Rest
Rest is not synonymous with inactivity. What God rested from was the work of
creation. He continues to be active. He is sustaining all that He has created and in the
work both of righteous judgment and gracious salvation. Jesus Christ indeed in His
incarnation, life death, rising and glorification is precisely God in action (II Corinthians 5:
19) “to say, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself by Jesus Christ, and
has given to us the ministry of reconciliation”.
What the Christian will rest from is the struggle against the forces of evil and the
afflictions by which this present life is marred. By studying the Word of God and
applying the Word against the devil’s tricks, one can rest by saying “it is written” as
Jesus did in the wilderness. The rest into which the Christian will enter will not be a
state of uneventful boredom. God Himself is dynamic, not static, and so also is His
rest. Consequently all that a Christian rests from simply sets him free to be active
ceaselessly and joyfully in the service of God. In perfect harmony with all God’s works
and in complete fulfillment, such will be the rest without end of that eternal Sabbath that
has a morning, but no evening.
The Bible says “Let us therefore be careful lest, a promise being left us of entering into
His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it! For to us was the gospel
preached as well as to them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being
mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as
He said, As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest; although the
works were finished from the foundation of the world. Seeing therefore it remains that
some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached, entered not in
because of unbelief” (Hebrew 4:1-4,6). We see that unbelief can stop one from
entering into God’s rest. The Israelites gave us an example of what happens when
rebellion and unbelief gets into the heart. The 40 years of restless wandering in the
wilderness meant that the whole adult generation except for Joshua and Caleb that set
out with Moses perished without entering the Promise Land. They didn’t trust and
believe God, they kept wanting to go back to Egypt.
Our rest although different from the promise land of Israel, is the fulfillment of the
promises God has promised for our life. “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest”
(Hebrews 4:11). By “putting on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil… wherefore take to you the whole armor of God that you
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness” (Ephesians 6:11,13-14). It is God’s rest into which all persons are
encouraged to enter. The rest of the Israelites in the promise land after their
wilderness wanderings is a symbol of God’s eternal rest that His people will share.
That rest was attained under Joshua who led them into the land and settled them there
(Joshua 23-24). They rested from their labor (striving to do things for their selves).
God gave them peace. Centuries later God warned their descendants against the
danger of following this example of hard-heartedness and reaping a similar
consequence of not entering His rest. “Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden
your hearts (Psalms 95:7-11 and Hebrews 3:7-8), as evidence that God’s rest is not a
matter of past history, but that the promise of entering His rest remains.
Jesus said, “come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest” (Matthew 11:28). The rest that Christ gives those who come to Him is a foretaste
and a guarantee of the divine rest that awaits them. The foretaste of how life can be
when you give it to Jesus and trust Him to guide you through this life, and not just
waiting to die and go to heaven.
To achieve this rest; don’t pray too quickly, but study the word on your situation until
faith comes, then pray the prayer of faith and see great results. You can trust and rest
in the Lord when you know what He says about your situations. Rest in the Lord and
wait patiently for Him.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: December 22, 2006