049 - In a Word Rest

You pick up your Bible and one is there more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right well it may look like just print on the page but it's more than a join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our own. As we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than exactly and sometimes even see his look at the case were that happened in the Old Testament and the writer Beaver's Tellis were all vulnerable today.

I more than make so that's okay I can handle it. Wonderful night and think I got more glad that you are with those listed in your their cocky dinner in the dining room table and in looking so forward to looking at the section in Hebrews 3 we looked last week. The first six verses of Hebrews 3 and in the end the writer uses what you need to consider this Jesus, you need to consider mobile more deeply neuronal and in it'll it'll serve to create for you a rock that you can holdfast so many ways. Now he's going to come to the fact that with Israel. There was a presumption that they were God's people because of you know, their genetics, kind of stuff but they did go astray, something kinda went wrong and Morgan look at that example today is a great example to kind of, not scare us, but it's sort of serve notice to us that is possible for us to think that were in God's family and his house but were really not the issue is really one of the heart itself. This idea of a hardened heart is going to come up again and again and again actively we just assume that we are God's people because of where we are or where we attend church and have not allowed God's word to penetrate our hearts in a way that changes us. That's the issue. The old saying is that just because you sleep in the garage does make your cards right. So, going to church than the city make you a Christian, and likewise from a Jewish perspective growing up in the house of Israel doesn't necessarily make you a part of God's house even being genetically related to Abraham's.

It's a problem so so wise up sober about what you can read the whole past frequent start in verse seven and will come back is a lot here, but a great story about an actual occurrence back in the Old Testament so you will read it. I love to green. Okay, here we are.

Verse seven, chapter 5, we have that word therefore works so you know this is all so tightly reasoned, because of everything you have said to you so far. Therefore, therefore, the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. On the day of testing in the wilderness where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for 40 years. Therefore, I was provoked with that generation, and said they always go astray in their heart they have not known my ways as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest.

Take care brothers Lester being anyone of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day as long as it's called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We've come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence in him firm to the end as it said today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion for who were those who heard and yet rebelled, was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses and with whom did he was he provoked for 40 years, was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because of belief, so there was a lot of reading but it is one event, one event themselves so potent it's like this massive turning place in the life of the nation of Israel happened there in the wilderness shows do not believe that you have kind of a rudimentary understanding the Old Testament. Remember, Israel becomes Not Become slaves in Egypt they go there in refuge within a couple hundred years later the financial slaves them and it turns out that Moses then is raised about the people to instrumentally to lead the people out of Egypt and into the promised land of promise by God so you will know that story you see the movie you heard the story, but I would encourage you if you've never done so, go back to Exodus beginning chapter 1 exit a ripping good story is and it moves pretty fast.

You can probably just not even stop until you get through the first 1011 chapters of Exodus, because it just moves you will learn so much about the history of Israel and send so many pegs will drop and the whole is a huge deal. So go back to Exodus and begin reading a chapter 1 and go as far as you can until you come up for air and it's a good foundation for over talking about here because they do come out of Egypt. They crossed the Red Sea got parts the Red Sea, not Charlton Heston but Moses parts the Red Sea and they come out and then suddenly problem started development on the wilderness, the wilderness of sin. They call it – but problem started to come up because hey, we left a Wonderful Pl. in Egypt where we had wonderful food. We were slaves sure, but you know, life was pretty darn good. Now here we are free, but were in the desert and there's nothing here so you led us out of Egypt so that we would die out here and that repeatedly send it over and over again and that's that's the problem that were coming up with you today that the right of Hebrews says, watch out.

Don't go here.

So, did you hear the repeated words because as we read what we read 12 verses we heard over and over again harden, do not harden your heart. We heard over and over again today while still call today you hear is and we heard a word that we heard last week we heard never last week it was translated holdfast, but this week it's re-translated hold our confidence firm to the same thing and I also heard the word rest. Not as many times but it's an interesting word that the kind of it is the equivalence idea of what happens when you get into the promised land you find rest and we rented unbelieving, unbelieving and unbelieving, so I mean we query flip to the last chapter the book in the sense he didn't get into the promised land. The land of God's promise because they didn't enter because of unbelief. What is it they didn't believe they didn't believe that God could give them a great place to live, didn't believe that he would do what he said he would do as they came right up to the edge of the land spidered out and then set not knowing, so we don't believe our God is big enough to do that which is appalling during what they had seen what he had done for them got parted the sea, oh well before that led them out of Egypt, after the 10 player play and they saw God literally bring Egypt into his field. Don't believe you so yes so that the issue is that they did leave Egypt but they didn't have enough confidence to say that God could take the promised land. In fact, noise background reading numbers 14 is where you'll see the grumbling take place. You know, this provocation of God because he grumbled about all die in the desert you know but numbers 14 falls right after numbers 13 and 13 is all about when they send spies in the land. Check it out. You know anyone spy for every two tribes of the 12 come back in and the report is a great place totally great place but you know the Giants and so 10 of this by saying that not only was she doing there in two of them say okay I can do this he promised it would look what he's done for us so far done so far. Yeah.

Good job Caleb and Joshua. They were the two of the 12 that. That said, you know God can do this. His promises are good. They had confidence to the incorrect promissory but it would also now we don't think so, let's find another leader back that stone Moses and Aaron. That's how that's how fractured their confidence in God was is that even though God promised it despite the fact that he brought them out of Egypt with great miracles and signs they did not have confidence that God could deliver bringing them to the police. Rest okay so let's think for a minute because the writer here quotes Psalm 95. So many French and the portion of it, he quotes is wholesome so I would encourage you to go back and read the whole song leaves out the first half he does in the first is all about recognizing God's salvation God's power in giving him thanks and then humbling yourself so all of that comes before the part where he says now today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as on the day of testing in the wilderness. Your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for 40 years. What works today see where he said beside the plagues in Egypt and the deliverance of the Red Sea days saw God give them manna saw faithful God give them water out of a rock.

Days saw every day that cloud hovering over the tabernacle and unite the pillar of fire they had things to see patch here, smell, taste, evidences that God was with them plenty of it and do what he said he would. That's absolutely inexcusable to come right up to the edge of the land God said here is where I'm taking you and then say nope you're not big enough not going here.

It's a great example to we think that if you just show me the evidence I see with my own eyes all believe it. But Jesus told us in other places will actually know if you're presented with massive amount of the rights you still it's a hard issue about your willingness to follow deliver it refusal to be persuaded, no matter how much evidence you get. That's the issue that SMI is taking on a were unable to enter because of that, and that unbelief is linked with disobedience. Well, that unwillingness to believe that God means what he says so I can lean on it placement confidence in yet another good reason to read Psalm 95 to the first half of the leaves out.

He concludes with this image of us being sheepish.

I got to shepherd and is leading us out in the pasture and stuck my arm is exactly what happened. The Exodus, the shepherd leads them out right and they're not willing to believe is to take them finally to the good place of rest so and you know we've all we talked about the fact we did and John looked at John about the fact that shepherds speak and should the sheep hear his voice, and they follow his voice.

Well, in this particular case the they stopped hearing his voice and the harden their hearts so well yeah Psalm 95 today you hear his voice. Don't harden your hearts right because they if you hear it right with Jesus always saying hey you got ears listen. It's not right, not just audible hearing but letting it penetrate right what do we say to each other when were not being understood that you're not hearing me my words might be registering in your ear canal, but my meaning is not penetrating your understanding that's what were talking about here and will help you if you hear his voice right if you know that is speaking down your heart, but let your heart be penetrated by what God is saying to you exactly it's a whole different relation to God's word. You can be exposed to and this is where I come back to the Christians being in the church and thinking for you to be exposed to a but if there's something if there's no transaction internally where you embrace it and then put your confidence in God and react as a result of it is just going in one ear and out the other end. I think the nation of Israel. A similar thing is going on here because they presume they were in the house of God because they were genetically related to Abraham so that just seems right.

But it turns out that even despite all the evidence of leaving Egypt.

All the evidence in the head. They still harden their hearts, and instead of following the shepherd into the place of great pasture which is the promised land. They decided not to listen to his voice anymore and instead they replaced that trust with grumbling and it refusal to give him thanks and the refusal to give him think that an action he put into the test says in Psalm 95 is what's been quoted you mentioned that we did so that you really would look at Psalm 90, will yet we mentioned someone like that so but but yet they put into the test they said basically I will not follow unless you prove to me it's okay deal that up to put to the test and that's where God says guys that given enough evidence. The more evidence, so this grumbling effect when when you look in Psalm 95 it says don't harden your heart doesn't edit at Marable Mayor was not actually a physical place.

It's a state of mind because mirror thing that happened to Marable means to quarrel or strike or provoke God so so don't harden your hearts like that place where they provoked God because of their unbelief they would believe him or on the day at massive Messe is capitalized but is not a place either knowing it really condition.

It's a condition of our vision of mind and heart and it's it's it's actually about trial and testing and stuff like that, or despair. So here you are in your day of trial you have in this kind of you know, wondering what life is all about the trial and you would not you would not put you compass me and instead you actually quarreled and and and argued with me and provoked me and said proved made demands made his budget from here unless you prove to me here now that you can that your God will do what you do when he had been doing it all along. So that's the great rebellion that talks about in verse 15, that's a great rebellion is us" and quoting from Psalm 95 versus 70 today today today if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as during that rebellion. So how many times is the writer of Hebrews now made reference to this Psalm 95 at least three times. Yeah it's it's repeated so if you actually taking the Psalm and re-writing it. This is this ought to capture our attention today if you hear. Don't harden your heart like they did when they rebelled right and that the today word is a nice kind of urgent thing like no I don't. Anyway, don't they will think about it for a while.

If you hear his voice just like sheep follow shepherd. Don't delay right just go now is the day of salvation. Rice captured a number of places hold hold that original confidence firm to the end goal that confidence not just an art, not in ourselves but in who God is and his promises to take us to a great place of rest. I mean, I love using that word. A great place of rest in the New Testament kind of equivalent of that word.

Rest in the Old Testament is the word abide. So it's abide in the New Testament is deliberately not moving around is like this like you will stake out some I'm think this is were put down stakes. This is Roman state. This is the place I'm living here. Well, that was what God was promising to them in the promised land place of rest you can put your feet down here stakes done here will be life will provide for you, there's rest, no more moving around. No more travel across the desert. No more living as slaves in some foreign land can rest here. It's a great image of what God promises to us when he promises what it's gonna be like we live in the house of God, as his family.

You can rest here because I will provide for you. I will protect you. I will care for your needs. I will shepherd is worthy of our confidence so you know that sets me thinking about Jesus in Matthew 1120 says come to me how you who are weary and heavy laden, like laboring beyond believe I will give you rest. Just send very like you have rest that the writer of Hebrews is opening here is that is a huge Old Testament picture that Jesus then owned it and said I am the one who will give you rest. And so really for the next six, seven, eight chapters and he was really talking about Rast big Tom rest in Christ is a big topic. This is what God intends for us. This is what Jesus, the apostle was sent out to sit one who accomplishes them is to bring us into a place of rest and to speak to last that message with the authority of God.

There is a rest and you find that rest in him. There is a rest for the people of God.

But you know the danger in this is a dangerous pointing out to hear it's pragmatic and it's real and here's the example like like he says in Psalm 95.

He says they put me to the test, you know there are people who go astray in their heart they go astray in their heart and may have not known my ways told me they don't know my ways. What you saw in part to see. Well yeah they kinda saw it, but they didn't really internalize some warning here right writer says now therefore the Holy Spirit says not someone. Five not David. The Holy Spirit is saying to you through the apostle to sit on Jesus today.

If you hear my voice, you got ears listen up. Don't harden owned so first well take care brothers, lest there be anyone you he's writing to believers. Yet these are believers you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. There's there is there drift. There is neglect theirs and it's all rooted in unbelief go astray in their heart, yet he calls them holy brothers of the game is right so this is a danger to believers should boy that should get our attention that we do you think of yourself as vulnerable to having a heart that is hardened. As he says in verse 13. By the deceitfulness of sin. Yet somehow I have allowed myself to neglect the truth of Jesus and begun to believe that sin offers me a better deal yeah yeah but I do hope you have no so if you put them back in the desert wandering around the thinking they get a bad deal because they had pretty good provisions back in Egypt. I mean there's great producer comes on the Nile Delta.

This is a listing that none of those arguments when they're whining about how good things were in Egypt.

They have seem to have forgotten the fact that they were slaves us.

Well, you know, we overlook a few things. Living is better there. Even if we are slaves and were not liberty stuff.

What we all tend to reinvent the past.

We were looking for evidence to support our position now. So while there in this moment of stress and trial in the desert there making a fundamental decision do we do we entrust our future in our care into the promises of God, or instead, do we believe our eyes. In this desert and think that God cannot do this.

And so we will take charge of the situation right and go back to where we came from and that that's their straying hearts in this entire are you, I mean really that's the question that begs right here is how willing are you to entrust your entire life and your future to a promise from God is that promise, worthy is it sound. Should we really hold fast to that promise does God come through on his promises. That's really what was at stake here and see. That's when going back to beginning of the chapter consider Jesus consider Jesus consider who he is and what he has done because God never asks us for blind faith. He does ask us for faith to believe that he will do what he says he will do, but he never asks us to trust him blindly.

He has always given us enough evidence to stand on to trust that he will do what he has said he would do because he has always done what I said so we can we can really lean on evidence from the past.

Yes, God is but we never need to like they did demand evidence of the future about God's can write because that what you're doing is you're putting the questions promise of good for you and you should never do that. In fact the right here of Hebrews says that look if if you want to. If you want to share in Christ. That's verse 14 it like your sharing and what crisis come to bring to us as the mediator and the apostle if you want to share in that you you exercise your share in that by holding your confidence in the promise. That's how you do it.

That's how you should you hold fast the original competence right to the end right to the edge of going in the promised land. Just hold that promise. That's how you actually participate in share of what Christ is bringing to remember when he's done exactly and give thanks, just plenty and humble yourself as some $0.95.

Let's bow down. Let's worship give thanks to our Creator and our Shepherd so you know as I've been preparing to talk about this today and set me thinking about first Corinthians 10 where Paul says all of this happened to them for our bed will benefit just Old Testament story weighed up a thousand years ago.

Those were real people and a real place and time, experiencing real events and Paul says that was all for your benefit, so you won't stumble the same way they did and if it can happen to people who saw the red red heart is right happened to those people that their hearts go astray.

It can happen to you people. Eight men every morning for 40 years. Reminded every exact reminder day of the provision and lovingkindness of God.

So I would encourage you to open to first Corinthians 10 and read the first 13 verses because you all now there's no temptation taken you but what's overcome demand rights as verse 13. What you don't know is the first 12 verses that come before it, where Paul says not stumble the same way they did, they were tested in the wilderness, they tested God. Don't let that happen to you so that's just right along with the right of you resisting drift. Don't neglect hold fast.

Remember what Jesus has done and who he is. God means what he says hold your original confidence to the right right right.

His promises are yeah so so the problem in the desert and the problem with us isn't that God did not come through on his promise is promises there. He'll talk more about this is we grant God's promise was still active and it's right there on the table. The problem was. We just didn't believe it, didn't think he was capable of doing it. We don't think he really loves us enough to actually have that come to place and deliberately refused to be persuaded. That's the issue has a hard only to that in a few more weeks.

The writer of Hebrews is open again this discussion of the difference between honest doubt and deliberate unbelief in the face of God's faithful. That's what hardening right so you know, and in your reading of the beginning of Exodus 2 you'll discover that Pharaoh hardened his heart God hardened his heart and Pharaoh's heart was hardened while. How is that hardening happening through deliberate willful rejection God's truth and unbelief of refusal to be persuaded that God is who he says he is and will do what he says he will do right right so if you want to take part in a share of Christ in us bringing to us and does it really comes down to placing your trust in who he is and what he's accomplished, which is what Jesus told Nicodemus in John.

You gotta believe point, I'm the guy he's making this happen.

And if you're not if you're not gonna believe that lump. Sorry don't have a share in what and in this promise, right wrist criticisms. As Jesus said he got ears got it here, then here, then let it penetrate you.

So in the very sobering last verse of this this chapter.

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief for can happen to them. It can happen to you.

Take care brothers less than being anyone of you and evil and call. Don't let your hearts raid to go astray forever time again, wow this is by the way this topic is not going to go away his own amplify this whole thing, but what a great example.

I would encourage you also to hit Exodus and get more familiar with the actual narrative Deuteronomy 1° place is more for the helmet. There is not anyone is an excellent song around it so those are really good good reading ahead. Also Psalm 95 he mentions almost holding your read something to read in the whole context first half as well as the second wholesomeness of the writer quotes the second anyway so I'm Jim and Dorothy Alber having a great time. Hope you are marvelous truths God has in store for you. That's what he wants for place of rest and having confidence in Christ be with us next week on more than Inc.