is complete enough and thorough enough for us to rest in.

God's work is complete. God is complete. His work is complete. And so we can find rest. And that's why the whole Christian life must begin with the finished work of Christ. Remember in John 19:30, Jesus said this after receiving that hyssop of sour wine. He said, it is finished.

He has completely and thoroughly put away the sin of his people. I'm going to look at that psalm tonight. Marvelous. Well, God's rest, it's available today. Many will not enjoy it. Really, the only thing you need to learn in life, trust God. But understand this: those who do not learn how to rest in God through life's journey will not go to heaven.

Why is that? Heaven is just a further extension of God's rest. If you're not resting in Him now, you won't rest in Him later. Just like the Israelites, they didn't rest in God along the journey, and then when it came time to go into the land, they were completely unable, unwilling to do so.

But this promise is here for us today. Let us fear if while a promise remains of entering His rest, that any one of us may seem to have come short of it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts to you today, recognizing again this propensity within our own.

Lives to not trust you, and we confess the insanity of it. You created us. Of course, you know us. You created our times, our places. You created the universe that we live in. And of course, we can trust you. You created us. You obviously want us to exist.

You're going to provide. Forgive our insane moments where we grumble, complain, question. Father, you have promised to guide your people. Of course, you know how life works. You know us. You know how you want us to interact. You know where you want us to be. You know where you're taking us.

Of course, we can trust your guidance. Father, forgive us where we try to complete something that you've already completed. Help us to rest. And this day we choose to rest. Forgive us for all the times that we have failed to rest you. Rest and trust. Today we choose to trust in you.

Jesus' name.