Now to Hebrews chapter 4. My subject this morning is rest
for your souls. Hebrews chapter 4 beginning with
verse 1. 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. Now, as I've said to you many
times, when you see a therefore, go back and see what it's there
for. Go back to what has been said before. He said this. which I read to you earlier in
chapter three. So whatever this rest is of which
he's about to declare, it has a direct bearing on the Old Testament
example in which this rest and our entering into it is being
pictured. And in this case, it's Israel
coming to the edge of God's promised rest but then turning away, preferring
rather a wilderness of sin. Preferring rather a land inhabited
by fierce enemies. They had the presence and power
of God. They had His direction to possess
the land. Imagine if God told you this
land is yours. All you got to do is go in and
take it. It's yours. I'm going with you. I'm not going
to send you in there by yourself. I'm going with you. But I'm giving
you this land. I'm giving you this land. They had the presence and power
of God. They had his direction to possess
the land. They had his promise of it. but
they would not commit themselves to it because of unbelief. In Hebrews 3.9 it says, so we
see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Why wouldn't they go in? What held them out? They sent spies in. The land
was everything God said it was. Why wouldn't they go in? What
held them at bay? Fear. Fear. That's why they wouldn't
go in. Fear. And what made them afraid? They looked in the land and they
saw the size and the number and the weapons and the walled cities
of those who claimed it. They saw how mighty the enemy
was who hailed the land. They came back and the spies
said, there's giants over there. There's giants. They brought
back an evil report saying that we saw giants, the son of Anak,
and we were in our own sight and in their sight as well as
grasshoppers. They're huge. You can't imagine
how big these enemies are. And not only that, they have
walled cities. They're not living in tents like
we are, they have permanent dwelling places and they have walls built
around and the walls are fortified. And there we didn't see a handful
of people, we saw five nations of people. It's occupied wall
to wall. It's fully populated. It's fully
protected. And though Caleb and Joshua tried
to reason with the people, they would not be convinced.
And they were just about to incite a riot, and God intervened and
said, how long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they
believe me for all the signs which I have showed among them? Now you think about what God
had done. These people were dwelling down
in Egypt, gathering their own straw, making bricks. They were slaves. They were oppressed. They were made to do whatever
the Egyptians demanded of them to do, and Egypt was the dominant
nation in the world. of the strongest, the most feared
people on the face of the earth. And God went in there and delivered
them without firing a single shot, without a single man with
a bow in his hand or a knife. God delivered them and wouldn't
even allow the dogs to bark in resistance when they left. And
not only that, but caused the Egyptians to give them all their
jewels. Here, take them and get out of
here. And then the Egyptians followed
them with their great armies. And here they come, they had
600 chariots. A chariot was a fierce piece
of armory back in that day. And here they come and they got,
not one or two, they got 600 chariots riding up upon Israel. You know what God did? Took the
wheels off of them. Took the wheels off the chariot.
And here's these horses dragging that platform through the bottom
of the Red Sea. And God split that sea and dried
the ground. Wouldn't even allow his people
to walk over in the mud. He dried the ground. They walked
over on dry ground in the middle of the sea. And when they got
to the other side, God tells them to turn around and watch.
And they turned around and God closed those waters in on Pharaoh
and his whole army. And the armies of Egypt was no
more. No more, they were gone. And
somebody said, God even caused that Red Sea to wash the instruments
of war up on the bank, because Israel got swords from someplace,
and they didn't make them out in the middle of the desert.
And they said, this is where it comes from. God just washed
all that stuff up on shore and provided his people with all
these weapons. And then they marched through
this wilderness and they had no water. And God had Moses come
out and smoke that rock. And that rock was Christ, tells
us that in the book of Acts. That rock was Christ. And that
rock followed them everywhere they went. But that rock poured
out enough water to feed over a million people, plus all the
animals and stuff that they took with them. All came out of that
one rock. Just over and over, they were
hungry. They were hungry, and God fed
them manna. They complained about the manna,
and God sent them quail. You think about the things that
God did that had never even been seen in the world before, that
he did for this people, and then they get down to Canaan, and
the people come back and said there were giants over there. Wasn't Egypt a giant? Sure it
was. Wasn't having no water a giant? All of these things, but they
wouldn't They looked at the size, and the number, and weapons,
and all these walled cities, and the giants, and armies. And then think about the people
who had the land. How'd they come to acquire it?
Huh? Well, the heathen said, it's
ours by right of will. That's what we want. That's where
we're going to live. We want it. We like it. We'll
build here. We'll make this our home. The
heathen said, we're born here. Therefore, it's ours. It's ours. The heathen said, we have documents
to prove our ownership, papers we signed, laws we wrote, covenants
we made. The heathen said, our parents
gave us this land. It's ours by inheritance. Now,
you know where I'm going with this. I'm applying this to natural
men and what they think they have concerning the promised
rest of God. This is what they're saying.
Our parents told us we could rest here. The heathen said, it's ours by
right of force. We reached out and took it. And
we're here to protect it. The heathen said it's ours by
virtue of reward. We labored for it. We plowed
and planted this land. We committed ourselves to it.
We earned our possession. Now this is a picture of the
professing church of this world. Isn't that what they say? You
want to be saved? Here it is. Just reach out and
take it. I start talking to somebody about
the welfare of their soul. Oh, I'm saved. I'm saved. I was
raised in my parents' church. How do you know you're saved?
Well, Daddy said I was. He told me to do this and leave.
I did that. Kind of sound familiar? What's
going on here? It's a picture of the professing
church of this world. They say they have their position,
their land, their peace, their salvation by right of will. God
said it's not of him that will it. These people said, we own this
ground. It's ours. God said, no it ain't. No it
ain't. The heathen claims the right
of birth, but God said, we're not heirs by blood, nor by the
will of the flesh, nor by the will of man. We're born of God. The heathen said, I signed a
card. I joined a church. My name's on a document. It's
legal evidence. God said, it's not of the letter,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord. The heathen pleads his possession
as a gift of blood. Said, my daddy said I could have
it. Yeah, but it wasn't his to give. Wasn't his to give. To Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He didn't say to seeds as of
many, but as of thy seed, which is Christ. Romans 9, 8, they which are the
children of the flesh, these are not the children of God,
but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. It's mine by force, says the
heathen. I took it and it's mine. God
said, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord
of hope. The heathen said, it's mine by
reward. We work for it. God said, it's
not of works, lest any man should boast. Can you see the picture Paul's
setting before us here? Hebrews chapter four, verse two,
for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. What did
Moses tell these people? He preached the gospel to them.
He applied these laws and these sacrifices and the tabernacle
and all the things that God had given them, he applied those
things to Christ, the coming Redeemer. He taught them the
same thing I'm trying to teach you this morning, salvation's
in Christ. 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. For we
which have believed do enter into rest. As he said, as I have
sworn in my wrath, that they shall enter into my rest, or
that they should not enter into my rest. Now watch this. although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. A lot of things came into play.
A lot of decisions had to be made. A lot of steps had to be
taken. They had to send spies out. Spies had to come back.
There had to be words said. All of these things took place,
but he said the work was finished before the foundation of the
world. All of the promises Promises
of forgiveness and redemption and substitution and representation
and life and light and eternity with Christ was given and finished
from the foundation of the world. Read about it in Ephesians chapter
one. You can't mistake it. Can't mistake
it. Talks about the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be Him, Paul said. who
have blessed us with all spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him, when? Before the foundation of the
world. You see what he's saying here
in Hebrews? This work was done, this work was finished. It was finished as God the Father
gave these things to his son to accomplish. And they're all
given and made sure to his elect who shall take them as God instructs
them. So then what is this rest that
he's talking about? What is this rest? And how do
we acquire it? Well, several things. First of
all, we acquire it as it's freely given to us of God. Now I'm going to tell you something,
and this may shock you. I'm not trying to shock you,
but it may shock you. Sometimes the truth does. You
can't get saved. I hear people talk about it all
the time. I got saved. No, you can't get
saved. God saves you. There's a difference. There's a difference. What men
call salvation is something they do, something they walk down
an aisle, they pray, they do this, they do that, they accept
certain things. That's not salvation. Salvation
is in the person of Jesus Christ. The way you're saved is for God
to put you in him. Isn't that what that says over
there in 1 Corinthians 1, I think it's verse 30? Let me look at it real quick
and read it to you. I don't want to misquote it. Turn with me if you will over
there. First Corinthians chapter one. Look at this here in verse
30. But of him, I'm talking about
God. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus. How did you get in Him? God put
you in Him. When did He do it? When He chose
you before the foundation of the world. That's what it says.
I'm not talking about what we think, I'm talking about what
God said. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Why did he do
it that way? That according as it is written,
he that gloweth, let him glory in the Lord. Faith is the gift of God, it's
not of works, lest any man should boast. And the subject of this
rest began back here in chapter 3 of Hebrews, and twice in these
early verses he says, today if you'll hear his voice, Verse
seven, again in verse 15. Today, if you hear his voice,
when does a man hear the voice of the Holy Ghost? Now come on, you're gonna hear
him in your closet, you're gonna hear him going down the road
in your car. When does a man hear the voice of the Holy Ghost? when the Gospels preached unto
him in the power of God's Spirit. That's right. That's what our Lord said. Now,
you go preach. You go into all these cities.
I'm gonna be visiting there also, but you go into all these cities
where I, myself, are gonna go, and you preach to them. Here's
what our Lord said. He that heareth you, heareth
me. Is that right? Paul told the Thessalonians,
he said, I know your election of God. They didn't even know
their election of God. How in the world could Paul know
it? He said, because my gospel didn't come unto you in word
only. It come unto you in power, now listen, and in the Holy Ghost.
That's how it come. And it come with much assurance.
Much assurance. Today, if you hear his voice, Listen to this verse over in
Romans 10. I quoted Luke 10, 16 to you. Now listen to this one over in
Romans 10, verse 14. How shall you hear without a
preacher? What are you trying to say, preacher?
I'm not trying to say anything. I'm reading from the Word of
God. This is what the Holy Ghost said. How are you going to hear
without a preacher? But if he sends you one, The Holy Ghost said, if you hear
me, can you hear him? If you hear me, don't you harden
your hearts. Don't you harden your hearts.
That's what happened back there. They heard, and they hardened
their hearts. They hardened their hearts. They
ignored everything. That Moses told them, they ignored
everything, that Joshua, you know that word Joshua and Jesus
is the same word, don't you? He goes on to talk about that
right here in Hebrews chapter four. Oh, how you gonna hear without
a preacher? All those chosen in Christ, redeemed in Christ,
justified in Christ, all those quickened together with Christ
in a divine union, represented by him shall be called to Christ
and given the gift of faith. Read Hebrews chapter two. You
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein
in time past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit,
who now worketh in the children of disobedience. And everything
your flesh lusted for, that's what you strive to have, and
you were by nature. children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who's rich in mercy, and for that great love wherewith
he loved you, even when you were dead in trespasses and sins,
he's quickened you together with Christ and raised you up together
with Christ and made you to sit together in heavenly places in
Christ. That in the ages to come, now
listen to this, this all happened before you was born. Now, he
did that, that in the ages to come, that he might show you
the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward you through
Christ Jesus, for by grace are you saved through faith. Huh? And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. That's
right, it's a gift of God. All those chosen in Christ and
redeemed in Christ and justified in Christ, quickened together
with Christ, all those that the Father has given me, Christ said,
is going to come to me. Well, what if they don't come?
They're all coming. What if they ain't willing? They're going
to be willing, he said, in the day of my power. Oh, our Lord looked at His disciples.
He said, blessed are your ears. Just look around you at the people
who are not hearing anything that I'm saying. But He said,
blessed are your ears, because they hear. If thou be the Christ, the Pharisee
said, tell us plainly. He said, I told you. But you
believe not, because you're not my sheep. As I said unto you,
my sheep hear my voice. You see what Paul's saying back
here in Hebrews chapter three? Today, if you hear his voice,
don't you harden your hearts. Don't you harden your hearts.
This is a great gift of God. A great gift of God that you
should hear the truth. He didn't have to tell you the
truth. He didn't have to tell you the truth. He'd leave you
like he does most of this country. Just let them gather down there
and they'll sing songs and jump up and down and sway with the
music and laugh and have a good time and come home thinking they're
saved and wake up in hell. He don't have to tell you anything. But if God in his grace does,
Don't you harden your hearts. Don't do it. Don't do it. Well,
you think we just ought to swallow everything you're saying, hook,
line, and sinker? No. No. Go home and read your
Bibles and see if what I'm telling you is not so. If it ain't so,
throw it out the door. I'm just trying to tell you the
truth. You don't run down to the salvation store and get a
bottle of faith and then sit on the counter and when you start
feeling bad, you drink it. It's not going to happen that
way. God has from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth whereunto he called you by our gospel. That's how come
you got called. We acquire this rest by the gift
of God's grace, and it comes to chosen sinners by the means
God has ordained. And then secondly, we acquire
this rest through the person and work of his dear son. Now
you need to listen to what I'm saying here. Listen close. There
is no saving grace outside of Christ. There's no saving grace outside
of Christ. Grace and truth, he said, came
by Jesus Christ. In Colossians chapter 2 verse
9, we're told, For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. Fullness of grace, fullness of
wisdom, fullness of mercy, fullness of justice, all the fullness
of God, it dwells in him bodily. And ye are complete in him. who
is the head of all principality and power. Now I'm gonna tell you something,
anything you can add to is not complete. If you can add to it,
it ain't complete. Now what is religion? I'm asking
you a question. I want you to answer me. What
is religion preaching today except this is what God did Now, you
have to add to it in order for it to work. And now what they're
saying? You have to accept Jesus as your
personal Savior. Really? Really? Is that what the Bible
said? Let me tell you something. He's
not running for election, you are. He's not worried about election,
you are. He's not up for your acceptation. He was accepted by God Almighty. He's already seated in glory
victorious. And the only time I can find
that word accepted is there in Ephesians 1 where he said, we're
accepted in the blood. It's not up to you, it's up to
Him. See, it's why people ain't worried
today. It's why people aren't miserable today. It's why they
got this false sense of security because they think salvation's
just everywhere around them. All they got to do is just grab
it and drink it and it's over. Oh, no. Oh, no. No. Salvation is accomplished
in the person of Christ. He's seated at the right hand
of God, and he's seated there to make intercession for his
saints. He's seated there to see to it that all that the Father
giveth him. He said, all the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. They're not gonna be cast out.
They're in his hand, and they're in the Father's hand, and nobody's
gonna take them away from him. And he's seated up there to be
sure that that's what happens. Anything that you can add to
is not complete, but we're complete in him. And I believe religion
today is summed up in doing and working and sacrificing and so
on. But here it tells us salvation
is about ceasing from our works. It's not about doing. Look at
this, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 10. He that is entered into his
rest, and all that believe, he said, do enter 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, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. We don't labor to produce it,
or labor to earn it, or labor to make ourselves worthy. We
labor to enter into his rest. Until you try it, you won't realize
just how difficult it is to cease from your work. What we're laboring to do is
to rest in Christ. Now in our text, there are two
examples of this rest given to us. One is of Joshua leading
Israel into their promised rest. And then the greater, God resting
after He created the world. Let me tell you something. You
just listen to me for a minute. It says that when God created
the world, he created it in six days, and he looked on everything
that he did, and he said, it's good. And he rested from all his works,
and he hallowed the day. That's where the Sabbath was
born. It was the Sabbath day, God rested from all his works.
Now I'm told that God sees everything. He sees the end from the beginning. He sees everything. He sees the
thoughts and intents of your heart. He saw from all eternity
what was going to be done on the last day of physical life
before He destroys everything. He sees everything. Through time
he sees everything. When it said God foreknew, he's
not talking about a premonition that God got. God can see things
because he wills things and everything he sees is what he willed to
happen anyway. Now God looked at creation and
he rested. Did God not know that Satan was
in the world? polluting his world, vaulting
up and down in it? God didn't know that? You mean God didn't know that
Adam was going to be tempted through his bride and cause the
fall of all mankind? God didn't know that? Did God
not know that Cain was going to bring the wrong offering for
the wrong reasons and just make an abomination before God of
the sacrifice that he just illustrated their father and mother and God? Did God not know that in six
generations the whole world was going to be to where He actually
repented of it even being? Every thought of the imagination
of man only wicked can... Did God not know that? Did God
not know that His people Israel We're gonna turn their backs
on it and crucify his son. Then how on earth could God rest
from all his pain? Well, I'll tell you how he did
it. God trusted everything that was made into the hands of his
son. That's what he did, and he rested.
And when this thing's over, all the enemies of God are gonna
put under the feet of Christ. And we'll find out that God had
good reason to rest. He rested in his son. Now let me read you something
over here in the book of Ephesians. I don't know if you've ever read
this or not. Over here in Ephesians chapter one, He begins talking to us down
here in verse 8, and he said, wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence. Now if you go back up above that
and read a little bit, you'll see he's talking about his election.
He's talking about our predestination under the adoption of sons. He's
talking about our calling. He's talking about our acceptance
in Christ and all these things. And he said in verse 8, wherein
he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. having
made known unto us the mystery of his will according to the
good pleasure which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times, that is, in the stewardship of the
fullness of times, that stewardship which he trusted into the hands
of his son, in the stewardship of the fullness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven, which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have
obtained an inheritance being predestinated, according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first
trusted in Christ." Now he's not talking about us first trusting
in Christ, he's talking about the God of glory who predestinated
us and our being brought and all these things coming to pass.
All of these things. who first trusted in Christ,
and then he tells us in verse 13, in whom you also trusted
after you heard the word of truth. Holy Ghost told you the truth.
Told you the truth. He sent you the gospel, and you
heard it. And now you understand where
this rest is. This rest is in Christ. It's
in Christ. Christ is my Sabbath. We don't
meet on Saturday, on the Sabbath day, because Christ is our Sabbath. We meet on the Lord's Day, on
the first day of the week. Christ is our Sabbath. He's our
Sabbath. Believers have in Christ a perfect
standing before God. Can we rest in that? Then let's labor to enter into
it. Huh? You see what he's saying? Believers
have in our Savior a perfect justification in Christ. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. We have a perfect justification. Let us labor, therefore. to enter
into that rest. Can we rest in that? Justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. In Christ, the
believer has all the promises of God as yea and amen. I don't have to question the
promises of God. How does a man know if he's elect? Okay, preacher, I see what you're
saying. God has an elect. Christ died for His elect. I
see all that down in Scripture. But how do I know if I'm an elect?
You come to Christ. All God's elect will come to
Christ. They're all going to believe in Him. Therefore, all
the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen, are they not?
That's the only way you can have them, in Christ. All the promises of God in him
are yea and amen under the glory of God the Father. And if you
can believe on him, then all God's promises to you are yea
and amen. And he's the surety of God's
everlasting covenant of grace. He makes everything sure and
certain. He accomplished every detail
of the will of God. Well, preacher, what about our
future? What about all those unseen trials and troubles and
divisions and separations and illness and death and all these
things? Can a person find rest? You can
in Christ. You can in Christ. We rest knowing that all things
work together for good to them that love God and to them who
are the called according to his purpose." Nothing that's out
there working is working for your ill, it's working for your
good. Believers have one in glory who's
not willing for any of his people to perish, but that all should
come unto repentance. And Paul said I forget exactly how it's worded.
It's over there in the last part of Hebrews chapter 10. But the
Lord said, if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. And then Paul added this verse
before he closed that chapter. But we are not of them that draw
back under perdition. God won't let you. He won't let
you. We're not of them to draw back.
Let us labor, therefore, to enter into this rest. And then lastly,
I can rest from all my fears from death, knowing that representatively,
I've already been raised from the dead and seated together
with Christ in glory. Now let me labor to enter into
that rest. And I can rest from all my anxious
fears, for the lost, knowing that all that the Father hath
given to the Son will come to the Son." God's going to teach
them all. He's going to call them all. He's going to draw
them all. Every one of them is going to
come. Every one of them. Let me labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest. And here's what he said. He said,
come unto me, all you that labor and heavy laden, and I'll give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I'm meek
and lowly in heart and you'll find rest for your soul. I heard
some preacher one time talking about putting on the yoke of
Christ as helping him pull the wagon. That's the dumbest thing
I ever heard in my life. When he's talking, he didn't
say take a yoke or another yoke, he said take my yoke. The only
way you can take his yoke is to be one with him. Is it not? You see yourself in my yoke. Now, that burden's easy now,
ain't it? That burden's light now. Old
temptations are light now, being one with him. He said, take my yoke upon you. And the only way you can take
his yoke is to be in union with him. And how do we know that? We believe. We believe. The gospel was preached unto
them, preached unto us as well as unto them, but didn't profit
them. It wasn't mixed with faith in
them. Now who gives faith? God does. So what can I do? Well, if I
were you, you could do what I'm doing. I pray for God to give
me faith. Since I can't muster it up, I
can't stir it up, it ain't something in me that I'm born with, it's
the gift of God. So I pray for him to give it
to me, and if he gives it to me, I pray for him to strengthen
it. And I pray for the effects of it, that he'll establish me
in the faith, and preserve me in the faith. to the end, and
that he'll do it for the glory of God. Now, Paul says this,
and I'll close. There remaineth, therefore, a
rest to the children of God. Will you come to it? Will you
come to him and have that rest? Don't move a muscle, but come
to Christ. Come to him in faith, believing
on him. battle righteousness at the bill
with all those old ideas that don't just come to me rest in
here you don't read your bible and see if that's not what it
was