(Heb 4:3b,4 NLT) this rest has been ready since He made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all His work.”
This morning we continue to wind down our series: “Victory over Stress!” We are walking through our final passage in this series and the Hebrew writer talks to us this morning about a rest that has been available since creation. After creation, after the Elohim (God the Creator) did all He was going to do, He rested from all His work. Elohim did not rest because He was tired; He rested because He was finished.
The late Dr. J. Vernon McGee said the following when commenting on this passage: “This is the Sabbath. God rested on the seventh day, and that was the Sabbath day. However, the Sabbath today is not a day you keep or observe. Have you entered into the real Sabbath today? Do you know what it is to trust Christ and Christ alone for your salvation? Are you trusting anything else? Is He it? Have you entered into rest? I had a good friend who was a doctor and who observed Saturday as the Sabbath. We used to play tennis together, and we got pretty well acquainted with one another. One day after we had played three sets of tennis, we sat down on the bench, and we began to have what you would call a religious argument. He looked at me and said, “McGee, do you keep the Sabbath day?” “Yes, I keep the Sabbath.” He looked at me real hard and said, “What day?” I said to him, “Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then I start all over again on Saturday.” He said to me, “What in the world do you mean?” “Well, the way I understand the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Sabbath day is now this day of grace in which we live, and Christ, after He died on the Cross and came back to life, went back to the right hand of the Father and sat down. He sat down, not because He was tired, but because He had finished your redemption and mine. So now He tells me, ‘You rest in Me.’ I have a Sabbath day every day—I rest in Christ.” That doctor friend looked at me in amazement. “Well,” he said, “that’s better than having just one day, isn’t it?” I said, “It sure is. Seven days a week is a sabbath of resting in Christ.”
Now, I am not looking to start a debate over whether or not we should rest on Saturday or Sunday. My point, and the point of this passage, is that there is a supernatural rest that is available to us and if we would approach the Father in faith, we could tap into that rest daily. This rest is a rest of grace, comfort, and holiness; it is a state of being that enables us to be at peace internally, even when things externally may be going haywire.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that Jehovah and Jesus have both done what they were going to do and they are resting. God now gives you the opportunity to rest in what He has already done. Rest in the finished work of the Father in creation. Rest in the finished work of Jesus the Christ on the cross. Rest in the grace God has given you to be saved from your sin. Rest in the hope that you have for eternal life. Rest in the purpose the Father has placed in you. And rest in the fact that satan is a defeated foe; knowing fully well that hell is waiting on him and hating the fact that you have cross over to the other side. Rest in the fact that Christ Jesus died to make you free! If you know you are going to heaven, and you know the Father wants you to enjoy the ride, then what do you have to worry about? Enter into God’s Rest!!!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for your finished work in creation. I also thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die in my stead. He paid the price for my sin, he was crucified on Calvary’s cross, He was buried in a borrowed tomb, He went down to hell to take captivity captive, and He ascended from the dead with all power in His hand! Jesus then ascended into heaven and took a seat next to You Father, signifying that His work in the earth was complete (at least for now). I declare that I rest in His finished work. I rest in the grace by which I am saved from my sin. I rest in the peace that You have made available for me. I rest in fact that You have planned out an awesome future for me and I will maximize it by faith. I rest in YOU! I enter this day by entering into Your rest! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
