You take your Bibles now and turn with me to the book of Hebrews and chapter 4 Looking at verses 1 to 13 this morning Just to remind you that in this sermonic letter written to Hebrew Christians who are being tempted, you recall, by their trials, by their persecutions, to turn away from Jesus Christ, the main exhortation of this letter to them and to us is this, keep your eyes on Jesus. Why? Because he is the most beautiful and most glorious of all, more than anything else in this universe. He is the one and only savior that you can trust in. As he's been saying in chapters one and two, he is God's final word. Jesus and his gospel are superior than to the angels and the message they gave in the old covenant. And as we're seeing here in chapters 3 and 4, as God's faithful apostle and high priest, he is far superior to Moses and to Aaron. Indeed, what we find is this. In chapters 3 and 4, the writer to the Hebrews is expanding and expounding upon what it means that Jesus is that superior and faithful apostle sent by the Father. And then at the end of chapter four, all the way to chapter 10, he's going to expound and expand on what it means that Jesus is the faithful high priest. So in these chapters, chapter three and four that we're looking at, we're seeking to understand what it means that Jesus is an apostle who is faithful to complete his mission that God the Father sent him to do. Namely, that he is faithful to bring many sons to glory. Something that Moses and even Joshua we're not able to do. So let us hear what the Holy Spirit has to say to us today from Hebrews chapter 4 verses 1 to 13. Hear now God's holy word. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, as I swore my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works. And again in this passage he said, they shall not enter my rest. Since, therefore, it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, today, saying through David, so long afterward, in the words already quoted, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered God's rest is also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed or helpless to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Amen. Let's pray together again. Well, Lord God, as we come to your living and active word once again this morning, that word that is sharper than a two-edged sword, would you expose our hearts to us that we would see what you see? not so that we would be crushed by the sin that is there, but that in seeing our remaining sin and unbelief, we would flee to Christ, repent of our sin and unbelief, and hold fast to him all the more. Please work, O Holy Spirit, by your inspired word this morning, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. When it comes to motivation, There are two main methods that are used, and it's often expressed in that well-known expression, you can use either the carrot or the stick, right? Now that phrase comes from the image of trying to motivate an animal to move. Maybe you can think of a very stubborn donkey that doesn't want to go, and there is someone who is sitting on that donkey, and one way to make them go is to take a stick and hit it on the side. That's one method. The other method is to have a carrot placed in front of them so that they go forward to get the carrot. The carrot or the stick. In other words, there is both the threats of punishment and also the promises of reward that motivate us. And both are important, both are legitimate. In fact, we find both in scripture and both are here in the book of Hebrews. There's both warning and wooing, both threats and promises that are given. And in chapter 3 here, verses 7 all the way to chapter 4, verse 13, what the writer of Hebrews is doing is it's like he's remembered a sermon that he preached on Psalm 95, verses 7 to 11, and he is using it for his purposes here in this sermon. In chapter 3, the focus has been upon the warning part of that sermon. The warning against having a hard heart of unbelief. A hard heart that leads to disobedience that will lead also to the experiencing of the wrath of God, which is what happened, you remember, to that first generation that came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness. But when we come then now to chapter four, the focus turns from the warning to the wooing by emphasizing the promise of rest. The promise of rest. And this morning, what I want us to do is to unpack what this promise is by answering two questions from our text, two questions that we'll answer from our text. And so our two questions are this, what is this promised rest? And then secondly, how do we enter this promised rest? So the first question is, what is this promised rest? And you see, in speaking of rest, the writer to the Hebrews is picking up on what happens at the Psalm, in the Psalm, the last verse, Psalm 11 of verse 95, which is also quoted back in chapter three here of verse 11. Verse 11 of Hebrews three, as I swore my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Hebrews chapter 3 verses 12 to 19 the focus you remember was on the first part of that psalm today If you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion the very first part psalm 95 verse 7 and 8 which he repeats again you notice in chapter 3 verse 15 showing that that whole section is from verse 12 to 19 of chapter 3 is focused on that first part, that warning not to harden your hearts. But now he's focusing on this promise of rest. And you'll notice, if you have an ESV or maybe in your other versions of the Bible, that that verse at the end of Psalm 95 verse 11 is quoted again in chapter 4 verse 3. And quoted again in chapter 4 verse 5, showing that this whole section is trying to expound for us what this rest is, what it means. In fact, this theme of my rest was mentioned back in chapter 3 verse 18. It says, and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest? And now in chapter 4, he's picking up that theme. In fact, the word rest occurs a total of 10 times. from verse 1 of chapter 4 all the way to the end of verse 13. And so the idea of rest is the main theme of this passage. But the question is, what exactly is this rest? What is he speaking about? What is God speaking about at the end of Psalm 95 when he makes this oath, they shall not enter my rest? Well, it's important to always go back to the original context of a quote and see what was happening there. And in the original context, you remember, it's referring to God's oath that we read last week in Numbers chapter 14, where they had heard the report from the spies 10 spies who were saying that, oh, there's big people in the land. It's going to be very difficult. We shouldn't try to go into the land. And then two spies, Caleb and Joshua, said, no, we can go in. Let's remember what God has promised to us, and let's enter. The people didn't listen to Caleb and Joshua. They listened to the 10 spies. And so because of their unbelief, they were not allowed to enter into the promised land of Canaan. So that first generation. had left Egypt in the Exodus. They were on a journey to the promised land of Canaan, but they would not enter it because of their hardness of heart and unbelief. God had told them he would bring them into this land flowing with milk and honey, but they did not believe God. They did not listen to Caleb and Joshua. And therefore, God swore they would wander in the desert one year for each day that the spies spied out the land. They spied out the land 40 days so they would wander for 40 years and everyone in that generation except for Caleb and Joshua would die there in the desert. And so the rest in its original context of what's being quoted is referring to the promised land, entering into the promised land of Canaan. In fact, many times Moses speaks of Canaan as the inheritance that God's promised to give them, and it would be a place of rest for them. Listen to how Moses says this, or the Lord says it through Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy. Here Moses is speaking to the two and a half tribes, you remember, that are on the eastern side of the Jordan River, telling them that they need to go in and fight with their brothers until their brothers get rest. Listen to what it says, Deuteronomy 3, verses 19 and 20. Only your wives and your little ones and your livestock shall remain in the cities that I've given you, that is east of the Jordan, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as to you. and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you. He goes on later in Deuteronomy chapter 12, again, to speak of this entering into the land as the place of their rest and of their inheritance. Listen to how it's described in Deuteronomy 12 verses 9 and 10. For you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, then you shall have it. So from what we hear, what is this idea of rest? It's the idea of receiving that inheritance of the promised land and knowing rest from fighting against all their enemies there in the promised land. But that's not all. Connected with this idea we can read from other parts of the Old Testament, is the idea of rest connected to resting in the presence of the Lord. It's the idea that the promised land is the place where God is choosing to rest himself, to dwell on the earth. And for his people then to be in the promised land is to be able to enter into that rest with the Lord. In fact, it speaks about how the Ark of the Covenant, which represents God's special presence, comes to rest in the dwelling place, in the tabernacle, or in the temple. So Psalm 132 verse 8 says this, Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling place. This is my resting place forever, he says. Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. And so you see this promise of rest to the people of the old covenant is that they'd enter into the land where God would dwell with them and they'd have rest from all of their enemies and they could rest in the blessed presence of God. That's what it's referring to. What a wonderful promise. But that's what the first generation of those who came out of Egypt failed to enter because of their unbelief. They missed out on that great blessing. We might think then, because of that and the original context, that Joshua is the one who leads the second generation into this rest, right? He brings them into the land. After all, when you read the book of Joshua, it both begins and ends by speaking about this rest, doesn't it? In the beginning of Joshua chapter one, verse 13, it says, the Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land. Therefore go in and take possession, is what Joshua is saying. The Lord told us through Moses, he's gonna give us rest here. And the book ends, after all the conquest, with this statement. in chapter 21 of Joshua. Joshua 21, verses 44 and following. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed. All came to pass. There's no falling words with God. When he makes a promise, he keeps it. He promised to bring that generation in, and he did bring them in, and he did give them rest. And while that's true, though, we are reminded here that even this rest is not the fullness of rest that God has initially promised. And that's the point that the writer of Hebrews is making. And he makes this very clear in verses seven and eight of Hebrews 4. Listen to that again. He says, again, God appoints a certain day, today, saying through David, so long afterward in the words already quoted, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God wouldn't have spoken of another day later on. In other words, What the writer to Hebrews is saying to us is this. This psalm was written by David. Generations later, after that generation entered into Canaan and entered into their rest, had rest from their enemies at that time, had rest were in the promised land. But that rest that was given through Joshua, even that was not the ultimate rest that God had promised. Because David, in this psalm later on, speaks of another day which there is rest they can enter. There's something more. And even though God gave rest, we could say, to Israel from their enemies in the time of David and Solomon, you can look at 1 Kings 8.56, which talks about how God gave them rest from all their enemies under Solomon. Even though that happened, you know what occurs after that. That rest did not last. That rest was temporary. because we know that Israel turns to sin. Solomon himself turns to idolatry and eventually Israel goes into exile. Now, beloved, this teaches us a very important principle of how we read and understand the Old Testament, how we read and understand the Old Covenant, something that will come up again later in the book of Hebrews. And that is this, that much of what occurred in the Old Testament was only a picture, a type, a shadow of something greater that was yet to come. so that the exodus from slavery in Egypt was only a picture, a type, and a shadow of the greater exodus that Jesus is going to accomplish. that the tabernacle and the temple was only a copy and shadow of the true and heavenly tabernacle and temple. And here the point is this, that the promised land and the rest of the Old Covenant was only a picture and shadow of a greater inheritance, a heavenly promised land, and a heavenly rest. which this whole book of Hebrews is pressing towards, where it talks about a city whose builder and foundation is God, a city who was not made by the hands of men. That is the ultimate rest. That is the ultimate inheritance. You see, this promised rest, then, is a deeper, richer rest than the rest of entering the land of Canaan. It is that deep soul satisfying rest that we can call rest in the Lord. Rest with God. It's what God himself calls at the end of that Psalm, my rest. It is God's rest. And it is the rest that's described in Genesis 2 verse 2. It's the rest that's spoken of here in this verse by quoting that, where it says in verse four, for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works. It's pointing us then to this greater, deeper, abiding rest that God promised from the very beginning. that this promise of going into the land of Canaan for rest was just a picture pointing to it. So I want to help us understand how Genesis 2.2 points to this promise of a deeper and of a greater rest. And there you need to go back to understand of what's going on in Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2. There God is setting a pattern. a pattern for his image bearers to follow, of laboring for six days and resting on the seventh day, that God creates the world in six days and he rests on the seventh. Now, when God rests on the seventh, it does not mean that God becomes utterly inactive. He continues his work of providence, doesn't he? He continues to sustain the world. He continues to actively work in the world to bring about redemption. But it is a resting from what? From the work of creation. That his work of creation is completed. And that's exactly what it said and what we read in Genesis 2. Just remind you how that Ends two, one, three. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it, God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. It says very clearly the work that he rests from. He rests from creating. He is done. It is finished. The world has been created by the word of his power. And now he blesses the day. He blesses the day. resting from his work of creation and entering into, we could say, the delight and enjoyment of it. He has just proclaimed that what he has made is very good. And now there's a sense in which he is stepping back and delighting, enjoying in the creation that he has made. And he's blessed this seventh day as a day in which his creation also delights in what he has done, worships him, enjoys him as the one who is their maker. So the Sabbath day, the seventh day Sabbath, is created by God at the very beginning. It's created by God. Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. What was, who was created first, the man or the Sabbath? The man. So the Sabbath was created to serve man. So it's the seventh day. And it's the seventh day that goes on. It's interesting, just in the language of Genesis 1 and 2, isn't it, that the first six days always end with a statement. And there was evening and there was morning the first day, the second day, the third day. How each of those days, as it were, comes to an end and another day begins. But when you come to the seventh day, there is no statement of that. There is no evening, morning, and an ending. No, it continues in a sense. God entered into that rest of creation and he's enjoying that bliss in that way, that perfect rest. And here's what you need to understand. What is so significant about this seventh day Sabbath? What's significant about it is this, that God made it a Sabbath day for Adam and Eve. One day a week. in which they were to rest from their labors and be reminded of a promise of what they would receive when they completed the mission that God gave them to do. In other words, the purpose of the seventh day Sabbath was it was a symbol of this promised eternal rest that Adam and Eve would receive if they completed the mission God gave them to do. We've talked about this before. What is the mission that God gave to Adam and Eve? It's right there in Genesis chapter 1. Remember, God set a pattern in the first six days of the work that Adam and Eve were to do. What is that that they were to do? To exercise dominion, subduing the earth, and to be fruitful and multiply. That's their mission. Let me put it this way. Like God, they were to form the earth. That's the dominion part. To expand the borders of the garden in Eden to cover the whole earth, that the whole earth would be a most holy place where God and man would dwell together forever. That's the work they were to do. But then they were also to fill the earth with other faithful image bearers who would delight in worship and communion with God and with one another. And you see, as they were laboring to do this in the six days, and they enter into the seventh day Sabbath, it would be a reminder to continue in the work until it was done. Because if they finished the work, they would enter into this final rest. That's what it was about. When they completed their task, they would receive the reward of an eternal rest from their labors, where like God, They would eternally delight in what had been accomplished and forever commune with the Lord in a perfected state. That's what the seventh day Sabbath was all about. So it stood as a reminder, as a symbol of this eternal promised rest. And that's why the writer of the Hebrews is pointing back to it in Genesis chapter two. Because he's saying what they had in Canaan, That was just a picture of this, of this eternal Sabbath rest back in Genesis chapter two. That's what it's all about. You see, it's an encouragement to continue to persevere in the work and the mission that God has given them to do. But as we know, what happened? Adam and Eve failed to persevere. They did not enter into the rest in the Lord, this eternal Sabbath rest, but they were exiled from the garden in Eden. And the reality is all of us born in the ordinary way since Adam and Eve were born restless, without hope. without God in the world, wanderers who are restless in our hearts due to our sin and rebellion against God, though the reality is even all of us as sinners long for true rest. We feel the weariness of this world. We feel the weariness that sin brings, and we want that rest. After all, God has said eternity in our hearts, and we long for eternal Sabbath rest. And here is the wonderful news of this passage. That the promise of entering his rest still stands, as it says in verse one. In verse six, that it remains for some to enter this rest. Verse nine, that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. In other words, there is still a promise of entering the abiding deep rest of God that stands before you. where you can dwell with God and delight in his presence for all eternity, where you can receive an inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade, where you can enter into a land of promise that's not a physical land just for a little while, but is a new heavens and a new earth, a heavenly country whose maker and builder is God, where you can know true rest of heart and soul, rest from sin, rest from the weariness of this fallen world, This is the rest that's promised that stands before you still today. There's a promised rest that remains. That's what he's talking about. But here's the important question, the all important question that we must also ask now that we know what this promised rest is, and that is how do we enter this promised rest? How is it that we who are sinners could ever enter into such eternal bliss? And here's the answer. By faith. By faith. Listen to what it says there in verses two and three. for good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest. 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. You see, it's by faith that you can enter this rest. It's by trust, it's by belief. This is what he's pressing through this whole section. Chapter three was all about warning against unbelief, and here he's saying, you need to believe. Then you can enter into this rest. The belief in what? What is it that we're to believe? All it says is very clearly, verse two, the good news that came to us. We must believe this gospel, this good news that came to us. Specifically, in the context of Hebrews, it's the good news of the new covenant that has been proclaimed to us by none other than Jesus Christ himself. That's the whole of chapters one and two, saying God has spoken to us in these last days by his son. His son has proclaimed this good news. He describes it in chapter two, verse three, when he says this, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? What salvation? The salvation that was declared at first by the Lord and was attested to us by those who heard while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. It's this message that's come to us from Jesus Christ that you must believe. This great salvation. And what is this great salvation? that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, who has accomplished the salvation that will bring us to glory, that will bring us to rest, that he is the one who will bring you all the way to eternal Sabbath rest. So you put your faith in him. In other words, let me say it this way. This is the point that he's making. Jesus is the true apostle of the Lord. Right? That's the point. The true apostle, think of it this way, to use the words of a hymn that we need to learn, we'll learn another day. Jesus is the true and better Adam. He's the true and better Adam because he actually completes the mission of forming and filling the earth where Adam failed to do it. Jesus is the true and better Moses. Why? Because he completes the mission of bringing his people into the rest of the promised land. Moses himself died and didn't even enter. He is the true and better Joshua because he actually brings us into a rest that's not temporary but eternal. Joshua only brought them to a temporary rest. He's the true Yeshua, the true Joshua. His name is Jesus after all, which is the Greek name for Joshua. And he is the true and better David. who conquers all of our enemies, including Satan, sin, and death, so that our rest from our enemies is not just a temporary rest like it was with David and Solomon, but an eternal rest. Jesus is the apostle who completes his mission. All the other apostles that I just mentioned didn't, but Jesus did, that's why he's better. That's why he's superior. And that's why you put your faith in him and no one else. No one else. We enter this rest by having faith in Jesus Christ and all that he has done and all that he will do for those who trust in him. After all, this is exactly what Jesus said when he was on the earth. You remember what he says in Matthew chapter 11. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. You see, beloved, you enter into this rest by coming to Jesus Christ by faith, by trusting in him alone. It is by receiving and resting upon his work alone for your salvation. It is by faith alone and nothing else that you can enter this eternal Sabbath rest. And yet we need to understand something else, and this is what the writer to Hebrews is also pressing us to understand, that we understand that true and saving faith is a faith that is never alone. While we are saved by faith in Christ alone, it is a faith that's never alone. In other words, true saving faith is actually a faith that works by love. True saving faith is a faith that perseveres in trusting in Jesus, even amidst trials and temptations and persecutions during our wilderness pilgrimage on the earth. And that's the point he's also pressing to us. That while it's true in a real sense, that we enter this rest right away when we become Christians. By faith, we know that we do not save ourselves by our own works. And yet, even now while we're on the earth, we realize we are not yet in that final consummate eternal Sabbath rest, are we? How many of you here do not wrestle with sin at all? Anybody? Anyone glorified here? Okay, good. That means, well not good in one sense, but good in this sense, you understand that that's true. That means your pilgrimage is not over. That means your fighting, your wrestling is not done. Yes, there's a real sense in which you're resting in Christ, and you know that rest of soul already. In other words, the new heavens and new earth, the new creation's already broken into your heart. So that you right now, if you believe in Jesus, are a new creation in Christ Jesus, and you are part of that heavenly country already. but you're also living in the old world, you're living in a fallen world, and you still have remaining sin, and your battle and your pilgrimage is not over. Therefore, there's still a rest that remains for us to enter. That is that final consummate rest where all your fighting, all your weariness with sin will be done, praise the Lord. Isn't that what we sang earlier in that hymn about Lord of the Sabbath, hear us pray? We look forward to that day, in that eternal Sabbath day, where we'll sing praises to God without sighing. Perhaps some of you this morning, even in singing the hymns, sighed. Because you realized the reality of your remaining sin. You realized your continued struggle. And even while we know the truths of the gospel, we feel the pain of what remains. And in this life, maybe some of you right now are going through hard trials. And that causes you to feel the heaviness. And that's why even though we come and we worship the Lord, it is worship being mingled with sighing and sadness. And that's okay. It's okay to have tears that roll down your face because of the hardness of this life. Because the reality that you still are struggling with sin against the Lord. But there's a day coming when you won't have that mingling anymore. that you will sing praises to Christ with unmixed joy because you've entered eternal Sabbath rest, you see. And that's the point that he's making. Verse nine. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. This is what we're looking forward to. It's fascinating this word Sabbath rest in the Greek. It's a word that only occurs this one time in the whole Bible. It's not the usual word for rest that you find in the rest of this passage. It's a word that emphasizes not the cessation of work, this word Sabbath rest emphasizes the celebration, the joy of the completion, that delight in the work done and being able to rejoice together with the Lord, you see. That's what's being emphasized and that's what's saying, that's what we're looking forward to. That's what's coming when Christ returns. An eternal festive Sabbath celebration that goes on forever. At the consummation, it's not something we've experienced yet in a full way, but something we are awaiting by faith. But you see, here's the important thing. In order to enter into that joyful celebration, that eternal Sabbath rest, you have to enter by true saving faith in Christ. And true saving faith is a faith that perseveres to the end. It's not, in other words, a temporary false faith. The kind of faith that Jesus mentions in the parable of the sower and the soils. The kind of faith that falls on the rocky ground and when the pleasures of the world come, it withers away. Or not the kind of faith that's on the thorny ground so that when the trials and temptations of the world come, chokes it out and it falls away. Those are a kind of faith, but it's not true in saving faith. You can have this kind of faith even professing that you believe Jesus is Lord and your Savior. You can even have this kind of faith and come to church, read your Bible, say prayers. But it's not true saving faith if it's not persevering, lasting faith. And this is the point that he's making. This is the concern that he has. No, if you have true saving faith, it will actually be on that good soil and will bear fruit And that's why you need to understand the two main exhortations in this passage of Hebrews 4 verses 1 to 13. There's two statements where he says, let us do something. Let us fear, he says, in verse 1, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach the promised rest. And then verse 11, let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. There are exhortations here to both fear and to strive, but you need to understand these in the context of the overall section, which is about having faith. In other words, it is a fearing and a striving that flows from faith, not unbelief. This is what you must do, Christian. You must first have a fear that is a godly fear of faith. That's what he's saying, let us fear. This is not the fear that comes from a heart of unbelief and sin. It's not a fear that comes from wrong thoughts of God as harsh, but it's a fear that comes from faith, a fear that doesn't want to miss out on the rest of being forever with the Lord. That's what he means by this fear. Listen to what John Brown, in his commentary on Hebrews, he quotes from McLean, and this is what it says. Both believers and unbelievers have their fears, but they arise from different sources and have quite opposite effects. The fear of unbelievers and the unbelieving fears of believers, we could say, arise from unworthy thoughts of God, a distrust of his power, a distrust of his faithfulness, a distrust of his goodness, a distrust of God and a prevailing love for the present evil world and its enjoyments, which makes them more afraid of worldly losses and sufferings for righteousness' sake than of forfeiting divine blessings in favor. Such fears not only indispose the mind for obedience, but lead directly to sin. That's the fear of unbelief. But that of godly fear, which is peculiar to believers, which arises from a just view, from reverence and esteem of the divine character, a supreme desire for his favor as your chief happiness, that's a fear, lest we should offend our loving Savior. That's the fear that we would fear incurring His just displeasure. Such a fear of Him as outweighs all the allurements of sin on the one hand and all the terrors of suffering for righteousness sake on the other. This is that fear which Christ inculcates in His disciples. This is to sanctify the Lord our God in our hearts and to make Him our fear, make Him our dread, that we fear losing Him more than anything else. instead of fearing losing the pleasures of this world. He goes on to say, happy is the man that thus fears always. This godly fear, instead of dejecting or abasing the mind, inspires a noble courage and freedom. Fearing our God, we know no other fear. It preserves us from slothful security, it checks our self-confidence and high-mindedness, and makes us cautious and vigilant in reference to everything which may endanger the safety of our soul. Let us fear, beloved, the fear that comes from faith, fear missing out on God and not missing out on anything else. But that's not all. This fear of God then means that we'll cultivate therefore this other aspect which says let us therefore strive to enter that rest. so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. There is a striving with the strength of faith that we are called to here. Again, this is not the idea. This is not a striving to save yourself by your own good works. That's not what he's saying. That goes against everything the gospel says. That's not the point. No, the idea here is what Paul says elsewhere of fighting the good fight of the faith. Which means you're fighting against unbelief, you're fighting against sin, you're fighting to continue to hold on and cling to Christ as your savior and nothing else. It is this kind of striving, this diligence and effort that flows from faith to maintain faith. And part of what this means then is that we are those who will be faithful to use all the means of grace Christ has given us to strengthen our faith. this striving means that you will seek to use all these means God has given to you. What are some of those means? Well, we've already mentioned one last week, didn't we? One of those great means is this, the ministry of mutual encouragement. that you avail yourselves of being part of a local church where your heart is being encouraged by your brothers and sisters. Where they'll come to you bold and in love and point out your sin and also point you to the Savior. Where you can, yes, unburden your soul to a brother or sister and know that they're praying with you and for you. The ministry of mutual encouragement so that your heart is not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Listen to how Richard Phillips describes such a church that gives itself to the ministry of mutual encouragement. He says this, a good church, therefore, will not be defined by the size of its building, nor the number of people attending, or the amount of money raised. Rather, by God's standard, a quality church will be one that leaves no stragglers to lag behind or perish in unbelief. The kind of church the writer of Hebrews is looking for is one where the discouraged are propelled forward by encouragement. where the weak find strength in the care of others, and those in danger of being deceived are recalled to the truth in a spirit of love. That's what we are called to, and that's what you will strive to do by faith. But it also means something else, and this is also something I think that's emphasized in this passage when we understand Sabbath rest, and that is If you're gonna strive to enter eternal Sabbath rest, you will strive to make good use of the Lord's Day. Because you'll rightly understand what the Lord's Day is. We already said earlier when I asked you, is anyone here glorified? No one here is glorified. Guess what? That means, that means that you're still in a fight. You're still in a war. You're still in your wilderness wandering in the desert. and that you can enjoy the blessing of an oasis, one day in seven, an oasis that reminds you of the eternal Sabbath rest, that encourages you to believe that there's an eternal Sabbath rest coming, so that your faith in Christ and that rest that he's giving is encouraged and strengthened so you continue to persevere. You see, just like the seventh day Sabbath was meant to be a sign for Adam and Eve to encourage them to persevere, the first day Sabbath is a sign for us to remember and be encouraged and persevere. The reason for the change of the day is this, the work needed to enter that rest has already been accomplished. You see, it came at the end of the week, after six days of labor for Adam, because he still had a work to do, and he was trying to work to get it. For us, it comes on the first day of the week, because Jesus already did it, and he was raised on the first day of the week, as a sign that it is finished, and it is received, and it's accomplished, and it's for any who believe in him to have this rest. And so you don't work for your salvation. Christ already did that. And you rejoice on the first day of the week, because it's a reminder of that resurrection life that's yours. And that's why there is a Sabbath day that remains for the Christian, because you haven't entered eternal Sabbath rest yet, and you need that encouragement. And so yes, you know what that means. You're not afraid of missing the pleasures of this world. you're more afraid of missing time to worship God. Right? So you're not so concerned about not missing that baseball game or that football game. You're not so concerned about having to be involved in these sports to make a name for yourself. You're not so concerned about enjoying your pleasure because you've come to realize the greatest pleasure in all the earth is to commune with Christ. And that's what you do here in his house on his day. And so you're gonna make the most of the Lord's Day, which means, yeah, you're gonna come to Sunday school, yes, you're gonna come to the morning service, yes, you're gonna come to the evening service, and you're gonna stick around and talk to people the whole time, because you want to be involved in that ministry of mutual encouragement. Not as a legalistic thing in order to earn your salvation. Don't misunderstand the Lord's Day. It's a blessing for the goodness of your soul to have a foretaste of that eternal Sabbath rest now. That you could be reminded, that's what I'm looking forward to. I can press on through the rest of the week out of the rest I've received on the Lord's Day. That's how you need to think of the Lord's Day. So beloved, let us be those who have a fear and a striving that flows from faith. Do not fail to enter into God's promised eternal rest because you have a false faith. Don't think that just because you said a prayer or you say you believe in Jesus, that means you really do. In other words, Let the word from Psalm 95 and the words of Hebrews 3 and 4 be that word that's living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, to examine your own heart and to cut down and show, do I have true saving faith? Or is my faith false? Paul says elsewhere, let us examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith. And I challenge each one of you in this room to examine yourselves to see if you're in the faith. Children, don't think that because you've grown up in a Christian home, that means you have saving faith. You must receive and rest upon Jesus Christ for yourself. Believe on him and be saved. So that's what this passage is saying. There is a promised rest. And it's open to all who come and put their faith in Jesus Christ, the true apostle from God. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you again for this glorious word that you have given to us, this word that comes directly to us from your son, that he is the savior who gives us true eternal rest. Lord, for those in this room who are truly your children already, Would you help us to remember the rest that we have and the rest that we're looking forward to and strengthen our faith even more today? Lord, for those in this room who have a false faith or profess to have no faith at all, would you give them the gift of faith to trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, the one who died to pay the penalty for our sins, the one who's raised to give us new life in Christ forever. Lord, do this work, we pray, in Christ's name, amen.