Turn with me if you would now to Luke chapter two. Luke chapter two, I want to begin this message by reading some of these verses here.

Luke 2 verse 1, it says, And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, The shepherds said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen, They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.

I am so grateful for the fact that our Lord came into this world. I am so grateful. Obviously, our salvation is because of the fact that our Lord came into this world. But along with that, it just comforts my heart to know that he was here. It very, very much comforts me to know that he came to this earth. And he physically walked on this earth.

God's people love Christ. They love Christ so much they just want to be with him wherever he is. We just want to be near him. That's what we want. Even in this worship service our prayer is that he would draw near to us spiritually and that he would let us draw near to him. That's all we want. We want him. We want to be with him. We want to be near him wherever he is.

Peter said, whom having not seen, you love. And that is so true. It is so true. That is the number one character trait of a child of God. That child loves Jesus Christ. I mean truly loves Him for who He is as He is declared in His Word. And it comforts me so much to know that He literally came to this earth and He walked on this earth. That is the most tangible, physical nearness that we have to Him. And I've told you before that Spiritually, his spirit in his children is our tangible connection to him spiritually and that's so true. But he physically walked on this earth in his body. He came to this earth in his body. And every time that I think of this moment, when he came to this earth, when he came into this world, when he left glory where he was and came into this place, every time I think of this night, when he entered this world, after the delivery was over, I'm sure you've thought about the whole scene in your mind.

After the delivery was over and everything was fine and everything calmed down and they wrapped him up and laid him in a manger, I always envision a very calm, quiet, candlelit evening. That's what I have in my mind after all of that is over. I envision Joseph and Mary just very quietly sitting there staring at him. And when those shepherds came in, I envisioned them being very quiet, not to disturb, only to behold. That's what God's people do, we behold him. That's all we do with him, we behold him. And I envision them coming in very quietly, Mary and Joseph saying he's in here, and they behold him, they leave their gifts, and they repeat to Joseph and Mary what the angels told them. This is what happened, and this is what was told to us.

And after hearing that, and comparing in her mind what an angel said to Mary separately. An angel came to Mary, an angel came to Joseph separately. I envision Mary saying nothing but just in deep thought pondering all of these things in her heart. And I cannot help but just imagine in my mind that this was a holy, holy night. Oh, holy night after the journey to Bethlehem was over and the struggle to find a room was over. And the delivery, the event of the delivery was over. I envision a very quiet, calm, peaceful night of rest. The Lord was there. The Lord was there. And I envision that peace and rest existing in Joseph and Mary's home the entire time that he was with them.

I envision their experience with him being rest. Rest. You think about the fact that there was never a moment as a baby, as a child, that he cried out in anger. Never. He never took anything from another child. I can only envision him giving everything to the other children. As a young boy, he never defied or disrespected Joseph or Mary, never. He was without sin. He never disobeyed, never. I can only imagine him constantly telling Mary, here, let me do that, you just rest. You let me do all the work, you rest. This is our Lord. This is who our Lord is. This is the character of our Lord. This is the mind of our Lord, the will of our Lord, the desire of the Lord. I'll do all the work. You just rest. I'll do it.

When I think of our Lord, I think of peace and rest. That's what he is. He is the prince of peace and rest. He said, if you are labored and heavy laden, and I now attach this to this reality that he came into this world and he walked on this earth and he lived and dwelled with his people. And this is what he says to me, he who changes not, This is what he says to all of his people. If you are labored and heavy laden, come to me and I'll give you rest. That is a promise that he'll never go back on. That's what being in the presence of Him is. It's rest. That's why we love gathering in His name so much. That's why we love opening His word so much. That's why we love hearing Him declared so much. It brings rest. It brings peace. It brings so much peace and rest. That is what being in the presence of Him is. That is what being in His love, and being in His favor, and being in His grace, and being in His mercy, and being in His blood, that's what it is. It's peace and rest. He is our peace and rest, all right? He is. Now with that being understood, Hebrews 4 will be our text tonight. Turn with me over to Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4 verse 9, it says, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. And what I want us to enter into for just a few more minutes here is Christ is that rest. Christ is our peaceful rest. If we can ever enter into him, if we could just enter into him, literally, physically, not spiritually, I mean, not figuratively. That's what I mean. Not figuratively. If we could truly enter into him, we will enter into peace and we will enter into rest. Not work, not struggle, not toil. but quiet, peaceful rest.

Look with me right here at chapter four, verse one, and let's really enter into this and take this to heart in every way, shape, and form, okay? Verse one, it says, let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest Any of you should seem to come short of it. He said let's fear missing this rest. And that's what God's people fear. That's what God's people fear. Let's fear missing this rest. This rest. Oh, I don't want to miss Christ. I don't want to miss the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's fear missing this rest. Let's fear getting caught up in works. Let's fear becoming consumed with works. And I say works. Because it's the opposite of rest, but this flesh, this world, this less fear, having our eyes focused on and our minds distracted by and our hearts filled with works. Our works, so much so that we miss rest. So much so that we miss Christ, our peaceful rest, altogether.

There is only one way to miss rest. And, you know, talking about works, when it comes to salvation, this is so. When it comes to life, this is so. Life for a believer. There's only one way to miss rest, and that's to work through it. It's to work through it. It's just to work, work, work so much that all of a sudden you realize I missed my time of rest. I used to have a job when I was younger working for this company and it was a nine hour shift. You got a 30 minute lunch and 15 minute break before that lunch and a 15 minute break after that lunch. And so many times I got so caught up in working it dawned on me I never took my break. I missed my rest. And I fear that many are gonna do that. I fear that many are gonna miss rest. Verse one says, let's fear missing that rest. His rest. He is rest. Let's fear missing Christ our rest.

Verse two says, 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 it. The gospel is a person, Jesus Christ. The gospel is the declaration of the fact that he came into this world according to the scriptures, just like the scriptures said he would. From Genesis to Malachi, the whole Old Testament says he's coming. coming into this world. The gospel is the declaration of the fact that he lived in this world a perfectly holy, sinless life. Does that bring comfort to your heart? Doesn't that make you want to just stand next to him? He lived his life perfectly holy and sinless according to the scriptures, exactly as the scriptures said he would. The gospel is the declaration of the fact that he accomplished the work completely of earning a righteousness for his people. He was so righteous. He earned a righteousness for his people to give it to his people in exchange for taking all the sin of his people to himself and bearing that sin in his body before the judgment of God and being condemned in that sin and dying in that sin according to the scriptures. Exactly as the scripture said he would.

The gospel is the declaration of the fact that it is finished. You talk about rest and peace. It is finished. Christ finished all the work. to the point that God the Father is completely satisfied. And the Father proved his satisfaction by raising Christ again from the dead. And with Christ being raised back up from the dead, all the glory for the finished work has been ascribed to him. The one who rightfully sat down on the throne of his accomplished victory. That's the gospel. That is the gospel. It's not what we need to do, but what he has already done. It's not our works, but his work. That's the gospel. And there's rest in it. There's rest in it.

Verse two says, 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 it. What does faith do? It causes us to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. It causes us to look to Christ. The disciples said, Lord, increase our faith. Increase our faith. Faith is not of ourselves, it's the gift of God. It's the work of God in us. He's the author and the finisher. The faith of Christ that comes by hearing. Lord, open our ears to your word. If the faith of Jesus Christ comes by hearing, open my ears to hear your voice. Open my ears to your word. The word of your finished work, Lord, cause me to believe it. Cause me to find peace and rest in it. Cause it to be life to me. That would honestly be a very good thing for all of us to ask. Lord, cause your word to be life to me, peace to me, rest to me.

Verse three, it says, for we which have believed do enter into rest. We enter into rest. What I'm about to read has always been hard to understand for me. It's always been a very hard passage to understand, but some men, some commentary writers shed a lot of light on it for me, and I'm gonna read it and explain it as we go here. Verse three says, 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. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works." What he's saying is, God did rest from all of his work in creation. On the seventh day, he rested. But that's not the rest he's talking about here. That's not the finished work he's talking about here.

Verse five. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest, seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief, 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 hearts. For if Jesus, and that's not the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the Greek name for Joshua. Joshua in the Hebrew in the Old Testament is the same name as Jesus in the New Testament. If Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. God promised the land of Canaan to the children of Israel who were out in the wilderness. And because God promised it, some had to go in. He promised, you will go into the land, and some had to go in. But of the ones who the Lord did allow to go in, giving them rest from all their wars and all their fightings that it took to gain that land in the first place, That physical rest in the land of Canaan is not the rest he's talking about here.

God rested from all of his works in creation. God gave them rest in the wilderness, but he said, that's not the rest I'm talking about here. Verse eight, for if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

In my center margin, it says that word rest means a keeping of a Sabbath. There is a rest for the people of God, and it's not the end of a creating, making work, and it's not the end of physical fightings and wars on this earth, and it's not a day of the week. It's a person. It's a salvation. It is a new complete standing before God in him. It is a finished accomplishment and victory over sin. It's a putting away of worry. It's a putting away of guilt.

Oh, if we could just enter into that. We struggle and work and toil over sin. Sometimes we forget that we do, but we still do. Sometimes the Lord gives us so much rest, we do forget that we struggle over it. Sometimes we're just caught up in our foolishness, but our Lord has put away our worry. All you have to do is enter into Christ and he's put away your worry. He's put away our guilt. He's made an end of judgment. Does it comfort your heart to know that in Christ your judgment is over? It's already happened.

It is a quiet contentment before God. That's what he's given us, a quiet, peaceful, contentment before God that everything that needs to be done concerning me is done. It's done. It's a confidence in Christ's covering blood. It's a completeness in Christ's righteousness. It's a knowledge of the fact that in what Christ finished for me, God is well pleased. In Christ, God is happy with me. God is actually happy with me. In the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is so comforting, that's so quiet, that's so calm, that's so peaceful. That's something that you wanna just walk up to and behold. And just leave a gift at to say thank you, I worship you. And go and tell what great things have been made known to you.

Verse 9 says, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his. What will it take for a man or a woman to absolutely cease from his or her own works in trying to please God? What will it take? What will it take? It will take the presence of Jesus Christ. That's what it will take. If he will come to us, if he will come into our presence, If he will cause us to behold him and to look on him and to ponder him in our hearts, there will be peace and there will be rest. There will be rest.

Verse nine says, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God, for he that is entered into his rest He also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his. God Almighty ceased from his own works on the cross of Calvary. He cried, it is finished because it was finished. Hebrews 9 says, by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And Hebrews 10 says, after he had offered that one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever. Them that are sanctified. The moment that the work of his cross was finished, he sat down. The work was finished. His people were completely redeemed and sanctified. And the only thing that was left for him to do was sit down in the glory of his throne. That's it.

Verse nine says, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. That's one of my favorite lines in the scripture. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Feeling a need to work and do for God to be happy with me is unbelief. That's what it is. Feeling a need to work and do in order for God to be happy with me is unbelief. It's missing the rest. That's what it is. It is missing the rest. Let us labor. Don't you just love those choice of words? Let us labor. What is labor? That means work hard at it. I mean work, work, work as hard as you can to sit there and don't get up. Every time you want to get up, fight it. Every time you try, just look to Christ, but mm-mm. Sit in Christ, hope in Christ, believe on Christ, trust Christ, desire to be in the presence of Christ, thank Christ, give glory to Christ, and praise Christ. And sit there. Do it as hard as you can. You sit there as hard as you can. Let us labor, labor, labor to enter into that rest.

And in reality, how do we do that? It's by begging God. It's by begging him, Lord, please keep our minds and our hearts focused on and drawn to and satisfied. Keep us satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ as you are, Father. Satisfied with Christ, satisfied with the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we can behold God's salvation in him, like Simeon did, we read in Luke 2. Had we read farther, when he was eight days old, they brought him to the temple and a man named Simeon said, you mind if I hold him? And he took one look at Jesus Christ and said, Lord, let me die in peace. I have seen salvation. I've seen your salvation. If we can just behold God's salvation in him, truly see the finished work in him, we will cease from trying to accomplish our own works. We will not go about trying to establish our own righteousness. We will not continue trying to secure our own sanctification. We will see it all finished in Him, and right there, we'll find rest. We will cease from our own works as God has from His, and we'll be happy. We will be happy and quiet, peaceful. Rest. Does that sound good to anybody? Quiet, peaceful rest. That's such a happy place to be.

Lord, give us faith to behold Christ and let us find peace. Let us find rest in him.