Latest / Mount Eaton Church / Christ the True and Better - Hebrews 4:1-13 - The True and Better Prophet pt. 4

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Christ the True and Better - Hebrews 4:1-13 - The True and Better Prophet pt. 4 · Mount Eaton Church

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  I will tell you this is not going to be an easy message but it's an amazing scripture.
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  Oh, in my studies as you know you guys go through studying, you're spending time in
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  the Word and all of a sudden you're doing Word study, you're going deeper and then you
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  come across this truth that you've, it's like it's brand new and I had one of those moments
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  and I'm like whoa, that's it and then I just start typing crazy and this is one of those
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  moments.
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  I'm telling you what a powerful, powerful doctrine and truth this is.
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  I think many times because the way it's written we have a tendency to miss because you think
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  about it and you don't know how to, we don't know how to explain it.
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  So this is so good.
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  I will tell you there are parts in here that are really convicting and so I hope you're
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  ready for that.
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  It is going to challenge each and every one of us here which God's Word is supposed to
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  do that which we find out in this chapter in verse 12 and 13.
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  So you will experience the sharpness of God's Word, the piercingness of God's Word and the
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  ultimate judgment of our thoughts and intents of our heart in God's Word.
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  It's an amazing, amazing scripture.
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  So we're going to start off in verse 16 so you can see the context.
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  We're going to read it.
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  It's going to be a little bit long but it's important.
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  As we go through each verse we're going to pull a lot of stuff out.
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  Verse 16, for who were those who heard and yet rebelled?
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  Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?
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  Let me pray.
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  Father I want to thank you so much for your goodness.
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  Lord guide us through your Word.
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  Teach us the full counsel of your Word.
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  May it produce in us the maturity in Christ that we may come to the full knowledge of
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  Him who has saved us for your glory in Jesus' name.
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  Amen.
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  Verse 17, and with whom was he provoked for 40 years?
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  Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
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  And to whom did he swear they would not enter his rest but those who were disobedient?
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  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
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  Therefore while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of
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  you should seem to have failed to reach it.
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  For good news came to us just as them but the message they heard did not benefit them
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  because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
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  For we who have believed entered that rest as he has said, as I swore in my wrath they
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  shall not enter my rest.
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  Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world, for he has somewhere
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  spoken of the seventh day in this way.
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  And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.
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  And again in this passage he said, they shall not enter my rest.
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  Since therefore it remains for some to enter it and for those who formerly received the
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  good news failed to enter because of disobedience.
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  Again he appoints a certain day, today, saying through David so long afterward in the words
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  already quoted, today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.
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  For if Joshua had given them rest, God would have spoken of another day later on.
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  God would not have spoken of another day later on.
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  So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
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  And for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from all his works as God did
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  from his.
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  Let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of
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  disobedience.
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  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing the
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  division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents
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  of the heart.
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  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes
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  of him to whom we must give an account.
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  Wow.
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  You read that and you go, what is all that?
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  How do we unpack all that?
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  And what is it about this rest thing?
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  And what does he mean that some get the rest and some don't get the rest?
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  It's a lot here and it's not easy.
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  And so let's start off with principle number one.
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  God's rest comes through only the gospel.
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  God's rest comes only through the gospel, the promise of Christ.
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  Rest is only given and it is given to a person through a promise and given by Christ through
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  the cross.
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  That's important to understand because the rest that people are thinking about, many
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  of us think about is rest from having to work and to toil the land.
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  But you remember why Adam toiled the land?
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  Because of sin.
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  Sin is to toil.
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  And so this promise that we receive given by Christ, and it's only given, it's not
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  something you decide for yourself.
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  It's not something that you work for.
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  It's not something that you get.
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  You don't have the power to rest.
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  Only God can give rest to a person.
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  Verse one, therefore while the promise of entering his rest still stands.
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  You see if his rest was about the land, then there would not be a need for a promise.
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  Okay, this promise that still stands, this rest, this kata pausis, kata pausis is the
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  word here, stands.
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  Kata pausis is a resting place, metaphorically, the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells
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  and of which he has promised to make preserving believers in Christ partakers after the Torah
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  toils and trials of life on earth are ended.
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  That's what this word means.
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  In other words, your rest is not rest from working.
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  There's no retirement.
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  The rest he's talking about here is in Christ with Christ, period.
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  The kata pausis is the blessedness in which God dwells by which we will be in and with
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  him.
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  That's the idea in the Old Testament too.
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  God made a promise to Abraham, did he not?
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  And that promise was then given to Isaac and Isaac gave it to Jacob.
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  Well Jacob took it by God's divine will.
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  And Israel was born and God sets that promise with Moses and he says, I will take my people
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  to a land that I will give them and I will be their God and they will be my people.
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  That was the promise.
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  You will be in me and with me.
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  Where I go, you go.
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  And they were like, no, I don't want that.
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  Why did you take us out of Egypt?
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  You brought us out here to kill us.
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  You remember all that?
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  Gratefulness, terrible.
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  But just because they didn't enter it doesn't mean that it doesn't still stand.
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  The promise of being in Christ and with Christ where he is still stands.
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  And this is what he says, the rest of verse one, let us fear Fabio.
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  Let us, lest any of you should seem to have failed, be devoid, lack in worth to reach
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  it.
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  To reach what?
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  To reach rest in Christ.
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  What does Fabio mean?
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  Now this is an amazing little word.
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  This word fear means to reverence or venerate or to treat with difference or reverential
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  obedience.
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  Reverential obedience.
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  Now let's go back and read it from this perspective.
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  Therefore the promise to enter his place where he dwells of which he has promised to make
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  preserving believers in Christ partakers after the toil and trials of life.
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  That's what that means.
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  Still stands, let us with reverential obedience, lest any of you should seem to have been devoid
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  or lack worth to reach it.
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  In other words, how important is Christ?
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  How much do you love him?
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  Jesus says if you love me, you obey me.
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  That's one of the main sticking points in the scripture we're reading here.
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  The issue of Israel's disobedience.
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  The reason why they could not enter the rest is because they were disobedient.
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  So verse two, for good news, here it is, came to us just as to them, but the message they
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  heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
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  There were a few of the Jews who did listen and we know them.
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  Moses, Joshua, Caleb.
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  Do you remember?
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  And all the saints before, but those who did not listen, those who did not accept the good
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  news, interesting word, same word for gospel, they didn't answer.
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  Why?
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  Because they wanted what they wanted.
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  They wanted their calves.
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  They wanted their food in Egypt.
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  They never really wanted Egypt.
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  They never really wanted to leave Egypt.
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  They wanted what they wanted because their hatred of God.
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  Disobedience is hatred toward God.
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  That's what you see.
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  Now that being said, it brings us to principle number two.
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  So if our rest comes only through the gospel, then all who believe in Christ have true rest
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  in him because rest comes by faith alone in Christ alone.
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  The only way you can get rest from your toil is in Christ.
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  By faith alone in Christ alone.
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  Verse three, for we who have believed enter that rest.
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  What rest?
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  In Christ.
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  We are in Christ.
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  If you are in me and I am in you and I am in the Father, you are in the Father, rest.
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  Do you get it?
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  So when Jesus talks about that in John 14, about us being in him and him in the Father
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  in John 13, don't you understand what it means to be in?
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  It means to be at rest.
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  Okay?
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  Now here we go.
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  As he said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not, who are they?
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  Those who did not believe.
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  Believe what?
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  Believe the promise.
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  Now think about that.
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  I want you to think about that.
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  How did they not believe?
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  God shows up through Moses, tells Moses, you'll be my representative.
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  You're gonna redeem my people out of Egypt.
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  He pulls them out of Egypt.
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  He guides them in a cloud.
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  He guides them in a pillar of fire, a pillar of a cloud.
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  Takes them to the Red Sea.
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  Crosses the Red Sea in a pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire.
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  Brings them to the wilderness.
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  Takes them to the mountain by which he's gonna give them the standard.
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  They turn around and they do exactly what he says not to do.
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  They build a calf.
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  After that, they complain.
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  I'm hungry.
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  I have no food.
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  God gives them manna.
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  They complain about that.
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  You guys know the whole story.
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  I've talked about this for like three weeks.
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  And then they end up saying, let's go take the land.
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  And they're like, send spies.
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  You guys know that.
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  I talked about that last week.
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  And they were like, we ain't going in.
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  Why?
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  Because we don't believe that God will do what he says he's gonna do.
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  That's basically what they said.
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  We're not going in.
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  So because of their disobedience and their disbelief in what God said he would do, if
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  I go with you, I will go before you.
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  I will hem you in as a mother does her chicks.
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  You will be fine.
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  Take the land.
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  We're not gonna take the land.
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  What?
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  So what does God do?
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  You can't enter the land with me.
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  See, the only way to go into the real true promised land is that God must go before you
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  and you must go in with him and be with him.
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  And they didn't want him.
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  That clarifies in these verses.
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  You're gonna see that in a minute.
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  And so let's keep reading.
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  He says, as I swore in my rest, they shall not, who are they?
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  Those who did not believe enter my rest.
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  Although his, meaning Christ's works were finished from the foundation of the world.
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  What?
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  So many of you guys would think the works that he's talking about is his work of creation.
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  I mean, he created everything in six days.
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  On the seventh day he rested.
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  So if God rested on the seventh day, he stopped creating.
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  That's not what it says.
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  It says on the seventh day, God rested from what?
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  All.
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  All.
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  All his works.
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  All of his created works and all of his self-vific work.
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  All of his work was done.
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  And he sat and he rested.
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  Now think about that.
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  How can I prove this out?
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  What's it say in Revelation 13?
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  Does it not say that his works were completed in Christ before the beginning of creation?
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  That we are in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world, which means the
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  Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world, that we may be in the book.
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  Think about this work.
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  The work of justification done since the creation of the world.
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  The work of sanctification done since the creation of the world.
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  The work of his redemption done since the creation of the world.
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  Forgiveness done.
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  Renewal done.
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  Regeneration done.
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  All the works that God had done were done.
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  And he rested on the seventh day.
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  Everything, all works.
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  What an amazing, powerful, omnipotent and sovereign God we have.
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  That God sits on his throne in glory and rejoices in the accomplishments of his character displayed
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  to all creation in Christ.
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  And there's nothing that the enemy can do about it.
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  Not a single thing.
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  No he tries.
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  That's why the scripture says that God laughs.
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  I was like, are you kidding me?
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  It's already done.
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  But yet you strive in vain.
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  Whoa.
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  Powerful God we have.
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  And so, next principle.
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  True rest can never be found in a day.
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  Can never be found in a law.
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  And can never be found in a place.
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  So I'm gonna say this.
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  Wow, that just totally reset my stuff.
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  Really, you're just gonna do your own thing right now.
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  Okay.
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  It just totally did that and I'm like really upset about it.
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  Leave it alone.
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  Alright.
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  So, here's one of the things I want us to understand.
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  If rest cannot be found in the day, I'm gonna say this respectfully, but I'm gonna be honest
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  with you.
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  The seventh day of Venice are wrong.
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  They put their hope in the day to determine their righteousness before God.
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  And the only righteousness that we get is through Christ.
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  It is not based on what day you keep.
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  It's based on you giving every day to him.
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  Every day is his.
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  And our rest is not in a day.
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  Our rest is in the person of Jesus Christ.
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  That's the point.
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  So for all our seventh day guys and our law keeping fellows and those who think that we
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  can find rest by going to a place, you'll never find rest for your lives outside of
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  Jesus ever.
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  He is your only rest.
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  How do we know that?
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  I'm gonna show you in a minute.
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  That's hard to grasp.
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  Why?
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  Because rest is not a ceasing of work.
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  But by repentance and belief in a promised one, we find rest.
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  It's Christ is our rest.
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  If rest meant ceasing of work and you came to Jesus, why are you still working?
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  Hebrews chapter four verse four and five, for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh
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  day in this way.
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  God rested on the seventh day from all his works.
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  The word works here means act or deed.
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  God has rested from all his acts, from all his deeds, from all his works.
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  Everything.
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  And again in this passage, he said, they shall not enter my rest.
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  So if rest is in him and where he is and he is our rest, that means they, those who live
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  disobedient lives will never enter his rest.
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  Here's the proof.
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  Isaiah 30 verse 15, for thus said the Lord God, the Holy one of Israel in returning and
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  rest, you shall be saved in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
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  Do you get that?
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  In repentance and being in Christ, in rest, you shall be saved.
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  Apart from Christ, you cannot be saved.
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  You have to be in him and he in you.
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  And you must turn from your wicked ways.
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  How do we know that?
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  Next principle.
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  Rest is only given to God's people and now is the time for your rest.
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  The rest from the toil of sin.
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  And here's the proof of what I just said previously.
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  Today is your rest.
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  As I said, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.
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  Repent, return and believe in the gospel.
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  You want real true rest?
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  Be in Christ because you will never find rest anywhere else.
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  So Hebrews chapter four, verse six through seven says this.
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  Therefore it remains for some to enter it.
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  Some does say all.
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  No, only some enter the rest.
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  And those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience.
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  So what causes, what is the root cause of those not entering the rest of Christ?
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  Disobedience.
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  Sin.
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  The only way you can enter is through Christ and those who enter through Christ are obedient
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  to Christ.
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  You coming to Christ as a work, in the work of the Holy Spirit as he does in your life
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  in your heart and changes you and you repent and you come in the gospel, what you end up
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  coming to the realization is the very obedience of you coming was done in Christ.
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  So it says this and again he appoints a certain day, not tomorrow.
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  Tomorrow is not the day of your salvation.
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  Today is.
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  Not tomorrow.
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  It's not I have to get my life right before I come to Jesus.
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  I have to stop smoking before I come to Jesus.
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  I have to stop watching things I shouldn't watch before I come to Jesus.
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  No.
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  You don't get yourself right to come to Jesus so you can find rest.
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  You come to Jesus to get rest.
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  So today saying through David is so long after in words already quoted, today if you hear
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  his voice do not, do not heart in your hearts but many do because they love their wickedness.
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  Pastor says in John 3, they love the darkness, they hate the light and everything they do
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  is exposed to Jesus.
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  There's nothing hidden from his eyes.
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  Here's the hard part.
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  Many times we try to find rest in putting our hope in man.
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  Man will disappoint.
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  So rest comes from no other person.
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  It does not come from a pastor nor of a leader, not from a doctor nor from a government and
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  not from a constitutional document.
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  Rest is not a political party nor from what it promises.
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  Rest is not found or given by a political candidate nor the promises they make.
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  Rest and hope is never found in the president of the United States.
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  For any church to demand that there is a hope outside of Jesus Christ is sin.
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  Repent it is evil and it's wrong.
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  There is no hope outside of Jesus.
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  You better hope that the president puts his faith and hope in Jesus Christ because if
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  he doesn't you put your hope in the wrong man.
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  I'm just being honest.
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  This is something I'm extremely passionate about.
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  Now I know I'm getting a little excited.
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  Rest and hope is only given by Jesus Christ, the King of all kings and the Lord of all
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  lords.
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  He alone rules.
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  He alone sits on the throne of all creation and rules sovereignly and providentially at
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  all things.
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  Every president, every single leader, every single person is used by God to accomplish
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  his glory.
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  If you have any question about that look at Judas Iscariot or Nebuchadnezzar.
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  That being said, rest will not come by a political election, Hebrews 4 chapter 4 verse 8 through
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  10.
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  For if Joshua had given them rest, how?
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  By leading them into the promised land then God would not have spoken of another day later
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  on.
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  Why would I say that?
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  Because if you remember when God was about to bring them into the promised land, guess
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  who was not leading them in?
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  Guess who was not walking in by a pillar of fire or by a pillar of cloud?
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  God.
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  God had left them.
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  Fine.
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  Is this what you want?
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  You go take it.
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  And guess who leads them in?
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  Joshua.
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  Though Joshua was a godly man, though Joshua and Caleb were the only two out of all the
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  people of Israel that could enter the land because God said they could because they kept
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  the promise, God was with them.
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  Think about that.
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  They had an opportunity to go into the promised land into the rest of God by knowing that
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  he will lead them in by the pillar of cloud and destroy their enemies.
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  And they were like, no.
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  Not only did they do that once, their children ended up doing it.
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  Do you remember?
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  We talked about that last week.
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  Wow.
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  But do you know that we can enter his rest and as a result boldly go into the throne room
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  of God unabated, unappeated in any way.
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  We can go to the father and say, hey, wow.
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  So verse eight and 10, this is what it says, for if Joshua had given them rest, God would
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  not have spoken of another day later on.
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  So then there remains a sabbath, a sabbath rest for the people of God.
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  For all mankind, the people of God, through the gospel, the gospel is crucial to the reality
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  of coming to rest in Christ.
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  Without the gospel, there is no rest.
• 28:06
  For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did his.
• 28:13
  What works?
• 28:15
  The works that he's talking about, his works are the salvific work of Christ through the
• 28:20
  cross and our being brought and forgiven through him.
• 28:25
  And he is the end of our toil and suffering of sin.
• 28:29
  He is the end of our works of sin.
• 28:33
  He is, it is final and true rest.
• 28:38
  That's what this means.
• 28:40
  Your toil, your work is the work of your sin that you do every single day and through Christ,
• 28:47
  he puts an end to that toil.
• 28:50
  Why?
• 28:51
  Because he doesn't count it against you.
• 28:56
  He has cleansed us, past, present, and future from all sin.
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  And if God loves us, then he'll discipline us.
• 29:05
  We read that later on in Hebrews 14.
• 29:10
  He loves us in Hebrews 9, sorry.
• 29:13
  And so this word sabbatismos, this Sabbath rest, this is what it means.
• 29:21
  The blessed rest from toils and troubles looked for in the age to come by the true worshipers
• 29:29
  of God and the true Christians.
• 29:31
  The rest from toils and troubles.
• 29:35
  Wow.
• 29:36
  Mary Ellen, that's going to be a beautiful day.
• 29:40
  And it's a beautiful day for us now.
• 29:44
  How do we know?
• 29:45
  How do we know this is true?
• 29:47
  How do we know that everything we talked about so far is true?
• 29:53
  Matthew chapter 11, verse 27 through 30.
• 29:59
  He says, all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son
• 30:09
  except the father and no one knows the father except the son and anyone to whom the son
• 30:14
  chooses to reveal him.
• 30:16
  Then all of a sudden, everybody forgets about that verse because they love verse 28.
• 30:25
  When you're struggling in life and things are difficult, you take this Bible verse and
• 30:30
  you read it to yourself and you go, oh, this is so nice.
• 30:35
  But they totally forget why he gives it.
• 30:37
  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
• 30:46
  Labor and heavy laden of what?
• 30:48
  Keeping of the law, which you can't do because you're a sinner.
• 30:55
  Labor and heavy laden with what?
• 30:57
  The consequences of your sin.
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  Labor and heavy laden with what?
• 31:02
  The burden that you carry because of your sin.
• 31:07
  Come to me, all who labor and heavy laden, I will give you rest.
• 31:11
  Why?
• 31:12
  Because my yoke, take my yoke upon you.
• 31:16
  Take my burden because it's a lot lighter than yours.
• 31:20
  You don't walk through life without burden.
• 31:23
  You have a responsibility in life.
• 31:26
  What's that?
• 31:27
  To live in obedience and righteously with God and through God.
• 31:32
  And this is what he continues to say, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
• 31:38
  Where do you learn from him?
• 31:39
  Through his word.
• 31:43
  For I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.
• 31:49
  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
• 31:55
  To love God is not a burden.
• 32:00
  To trust God is not a burden that can't be carried.
• 32:06
  But if you want to carry your sin, you will walk with your back bent.
• 32:13
  How many of you guys watched?
• 32:14
  Have you ever read the book Pilgrim's Progress?
• 32:17
  It's exactly what he means.
• 32:22
  Christ is not a burden that we can't carry.
• 32:25
  What a glorious burden it is.
• 32:28
  What a glorious yoke to carry.
• 32:31
  Proudly Christ wrapped around my neck.
• 32:37
  Confidence knowing that I can with him do all things.
• 32:44
  So more proof.
• 32:47
  Turn to Daniel chapter 9 please.
• 32:51
  This is going to wreck some people, it's meant to a little bit I guess.
• 32:59
  Daniel chapter 9.
• 33:02
  This is going to challenge many of you.
• 33:05
  Trust me.
• 33:07
  I know, I know this is going to challenge, this is going to stretch you.
• 33:12
  This is meant to stretch you.
• 33:13
  It's meant for you to really understand where your faith lies.
• 33:19
  Where your faith comes from.
• 33:21
  Let's turn to Daniel 9 verse 24.
• 33:25
  This is important because in order for us to really understand this idea of where our
• 33:36
  Sabbath rest rests upon him, you have to understand that the work that was completed is completed
• 33:43
  and done.
• 33:44
  There's no other hope.
• 33:50
  Our glorious days in Christ.
• 33:53
  70 weeks are decreed about your people and about your holy city.
• 34:01
  So this is what happens.
• 34:04
  Daniel's praying to God.
• 34:07
  Our captivity is coming to an end.
• 34:09
  Where are we going to go?
• 34:10
  What's going to happen to your people?
• 34:12
  Please don't forget us.
• 34:13
  I know we deserve everything we get, but please, we're your people.
• 34:18
  You made a promise.
• 34:20
  So what God does is he sends Gabriel and Gabriel comes to him and he gives him this word.
• 34:25
  So this is Gabriel speaking on God's behalf.
• 34:30
  Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and about your holy city.
• 34:35
  To finish the transgression, there it is.
• 34:37
  To put an end to sin, number two.
• 34:41
  To atone for iniquity, number three.
• 34:43
  To bring in everlasting righteousness, number four.
• 34:46
  To seal both vision and prophet, number five, and to anoint a most holy place.
• 34:53
  How many weeks?
• 34:56
  Seventy weeks.
• 34:59
  To do what?
• 35:01
  Put an end to sin.
• 35:04
  And if you read the rest of the prophecy, you come to understand it's really about Christ,
• 35:09
  the prophet, the one who was going to come, the anointed one who was going to come and
• 35:14
  deliver his people because he's going to be cut off.
• 35:17
  And then there's an end to sacrifice.
• 35:20
  Sacrifice is done.
• 35:21
  I don't know about you, but there ain't no sacrifice in Israel right now because Jesus
• 35:27
  didn't end to it 2,000 years ago through a prophecy which he had given to Gabriel to
• 35:34
  bring to Daniel to say this is how it's going to end.
• 35:38
  I want you to get this.
• 35:40
  This is important.
• 35:43
  Who did all this work?
• 35:46
  Let's go through it.
• 35:47
  First, decree about the people of Israel and about Jerusalem.
• 35:53
  Put a finish to finish the transgression.
• 35:56
  What is transgression?
• 35:57
  Breaking God's law.
• 35:58
  How did Jesus finish the transgression?
• 36:01
  He fulfilled the law.
• 36:02
  Done.
• 36:03
  Do you remember when Jesus says it is finished?
• 36:07
  Okay.
• 36:08
  Two, to put an end to sin.
• 36:11
  What is sin?
• 36:12
  Missing the mark.
• 36:14
  What's missing the mark?
• 36:15
  Hitting the standard by which God given through the commandments.
• 36:18
  Can we do that?
• 36:19
  Nope.
• 36:20
  Is sin dealt with?
• 36:21
  Did he not forgive you for your past, present, and future sin?
• 36:24
  Has God atoned for your sin?
• 36:26
  Done.
• 36:27
  Here we go.
• 36:29
  To atone, pay for the iniquity, the debt, the UO.
• 36:34
  That's what this means.
• 36:35
  Who paid the debt?
• 36:36
  Jesus.
• 36:37
  To bring in, oh, sorry, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.
• 36:42
  Did he not bring in everlasting righteousness?
• 36:45
  People would say no because there's still sin in the world.
• 36:47
  Christ is your righteousness.
• 36:48
  Is it not everlasting?
• 36:50
  Christ reigns whether we like it or not.
• 36:55
  Now last one.
• 36:57
  To anoint a most holy place.
• 37:04
  Where is that holy place?
• 37:07
  Where does God dwell now?
• 37:14
  In you.
• 37:18
  You are his holy place.
• 37:22
  You and you and you.
• 37:27
  And we sit back and we hear preachers teach a false doctrine stating there's still seven
• 37:33
  more years because Jesus isn't done yet.
• 37:37
  And the scripture says that he was done before the foundation of the world.
• 37:41
  And then when Jesus dies on the cross, he says it is finished.
• 37:44
  It's complete.
• 37:45
  And then we go, there's still seven more years left.
• 37:49
  My God reigns now.
• 37:51
  And he reigns forever.
• 37:53
  And he will never give up his throne.
• 37:55
  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
• 37:57
  How do we know that?
• 37:58
  Philippians chapter two.
• 38:00
  For every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the King of kings
• 38:07
  and Lord of lords.
• 38:10
  He's not going to be.
• 38:12
  The days of that foolishness have got to end.
• 38:17
  And I'm going to tell you the truth.
• 38:19
  In Christ, it is completely finished for you.
• 38:22
  There is no need for anything else.
• 38:25
  He will come and will destroy all things that are contrary to him.
• 38:30
  That's a guarantee.
• 38:34
  And it's done already.
• 38:36
  So how should we walk?
• 38:38
  We walk in confidence with Christ, bringing the gospel to every living creature so that
• 38:43
  his people will come to him.
• 38:45
  That's the point.
• 38:47
  We don't stop preaching the gospel because he reigns.
• 38:49
  We preach the gospel all the more because he does reign.
• 38:53
  Because if you love him, you will obey him and you will go and preach the gospel.
• 38:58
  So we dealt with a couple of things.
• 38:59
  The issue of politics and the issue of false teaching.
• 39:03
  So rest can be found in his word through the gift of faith on the wings of the gospel.
• 39:11
  How do we know?
• 39:12
  So faith comes from hearing and hearing that of the word of Christ.
• 39:16
  So in order for us to be in rest, we have to be in rest by faith.
• 39:22
  Faith comes from the gospel that God brings into our lives and he plants it into you through
• 39:28
  the power of the Holy Spirit.
• 39:29
  And he does his work and you respond.
• 39:32
  Now look, verse 11 and 13, how do we know this is true?
• 39:36
  It's amazing.
• 39:38
  Verse 11, let us therefore strive, give diligence to enter the rest, to enter that rest so that
• 39:47
  no one may fall, come under condemnation is what that word means, by the same sort of
• 39:54
  disobedience.
• 39:56
  What disobedience?
• 39:57
  Not believing the promise.
• 40:00
  Faith being sure of what you hope for in the evidence of what you don't see.
• 40:07
  So how do we know that?
• 40:11
  Well we know that because verse 12 clarifies it.
• 40:14
  Here's how you know that you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can know.
• 40:20
  Here it is.
• 40:21
  For the word of God is living and active, sharper.
• 40:27
  It cuts by a single stroke.
• 40:31
  I don't know about you, but I like those karate samurai guys.
• 40:39
  And they're like, and they cut a guy in half like completely one stroke.
• 40:43
  Like I wish that, you know, I don't know if I would wish that would happen to me, Ben,
• 40:48
  but I would love to do that to a tree.
• 40:51
  You know what I mean?
• 40:53
  One stroke, because we're like, it takes a while.
• 40:59
  But that's how powerful this is.
• 41:01
  This sword is no joke.
• 41:05
  So his word is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword.
• 41:11
  And piercing, penetrating to the division of soul and of spirit, joints and of marrow,
• 41:18
  and discerning.
• 41:20
  This word discerning means fit and skilled to judge.
• 41:24
  The word of God is not only a sword that cuts with a single stroke, it penetrates and it
• 41:33
  is fit and skilled to judge the thoughts and intentions of your heart.
• 41:37
  Now here's the crazy part.
• 41:39
  Verse 13 kind of shook me.
• 41:41
  I'll be honest with you because the word he uses here for exposed is kind of shocking.
• 41:47
  And no creature, that means any created thing is hidden from his sight but are naked.
• 41:53
  So we kind of know what naked is, laid bare, open, no covering.
• 41:58
  And exposed, now here's the freaky word.
• 42:01
  This word exposed means exposed by the bending of the neck.
• 42:04
  In other words, God would take your neck, bend it, and look deep into you.
• 42:13
  It's like, what?
• 42:15
  I don't know about you but that's kind of wild.
• 42:19
  Literally it means exposed by the bending of the neck.
• 42:22
  In other words, he just looks down, deep into the human.
• 42:26
  So not only does he deal with the issue of the physical but he deals with the issue of
• 42:30
  the spiritual.
• 42:31
  The deepest secrets of your heart are exposed before him.
• 42:34
  There is no secret he can't see.
• 42:38
  So keep trying to cover it up.
• 42:40
  You'll never cover it up.
• 42:42
  Why?
• 42:43
  Because he says this, but are naked are all, but all are naked and exposed by the bending
• 42:53
  of the neck to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
• 43:01
  Ouch.
• 43:03
  How's that feel?
• 43:06
  When you think about the sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God who sits on the
• 43:12
  throne providentially guiding all things for his glory so that one day we can experience
• 43:18
  his glory forever.
• 43:22
  And he goes, there's no secret.
• 43:25
  Y'all are exposed.
• 43:28
  What?
• 43:31
  Now we understand why his word is living inactive.
• 43:35
  Gets down to the deepness of mankind.
• 43:38
  Not only physically, spiritually, no secrets.
• 43:42
  Wow.
• 43:44
  That is a powerful, amazing, omnipotent God.
• 43:50
  And how do we treat him?
• 43:52
  We treat him like he's still not in control.
• 43:56
  We put our hope in a seven year prophecy that doesn't exist.
• 44:04
  And we put our hope in a government or an official that they will make America great
• 44:09
  again.
• 44:10
  It's not the point.
• 44:15
  It's not an issue of who you should vote for.
• 44:16
  It's an issue of putting your trust and faith in the only God who is the King of Kings and
• 44:20
  Lord of Lords and who rules forever.
• 44:23
  That's really what it's about.
• 44:24
  If the church would get this, God's favor would be on America today.
• 44:33
  And the reason why America is in the situation she's in is because the church has abandoned
• 44:39
  the gospel.
• 44:41
  We have walked away from the one thing that matters.
• 44:45
  We have put our hope in things that don't, especially in broken men.
• 44:53
  And we toil in our lives with no rest.
• 44:58
  How do we get rest?
• 45:01
  Psalm 95 verse seven through eight, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture
• 45:09
  and the sheep of his hand.
• 45:12
  Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
• 45:17
  Why?
• 45:18
  Because Romans 10, 17, so faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ,
• 45:23
  which you are clearly hearing today.
• 45:27
  Hebrews 11, one.
• 45:29
  Why is faith so important?
• 45:30
  Because faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
• 45:37
  That if we trust him and believe his promise, when Jesus said the time is fulfilled, the
• 45:47
  kingdom of God is at hand now.
• 45:51
  Repent and believe the gospel.
• 45:55
  Jesus died for your sins, was buried and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures.
• 46:00
  1 Corinthians 15, there is no other way.
• 46:07
  Come to him, return to him.
• 46:09
  If you are his people, repent.
• 46:12
  If you're not, repent and believe and know.
• 46:17
  And if the spirit of God is speaking to you today, if you hear his voice, do not harden
• 46:22
  your hearts because you will not have tomorrow.
• 46:25
  There's no guarantee for God's works are the works of soteriology, salvation.
• 46:32
  He, Christ, is our rest from all toil and suffering of sin.
• 46:37
  And we come to rest in Christ's work and works through believing faith, which he gives thus
• 46:47
  through obedience brought by the gospel, the good news.
• 46:51
  We repent and believe in him who brings and is our rest.
• 46:57
  Father, I want to thank you so much for your goodness.
• 47:03
  Thank you that you are our rest.
• 47:05
  You are the only real true king that you reign sovereign, providentially, omnipotently over
• 47:14
  all things for your glory.
• 47:19
  You are absolutely magnificent and all the world's words that we could, all the adjectives
• 47:24
  we could use to try to describe you can't even come close.
• 47:29
  But Lord, we give you glory and your people scream hallelujah.
• 47:35
  We thank you and praise you, help us to really understand the importance of these truths
• 47:43
  that our rest is in a person.
• 47:46
  It is you, Lord Jesus.
• 47:50
  In Jesus name, Amen.