While I was singing that, I was
thinking about Mary Bell. I can't wait to... It says they
sang a new song. Maybe I know it, maybe I don't
know it, but whatever it is, I can't wait to sing it. Turn with me back to Hebrews
chapter 4. A couple of weeks ago, everybody
well knows we were on vacation at the beach. And usually when we're down there,
usually, we don't like to do a lot of
things. In the middle part of our week,
that's how we spend it, not doing a lot of things. And we enjoyed
it. And we go down there, and we
just grab some beach chairs and an umbrella and some sunscreen.
And we lay on the beach. That's what we do. And we smell that salt water,
and we listen to those waves crash, feel that sand between
our toes. And if I really want to exert
myself, I'll reach over and grab a magazine. But we just rest. We go there
for rest. And every time I'm down there,
I try to enter into the moment. You know, it's here. Here I am. I've been waiting to be here.
I've been wanting to be here and I am here. I want my mind to relax as much
as my body does. I don't want to dwell on stuff
and think on stuff. I just want to look at the ocean.
That's it. How sweet and how precious it
is to be able to rest. It's a sweet time. I want us
to rest this morning for about the next 30 minutes. I want our
bodies to rest. I want our minds to rest. I want our hearts and I want
our souls to rest. Verse 11 in Hebrews 4 says, let
us labor therefore to enter in to that rest. Let us labor, labor. to enter into that rest, a particular
rest, a very particular rest. We're not just talking about
sleep. David said, lighten mine eyes. Lord, don't let me rest
here so much that I start to go to sleep. He said, lighten
mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death. This is not just any rest we're
talking about. Verse 11 says, let us labor therefore
to enter into that rest. What rest are we talking about?
Well, look at verse one. It says, let us therefore fear,
fear God, fear a holy God that punishes the sin that we are.
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. His rest, this particular rest
that we want to enter into is not our rest at all. You know
that I go down to Florida to get my rest, but this rest is
his rest. David said, rest in the Lord. Rest in the Lord, it's his rest,
fear coming short of it. Fear not entering into it. I
don't want to miss that rest. I don't. What does that mean? How do we
enter into it? Look at verse two. 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. That's how we enter into his
rest. By just stopping at his gospel. We hear his gospel and
we stop right there. By trusting and adding nothing
to his gospel. We hear it and we think that's
it. You know what I think I'm going
to do? Rest. What is his gospel? What is it? It's the first thing that he
declared in this particular book. Go back to Hebrews 1. He began the book with the gospel. Hebrews 1 verse 1 says, God who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds, 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 purged
our sins." What does that mean? That means he did all the work. That's what it means. All the work that was required
to pay off my debt. Every bit of it. I didn't lift
a finger. Christ did it all by himself,
not with me, by himself. And the work that he fulfilled
required him to rest in the grave for three days. But he didn't rest in peace.
You know, we say rest in peace. He didn't rest in peace. There
was no peace in that rest. During those three days, a battle
was raging. And death lost. Death lost. I keep saying that our sister
Mary died last Wednesday. She died last Wednesday. I don't
know why I keep saying that. She's not dead. Well, you're
just saying that. No, she's not dead. She's more
alive than I am, but her body's in the ground. It's sleeping. Isn't that what our Lord said?
It's sleeping. Death lost. Death lost. And our Lord arose the victor. And he ascended back to his father. And right here in Hebrews chapter
one, it says he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. That is his rest. That's his
rest. The rest he accomplished in the
grave and the rest he earned after it was all finished. We
enter into that rest by faith. Back over to 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 the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. That verse is quoting Psalm 95.
Turn with me over to Psalm 95. Psalm 95, he's talking about
Israel in the desert, 40 years in the desert. Psalm 95, look
at verse 8. It 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 have 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, verse 11, I've got a number 7, and it says, If they
enter into my rest. That's the same thing it said
back in Hebrews 4. If there's a condition put on it, go back
with me over to 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, you know that?
Does a man have to, by faith, believe this gospel? Yeah. There
is an if, but he controls the if. And that work was finished from
the foundation of the world. He said, I'm going to make them
willing. They're going to believe. I'm going to call them. You know,
most of us do enter into his rest. We do. And it's hard to
remember not entering into his rest at all that point at all. I mean, we all have our moments
all day, every day where we think, Oh me of little faith, but at
all. The turmoil. Do you remember
being a seeker of truth? Do you remember being a seeker
of truth? A point where some, I'm listening
to something that I don't believe is true. What is the truth? What is the gospel? The turmoil and the struggle
and the guilt. Here's his commandment. Rest. Rest. Rest in His promise. He said, I will never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. Rest in His work. He's given
us all the righteousness we need. You know what will get a person
into glory? Righteousness. He's paid all the debt we owe. Rest in His word. This is what
He said. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me and
I'll give you rest. Verse four, Hebrews four, verse
four. For he spake in a certain place
of the seventh day on this wise. Now in Genesis chapter two, we
went through each day and the seventh day. It says 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 he's 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. No more. So verse five reminds
us that the Lord said again, and in this place again, if they
shall enter into my rest, that rest, his rest, my rest. Verse six, seeing therefore it
remaineth that some must enter therein. Some must enter therein. That's the most glorious part
of this whole passage. Some must enter therein. Salvation
must come. Rest must come to some. Christ died. Who is he that condemneth? Christ died. And who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? Is that not glorious? 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. He's
talking about the children of Israel who couldn't enter into
the promised land because of their unbelief. Verse seven,
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 the margin says
Joshua, that's Jesus is the Greek name of Joshua in the Hebrew.
If Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have
spoken of another day? Joshua led some into the promised
land here on this earth. They had some rest from fighting
their enemies. They had some rest from traveling
through the wilderness, constantly moving. They had some physical
rest. That's not the rest we're looking
for. It's just not the rest we're looking for. Most people come
to religion because they want financial rest. and medical rest. That's why
they come to religion. Financial rest and medical rest. That's not the rest we're looking
for. We're looking for that rest in body, mind, soul and spirit. Soul and spirit. That's only
found in Jesus Christ. Not in Canaan, in Christ. 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. If God ever causes a man to rest
in Christ, if he ever sees Christ, if he ever sees his work, he
will stop trying to work his way to heaven. You know that?
He'll stop. Verse 11 says, let us labor therefore
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief. That work is finished. It's secure. Now let me read some scriptures
to you that we know well. We know these well, but when
we're truly reminded of them, they settle our bodies. And they ease our minds and they
comfort our hearts and our souls. These precious verses of scripture.
Go with me first over to Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter 6 and look at
verse 25. Therefore, 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. You let some
things happen to you that are serious and you'll start to realize
there's a whole bunch of things in this life that I thought were
serious and they're not. This life is more than meat and
this body is more than raiment. Verse 26 says, Behold the fowls
of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns. Don't you wish you could be like
the birds? Don't you wish you could just
be like the birds? I watch them. I sit in the study
and they come in and they sit there and peck in the ground
and find something. It says, they reap, they do not
reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are you not much better than they? We were on the beach
and we ate lunch on the beach. And we were having a nice, peaceful
lunch. And all it took was Hannah breaking
one piece of bread off of her sandwich and going like this. And I was trying to keep anything
extra off of my sandwich that I didn't want on my sandwich.
And I told them, wait, just wait till we're finished. And Sophie
was giving her whole lunch to the birds. And I said, Sophie,
you need to eat first. You get full first, and whatever's
left, you can feed it to the birds. And Sophie said, but if
we don't feed them, nobody will. And we both told her, God, our
heavenly father feeds all them. You don't worry about it, honey.
He takes care of every single one of them. Every single one
of them. And he says right here, are you
not much better than that? Verse 27 says, which of you by
taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take
ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet
I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed
the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you? O ye of little
faith, and everything that means, clothes, But more importantly,
a very particular robe that we need. Oh man, are we sinners? You know,
talking about prayer, something happened and it reminds you,
I haven't even been praying. Wretched man that I am, thanks
be to God for the robe of Christ. Verse 31 says, therefore, because
of Christ, take no thought What he's saying is rest, but I'm
a sinner. I know rest, but I'm unworthy. I know that rest. Take no thoughts saying, what
shall we eat? What shall we drink? Where with
all, shall we be clothed after all these things do unbelievers
say? Your heavenly father knoweth
that you have need of all these things, but seek ye first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be
added unto you. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added
unto you. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added
unto you. Take therefore no thought for
the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Be in rest, you know that. If
God has the ability to control the eternal destiny of our souls,
then he has the ability to control the temporal necessities of our
bodies. David said, I have been young
and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread. Rest, just rest. But it's not
looking like the money is going to come. Now we have tons of
bills. We were behind before. Look at
us now. If God purposes to send the money
and pay them, great. If He takes me to glory, rest. Rest. Just rest. I'm going to have
food. I'm going to have raiment. Just rest. Go with me to Psalm
91. Psalm 91 verse 1 says, He that
dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. 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 shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings
shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield
and 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. That bug, that nobody
can figure out why you're sick. He says, don't be afraid of it.
The pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. What does that mean? It means
exactly what God purposes for it to mean. That's what it means. If God has not purposed for you
to get a pestilence, you're not going to get a pestilence. And if He does purpose for you
to get a pestilence, it's in His control. It is 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. Nothing but good. And in the end, you will be glad. Rest. Ebola, rest. Verse 7, a thousand shall fall
at thy side, ten thousand 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 the 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. For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep
thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Listen to this quote. I've always
loved this. The peace and rest a man enjoys
depends on his confidence in the God who controls the flight
of an angel or a fly, who controls the flash of lightning
or the glimmer of a glow worm. Rest. Doesn't matter how big
it is. Doesn't matter how small it is.
Rest. David penned, it is vain for
you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of
sorrows, for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Rest. Rest. We'll end with this one.
Turn with me over to Psalm 116. Man, what a verse this is. Psalm
116, look at verse 7. 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 every time we open it, doesn't it? The Lord
has dealt bountifully with us. Let's just all rest right there.
He's dealt bountifully. We thank Him. We rest because
of Christ. All right, let's stand together.