EPISODE 245 BOOK OF HEBREWS CHAPTER 4 " Could anyone use some rest"

Welcome to Share the Word. We continue with the book of Hebrews, chapter 4. I'd like to suggest you listen to what Pastor Paul Nitz is saying, not only with a critical ear, but also with an open heart, and imagine he's sitting right in front of you, talking to you about your life. Hebrews chapter 4. Could anybody use some rest? Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, the young man who was killed on a college campus in Utah last year, wrote a book that was published posthumously called Stop in the Name of God.

According to the publisher, it's about how honoring the Sabbath restores balance, reduces anxiety, and nourishes your soul. The book has struck a nerve with many, not only because of who Charlie was and his own testimony in it, but because so many Americans, in particular, realize how much they could benefit from slowing down and refocusing their life to get some more real rest. I grew up in the 1970s and remember how, at the time, a time when technology we take for granted now was just conceptual in a few brilliant minds, the promise was that when all the new technologies they envisioned on the horizon became reality, we would all have so much more free time for rest and recreation. Whatever happened to that? The truth is, most people work more hours today on average than people did in 1975, a half century ago, when the first personal computers hit the American marketplace.

Work looks different today, yes, and how a typical person's time in a week is divvied up looks different, yes. But the promised result has not been the leisurely, less encumbered lifestyle many imagined, that's for sure. One unforeseen outcome of the technology age we now find ourselves in is that our brains are just not very well equipped for the constant flow of stimuli and information we're assaulted with daily in modern life. We may not be doing factory work, menial repetitious things anymore, or in a field plowing and planting anymore, but our brains are more active and busier than ever. Our brains are actually tired. Maybe you're like me in this.

I now found it more relaxing to get myself away from all the technology and involved in something menial, like working in my garden or cutting the grass. I look forward to that. Along this line, I saw an article recently citing a large study. This was in the Washington Post that said the blue light from our screens mimic daylight and constantly are signaling our brains to stay awake. And that light we stare at on our smartphones and computer screens actually suppresses melatonin, the chemical in our brains that tells us, Hey Paul, you're sleepy. So being in front of a screen most of our waking hours leads to more agitated brain, being unable to relax and fall into the kind of deep sleep we need to get the rest our bodies need.

I think that research is really onto something. In Hebrews chapter 4, the author uses the word rest about a dozen times. It only has 16 verses, too. I think it's pretty safe to say this chapter is about rest. But more than about getting good night's sleep and more recreation built into your life or your family's life, as valuable as that is, that is far too narrow for what the Scripture writer has in view. I'm not underestimating the value of getting more physical and mental rest, although we are not strictly under the law of Moses with its Sabbath day rules, adopting your own Sabbath kind of observance is actually very valuable and would help most of us.

Six days of go, go, go should be followed by at least one day of stop and rest. But when this chapter opens with, therefore, since the promise of entering His, that is God's rest, still stands, let us be careful that none of us is found to have fallen short of it. It's clearly talking about more than just taking Saturday or Sunday off for rest and worship each week. So what then? The therefore is pointing back to what we talked about last time from the previous chapter, remember? Sure you do.

It was all about Moses' generation, the people who followed him out of slavery in Egypt but failed to enter the promised land because of their unbelief, because they didn't trust God when He promised them He would give them the land of Canaan. God's promise was only realized by the next generation and a new leader, Joshua. So what he is calling rest in the opening verse of chapter 4, in the first place, was the literal promised land those ancient Hebrews finally entered and occupied. That's something that really happened around 1400 BC, and we read about Canaan's conquest in the Old Testament book of Joshua. But in God's overarching plan, there's a lot more to it than that. The entering into and occupying Canaan was also illustrative, remember that word from last time, illustrative of greater things to come.

For whom? For believers from that time clear up to the present time, actually. This is what verse 8 is talking about when it says, For if Joshua had given them rest, that means that was the end of the story, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. The rest Joshua and his generation enjoyed as they inherited the promised land of Canaan is not the final fulfillment of the rest God promises His people. The author is telling us there's a lot more.

There remains something beyond that, things far beyond that. I can see at least three kinds of rest available to anyone who reads this epistle, from those for whom the author first intended it right up to and including us today. Let's think about them for a couple of moments. In the first place, I'm pretty sure the author has in mind a rest from religious work. This is one of the themes in this letter, one of the ways Jesus is superior to what came before Him. Judaism in the time of Christ, as we saw over and over in the Gospels, had devolved into a religion of law-keeping and works, that is, human effort at trying to impress God.

The strict dietary laws they observed, the Sabbath restrictions, all the ritual washings throughout the day, and so on. Verse 10 in our chapter says, For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Whose example of disobedience? He's still reflecting back on those who did not trust God, believe in His promise, and follow Moses into Canaan. But many people today still suppose that their religious works are what will get them into heaven, or hope in perhaps some formula of believing in Jesus plus living a religious life full of good works.

But where's the rest in that? How could you ever be sure you have done enough or have done the right things to impress God enough? I frequently tell people who insist to me that salvation has to be about a reward for those who have earned it, then what did Jesus mean when he called from his cross, It is finished? He didn't say, I've done my part. Now it is up to all of you to do your part. He said, It is finished.

All that was necessary to accomplish salvation was done then and there at Calvary. All that is left for us is to respond to the gospel message in faith, to believe into Jesus. We appropriate what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us simply by putting our faith in Him, because He 100% has accomplished salvation for us. How insulting it must be to Christ to suppose His perfect life and His extraordinary suffering of the wrath of God on the cross for our sins needs added to or completed by us. I was thinking about that. An old hymn I love came into my mind.

Man, I have not heard it in so many years. When I Googled looking for the song, I came across a beautiful vocal and instrumental arrangement of it. I wish I could stop and play it right here, but copyright say we can't. The hymn is called Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting. First verse says, Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art. I'm finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul. For it's by Thy transforming power Thou hast made me whole. The 19th century songwriter got it right. Thee, thy, thou, Jesus finished the work of salvation for us. If we have placed our faith in Him, we can rest in His finished work on Calvary. A great quote that has come down to us from the writings of the early church theologian Augustine is, Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You, O Lord.

Put your faith in the great Savior God provided for us. Rest in Him. You may well have made that decision, but still wrestle with anxiety and fear sometimes. You may find it hard to rest, even physically sometimes, because you go to bed thinking about problems you can't resolve, and you wake up feeling dread about what will happen if this happens or that happens. Don't imagine you would escape those kinds of feelings if you only reach this or that goal, or you could only have the life of someone else. This life is always going to have problems.

As a T-shirt I read recently said, Everybody you meet is dealing with one more problem than you know anything about. Pretty profound for a T-shirt saying, don't you think? But it's true. Wayne Newton, the longtime Las Vegas entertainer, once bought a handwritten note found crumpled up in a Las Vegas hotel trash can. Paid over $13,000 for it, actually. The note made its way to Sotheby's auction house in 1991.

The reason it was so valuable? It was found in Elvis Presley's hotel room after his very last Las Vegas engagement. And the note said, I feel so alone sometimes. The night is quiet for me. I'd love to be able to sleep. I'm glad that everybody is gone now.

I'll probably not rest tonight, though. I have no need for all of this. Help me, Lord. How come I feel bad when I read that? It was written by the king. This was the man who had it all, who had reached the very pinnacle of what all the rest of us in American society think we'd like to have.

But it's clear that he did not have at least one thing he craved most, and that is rest. He just wanted some quiet inside his own head, some peace in his innermost being. I mention that anecdote in case anyone listening is still striving hard after something that they believe can make them feel like, Hey, it'll all be well if I can only accomplish this. I honestly don't think there is a point like that, something you can reach in this lifetime. There's just nothing in this world system that can provide that kind of rest. Jesus invited us, though, Come to me, you are weary and you're burdened, and I will give you rest.

And another time to his disciples he promised, I am leaving you with my peace, peace of mind and heart. This is not a peace the world can give you, so don't be troubled or afraid. True peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God in our lives. No matter who you are or what you've achieved, there will always be reasons for worrying. There will always be things out of your control, sometimes very negative things. But for those of us who've entrusted our hearts and lives to Christ, we can be sure that he loves us as his own children and that he is with us and that nothing can come at us or affect us without his permission.

It's in believing that, that we experience a measure, at least, of otherworldly peace, regardless of what's happening around us or to us. I will never leave you or forsake you is a very calming and reassuring thought, a truth that believers can rest in. Sometimes, when I'm troubled, I can quiet my mind and reflect on that, on God's promise to never leave me, God's promise that He always works out things for the good, as if Jesus is saying to me, Breathe, Paul. Everything is gonna be okay, like a parent to a frightened child through a tight hug. Don't worry, honey. Everything is gonna be all right.

But there's much more to it than even that. I want you to think about these inspired promises from the primary writers of the New Testament. First, the apostle John wrote in the 16th chapter of his gospel, and he's quoting Jesus now, In this world you will have troubles, but be of good cheer. I have overcome this world. And this promise was written down by the apostle Peter in the fifth chapter of his first general epistle, The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever.

And this promise, written by the apostle Paul in the eighth chapter of his important doctrinal book, Romans, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. In this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. And certainly the author of Hebrews here agrees with them, since he writes in chapter 13 of this epistle.

All these people, referring to believers in the past, were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised yet. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. The city is the one with streets paved with gold, with river of life flowing constantly through it.

That city he's talking about is heaven. Pie in the sky, Paul. Yeah, it is. And I'm a pie lover. As I read the New Testament carefully and consider what its authors believed about rest, about real rest, it's only ultimately going to be fulfilled when we get to heaven. What we can experience of it here and now is only a foretaste of the reality we'll know then.

We are far too fixated, I believe, on our condition here and now, as if the benefits of being God's people here and now are what it's really all about. That's so far off from reality. Call it pie-in-the-sky religion if you want, but the promised benefits of knowing Christ, according to the New Testament scripture, are overwhelmingly still out ahead of us, where those who belong to him will find complete rest, and forever. There's a taste of it in realizing now that we do not have to strive trying to save ourselves, that we can rest in what Jesus has done for us. Yes, there's also a slice of that rest in knowing that throughout the challenges and disappointments in this life, I am his and he is mine, and nothing is going to affect me that's outside of his permission and love.

Yes, but by far, by far, the ultimate and most real experience of the rest God promises us is up ahead, at the end of the earthly road, at the end of this short life's journey. Then the things we hope for now, long for now, will become our reality forevermore. As chapter 4 here says in verse 9, there remains now a rest for the people of God. I often heard when I was younger, older people saying things like they were tired, and I thought at the time, so why don't you go take a nap? You're retired now. You're on your own time.

Get some extra rest. But that's not what they meant. They were tired. Their bodies were tired. And what's more, they'd also probably grown tired of the problems and disappointments of this world. They were tired of missing their friends, tired of missing their loved ones who had passed on before.

Some were tired of financial pressure, the relentless hamster wheel of trying to keep up with the never-ending bills. Tired of having to make one doctor visit after another, after another, after another. Tired of entertainments that no longer entertain them. Tired of things they used to enjoy which no longer brought them much pleasure. Tired. Ready for some real and lasting rest.

Have you ever read the poem in the Wisdom book of Ecclesiastes about this? It says in part, Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, I no longer have any pleasure in them, while the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken, then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to the God who gave it. That Old Testament writer's admonition is to, as the writer of Hebrews has put it, get right with God while it's still called today. On the Beatles' final album, Let It Be, Paul McCartney's featured song was called Long and Winding Road. In an interview a quarter century later, he said the song was about the unattainable, the door you never quite reach.

In a writer of Hebrews terms, the place of rest, the place you really want to be and would never want to leave if you got there. The chorus repeats, Many times I've been alone, many times I've cried. Anyway, you'll never know how many things I've tried, and still they lead me back to the long winding road. It was a sad song about never really getting to the place and to the things you thought you were on your way to when you were young. That's not how I hope you feel about your life. The remains a rest for the people of God.

Let us make every effort to enter into that rest, the author says. I appreciate you listening to Share the Word. We appreciate all our listeners spending time here with us, but I hope you understand that listening is not enough. This section of Scripture, Hebrews 3 and 4, is set against that historical backdrop of people who heard the promises of God but did not really believe them and did not act on them. It's in our Bibles as both a word of hope and a word of warning. As long it is called today, he says, we can still choose to believe God's Word and join with all those who will enter into His rest, those who already have.

We can believe what God says, accept the Savior He sent, turn our lives toward following Him. That's how we get onto the road that leads to life and rest, the road that leads to God's eternal rest. But make no mistake. We'll be judged by the word we've heard. He says that here in this chapter. Easily the most well-known verse from this section, actually, is Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, which says, The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.

It penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of hearts. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. Those lines are often lifted out of this context and just applied generally about Scripture's power to convict people. But in this context, the author is reminding his readers that we will be judged by the word that we have heard.

In this case, don't be like those who heard God's word in the wilderness but did not believe it and so failed to enter into the promised land. Those who spent their years on the long winding road that led them around and around and around to nowhere. Be like Joshua and Caleb, those who believed God's word and obeyed. They are the ones with whom God was pleased and who have entered into His rest. Thanks, Paul. And to all of you, thanks for joining us.

Until next time, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.