The Sabbath Rest
Hebrews 4:1-11
Emmanuel Christian Church 5.18.25
INTRODUCTION: Sin is exhausting. Oh, it doesn’t market itself as such-
oh no! It always presents itself as fun, easy and the smart short-cut to get
you where you want to go! But, what a lie!
The Centers For Disease Control reports that in 2010 (15 years ago!)
alcoholism cost Americans nearly a quarter of a TRILLION dollars! That’s
not to mention the cost to families and broken relationships!
42% of all marriages end in divorce, and when it strikes, children
living in single parent homes suffer not only the shattered relationships, but
an economic loss of over 40%!
In 2021, over 21,000 people were murdered in the United States.
God’s Word speaks with absolute clarity on the cause for all of this:
James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come
from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t
get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel
and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
and…
James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Sin is EXHAUSTING- and DEADLY.
PROPOSITION: BUT, here’s the good news I want to give you today:
Hebrews 4:9 There remains then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of
God.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians of his day gives that word of
encouragement in the context of a warning from Israel’s history during
their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Of all the Jews whom God
delivered from Egyptian slavery, only two (Joshua and Caleb) made it into
the Sabbath-rest of God’s Promised Land!Two words summed up the reason why an entire generation died in
the wilderness: “Faithless disobedience”.
But before we understand that “bad news” let’s put that “good news” in
the context of our Scripture for this morning:
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands,
let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For
we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the
message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard
did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest,
just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never
enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the creation of
the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in
these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” 5
And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
Hebrews 4:6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who
formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their
disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today,
when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua
had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for
anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God
did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so
that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
So,
WHAT is the “Sabbath-rest”?
- This is a unique, one-of-a-kind word, used only here in the entire Bible!
Before we understand this word, we need to understand the simple word
“Sabbath” that does occur 116 times in the Bible! There are three
distinct ways to understand the word “Sabbath”.
- God’s own Sabbath. After the six literal days of Creation, the
Scripture plainly teaches that God rested from all His work. It’s quite
literally what “Sabbath” means to “cease, be still”
- Man’s commanded Sabbath.
- “Command” is an important word here because “Remember the
Sabbath” is the 4th Commandment in God’s Ten Commandments!- Two things were required in the 4th Commandment- Remember God
as the Creator, and Do what He did- REST from your labor!
- God designed us to labor with the creative ability that He gave us,
BUT He also designed us to REST one day out of seven. Jesus
Himself made that point when He said- “The Sabbath was made for
MAN- not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
- THE “Sabbath-rest” (Remember, this is the UNIQUE word used
nowhere else)
- The “Sabbath-rest” is God’s rest in the “here and now”.
- One the one hand, Scripture tells us that God rested on the 7th
day, but it was Jesus who also said “my Father is always at His
work to this very day” (Mark 5:17).
- So, if the “Sabbath-rest” from God is not the simple cessation of
work- what IS it?
- Rest from FEAR
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power,
love, and sound judgment.
- Rest from SLAVERY TO SIN
Romans 8:2 …because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set
me free from the law of sin and death.
- Rest from CONDEMNATION
Romans 8:1 in Christ Jesus…
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are
- Rest from ANXIETY
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid.
- God’s Sabbath-rest is ALSO an ultimate rest that is yet to come.
There IS COMING a Day when ALL THINGS will be restored and re-
created according to God’s ORIGINAL PLAN:Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any
sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of
God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and
God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away.”
WHO qualifies for God’s Sabbath-rest?
The answer is stated negatively in our text…
Hebrews 4:2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they
did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those
who heard did not combine it with faith.
- Those who HEAR the Good News of God’s Word.
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and
the message is heard through the word of Christ.
- Those who combine what they hear with FAITH. (It’s the entire message
of Hebrews 11)
- What IS faith?
- Confidence in God:
Hebrews 11:1 what we do not see.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of
- Pursuit of God:
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.
- Action on our part: “By faith” 47 times in the NT, 20 in Hebrews
chapter 11 - always pointing to action taken…- Abel offered a better sacrifice…
- Noah built the Ark…
- Abraham went to a foreign land, became a miraculous father at
nearly 100 years of age, and offered his miracle son back to God as
a sacrifice…
- Isaac, Jacob and Joseph blessed their sons…
- Moses parents hid him from Pharaoh…
- Moses led God’s people from Egyptian slavery…
- The people of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground…
- The walls of Jericho fell…
- And a prostitute by the name of Rahab became the great-great
grandmother of Israel’s mighty King David!
APPLICATION: Faith isn’t simply what you KNOW, it’s what you DO about
what you know!
WHAT disqualifies someone from God’s Sabbath-rest?
- FAITHLESSNESS, also known as DISOBEDIENCE.
- Verse 6: “…did not go in, because of their disobedience.”
- Verse 11: “…will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
- Faith isn’t simply what you KNOW, it’s what you DO about what you
know!
APPLICATION: Faithlessness isn’t simple ignorance, any more than faith
is simple knowledge. The Israelites that died in the wilderness wandering
had seen the miracles of God’s deliverance first-hand. They had heard the
voice of God thunder from Mt. Sinai. They had all the evidence they
needed to believe with their minds, but their hard-hearts would not allow
them to do the simple things God told them to do. It’s why Paul quotes
King David as a warning to the Christians of his day:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
James 2:20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without
deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered
righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his
faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture wasfulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a
person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
CONCLUSION: You will never find rest in a pill, or at the bottom of a
bottle of liquor or a can of beer. It’s not in a bank account that’s “big
enough” and it’s nowhere to be found on the internet.
Jesus said:
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Coming to Jesus is simple- call you need to do is die to yourself.
Dying to yourself is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. It’s called
“Surrender”- surrender to Jesus.
Surrender to Jesus and you WILL find rest for your soul.
