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Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 1

• Therefore, as a continuation of what we talked about last week, as the writer said back in verse 12 of Chapter 3, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God,” Chapter 4 starts out with a factual statement. A promise remains of entering His rest. I love that. The promise remains…it’s there. It’s not going anywhere. It’s God’s promise through His Son Jesus Christ, as a result of the price of sin being paid…it abides man…unmovable…and yet these Hebrew Christians and the so many Christians today…ain’t there…

• Why? Same reason we covered back in Chapter 3…unbelief…which walk the line, always leads to and is made known by life in discordance with the Word of God. Another way of saying that…disobedience…and yet the promise remains because the promise of absolute liberty and joy and strength and softness of heart is not predicated on you but on Jesus and that work is complete…

• And so the writer says, “Since it’s out there, be afraid…be very afraid…of missing it, man!” We fear so much! This is what we SHOULD fear! Miss it? If it’s not predicated on us then how can we miss it? Verse 2…

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 2

• There it is…the promise has arrived! Jesus is the answer. And the promise has been preached, the message has been received and yet…the life is still tightly held in the shriveled hands of self, or even Satan himself…unbelief rooted in pride and fear chokes out the Word man and it becomes unprofitable…worthless is the implication…why? Because it is not mixed (sygkerannymi “sun-ke-ran-nu-me – literally several parts coming together into one…used only in one other place…1 Cor 12 when speaking of the church) with faith! Heard, understood, wanted, needed, even pleaded for and then not believed!
• And so how does that affect this rest, the rest that Jesus has secured for each of us? We limit God. We’re the only ones that can do it…Psalm 78 says, “They did not remember His power, they grieved Him and turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers…and limited the Holy One of Israel…” We saw this awesome pattern on Wednesday night in Joshua Chapter 19, that it was Joshua who placed himself last and even though he could have taken the best portion of land and the first portion of land he waited until all of the people were taken care of and even then, the land that he took, he wouldn’t do it without the consent of the people…
• So too, our God and Father loves us…and love suffers long…love does not steal, man…and so the promise of rest remains and yet because we do not believe that promise, we limit God in our own hearts and lives…
• Do you believe? Is your heart at rest? Same question. How do you know? The peace of God is evident. Evident now? Well good here I am sitting quietly…no no…not now…faithfulness is not required and hardly possible when moments and circumstances and environments are peaceful…it’s when peace must come from within you…that’s when faithfulness is center stage. And so do you believe? Answer it with your life…are you at peace in trials? Is it evident? Are you at peace in offenses, in humility, in kindness, in silly loving service to others…do you believe?
• Not belief unto salvation…that’s the predecessor to even having this conversation. Remember the author is writing to the brethren…I’m talking about now that you have received the Holy Spirit within you…are you limiting Him? Are you at rest?

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 3

• “For we who have believed…” Complete is the implication. A giving over of it all, man…and that just makes sense doesn’t it!? He wrote it all, He knows it all, He sees the end of it all…even from the beginning, He’s got the whole picture…He is the Master Builder…it just makes sense to completely commit your entire life to Him…and in doing so…you remove His road blocks and His grievous delays to do all that He desires to do in you, through you and man, ultimately…FOR you!
• Complete commitment…is complete rest! Just consider His capacity compared to yours? His faculties compared to yours? His knowledge. His stremfff…man total commitment and complete abandonment of it all unto God is the place of perfect peace…He has promised!

Hebrews Chapter 3 Verses 4 – 7

• Man how many times does He have to tell us? This must be ultra important...or maybe an ultra issue… Ever do that, say that, with your kids? “Man, how many times have I got to tell you?” I know one kid in particular in my home, I’ve told him the same thing…well in some circumstances, I’m not even exaggerating…I’d say 50 times…HA! This is the third time…don’t harden your heart!

• It still blows me away that it wasn’t a lack of attending worship, it wasn’t a lack of religious duties being carried out, it wasn’t a lack of devotion…what kept them from rest and what keeps us from rest is simply unbelief! What causes us to go our own way and make mistake after mistake after mistake and arrive at a life we don’t love to live…is just simply unbelief!
• He calls out to the Jewish Christians there…the work is done man…no religion, no works, no law can ever bring you rest…God Himself rested…The seventh day He rested and then again after returning to heaven Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father…even Joshua…look at the next verse…

Hebrews Chapter 3 Verses 8 – 11

• Be diligent! So get after it! You go after religion so dag on hard! Get after grace man! Oh if we would just go as hard after grace as we do after paper! (Money) As we do after pleasure! As we do after our daily agenda’s…Here are some other things that we are commanded to be diligent about…to work for…to labor is the picture…man taking up the cross no matter the weight! We are told to be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…in our homes and here in the church. Ephesians 4:3…How? I’ll tell you in a moment.
• We are told to be diligent to present ourselves approved to God. 2 Timothy 2:15…How? I’ll tell you in a moment.
• We are told to be diligent to make your call and election sure. 2 Peter 1:10…How? I’ll tell you in a moment.

• We are told to be diligent to be found by Him in peace. 2 Peter 3:14…How? I’ll tell you in a moment. J Actually, I’ll let the scripture tell you…

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 12

• Approved of God, making our call and election sure, being found by Him in perfect peace, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…entering into that rest…where does that diligence come from…verse 12…the Word of God…sharp, living and powerful, a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path…and to take it in, believe what He has said and obey what He expects of me…that is how peace with proliferate…unity will never lack…you will be so very sure of Him…your call and election…and no matter the temptation of the evil, the accusation of the world, the weakness of the flesh, your spirit will flex man…why? Because it is only the Word of God that is able to feed the spirit of man…and every second counts…check this out as we close…

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 13

• The eyes ablaze that we saw in Revelation Chapter 1…and we will give an account…not of what we’ve achieved but why we ever even worked…out of belief or out of hollow obligation…

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 14

• See that…High Priest? They would think Holy of Holies in the temple…that was his one center-stage duty, to enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make intercession for the people…but Jesus, the very Son of God, went right past the earthly temple and right into heaven! And so loose your grip on Moses, the law, works and religion and hold fast to the confession you made of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!

Hebrews Chapter 4 Verses 15 – 16

• I love this. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Well what does that look like? If you are in perfect peace, holding fast to Jesus for all righteousness…that looks like my 5 year old running through the kids in his classroom to get to me…bold man! And that is God’s desire…that you wouldn’t kick the dust and pebbles of false pride and complain that you’re not good enough or that there’s no way He would receive you…Come on man…He proved that you are good enough for Him, even in your darkest state…He proved that He would receive you when He gave all He ever had for you…so come to Him!
• Obtain grace, the implication there is that it is yours already…you just gotta walk into it…obtain grace, find mercy, find help…discover the eternal power of just being at rest in Him….