Faith & Rest—and—Rest & Faith
- A week of days makes one week.
- A life lived for Jesus & within His Salvation brings REST!
- A week of days apart from God makes one weak!
- A life apart from the Salvation of God brings No REST!
Do you ever arise from your slumber and realize that you remain tired, even though you have just shared time with a pillow and a cover?
Do you ever complete your day’s work and realize that you’re just plain tired—both physically & mentally?
Do you ever wish to just (you know) find REST?
Do you ever leave for a holiday, a get-away, and pack it so full of great fun but then return home, only to realize that while your vacation has been tremendous fun, nonetheless, you are extremely exhausted?
Do you ever feel as if you need a holiday from the holiday?
Do you ever feel as if you need a break from the stress of life?
Do you ever sense the strain on your body from body aches, from the wear & tear of life, from disease, or even from the fight against cancer?
Do you ever just need to push “pause”?
Do you ever just wonder—Where God, can I go, to find Your sweet REST?
Today, let’s focus on how we are promised within God’s Word that ALL who are weary “CAN EXPERIENCE”—God’s Wonderful REST!
The author of Hebrews speaks in the third chapter of the disobedience of the children of Israel when they were led by Moses as they were led from their captivity in Egypt to the promise of God’s freedom. We are reminded how a generation of people died in the wilderness due to their disobedience and were not able to enter His rest (God’s). LET’S SEE THIS TOGETHER.
“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 forty 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, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
For we who have believed enter that rest, just 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 said somewhere concerning the seventh day:
‘AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS’ ;
and again in this passage,
‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’ . . .”
(Hebrews 3: 16-4: 5)
The Bible provides us many opportunities to study about the necessity of the REST FOUND IN GOD.
True, the REST can be interpreted as “faith and belief and confession of sins” as one experiences the Salvation of God.
Also True, the REST can be interpreted as “time shared in the presence of God.” Our Savior Jesus Christ demonstrates the importance of this to us.
“But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”
(Luke 5: 15-16)
We are shown time and again how we are to REST.
We are given example-after-example of how God’s people REMAIN IN GOD’S REST & how God’s people NEED GOD’S SABBATH REST.
We are provided proof how God’s people are to pause within each day & within each week to WORSHIP & PRAISE as we reveal to the world the God we serve.
REPEATEDLY—DAY-BY-DAY.
REPEATEDLY—WEEK-BY-WEEK.
WE NEED TO ENTER GOD’S SABBATH REST!
SO TRUE—
A week of days makes one week just as a week of days without entering God’s Sabbath Rest makes one weak.
AND ALSO TRUE—
A life of days lived apart, running from the offer of God’s Salvation causes one to Never Enter GOD’S ETERNAL REST!
Today, let us SEE the promise of God—ALL who are weary “CAN EXPERIENCE”—GOD’S WONDERFUL REST!
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”
(Hebrews 4: 9-11)