Hebrews 4:1-11

Good morning, church.

It's good to see you this morning.

So we're going to continue our series in Hebrews this morning,

looking at Hebrews chapter 4, verses 1 through 11.

Hebrews 4:1–11

That's page 1002 in your pew Bible, if you want to turn there.

If you don't own a Bible, I'm giving you permission to steal that one.

Go ahead, take it home with you.

I'm telling you to break one of the Ten Commandments.

Just take it away.

No, I'm just kidding.

So page 1002.

There we go.

Hey, I'm on.

All right.

Good.

Hebrews 4, 1 through 11.

Let me read this for us.

The writer to Hebrews says,

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands,

let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

For good news came to us just as to them,

but the message they heard did not benefit them,

because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

For we who have believed enter that rest.

As he has said,

As I swore in my wrath,

they shall not enter my rest.

Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world,

for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way,

and God rested on the seventh day from all his works.

And again,

in this passage,

he said,

They shall not enter my rest.

Since,

therefore,

it remains for some to enter it,

and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

again,

he appoints a certain day,

today,

saying through David,

so long afterward,

in the words already quoted,

today,

if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.

For if Joshua had given them rest,

God would not have spoken of another day later on.

So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works,

as God did from his.

Let us,

therefore,

strive to enter that rest,

so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Let's pray together.

God,

we thank you that your word is living and active,

and that it uncovers the deep recesses of our hearts that need to be exposed,

and brought into the light of your healing and sovereign grace.

God,

we pray this morning that your Holy Spirit would do his work in our hearts through your word,

to draw us nearer to Christ,

or nearer to our hope,

and to the source of our joy in him.

Lord,

we ask all this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So,

one of the fun things about overseeing our youth ministry here at Trinity,

is not that,

not just that we get to go on fun retreats like we did last weekend,

but I get to read all these great articles about adolescent culture.

And a survey was conducted not so long ago of high school students,

and they were asked what their biggest problems were,

or what did they see as their greatest challenges,

what were the things that they were really struggling with and dealing with.

And I was really surprised by what was at the top of that list.

It wasn't loneliness,

or fitting in with their peers,

and it wasn't family problems,

even though massive numbers of adolescents today are coming from broken homes.

It wasn't dating or relationships,

even though that seems to be what's on every high schooler's mind.

That wasn't the thing that was their biggest problem as they saw it.

The number one issue or problem that they identified

was stress.

Stress.

Isn't that interesting?

And of course,

that's not just true of high school students, right?

We live in a culture of deep,

deep unrest.

We're busy.

We're overworked.

I mean, come on.

When you ask someone how they're doing,

what is the first thing that they say?

How was your week?

It's busy.

Right?

I'm guilty of doing that.

What gives?

Right?

I mean,

the 40-hour work week is like a dinosaur relic

that we go look at in the Peabody.

Nobody works 40 hours anymore.

We're deeply,

deeply restless people.

And you know what's crazy about that?

What's crazy about that is that we live in a society

where for the most part,

everything that we need is at our fingertips.

Right?

Like at no other point in human history,

we who live in the West have unprecedented resources

at our command to meet our physical

and our emotional and our cultural needs.

Right?

I mean,

don't we have access to basic physical necessities

like never before?

Food,

clothing,

shelter.

And don't we have,

through technology,

fabulous resources to connect us relationally

with people here and all around the world?

And can't we participate

and enjoy cultural productions

like music and art and theater

like we never have been able to in the past?

It's all at our fingertips.

And yet,

despite all of that,

despite having everything,

we still live lives

that are deeply,

deeply unrestful.

Which ought to point us to the fact

that there's something much deeper going on.

Right?

If none of these things can sort of give us

the rest that we need,

then it must point us to the fact

that we've lost something.

We've lost something

that we can't seem to find

and is producing in us

this deep,

deep unrest.

So when we come to our passage this morning,

we're coming to a text

that I think you and I desperately need.

Because this text is all about what?

Entering into God's rest.

It's a phrase that's repeated

over and over and over again.

And in verse 1,

it just announces it.

The promise of entering

God's rest

still stands.

Now, if you're here last week,

you'll remember that

in this section of Hebrews,

in 3 and 4,

the writer to Hebrews

is unpacking for us

Psalm 95.

He's kind of giving us

a little sermon

within the sermon here.

And last week,

we saw that this portion

of Psalm 95 that he's unpacking

carries this explicit warning

against hard-heartedness

and unbelief.

You can go listen

to Greg's sermon online

if you missed it.

But now,

in chapter 4,

he's turning a corner.

And he's saying that

Psalm 95 isn't just

this explicit warning

against hard-heartedness,

but it's an implied promise.

There's an implied promise.

That entering God's rest

still stands.

Now, all commentators

will agree,

it was sort of funny

as I was reading

through the commentators

this week,

that these 11 verses

are some of the most

kind of logically

and exegetically challenging

of the whole book.

You know, sometimes

as we move from verse to verse,

maybe you thought this

as you're reading,

you're like,

wow, how many non-sequiturs

could there be

in a single passage

of Scripture, right?

Those who believe

enter the rest.

As he said,

they shall not enter my rest.

What?

What?

What's going on there, right?

It's kind of like

we're sort of in the race car

with him

and we're moving

at 200 miles an hour

and then he takes a turn

and we sort of hit our head

against the, you know,

the window.

Which doesn't mean

that Scripture's,

you know,

wrong

or fallacious,

you know.

It just means

we have to slow down.

We have to pay attention.

Because if we keep our sights

on the main thrust

of this passage

of entering

God's rest,

I think what we see

as we move through it

that he's unpacking

this promise for us

in at least four ways.

And here are the four ways

that he impacts it,

I think.

First, he's going to tell us

who enters,

who enters the rest,

and then he's going to tell us

what we're entering.

What are we entering

when we enter God's rest?

And then he's going to tell us

how we enter,

and then he's going to conclude

by saying,

what do we do about it?

Make sense?

Who?

What?

How?

And what do we do about it?

So first,

who enters?

So it's clear from verses

one and two

in the first half of three,

that it's those who believe,

right?

Those who have faith,

those who hear with faith,

they're the ones

who enter into God's rest.

We see that word again and again

in these first few verses.

Faith and belief

in two and three,

they're the same root word,

both meaning to trust.

And that sort of tricky quote

at the end of verse three,

I think what he's saying there

is that if those who didn't believe

will not enter God's rest,

then it's implied

that those who do believe will.

You see,

there's the implied promise.

And then he uses this example

of the wilderness generation

to bring something very important

before our eyes.

He brings forth

the wilderness generation

to show

that it's not merely those

who hear the good news

who enter in,

but it's those

who respond in faith.

It's those who actually believe it

and put their trust in it.

Now think about that.

The wilderness generation

under Moses

saw God's saving power

in Egypt

and at the Red Sea.

They saw God

part a sea

so they could walk through it.

And at Sinai,

they heard God's voice

booming

and promising

that he would be their God

and he would lead them

into the promised land.

But sadly,

that message,

what they saw

and what they heard

did them no good.

It didn't benefit them.

Why?

Because they didn't

receive it

with faith.

Or more exactly,

the way he puts it here,

they weren't united

by faith

with those who actually

did listen

and believe

and trust in it.

And that means

you can be sitting here

right now

and you can have

come to church

your whole life

and hear the message

about Christ

and the good news

of entering God's rest

and you can intellectually

know that message

forward and backward

and you can listen

to the preaching

and you can see it

displayed in the ordinances

and baptism

and the Lord's Supper

and you can have even

partaken of those things.

And for all that,

you can still not be

among those

who actually enter in.

You can still not be united

with those

who truly listen.

Because it's not merely

hearing that gets you in,

it's believing.

Do you know the difference

between hearing

and trusting?

It's pretty simple.

I mean, we know it every,

we see it every day,

don't we?

I mean, it's like

the difference between

hearing

that if you go down

to the station,

hearing, there's a train

that will take you

from New Haven

to New York City.

There's one there.

They leave like every 15 minutes.

And you can hear that

and you can hear that

and you can hear that.

But the difference is

is that actually trusting it

is getting on one

of those trains

and letting it take you

to the city.

Now, if we step back

a moment,

you know,

this is why

this sort of difference,

this is why some of you

may have encountered

some very upright,

morally respectable people,

very religious people,

who are very

and truly

just unrestful.

In fact,

maybe it's you this morning.

Maybe you're

keeping all the rules

and you're showing up

to church

and you're working

at being a very good person

and you know

the Christian lingo,

but deep inside,

there is no

rest.

And maybe you've been

at this for a long time.

And maybe you've convinced

yourself that that's all

there is to Christianity,

just a sort of laboring.

And you've been lulled

to sleep.

And yet there's a restlessness

that still troubles you

deep in your soul

and it's telling you

that there's something more.

Or maybe you're,

maybe you're pretty new

to Christianity.

Maybe you're still exploring it.

Maybe you're trying it out.

Maybe you're just getting a start.

And maybe you've been

going at it

and honestly,

you're just getting close

to giving up

and moving on.

Because it doesn't seem to work.

You're trying this religious thing

and it's not working.

And you're starting to realize

that the rest

that your soul longs for

isn't just found

in the moral

or religious routine

that you think

stands at the center

of Christianity.

This morning,

we need to hear

that it's not those

who work,

but it's those who trust

that truly enter in.

But you know,

this first point

about who are the ones

who enter in,

it really speaks

to those who are,

those of us

who are overly casual

and familiar

with the Christian message.

For those of us

who have maybe heard it

time and again,

but still hold it

at arm's length.

Those of us

who might be hearing,

but not really believing

and not really trusting.

And because of that,

did you notice

in these first three verses?

Because of that,

because it's not just

those who hear,

but those who actually

trust with their hearts.

Because of that fact,

he says,

fear.

Now you realize

that there's a good

and right kind of fear.

Don't you?

Not all fear

is bad fear.

How many of you

saw the movie

Life of Pi

last year?

Anybody see that?

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

A lot of you.

Do you remember the scene

where sort of

the young Pi

sneaks into his father's zoo

and he wants to sort of

connect on a deep

spiritual level

with the tiger?

Remember that scene?

Am I the only one

who remembers that scene?

Okay, I'm going to tell it

to you then.

He sort of sneaks

into the zoo

and he wants to sort of

have this,

he wants to look

into the eyes

of the tiger

and I don't remember

if he wants to feed him

something or just pet him.

But you know,

just as he's about

to hold up his hand

to the bars,

his father races in

and scolds him

and stops him

and says,

what are you doing?

Don't you realize

what you're playing

with here?

And then he proves

the point, right?

He takes a goat

and he puts a goat

in front of the cage

and the tiger

just rips it

through the bars.

Friends, you see,

there's a right kind

of fear.

The author of Hebrews

is telling us

that there is

an earnestness.

There is a sobriety

and a seriousness,

a right and reverent

kind of fear

that ought to attend

what we're doing

on Sundays

and what we're doing

throughout our lives

with respect

to the gospel.

We are often

much, much

too casual

and flippant

about these things.

Don't you see,

there's a rest

that we are able

to enter,

but a casual

attitude,

a comfort

with just hearing

the message

and let it wash

over us

could devour

our hopes

of entering in.

So how about it,

friends?

Are you serious

this morning?

Or are we just

playing games?

Because it's not

merely those who hear

but those who believe,

those who trust.

rest.

Now there's this first

way of unpacking

this promise

of the rest.

Second,

what are we actually

entering?

What's the nature

of this rest

that is open to us?

Now,

to unpack

this part of the promise,

the author of Hebrews

is going to engage

in a little bit

of what we would call

today,

biblical theology.

Now here's what

I mean by that

and hang with me

on this because

you'll find it interesting.

You know,

think about two

related ways

of understanding

God's revelation.

Two ways of doing

theology, if you will,

that go hand in hand,

right?

Roughly speaking,

there's systematic

theology on this hand

and what that does

is it sort of takes

a topic like God

or sin or humanity

or creation

and it goes

through Scripture

and it arranges

what God has revealed

about that

in a very logical

fashion.

It moves through

Scripture and says

here's all we know

about God and creation

and sin,

et cetera,

et cetera.

But what we call

biblical theology

on this hand

is more concerned

with how certain

themes develop

along the course

of Scripture.

For example,

biblical theology

would ask

how does the theme

of the temple

develop along

the history

of Revelation?

How does the theme

of kingdom

and the king

develop and progress

through Scripture

as we go along

the sort of history

line of Scripture?

Now both of these

ways of doing theology

are biblical

in the sense

that they're concerned

with what God

says in the Bible

but systematic theology

does it in logical

categories,

biblical theology

does it in sort

of a historical

progression.

Now,

that little nugget

helps you to see

what Hebrews

is up to

in the rest

of this passage

starting at the end

of verse 3.

Verse 95

is talking about

my rest,

right?

But when we start

to look at the theme

of God's rest

as it develops

along the course

of the whole Bible,

we realize that

rest is something

that's even bigger

and more stunning

than we could have

ever originally thought.

And verses 3-5

begin by taking us

back to Genesis 2-2.

Remember that

after the six creation

days described

in Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

we come to Genesis 2,

right?

And there's a seventh day.

And on that day,

God rests.

And here's what it says

in Genesis 2.

Thus, the heavens

and the earth

were finished

and all the hosts

of them.

And on the seventh day,

God finished his work

that he had done

and he rested

on the seventh day

from all his work

that he had done.

So God blessed

the seventh day

and made it holy

because on it,

God rested

from all his work

that he had done

in creation.

Now,

God doesn't rest

on the seventh day

of creation

because he's tired

and he needs a break,

right?

That's not what's going on.

And God's resting

doesn't mean

that he isn't

intimately involved

in caring for

and ruling over

his creation.

But the seventh day

is God's way

of showing

that his creation

is complete

and whole

and good.

It's like a composer

who steps back

from her score

once the last part

and the last note

is written in

because she knows

it's complete

and ready to be performed

in all of its beauty.

It's done.

And that's what

the seventh day

is like.

God steps back

and is ready

for his full symphony

to begin.

And you'll remember

that the first

six creation days

all came to an end,

right?

There was morning

and there was evening

and they came to an end.

But the seventh day

doesn't end

and it keeps going.

You see,

God's rest

is an eternal reality

instituted

in creation itself.

And it's the thing

that humanity,

remember,

created at the pinnacle

of the sixth day

what we were created

to enjoy.

You see,

human beings,

you and I,

were made in God's image

to bear his glory

in creation

and we were made

to work

and to love

and to create

and to cultivate

the earth

all in light

of God's rest

on the seventh day,

all in light

of his enjoyment

of standing

before his creation

and saying

that it's good

and perfect

and whole.

Now,

flash forward

in the biblical storyline

to the history

of Israel.

This is where

the writer of Hebrews

wants to take us.

After delivering them

from slavery in Egypt,

God promises

to bring his people

into the promised land

where they would

worship God

and have abundance

and be free

from their enemies

and Deuteronomy

again and again

and again

calls it

a place of rest.

And though the first

generation failed

to enter,

the next generation

under Joshua does.

And that's what

the first half

of verse 8

in Hebrews 4

is alluding to.

Occupying the land

under Joshua,

the land of rest.

And of course,

it's not just the land,

right?

God didn't just give

Israel the land,

but he gave them

the Sabbath day.

And as you know,

this was an ordinance

in Israel

that every seventh day

would be a day of rest

and not just a day

of stopping from work,

but a day of celebration

and joy.

The Sabbath

as originally intended

was a great gift,

rich with meaning.

In Exodus 20,

the Sabbath

is connected

to God's rest

and enjoyment

and creation.

And in Deuteronomy 5,

it's connected

to enjoying

and resting

in God's great work

of redemption.

So here's where

he brings us.

As the story unfolds,

as we follow

this theme of rest

along the course

of Scripture,

we have God's people

now celebrating

a day of rest

in a land of rest.

But,

and here's where

things get interesting,

there's more.

Now we go to

Psalm 95,

written in the time

of David,

hundreds of years

after Joshua.

They've been in the land

for hundreds of years,

they've been celebrating

the Sabbath,

or supposed to have been

celebrating the Sabbath

for hundreds of years.

They're under a king,

the best king that Israel

ever saw

or probably would see.

And David's talking

about entering

God's rest.

As if to say

that the real rest

is still

in front of them.

You see what that means?

It means that the day,

the Sabbath day,

and the land,

that wasn't really

what the rest

was all about.

Otherwise,

God through David

wouldn't have spoken

of another day,

right?

That day

and that land

must have been

part of a promise,

a signpost,

a type,

a picture,

pointing ahead

to something greater.

Or to use the metaphor

we used a little earlier,

the day,

the Sabbath day,

and the land,

they were part

of a melody line

that the great composer

was beginning

to rewrite

into his fallen creation

to remind us

of what we'd lost,

and to point us

ahead

to what God

would one day accomplish

once and for all.

Otherwise,

reasons the author

of Hebrews,

why would David

be speaking

of another day

so long afterward?

And in verses

9 through 10,

Hebrews puts

all the pieces together

and he says,

so then,

there remains

a Sabbath rest

for the people

of God.

In other words,

there is a future,

a festival joy

that is coming

for those who believe.

And God wanted us

to know that

and believe that

so deeply

that into the very

warp and woof

of redemptive history,

he put these

unmistakable signposts

for us to see,

these unmistakable

melody lines

for us to hear

that would draw

our hearts back

to creation

and forward

into the consummation,

into the completion.

Back to the seventh

day of creation

when humanity

enjoyed the presence

of God

and his rest

and forward

into the new creation

where the real

Sabbath celebration

would be realized

in all of its fullness.

Do you see?

Do you see what he's weaving here?

Do you see how he's reading Scripture?

The promised land

was just a melody line.

The Sabbath day

was just a melody line,

a signpost,

a sketch

of the eternal

festival joy

that God holds out

for those who believe.

The joy of his presence,

the rest of God's presence.

And don't you see

that's finally

what our hearts

need and long for.

If it wasn't the land

and wasn't the day,

then friends,

surely it's not

a bigger paycheck

and it's not

a larger house

and it's not

a more exotic

vacation spot

that's going to

give you rest

and it's not

more obedient kids

and it's not

a more loving spouse.

Friends,

none of those things

will bring you

the rest

that you need

because you can have

all those things

and be terribly tired

and troubled

and even tormented.

What you long for

is the rest

of God's festival joy.

Think about it.

Why do we bounce

from one thing to another?

Why do we bounce

from one relationship

to another?

From one hobby

to another?

Why do we work

like mad

even though we know

that we can't sustain it

and it's not good for us?

Why are we so stressed

and we see it

and yet we can't

step back

and take a break?

Could it be

that our hearts

are trying to create

some kind of

permanent rest

where it just

can't be found?

We're trying to find

or even create

through our own efforts

the place

where our souls

can rest

and be at home

but it never works

and it always

slips through our fingers.

The money's not enough

and the kids aren't enough

and the spouse

isn't enough.

Because there's a deeper

thing going on

and God

in his mercy

and his love for you

has been writing it

into history

for you to see

with a promised land

and a Sabbath day

and all those little

glimpses of rest

that God gives you

from time to time

that are so sweet

but so fleeting

pieces of music

that the divine composer

has been writing

into history

and into your life

bars of the symphony

that we lost

but towards which

God is taking

those who believe.

Augustine famously

wrote at the beginning

of his confessions

you've made us

for yourself

and our heart

is restless

until it rests in you.

So then there remains

a Sabbath rest

for the people

of God.

Yeah?

Now as we've seen

Hebrews

is the great book

of perseverance.

And don't you see

if this is what

is out ahead of us

if what we are

entering into

is the festival joy

that God created us

to have.

What wouldn't you

be able to face

now

for his sake?

Beth and I love

to do pre-marriage

counseling with couples

and one thing

we've learned

as we've done this

again and again

is that it's amazing

what couples

will face

in light of

the coming festival joy

of their wedding day.

They will face

pressure from family

and financial stresses

and sleepless nights

and long hours

making completely

tedious decisions.

What color

should we pick?

Right?

They will endure

days apart.

They will endure

unfulfilled longings

because it's all worth it

when the music starts

and the bride walks

down the aisle

and they enter

into their union

and the reception

the party begins.

But doesn't that

doesn't that day

pale in comparison

to what God

has in store

for those who believe?

Couples plan a wedding

for what?

Six?

Okay, that's kind of short.

That's how Beth and I

did it.

Six months,

twelve months

maybe you take

to plan a wedding

celebration.

God has been planning

his festival joy

for you

from the beginning

of creation

ever since

the seventh day.

And even more

than that,

Hebrews 13

talks about

an eternal

covenant.

Friends,

if human beings

can throw a pretty

great party

in six months,

just imagine

what God

has in store

for you

from all

eternity.

if you knew

that was out

ahead of you,

wouldn't you be able

to face another

year of singleness

without chucking

your trust in Christ?

If you knew

that that

is what God

had in store

for you,

couldn't you face

another round

of job searching

without doubting

God's love for you?

wouldn't you be able

to face the fears

of retirement

and growing old

if you knew

that that's what

was to come?

Friends,

couldn't you even

face death itself

if you knew

that there was

a Sabbath rest

for the people

of God?

Friends,

hold on to that

hope and you

can face anything

with courage

and with joy

and with rest.

I promise you.

But third,

how do we enter?

How do we get in?

Because you know

this theme of rest,

it goes even deeper

than we've been

touching on.

Because when you

think about it,

rest always comes

at a cost,

doesn't it?

When humanity fell

and we lost

our true rest

in God's presence

as a result,

our work being

filled with toil

and sweat

and our relationships

were fraught

with conflict

and our identity

becomes restless

with guilt and shame

and ever since then,

any rest that we get

in this life

comes at a cost.

Think about it

at the most mundane level.

You want to take

a rest from work

and either you have

to work ahead

before you take

that rest

and pay the cost

on the front end

or you've got

to play catch up

when you get back,

right?

Then the cost

you have to pay

for a week's vacation

is the mountain

of email

that's waiting for you

when you get back

in the office.

3,000 new messages

in my inbox,

how is that even possible?

Of course,

it's pretty easy

to pay that cost,

right?

You just hit

the delete button

hoping you miss

the important ones.

Done.

Cost-borne.

But think more deeply

than that.

What's the cost

of getting rest

in a relationship?

Especially relationships

where we've hurt

one another.

It's a deep cost,

isn't it?

Sometimes it's

the cost of tears.

most certainly

the cost of forgiveness,

the cost of long,

hard talks

late into the night,

the cost of time

to rebuild the trust.

And that's a cost

that's much,

much harder to pay.

So it makes sense,

doesn't it?

When the gospel

tells us that

our rest with God

comes at an infinite cost.

rest.

We read earlier

the words of Jesus

from Matthew 11, 28.

Come to me,

all who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Jesus says,

I'm the true rest giver.

That deep

and lasting rest

that you were created

to enjoy,

that was lost

through the fall,

it's in me.

The rest that was written

into the history

of redemption

and that I've been speaking

into your life,

it all comes together

in me,

Jesus says.

Come to me

and I'll give you rest.

And how is that so?

How does he grant it?

How does he pay the cost?

It's through the cross.

At the cross,

the source of our deepest

and most troubling unrest,

the unrest of being sinners

before a holy and just God.

At the cross,

those sins are paid for

and taken away

and in their place

were given the true rest

of forgiveness

and eternal life.

You see,

like verse 8 says,

Joshua couldn't give

the people rest.

Because even in the land

and even celebrating

the Sabbath

and even with all our gadgets

and gizmos today,

we still have to contend

with our sin.

But he's telling us

that the true

and better Joshua

has come.

Jesus Christ.

That's how we enter

into the rest.

Through the person of Jesus.

He's the one we trust.

It's not just a

general belief

in something,

it's a trust in him.

That he's our rest

and he'll take our sin

and he'll give us

his righteousness

so we can finally

know rest.

So lastly,

what do we do

about all this?

What do we do?

What do we do

in light of this?

Well,

the passage ends

somewhat paradoxically,

doesn't it?

Verse 11,

here's what the author says.

Strive.

Wait a second.

There's a whole paragraph

about rest

and now you're telling us

to strive?

That doesn't seem

like the right conclusion.

What does he mean?

Of course,

as we just saw,

he can't mean

that now somehow

we have to earn our way

into the rest.

We have to keep our noses clean

so God will accept us.

We enter always

and only

through believing

the good news

of Jesus Christ,

through faith

in what Christ

has done for us.

So,

this exhortation

to strive

doesn't throw us back

on some sort of form

of works righteousness.

Rather,

here's what he must mean.

He must mean

this,

that if we enter

God's rest

through faith in Christ,

then this exhortation

to strive

must mean

that we should make

every effort

to keep the fires

of our faith in Christ

burning bright.

That's how we strive.

Not at works,

not at moral performance,

but keeping the fire

of faith

burning bright.

And that matches

what he goes on to say

in the rest of the verse.

So that no one

may fall

by the same sort

of disobedience.

What's that sort

of disobedience?

He's referring back

to the wilderness generation.

Look at the end

of chapter 3.

What was their type

of disobedience?

It was unbelief.

Not believing

what they heard.

Which just confirms

that the striving,

verse 11,

calls us to,

is a striving

to keep our faith

in Christ awakened

and alive.

Now,

this doesn't mean

that the author

of Hebrews thinks

or is afraid

that genuine Christians

can lose their salvation.

So you better keep believing

or else you're going

to fall away.

But he does mean

two things.

First,

a genuine saving faith

is persevering faith.

Hmm?

A faith that doesn't

persevere

wasn't saving faith

to begin with.

But,

when you really come

to know the rest

that we have in Christ,

it breaks in

and you want to

strive after it

more and more

and make it more

and more your center.

Second,

when we make

every effort

to keep the fires

of our faith

in Christ burning bright,

it has an effect

on the people around us.

You can read

verse 11 this way,

can't you?

You,

strive to enter

that rest.

You,

keep your faith

in Christ burning bright

so that others

might not fall

by unbelief.

So,

not only is saving faith

persevering faith,

but persevering faith

is a means

of bringing others

to believe.

As we set our eyes

on the great

festival joy

that Christ

has purchased for us,

as we allow

his everlasting rest

that we have in him

to be our all-consuming passion,

others will start

to catch that vision

and the hope

will become

infectious.

So,

as we,

as we strive

to keep our faith

in Christ

passionate

and hot

through,

through reading

and through prayer,

through,

through giving

sacrificially,

through fellowship

with one another,

right?

Through creative witness

to our neighbors,

through,

through heartfelt worship,

through acts of mercy

and justice

and love,

when hope

fuels all these things,

when we gladly strive

to keep our faith

in Christ rich

and alive,

when others see

that in us,

God uses it

as a means

to turn mere

hearers of the gospel

into genuine

believers

in the gospel.

So, friends,

what are you striving

after this morning?

Are you striving

after mere

temporary

rest?

Are you putting

all your energies

into a rest

that's only going

to last

for a week

or two

over the summer?

Are you putting

all your energies

into a rest

that's only going

to last

for a handful

of years

when you retire?

Are you striving

for the rest

that truly lasts?

The rest

of God's

festival joy

that He's

purchased for us

through the work

of Christ?

Friends,

that's the only

striving

that will bring

you peace.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, this morning,

Father, we want

to pray for

those who are

in our midst

who are experiencing

this deep restlessness.

Lord, you know

their hearts.

God, we ask

on behalf

of those

that they would

come either

for the first

time

to put their

trust in you,

Lord Jesus,

or they would

come to realize

what they have

in you for the

first time.

Lord, we pray

that we would

become a people

who so grasp

and know

and look forward

to that coming

festival joy

that you've

purchased for us,

Christ,

that our lives

would be marked

by a deep

and abiding joy

and peace

and endurance,

God.

Lord, many of us

this morning

are facing

hardships

and troubles

and trials.

Lord,

and we're tempted

to doubt you,

and we're tempted

to have our

faith waver.

Lord, we pray

for those

that in light

of all that you

are doing in us

and you have

prepared for us,

Lord, that we

would be able

to hold on

with courage

and joy

and fearlessness.

Lord, we ask

all this in Christ's

name.

Amen.

Amen.