Do You Have His Rest?
I don’t want to try and explain each verse below except to say I would like you to think about verse 10 and ask yourself if you have ceased from your own works?
Heb 4:1-11 4 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. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
There is much to glean from these verses including a rest that is not of this world and I would like to hear what some of you think.
Much Love,
Cliff
Great post, Cliff!
His yoke is EASY (Jesus said)
He also said, “Come unto Me and I will give you rest.”
No more worrying if your religious performance is good enough?
No more ladders to climb to God.
No more ’shoulds’ , ‘oughts’, or ‘musts’, for you to be justified in the eyes of the Lord.
Jesus did it all…for you. And gives it to you, freely.
When He said, “It is finished.” He meant it.
Rest easy! (in Him…and Him alone!)
When life is moving 100 miles per hour, it is good to be reminded that God already took care of everything for me. I don’t always know what to make of bible verses the first few times I read them especially in a KJV bible, but PHEW what a relief.
Cliff, To understand these verses, it’s important to remember to whom the book of Hebrews was being written. It’s written to encourage the Jews who were considering Christianity vs. Judaism. It seems the writer is contrasting the “work” required in the system of Judaism with the freedom that is found in Christ. For me, these verses are easier to understand in another translation:
8)For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9) There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10) For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11) Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest…. (New International Version)
The Jews faced persecution when they chose Christianity. Perhaps that is what the Hebrews writer is speaking of in vs 11 – that it’s worth the “effort” to enter Christianity rather than to remain in Judaism. “Joshua” (Judaism) could not give them rest, but Jesus could! And it was worth some effort on their part to give up the old and embrace the new!
Later in the book of Hebrews, they were encouraged to remain faithful to their calling with these words:
Hebrews 5:
10) God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11)We want each of you to show this very diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12) We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (New International Version)
I can imagine that, for Jewish Christians, it would have been easier to just remain within their established religion rather than to take the leap of faith that is required of a true Christ-follower. And I believe the same is true for us today. It is very human to want to have the security of a set of rules to follow with everything all spelled out. But, Jesus asks us to move beyond legalism and to follow Him. He sums it all up very simply – Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The “work” that is required of a Christian is simply to love! It’s as simple – and as difficult – as that!
God bless!
Cliff thanks for reminding me about His rest it brings such peace to heart and mind.I
Cliff just was thinking Jesus said He would give us the desires of our heart and I know for me He has give me to know His unlimit love and I want so much me to show others that love.
Love Dan
Thank you all for your comments. I know for me verse 10 speaks to laying down all my works in religion. I have never felt more at rest with God since I gave up all thoughts of what I needed to do or not do to please God. He completed all the work and it feels so good to rest in HIM.
Nice to read this Cliff. I remember a number of years ago when I began to see that I had to stop trying to figure out how I saw God and began to understand how God saw me instead, then things began to change and I can now rest. We can all spend our lifetimes trying to understand God and at the end of the day all of us will come up with a different view, which of course is fine. But that can bring nothing but frustration and absolutely no rest. However, when you begin to see and understand how God sees you, then the whole picture changes and for me that is when rest came. There is therefore now no condemnation………my rest and peace is abundant.
Thanks for sharing Cliff! I agree with Michelle with the craziness of life it’s great to know that God has taken care of everything and He’ll never abandon us no matter what happens.
We are able to rest when our daily consciousness is centered on the ONE who dwells in the temple of our body. This is because that ONE is the voice speaking within us through those deep feelings. We begin to realize that this ONE in us is OMNI-PRESENT, he is everywhere at all times and fills the universe. He is also OMNICIENT, which means that he is all knowing having within himself the sum of all knowledge, being the creator of all things. He is also OMNIPOTENT, which means that he is all-powerful and there is no other power in all the universe. We are told, “Do not resist evil.” The reason is that there is no other power anywhere, so there is nothing to fight or destroy. This is the TRUTH that makes us free from fear and anxiety. Once we understand this the true nature of the CREATOR can be expressed through our daily lives.
I agree so much Roy.
Thanks Audrey, I always love what you have to say.
Great stuff! It’s so awesome to be liberated from the heavy burdens of religious obligation into the loving arms of Daddy God. No striving, driving, conniving, or contriving… simply thriving IN Him!
I’ve been thinking a lot about our life being “hid” in God with Christ, so this morning I set about looking up the various meanings of hid. The more I looked it up the more baffling it seemed, so in the end after writing down all the varieties of meaning that the word can convey, I just left it. This afternoon I was putting a cover over the one pear tree that still has some fruit on it since the birds have had a glorious time pecking at the fruit of the other trees, although they’re all still as hard as rocks. My son had given me a long length of shade cloth, so I’d pieced it together on my sewing machine to form a throw-over. Up on the ladder and using the swimming – pool leaf strainer, I completely covered the tree and pulled the cloth together around the base of the trunk with fat rubber bands. As I was doing it I realised that I was hiding or protecting those pears from the birds, and suddenly the word ‘hid’ took on a whole new meaning. Our LIFE is hid in God with Christ (Col 3.3), completely protected from marauders of any sort. NOTHING but NOTHING can touch it, not death, not sickness, no ‘birds of the air’ (carnal thoughts), NOTHING.
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At times I struggle with knowing something as ‘head knowledge’ but long for it to drop another 30 cm to come from ‘that place within’. Getting the above ‘insight’ is just such an example. When one gets it from the heart it is mixed with faith and one can stand on it as on a rock.This makes a huge difference, because that is the source of power when we will be able to ’speak the spirit’s will into being’. That LIFE is for living now, we just havn’t seen it yet. Laying down our soul-life is the first step, and that is ‘metanoia’, turning from that old way of thinking where we are the centre of our world, and instead turning to our heart where the spirit becomes the centre of our consciousness. As we only die once this is the ‘putting to death of the old man or carnal nature’. This opens the way to REAL LIFE just as Jesus showed us. – HIS RAISED LIFE. Think about it,
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because Jesus said in reply to the Pharisees in the temple,
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“I’m not crazy. I simply honor my Father, while you dishonor me. I am not trying to get anything for myself. God intends something gloriously grand here and is making the decisions that will bring it about. I say this with absolute confidence. If you practice what I’m telling you, you’ll never have to look death in the face.”
10 “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”
just curious, what is the work that God ceased from? Not the literal interpretation of a 7 day creation story…?
Marco, This particular scripture is indeed referring to the Creation Story. One school of thought is that God’s “resting” on the 7th day established a healthy rhythm for our lives. We all need a “sabbath rest” somewhere in our weeks, do we not? Whether you believe the Creation Story is factual or merely legend, perhaps the lesson is no less valuable?
He comes to us in times of quiet. So, as our lives are so packed full of schedules, and worries, it is necessary to set some time of “rest” in order to hear Him speak.
So True Julie.