Hebrews 4:1-13 “Working to Rest”

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Deep soul rest. Can you imagine that? When was the last time you felt deeply rested?

Will you close your eyes with me for a minute and try to go there? Envision some time where you felt

deep rest? Maybe it was pushing back from the table after Christmas dinner, your belly full,

your grandkids running around laughing, Christmas carols playing in the background.

Some of you I know, for you, the kids need to be napping, not running around. You're picturing

that and you're hearing waves ashore on the beach. You read your book. You talk to a friend.

Maybe the time you're picturing was after you'd finished mowing the grass or weeding the flower

bed or organizing the closet, whatever, and you're sipping ice-cold lemonade on the back porch and

smelling the freshly mowed grass and the birds are chirping. Maybe some of you are thinking of a moment in

this room after we'd sung that song or read that scripture that you love and you're coming to the

Lord's table and you could just breathe deep inside and feel at rest.

I suspect that some of you may be honest enough to admit right now, even with your eyes closed,

you can't hardly envision a time where you felt the feeling like that of deep satisfaction and

peace and nothing else was bombarding your mind, your senses all the time.

Maybe Jesus wants to invite you into that in your very soul deep down today. He already has, right? He's

already extended that invitation. Now Hebrews wants to extend it again to all of us and explain it to us

just a little bit more. You can look at Hebrews 4 now. That was a long time for some of you. We've arrived at Hebrews 4.

The author has just finished pleading with God's people not to harden our hearts like God's people in the wilderness

who didn't believe in the wilderness.

Who didn't believe him so they couldn't enter into the promised land because of their unbelief.

Chapter 4 verse 1. God's very word inviting you into rest.

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.

For the word of God is living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of marrow,

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

And no creature is hidden from his sight,

but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him

to whom we must give account.

This is indeed God's word.

Let's ask for his help.

Father, you've given us something that is alive

and active and sharp.

the sword of your word,

and it cuts deep.

And if we'll listen,

it will show us things in our hearts,

sometimes things we don't wanna see.

Would you do that this morning?

Would you make us have soft hearts

that are open

to the surgery you would do on us?

Because we trust

that you're doing it for our good,

to heal us.

Help us.

Speak to us and help us hear

and respond.

In Jesus' name, amen.

My heart for us this morning

is that you not just listen,

but that together you taste

some of the rest that God offers,

at least enough of a taste

that it makes you long for more.

Okay?

I'm gonna try not to overdo

the explanation of this.

You may have noticed as we read,

the passage talks a lot about rest.

Took me hours of study to figure that out.

Just kidding.

But when you read it,

while it's obvious

it's talking about rest,

it may be a little tough

at first reading

to know even what he's talking about.

There's so many different things.

By rest,

do you mean

complete physical inactivity?

Doing nothing?

Do you mean

a Buddhist sense of nirvana,

like out-of-body experience

I'm gonna have?

Is it some kind of

out-of-date concept

of a slower pace of life

than I've ever experienced?

Is that...

Well, as he's talking about it,

the preacher of this sermon

to the Hebrews

once again quotes

other scripture passages

to help us understand

what he means.

So let me look back

at the rest

he keeps talking about

and help us see

that the rest

Jesus offers

for our souls

is,

these are my words,

God's joyful satisfaction

with his,

just reverse the words,

contented celebration

of finished work.

I think it will help

to look at the rest

in this passage

chronologically

in the Bible's story.

He's gonna hit

several different epics

in that story

and we learn here first,

God is the first one

to rest.

Verse four,

he's somewhere spoken

of the seventh day

in this way,

God rested

on the seventh day

from all his works.

And again,

in this passage,

he said,

they shall not enter

my rest.

It's God's first,

right?

If you look back

to Genesis 2,

you realize

God looks around

at his glorious creation

and he's just pronounced

good,

good,

good,

very good.

And he blessed

the seventh day.

How did he bless it?

He blessed it

by

resting.

Resting

is good.

Not just

necessary

because you're tired.

God wasn't tired

here.

He was satisfied.

He was joyful.

Maybe like that

grandparent

pushing back

from the table,

looking around

at the family

and the home

at a life's work.

Delightedly.

God was finished

with his work

of creation.

Now we know

when we say that,

God didn't cease

activity entirely.

He was still

upholding,

sustaining,

protecting,

preserving his creation.

Jesus says

his father

is always working.

But there is

this really

worthwhile

celebration

of the completion

of a massive

undertaking,

right?

Maybe you've

felt that.

In this case,

God's work

of creation.

This,

in some way,

is the rest

that the writer's

talking about.

My rest,

God says.

It's his

that he's gonna

invite us into.

That his people

have either failed

to enter into

or they're being

called to later

in this passage.

There's another

season of rest

highlighted here,

of course,

maybe the easiest

one to see.

It's the rest

in the promised land.

Here,

primarily,

when he's talking

about this,

this is rest

God was inviting

his people into

that they were

missing out on,

right?

40 years in the

wilderness.

Even though they

heard the invitation,

they missed it.

Now,

Joshua would

eventually

lead the next

generation into

the promised land

where they would

settle.

God would give

them rest

from all their

enemies,

all defeated,

right?

Before God's

people could

rest.

Of course,

who did the

work to make

sure that they

could?

It's very clear

as you read

through the book

of Joshua,

God is the

one,

whether it's

Jericho or

the Jordan

River or

whatever it is,

God is the

one doing

this work to

bring them

into the

land,

but then they

were able to

enjoy his

provision

joyfully,

gratefully,

peacefully,

plenty of

work to be

done in the

promised land,

but they could

do it while

at rest.

Notice in the

description of

promised land

rest that God

was giving his

people not the

full and final

rest, the rest

in him, but

rather giving them

a beautiful picture

of that rest.

That's why he

tells us in

verse 7,

several hundred

years after Joshua

brought the people

into the land,

David in Psalm

95 says,

today,

don't harden

your hearts,

but trust God's

voice.

Come and find

rest for your

souls.

Verse 8,

for if Joshua

had given them

rest, the real

thing, God would

not have spoken

of another day

later on.

Joshua did give

them some rest,

right?

Brought them into

the land, but

not entirely

God's rest,

complete with a

joyful satisfaction.

So the rest God

offers is more

than physical

inactivity,

it's more than

temporal peace

and no more

war, it's always

celebrating his

finished work,

in this case,

his work of

redemption from

their enemies

rather than

creation.

So the preacher

makes clear that

there is still a

rest for God's

people.

Generations after

Exodus and the

wilderness, the

promised land, and

the Psalms.

Verse 9, so then

there remains a

Sabbath rest for

the people of

God.

Don't miss this.

In this context,

what he's saying

is you and I can

still enter into

God's rest.

It's an invitation

to you.

It's an active,

present reality that

he invites us to

enjoy with him.

And then it

clearly goes beyond

this world.

It remains a rest

for God's people

always to enter

into.

We start tasting it

here, and it goes

on forever.

He's telling you

that you can be

joyfully satisfied.

You may not believe

that.

You can be joyfully

satisfied, that your

soul can begin to

settle into a

contented celebration,

salvation.

Not because you

just quit.

You just settled for

something less, but

because you finally

found the real

thing, the true

soul rest that you

were made for.

Before we wrap up

looking at this idea

of rest in this

passage, notice God's

rest that began in

the garden and is

offered to us here

with him is also in

the future.

In this passage, we

understand that because

it remains and

because the promised

land wasn't the real

thing, but rather a

sign, a pointer to

God's true rest.

Listen to how

Revelation speaks of

it.

Blessed, blessed

indeed, says the

spirit are those who

have died in the

Lord, that they may

rest from their

labors.

That's what is

offered to us that

we look forward to

even beyond this

life.

Once again, in this

passage, you notice

rest is what?

It's a blessing.

It's a good gift.

And in some way,

even eternally, we

cease from our

labors.

We rest from our

works.

As verse 10 told us,

we would have to in

God's rest.

God's rest involves

that we stop our

works.

There's a sense in

which work is

finished eternally.

We rest forever.

Thankfully, we know

by now, don't get

confused, there is

work in heaven.

We know by now that

doesn't mean that

there's total

inactivity, just

disconnection from

everything and

eternal boredom.

That's not what

he's describing.

He's describing a

never-ending party,

right?

Joyful celebration,

satisfaction, with

deep contentment.

How is that

possible?

With God.

Without burdens.

Without tears.

Without pain.

Don't that just

help you?

Don't you start

tasting rest when

you think about

that?

I'm with God.

I'm without anything

to burden me.

I'm without any

struggle or sorrow.

What I mostly

would like to do

is talk the rest

of our time about

how this passage

tells us to enter

into this rest.

It is such good

news.

It's so freeing.

It's so life-giving,

but it's so hard

for us.

But briefly,

before we do

that, I don't

want to skip

over the urgency

that God gives

this invitation.

This is not a

casual.

I know you get

something like

this.

Hey, come to

the party if you

like.

Drop by sometime.

Say hey.

If it's convenient.

That's not the

kind of invitation.

Listen to the

words.

Verse 1.

Let us fear

lest any of you

should seem to

have failed to

reach it.

He's saying

approach this

invitation to rest

with reverence,

with sobriety,

because God is

saying these are

matters of whether

you are with him

or not.

With him,

the greatest good,

the one your soul

was made for,

the one you so

deeply need.

And we're

reminded that

some of those

among his people

who have seen

and heard of him

missed out

on the rest he

offered.

They heard the

invitation you're

hearing in a

different generation,

in a different

way, and they

missed out.

Thus it's urgent

that you respond

while the promise

of entering his

rest still stands.

When is that?

Today.

Today.

It's like,

it reminds me of

the pastor who

once said that

Satan seeks to

convince us not

that there's no

heaven or there's

no hell, but that

there's no hurry.

That, oh, I'll get

to that later.

I'm going to just

keep rushing on

with life until

it's too late,

until my heart

has gotten hard

to hearing God's

voice called to

me over and

over and over.

No, the preacher

says, today strive.

Make every effort

to enter God's

rest.

Friends, please

don't file what

we're about to

hear about how

to enter God's

rest under

optional or

unimportant

things.

How tragic

would it be

for anyone here

this morning

to hear this

invitation,

to have it

extended to you

again and to

miss out on

true rest forever,

never to know

what you really

were made to

experience.

Listen to the

invitation and

reply, please,

please reply.

Verse 11 boils it

down for us.

Let us

therefore strive

to enter that

rest so that

no one may

fall by the

same sort

of disobedience.

Don't let it

happen to you.

Don't get left

out in the

wilderness like

them.

Instead,

strive.

Make every

effort.

Urgently

prioritize

this rest.

Now that's

confusing.

That feels

like a

paradox,

right?

Work hard

to rest.

You know,

get really

focused on

calming down.

What's he

talking about?

What does it

look like?

How can we

not just brush

that aside and

say, ah, it

was exaggeration,

strive to enter,

it's no big

deal, really?

No, he's saying

something important.

What does it

look like when

we enter Jesus'

rest?

Can we just

take a couple

minutes and be

honest that most

of us know what

it doesn't look

like?

If the rest

we're talking

about is joyful

satisfaction,

contented

celebration,

finished work,

it doesn't look

a lot like

21st century

America, does

it?

people trying

to control

our own

lives or

perhaps having

given up on

controlling our

own lives,

trying desperately

to control our

children's lives

or our

neighbors or

our coworkers

or our world.

Somewhere we're

going to find

it.

Y'all, even the

most successful

of us, those

who control the

best, are

tired, tired

of it.

There's always

something more

to do because

deep down, why

do we have to

do those things?

Because deep

down there's

always something

else to prove,

isn't there?

Someone else to

control, something

else to fix.

It's not all

right, it's not

all the way it

should be.

We know God's

joyful satisfaction

does not look

like an impatient

parent lashing

out at a stubborn

toddler.

We know God's

rest does not

look like a

ranting social

media feed that

reflects a deeply

discontented

heart.

We know

contented

celebration does

not look like a

frantic student

anxiously awaiting

test scores to

decide if life's

even worth living

for the next

four years.

We know Jesus

is not inviting

us into being a

controlling boss

who manipulates

and distrusts

and yells when

someone makes

him look bad.

But we've all

been those people.

at times,

haven't we?

We've all

desperately tried

to work ourselves

into significance,

into comfort,

into success,

into rest.

I want to

suggest to you

something that

might seem,

as you actually

think about it,

too good to be

true.

What if the rest

Jesus offers

actually involves

you needing to

do nothing else?

rest?

What if there was

not yet one more

thing you needed

to put on your

list of things to

do in order to

find rest?

What if it looked

like someone who,

who when life

jostled him,

stood firm and

was able to

remain calm and

to listen to a

child crying or to

comfort an anxious

friend because

you had rest?

rest?

I want to give you

a picture of this

for what we're

about to unpack.

Recently, I was

in the Atlanta

airport.

It's a great place

of rest.

And I needed to

get to the next

flight quickly.

I had to take one

of those airport

shuttles.

I had just enough

time, I thought,

to grab a smoothie

and then to run to

catch the shuttle.

So I didn't slow

down for other

things.

So here I was

with my carry-on,

my smoothie.

I had my coat

off so hot on the

plane, carrying the

coat laptop bag, and

needed the phone out

to make sure I didn't

miss boarding for the

next flight, right?

So I mean, I'm

probably looking a

little bit strange.

And I made it down,

rushed into the

shuttle, just in time

to get on board and

hear the voice remind

me to hold on to

something.

I looked up at the

door in front of me

and it said, you

know, I don't

remember the exact

words, but make

sure you hold on,

sudden stops or

whatever.

And I thought, that's

true.

That is correct.

I've heard that

before.

That's really

important.

But I don't have a

free hand.

And I'm pretty

strong.

This is what's

going through my

mind.

I'm stable.

I can stand.

And sure enough,

the start was just

fine.

So I let my guard

down.

And there I was

sipping on my

smoothie when the

next stop got me.

It wasn't pretty.

I'm going to try not

to reenact it too

much.

I do want you to

know I did not

actually hit the

ground, okay?

But in order for

that not to happen,

I did drop the

phone, the laptop

bag, and the

coat.

They all hit.

And I let go of

them and just at the

last moment was able

to grab that pole

that I could have

been holding on to

to begin with.

You also need to

know I did not

drop the smoothie.

Somehow I dropped

the right things and

held on to that

one.

Saved me from

further embarrassment

and injury.

But rest in that

moment looked like

letting go and

holding on.

Letting go and

holding on.

That's what God

through Hebrews

wants to tell us

to do today.

Both of those

things.

First, let go.

Let go of your

own works.

Boy, this is hard.

The theological

word for this, at

least one of them,

is repentance.

Notice verse 10.

Whoever has entered

God's rest has

also rested from

his works as God

did from his.

To enter God's

rest, first stop.

Let go of your

own works.

Here's why.

If rest is this

joyful satisfaction

with finished work,

how can that ever be

yours?

How could you ever do

enough for God?

How could you ever be

certain that you'd done

enough for eternity?

That you'd found rest?

That you were good

enough for God?

The finished work

to give you

his rest

has to be

his work.

Really important.

It's just the same

with creation, right?

It's just the same

in the promised land.

God has actually been

teaching his people

this for thousands

of years.

They just miss it

most of the time.

It's especially

important.

He really drives it

home when our sins

are being handled.

How's this going to

work when our

sins are being

dealt with?

All the way back

to when he instituted

the day of atonement

for his people.

It was a day each year

that a goat

was going visually

to bear away

the sins of the people

from the camp.

God says,

on that day

in Leviticus 16,

you shall do

no work.

Because atonement,

forgiveness for your sins,

it's going to be

made for you.

It is a Sabbath

of solemn rest.

Why?

Don't miss it,

God says.

When the work

is done

to make you

right with me,

to keep us

in relationship,

you're going

to do

none of it.

And I don't want

you to miss that.

You do

no work.

So,

if you're going

to make every effort

to rest,

the preacher says,

you need to be

exposed

before God.

How insufficient

on your own

you really are.

That is the

primary reasoning

behind the famous

verses about

God's word

as a living

and active

two-edged sword

that exposes

us to our souls

so that even

the motives

you don't realize

you have

are seen

by God.

God,

this is a little

scary.

Now,

you're rightly,

you're supposed

to feel the sense

of I'm undone.

No one

is good enough.

You've got

now to let go

of your

good works

and cling

to Him.

I don't think

we struggle

to realize

striving

to rest.

We know

what it's like

to have a long

list of things

to work on

before we can rest.

We have to finish

the list, right?

To check it all off.

That's why you even

sit at a beach

on vacation

and your soul

is not at rest.

Maybe everything

else is slowed down

but the phone

buzzes

and it's news

from back home

and what really

interrupts my rest

is that I can't

control it.

The kids

complain

but what really

interrupts my rest

is feeling like

I'm not a good

enough parent.

That doesn't go

away at the beach.

To taste

even a day

of rest

think of all

the things

you're going

to have to

let go of.

I'm going to

have to let go

of my phone.

I'm going to

have to let go

of my fearful

grip of control.

Let go of

outcomes

as Bill Nash

helpfully reminds

me so often.

God says

the list

to do

to enter

his rest

is so long

you'll never

get through it

but Jesus

has.

He has

trusted

and obeyed

and suffered

and sacrificed

and loved

and lived

perfectly

so God's

rest

is joyfully

satisfied

with his

finished

work.

You have to

let go of

yours.

He's the one

who's done it.

In case you

haven't connected

these dots yet

that means

repent

of your sins

where you run

far away

from Jesus

and live

your own way

not his.

You've got to

repent of that

and also

repent of your

own attempts

to replace

Jesus'

finished work

with your own.

Those times

where you think

I'm going to be

good enough

not to need

him today.

I'm thinking

if I'm

spiritual enough

God will

love me.

I'm thinking

I'm going to

perform well

enough that

I'll finally

be certain

that I'm

eternally okay

because I was

good enough

today.

Are you

kidding me?

Do you see

how you can

end up

with an

armful

of really

good things

but you're

going to have

to let go

of them

to hold on

to something

really stable

or else

you'll fall?

See God

actually has

something

absolutely

stable

for you

to hold

on to.

This is not

just a let go

message.

That feels

kind of nice

but it's not

enough.

There is

something

and someone

worth

clinging

to.

You know

already

you've been

here the last

few weeks

Hebrews is

going to

tell you

Jesus gives

you a better

rest than

Joshua.

Yes.

The message

of Hebrews

4 is

believe

this good

news.

Believe it

not merely

when you hear

it over the

loud speaker

not merely

when you read

it on a

door in

front of

you.

believe it

when life

throws you

off balance.

Really hold

on to it.

Actually

trust him.

A life

of repentance

and faith.

The people

back then

heard the

good news

verse 2

but they

didn't unite

hearing

with faith.

They didn't

enter rest

because of

unbelief.

So how

do you

enter?

Verse 3

we who

have

believed

enter

that

rest.

Listen it

is that

simple.

God's

rest

the

ultimate

joyful

satisfaction

is yours

when you

trust

Jesus.

Jesus

told us

the work

God called

us to do

was believe

in the

one

that he

sent.

Trust

him.

It is

that simple

and it's

that complex

for people

like us

arms

full

of good

works

and good

things to

do.

Hearts

full

of

mixed

motives

lives

full

of

wanting

to

live

our

own

ways

this

becomes

very

complex

for us.

We must

drop

our arms

full

of

control

and

performance

and

pride

to cling

to

Jesus

sovereign

care

his

perfect

trust

his

steadfast

faithfulness

it is

true

he will

come

through

I can

lay my

deadly

doing

down

down

at

Jesus

feet

and

stand

in

him

in

him

alone

gloriously

complete

God's

word

cuts

deep

he shows

you

things

you didn't

even want

to see

in your

own

heart

but not

merely

to expose

!

You

that's

not the

end

goal

also

to

heal

you

right

that's

why the

Sabbath

day

is such

a gift

to our

hearts

it helps

us let

go

and hold

on

ladies

come talk

about it

together

this

afternoon

it

helps

us let

go

of the

work

that we

think

we have

to control

to manage

our lives

and our

world

and practice

resting

and letting

God

control

the world

he's

so much

better at

that

trust me

let

God

care

for us

look

he's

actually

got you

doesn't

need help

the

Sabbath

is rest

now

as a

foretaste

of rest

eternally

from

burdensome

meritorious

wearying

work

that

saps

our

souls

it's

also a

great day

for holding

on tightly

to Jesus

there is

so much

you can

do to

celebrate

his

finished

work

right

the

glorious

perfection

of what

Jesus

has done

obviously

we gather

for corporate

worship

to hear

about it

to sing

of it

to confess

what we

know to

be true

and

then

having

worshipped

him

if you

leave

with your

heart

certain

that

Jesus

is

caring

for you

that

true

rest

that your

soul

is having

then

you're

freed up

to care

sacrificially

of your

time

and your

money

for your

neighbor

for your

lonely

brother or

sister

for your

needy

friend

you got

time

but more

than that

you've

got a soul

freed

to live

like that

there's

so much

to do

and God

has designed

your heart

and his

world

where it

works like

this

an object

at rest

tends to

do what

stay at

rest

it tends

to

he's made

you that

way

if you can

actually start

there

then when

when Monday

morning comes

early

when the

kids are

crying

when anxieties

around you

are attacking

you may

get busier

your body

may be

doing more

but your

soul

has entered

God's

rest

not just

on Sunday

because you

now know

you can

enter that

every day

you can

be joyfully

satisfied

with what

Jesus has

done for

you

contentedly

celebrating

his

finished

work

from which

you can

never

be

shaken

nothing

you do

today

is going

to change

what Jesus

has already

done

amen

so you're

you're

stable

you're

solid

you're

standing

firm

that's

rest

I want

to come

celebrate

his

finished

work

at this

table

before we

do

I just

want to

confess

to you

what many

of you

already

know

which is

the

irony

that

I

would

talk to

you

about

rest

stop

laughing

and it's

not

nice

many

of you

know

that I

have

struggled

with

rest

my

whole

life

I

have

serious

control

issues

that

often

hurt

people

around

me

I

battle

spiritual

pride

as a

good

firstborn

pastor's

kid

become

a

pastor

that's

part

of

just

part

of

why

I

needed

a

sabbatical

a

few

years

ago

sabbatical

is a

fancy

word

for

sabbath

for

someone

whose

heart

needs

months

rather

than

days

to

reset

with

God's

rest

I

was

forced

lovingly

to

let

go

of

all

of

the

good

things

that

I

carry

around

most

days

preaching

sermons

counseling

visiting

people

let

go

of

it

and

I

found

when I

did

that

I

was

worried

about

how

God

and I

would

get

along

when

I

wasn't

doing

those

things

do

you

see

the

lack

of

faith

there

what

commends

me

to

God

when

I'm

not

doing

stuff

for

him

God

I'm

worried

and

I

was

forced

to

sit

!

with

God's

word

and

watch

it

expose

that

selfish

prideful

restless

heart

that had

so little

it felt

to offer

God

no

sermons

or

anything

and

in a

fresh

way

as

God's

word

did

that

I

became

desperate

for

Jesus

you know

what that

feels

like

I

need

I

need

something

else

to

offer

God

better

than

me

I

hope

you've

tasted

that

or

maybe

you

can

taste

it

right

now

that

I

need

his

finished

work

which

in

that

moment

was

so

obviously

so much

better

and so

much

more

than

anything

I

had

I

don't

have

time

to

describe

all

the

ways

that

when

that

happened

God

met

me

there

to