Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. Our Lord has given us some glorious
commandments in His Word, some precious commandments in His
Word, and we're going to look at one of them this morning in
Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4, I want us
to look at our God's commandment to rest, to rest. That's my prayer this morning
is that I might rest and that you might rest in our body, in
our mind, in our heart, in our soul. May the Lord grant us the
ability this morning to just rest. Look with me if you would
at Hebrews chapter 4 verse 11. It says, let us labor therefore. Labor means work. Let us labor therefore to enter
into that rest. That rest. May we labor to enter
into that rest, a particular rest. Now we're not just talking
about sleep. David said, lighten mine eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lord quicken me, lighten mine
eyes, don't let me sleep. That's not what we're talking
about. This is not just any rest we're talking about. Verse 11
says, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, that
rest. Now what rest are we talking
about? Well look at verse one, it says, let us therefore fear. Let us therefore fear. Fear God. Fear a holy God that
punishes the sin that we are, not the sins that we only do,
I'm not a sinner because I have sinned. I sin because I'm a sinner. And there's a holy God that must
punish sin. Sin is what we are. So verse
one says, let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us
of entering into his rest. His rest. Any of you should seem
to come short of it. This particular rest that we
want to enter into is not our rest at all. It's not our rest
at all. It's His rest. That's the rest I want to enter
into and that's the rest I want you to enter into. David said,
rest in the Lord. It's His rest. Fear coming short
of it. Fear not entering in to it. What does that mean? How do we
enter in to His rest? Well, look at verse 2. Hebrews
4 verse 2 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. We enter into his rest by believing
his gospel, by stopping at his gospel, by trusting his gospel,
adding nothing to his gospel. What is his gospel? It's the
first thing he declared in this particular book of Hebrews. Turn
with me back to Hebrews chapter one. This is the very first thing
he declared in this book. Verse one says, God who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things. He is the heir of all things. By whom also he made the worlds. Jesus Christ made this world. He made every planet, every star,
everything. Who being the brightness of his
glory, the brightness of the glory of God, and the express
image of his person, by the word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins." By Himself, He purged our sins. What does that mean? That means
He did all the work. That's what it means. He did
all the work that was required to pay off my debt. Now I just
said I am sin. And what that means is I have
incurred a debt to God, I have transgressed His law, disobeyed
His word, His commandment. And there is a price to pay. And Jesus Christ He did everything
that was required to pay off that debt. Christ did it all. Verse 3 says, who being the brightness
of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding
all things by the word of His power when He had by Himself. By Himself. The work that He did require
him to rest in the grave for three days. And he went there by himself.
He rested in the grave for three days, but he did not rest in
peace. He did not, you know, we put
the body of a human being in the ground, and many people will
say, rest in peace. Well, our Lord did not rest in
peace. During those three days, a battle
was raging. A battle between life Himself
and death. And death lost. Is that not wonderful to hear?
Death lost. Our Lord arose the victor and
He ascended back to His Father. And right here in Hebrews 1 verse
3 it says, He sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. He sat down. That is His rest. That's His
rest. He went into that grave. He went
into the rest of death. And he accomplished victory.
And now he said, he that liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. And then he arose from that victory and he ascended on high
and he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
And that's where he's seated right now. Our God is in the
heavens. And the rest that he accomplished
in the grave and the rest that he earned after it was all finished,
We enter in to that rest by faith. That rest, His rest. I'm not
talking about my own rest. Oh, there's no rest in me. As
long as I'm looking to me, there's searching, struggling, running
here, there, to, fro. But as soon as we get on the
Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as we by faith see everything He
has finished, we enter into his rest. Now back to Hebrews chapter
four, 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. Now that verse
is quoting Psalm 95. Turn with me over to Psalm chapter
95. Here in Psalm 95, he's talking
about Israel. Israel in the desert for 40 years. Psalm 95 verse eight says, harden
not your heart as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation
in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me,
and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved
with this generation, and said, it is a people that do err in
their heart, and they've not known my ways, unto whom I swear
in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." Now,
if you have a margin in your Bible, a center reference, Right
there in verse 11 it says that they should not enter into my
rest. My margin says if they enter into my rest. If they enter
into my rest. That's the same thing it says
back in Hebrews 4. If there's a condition put on it. Now go
with me back over to Hebrews 4 and we'll see what it is. Hebrews
4 verse 3 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, although the works were finished from
the foundation of the world. All his works were finished from
the foundation of the world. All of his works were finished
from the foundation of the world. There is an if, but he controls
the if. And that work was finished from
the foundation of the world. For those who are listening right
now, who are in absolute turmoil over sin, are you in turmoil
over your sin? Are you struggling? Struggling. We know that we're sinners. We
know we've sinned against God. And sometimes the Lord allows
us to enter into the guilt of our sin, the guilt of what we've
done. Dear sinner, here is God's commandment
to us. Rest. Rest. Rest in His promise. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. The Lord said, I know that you're
a worm, but I'll hold your right hand. Rest in His work. He has given
us all of the righteousness we need. We're all sinners, we're all
sinners, and God requires perfection, holy, righteous perfection to
be in His presence. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
given us a robe of perfect righteousness, all of His works, and He's put
it on us, and He's made us acceptable. And He's paid off all the debt
that we owe. God the Father chose a particular
people and gave them to Christ and Christ did it all. He paid it all. So rest in His
Word. He said, come unto me. Don't come to doctrine. Don't
come to a higher knowledge of doctrine. And don't come to morality. And don't come to the fact that
you finally decided to turn over a new leaf. Come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Rest, all of the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. Rest, there's nothing to be done.
Rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse four says, 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. If God has rested,
why can't I? If God has rested, why can't
I? The God whose hands I'm in. If his work is finished, there's
no more work to be done. So verse five reminds us that
the Lord said again, and in this place again, if they shall enter
into my rest, my rest, that rest, his rest, He said, my rest, and
his rest is my rest, my rest. My rest is not my rest. His rest
is my rest. Verse six, seeing therefore it
remaineth that some must enter therein. And they to whom it
was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. Some
must enter therein. Salvation must come. Rest must come. To some, Christ died. The Lord Jesus Christ died. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? seeing therefore it remaineth
that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first
preached entered not in because of unbelief." He's talking about
the children of Israel who couldn't enter into the promised land
because of their unbelief. Verse 7 says 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. Harden not your hearts. For if
Jesus, and again, I have a margin right there that says that's
the same name as Joshua. Back in the Old Testament, if
Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken
of another day? Joshua led some into the promised
land on this earth. Moses couldn't do it and Joshua
did. And he did lead some of God's
children into the promised land on this earth. They had some
rest from fighting their enemies and from traveling through the
wilderness. They had some physical rest, but that's not the rest
we are looking for. Sadly to say, that's about the
only rest most people care about. That's about the only rest they're
concerned about. So they come to religion because
they want financial rest and they want medical rest, but
that's not the rest we're looking for, is it? We long for that
rest that's in body, mind, soul, and spirit. Soul and spirit,
and that's only found in Jesus Christ. Not in Canaan, in Christ,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. 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." That's wonderful. If God ever causes a man to rest
in Christ, he will stop trying to work his way to heaven. If
God ever causes a man to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ, he
will stop trying to work his way to heaven. Verse 11 says,
let us labor therefore to enter into that rest. That rest, lest any man fall
after the same example of unbelief. Now let me read a couple of scriptures
to you that some of us know and have heard before. But when we
are truly reminded of these words from our Lord, they settle our
bodies, they ease our minds, they comfort our hearts and they
comfort our souls. Over in Matthew chapter six,
our Lord is talking about the things that so many people worry
about in this life. Matthew 6, verse 25, he said,
I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall
eat, what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall
put on, is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment.
We have need of things, and Matthew 6 tells us that. Our Heavenly
Father knows we have need of all these things. He said, Take
no thought, in verse 28, why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not,
neither do they spin. Yet I say unto you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
He said, If God so clothed the grass of the field, which today
is, and tomorrow's cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith? So take no thought, saying, what
shall we eat, what shall we drink, wherewith shall we be clothed?
After all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly
Father knoweth that you have need of all these things." So
many people are only concerned with their bodies and their selves,
their food, their clothes, and they don't realize the one thing
that They need. There's one thing needful. Right here in Matthew 6 verse
33 says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you. Seek the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're going to leave this earth
and we're going to find that all the food we gathered on this
earth Counted for nothing. All the clothing we acquired,
it counted for nothing. I need heavenly bread. I need the water of life. And I need a robe of righteousness.
I need for my slate to be wiped clean. I need my sin to be dealt
with. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. That's Christ. Seek the Lord
Jesus Christ. Seek to enter into that rest.
Don't rest by having plenty of food. Don't rest by having plenty
of clothes. You seek the Lord Jesus Christ.
And all those things will be taken care of. If a man seeks
Christ, he'll find Christ. And Christ will supply all his
need. All his need. If our God has
the ability to control the eternal destiny of our soul, then he
has the ability to control the temporal necessities of our body.
David said, I've been young and now I'm old, yet have I not seen
the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. Just rest.
Rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now over in Psalm 91, verse one
says, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Boy, there's
rest in there. I will say of the Lord, he is
my refuge and my fortress, my God in him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He'll deliver you from sin, self,
Satan. Verse 4, He shall cover thee
with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth,
that's Christ, that's His Word, shall be thy shield and thy buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day,
nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. What does that mean? That means
exactly what God has purposed for it to mean. If God has not
purposed for you to get a pestilence, you're not gonna get it. You
just will not get it. If He does purpose for you to
get a pestilence, it's in His control. It's in His hands. It's by His design. It's for
His glory and it's for the good of the saints. Nothing but good
will come of it. And in the end, you'll be glad.
Verse seven, He said, a thousand shall fall at thy side, 10,000
at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with
thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made thee Lord, which is my refuge, even the
most high thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Rest. Rest. Come to the Lord Jesus
Christ and rest. He said he'll give his angels
charge over thee, in verse 11, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot
against a stone. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ
and rest, rest from it all. David penned, it is vain for
you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of
sorrows, for he giveth his beloved sleep. If you are rising up early
because you cannot sleep over your sin, you are a sinner. I am a sinner. I'm speaking to you this morning
as a sinner. And the only hope that I have
is the only hope that any sinner has. And it's the only hope that
you have. It's if God the Father will draw us to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you're sitting up early,
and if you're staying up late, and if you are eating the bread
of sorrows over your sin, over yourself, come to the Lord Jesus Christ
and rest. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. came to seek and to save sinners. He did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners. He eateth and drinketh with sinners. This man receiveth sinners. And all who come to him, he will
give his beloved sleep. If you desire rest, you come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't come to anyone or anything
but Him. Enter into His rest. Rest. Let me read one more verse
of scripture to you. If you're turning, go with me
to Psalm 116 and look at verse seven. Return
unto thy rest, O my soul. For the Lord hath dealt bountifully
with thee." God's Word mercifully and graciously reminds us of
that, doesn't it? The Lord hath dealt bountifully
with thee. The Lord has dealt bountifully
with all of His people. Every sinner that the Lord God
has called to come to Christ. Every sinner that the Holy Spirit
has caused to believe from the heart on the Lord Jesus Christ,
believe that he will be accepted in Christ, believe that God the
Father is satisfied with me in the Lord Jesus Christ, let every
single sinner rest right there. Rest right there. Until next
Sunday morning, may the Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.