Make Sure to Enter God's Rest - Part 1

Well, if you would take your Bible turn back to Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4, verses 1 to 4. Now for two weeks we covered chapter 3, verses 7 to 19, and what I titled, "Beware of the evil heart of unbelief." Beware of the evil heart of unbelief, and I added to that title, "Belief Today." Because that's what we see in those verses, chapter 3, verses 7 to 19, a call to believe in Christ savingly today. And in those verses we saw that the author moved from his argument that Jesus was greater than Moses in verses 1 to 6 of chapter 3.

He moved into this warning, starting in chapter 3, verse 7, and this was and is a very serious, much needed warning. And we clearly saw this warning in verse 12. Here the author warned his fellow Jews in this Jewish congregation to make sure that they did not have an evil, unbelieving heart, which certainly would have led them to fall away from the living God. They would have fallen away into apostasy. And we saw that within these verses, verses 7 to 19, the author gave this extensive teaching centered on this warning. And he used an Old Testament example and illustration that they would have been very, very familiar with.

He was using the illustration of their Jewish forefathers. Now from verses 7 to 11, the author gave the example of the evil, unbelieving heart from that first generation of Jews that came out of Egyptian slavery. Of course he's quoting Psalm 95, and we find these events in the book of Exodus and continuing on. I would encourage you to go study and read about that rebellious generation that came out of Egyptian slavery. And then from verse 12, we saw that he gave them a powerful warning to examine and make sure that they did not have this same evil, unbelieving heart found in them.

And then from verse 13, we saw how he called them to come alongside one another, to encourage one another, even to correct one another, not to have this evil, unbelieving heart, and to come alongside one another for mutual encouragement and mutual correction really in all of the Christian life. And from verses 14 to 15, we saw how the author explained that the believing heart holds fast to Christ in life, all the way to the end. This is simply what we call the perseverance of the saints. And from verse 16 to 18, we saw how the author revisited the example of those Jews there, that first generation, that had the unbelieving heart.

And then from verse 19, we saw how the author explained the consequence of unbelief, and the consequence was that generation. That generation of unbelieving rebellious Jews was not able to enter rest. They forfeited spiritual rest in God, and they forfeited physical rest in the promised land. They could not enter any rest because they held on to their rebellion and their evil, unbelieving heart. Now, at this point, we would assume that the author here would move on from this warning. If you think about it, there's quite a lot of teaching there in those verses from verse 7 to 19 about this warning. But he does not move on from the warning.

From chapter 4, verse 1 to 13, we see that the author continues to apply Psalm 95. He continues to use the example of that first generation of Jews who had that unbelieving heart, and then he simply continues in the warning. Now, think about how this applied to those Jews. In that congregation that he's writing to, they had heard and understood that Jesus was, in fact, the promised Messiah of God seen in the Old Testament. And they had truly heard the Gospel. They had come out of Judaism, and they had even renounced Judaism. But many of them still did not have saving belief in Christ.

Many of them were what we see in John chapter 2, verses 24 to 25. In John chapter 2, we have all of these Jews who said that they believed in Jesus, but the text says Jesus would not entrust himself to them because they were unbelieving believers. Now, that sounds contradictory, but that's what they were. They were unbelieving believers. They professed to believe in him, but they did not truly believe in him, so Christ Jesus would not entrust himself to them. So because the author here desperately wanted these unbelieving Jews to savingly believe in Jesus, he continues in this much needed warning.

Now, think about how this applies to us in our congregation. We have some who have not savingly believed in Jesus. We have some who were unbelieving believers. Some here profess Christ and may even live a good external Christian life, but we have some here who have never been born again of the Holy Spirit of God. And the Holy Spirit of God is convicting and convincing them of that condition, even as we are sitting here this morning. So this warning and this teaching applies to us today. Specifically, it applies to those who were unbelieving. And so I say to you, please do not harden your heart.

Please do not harden your heart by continuing in your unbelief. Please do not harden your heart by resisting salvation that is found in Jesus. Please do not harden your heart by not taking this teaching serious, by not rushing to Jesus right now to throw yourself at the feet of Jesus, confessing Christ Jesus as Lord. Now, this leads us to our verses that we have here before us this morning, verses 1 to 4. Let's go back and read them. Hebrews chapter 4, verses 1 to 4. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. What is he talking about? Rest.

For good news came to us just as it did to them. But the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works. Now, you may not have noticed, but the subject of rest and the need for entering rest dominates our verses.

Actually, the subject of rest and the need for entering rest dominates this entire section of teaching. In chapter 3 and chapter 4, we see the subject of rest mentioned 10 times in 9 verses, and I'm referring to the English Standard Version. We see the subject of rest 2 times in chapter 3, in verse 11 and verse 18. But in chapter 4, we see the subject of rest 7 times. We see it in verse 1, verse 3, verse 5, verse 8, 9, 10, and 11. Now, this leads me to ask a question. What is this rest? What is this rest? If the subject of rest is a major subject or theme in these verses, don't you think we need to know what this rest is?

Now, our understanding of rest and the meaning of this rest is very similar. To quote John MacArthur here, "The basic idea is that of ceasing from work or from any kind of action. You stop doing what you are doing. Action, labor, or exertion is over. But we must see that God's rest is similar, but yet it is different. When applied to God's rest, this means no more work to somehow attain salvation. God's rest is an end to self-effort that is meant to somehow please God or attain favor with God as it pertains to salvation." John MacArthur summarizes what I've just said by saying, "God's perfect rest is a rest in free grace." Let me repeat that.

God's perfect rest is a rest in free grace. I would shorten that by saying, "God's rest is a rest in free grace." But we also need to see how this rest is fleshed out in the life. Entering God's rest that is only found in free grace provides rest in many areas of life for the believer. When one enters into God's rest, there is no more need for worry. Because the believer trusts in God, there is an inner peace, an inner tranquility, an inner quietness, which is all centered on a trust in God. Worry, anxiety, fretfulness, those things are gone.

Those things have been replaced by peace, tranquility, and a quiet, because those things have been replaced by a rest in God. When one enters into God's rest, there is no more need for fear. Because the believer has entered into rest in God, and a trust in God, inner fear is gone. Because God is all-powerful, purposeful in all things in the life of the believer, and always loving to his people, the believer has lost all fear. Fear is gone because the fear that once dominated the believer's life has been replaced by rest in God. When one enters into God's rest, there is no more struggle in one's identity.

Because the believer has entered into rest, they have become crucified with Christ. It is no longer they who live, but Christ lives in them and through them. So their identity has been found in Christ, identifying as anything or anyone has been eclipsed by an identity in Christ. The search for their identity is over. The believer has found an identity in Christ Jesus, which comes from finding rest in God. When one enters God's rest, there is no more need to search for purpose. Because the believer has entered into rest, there is no more need to search to and fro in self, in sin, and in the world for purpose in life.

The believer's purpose has been found in Christ. The believer's purpose has been assigned to them by Christ. Finding purpose in anything or anyone in self, sin, and the world has gone because the believer's purpose is God's purpose and purposes. And this has come about because the believer has found rest in God. When one enters into God's rest, there is no more need to fear death and eternity. Because the believer has been forgiven of their sin, they understand that they will spend eternity in heaven with God and not inhale under the just and righteous punishment and damnation of God. Fear of death and fear of eternity is gone.

It has been replaced by rest. Rest in God because the believer has found rest in God. So this rest, it is a perfect rest, which is found in the free gift of salvation. And this rest is personal in that it is in God. And the result is rest in life. Worry and fear are replaced by rest in God. Identity and purpose are found in God. And by rest in God, death and eternity are no longer feared because that has been replaced by what? A rest in God. And Luke Church, it is this type of rest that is in the mind of the author here. It is this type of rest that is at the heart of this teaching. Now let me pause before I move on here.

This is the kind of rest the summer's family needs. You see? Rest, rest in God. Pray for that. When we met with Amy and the family, that's what they expressed. A rest in God, a trust in God. No worry, no fear. Pain, of course, but a rest in God. Now that we understand what this rest is, let's turn our attention to the verses. Here the author shows us that this rest is available in verse 1. Then he shows us the components or the ingredients of this rest, which bring about this rest in verses 2 and 3. And then we see that this rest is found in God's rest in verse 4. So number 1, this rest is available. This rest is available.

We see this in verse 1. Let's go back to the verse. "Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it." Now when we look at the availability of this rest, just like we've done all along in this teaching, we have to see that this is applied in three places or with three peoples. First, with that first generation of Jews that we see mentioned there in Psalm 95. Second, with those who were the original audience, those in this Jewish congregation that received the letter. And third, with us in our day. But here in verse 1, to me we see three things.

First, the promise of entering rest. Now all the translations say the same thing. We have the promise of rest. And the idea of promise and the promises of God meant a lot to the author of the book of Hebrews. He used this word "promised" 14 times in his book. And here he is speaking of a particular promise from God, which was and is the promise that some will enter rest in God. And what needs to be seen right here is this. If God promises, then God's promises will be kept. You see that, folks? If God promises, all of God's promises will be kept. And his promise to bring some into rest, that promise will be fulfilled.

But second, the promise of entering rest still stands. Now the New American Standard in the Legacy Standard Bible says the promise remains. And what all of this means is this. Simply God's promise of entering rest in him has not been fulfilled, nor has it been revoked. But there is a sense in which it has already been fulfilled, and it was revoked. Let me explain. For that first generation of Jews who came out of Egypt, they proved that they had an evil, unbelieving heart by testing God, testing God, testing God, and by rebelling against God. Therefore, the promise was revoked for them.

In chapter 3, verse 18, we saw that God swore that they would never enter rest. But for two out of that first generation, Joshua and Caleb, and that second generation, there was a sense in which the promise was not revoked, and it was fulfilled. And for those true believers in this small Jewish congregation, there was a sense in which this promise was not revoked, and it was fulfilled in them. Because they, savingly, believed in Jesus, they had entered God's promised rest, so the promise was fulfilled in them and to them.

But for those unbelieving, professing believers in this Jewish congregation, if they had not savingly believed in Jesus, like the author was urging them, urging them to do, this promise would have been revoked for them, and they would have never entered into God's rest. But a question, how does this apply to us in our day? God's promise to enter rest in Him still stands today. You see that, folks? God's promise to enter rest in Him still stands today. And we see this all throughout the New Testament. In Romans, Paul really shows us that the promise is open for any and for all in our day.

Romans 10, 9 to 13 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." You hear the promise? "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Hear the promise? "For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.'" Hear the promise? "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord overall, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him." Hear the promise? "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Hear the promise?

So from what we see here from Paul is this. As long as there is life in the body, as long as there is a cognitive ability to hear the gospel, understand the gospel, and understand the ramifications of the gospel, and the gospel is presented, the promise is open for any and all, any and all. Jesus shows us this fact in reality. He says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." And then third, we see the call to fear that we should fail to reach rest. Here we really have the main thrust of the verse.

And we know that this is the main thrust of the verse because this phrase, "Let us fear," is in the emphatic in the original language. That is why the New American Standard and the Legacy Standard Bible have this part of the verse at the beginning. Listen to the Legacy Standard Bible and notice how it reverses it as compared to the English Standard Version. That verse reads, "Therefore, let us fear. Lest while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have fallen short of it." Now, what is the point here?

The writer here expressed this in the emphatic because he did not want any of those who were receiving this letter to be complacent, to be apathetic, to be casual, to be lazy. He knew there was a very real danger that they could stay in their evil, unbelieving hearts and miss out on the promise that was before them of entering rest in God. Now, question here for you. Are you afraid you may not come to saving faith in Christ? Are you afraid you may not come to saving faith in Christ and miss rest in God and miss rest in God? You might say, "Pastor, we're not supposed to call people to be fearful." That's not what the writer of Hebrews said.

And look, folks, if you are not converted to Christ, you should be afraid. You should be afraid. You should be afraid. I like something that the Bible scholar Tom Shriner says here. I'm really putting it in my own words. Shriner says this is not a paralyzing fear that disables, but this is a fear which is commanded that leads to action. He goes on to say that the author was calling those receiving this letter to seize the day. I like that term, to seize the day. In fear that should motivate them to action. They should seize the day and make sure they do not miss the promised rest in God. And look, some of you need to seize the day.

Seize the day. You should seize this fear and let it motivate you to get to the bottom of who you are spiritually so that you may come to saving faith in Christ. You know, in our day where we want to call everyone to a decision today, today, that can be good and that can be bad. But I think about the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus in John chapter 3. What did Jesus do? Jesus showed Nicodemus that he desperately needed to be born again. And he calls him to seize the day and no doubt Nicodemus was confused. No doubt he was fearful. But he did not rush him to make some frivolous, casual, emotional decision.

Nicodemus had to go home and leave Christ and seize the day on his own and let that interaction motivate him to find out who he was, what he was, and let that lead him to the new birth. That's what you need. Look folks, sometimes it takes wrestling with God for days, weeks. I have seen folks wrestle with God in fear, fear, fear for years. So notice what we see here in verse 1. The author was still warning these fellow Jews. In verse 12, he called them to be on guard, to be on guard, to be aware that they did not have an evil, unbelieving heart. And here he called them to be afraid.

That while the promise rest in God was right before them, that they did not fall short and miss that rest because they had held on to an evil, unbelieving heart. Now before we move on, the rest of the message, let's make sure we see what is before us in our day. I like something else that Shriners says, and I'm quoting him here. He says, "The readers should consider their place in history. The opportunity to enter God's rest still lies before them." And look, to me, we should consider several things right here. First, we should consider our place in history. We should consider our place in history.

Notice folks, we have been born in a time and in a place where we have the gospel. Look at the time in human history in which we have been born. We do not have to look to the promises of a Messiah to come. He has come. We don't have to look at types and shadows in the Old Testament that point us to the Messiah to come. He has come. We have Christ Jesus right here in the Scripture. Look at the place in human history that you've been born in and consider that. Second, we should consider our place in God's providence. By God's providence, by God's good grace, we have been born in a time and a place where we have the gospel. Think about it.

We could have been born in North Korea where we cannot openly and freely believe the gospel without fear of persecution and death. Think about it. We could have been born in some corner or place in the world where the gospel is not available at all and it is not known. But by God's providence, we are born in this time, in this place in human history. And then third, we should consider our place in God's mercy. Look, folks, we all deserve death. We all deserve eternal punishment in hell. But God is rich in mercy, we learn in Ephesians. God is rich in mercy. God has not given us what we deserve.

And then fourth, we should consider our place in God's opportunity. We have right in front of us the opportunity to believe the gospel. We have right in front of us the opportunity to place our trust in Christ. We have eternal life right before us. The opportunity is right now. The opportunity is right now. So rest in God. It is available. But then next, number two, I want us to see the components of this rest. We see this in verses two to three. The components of this rest. Let's go back and read those verses. For good news came to us just as to them.

But the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed in a rest, as he has said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Now here, the author really just takes to me what I see as the next logical step. He moves from the promise of rest and its availability to what brings about this rest. And basically we see three things here. The message which leads to rest and their reactions to this message. And as we will see, their reactions determine their destination. But first, the message that was given. We see this in the beginning of verse two.

Now here the verse says that good news was given to them and given to us. Now the New American Standard and the King James says preached. The legacy standard says proclaim. But we need to see something in the King James. The King James says, "For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them." But the modern translations do not use the word gospel. The modern translations use the phrase good news. And this leads to a debate. This leads to a question. That first generation of Jews coming out of Egyptian slavery, did they have the same message proclaimed to them as the writer in this book and this original audience?

Well, the answer is no. Simply that first generation of Jews heard the good news of rest in God by faith and rest in God's promised land. But the author and those who received this letter heard the good news of Jesus as the promised Messiah of God. They had what we would call the totality of the gospel. So each group received good news from God. That first generation of Jews did not receive the same good news as those in the time of this letter. But they all received good news and they were all accountable to God for what they heard. Let me pause here before I move on. There's a lesson that needs to be seen here.

All men are held accountable by the light that they are given. Romans chapter one says that those who have never heard the gospel, they've never heard the good news of the one true God. Romans chapter one says that those men are held accountable by the light of creation. They'll be judged by the light of creation that's been revealed to them. But yet those Old Testament saints, they were held accountable by the light that was given to them. They had the promises, yes. They had the shadows that pointed to Christ, yes. But they had light. But yet in the New Testament in our day, we're held accountable by the light that we've been given.

And that is found in the gospel. But second, the message as it was received. We see this at the end of verse two and verse three. Now, here we see how they received the good news that they heard. Now, notice what the author says about that first generation of Jews. What they heard did not benefit them because they were not united to what they heard by faith or because they did not demonstrate personal faith. What they heard did not benefit them. Now, think about Joshua and Caleb. Just like Abraham believed God and was justified by faith according to Romans 4.3, so were Joshua and Caleb. They believed the message they received from God.

So they benefited from that good news. They were justified by faith and they entered his rest and the rest of the Promised Land as well. But the rest of that first generation did not believe the good news that was proclaimed to them. The message they heard did not benefit them because they refused to believe. They refused to believe. They refused to demonstrate faith in God. Now, notice what the author says about them. He says, "For the good news came to us." And in verse three, he says, "For we who have believed enter that rest." And what the author was and is saying right here is this.

In his time, those who heard the good news concerning Jesus as the promised Messiah, they believed and they demonstrated personal saving faith. They benefited from believing and they entered rest in God. But then third, their reactions determined their destination. You see this in chapter three, and this is real short and real simple. Those who received the good news that was given to them and entered rest in God. But those who rejected the good news that was given to them, they did not. So look at what we have here in verse two and three.

This is what I call the components of this rest, the nuts and bolts, which came from God to them, their personal responsibility to believe or to demonstrate faith and the consequences of their decisions. It was either rest or no rest, rest or no rest. Now, at this point, there are several things we need to make sure we see here. And this applies to us in a great way in our day. First, notice that all are accountable for the message received from God. All the first generation of Jews were responsible to God for the good news they heard.

But the writer of Hebrews and those who received this letter, they were accountable to God for the good news of Jesus in what we would call the gospel. Now, what about us? What are we responsible for? We are responsible for the message of the gospel and the totality of God's word. Let me pose a few rhetorical questions for you. How many Bibles do we have which contain the full revelation of God in a language that we can read and understand? How many gospel tracts, pamphlets, and materials have we seen, read, and heard? How many gospel presentations have we heard in song, in sermon, and in teaching?

How many scriptures and sermons have we heard which proclaim the gospel and the fullness of the gospel? Second, notice that the writer puts a big emphasis on man's responsibility and salvation. Man is responsible to believe by faith in the gospel. It is not enough to hear the gospel and even hear the gospel presented perfectly from a perfect messenger. Man must demonstrate faith. In verse 3, this phrase, "We who have believed," puts an emphasis on the necessity of faith. This comes from the verb in the original, which means to believe to be true, to be persuaded of, or to place one's confidence in. Simply a thing to be believed.

But how does this apply to us today? Some can de-emphasize human responsibility. Some who are reformed in their theology are Calvinistic, and who understand that man must be born again first before they can be saved can sometimes overlook the fact or de-emphasize the fact that a person must believe to be saved. Romans 8.30 is correct when it says, "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." And Romans 10.10 is correct as well.

When it says, "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." And if we believe one of those verses at the expense of the other, we are terribly out of balance or even in error. But my point here is this. This is what the author is emphasizing all in this warning here. Man is responsible to savingly believe the good news they have heard. And they will give an account before God, and how they have responded to the good news will determine if they enter God's final rest or not. And then third, notice what the author is showing us here.

And he has been showing us this fact since chapter, since verse 7 of chapter 3. A person can have the Word of God. A person can have the mighty works of God. And a person can have great workers for God right before them and still not savingly believe. Think about those Jews who came out of Egypt. They physically experienced God deliver them from Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea. They had Moses, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, right before them. They had the 10 commandments that were written by the finger of God right before them. Yet they still refused to believe. They still refused to believe. They still refused to believe.

And they even complained that they wanted to go back to Egypt. And it's really no different today. People hear the gospel. People see and experience their own family members come to saving faith. Yet they still hold on to their evil heart of unbelief. People today are just the same as those Jews in that first generation. So the components, the ingredients of this rest, and there is a lot there probably that you did not see before. And then last, number three, this rest is found in God's rest. This rest is found in God's rest. Let's look back at verse four.

"For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works." Now here we see that the author quotes another Old Testament passage, but this time he doesn't quote Psalm 95. Now the author is vague here. And although he is vague, it is obvious to us that he's quoting Genesis 2-2, which is found in the creation account. But before we get into the verse, notice something that we see here. The author is obviously quoting Genesis 2-2, but notice what the author says. He says that God said in the verse. He says that God said God rested on the seventh day.

But if we know our Bibles, we know that Genesis 2-2 does not read that God said these things. Now what does that mean? The author is showing us that he sees God as the author of the Scriptures. No matter if Moses wrote it and he did, the author of Hebrew sees God as the author of all that was and is given in Genesis. And the reminder for us right here is this. We must remember that God wrote the Scriptures. And it is God who is speaking when we hear the Scripture, read the Scripture, and study the Scripture. 2 Timothy 3, 16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God." And the author of Hebrew says that God has spoken these things.

Now back to the verse. To me, there are two things we need to see out of verse four. First, the fact that God rested. Now that leads us to ask a question. What does it mean that God rested? Did God get tired? We all got tired after vacation Bible school. Does this mean that God got tired like we did? After creating the entire universe, things seen and unseen, in six literal days, he created it all out of nothing. Does this mean that he was tired and he needed a rest? Well, the answer is no. Well, that leads us back to the question. What does it mean when he rested?

You see, after God had finished the creation, the Scriptures tell us that he rested from all of his work. It does not mean that he was tired in any way or even that he had become idle, because John 5, 17 says that God is continuously working. But when God rested, that spoke to the fact that the creation was complete in every way. There was nothing to add. It was finished. God rested from his work and that rest spoke of the fact that the creation was indeed finished. One commentator said we should think of this rest as something like the satisfaction that comes from accomplishment from the completion of a task, which is what it was.

But a second question, but second, and this is in the form of a question. What does this mean to the believers rest? God's rest, what does that mean to our rest, which is really the main subject of this teaching. The author is saying that rest has been seen in God and available from God and in God from the beginning. Adam and Eve, they had perfect rest before they sin. Now, where did that rest come from? Where was their rest found? It was seen in God. It came from God and their rest was found in God. Think about Abraham. Before Abraham became a follower of the one true God, he was an idolatrous pagan.

He worshiped many gods and he had no spiritual rest and no rest in life. But when Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, he entered into a rest that is seen in God and it was available from God. Romans 4, 3 quotes Genesis 5, 15, 6 and saying Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and that is rest. So what is the point then that the author is making here? Rest has been seen in God and available from God and in God from the beginning. And for these Jews in this Jewish congregation, this rest was demonstrated before them in God and this rest was available to them from God if they would believe.

But for this first generation of Jews who came out of Egypt, this rest was demonstrated before them in God and this rest was available to them from God but they rejected it and God swore by an oath that they would never in a rest and they never did. And for us in our day, I want us to see that there are only two kinds of people, those who have rest in God because they have savingly believed in Christ or those who do not have rest because they have not savingly believed in Christ. And you see folks, there's always a test that comes along to reveal who they are and the test for us is not what happens when trials come.

When trials come, most all in our day and our time rush to God. Have you ever noticed that? All you have to do is look on Facebook. Look folks, please don't get your theology from Facebook. If you do, you need to come sit down with me for a little while. But let me share with you what I'm trying to show you. If you look at Facebook, you'll see that anybody and everybody who goes through a trial, they rush to God, they rush to God. But the test for us in our time to see if we truly have rest in God, it's not trials, but blessings and opportunity. Blessings and opportunity.

Many professing believers find the rest in the world when they have the opportunity. Many professing believers seem to love God and they're even active in the church sometimes for a long time. But when money, possessions, blessings and opportunities come, those things become the roads that lead them out of the church and into the world where their hearts have been all along. Let me give you a couple of examples to show you what I mean and flesh this out. I've seen folks be active in church for years and seem to be really true Christians, seem to demonstrate an act of faith in using spiritual gifts.

And then when that husband gets that promotion and they begin to make more money, and when their children come to age, they spend more time with travel softball and sports than serving in the church. And you look up and for years they've been finding their rest and their kids and then their travel and then their money and then their vacations and so on. And you think, wait a minute, 10 years ago they didn't look like that. They seem to be finding rest in Christ, but then you notice they're finding their rest in the world. I've seen folks be active in the church for years and they seem to really be used of God and they seem to love God.

And then when their business really booms and they can afford a lake house or a beach house, they spend their time and their money and their energies more in business, more at the lake and more at the beach. And you look up and for years they're finding their rest and their business in their possessions at the lake and at the beach. And you think, wait a minute, I didn't the person that I knew years ago. Now church, what I'm trying to show you is this. The test in my opinion, the test in our day to see if a professing believer truly finds rest in God as seen in God is not trials, but opportunities that are found in our fluent society.

You just watch. Now let me give you a warning here because this is when we can make an over correction. Owning riches and possessions is not evil. It's not. Owning riches and possessions becomes evil when those riches and possessions possess you. This is a verse I have used through the years with friends and people that I have known who have been blessed with riches. Listen to 1 Timothy 6, 17 and 19. "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." Notice what he says. These things are for us to enjoy.

Verse 18, "But they, those who are rich, they are to be good, they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. Thus storing up treasure for themselves is a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." So what do we see here? This rest, true spiritual rest, is seen first in God, it's found in God, and it comes when we believe in Christ. Now as I close, notice what we have here. The author was calling on these in this church here to truly be fearful.

He was calling them to a healthy spiritual fearfulness which would lead them to action so as to make sure they really, really had rest in God. And to me this involves an examination of self. Are you willing to examine self? You know sometimes people will refuse to go to the doctor, they will refuse physical examination. And did you know that one can refuse spiritual examination? Will you submit to an examination of self? This involves an examination of self in comparison to the scripture.

You know when we go to the doctor, the doctor is the expert, the doctor is the one that examines us, the doctor is the one that tells us that we are healthy over here or unhealthy over here. Well, who is the doctor here in spiritual examination? It's the scripture. Will we examine ourselves in light of the scripture? And if the scripture shows you that you are wrong or you are in error, will you adjust yourself to the scripture? And then what can be the missing ingredient for some, this examination can only come about by work of the Holy Spirit of God. Remember I referenced our friend Nicodemus earlier in John chapter 3.

What took place there? You had a man who was very religious, would have been the best neighbor you could have. But he did not have rest. What does he do? He stares into the face of the very Son of God and the very Son of God, taught to him the truth of God. What did he say? You must be born again. And what happened? The Holy Spirit of God intervened in his life. The Holy Spirit of God did what only the Holy Spirit of God can do. And so I'm asking you, will you submit to a fearful examination of self in comparison to the scripture and let the Holy Spirit of God do its work? The Holy Spirit of God can be resisted, quenched, and even rejected.

So what's the title of the message? Obviously it's a part one. Make sure to enter God's rest.