HEBREWS 4:1-132008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Hebrews 4:1-13

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. How many of you are living the Christian life to the fullest extent of what God has for you? Mario. It's only Mario. That's the only one. Is that the end?

Larry Vann putting his hand down for him. Thank you. Are you living to the fullest extent of what God desires for you?

Do you ever wonder, perhaps on your own, whenever you're meditating with the Lord or driving to work and there's traffic and so there's lots of time to think and you're going through life, you're thinking about the things that you're facing, the choices that you're making, the issues that you're dealing with, and do you ever wonder, is this it?

Is this all that really the Christian life is about? Is this really all there is? And I'm just going to be kind of repeating these same types of things that I'm doing for the rest of my life. Is this it? Is this all that we're supposed to do? Is this all that is for us in this Christian life? Now when I ask, are you living to the fullest extent? Of course, none of us would be so bold to honestly say that we are.

But let me ask you this, how do you think that you could attain that? What do you think you would need to do in order to experience the fullness of what God desires for you? And I think oftentimes we would think, well, see, because I know I really need to be reading my Bible more. And so if I was reading my Bible more, then possibly I would be able to attain the fullness of what God has for me.

Or we can think, you know, my prayer life has been lacking or it definitely has some room to grow. And so if I could spend more time in prayer, then I would experience the fullness of what God has for me. Or we might think, well, my church attendance, you know, it hasn't been that great. I make a couple Sundays a month or I don't...

I don't come on Wednesdays or sometimes I'm here, sometimes I'm not. And we could think, perhaps if I was involved more within the church, then I would experience the fullness of what God desires for me. Or perhaps, well, if I was able to step out and share my faith and be able to tell people about Jesus, man, then it would be awesome. Then I would experience the fullness of what God has for me. Well, here as we look at Hebrews chapter 4,

We're talking about just that. We're talking about finding and experiencing and entering in to the fullness of God's plan for you. The fullness of what God has for each one of us as believers in Jesus Christ. We're talking about the subject of rest. Now as we talk about rest, rest is not inactivity. It's not...

Laying around and doing nothing. It's not inactivity, it's activity in faith. Rest is entering into the fullness of what God has for you. And as we look at this subject of rest, the author of Hebrews continually exhorts us to enter into that rest. Enter into all that God has in store for you.

We think it unattainable because, well, it's so hard to read the Bible as much as we think that we're supposed to. And it's so difficult to spend so much time in prayer. We start out good and we go for a couple days, but then after a few days or a week or a month, and then we slack off and, man, that's why I'm not experiencing it. Or we think, again, it's church attendance or witnessing. And, man, it's so hard to experience all that God has for me.

But we are mistaken, if that is our understanding, to experience the fullness of what God has for you. To enter into His rest is by faith, not by works. The picture here that the author of Hebrews has been alluding to in chapter 3 and now continuing into in chapter 4 is the picture of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and

through the wilderness, and then into the promised land of Canaan. We're looking at, historically, the books of Exodus, Numbers, and the book of Joshua, where it gives this account as the children of Israel are brought out of Egypt by Moses.

They're set free from bondage. They're released from that captivity that they were in. They're taken through the wilderness. The wilderness was necessary. Their God gave them the law. Their God gave them the tabernacle, the opportunity to have relationship with Him. And then through Moses, they were led to the border of the promised land. And you remember how it goes, I'm sure.

They're at the border of the promised land. They send in the 12 spies. The 12 spies come back and say, this land is awesome. It truly is the land of milk and honey. But 10 of the spies were discouraged. And they said, we cannot go into this land. We cannot go in because, well, the inhabitants, the people there are giants.

There's big people in the land and we're not going to be able to conquer them. Their cities are fortified and strong. We won't be able to be victorious there in this land. There was two, Joshua and Caleb, who stood apart from these 12 spies and

And they agreed. The land is great. It's bountiful. It's the land of milk and honey, just like God said. They also agreed. Yes, the inhabitants are big. Yes, the cities are fortified. And Caleb says, so now let's go in. Let's go for it because we are well able to overcome it.

These two men stand apart, but the rest of the ten are the ones who influenced, are the ones who the people of Israel listened to. The whole congregation listened to these ten who said, we cannot do it. And so they refused to enter in to this land that God had promised them. They missed out. And God said, since you are too fearful, since you will not be obedient to

then you will wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And this whole generation, everybody 20 years old and above, will die in the wilderness. And this next generation, 20 years old and under, will be the ones who inherit the promised land. They will be the ones who go in to the promised land. And that's what we see happen in the book of Joshua.

And there's wonderful pictures here for us as believers. Egypt throughout the scriptures being a picture for us of the world and of the flesh. And just as Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of that captivity, you as a Christian, me as a Christian, we have been taken out of the world. We've been set free from the captivity to our flesh.

We've gone through the wilderness. We've gone through the opportunity. We've now had the opportunity to have relationship with God, experiencing the tabernacle, the dwelling with Jesus. And we also have the opportunity to enter into the land of Canaan. Now, the land of Canaan, this promised land, is not a picture of heaven because the land of Canaan was to be a land that was filled with battles, victories. There was...

conquering that had to be done that will not be so for us in heaven instead it's really a picture of Romans chapter 8 the spirit filled life the victorious Christian life the life where the enemy is not successful where flesh is put to death the life the abundant life that Jesus promised in John chapter 10 verse 10 and that is the life that we are called to enter into and

And we, like the children of Israel, have a choice. We, like the children of Israel, are right there at the border. And it's promised before us, the abundant life that Jesus promised, it's right there before us. And we have the choice whether or not we will enter in. And the choice is made by whether or not we have faith. We end in chapter 3, verse 19, it says, So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Last week we dealt with the children of Israel and talked about that, the importance of hearing God's voice and walking in relationship with Him. As we go into chapter 4, he's still on the same line of thought, but he takes it to the next level in this picture of rest. And he reminds us, who was it that wasn't able to enter in? Who was it that God was displeased with?

Who was it that had their corpses scattered across the wilderness? It was those who had heard God, those who had seen His works and yet did not believe. And he concludes, we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. And so as we look at the subject of rest, we need to know this is a subject of faith and it should challenge our hearts, it should challenge our lives.

Where do we stand? Do we believe God? There's five things we'll see about the rest of God, the rest that God promises for us this morning. We see the first one in verses 1 through 3, and that is it's a rest by faith, as we've already been talking about. Verse 1, Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. He says, Therefore...

Continuing the train of thought, they couldn't enter in because of unbelief. So therefore, since the promise remains to enter His rest, let us fear. Let us fear. He first of all says that there is a promise that remains of entering His rest. Now, as we go through verses 1-13 here in chapter 4, He's going to be proving that in several different ways, that the promise of rest still applies to you and I today.

And He continues to exhort us, since this promise still applies to us, enter in. Enter in. Rest is not just being lazy, and it's not something that just happens to us. It's something we purposefully enter into. The rest of God must be entered. It's written here for us eight times in this passage to enter in to His rest. And so He says, let us fear.

because you must enter into it, because this promise still remains, he says, let us fear. There should be a healthy fear in us about missing out on the fullness of the life that God has for us. There should be a healthy fear in us about missing out on the rest that God has promised for us. I remember one time it was about 5.30 in the morning and I got a phone call.

And on the other end was Frank Montenegro and he was saying, "Hey, where you at bro?" "What are you talking about where I'm at?" "It's 5:30 in the morning." And then all of a sudden it dawns on me. I had asked him to take me to the airport. He was at the church waiting for me. My flight left at 6:00. I was home sleeping at 5:30. Suddenly there's this great panic. I'm rushing. I get here to the church. We get to Ontario airport and of course 15 minutes earlier my plane had departed.

Ever since then, I have a fear of missing my flight. This same type of fear, this same type of thought to make sure. Now I'm diligent. I make sure, okay, you got to set three or four alarms and do whatever you need to do. Make the appropriate arrangements. Account for traffic on the way. And I have this fear. I want to make sure I make it safe.

whenever I have a flight. In the same way, we're to fear lest any of us seem to come short of the rest that God has promised. There should be this fear that causes us to be diligent, to make preparation, to be ready and make sure that we enter into the fullness that God has for us. That we do not continue just to wander around in circles in the wilderness. That we don't continue just to

Well, just to wallow in this sorry existence of miserable Christian living, defeated Christians, of being without power and without strength, without the working of the Holy Spirit and the power of God in our lives. We need to be prepared. We need to make ready and be diligent so that we enter into the rest of God. Let us fear. Do you fear? Have you feared? Is there a healthy fear in you that you would miss out on what God has in store for you?

Going on in verse 2, he elaborates. He said, For indeed, the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. Why do we need to fear? Why does this thought of fear need to be there? Because they heard the gospel just as we have heard the gospel. Now the gospel they heard was, well keep in mind, the word gospel simply means good news. The gospel they heard was God's promise that they were going to

inherit this land that God was going to give them everywhere where they placed their foot. They had the promise of those spies who came back and Numbers chapter 13 gives the account as two of the spies carried between them one cluster of grapes. It's hard to imagine a cluster of grapes like that, isn't it? Can you imagine biting into a grape like a watermelon? That'd be awesome.

They had this great promise. They had this good news. They had the good report. It truly flows with milk and honey, the spies came back saying. They had the good news of Caleb. In Numbers 13.30, we are well able to overcome it. But this word, he says, but the word which they heard did not profit them. The good news that they had didn't do anything for them. It didn't help them at all. They weren't

benefited from this good news. Why? Well, he ends verse 2 saying, "...not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." It didn't minister to them. It didn't bless them. It didn't benefit them. It didn't help them at all because it wasn't mixed with faith. The good news did not fall upon hearts who believed God. They could not receive the promise of God because they did not have faith.

And that's why for you and I, we must enter into the rest of God. But we need to know that the rest of God, the fullness of what God has for you, is entered into by faith. It's not by being so determined and working so hard and being so disciplined. It's by faith that you enter into the fullness of what God has for you. They heard about these big enemies and these strong cities and they freaked out.

They said, no way, we're not going there. We're not going to enter in. We can't do it. It's too hard. It's too difficult. Although God was faithful and had proven himself time and time again, miraculously, supernaturally, right in front of their eyes. And although Moses was faithful, the people were faithless. It was not mixed with faith with those who heard this good news. And so they missed out on what God had for them.

Do you understand if they had believed God and entered into the land, they would have experienced the blessings of the promised land. God would have went before them. They would have been able to be the generation that conquered Jericho. They would have been the ones who would be able to go through and conquer the rest of the land and populate it and set up the residence there. But they could not enter in because of unbelief. And this is why there needs to be a healthy fear within us.

Because he's drawing the picture here just as they missed out because they didn't have faith. All those promises of God meant nothing because they did not have faith. In the same way, we miss out on God's promises if we do not have faith. If we do not believe God. Verse 3, for we who have believed do enter that rest.

As he has said, so I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. He goes on to make the point still further. We who have believed do enter that rest. They could not enter because of unbelief. But we who have believed do enter. So do you believe? Do you enter into that rest? Are you entering into the fullness of what God has for you?

Because it's entered into by faith, by believing God at His Word. So many times we really think that it's by works. And we really think that it's by how much time we do this and how much time we do that. How faithful we are here and how faithful we are there. We're so consumed with us that we really think it's all about us. The children of Israel there in the wilderness, they attempted after at first they refused, after they said, no, we can't do it.

They attempted afterwards to enter in on their own. To enter in by works, as it were. There in Numbers chapter 14, at the end of the chapter, it gives that account. They say, we're going to go in now. And Moses says, don't go. God's not with you now. You missed out on the promise because you didn't believe. You didn't have faith. You weren't obedient when he commanded you.

Now he's given you this command. You're going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Now you need to be obedient to that. Don't try to go now. But they tried anyways and they were defeated. They tried to invade the promised land thinking if we try hard enough, if we fight hard enough, we'll be able to get into the promised land. But they were defeated very quickly. He says, we who have believed do enter.

We'll see this even further in a couple minutes, but the word here, to enter, that we do enter, is in the tense that means it's action that's happening while the speaker is speaking, which just means that it's available for us today. It's not that, well, I gave my life to Jesus, I've already entered. That took place, I'm already done. I've already gone into the promised land, I've entered God's rest, that's it, I'm done. I don't need to do that. Entering into the rest is something that...

needs to be taking place right now. It's not a one-time thing, but it's a continual thing that you and I, by faith, enter into the rest of God, enter into the fullness of what He has for us. We're talking about right now. We're not talking about heaven, although certainly there will be rest in heaven, and what we have right now is just really a foreshadow of what we'll be able to experience in eternity.

Yet right now, God has a rest for you. So believe God and enter into this rest that He has promised for you. Rest by faith. Enter into the fullness of the Christian life by faith. Believing God at His word. He finishes the verse saying, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. He quotes there again in Psalm chapter 95, they shall not enter my rest.

We've seen this quotation quite a few times already in chapter 3. We'll see it here again also in chapter 4. Because they were disobedient, because they did not believe, God said, the children of Israel will not enter into the promised land. They will not enter into my rest. But here the author of Hebrews points out, he said this, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. And so when God says, they will not enter my rest, it wasn't because God was saying,

I'm not finished yet. I need more time. You got to wander around for 40 years. And I got to try to take care of some things here in the promised land so that when you come back after those 40 years, then I'll be ready for you. The point is, the works were finished. They were finished from the foundation of the world. It's a finished work that God is resting from, resting in. But they could not enter because of unbelief.

So the shortness, where the promise wasn't fulfilled is on the part of those who did not believe, not on the part of God. That's the point. Because the works were finished. It was already accomplished. It was already done. But they could not enter in because of unbelief. And that is why we must fear, lest any of us seem to come short of it. So number one, we need to rest by faith.

Number two, we need to rest with God. Look at verse 4 and 5. He says, For he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way. And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.

Verse 5, And again in this place they shall not enter my rest. So he's continuing on with this thought of the works being finished from the foundation of the world. And he says there in verse 4 that God spoke in a certain place, Genesis chapter 2 verse 2, and he spoke of the seventh day and he said, God rested on the seventh day from all his works. See, God does not call us to do anything that he has not already done. The idea here is to join God in his rest.

Join God where He's at. Because on the seventh day, He finished the work of creation and He rested. The reason why He rested was because He was finished. It's not because He was tired and He needed to take a break. He rested because He was finished. He ceased working because He was finished. The work was done. Rest with God.

Because just as He rested when His works were finished, understand the works are finished for you. They were finished at the cross. When Jesus said, it is finished. He hung on the cross, He says, it is finished. It's done. The works are done. It's been taken care of. And so you and I, entering into the rest of God, is entering into rest with God.

Because just as God ceased working on the seventh day when His works were finished, our work is finished as well. Our works are done. There is nothing further that we can do, should do, need to do in order to be pleasing to God. The works are finished. We can enter into rest because Jesus said, it is finished. And not just finished in the sense that, okay, we can go to heaven.

And that's a big part, and I don't want to downplay heaven, but what we're talking about here is life right now.

What Jesus did for us is pay the price so that we can have right relationship with God right now so that we can experience the fullness of the Christian life and the fullness of what God has for us right now. Those who believe in Jesus receive His work upon the cross and God is fully pleased with them right now. So rest. Understand you don't have to earn God's pleasure. You don't have to work for it.

We get caught up and confused and we think, well, this bad thing is happening to me today because I haven't been reading my Bible lately and I haven't been doing this or I haven't been doing that. I've been involved in this activity and...

Hey, you cannot earn God's blessings. You cannot earn God's pleasure. You cannot earn access to God. You cannot earn the abundant life that's promised by Jesus Christ. Understand that we receive all of God's promises by faith. All God's promises are yes and amen through Jesus Christ. By faith in Jesus Christ because the work is already completed. It was accomplished at the cross. And so the author of Hebrews says, let's join God in His rest.

Because just as he ceased from working when his works were completed, we need to cease from working because our works are completed. As Pastor Sisko would say, we need to kick back with Jesus. Relax. Spend time with him. Relax in relationship with him. Rest with God. Number three, rest today. We find this in verses six through nine. Starting in verse six,

Since therefore it remains that some must enter into it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience. We need to rest today. He says, It remains that some must enter it. Today. Some must enter it. Those to whom it was first preached, they did not enter. Why? Well, he says here, because of disobedience. But it remains...

The promise remains that there's still some who must enter it. And this is what he's about to prove. Why the rest is available to us today. Those to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of disobedience. Now we saw in chapter 3 verse 19 again, they could not enter in because of, what does it say there in chapter 3 verse 19? Because of not everybody all at once. Okay, everybody all at once.

Unbelief. They could not enter in because of unbelief. Yet in chapter 4 verse 6, they did not enter because of, chapter 4 verse 6, disobedience. They could not enter in because of unbelief and they could not enter in because of disobedience. Same subject, interchangeable words. Unbelief is disobedience and disobedience is unbelief. They disobeyed

Not just when they didn't enter in, but they disobeyed when they didn't believe God at His word. When they didn't believe God's promise. And they didn't enter in because they did not believe. They're intertwined. They're interchangeable. They're wrapped up together. Sometimes we try to rationalize in our head, I believe, but I just choose not to. They did not believe. Therefore, they disobeyed. They disobeyed because they did not believe.

We can't say, well, I'm disobedient, but I know the truth. I believe in God. I have faith. I believe in God, but I just want to do my own thing. I just want to live my own life. No. Disobedience is unbelief, and unbelief is disobedience. They could not enter in because of unbelief. They couldn't enter in because of disobedience.

Going on verse 7, And he designates a certain day, saying in David, Today, after such a long time, it has been said, Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. So here's more the point of point 3, resting today. He designates a certain day. And what is that certain day? It's only on this day that we can enter into God's rest. It's today.

It's not tomorrow and it's not yesterday. It's today. We can't just rely upon yesterday and say, well, I entered God's rest yesterday. No, it's today that God has designated for you to enter into His rest. You can't rely upon that one time, that mountaintop experience or that one time or that season in your life. Today is the day of God's rest for you. And you can't put it off until tomorrow because these promises are for today and the command is for today.

So he says, he designates a certain day, saying in David today, after such a long time. Here again, he's quoting Psalm chapter 95. Now, here's the point. This Psalm is talking about Moses and Israel, recounting what happened in Numbers chapter 14.

But the psalm, although it's talking about those events in Numbers 14, the psalm is actually written 300 years or so after that event at the hand of David. And so this psalm written 300 years later, God still says today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. So the author is proving that this wasn't a command and a promise that's only linked to this one event in Israel's history.

Because many years later, it was still a valid command and promise of God. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. The promise is not just for Moses' time, but it's for us today, because it's still called today. The promise of rest was not fulfilled in Moses, because they didn't enter into the land, but he'll go on to explain that even when they entered into the promised land, the promise was still not fulfilled.

Going on to verse 8, For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. So after Moses and the children of Israel, the older generation dies out in the wilderness, then God raises up Joshua who leads them in. We have the book of Joshua, the conquering of Jericho, and the rest of the territory there in the land of Canaan. Joshua did take the people into the land. And they did conquer the land of Canaan. Yet...

It was not a complete fulfillment of God's promise because, again, several hundred years later, God says, today, if you will hear my voice, do not harden your hearts as they did in the wilderness. If it had been fulfilled by Joshua in the promised land, God would not have promised it again through David these many years later. Verse 9, there remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

The command to enter God's rest and his promise of rest was not just for that one generation or the next generation, but the command and the promise are for today. That's why Jesus was able to say in Matthew chapter 11, I'm sure many of you are waiting for me to bring up this verse. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Jesus says, come to me. This rest that God has promised is fulfilled in me. I will give you rest, Jesus says. You want to have peace with God?

You want to have joy, abundant joy and abundant life. You want to be filled with the Spirit. You want to experience the fullness of life as God intended. Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me and you will find rest for your souls. This rest that is promised is a rest that is available for you and I today. And so number four, we must rest with diligence. Verse 10 says,

For he who has entered his rest has himself ceased from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. So again, he gives this exhortation to enter in to the rest of God, to enter into this promise that God has for us. The fullness of this life that God has placed in front of us.

He explains in verse 10 that whoever has entered his rest has also ceased from his works as God did from his. This is again referring back to Genesis chapter 2 when God, he was finished on the seventh day. He ceased working because it was done. It was finished. There was no longer work to be accomplished. In the same way, whoever has entered into the rest of God has also ceased from his works. Jesus explained this.

In John chapter 6 verse 29, this idea of works and what it's all about, he says, this is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent. This is the work of God. All that's left is to believe, to have faith, to believe God at His word, to trust in Him, to rely upon Him, to have our faith completely in Him. He says, let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. You might think, well, isn't that kind of

Opposing words there. Be diligent. Or the King James puts it, to labor, to enter into that rest. It's like hurry up and wait. Work hard to rest is the idea here. But no, they're not contrary thoughts. Again, going back to this fear. We need to have this healthy fear. We need to be diligent. It's the opposite of the drifting we read about in Hebrews 2, verse 1.

Hebrews 2.1 says, We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. We must give the more earnest heed to the things we've heard. This idea of diligence is paying attention, being careful and taking heed to hear God and obey Him. Be diligent to enter the rest. Don't just drift away.

Wherever life takes you, wherever you end up in this Christian life, don't just drift. Set a course. And when you set a course, then check your heading. And make sure you're going the right direction. Again, it's not a one-time thing, but it's a continual thing. When I was young,

In South Dakota with my grandfather, we would go out on the lake and there was a dock right out in the backyard of the house that he had there. So we'd go out and he had a pontoon boat that we'd go out and fish on and things like that. He was very experienced, of course, being a grandfather. They're experienced in almost everything. So coming into the dock, I remember one time him showing me. We were way off away from the dock, but he says, watch this. And so he aligns the rudder

I guess it'd be the motor actually because it's the motor that turned. But he aligns it, he steers it, and he just lets it go. And then I watch as we're way off and the boat just kind of coasts in and sits at the dock perfectly without him realigning it from what he had done there in the middle of the lake. So then he took it out again. He said, you try.

Didn't work out so well. I can't do that. I have to constantly, I'm constantly adjusting. I'm going back and forth, back and forth. We're more zigzagging through the water. But that's the idea here is setting the course, but not just, okay, well, set it and forget it. No, be checking your heading. Have you checked your heading lately? Made sure, taken heed, I'm entering in, I'm walking by faith, I'm believing God and His Word, I'm believing His promises.

I'm walking in obedience to Him. I'm listening to God and being obedient to what He's been speaking to me. Have you checked your heading? This is the idea of being diligent. Keep a constant watch on your heart and your spiritual walk. Keep putting yourself on course to believe God and obey Him. He says, "...lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience." We need to do this because the danger is that we would fall according to the same example.

of disobedience to not enter the rest of god that he has for you is disobedience it's the same as what the children of israel did there at the border of the promised land to not be obedient to god and what he is calling you to do in your life big or small is the same as what the children of israel did on the border of the promised land enter into the fullness of what god has for you

Believe God at His word. Go out in faith. Rest with diligence. Finally, number five, we need to rest sincerely. Verses 12 and 13.

And if you know me, then you're thinking, man, this is one of Jerry's favorite verses and it's at the end of service and he just read this. How long are we going to be here? Not going into detail, although there's great depth here and I encourage you to do it.

What is he saying though? What's the context? He's talking about entering into the rest and making sure that we're diligent to enter into the rest and that way we don't fall according to the same example of disobedience. And then he connects it with the word for at the beginning of verse 12. Why must we do that? Why must we be diligent? Why must we not follow their example? Because the word of God is living and powerful. The word of God is active in our lives and plays a big part in us entering into the rest of God.

Christianity is not a dead religion. Jesus Christ is alive, but also the Word of God that He has given to us is living and powerful. And the point that the author is making here is that we must be diligent to enter because the Word of God is living and powerful and it lays us completely open. There's no hiding from God. There's no pretending with God.

There's no getting away with things when it comes to God. Hey, if I look at your life, it might be hard for me to tell whether or not you're entering into the rest of God. Now, if I look at your life and you're in outright sin and disobedience, well, then, of course, it's easy.

But if you have the seeming characteristics of, ooh, it looks like maybe they are walking right with God and perhaps they are entering into the rest and experience the fullness of what God has for them. You might be doing many outward things that seem like you've entered because you've learned how to be religious. But the Word of God cuts through all of the fluff, the whole facade that we put up, even to dividing soul and spirit apart.

It's hard for us to discern those things. What's the soul and what is the spirit? Is this emotion or is this the spirit of God speaking to me? Many people, they have all kinds of genuine emotional experiences, but they're not genuine spiritual experiences because they're not backed up by the word of God. The word of God cuts through all that and shows us what's really of God and what is not.

The Word of God cuts through those things in our life. There's no mystery to the Word of God, where we stand with God and whether or not we've entered into the rest of God. There's a mystery to us sometimes. That's why we need to look to the Word of God, to be diligent, to enter that rest and hear His voice and spend time with Him in His Word. The Word of God discerns our thoughts and intents. Sometimes we don't even know our own intentions, but the Word of God is able to discern. The Word of God cuts through everything.

All the mysteries, all the deep, dark secrets, and those inner things that no one else knows, the Word of God, sharper than any double-edged sword. The fact that it's sharper than any double-edged sword, understand it, it doesn't take, you know, like a constant whacking. It's just a slice. It's not a difficult thing for the Word of God. It just cuts right through to us.

Right through all that junk that we pile on, all the fake things that we add on, the way that we deceive ourselves and confuse ourselves, all the things that the world piles on to us, the Word of God cuts right through. And he ends there in verse 13 saying, there's no creature hidden from his sight. Whose sight? God's sight. All things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Makes you just kind of want to shudder, doesn't it? God sees everything.

every detail, of every thought, of every activity, of every place in your heart. It's all laid open bare before Him. And you're going to give an account to Him. That's why you must be diligent to enter His rest. See, understand, if you try to enter by works, this is why you can't enter by works. Because God knows your works don't measure up. You're not good enough. But if you enter into His rest by faith...

The righteousness of Jesus Christ is accredited to you. You don't have to shudder when, oh man, God knows everything about me and He was there in that situation and He knows what I said to that person. You don't have to shudder because the work has been accomplished. Jesus said, it is finished. No creature is hidden from His sight. You cannot fool God. You cannot trick Him. You cannot say, I meant to obey but...

I tried to enter in. Lord, I tried really hard. I tried my best and it just was not possible. And you might be able to convince some people of that. You might be able to convince me, well, I tried really hard to live the Christian life and turn from this sin. I tried really hard. And maybe you can convince some of us. You can't convince God. He knows. He knows if you entered in to the rest. If you took hold of the promises of

Well, I just could not believe. He knows that's not the truth. You chose not to believe. Unbelief is disobedience. Disobedience is unbelief. It's a choice. We get to choose to obey, to choose to believe, or we get to choose to be like Israel and turn around from the promised land and say, we can't do it. We can't live that life that God wants us to live. We can't inherit that land. We can't fulfill those promises. We can't do it. The choice is ours.

We look at the scriptures, the fruit of the Spirit. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, too bad it's not for me. No, it's for you, if you'll enter in by faith. Romans chapter 8. Oh, glorious. I hope one day, maybe tomorrow, I can do that. No, it's for you today. The promise is for today. Enter in by faith in Jesus Christ. And so I encourage you and I exhort you, man, there's so much more we could go into. I could keep you here through the end of Second Service if you want.

Just stick around. We'll just continue where we left off. There's so much God would love to say and share with us. But let's leave it at that. God wants you to enter in. He's got a promise for you today. Be diligent. Enter into the rest of God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we see these things, God, we're challenged because you have given us this command. Lord, our flesh...

The world around us, those ten spies, they keep telling us we can't do it. It's too hard. It's too impossible. We can't walk with you. We can't live the life you've called us to live. We can't be victorious in these areas. We can't walk in the fullness of what you have for us. But Lord, you say we can. And you call us to enter in by faith. Lord, I thank you that we don't have to work hard to please you. But Lord, that you finish that work upon the cross. So that the only thing left for us to do is believe.

And so, God, help us in our unbelief. Help us to put our faith in You and to be obedient to You. God, I pray that You would soften our hearts, that You, when You speak to us, Lord, that we would respond to You, that we would obey. Lord, if unbelief is disobedience, belief is the opposite. It's walking in accordance with what You've commanded us to do. Help us, Lord, to believe in You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.