On the back page, I've included the basic outline of the message as well, and you can follow along with that if you wish. You can take notes as well on that if you wish. I'm not necessarily doing this every week. We may in time do this more often, where I'll provide this with a sermon outline on the back as well. But it is for your use today, and I hope that it will be a help to you as we together look into God's Word. Hebrews chapter 4 this morning. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 is found on page 1,375. Hebrews chapter 4, page 1,375. When you have found that in your copy of God's Word, would you stand with me for the reading of God's Word? Hebrews chapter 4, page 1,375. And we will read the entire chapter. Please follow along in your copy of God's Word as I read. This is what Holy Scripture says. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed, the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said, So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place on the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all His works. And again in this place, they shall not enter my rest. Since therefore it remains that some must enter it. And those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience. Again, he designates a certain day, saying in David, Today, after such a long time, as it has been said, Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. Lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This is the word of the Lord. Thank you, you may be seated. In 1952, Florence Chadwick, stepped into the waters between Catalina Island and the California mainland. She was attempting to swim the 26 miles between those points. She had already done a number of long distance swims. In fact, in 1950, she had swam the English Channel, which was a longer distance. from France to England. This time, as she was swimming, about 15 hours into her swim, a dense fog settled, and she lost sight of the coastline. She began to doubt herself and doubt her ability to continue, and eventually she asked to be pulled into one of the boats. She found out later that she had been pulled into the boats less than a mile from her destination. At the news conference the next day, she said, all I could see was the fog. I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it. She fell short of that shoreline. Chapter 4 of Hebrews is laser-focused on keeping us from falling short. There are three things that we are urged to do, specifically, in the wording of this passage. In chapter 4, verse 1, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. That's of God's rest. Verse 11, let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. And chapter 4 and verse 14, let us hold fast our confession. The point that the author of Hebrews makes in this passage is that we must persevere by faith lest we fall short of God's rest. Or we must persevere by faith in order to enter God's rest. First, the author of Hebrews makes this point, we must persevere believing the promises, or believing the promise of God's rest. We must persevere believing the promise of God's rest. There is a promise that remains of entering His rest. We see that in verse 4. There's an outstanding promise. That promise is still available. There remains a promise of entering His rest. He has promised that we may enter into that rest. But there is a present and profound danger that some may fall short of it. It is such a danger that He states it so clearly, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. What are you afraid of? Well, there are many earthly fears that you might list that you're afraid of. Some of you might confess a fear of the dark. When I was a child, I know it was an irrational fear, but I always imagined something lurking under the bed. My light switch was across the room. I would turn the light switch off and leap. into my bed from that light switch, lest something uncouth reach out and grab my feet if I got too close. Some of you might have a fear of the dark. Some of you might have a fear of spiders. Some of you might have all kinds of fears. But let me assure you that those fears are nothing compared to the danger that awaits those who would fall short of God's rest. So let's walk through what the author says about the nature of this rest, and how faith is the powerful means by which we lay hold of this promise. Notice first, and I want to look at verse 3, notice first that this rest is for believers only. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has said, so I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. He has already made the point, back in chapter 3 verse 19, that we looked at last week, that they could not enter, those in the wilderness, could not enter because of unbelief. So this rest is a rest that is for believers only. We see as well from verse 4 that this rest is God's rest. We see it from chapter 4 verse 1 as well. Their promise remains of entering His rest. Verse 4, He has spoken in a certain place on the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all His works. And verse 5, again in this place, they shall not enter My rest. So this rest is for believers only, and this rest is God's rest. We also need to see that this rest is not simply the Sabbath rest, although in some ways it is like it. In verse 4 we see the Sabbath rest mentioned. God rested on the 7th day from all His works. God rested on that day in harmony and fellowship with the world that He had created, including men and women. But the statement, they shall not enter my rest, that's found in verse 5, is spoken long after that 7th day of the creation week. So it's not the same thing, because that's still spoken afterward. It is a rest of harmony and fellowship with God, but it's not just the Sabbath rest spoken of on the 7th day. This rest is also not simply entrance into the Promised Land, though in a way it's like it. How do we know that? Well, verses 6-8 tell us this. there remains that some must enter it. In verses 6-8, though to us, perhaps the logic and reading is difficult to sort through, it tells us in the promised land, God gave rest to His believing people, but there's a sense in which that rest is not the rest spoken of here. Or there's more than a sense in which it's not spoken of here. We know that the rest spoken of is not the entrance into the Promised Land. How do we know that? Well, we know that because David still speaks of the rest that is to come long after they have entered the Promised Land. Psalm 95 is written a long time after that. And, the author of Hebrews specifically makes the point, if Joshua, King James readers, it's not demoting Jesus here. Jesus and Joshua are the same names. Jesus is Greek, Joshua, Joshua Hebrew. Speaking of Joshua, if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not have afterwards spoken of another day. In other words, the people of Israel enter the Promised Land. But even after they've entered the Promised Land, David, under the Spirit's inspiration, writes Psalm 95. And then on top of that, the author of Hebrews speaks of that rest that is to come. So it's like the Sabbath rest, in that this rest is a rest that is harmony with God. It is like the promised land rest, in that this is a rest that is provided by God, but it is not the Sabbath, nor is it the promised land. Also, brothers and sisters, this rest is not simply resting from our works and trusting in Jesus, though it includes that. We know this because verses 9-11 tell us that there remains a rest for the people of God. That is, there is something for the people of God, those who are God's people by faith, there is something for the people of God to look for, long for, and persevere for. So, this rest is a rest of harmony with God. It is a rest that is provided by God. It's a rest that remains for us, the people of God. So what is this rest? Ultimately, this rest that is spoken of, this promised rest, is the heavenly kingdom in the eternal state. The point that the author is driving home is that believers will enter the ultimate rest of heaven not just at earthly temporary rest. They will enter the ultimate rest of heaven, and who will fall short? Unbelievers will fall short. True believers will persevere by faith. True believers do not simply profess faith, they persevere, they keep going, they don't fall short. So let's lean into this exhortation that's given here. We must believe the Word of God. We must trust the promises of God. Chapter 4, verse 1. There remains a promise of entering His rest. Verse two, the gospel, the good news was preached to us as well as to them, those that fell in the wilderness. But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Let me pause for a minute because I know that some of you have a translation that might say that they were not united by faith with those who heard it. The point remains the same either way. that when they heard God's Word, they did not believe God's Word, they did not continue to trust what God had said, and because of it, they fell short. Either way, when they heard, they didn't believe. Brothers and sisters, we must persevere by faith, believing the promise of God's rest. And we must be diligent to hear and trust the Word of God, when it speaks those promises to us. You have to realize that there is a battle of belief and unbelief every time we hear or read God's Word. Will we trust what God is saying? Will we believe His promises? If you doubt or dismiss God's word and persist in doing so, you will eventually defect from God's word. The longer you doubt, The longer you dismiss God's Word, it will not be long before you end up turning away from God and His Word. You will, as the author of Hebrews said in chapter 3 verse 12, in rejecting the Word of God, you will depart from the Living God. You will turn from the Gospel of Christ and you will turn from the Christ of the Gospel. But dear friends, why would you be so foolish? If God has promised this great rest that He will provide, this rest of eternal harmony with Him, the very rest of heaven to come, why would you fall short of it? How we need to walk by faith and not by sight. Because it is in those trying times, like these Hebrew believers were experiencing, that we are prone to doubt the promises of God, aren't we? It's one thing for us. To say, yes, I believe the promises when we're surrounded by other believers and we're singing the hymns and rejoicing in those truths. It's quite another thing when we leave these walls and we experience antagonism or persecution. And think about the persecution that these Hebrew professors experienced. They had even at this point, at this point, it might even get worse after the author of Hebrews finishes the book, but by the time that he writes this book, they've already had their possessions taken from them simply because they were believers. We might think and complain about the persecution that we feel that we are facing. I don't think any of us have had people just break into our house and steal our stuff. and give no other justification for it than, well, you're a believer. It's in those difficult times when our faith in the promises of God is really trusted. But it is in those times when we must persevere by faith. We must believe the promise of God's rest. How we need to cry out in our weakness, because God knows this already, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. He knows our struggles even better than we know ourselves. And friends, those are the kind of prayers that our Savior likes to answer. Help my unbelief. Brothers and sisters, let us fear. lest anyone should fall short of God's promised rest through unbelief. We must persevere by faith, believing the promises of God's rest. Press on. Persevere. Be diligent to enter into that rest. Let none fall short through unbelief like those in the wilderness. Let none of you fall short of heaven at last." So we must persevere by faith, lest we fall short of God's rest. We must persevere by faith, believing the promise of God's rest. Second, we must persevere knowing the power of God's Word. We must persevere by faith, knowing the power of God's Word. Verse 11 has said, Let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest any one fall according to the same example of disobedience. And then immediately after that, the author of Hebrews tells us this, For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." If we are to persevere in the faith, if we are to persevere by faith, if our hearing of the Word is to be mixed with faith, we must have an accurate view of God's Word. We must have an accurate view of its power. God's Word is living and active. It is quick and powerful. It is important to the argument of the author of Hebrews that people view God's Word for what it truly is. The author of Hebrews has repeatedly appealed to Psalm 95, specifically verses 7-11. And you'll notice that he actually quotes one of those verses three times. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Three times he says that. Now, if this was simply a work of human invention, if this was just something like Shakespeare, if it was something inspiring and interesting, like one of the self-help books you might find at chapters, well, you know, we might take it or leave it. We might take the good and leave aside the bad. Chew on the meat and spit out the bones, as it were, right? Whatever we find personally useful. The thing is, this is not simply a human book. This is THE Word of God. And not only is it THE Word of God, it is the LIVING Word of God. Notice again, I mentioned before, chapter 3 verse 12, this evil heart of unbelief and departing from the Living God. The same description is given now to God's Word. God is living, and His Word is living. God's Word is living and active. The power of God's Word is the power of God Himself. It is an expression of God Himself. The author of Hebrews says three things about God's word, which I will not linger on, but I'll simply mention to you. God's word divides. The word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow. The intention here is not to give a technical description of the immaterial part of man, but rather to say the scripture divides the seemingly indivisible. The Word of God penetrates to the inner man. As it does so, it divides. God's Word is always divided. It's always divided. From the very first time that we hear of God's Word, in Genesis chapter 1, God divides the light from the dark. God's Word is a Word that divides light and dark, truth and error, belief and unbelief. God's Word not only divides, it discerns. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It recognizes the true state of things. This is vital. Because our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It is the Word of God that discerns. It sees things for what they really are. It speaks the truth of what we are. God's Word in the book of James is compared to a mirror. You look into the mirror of God's Word and it shows you for who you are. It shows it accurately. You cannot complain about the mirror, curse the mirror, because your hair is uncombed. No. The mirror just shows the problem. You've got to comb your hair. And so God's Word discloses what we are really like. It is God and God's Word that can detect things for what they really are. And then we can say that God's Word discloses. In fact, God Himself does this. Verse 13, there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. God's Word shows us for who we are. God sees us for who we are. There is no way that one day when we stand before Him and give account, as the author of Hebrews reminds us, that we can pull one over on Him. Over the years I have had to have conversations with my students. Why didn't you get this done? Oh, and there's all kinds of excuses that might be offered. The dog ate my homework. I had to force him, but he ate it. No, there's all kinds of excuses that people might give. And sometimes I think the students have gotten away with things, because I believe they're excuses. Oh, okay, well, I'll give you another day to finish that. But when we give account to God, there's no excuses we can give. God knows things exactly as they are. How vital is God's Word to our perseverance, to our continuing in the faith. How vital is our attitude toward that Word. God's Word is alive. And it not only relates the truth of God to us, but it also reveals the truth of ourselves to us. To put it this way, if we disregard the power of God's word, if we turn away from it, as we have noted already, we will not persevere. We will fall short of heaven. I think about a prominent preacher of years gone by, actually preached with Billy Graham. His name was Charles Templeton. Some of you might know that name. Charles Templeton saw the power of God's Word as souls were saved. Whatever one might think about the evangelistic practices of Billy Graham, and I have my issues with them, Templeton saw true conversions. He saw the power of God's Word. He himself preached God's Word. But over time, what happened? Well, he began to doubt portions of God's Word. And that doubt grew, and grew, and grew. Not knowing or turning away from the power of God's Word, he turned aside to folly and atheism, and died having renounced the faith he once preached. We must persevere by faith, knowing the power of God's Word. And third, we must persevere seeing the priesthood of God's Son. Look at how we are told this in verse 14. Seeing then, that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. This is a hinge verse, as commentators would say, and those who have studied this book. He's about to swing into, the door's about to swing open into a new argument about the supremacy of Christ's priesthood. But he links this urgent appeal to not fall short of God's rest to a sight of Christ as our Great High Priest. Ultimately, we look to Christ. And this is so vital, brothers and sisters. We persevere by faith, seeing the priesthood of Christ. We persevere by faith, looking to Christ. Sometimes when we think about persevering by faith, we, I think, unfortunately, turn more of our gaze inward than upward. It is viewing Christ that will fuel our faith. Yes, we look inward. We noted that last week. We need to beware lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God. But we must look upward to the Son. It is to Christ that we hold fast by faith. The author of Hebrews urges perseverance upon us in light of the priesthood of Christ. Seeing Jesus, let us hold fast our confession. Look to the Son of God, our great High Priest, and keep going by faith. Look to Jesus and don't turn away. Look to Jesus, keep looking to Jesus, and don't fall short of God's rest. The author of Hebrews speaks of the status of Christ. He is a great High Priest. He will make this in greater detail as the book unfolds, but as great as any earthly priest was, including Aaron, Jesus is so much better. He's a priest not after simply that Levitical priesthood, but a priest after the Order of Melchizedek. And He is a great high priest who has passed into the heavens." That statement about Jesus passing into the heavens speaks about the fact that Jesus has died, risen, and ascended. And now pleads for us at the right hand of the throne of God. There's no other person that occupies that place. There's no other priest like that. There's no other earthly priest that sits at the right hand of the throne of God, pleading for us. The author of Hebrews also speaks for us of the sympathy of Christ. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. What a glorious thing for us to think of the sympathy of our Savior. He knows our weakness. He knows the frailty of the human condition, because He became man without ceasing to be God. to live and die for us. Our High Priest is not unmoved and unsympathetic. Because He became a man, He can sympathize with our weakness, but He is not the kind of sympathetic person like a fellow sinner. who says, Oh, I know what it is like to fall into that sin. He can sympathize with us as the perfect man and a sinless Savior. He was in all points tempted as we are, the author says, yet without sin. And again, how vital this is for our perseverance. If our Savior is just another man who had his own struggles and had his own problems and he had his own sins, Why should we look to Him as our Savior? We could not look to Him as our Savior. It would be useless and helpless. If He were a sinner, He would be unworthy of our faith and trust. He would be unable to accomplish our salvation. But know He is the Great and Sinless High Priest. And as we will see, He is both the Priest and the Victim. He is both the One who offers the sacrifice, and He is the Sacrifice Himself. Knowing this about Christ. The author of Hebrews then tells us of the supply of Christ. What Christ has for those who come to Him. Verse 16, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." I'm glad that Christ has more than just sympathy. Sometimes you talk to someone and that's all they can offer is their sympathy. Oh, I don't have enough money to make my rent payment this month. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Oh, my truck is broken down and I don't know how I'm going to pay to have it fixed. I'm sorry to hear that, but I can't fix it. But Jesus has more than just sympathy. He has mercy and grace to meet us in our time of need. Mercy and grace are available from that Great High Priest. So He has not simply just enough for us, He has an abundant supply. And so, brothers and sisters, we must persevere by faith in order to enter God's rest. We must persevere by faith lest we fall short of God's rest. So let us fear lest we fall short. Let us be diligent and let us hold fast. We must persevere believing the promise of God's rest. We persevere by faith knowing the power of God's Word. And we must persevere by faith seeing the priesthood of God's Son. the rest of the story. Two months after falling short of mainland California, Florence Chadwick stepped into those cold waters once again, attempting to swim those 26 miles from Catalina Island to mainland California. Again, the same thick fog rolled in. obscuring her view of the shore. But this time, she succeeded. What was the difference? Florence would say later that she held in her mind a mental image of the shoreline. She persevered, looking in her mind to that shoreline. She persevered knowing that that shoreline of rest awaited her." Brothers and sisters, when the fog of affliction rolls in, remember. When the fog of uncertainty rolls in, remember. When the fog of doubt rolls in, remember. When the fog of confusion rolls in, remember. Remember the promise of God's rest. Remember the power of God's Word. Remember the priesthood of God's Son. Keep going. Keep trusting. Persevere by faith and you will not fall short. You will by faith, through His grace, enter His rest. Amen.