This chapter is all about faith,
the blessed rest of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's urging
us to believe on the Son of God. And in doing so, the chapter
is filled with exhortations and admonitions giving us very clear
instructions about our responsibilities as believers to walk by faith,
to live by faith in God our Savior as we seek to serve and honor
Him. You see, faith in Christ is not
a passive, indifferent thing. Faith is not a dormant thing,
never. Faith is active. It's full of
life. It is a vital living principle
of grace. The just shall live by his faith. Brother Todd Nybert preached
to you on that subject just a few weeks ago. The just live by faith. It's not just that we possess
faith. Not just that we have faith as we have something in
our hand. the just live by faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Four times in these 16 verses,
we're given two words of admonition. Four times the writer admonishes
us with himself to do something. Look at them with me. Verse one,
let us therefore fear. Verse 11, let us labor. Verse
14, the last line of the verse, let us hold fast our profession. Verse 16, let us therefore come
boldly under the throne of grace. I have, this past couple of weeks,
been corresponding with one of my professors that I had in school,
my homiletics pastoral theology professor, Billy Martin. And
I recall his class, it was without question the class that was most
profitable to me to this day of any I had when I was in school.
Before every class when he would talk about preaching, he had
a statement that he made. It was made almost every time
he would address the subject of preaching in our class. Here's
what he said. Men, where there is no summons,
there is no sermon. Where there is no summons, there
is no sermon. And he was exactly right. In
other words, every sermon preached ought to call for action, not
physical action, but more spiritual action. Every sermon preached
ought to move our hearts Godward. Every sermon preached ought to
draw us out in the depths of our souls to our Redeemer. If
a sermon does not call for those who hear it to make some kind
of response toward God from it, it's not much of a sermon. So
this morning, I want to give you my summons and then my sermon. Let me give you the summons first,
and then I'll give you the sermon. When I get done, I trust the
summons will be made effectual to our hearts. Look at verse
one. Here is something for us to fear. Let us therefore fear,
lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any
of you should come short of it. We ought to fear missing Christ. We ought to fear missing Christ. Religion will benefit your soul
nothing. Bible knowledge will benefit
your soul nothing. Religious experiences will benefit
your soul nothing. Emotional times of religious
experience will benefit your soul nothing if you miss Christ. What you must have is Christ
himself. Look at verse 11. Here's something
for us to do. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. Let us labor that we may cease
from labor. Let us labor that we may cease
from our works. Every night this time of the
year, when I walk out of the office, I walk out in cobwebs. And you start to brush them off. Wherever they touch you, just
like you can't get them off. I start to walk up the porch. Shelby
walks behind me. She doesn't get them on her.
I get them off. They're all over you. You keep trying to rub them
off, and they won't come off. That's the way works religion
is. That's the way works righteousness
is to our flesh. It clings to us. It just clings
to us like glue. you you try to shake it off and
push it aside and here we admonished let us labor to enter into that
rest lest we fall like those Jews in the wilderness labor
to rest in Christ strive to enter in at the straight gate to walk
in the narrow way labor to rest verse 14 here's something for
us to hold and here's how we enter into that rest continually.
Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Hold Christ with a death grip. This we must hold for life and
death are the issues. Eternal life and eternal death
whatever you do hold on to Christ hold on to Christ and Turn loose
of everything that rivals him hold on to Christ and never let
go let go of Everything if you must hold on to Christ hold on
to him verse 16 Here's something somewhere for us to go. I Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need. If you would
hold on to Christ, keep your place at God's throne. Keep your place at God's throne
in every time of need. At all times, come to God, your
father, who sits upon the throne of grace. Come through the merits
of Christ's blood and righteousness to get mercy and grace you need
by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Always hold to Christ,
seeking mercy and grace in him. A reading through Jeremiah earlier
this week, and Jeremiah, I believe it back in chapter 29 He spoke
so wondrously of God's defense and protection and care Spoke
of God being his God delivering him protecting him surrounding
him Keeping his enemies from having their way with him and
in the very next verse He cursed the day of his birth in the very
next verse the very next verse and when I read that I thought
That's me, flesh and spirit. Spirit, rejoicing in God's goodness. Flesh, mourning other things
and being concerned and cared and troubled about other things.
Let us come boldly, knowing ourselves to be nothing but sinful flesh
in ourselves. With every need we have to the
throne of grace, holding on to Christ. laboring to enter into
his rest. All right. Now let's look at
this chapter. Hebrews chapter four, beginning at verse one.
Let us therefore fear. Let us fear. Let us fear. That's the first point. Let us
fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest. Any of you should seem to come
short of it. We ought to fear, lest we also,
after hearing the gospel, after professing to believe it, fall
short of eternal life like those Jews who perished in the wilderness. What a vast multitude walked
out shoulder to shoulder like an arrayed army walked out with
no weapons, no power, no strength, except God their defender, but
walked out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, walked out with
confidence, walked out with delight, walked out with joy, and perished
in the wilderness. Because though they heard the
word, they didn't believe God. They came short of God's promised
land of rest. They did not enter into the land
of Canaan. Wherefore, let him that thinketh,
he standeth, take heed lest he fall. Brother Matt Johnson brought
an excellent message to you from Philippians 2.12. Wherefore,
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. Let us not come short of the
promise of eternal life, like those foolish virgins our Lord
described in the parable who went forth having no oil in their
lamps. Let us rather run with patience
the race that's set before us. looking to Christ, constantly
focusing on Christ, constantly gazing upon Christ, the author
and finisher of our faith, trusting him, his blood, his righteousness,
seeking to know him and him alone, that we might count all things
but done to win Christ. That's what Paul said in Philippians
chapter three. He looked back over his past
life and he had quite a life. He, unlike most of us, he was
somebody before God saved him. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He'd been a member of church
since his birth. He had been listed among the
Hebrews, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. He had Abraham to his father.
This man had been circumcised the eighth day of the stock of
Israel of the tribe of Benjamin. He knew who his ancestors were.
He knew where he came from. This man lived by the letter
of the law all his life. He lived in uprightness and morality
by the outward morality of religious legalism. He was a man who lived
a straight, clean life, a life that men admired, a life that
men said, go be like that. But this man said, all that righteousness
that was my gain, I counted loss for Christ. And I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus, my Lord,
for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but dung. that I may win Christ. He said,
he said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. And Alan, that's after he had
been an apostle for some time. He's writing to these Philippians
who admired him as God's messenger to their souls and he said I
Count not myself to have apprehended But I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Look at
chapter 3 Philippians verse 10. Oh May God graciously cause our
hearts to pant for Christ like David's dead. I One thing have
I desired of the Lord, the psalmist said. That will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. God set my heart on just
that one thing. On just that one thing. Look
at Philippians 3 verse 10. Paul's knocking on everything
but dung. That I may know Christ. That I may know Him. Paul, don't
you know him? Yes, I want to know him. Yes,
I want to know him, that I may know him, and that I may know
the power of his resurrection, the power of life by him, that
I may know the fellowship of his sufferings, that I may stand
convinced all the time of my interest in what he accomplished
at Calvary, being made conformable unto his death. God, give me
grace to know your son, to know the power of life in him, to
know my interest in his accomplishments, conforming me constantly to his
death, making me submissive to God, to the will of God in all
things. All right, back here in our text,
verse 2, Hebrews 4, verse 2. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard. I don't pretend to understand
this. I don't understand this. But
I do know that there is such a divine authority which attends
the preaching of the gospel. That while this is the most blessed
privilege anyone under heaven can have, this is the most awesome
responsibility anyone can have. The privilege of preaching the
gospel and the privilege of hearing the gospel. Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. Now understand this. Are you
listening to me? Are you listening to me? If God
speaks to you, If God speaks to you, if God ever shows you
anything, if God teaches you anything, if God speaks life
to your soul, it will be by the hearing of the preached word
of the gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. Oh, what a blessed privilege.
What a responsibility. But if you hear and stop your
ears and refuse to believe, God says, because I've called, because
I've called. Yes, there is a general call
that comes by the preaching of the word. I am calling you today
to come to Christ more than that, more than that. God calls you
by the voice of this preacher to come to Christ. That's the
revelation of God in Holy Scripture. Believe on the Son of God and
life eternal is yours. He said, hear me and I'll pour
out my spirit unto you. If you will hear his word, God
will pour out his spirit upon you. Now that's a general call. It's given to men everywhere
as the gospel is preached to all men in general. But if that's
all you hear, you will stop your ears and you will say, no, I
won't hear God. I will not hearken to him. And
God says, all right, you can go to hell then. You'll eat the
fruit of your own ways. Oh, spirit of God. Will you call by effectual, irresistible
power as the word is preached? Will you call not from the ear,
but call from the heart so that sinners, your sheep hear your
voice and you know them and they know your voice and they follow
you. But the word preached must be
mixed with faith. It must be received by faith,
embraced in the arms of faith, or the word preached is of no
profit to our souls. I don't know a better way to
illustrate what I'm saying. I've shown it many times to you.
This glass received water, but the glass didn't do anything.
It didn't do anything. It just had water poured into
it. Now I'm fixing to receive some
water. I did something. I took it. I took it. So it is with life
and faith. Two words translated received
in the New Testament. One means to receive just like
that glass receives water, doing nothing. So it is that we receive
life from God, the Holy Spirit. The dead center doesn't do anything
to get life. So it is that we receive the
gift of faith in Jesus Christ. It is not something that we decide
to do on our own. Oh no, faith is what God puts
in us. Now, faith given by God receives
the water of life. And he says, our Savior did,
To as many as received him, just like I took that water and drank
it. To as many as reached out and took him, to them gave he
power. That is the right, the authority
from God Almighty to be the sons of God. They were born again
by the Spirit of God. You understand that? So faith
is given us and faith actively receives the word. The gospel
of Christ has been preached to us. The gospel of God's free,
sovereign grace in Christ. He is perfect deity. He is perfect
obedience. He is perfect atonement. He is
resurrection. He is intercession. He is power. He has fulfilled all the demands
of the law in the place of chosen sinners. He is intercession.
He is grace. But the gospel of Christ was
also preached to those Jews. Those Jews who perished in the
wilderness. They heard the same gospel you hear. They heard the
gospel from Moses and Aaron, just as they had heard it from
Enoch. Just as they had heard it from Noah and Abraham. It
was preached by types, by promises, by sacrifice, by examples, and
preached by prophecy. So that the prophets of old declared
the very same gospel you hear. Redemption by the blood of Jesus
Christ. Redemption accomplished by the
woman's promised seed. And yet, it did them no good.
It didn't save them. It didn't profit them. Because
they didn't believe God. Abraham did. Abraham did. Paul tells us in Hebrews 4, or
in Romans 4, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him
for righteousness. What was? That which he believed. Believing God. Believing God,
the Lord God sprinkles his conscience with the blood of Christ and
tells Abraham, you're righteous. You believe me. And that's the
only way anyone has righteousness imputed to them in the experience
of grace, is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. God said,
I'm going to send you a son. I'm going to give you a son.
I'm going to give you a son. And in that son, I'm going to
give salvation. In that son, I'm going to give
redemption. In that son that I give through
Sarah's old womb, through Sarah's dried up old womb, an old 90-year-old
woman, I'm going to give you a son and he shall be the woman's
promise seed in whom redemption and grace comes to all the world. Nah, you can't do that. You can't. Abraham said, OK, do it. Do it. And he took Sarah to bed fully
confident that God was going to give a son in her womb. He
staggered not at the promise of God. He didn't bat an eye. He believed God. He believed
God. And when God said, now take your
son, your only son, Isaac, whom you dearly love, and offer him
as a sacrifice to me on a mountain, I will show you. Abraham did
not hesitate. He believed God, being fully
persuaded that God who promised him that boy would raise that
boy up from the dead if he sacrificed him to him. And he did. He's
told his servants, his eye and the ladder are going to go yonder
and we're going to worship God. And we will come back here and
then we'll go home. He believed God. Oh, God, give
me such faith. That's not the product of a man's
will. That's not the product of learning and education. That's
not something a preacher can give you. That's not something
you can be talked into. That's the gift of God. Look
at verse three. For we which had 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. Now, I'll save the last sentence
for another day. The works were finished from
the foundation of the world so that we don't add anything to
God's works. We don't contribute anything
to God's works. If they were finished before
the world began, if this blessed rest that he's talking about,
not a rest which we perform, not a rest which we accomplish,
a rest into which we enter. A rest into which we enter. The
works were finished from the foundation of the world. Christ,
the Lamb slain from eternity, was the Lamb accepted of God
and we were accepted in Him as God's elect, blessed in Him,
saved in Him from eternity. But now, we must enter into this
rest. Enter into this rest by faith.
It's rest of salvation. Salvation is rest. This is a rest from salvation
by works. Rest from the yoke and burden
of the law. Rest from religious do's and
don'ts. Rest from all the toil and labor
to gain life. Some of you here still toil and
labor. You know better here. You know
better here. You've been taught better. All
your life you've been taught better, but you're still trying
to do something. You're still trying to find something
in you that will give you peace and comfort with God. Oh God
help you now to enter into rest. Rest. We have spiritual ease
and comfort in Christ our Lord. Only believers, only believers
enjoy this rest. The Savior said, come unto me
all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you The
rest that Paul is describing here is the spiritual rest we
have in Christ. And we have this rest in Christ
by him removing all other rest mentioned in the scriptures.
Look at verse 4. For he spake in a certain place
of the seventh day on this wise. You know what the seventh day
was, don't you? That was the Sabbath day. That was Sabbath
day. And God did rest the seventh
day from his works. Now we don't keep a seventh day
Sabbath as they did in the Old Testament. We do not keep a seventh
day Sabbath as they did in the Old Testament. And we do not
keep what religious people today call a first day Sabbath. We
do not keep a carnal Sabbath of any kind. Now I think it is
highly commendable and proper that we set aside the Lord's
Day and worship God. I don't plan to do anything on
Sunday anytime in my life except worship God. That's what I do
on Sundays. That doesn't mean I'm forbidden to mow grass or
forbidden to watch a ball game or anything else. It doesn't
mean that at all. We don't keep a carnal Sabbath day. It is good
to set aside a day to worship God. southern tip of Florida. I said,
I'd be happy to. And he said, does it have to be on a Sunday?
I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. Friday's all right. Tuesday's
all right. It doesn't matter. Set aside a time to worship God
and do it. But it is altogether proper that
we set aside a time to worship God. Nothing commands that we
keep a day. Nothing. And we do not keep a
Sabbath day. We do not keep a Sabbath day.
We keep a real Sabbath. A real Sabbath. the Sabbath of
faith. In fact, the word that's translated
rest in this fourth chapter of Hebrews, if you look at your
marginal reference, means a Sabbath keeping. A Sabbath keeping. As God ceased from his own works
at the end of the first week, so we cease from our works when
we come to trust Christ. As God rests in his love, as
it says in Zephaniah 3, so we rest. Completely, sweetly, acquiescing
in our Savior. Resting in His blood, His righteousness,
His goodness, His grace, His power, His providence, His promise,
His person. We repose ourselves upon Christ. That's what a gospel Sabbath
is. We rest in Him. We rest in Him. Rest in His obedience
for all God requires of us. Rest in His power to care for
us. Rest in His providence to provide
for us. Rest in His promises. He promised
it. He'll do it. He's God. We repose
in the Savior. If my grandson were here, he
would be embarrassed, but I can't think of a better illustration,
so I will use it anyway. And I would use it if he were
here. When he was a little shaver, just talking, just walking around,
He'd hear a loud clap of thunder. And man, oh, is that thunder,
Nana? I'm not scared of thunder. God
made the thunder. Hold me, Nana. He was perfectly
comfortable sitting on her lap, snuggled up in her arms as tightly
as he could get, as closely as he could get, snuggled up to
her, resting, resting. And we hear the thunder of trouble. and difficulty. We hear the voice
of God in the thunder and we say, God made the thunder. I'm not scared of thunder. Hold
me, my God. And we rest in him. Understand
what I'm saying? To rest is to repose, to acquiesce
in Christ. Look at verse five. And in this
place again, if they shall enter into my rest, the seventh day
rest, the Sabbath was a typical day of rest. The land of Canaan
was a typical land of rest. The unbelieving Jews never entered
in, but turned around and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years
until they died. They came out of Egypt, crossed
over the Red Sea. Look at Abab sometime. They came
that close. They came that close. and turned
around and wandered around for 40 years until God destroyed
them because they did not believe. They didn't enter into rest.
Look at verse 6. Seeing therefore it remaineth,
oh I love these words, that some must enter their Some must enter therein, and
they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. There are multitudes who perished,
but the word of God didn't fall to the ground. Canaan must be
inhabited by Israel. Therefore God raised up Joshua,
a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, to do what Moses, the representative
type of the law, could never do. Moses can't give you rest. Moses can't give you rest. Moses can't give you rest. Doing
never produces rest. You got that? Doing never produces
rest. But Joshua can. Our great Joshua,
the Lord Jesus, leads his children into the land of rest. And don't
miss this. The type must be fulfilled. The
Lord Jesus Christ, our great Joshua, must and shall bring
God's Israel into the blessed rest of eternal salvation. Every
one of them. Turn back to John chapter 10.
John chapter 10. Lindsay's been doing a fantastic
job expanding this passage. Look at verse 16. John 10, 16. Other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold. They haven't yet been gathered.
They haven't yet been sought out and brought into the fold.
They haven't yet been called by my grace. They've not yet
heard the shepherd's voice, but they're my sheep. Mark, he's
talking about you. You're one of those sheep who
haven't been brought into the fold yet. He's talking about
me. I'm one of those sheep who haven't been brought into the
fold yet. Sheep given to him before the world began. Watch
what it says now. Them also I must bring. What do we read back here in
Hebrews? Verse 6. Some must enter therein. Them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Who is it that must enter into
this rest, this blessed rest of salvation? All chosen of God
from eternity, all given to Christ from eternity, all for whom the
Son of God died, all for whom salvation was obtained by his
precious blood. Look at verse 7. Again, He limiteth
a certain day saying in David, today after so long a time, as
it is said today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your
heart. Today speaks of the gospel day
in which we live. This, our day, this is the day
of grace and salvation. Come, enter into rest. Don't harden your hearts. Don't
harden your hearts. Harden not your heart. This is
the accepted time. Believe on the Son of God. But I know you will harden your
heart. I know you won't believe. And so I beg of God, oh God,
melt the hard heart. Cause the dead to live. Call
sinners to believe on your side. Enter into rest. Enter into rest. Look at verse 8. For if Jesus... Now that's an accurate translation,
but the word Jesus here refers to Joshua. Jesus is the New Testament
name for the Old Testament name Joshua. For if Joshua had given
them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another
day? Joshua's name was changed from Osia, that is let God save,
to Joshua when he went in to spy out the land. Joshua means
God shall save. Joshua says God shall save, but
he couldn't give the people rest. He brought them into the land
of Canaan, but he couldn't give them rest. Not the rest we're
talking about here. Not this gospel rest. Not this
sweet rest of faith. Joshua is called Jesus because
his name Represents our Lord Jesus who does give rest now. What's this first night? there
remaineth therefore a rest a Sabbath keeping a Sabbath keeping not
a carnal Sabbath keeping Paul tells us in Colossians 2 don't
let any man bring you into bondage concerning holy days and Sabbath
days now Hear what I'm saying I plan to come back to this in
the next few weeks. Hear what I'm saying. You can't
keep a cardinal Sabbath and keep the Sabbath of faith. It cannot
be done. It cannot be done. You cannot
keep a carnal Sabbath and keep the Sabbath of faith. Folks who
would have you keep Sabbath days would bring you under the yoke
of the law, and they would tell you that by your keeping the
Sabbath day, you measure whether or not you really know God. Alan,
you've been there, haven't you? Is that exactly what's taught?
Exactly what's taught. We don't keep it perfectly, but
we try. That ain't what he commands. That ain't what he commands.
He didn't command that you do the best you can. He says, don't
do any work on the Sabbath day. If you do, you're going to hell.
Uzzah stuck out his hand to steady the ark and God killed him. Why? Why? Do you really think that
God would kill a man for catching a box that's about to fall in
a ditch? Do you really think he would? Of course not. Of course
not. Because Uzzah put his hand to
that which represented God's salvation, God killed him. And if you put your hand to Christ
the Redeemer, You put your hand your good works your bible reading
your prayer your devotion You put your good feelings to what
god has done in his son. God will send you to hell You
can't keep a carnal sabbath and keep a spiritual sabbath There
remaineth therefore a rest a keeping of the sabbath to the children
of god That rest is christ the lord We come to God believing
on his son and we rest in him. Salvation is a perpetual Sabbath
keeping. It begins here as God gives us
rest in Christ. And when we enter into glory,
it is but a continuation of Sabbath keeping. Let me show you what
I'm talking about. In Genesis 2, the Lord God ceased
from his works. on the seventh day. So it is
when the sinner comes to God. I'm calling on you. I'm calling
on you to drop your works. Drop your works. Drop your imaginary goodness. Drop your righteousness and come
to Christ. Cease from your works and rest
in Him. God required Israel to keep a
seven-year Sabbath as well as that seventh-day Sabbath. During
that seventh-year Sabbath, the ground rested from its slavery,
curse, and toil, portraying the rest that soon shall be given
in resurrection day when God makes all things new to God's
creation. This earth shall enter into rest
when God makes everything new. And then the law required a seventh,
seven-year Sabbath. That is, every 49 years, the
land celebrated a year of jubilee. During all that time, all the
debts were to be discharged. All mortgages were canceled. All bondmen were to be set free.
And all that had been lost was completely restored. Now I'm
going to tell you something the Jews never did. I don't find
it anywhere in their history. You remember the law of the bond
slave? Exodus 25 is it? Not one time do I have an example
of them doing it. Not one time. I think perhaps
not only because of their sinful selfishness, they weren't about
to give up what they had invested. But I think because that was
distinctly a picture of one bond slave, Christ Jesus the Lord. And the year of Jubilee, Don,
they never celebrated it. In all their history, it's never
been celebrated. What Jew is going to return mortgages
that he possesses? Or cancel debts that are owed
to him? Nope. Not going to happen. Not
going to happen. And I mean not just the Jews cardinally, but
any human being. Not going to happen. You're not
going to do it. But I think also because that blessed Jubilee
Sabbath pointed to one who alone cancels all debts and sets all
prisoners free, cancels all mortgages, and returns everything that was
lost. That's God's salvation. There
is a day coming soon when there's a destitution made of all things,
and all things are returned as if there had never been a fall.
Only better, we've been redeemed from the fall. Do you get the
picture? Christ is our Sabbath. Verse
10. For he that has entered into his rest, he also hath ceased
from his own works, God did from his He's quit working. He's quit working the Lord Jesus
Finished his works and he sat down on the right hand of the
majesty on high How come he sat down there? How come he sat down?
He entered into the holy of holies and sat down. I Go back and study
your Old Testament. There was no seat in the Holy
of Holies. There was no place for the priest
ever to sit down because those carnal priests could never finish
the work. But this man, having obtained
eternal redemption for us with his own blood, has now entered
in and sat down because his work is finished. It's finished. Redemption's done. That's talking
about Christ. It's talking about believers.
The believer comes to Christ and quits working. He quits working. Bobby, you
were in that will worship church over there all your life and
taught to work all your life. Be good and God take you. Now,
never, never just in exactly a word. Is that what you learned
from it? Don't you learn from it? That's because that's what
they intend you to learn from it. Be good, and if you're good
enough, God'll take you. So work, work, work, work, work.
Work, work, work, work, work. Do, do, do, do, do. Religion's
all about that. Getting you to do. Tying you
up in bondage so that you've got to obey, and you've got to
do, and you've got to tithe, and you've got to attend, you've
got to visit. You've got to do, do, do, do, do. Quit doing. Cast your deadly doing down,
down at Jesus' feet. Stand in Him and Him alone, gloriously
complete. Come to Christ and quit working. Enter into rest. Quit trying
to make yourself good, you can't. Quit trying to make yourself
holy, you can't. Quit trying to make yourself righteous, you
can't. Christ can! Come to Christ and cease from
your works. Alright? Verse 11, let us labor,
therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after
the same example of unbelief. Let us labor to quit laboring.
There's nothing in all the world more difficult, more contrary
to our flesh than this. Without question, we all, if
we enter into Christ's rest, enter into it by degrees. Murr, you've been walking in
the way of faith for a while now. You still have trouble with
this? Me too. It is done. The great transaction is done.
I am my Lord and He is mine. That's rest. But my good works,
Satan keeps turning my heart to my goodness and to my flesh
like those filthy cobwebs. Take this from me! I hate it. I hate it. Now, verse 12. For the word of God is quick,
it's alive, it's alive, and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, and the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Somebody says, is that talking about Christ, the
uncreated word? Is that talking about the Bible,
the Holy Scriptures, the written word? Yes, that's what it's talking
about. It's talking about our Redeemer, the living, uncreated
word. It's talking about this written
word by which the Lord God, our Savior, makes himself known to
men, piercing right into the heart of man. The word of God
is a two-edged sword. It's all-edge. It's all edge. Now I'm going to tell you something. I buy my grandson a pocket knife
every year for Christmas. I collect pocket knives for him.
And I encourage him to be careful with them and show him how to
use them. And I gave him his first one a long time ago. You
might have me arrested if I told you how early that was. But I
gave it to him a long time ago, a long time ago. But when I gave
him that first pocket knife, I wouldn't have thought about
giving him a sword. That's just too dangerous. Most likely, he's
going to hurt someone else with that. It's almost impossible
for a small, inexperienced boy to hurt himself with a sword,
except by cutting his own hand. That's about it. But he could
kill other folks with it and kill them without intending to
do so, because a sword is a dangerous instrument. I read something
in Jeremiah, chapter 29, Day four yesterday. It says concerning
a madman, he that is mad makes himself a prophet. He that is mad makes himself
a prophet. I'm responsible to take this
two edged sword and handle it with care. To kill. but only to kill what
needs killing, your pride, and your lust, and your sin, and
your self-righteousness. To pierce, to pierce is only
God can pierce through the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, the
joints and marrow, the thoughts and intents of the heart pierced
and exposed by this two-edged sword. As God the son sends his
spirit and makes it effectual. And I pray, Lord God, give me
wisdom to handle this sword as you would have it handled for
the salvation of your people. Look at verse 13. Neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all
things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we
have to do. Christ our Lord is the omniscient
God. Nothing's hidden from him. Look
at verse 16. Here's number 14 rather. Here's the third thing.
Let us hold Seeing then we have a great high Pete priest that's
passed into the heavens. Oh What a priest Christ is not
typical but real not a man but God a priest after the order
of Melchizedek Eternal our great high priest will have no successor
Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our profession For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin. Hold fast to this priest. There's
none like him. Full of compassion, tempted in
all points like as we are, but triumphant, yet without sin,
perfectly holy, able to say to the uttermost, all who come to
God by him. But still there's more. Let us
come. Let us therefore come boldly
to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. Come now. To God on his throne. Come to God on his throne. He
sits on the throne of absolute, incontestable sovereignty. And
it's a throne of free grace. a throne of grace. He sits on
the throne who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin and will
by no means clear the guilty. It's a throne of grace. He receives
sinners at his throne through the merits of his Son who will
make sin for us and put away sin by the sacrifice of himself
and find mercy to help in time of need. Children of God, you
come too. Come to the throne of grace.
Hold fast your profession ever coming to Christ with every need
you have. I'm ashamed to confess it, but
confess it I must. I would seldom come, Skip, if
I didn't have a need. You would seldom find me at prayer
if I didn't have a need. Oh, I might go through the rituals
and motions, but you'd seldom find me praying if I didn't have
a need. It's my need that compels me
to come. And God's fixed it so long as
we live in this world, in this body of flesh, that we have need,
our sin, our weakness, our rebellions, our lust. our troubles, our woes,
our cares. But there wouldn't be any need
for a priest if there wasn't a needy people who needed that
priest. And we have a great high priest. Jesus, the Son of God, passed
into the heavens. So hold on to him and come to
the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. Amen.