Aaserm.htm

Entering Rest

“For we who have believed enter that rest, just 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.” Hebrews 4:3 (NASB)
I. Rest
A. A Traditional View
   1. Creation & Rest
     a.   “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2] And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. [3] And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” Genesis 2:1-3 (KJV)
      1)   The expanse of creation is so awesome, we have yet to track it down
        a)   Neither in terms of distance or complexity
      2)   In our own existence, life is so complex that even in our arrogance at thinking we have something of it figured out, we haven’t begun to scratch the surface
     b. The writer of Hebrews restates the Genesis theme and thus affirms it
      1)   “ 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” Hebrews 4:4 (KJV)
   2. The traditional view of what these means for the people of God is to do no work on the Sabbath
     a. That day is set aside to rest
      1)   That rest is sacred and Holy
        a)   It is asserted in the OT again and again’
          i.   With concerns that it has to be honored
          ii.   It must be upheld
          iii.   And with concerns that when it is not, one is in direct disobedience and defiance of God
           i)   “But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:27 (NASB)
           ii)   We can see why Christians and Jews were concerned about the change in Sunshine Laws that prohibited businesses from opening on Sunday
    (i) Chick Fil a
    (ii) Chariots of Fire - Eric Liddell
B. As a Different Spiritual Life-Style or State
   1. A feel that through faith one enters into a different mind-state
     a. This is unsupported by a word study which emphasizes rest, not a different state of spiritual well being
     b. In context, Hebrews 4:3 indicates that through belief, or faith, we enter into the rest of God which he established at the end of creation
      1)   I say this because, I don’t see any indication that God stopped resting
        a)   These leads me to think that the traditional concept of rest, not working, is off target a bit
          i.   Surely, God did not stop working through the centuries
           i)   Rather, God looked at all he had made, and made nothing else
    (i) He maintained, and sustained that which he created at creation
C. Entering into Rest
   1. What is different for us is that we are sinners
     a. We live in a social and personal spiritual storm
      1)   This storm alienates from God, from each other, and from ourselves
        a)   It produces boredom with faith, disinterest, distraction, apathy, and out and out resistance and rebellion to God’s will
        b)   It also produces discouragement, feeling overwhelmed, and even disease
          i.   For instance, drinking too much can cause cirrhosis of the liver
        c)   There is spiritual, psychological, and social turmoil
          i.   Even if a person not believing in God can find ways to experience personal peace, joy, and happiness on a consistent basis, this is fleeting and temporary
           i)   It comes to an end
   2. Faith, or Belief puts us into a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit
     a. The concept of rest here is a snapshot view of the benefits of being in this rest
D. The Benefits of Being in God’s Rest
   1. Personal Peace
     a. Glimpses of World Peace
      1)   The World War I Christmas Eve experience
        a)   English and Germans singing Silent Night
        b)   Rushing into to no-man’s land
     b. Billy Graham at 91
      1)   “I've experienced God's gracious love in a personal way all these years," Billy Graham said in a statement. "Today, my heart is filled with gratitude to the Lord for all he has done for me, and for all the prayers from so many people over the years."
   2. Love
     a. Paul’s famous chapter sets the standard
      1)   “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (NASB)
        a)   In world marked by atrocities, love is greatly needed
   3. Hope
     a. Missing in criticism of people of faith for failing to practice love, is hope
      1)   We assert that the rest we find now in God will find greater fulfilment in the futuer
        a)   Jeremiah and Isaiah are full of such expectations reflecting hope.
        b)   “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: [38] And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” Jeremiah 32:37-38 (KJV)
   4. It is to such states of spiritual mind that we join God’s state of rest
     a. It becomes our state of rest, but is establised by God to be given away to the whole world

References

¹ Tim Funk. Graham celebrates his 91st birthday. The Charlotte Observer, Friday, Nov. 06, 2009, www.charlotteobserver.com/faith/story